Herts, Not Beds.


The strangest thing I saw whilst taking part in a charity dog walk in Stevenage today was two people carrying a full-size double mattress through Fairlands Valley Park.

(I was ‘with dog’, by the way, and not in place of one.)

It was an unusual sight for such a rural location. They appeared to be taking the idea of relaxing by the lake to the extreme. Any comfort they’d feel would soon be negated by lugging the mattress back to the car afterwards. Perhaps they were planning a spot of high-class dogging. If so, they had no hope of a quick getaway.

If they were just carrying it home, it makes the situation even stranger. Wherever they were headed, it’s an unusual route to take. Fairlands Valley Park consists of 120 acres of parkland, about a mile and a half across. That’s hardly a shortcut. Even if it is, what seems a good idea at first would soon tire your arms as you crossed it. Was there really no better place to park? 

They weren't inconspicuous. Watching two people hoist a mattress isn’t subtle at the best of times; least of all to a nature reserve backdrop. I’d also question their technique: why lift it overhead?

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