To reserve the entire park benches?

[anyplate]

I took my children to the park today and packed up a picnic, it was a woodland area with apparatus and was a short drive away.
When we arrived we headed straight to the park and thought we’d eat our picnic but every single bench had a “polite notice”
bench is reserved for children’s birthday party
don’t be that person.

There was about five benches and no one around so I got a blanket out of the car and sat on it and we had our picnic.
We stayed at the park over an hour and in that time many cross looking people went to sit down and saw the note and didn’t but there was no children’s party in the hour or so we were there.
Were they not completely unreasonable reserving every single bench for an unknown amount of time so nobody else could use it just so they were free for when they wanted?
We could have sat there eaten our lunch and gone without it affecting any party.

Are You sure it wasn't a practical joke? Were there any cameras around?

YABU for not removing the sign and taking a table. People do this because they get away with it.

I'd have removed all the benches....or would that have been an over reaction?!

Depends if they really are reservable. We have reserve whole sections of our town park if you email the council office. It’s not technically advertised that you can do it but you can. Just like the public lido can be hired in it’s entirety if you again email the council but again it’s not advertised on their webpage so public arrive and find it’s closed for a private event.

If you really cannot reserve them then you should have just sat at one.

One of the many things that irritate me irrationally are notices that start with the words "polite notice".

Fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our benches!!!

Yeah I'd have removed the sign, at least on the bench I wanted to sit on. I also insist that people move their bags off seats when I want to sit on a crowded bus or train.

Id have sat down and eaten my picnic at a table.
Public park, public bench, first come first served.
If it were that important they would have sent people ahead.
This is a hilariously British thread!

I could swear I read this exact post a few years ago

CFers! I’d have ignored them!

Hello fellow Braveheart fan.😂

Totally unreasonable and I anticipate they are the same type of people who think the bit of public road outside their house that they don’t own is ‘their’ parking space.

If there was no sign of the party, I would use a bench, at least until the party started.

Then again, I don't understand how people can reserve sun loungers for a whole day just by leaving their towels on them. Why don't people just remove the towels and leave them in a neat pile nearby?

I’d have totally moved the sign and sat on the bench.

You can't reserve a public park bench...

Unless there's a legitimate system for reservations in this particular park, you should have just used the benches. There's no need to have a confrontation. If someone had complained you just say it's a public space and we are members of the public just like you.
Where I live you can reserve a park for a party online (to ensure that there is only one at a time) but you have to bring your own table.

I'd have had to sit on one of the benches on principal.

You can't reserve a public place. The notices could be safely ignored.

Sounds like a prank to me

Nice try. The only means of reserving a bench in a public park is an arse - or several arses if we're talking about the entire bench - sitting on it.

I'm imagining people watching through binoculars, conducting a social experiment to see how people react to such an obviously unreasonable situation.

I would have sat on the bench and moved when they turned up..

What does it even mean - don't be that person?

Yes, the 'don't be that person' raises my hackles and would make me want to remove all the signs! What an obnoxious phrase!

Since I had pneumonia twice in successive years, I get out of breath and energy, and really need to sit down!
I would have sat on the bench until I was able to move and no amount of silly, pointless and rather rude snotty message would have stopped me.
So fed up with peoples entitlement lately, makes me angry.