I’ve mentioned before how the car parks in West Bridgford seem to attract people with all the social conscience of a dog on a croquet lawn. If it’s not old people blocking the entire car park whilst waiting by the entrance (in the Nursery Car Park) to avoid having to actually park and buy a ticket, it’s women waiting for someone to vacate a space near to the pedestrian exit instead of driving around the other side to where all the empty spaces are. And don’t get me started on women with children who – when there is a queue for the ticket machine – lift their 4-year old darling up to put the money in (in small change) and press the button. It’s like a day out for some of them.
I went in mid-afternoon a couple of days ago to go to the bank. There was only one free space, and this was it. In the bay the other side was a Porsche – he was parked properly, but Porsches are quite wide, so he came close to the line. The idiot in the green Focus (reg. no. FG04 KJK) had left their car like this with people queuing to get in!
Now, I could have just squeezed into the space. But then I would have had to get out without my door hitting the Porsche (if I parked forwards) or this clown’s car if I reversed. And then there was the likelihood of this idiot having kids who would gladly fling the door into the side of my car (or maybe mummy just do it herself out of spite). Whoever was driving couldn’t possibly have got into their car if I’d have parked next to them.
There was a ticket inspector doing the rounds. They used to take photos of this sort of thing and issue penalty charges. I hope they still do.
Fortunately, as I drove round the back to leave someone left at that precise moment and I managed to get a place. When I came back I watched an old woman drive partially into and out of another space at least four times while traffic queued out of the entrance. Some days it’s like a geriatric Day Of The Dead movie in that car park.