Four words on a piece of paper send community into a fury

Four words on a humble piece of paper has raised a furore in one local community, with many spitting fire at what’s been called “the dictionary example of entitlement”.
It was sunny and warm in Sydney over the weekend, with many locals flocking to their local beaches and parks to take advantage of the weather.
One such person went to Balmoral Beach in the Northern Beaches, but when they went to sit down at a picnic table, a sign taped to the wood with masking tape stopped them in their tracks.
Watch the video above.
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It read: “Reserved 31/8 from 1pm.”
One local took to a community Facebook group to vocalise their displeasure, noting the message had been taped to not just one table, but the second one in the area as well.
“Really? Love to know where you place the official booking. Both tables ‘reserved’,” they wrote alongside a photo of the offence.
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9honey understands that officially reserving a picnic table, through Mosman Council or otherwise, at Balmoral Beach is not possible.
Naturally, commenters lashed the move as “unacceptable”, with one person writing: “That photo should be the dictionary example of entitlement.”
Another said: “Yeah, nah. Can’t reserve public tables. You want it, put the effort in and sit there the whole day from 8am.”
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“Pretty sure the English did the same about 240 years ago but they used a flag, cannons and muskets,” another person wrote.
Local ‘Jimbo’ rang into Ben Fordham Live! on 2GB this morning to lash the move, telling Fordham: “I will try not to swear but I am pretty wound up by this.”
“This is supposed to be a public park in Sydney. Imagine you stroll up to a park, you’re expecting to enjoy the democratic pleasure of a picnic on one of the taxpayer-funded tables, and you get there, and there’s this sign,” he continued.
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Jimbo concluded: “It’s an affront, I think, on fairness, democracy and good old-fashioned decency.”
Some locals, however, said if it was for a wedding or “super important event” they’d “let them go for it”, but others highlighted how there wasn’t even a “thank you” included on the sigh.
One person, however, had a simple solution should they encounter this again: “Put a tablecloth over that 😅😅😅”.
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