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上一篇帶大家遊覽了我交流生活了半年的英國城市！你以為是劍橋、曼徹斯特等大城市嗎？才不是呢！那是擁有「英國後花園」美譽的肯郡的城市——坎特伯里！上一篇為大家簡介古城歷史，帶大家看了大教堂、西門，這次繼續帶大家參觀其他歷史遺跡。跟我走吧~~ (第 1 篇：「英國後花園」之城——坎特伯里的交流生活)

In the last blog, we visited the city of the United Kingdom where I spent my half-year exchange life there! Thought it was a big city like Cambridge or Manchester ? NO way! It’s in the Kent County - ‘the Backyard of the United Kingdom’. That’s Canterbury! Last time I introduced the history of this ancient city and showed you the Canterbury Cathedral and Westgate. Here we’ll continue our journey to other historical sites. Follow me ~~ (1st Blog: Exchange Life in 'the Backyard of the UK' - Canterbury)

參觀坎特伯里大教堂後，到比較僻靜的民居散步，遠離喧囂。每戶人家都把代步的車輛停泊在門前，街道井然有序。

After the visit to Canterbury Cathedral, I strolled in the neighborhood nearby, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city center. All neighbors parked their cars in front of the doors, nice and neat were the streets.

偶爾看到配色很美的房屋，簡潔和諧。

Stumbled across houses in perfect colour tones, simple and clean.

這裡別有洞天，走著竟然碰到一個很美的公園！原來是西門花園的其一部分。

Happened to discover a beautiful and peaceful garden! Indeed it’s part of the Westgate Gardens.

耳邊傳來遠處遊人嬉戲的歡笑聲，看到有些成群結隊的踢球，有些悠遊自得的談笑風生，有些沿著林蔭小徑漫步，甚是快活。

Heard the laughters of people having fun from far away. Could see some of them playing football in groups, some others happily chitchatting with buddies and some strolling along paths being lined with trees, what a pleasure.

壁上的繪畫也是別出心裁的設計，為這個公園錦上添花。

Drawings on the wall were artistic and special, beautifying the garden in every sense.

這個地方叫Toddler's Cove Playground，是西門花園的一部分，一樣被河道Great Stour貫穿。

This place is called ‘Toddler's Cove Playground’, part of the Westgate Gardens, also being intersected by the Great Stour.

發現到這個宜人的假日好去處真是令我心曠神怡！最喜歡和大自然約會。很難得在英國一個城市已有幾個偌大的「真」草地公園，想起香港的情況，真是天壤之別！想在香港找到一個不聞車水馬龍聲、可以踐踏草地、寵物共融的公園也不是易事！但在這裡，夢想成真了！

It lifted my mood to discover this amazing place to go on holidays! Love dating with the nature. Felt delighted with the fact that a few spacious gardens LITERALLY with grassland can easily be found simply in a UK’s city. Such a big contrast when compared with Hong Kong’s context! It’s not easy to find a garden in Hong Kong far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, with ‘real’ grass to step on, and being welcoming to pets. But my dream came true here!

已非第一次看到男女通用的公廁，滿足性別多樣化的社會需要。

Not the first time seeing ‘unisex’ washrooms. Helps satisfy social needs of gender diversity.

最令我驚奇的是這裡的兒童遊樂場的設計。之前曾在一間非政府機構推廣兒童玩樂的權利，提倡兒童「自由」、「自主」和「自發」的玩樂，促進他們的全人發展。我學習到一個遊樂場的設計需要配合不同年齡層和能力的兒童的需要，趣味性和挑戰性缺一不可，也要顧及安全問題，共融元素也要考慮。

To my surprise, the design of the children’s playground was astonishing. Had worked in a non-governmental organization promoting children’s right to play before, helped advocate children’s ‘free’, ‘self-directed’, and ‘self-initiated’ play, and promote their holistic development. Have learnt that a playground’s design needs to satisfy needs of children of different ages and capabilities. Fun and challenging elements are necessary. Safety concerns and inclusion elements also need to be considered.

