Objection lodged

I woke up at seven thirty and posted my YouTube Morning Prayer link to WhatsApp, then lay in bed until eight fifteen listening to the news, but unusually for me didn't go back to sleep. Not that the news was that interesting. It was a mild and sunny day, so I made an effort to get out of the house and walk in Llandaff Fields. It was interesting to observe the different composition of morning walkers, mostly couples, many of whom said Good Morning when passing each other. There were fewer mothers with children and the children's playground was almost empty. Each group has its own social rhythm I think. I spotted a Jay foraging in open grass and in a grass heap the other side of the wall from the playground, and got some pictures I'm pleased with. It's the first time I've seen a Jay in this place. In effect, it adds to the Jay habitat territories I can keep on my watch list.

Clare cooked prawns with stewed veggies with rice for an early lunch. Then I drove her to UHW's School of Dentistry for a mouth examination. He has developed a strange sensation of her tongue being burnt, for no reason she can think of. When I got home, I started drafting a letter of objection to the imposition of parking permits in our neighbourhood. Despite an increased number of cars in the area in the years we've been here the frequency of occasions when I've been unable to park nearby hasn't grown excessively, and then it's almost always overnight. More cars yes, but some residents are away a lot, visiting or working away. Only occasionally is the street full around the clock, if an event keeps people in the city. For the most part there is sufficient turnover in cars needing a parking space. Reserving some spaces with a permit scheme changes the balance of supply and demand, forcing competition between residents un-necessarily. It's not as if civil parking enforcement officers can keep up with offenders. Those who park in yellow line zones get ticketed randomly, not regularly. Maintaining permit checks seems like a waste of resources, when there are many offenders not being fined for parking illegally where road safety is compromised.

At four, I interrupted work and went to Thompson's Park to photograph the sun setting in close proximity to the Wenvoe telecoms mast. It reaches the south side of the mast just a fraction above the horizon, and in a couple of minutes appears to move to the north side of the mast as it disappears from sight. It's a trick of perspective which occurs when the autumnal and winter sun moves east to west low in the sky. It almost seems to roll along the distant horizon. By four twenty two, the sun was gone for the day.

Clare walked back from UHW after what she described as a thorough examination lasting half an hour. More tests are required and another appointment in a few weeks time. After supper I completed my letter of objection, sent it off and received an automated acknowledgement. I wonder how many others have written? It'll be many weeks before a decision is taken, no doubt.

I was trying to remember how the last episode of 'Inspector Montalbano' actually ended, so I looked for it on BBC iPlayer. It's the only one of the thirty seven episodes available there now. BBC viewing rights for the rest have now expired I think. The last one appeared some time after the rest. If I remember correctly, it was only after author Antonio Camilleri died that the final last story could be published and made into a movie. I didn't watch to the end, as I didn't want to get to bed too early.

Urban parking presures

Monday morning, I had to drive over to Adamsdown for a bereavement visit. I had intended to refuel the car over the weekend, but my usual refuelling stop  was closed for renovation, and after that I forgot to look for another, and I noticed the car's fuel gauge was almost on empty after choosing a route across town on which there were no filling stations. After a circuit of Splott and Adamsdown, I went to the one on Newport Road, just in the nick of time. 

Then, I had to hunt for a parking pace close to the house I was visiting, and discovered that every street for half a mile was subject to the restriction of parking permits for residents only. There was plenty of space, as many residents would have drive to work, but if a traffic warden showed up in my absence, I'd get fined or even clamped. Fortunately, after parking briefly on the pavement outside my destination, my hosts let me drive into the gated yard behind their apartment block. Better late than never! 

Tuesday lunchtime, I drove Clare to another appointment at the Heath. Due to traffic queues, I had to drop her off to walk the last quarter of a mile, while I joined vehicles crawling around the hospital ring road. The main visitor car park had a 'Full' notice outside, whether this was true or not - cars were still entering and leaving I noticed, not even the most basic modern technology was available displaying the number of empty spaces for hopeful drivers entering to compete over, so I left the campus to look for a parking place in the Gabalfa area adjacent to the hospital on the opposite side of the A48 ring road. This too is a parking permits for residents only zone, with many empty spaces, so the best thing to do was drive home. I couldn't join Clare for her half hour appointment, nor could I let her know, as I'd left my phone on charge. I was back only ten minutes when she let me know she'd finished, in response to my belated text message.

