As I was situated close to the bouncy castle and inflatable slide, I was in a position to see hundreds of young children enjoying themselves.

The park was very full with people sitting everywhere, the queues for food were long (although not at 1:30pm when I ate), the music was not loud (which meant they were able to have two stages for people to enjoy different music in different parts of the park). I heard two annoucements of lost children through the whole afternoon - which is probably to be expected.

The Horniman can just about manage with 20,000 people (if that is how many people were there). If the event were to get much bigger it would need more space, either by spreading out the food stalls closer to London Road and into Horniman Triangle or by deserting Forest Hill.

How does Blackheath handle 80,000 people for the fireworks? Simple, they close off the roads and tell people to travel by train. Does that upset the locals or are arrangements made for them? I don't know.

Parking could be handled better, with a special bus from Savacentre, Perry Vale car park, Girton Road in Sydenham and Manor Mount. All of which are free car parks on a Sunday. My theory is that sensible parking provision could be provided and working with the police and TfL arrangements could be made to keep traffic flowing and to avoid illegal parking. This could be coupled with clear instructions to attendees to walk or use public transport.

Police should also be consulted regarding best practise if the event became too full.

But I would still hope to keep the Jerk Cookout in Forest Hill if possible. Personally I have faith that if they are involved properly that this can be a great event for Forest Hill and bring more people to our park, museum, swimming pool, and town centre all through the year.
Couldn't we try it once more, with the police and TfL cooperating, before chasing them out of the area?