28/07/2010
Dear Nico,
A couple of summers ago the Chug and I motored down to Port Isaac, a charming fishing village in North Cornwall. We explored the coast path and found some lovely beaches where the Chug worked his little legs off chasing seagulls, crabs and the occasional Rottweiler, and in the evenings we found some canine-friendly pubs in which to refresh ourselves. Access is restricted in the village so we dutifully parked in a large car park up a hill outside the village. Our nautically themed B&B was beguiling in it's originality but the breakfast experience was marred by having to slog up the hill every morning to feed the meter before 9am. One morning, possibly due to post prandial over-refreshment, we overslept and were fifteen minutes late. Yes, we got a ticket... the Chug was positively fuming and we vowed never, ever to return.
Nearer home, the summer holiday season is with us again and while negotiating the promenade the Chug and I see many a bemused holidaymaker trying to deduce why they have been given the opportunity to make a parking tax donation. I'm local and even I cannot make sense of Shore Road parking. As a driver, I've never been obstructed by anyone parking anywhere along there... but that's a lie! There was one occasion when a moron parked a not-so-Smart car at right angles to the kerb. As every resident knows, the two places where parked vehicles obstruct and inconvenience us are outside the Emmanuelle (oh yes!) Church opposite Jewsons, and in Victoria Avenue opposite Andy Kirkwood's Pitt & Putch. And guess what... parking is allowed there. OK, so who left the gates of the asylum open? And anyone running a business in Swanage - what's the lesson here?
The Chug has asked me to add for good measure that - sorry folks, but that neat little spot next to the monument, opposite Arkwrights top of Church Hill is a little gem of a natural parking slot and should be encouraged. Nobody parking there ever inconvenienced me and I used to visit Church Hill regularly - day & night - for reasons of, er, a romantic nature. Enough said.
David