Monday, February 13, 2012
Snow parking
Usually ice and snow give motorists problems because they have to try and navigate slippery roads, and deal with road closures too.
However, some drivers in Chiswick, West London, had some rather different problems with snow and ice.
A large snowball was taking up a parking bay for much too long – without paying we might add – and was quite rightly given a parking ticket for it.
Now, when I say ‘large’ you may imagine something about the size of a football. No – this was a 4-foot high monster snowball – and someone wasn’t very happy that it was taking up precious road-side space.
A spokesperson for Hounslow County Council stated, “It's good to see people support our efforts to keep our roads clear for traffic. However, removing a penalty charge notice from a vehicle, unless you are the driver, is an offence.
“This could lead to the driver unfairly missing out on the chance to pay early at the lower rate through no fault of their own.”
Hopefully the person who was meant to get the ticket did receive it before their fine was increased.
We wonder whether the snowball vacated the space after being penalized for its offence, or whether it is still sat resolutely on the tarmac attracting odd looks from passers-by.
Disclaimer: Attached photo is not of offending snowball. Photo was posed by model.
Photo © chatirygirl via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Chiswick, fine, ice, London, motorist, offence, parking bay, parking ticket, road, road-side, snow, tarmac
Monday, December 5, 2011
A Marmity mess
Whether you hate Marmite or you love it – no one likes having to take a detour because there’s been a Marmite spill all over the road.
However, recently some poor motorists who had been travelling along the M1 had to take alternative routes when a lorry crashed and spilled sticky goop all over the highway.
Ok – it wasn’t actually Marmite – it was waste brewers yeast – but it was first reported to be Marmite and as a Marmite hater I personally can’t see the difference between the disgusting brown spread and waste yeast encrusted with tarmac anyway.
The motorway had to be closed in both directions between junctions 32 and 33, the lorry driver was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, and The Environment Agency was called to help clean up and check that waterways hadn’t been polluted.
What a mess! It proves how evil Marmite is once and for all!
Ok, yes, it wasn’t Marmite…
Photo © Jacob Rickard via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: detour, highway, junction, lorry, M1, Marmite, motorist, motorway, road, tarmac, yeast
Friday, October 21, 2011
Road-kill cooking
Usually the only thing people do when they see road-kill is think how horrible it looks and maybe feel sorry for the poor animal that met its end on the tarmac.
However, one man from Bournemouth has been eating road-kill for about 30 years instead of buying his meat at supermarkets.
The man explains, “I guess at the age of 14 I just wanted to be different. But even then I understood that what I was doing was better than eating meat in the shops because of how it was produced.”
He doesn’t keep his strange dining habits from his friends either, who are often treated to rat stir fries, owl curry and pan-fried crane-flies.
Anyone who is interested in following suit and abandoning the supermarket meat aisle should be wary though. The road-kill cook says, “It's not something everyone can do. I have grown up around nature and know just by looking how an animal has died and how long it has been there.
“I am careful, obviously, not to eat anything that I don't think is fresh and if I don't know how an animal has died I will perform an autopsy on it first.
“I found a raven recently that had been poisoned, probably with strychnine, and that is something that other people would probably not think to look out for.
“I do have to be careful, but I have never been sick from anything I have ever eaten.”
Hmmm, it seems like a good idea if you’ve got the know-how. Still, I’m not sure I’ll ever look at road-kill and feel hungry.
Photo © dadadreams via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: animal, eat, meat, road-kill, tarmac