>Last year, Ernest Theophile, a 73-year-old black man who regularly plays dominoes with other locals in the area, was summoned to court by the council and accused of being too noisy and causing a disturbance.
>
>This resulted in the council initially being granted a special injunction that banned social gatherings. Although the injunction was overturned shortly afterwards, Theophile and his friends could still face jail if they breach a court order by “playing loud amplified music, drinking alcohol and shouting and swearing”.
>
>“The square is very important to me. I come here virtually seven days a week,” said Theophile. “I’ve grown up there all my life so I don’t know any other. To me, it’s like home away from home.”
>
>For Theophile, the square is a haven for older people, mainly from a West Indian and minority ethnic background, to find company and spend time with likeminded folk. According to Theophile, they do not engage in antisocial behaviour such as drinking, shouting or swearing. Rather the main purpose of their gatherings is to play dominoes with one another, a culturally significant pastime in the West Indian community.
The people prosecuting really need to have there heads checked out. Imagine they would equally do you if your infant suffers teething problems in the park.
People are enjoying themselves, how dare they 🙄
>Westminster council spokesperson said: “Claims that Westminster city council has banned anyone in the square from playing dominos and backgammon are untrue.
>“The order applies to amplified noise and assorted antisocial and illegal activities, such as urinating and drug dealing, that the local community has seen taking place in and around the local area.
On one hand the UK really has a problem with stifling and controlling public spaces, and not allowing people who live in the area to use the space (often not being allowed to use the space at all).
But on the other hand they are using an older man as the poster boy for the challenge when the issue is the problems that others are causing in the area
>The square became a haven for the group during the pandemic when he and other ‘lonely’ retirees consoled each other.
>
>But Mr Theophile says killjoy council officers are trying to stop them enjoying themselves following complaints from other locals.
>
Westminster Council initially pushed to drive them out of the square early last year by securing an injunction banning social gatherings.
>
>But in March last year a judge tweaked the order, allowing them back into the square but under the threat of being jailed if they are caught ‘playing loud amplified music, drinking alcohol and shouting and swearing’.
>
>The local authority previously said it had received over 200 complaints from residents over alleged anti-social behaviour, with one resident claiming they moved home due to the noise.
>
>Mr Theophile and his lawyers are now fighting the order, calling it ‘crazy’ and claiming it amounts to racial ‘discrimination’.
>
>The complaints are centred on the noise involved in playing dominoes, which is traditionally a source of passionate frustration and joy in Caribbean culture.
>
>‘If you are West Indian you just can’t play dominoes without making a bit of noise,’ said Mr Theophile, whose family came to the UK in the 1950s as part of the Windrush generation.
>
>His barrister Tim James-Matthews said the court order ‘is likely to be indirectly discriminatory’.
>
>‘Although apparently “neutral” in application, the majority of those whose behaviour is constrained by force of the injunction, share a protected characteristic: race,’ he told Central London county court.
>
>He said council officers should have carefully considered whether they were ‘advancing equality’ under their public law duties before calling for an injunction.
>
>‘An injunction restraining the activities of a minority of black people in a public square where there is a theoretical power of arrest and sanction of imprisonment is indirectly discriminatory,’ he added.
>
>([Metro](https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/05/london-black-pensioner-threatened-with-jail-for-playing-dominoes-too-loudly-16593060/))
It should not need to be pointed out that children tend to scream a lot when playing. So It ain’t difficult to see how differently these old folk are being treated.
I often find chess players in Holland park to be a noisy lot too.
What’s actually happening here is pressure from some of the richest people in the country gradually encroaching on some of the last few pockets of space for poor people in the area.
As you can imagine, Westminster council has traditionally favoured its richer denizens. Maybe with recent results that may change.
6 comments
>Last year, Ernest Theophile, a 73-year-old black man who regularly plays dominoes with other locals in the area, was summoned to court by the council and accused of being too noisy and causing a disturbance.
>
>This resulted in the council initially being granted a special injunction that banned social gatherings. Although the injunction was overturned shortly afterwards, Theophile and his friends could still face jail if they breach a court order by “playing loud amplified music, drinking alcohol and shouting and swearing”.
>
>“The square is very important to me. I come here virtually seven days a week,” said Theophile. “I’ve grown up there all my life so I don’t know any other. To me, it’s like home away from home.”
>
>For Theophile, the square is a haven for older people, mainly from a West Indian and minority ethnic background, to find company and spend time with likeminded folk. According to Theophile, they do not engage in antisocial behaviour such as drinking, shouting or swearing. Rather the main purpose of their gatherings is to play dominoes with one another, a culturally significant pastime in the West Indian community.
The people prosecuting really need to have there heads checked out. Imagine they would equally do you if your infant suffers teething problems in the park.
People are enjoying themselves, how dare they 🙄
>Westminster council spokesperson said: “Claims that Westminster city council has banned anyone in the square from playing dominos and backgammon are untrue.
>“The order applies to amplified noise and assorted antisocial and illegal activities, such as urinating and drug dealing, that the local community has seen taking place in and around the local area.
On one hand the UK really has a problem with stifling and controlling public spaces, and not allowing people who live in the area to use the space (often not being allowed to use the space at all).
But on the other hand they are using an older man as the poster boy for the challenge when the issue is the problems that others are causing in the area
>The square became a haven for the group during the pandemic when he and other ‘lonely’ retirees consoled each other.
>
>But Mr Theophile says killjoy council officers are trying to stop them enjoying themselves following complaints from other locals.
>
Westminster Council initially pushed to drive them out of the square early last year by securing an injunction banning social gatherings.
>
>But in March last year a judge tweaked the order, allowing them back into the square but under the threat of being jailed if they are caught ‘playing loud amplified music, drinking alcohol and shouting and swearing’.
>
>The local authority previously said it had received over 200 complaints from residents over alleged anti-social behaviour, with one resident claiming they moved home due to the noise.
>
>Mr Theophile and his lawyers are now fighting the order, calling it ‘crazy’ and claiming it amounts to racial ‘discrimination’.
>
>The complaints are centred on the noise involved in playing dominoes, which is traditionally a source of passionate frustration and joy in Caribbean culture.
>
>‘If you are West Indian you just can’t play dominoes without making a bit of noise,’ said Mr Theophile, whose family came to the UK in the 1950s as part of the Windrush generation.
>
>His barrister Tim James-Matthews said the court order ‘is likely to be indirectly discriminatory’.
>
>‘Although apparently “neutral” in application, the majority of those whose behaviour is constrained by force of the injunction, share a protected characteristic: race,’ he told Central London county court.
>
>He said council officers should have carefully considered whether they were ‘advancing equality’ under their public law duties before calling for an injunction.
>
>‘An injunction restraining the activities of a minority of black people in a public square where there is a theoretical power of arrest and sanction of imprisonment is indirectly discriminatory,’ he added.
>
>([Metro](https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/05/london-black-pensioner-threatened-with-jail-for-playing-dominoes-too-loudly-16593060/))
It should not need to be pointed out that children tend to scream a lot when playing. So It ain’t difficult to see how differently these old folk are being treated.
I often find chess players in Holland park to be a noisy lot too.
–
^^^edit: ^^^’scream’ ^^^was ^^^embarrassingly ^^^bare ^^^one ^^^letter.
[removed]
I know this area well.
What’s actually happening here is pressure from some of the richest people in the country gradually encroaching on some of the last few pockets of space for poor people in the area.
As you can imagine, Westminster council has traditionally favoured its richer denizens. Maybe with recent results that may change.