I hate having to use a car in town, but sometimes, like today and yesterday, it was unavoidable. Across the city the demand for parking spaces exceeds supply. Our street resisted the imposition of parking permits, residents preferring to take their chances when it comes to securing a parking space. With quite a mobile group of residents this works, sort of, although any night arriving home after dark it's pretty certain I'll have to hunt for a space several hundred yards from home. We have more cars than houses, with less available space than an average side street because of space was taken, decades ago, to narrow the entrance with two oversized islands, housing trees. There's enough room for an extra 4-6 cars to park safely on them, whenever we get to parking overflow and regular space is used, but people end up getting parking fines. Regulated parking means that spaces empty during the day can't be occupied by anyone else on a casual basis, without risking a fine. A much smarter solution is needed that this if only to reduce congestion from drivers circulating slowly looking for a usable empty space.

Sometimes, I just wish we lived somewhere rural, where there's plenty of space to park on demand, but to do so would entail having to use a car to get anywhere at all, more than I ever want to. I wonder, if it would be cheaper to give up car ownership, and use just taxis and public transport when necessary, long before age and infirmity obliges us to.

      

Traffic woes

After a morning of preparing a sermon for Sunday, I took the bus into town and walked over to St German's for the wedding blessing. There was a long traffic queue on Cathedral Road. Vehicles were moving so slowly, I began to wonder if I'd left enough time for me trip. I could have walked past the next couple of bus stops in the time it took for the bus to travel. The reason? Not road works, but a scaffolding lorry double parked on a road with vehicles parked either side, creating a choke point for traffic in both directions on a busy afternoon. I don't think it had broken down. There was a side street no more than fifty metres from where the lorry had stopped, where it could have stopped if there was a load to deliver. 

It's not the first time this week it's happened on one of the city's main traffic arteries this week, so it poses the question whether anyone with responsibility for traffic, parking enforcement and planning is consulted beforehand about disruptions of this kind. They're not uncommon, as a great number of urban properties are now the target of investment by renovation. I know only too well how much work goes on to prepare for major events involving traffic disruption as the team works in the same office space as CBS. In our side street 3-4 parking spaces have been occupied by skips or dumps of builder's materials continuously for the past year or so. The parking demand just from residents, let alone workmen and visitors far exceeds supply. Cardiff benefits from all the enterprise but is harmed by anarchy tolerated, or regarded with indifference.

Hundred strong gathering for the wedding was mainly of local people who didn't have to get across town. It was an informal happy family affair, a thanksgiving for a couple that has stuck together for better for worse. A young family member sang an unaccompanied solo while the couple and their entourage gathered at the altar. Unfortunately their recording technology failed to work with the church's public address system, but just because it seemed to fit, I included in my brief address a solo rendering of Frank Sinatra's song 'All the way', and said why its message was relevant to this celebration. It's nice to have the confidence and freedom to do this in my old age, and know that I may be excused for eccentricity rather than deviance from conventional stereotypes.

After the blessing, I walked back to the office in town, and worked on updating Libre Office on three of the desktop machines. Each new version seems to get slightly quicker, and retaining that familiar consistent user interface is a boon. I have the highest regard for this international voluntary work of co-operation in creating excellent digital software. I also arranged Ian's June paycheck, as the details had just come in by email, to leave one less thing for Julie to do when she gets back after her holiday next week. Then I went home to cook supper, and watched the first episode of a new Danish crime series called 'Dicte - crime reporter, about a fearless often unscrupulous investigative reporter with an annoying knack of getting there ahead of the local police. As well as the main plot line there are also sub themes about women's issues, divorce, family estrangement, and it's set in Aarhus, for a change.

Pleased to see that Archbishop Barry and his predecessor Rowan Williams are among the religious leaders speaking up in defence of EU institutions as instruments of peace and social justice ahead of the referendum. But does anyone listen to religious leaders any more?

Sunday transgression

This morning I drove to Abercanaid to celebrate the Eucharist. When I returned, we went to the Riverside Market. It was very crowded, as the sun shone brightly. Many cars, including our own parked on double yellow lines as all the marked bays were full. It's often like this a peak period on a Sunday morning and rarely are any traffic wardens to be seen. Just as we returned to the car one was booking transgressors. We sprinted past him and escaped as he still had two cars in front of ours to book.

It's rare for parking enforcement to occur on a Sunday morning, and no doubt this will generate much ill-will from market users. Given the market precedes imposition of the present parking regulations, you'd think some Sunday trading exception would have been written in to the traffic order, but nobody in Cardiff Council does that kind of joined up thinking that understands the social and economic value of properly allowing traders and customers to enhance the value of a city centre visit, and not penalise those who come and go quickly by car. Why not send a traffic warden to facilitate this safely rather than punish users?

Owain came over for lunch and afterwards we drove up the Garth to take a walk in the sunshine, a brisk walk as it turned out as there was a strong icy wind up there. It was quite challenging holding a camera steady while being buffeted by the breeze. Nevertheless, we both appreciated the exercise.

Here's the view over the Taff Gorge towards Cardiff. The turrets of Castell Coch are just visible, left of the centre.