The local piscina natural is now active for the summer and new signs have been painted and displayed. This is one that has escaped the graffiti artists so far:
Some of my pedantic readers will realise quickly enough why I am not impressed.
My first reaction to the phrase “prohibido entrar en este recinto” was that they’d suddenly made the place off limits. Then I read on and realised that it was “dogs and other animals” that should not be “entered” into the area.
OK. I don’t like that phrasing, but I suppose it’s valid to say:
The following must not be brought into the area:
dogs and other animals
And then you can also put:
bikes and vehicles
But how you’re supposed to parse:
playing ball on the grass eating and setting up tables on the grass
as part of the same list, I’m not sure. I would feel much happier about the grammar of it all if they simply omitted the word “entrar”.
It isn’t only a question of grammar, though. The phrase, “zona de ocio y descanso” at the start of the list bothers me.
“Ocio”: leisure, relaxation, enjoyment. And immediately it’s followed by a list of thou-shalt-nots.
Playing with my pets, eating and drinking, playing ball, riding my bike… these are all things I might reasonably want to do as leisure activities. And yet they are all prohibited in this zona de ocio. And the denying of these activities drew my attention to the link between ocio: leisure and negocio: business.
I understand you can’t take dogs or vehicles into the area as they may be dirty or disturb other visitors. And playing ball in a crowded place is also likely to cause problems. But I suspect the main reason for forbidding picnics is because there’s an official merendero just behind the grass area: a kiosk serving food and drinks. As is typical of these places in Spain, they have an area where you are allowed to eat your own food (“se admiten comidas”), but if you want to drink anything, you must buy it at the bar (“no se admiten bebidas”).
Quite clearly, this zona de ocio is also una zona de negocio.
don't confuse the narrator 