Man in playground with a laptop Post Reply

[Mummypenguin]

Just a word of caution... I was in the playground on Clapham common at the top of battersea rise, this morning with my daughters and there was a guy sitting on the bench with a laptop. He had no children with him. May have been completely harmless, but its a strange place to sit and work on a Monday morning. There are plenty of other benches on Clapham common! There were only a few of us there and a couple of other parents had noticed him and thought it odd. He got up and left as we all started putting little ones back in pushchairs to leave.
I called the police to report it when I got home and I just wanted to warn other mums and nannies to keep an eye out, just in case.

[Jen66]

You called the police?

Good lord. Poor guy.

[csml]

I find it really sad that you cant sit on Clapham Common near a playground without being accused of being "odd" (i.e. a paedophile.)

(what is the relevance of the laptop by the way? - pretty much everyone has a laptop)

Madness.

[jon_events]

More related to actual danger, rather than perceived danger, I've got this petition running asking support to run a pilot/trial on Windmill Drive / Nightingale Walk.

In running a pilot where there can no longer be through motor traffic on Windmill Drive will I believe make the common safer for everyone.

http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/b ... residents/

Do hope you can support it.

[WannaBe]

I think he was IN the actual playground, if I understood the OP right.

[Mummypenguin]

He was IN the playground, which is entirely fenced off. There is no reason to be there if you aren't with children. As I said, it could have been completely harmless, but (it is sad, i know) people should be a little bit careful where they choose to sit, so as not to worry parents by looking like they might be filming their children on a laptop.

[Beketaten]

You don't need a reason to be in a public place. It's a free country.

[Denwand]

If I was attending a customer meeting I would often get there early and review information or tweek my presentation on my laptop.

I often chose a park bench for a bit of peace and quiet - but I didn't want it TOO quiet in case some nasty mugger should approach me from behind,deep in concentration, and walk off with a free laptop!

Hence I could see that a playground would be ideal with a few parents around and no chance of being 'cornered' .

I don't know if that was the reason that chap was there but it seems the likeliest explanation to me.

[NorthcoteLuvvie]

I think EVERYONE is right

A single man on his own in a playground is a bit dodgy, not massively so but it would cause a few raised eyebrows.

Likewise if you're early for a meeting and want to sit down in the open air and enjoy the Common then the nearest park bench (which happens to be in a park) is also absolutely fine.

I don't think anyone needs to be given a hard time for suggesting it might be an issue OR for actually being in the playground

[Helgibbs]

I probably would have sat down next to him to see what her was doing.... if all innocent he would have carried on, or if anything dodgy he might have given up and moved on?

x

[PalmerPhotography]

I think the same as Denwand - if you're working outside on a laptop, the fenced off area is the safest place to be because it makes it more difficult to snatch and run.

As a mum, I obviously share the same concerns as any mum, but as a photographer, I can tell you with almost 100% certainty that the people to worry about aren't the ones who are sitting with a laptop on display, or a huge professional camera around their neck - it is the one with a tiny, hidden camera poking out of a pocket, or filming on their mobile phone. For a start, most laptops are fitted with cameras which face towards the user - so the only person he could have been filming was himself.

I honestly wouldn't worry - he just sounds like someone who was so preoccupied in his own work that he didn't really think about his actions resulting in him being thought of as strange. He probably just wanted to protect his property. If a lone man had been sat there, holding his phone out in front of him, looking completely engrossed in texting, I'd be concerned that he was actually using a forward facing camera...but even then, I might be wrong.

[dkm]

This forum turns into an even worse than normal edition of the Daily Mail by the day!! Try and work on the assumption that 99.9% of the people in this world are GOOD PEOPLE and stop publicly flogging them!

[ordinarygirl09]

Who chooses to sit in a playground without kids...!? Odd....

[ordinarygirl09]

P.S. I am not a Daily Mail reader and never have been....

[Jen66]

It's not odd at all!!