I'm back!
Well a fantastic Christmas was had. If you care about what we got up to, it can be read about here.
So what has happened in the world? Saddam was hung, which is a good thing. Hopefully we'll soon see George W Bush suffer the same fate for the death of 3,000 American soldiers and God knows how many Iraqis. Somehow doubt it'll happen...
Anyway, what I was going to write about was my Parking Rage. Well, more of a Parking Rate Rage. Due to various vouchers that were received as presents, we took a trip to Sutton to look in the sales (where you get to see the expensive presents you bought the week before at half the price). We were there for about 4 and a half hours in total. When we left, I stuck the car-park ticket in the machine, where it informed me that it expected payment to the sum of £5.50 before it was going to give it back again.
£5.50! I tried to reason with it, but it stuck to it's guns and demanded the full amount. There was a helpful laminated sheet stuck to the wall besides the Parking Tax Machine, which helpfully informed me that prices were going up. I can't remember what it used to be, but it wasn't this much. Something in the region of £3, I think. I remember Sundays used to be 50p but now they are a pound. I don't see how a doubling of prices is justified.
The problem now is that I am blatantly not going to cough up £5.50 to park my car for four hours, so what do I do? I can get a bus, shout the people with beards. Yes, and the bus stop is but a 30 second walk from my house where three different buses could convey me there. But, it costs more. £1.50 each there and then the same back will make it cost £6. Plus you can't load it up with shopping, nor nip back to the bus to deposit a heavy item that you don't want to carry around. Plus if it's raining then the bus driver will leave you getting soaked rather than letting a second pushchair on. Plus it's full of teenagers mugging people. People without cars will tell me I can get an Oyster card and pay 80p per trip, but I refuse to do this on principle. Firstly, I very very rarely use public transport, so the money I put onto the card is wasted as it does not earn interest for me. Secondly, you have to pay to get one in the first place, so what you are doing in a very real sense is paying Ken Livingstone for the privilege of lending him money interest-free. No thanks.
The other option is to walk. We do this quite a lot when the weather is more pleasant. But when it's cold and an 80mph wind is blowing, I'd rather not, thank you all the same.
So that leaves the hidden last option, which is to not go at all. We'll save money on parking, save money on buying things, and help to spoil the economy of Sutton because the stupid, selfish council wants to rip us off even more now that it's unfashionable to raise council tax by double-digit percentages. Of course I could go on Sundays only, but so will everyone else because they'll also want to avoid the huge rip-off it has become. Sundays always were cheaper, of course, but now the rest of the week is so bad it'll shift more people to become Sunday shoppers.
At least my local shops might see some benefit.
So what has happened in the world? Saddam was hung, which is a good thing. Hopefully we'll soon see George W Bush suffer the same fate for the death of 3,000 American soldiers and God knows how many Iraqis. Somehow doubt it'll happen...
Anyway, what I was going to write about was my Parking Rage. Well, more of a Parking Rate Rage. Due to various vouchers that were received as presents, we took a trip to Sutton to look in the sales (where you get to see the expensive presents you bought the week before at half the price). We were there for about 4 and a half hours in total. When we left, I stuck the car-park ticket in the machine, where it informed me that it expected payment to the sum of £5.50 before it was going to give it back again.
£5.50! I tried to reason with it, but it stuck to it's guns and demanded the full amount. There was a helpful laminated sheet stuck to the wall besides the Parking Tax Machine, which helpfully informed me that prices were going up. I can't remember what it used to be, but it wasn't this much. Something in the region of £3, I think. I remember Sundays used to be 50p but now they are a pound. I don't see how a doubling of prices is justified.
The problem now is that I am blatantly not going to cough up £5.50 to park my car for four hours, so what do I do? I can get a bus, shout the people with beards. Yes, and the bus stop is but a 30 second walk from my house where three different buses could convey me there. But, it costs more. £1.50 each there and then the same back will make it cost £6. Plus you can't load it up with shopping, nor nip back to the bus to deposit a heavy item that you don't want to carry around. Plus if it's raining then the bus driver will leave you getting soaked rather than letting a second pushchair on. Plus it's full of teenagers mugging people. People without cars will tell me I can get an Oyster card and pay 80p per trip, but I refuse to do this on principle. Firstly, I very very rarely use public transport, so the money I put onto the card is wasted as it does not earn interest for me. Secondly, you have to pay to get one in the first place, so what you are doing in a very real sense is paying Ken Livingstone for the privilege of lending him money interest-free. No thanks.
The other option is to walk. We do this quite a lot when the weather is more pleasant. But when it's cold and an 80mph wind is blowing, I'd rather not, thank you all the same.
So that leaves the hidden last option, which is to not go at all. We'll save money on parking, save money on buying things, and help to spoil the economy of Sutton because the stupid, selfish council wants to rip us off even more now that it's unfashionable to raise council tax by double-digit percentages. Of course I could go on Sundays only, but so will everyone else because they'll also want to avoid the huge rip-off it has become. Sundays always were cheaper, of course, but now the rest of the week is so bad it'll shift more people to become Sunday shoppers.
At least my local shops might see some benefit.
posted by Nej at
1:00 pm
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