Center Parcs tries to evict guests out of respect
The single greatest PR disaster of the mourning period surely belongs to Center Parcs. The company initially said guests in the middle of their holiday would have to spend the night of the funeral elsewhere or go home early as it was shutting down on that day. It was accused of ruining people’s holidays. One response that went viral on social media said: “Good luck removing guests from the parks. You’ve trained them in archery, shooting, swimming, canoeing and swinging through trees like apes. You’ve basically got five village-loads of ninjas to clear out.” The company eventually reversed the decision.
British Cycling says don’t cycle
Also making a U-turn, which is quite difficult on two wheels, was British Cycling. The governing body for the sport initially issued advice that nobody should use their bicycles on the day of the Queen’s funeral out of respect. After howls of protest, it has softened its stance on whether people should use their bikes at all, but is still insisting that on Monday’s bank holiday people should refrain from “cycle sport events, club rides, coaching sessions and community programmes.”
Norwich city council says don’t park your bike
Cyclists were also mystified in Norwich when a sign went up saying “Advance warning. Royal period of mourning. This cycle rack will be closed from Friday 9 September until Wednesday 23 September” – with no other context. A spokesperson from the council later said it was because the rack was near the location where floral tributes were being left, and the sign was changed to specify that, still without really explaining why it would be disrespectful to park bikes near the flowers.