Play Barn Rage

Friday was the last day of the school holidays for us today and with the weather looking on the soggy side, I thought I might play the ‘play barn’ card and give the kids a good run out.

We don’t visit play barns often as I do prefer being outside, but on wet and cold days it can be a good option.

The schools in the county down the road went back on the Monday, so I thought I would be clever and go there thinking it might be a bit quieter. I had visions of me sitting quietly watching the children happily play, whilst sipping a few hot drinks and catching up with a few emails. Ha! That isn’t quite how it turned out.

I always like to arrive just after it opens as it means that I can find a good table and we can settle in before it gets too busy. The children were all off playing and I was sat with a lovely hot chocolate with cream. Happy days indeed.

Around ten thirty there was a mass influx of people with toddlers and my peace was shattered by lots of noise and rampaging children. All good though, that is what I expected. I then witnessed a woman really lay into one of the members of staff as there were no tables to sit down. And I mean lay into. She was really unpleasant. She demanded that she be found a table as she had paid her money and she wanted a seat. Unbelievable. Yes if I arrived and there were no seats I might be a little cross but I would camp down somewhere and go and play with the children. It’s not the end of the world. But not this lady, she started shouting, but fair play to the member of staff, she stuck to her guns and explained calmly that she could not add any more chairs due to regulations and that she was sure that if she was patient someone would move or leave. Patience was not something I would have credited this ferocious mum with and she them spent the next ten minutes pacing around the tables glowering at people. I sat there looking at the three chairs left by my children who were at that time running themselves ragged, feeling really guilty.

That was round one.

Round two was another woman searching for a chair who sat down at my table. She didn’t ask, she just plonked herself down with a heaving sigh and then looked away. No comment. No “do you mind?” No apology. In fact, nothing. Now I am quite a passive person. I rarely shout unless it is at my children or husband. I rarely complain. But this really annoyed me. I had arrived early so that we could settle down at a table and so the kids could come and sit down when they wanted a rest or a drink. Is that so unreasonable? So I cleared my throat and told the woman that someone was sitting there. She turned round and looked at me as though I was something that she had trodden in and said that she couldn’t see anyone.  The cheek of it!! I said that I had three children and they were sitting there in between playing.  Clearly unimpressed the woman muttered under her breath that I was being rather selfish when the play barn was so full. At that point my three came hurtling back to have a rest and the woman took one look at them and  huffed off.

Not long after that, we left anyway as the children were all exhausted. They weren’t the only ones. I did smile to myself when I go up as there was a mass scramble for our table that resembled a rugby scrum.  Next time I think we’ll go to the park.