這個遊樂場主要以木材建成。香港大部遊樂場設施以塑膠為主，略為遜色。不過這也跟外國天然資源較豐富有關，實在難以比較。

This playground is built of wood mainly. Facilities of playgrounds in Hong Kong are mostly made of plastics and less attractive comparatively. The difference is possibly explained by the richness of natural resources in foreign countries and thus reasonable.

↓香港的遊樂場Hong Kong's playgrounds

香港的一般會在使用範圍上減震的安全地墊，減低兒童受傷的風險。這裡我只看到部分區域有軟的網墊或是利用廢料 (?) 鋪成的地墊。

Safety mats are commonly paved in users’ area as shock absorbers in Hong Kong’s playgrounds, to reduce children’s risks of getting hurt. I could only see soft net mats or waste-materials-paved mats (?) in certain areas.

↓香港遊樂場的軟墊 Safety mats used in Hong Kong's playgrounds

而且設計者似乎沒有為了避免意外而把整個場地夷為平地，反而配合地形，保留部分高地 (也有可能是特地建造)，好像一個小山丘，給予兒童更多元化的感官經驗和玩樂體驗。其實兒童喜歡玩具挑戰性的遊戲，是因為冒險是人的天性。

In addition, the designers apparently prefer not to flatten the ground to avoid accidents, but instead coordinate their designs with the relief, reserve part of the highlands (possible to be specially designed), like a little hill. It actually provides more diverse sensory and play experiences to children. In fact, children love playing challenging games because taking risks is an inborn human nature.

遊樂設施的設計也不乏新穎的元素，很多是香港沒有的，單是看到「樓梯通道」的設計有繩網的、斜道的、吊索橋的，就覺得很吸引哈哈！連大人都覺得好玩，更遑論小孩？

Design of the play facilities are original and innovative, not commonly found in Hong Kong. Attracted by the interesting designs of the stairway - net, slope and sling bridge! Adults feel it’s fun, let alone children.

別小看這些「小房子」，看似不實際的陪襯品，卻實是孩子們的「幻想孵化器」。在孩子的異想世界中，這裡說不定會成為「女巫的糖果屋」、「聖誕老人村」，甚或是「特種部隊的基地」！！怎麼我也不期然聯想到三隻小豬的童話故事？「從前有三隻小豬，它們分別住在。。。」

Don’t underrate these ‘huts’, look impractical as decorations, but are actually ‘incubators of fantasy’ of children. In children’s imaginative world, they may become ‘the Candy House of a Witch’, ‘the Santa Claus Village’, or even ‘a Base of Special Forces’ !! How come I can’t help associating them with the fairy tale of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ ? ‘Once upon a time there were three little pigs, they live in...’

我最喜歡這個貌似「蹺蹺板」的設施，簡單卻特別，簡單在於設計和配件，特別在於新穎的構思，樂趣無窮，可以有很多玩法，例如加入故事創作元素，而且對大人也「共融」。

I like this 'seesaw-like' facility most. Simple but special: the former implies its design and equipment needed, the latter refers to the novel idea. Interesting and fun. Can be played in various ways, for example, adding the element of story creation. Inclusive to adults also.

往往簡單、不花巧的玩具有高「遊戲價值」，皆因玩樂變化大。舉例說，一個玩具電話遠不及一個廁紙筒的玩樂變化大。

Quite often simple toys possess high ‘play value’, owing to its great variations in play. Say for an example, more variations can be generated from playing with toilet paper rolls than with a toy telephone.

坎特伯里帶給你心曠神怡的感覺嗎？多謝大家用心看我的文章！可以看我上一篇的遊記喔。很快出第三篇！謝謝支持！請Upvote 和 resteem吧！

Does Canterbury give you a pleasant and relaxing feel? Thank you for reading my blog with patience! You may read my previous one. The third post is coming soon! Thank you for your support! Please upvote and resteem!