I woke relatively early,
and after "Furry Face TM" ate most
of my breakfast over an episode of Reggie Perrin I dealt with my
credit card bill that came in yesterday. On the one hand I have a
garage bill of nearly five hundred quid I wasn't expecting. On the
other hand it looks like the round of drinks I bought on that card in
deepest Sussex a month ago hasn't gone through. I can remember
commenting at the time that I thought the chap behind the bar didn't
have a clue about what he was doing with the credit card machine. If
he's not done his bit right then the cost of that round of drinks
will never appear on my bill.
I'm not complaining.
I took my dog round the
park for a walk. We played "throw the ball and chase it and
chew it"; a far better description of what actually happens
than "fetch". Whilst we were out we encountered a
delightful young family. A small child was simulating an epileptic
fit in its push chair whilst the mother continually asked if said
small child would like a smack in the gorb. I couldn't help but
smile, and mother gave me a glare. We beat a hasty retreat in case I
got a smack in the "gorb".
Off to work. As I drove
there was an interesting
article about public parks. The pundits were commenting on how
public parks have improved beyond all recognition over the last ten
years. I was walking through a small park in Canterbury only last
Tuesday and I was thinking how good the place looked, and how many
people were using it. However this national improvement is mostly due
to funding from the National Lottery, and as people are stopping
buying lottery tickets, so the funding for our parks is drying up.
The take-home message was (supposedly) to buy more lottery
tickets.
Personally I feel that
public amenities should be funded properly in the first place and not
be dependent on charity, but what do I know?
Being on a late shift I
had some spare time, so I drove north of Canterbury and had an
impromptu geo-mission. I found one puzzle cache, the puzzle of which
I had solved months ago. I found another cache laying in the middle
of a footpath; I hid it properly before I went on.
And then I met yet
another idiot. How do I attract these people?
I decided to go for a
geocache in the middle of nowhere. The closest point to it at which I
could park my car was half a mile away. I walked along one of the
most poorly marked footpaths I have ever seen (and I've walked in
Essex!) until I got to the geo-location which was by a
footbridge. I soon found the cache, did the secret geo-ritual and was
about to head back to the car when I heard a voice.
A rather pompous and
obnoxious twit wanted to know when I was going to replace his bridge
for him because he was fed up with everyone else walking over it. He
immediately put my back up, and I suggested that as it was a public
right of way everyone was perfectly entitled to walk over it.
Furthermore if it was "his" bridge then he should
look after the thing's upkeep himself. "Obnoxious twit"
replied that it was up to "you council johnnies" to
maintain the right of way.
I told him that whilst
the "council johnnies" might maintain bridges and
stiles, landowners had a legal obligation to maintain the rights of
way. He didn't like that, and he started a tirade about how everyone
walks all over his land with no one using the proper footpaths. I
looked the fool in the eye, asked him if he was serious,and defied
him to show me a proper footpath. He mumbled a bit and waved an arm
in the direction of grass which was four feet high.
I asked him to excuse me,
and left him blustering. Silly twit.
The rest of the day was
somewhat dull in comparison...
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