Playground for Seniors

London's first dedicated "pensioners playground" is set to open in Hyde Park after being given the go ahead by Westminster City Council.

The £40,000 playground will feature fitness equipment designed specifically to provide gentle exercise for people over the age of 60.

The playground will be signposted Hyde Park Senior Playground, although under-60s will not be banned

Play areas for older people are already popular in China and parts of Europe.

Healthy lifestyles

Located in the park's pavilion tennis and bowls centre, the playground is intended to help adults continue active and healthy lifestyles in later years.

It will contain six pieces of equipment will offer users a balance of exercises to work the arms, legs and upper body.

Once complete, it will include a cross-trainer, body-flexer, free runner, sit-up bench, flex wheel and a bike to improve strength balance and flexibility.

The idea was proposed by the Knightsbridge Association, a local residents' association, and will be funded by Westminster City Council.

"In the United Kingdom there are now more pensioners than children but few facilities for them in our parks," said Madeline Elsdon, from the Knightsbridge Association.

"We proposed the playground because many older people find indoor gyms intimidating and expensive and therefore aren't exercising enough."

Westminster councillor Lee Rowley said: "Exercise isn't just for young people - older residents should have the opportunity to get fit and active as well. "

The first pensioner's playground in UK opened in Manchester in 2008.

Work on the Westminster playground was due to start next month and was expected to open in spring.

Barry

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Big Ben to show election results

For those of you who did not know, and by that I mean Americans, the UK is currently leading up to a general election on May 6th. The BBC have announced that the results of the general election are to be projected on to St Stephen's Tower, which houses Big Ben, for the first time, by the BBC. (Big ben is actaully the name of the bell in the tower not the tower itself)

The number of seats won by the three largest Westminster parties will be updated over the course of the night.

The images, illustrating the state of the parties, will be beamed from the moment the first result is declared until about 0530 BST the next morning.

The BBC said it was "delighted" with the initiative.

With four days of campaigning left, the latest opinion polls suggest the election remains finely balanced and that a hung parliament - where no party has an overall majority - remains a possibility.

'Historic'

The idea behind projecting the results is to provide a clear and simple source of information and an arresting image.

The projections, which will not carry BBC branding, will be beamed onto the side of St Stephen's Tower, at the Houses of Parliament, which houses the world-famous bell known as Big Ben.

They will provide a running tally of the number of seats won by Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, along with those gained by the smaller parties and independents combined.

In the minutes after polls close on 6 May, the details of an exit poll conducted by NOP/Mori will be beamed onto Big Ben, under an agreement between the BBC, ITN and Sky News.

The results projection, which will be removed after dawn on 7 May, will feature a "winning line", representing the 326 seats that any party will need to win to be sure of an outright victory.

The idea was approved by the parliamentary authorities, responsible for the management of its buildings.

"This is an historic election," said Craig Oliver, editor of the BBC's Election Night programme.

"We're delighted Parliament is joining with the BBC to project the results onto Big Ben for the first time ever."

Barry Eva (Storyheart)

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