Look, I get that councils have to control parking, especially close to Tube and railway stations, where commuters travelling into Central London would otherwise leave their cars and occupy spaces all day. So Howard and Hilda lost out on a leisurely lunch and a local restaurant, or pharmacy, or coffee shop, or whatever, lost valuable business. With pay-and-display replaced by app-based systems, there's no need for Lovely Rita, Meter Maid. Clearly they weren't prepared to risk a hefty fine for non-payment. Had they been planning to have lunch, or perhaps pick up a prescription from the pharmacy next door? So they gave up, got back in the car and drove off. (Actually, this being a Labour-run London borough, they probably were written in Sanskrit - and 234 other languages, many of them Scribble.) Soon, though, it was pretty obvious neither of them could make head nor tail of the instructions, which might just as well have been written in Sanskrit. Then Hilda impatiently eased him aside and had a look herself. Howard walked to the nearest parking meter and began to read the small print, with growing bafflement. Out got Howard and Hilda, who I would guess were in their late 70s. Now you need a fancy smartphone and a reliable 4G connection, which is far from guaranteed, even in suburban North London.Ī few days later I was having lunch in our fabulous neighbourhood modern Turkish restaurant, Skewd Kitchen, when a non-ULEZ compliant Volvo hatchback pulled up outside. Until recently, a couple of coins did the trick. He hooked me up to his in-store wifi and moments later I was street legal.īut what a palaver. It's just that the mobile phone signal round here is rubbish. What was I doing wrong? Nothing, Rich, he explained. He could probably cut my hair with his iPhone, especially as I've got so little of it left these days. Needless to say, it didn't workĮventually, I threw myself on the mercy of my barber Harry, who is a master of the new technology. Last time I went for a haircut, I had to download a PayByPhone app before I could park. They've been phasing them out for a while now.
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