Note left at Balmoral Beach picnic table is ‘the dictionary example of entitlement’

A simple note on a picnic table has ignited outrage, with locals furious over what has been labelled “the dictionary example of entitlement”.

A simple note on a picnic table has ignited outrage in one Sydney community, with locals furious over what has been labelled “the dictionary example of entitlement”.

Over the unusually hot weekend, Sydneysiders flocked to beaches and parks to enjoy the first days of an early spring.

But one Balmoral Beach visitor was met with a surprising sight: a handwritten sign taped to a picnic table that read, “Reserved 31/8 from 1pm.”

The message, taped onto not one but two tables in the area, lit a fire under Sydney beachgoers after it was posted online. One local took to a community Facebook group to share their disbelief, posting a photo of the sign with the caption, “Really? Love to know where you place the official booking. Both tables ‘reserved.’”

Reserving a picnic table at Balmoral Beach through Mosman Council or any other means is not allowed.

The message, taped onto not one but two tables in the area, lit a fire under Sydney beachgoers after it was posted online.

Locals have fired up over the brazen act of ‘entitlement’.

One commenter said the brazen move was downright “unacceptable”.

“That photo should be the dictionary example of entitlement,” they wrote.

“Yeah, nah. Can’t reserve public tables. You want it, put the effort in and sit there the whole day from 8am,” another chimed in.

“Pretty sure the English did the same about 240 years ago but they used a flag, cannons, and muskets,” one other wrote.

Local man “Jimbo” was so fed up with entitled Sydneysiders that he rang into Ben Fordham’s 2GB program to vent.

“I will try not to swear but I am pretty wound up by this,” he said.

“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 called it “an affront” to fairness, democracy, and decency.

While a few people argued that if the tables were being reserved for a wedding or a “super important event,” they could let it slide, others found fault with the lack of politeness, pointing out that the sign didn’t even include a “thank you”.

Originally published as Note left at Balmoral Beach picnic table is ‘the dictionary example of entitlement’