Families were enjoying the balmy weather, pushing buggies through the well-kept parks and streets. Most people looked relaxed, happy and healthy, as indeed they should: Norway regularly comes top in the UN's global Human Development Index.
Norway is also one of the last bastions of social democracy in Europe. It still has a Labour government, unlike its neighbours. While the Norwegian Prime Minister spoke about full employment, economic growth and the importance of childcare, across the sea in Denmark, his counterpart was announcing the end of free movement in and out of his country from the rest of Europe.
Immigration divides Scandinavians, but the Nordic peoples remain united on policies for children. These are the most family-friendly countries on earth, with free or affordable childcare, generous parental leave, and excellent comprehensive schooling. Child poverty is low and child wellbeing is high.
I was still basking in the glow of this family-friendly nirvana (and stung at the prices: Norwegian prosperity does not come cheap!) when I scanned through the newspapers after arriving home. There I saw that Wandsworth council was planning to charge for the weekend use of Battersea Adventure Playground. The disjunction with Scandinavia could not have been more stark: on the one hand, countries that provide universal services for children, in order that they grow up happy and healthy, with relatively equal chances in life; on the other, a fee charging proposal so that parents' ability to pay determines whether children can play in public parks.
It's not the details of the Wandsworth plan that offends so much as what it tells you about these basic issues of principle. Playgrounds provide a space - in the public, not private realm - where children can mix together, without distinction or division. They also uphold a basic value of community: that we care collectively about our children. Playgrounds offer a communal family life, access to which does not depend on the market.
So I don't much care whether Wandsworth can save a bit of money for local taxpayers by charging at weekends for the adventure playground. I don't much care if children from other boroughs use it. These are not reasons that can possibly weigh against the principles of equal worth and shared community that Wandsworth's plans violate. The sooner they are ditched, the better.
