Do you find.

[ZIZI]

Glam we have sort of parking wars around here. Because we are so close to the airport we frequently get taxi drivers parking outside and having a sleep in their cars. OK it is a free country but not when they pee in bottles and throw them over the fence or drop their confectionary and sandwich packets on the road. My neighbour found one of them having a wee in her garden once! At the end of the summer holidays is the worst time. There is enough space for about five cars , if properly parked, outside my block of maisonettes and there have been times when none of the cars out there belong to us. I do have an off road parking space but if I have shopping or briefcases and things to carry it is inconvenient as it is at the side of the block, also it means I might run into the nasty man who is my neighbour. Cannot stand him. When my neighbour downstairs was with her fella it was annoying as he had a whacking great big land rover and a mini bus, he also had a mini and a restored jag. There was always at least one of his vehicles out there so I am glad that he has moved although he continued parking out there for some time after he left.

[Daisy]

Zizi - parking seems to be a bone of contention for lots of people, but in a lot of cases I blame the planning authorities for not making sure there are enough spaces for the community. My OH was involved with a charity who were building of a block of flats in our village a few years ago. In the original architect's plans the block was set back from the pavement, there was one space per apartment plus some extra for visitors. The planners at the time said there could only be half a space per apartment, and it had to be built right up to the edge of the pavement. So now, there's nowhere for a lot of people to park, the people in the ground floor flats at the front need heavy nets for privacy and can't open their windows because of traffic fumes and noise! The planners' argument was that it would encourage people to use public transport if they didn't have anywhere to park! We live in a rural village with fast trains every ½ hour to London but a hit and miss bus service which doesn't cover many of the other nearby villages at all.

The taxi driver situation sounds awful, though. I have been trying to think what I'd say if I found someone relieving themselves in our front garden, and I can't - words fail me!!!

OK, so I'm going to try and come up with something -

"Would you like a bottle for that?"

or

"Would you mind coming round and doing that on our compost heap."

any other suggestions, ladies?

[Libra Gran]

Several but none fit for human consumption.

[ZIZI]

I think that, in common with a lot of places, where we live was not made for people with cars. Our village has parking on one side only and a lorry ban (not that a lot of the hauliers around here take any notice). The village itself has a very narrow road through it. Even our bit, and we are on the periphery, is quite narrow. Planning used to be 1.5 spaces per dwelling which gave a bit of leeway for people as those who did not have vehicles would obviously not use theirs. I think a lot of the time when developers are trying to get planning through they will do whatever the councils want them to because after they get their planning and have built their development they are out of the picture and do not have to deal with the aftermath. A lot of the construction projects I work on have no parking facilities at all. One, which is in the Royal Docks (fairly near to Sum1), has very little parking but lots of cycle bays and electric car charging points (it also has no room in the kitchens for washing machines etc but does have communal laundry facilities). Another, at Kings Cross, which is apartments being built in listed and restored gas holders will have a lift for vehicles to be parked on the roof. Needless to say that particular development is private and not within the reach of most people I know.......

[Mimi]

My very own Victor Meldew has been his understudy for more years than I can remember ! Every day he goes outside to inspect the lawn and garden boarders to make sure there is no rubbish in our garden, which is understandable taking into account of our neighbour the one side of us, they haven't mastered the skill of closing a black bin lid yet
I know for a fact that it drives me mad to hear parents screaming and swearing at their children .
Also I've no time for a lot of the food 'fads' that are purely there to make money and not to enhance our eating experience . Take 'pulled pork' , who started all this ? If after I have roasted a joint of meat and I don't let it rest for long enough before it is carved it becomes 'pulled pork' ( or what ever meat it is I am roasting) . When I did cookery at school this was looked on as a huge sin ! And don't even get me started on stupid serving 'plates' that are used in some restaurants. . I am of the opinion that if I have to eat out of a cap I have hit rock bottom and there is no hope for me now .

[Mimi]

My very own Victor Meldew has been his understudy for more years than I can remember ! Every day he goes outside to inspect the lawn and garden boarders to make sure there is no rubbish in our garden, which is understandable taking into account of our neighbour the one side of us, they haven't mastered the skill of closing a black bin lid yet
I know for a fact that it drives me mad to hear parents screaming and swearing at their children .
Also I've no time for a lot of the food 'fads' that are purely there to make money and not to enhance our eating experience . Take 'pulled pork' , who started all this ? If after I have roasted a joint of meat and I don't let it rest for long enough before it is carved it becomes 'pulled pork' ( or what ever meat it is I am roasting) . When I did cookery at school this was looked on as a huge sin ! And don't even get me started on stupid serving 'plates' that are used in some restaurants. . I am of the opinion that if I have to eat out of a cap I have hit rock bottom and there is no hope for me now .

I got so carried away by all that above I forgot to mention the real reason why I was on here. oH complains constantly about other people parking in his ' so called ' parking space.
1. We don't have a parking space, it's just the road outside our flat.
2. We don't have a car, so need for a parking space !!!

[ZIZI]

Ha ha that did make me laugh!

[Daisy]

Mimi - I love your Victor Meldrew - he's got style!

Zizi - I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets exasperated by planning decisions which do nothing to enhance people's daily lives! If I ruled the country ........

[Gemini]

I think we should adopt Mr Mimi/Meldrew as our mascot

Pulled Pork, I totally agree, likewise Pan Fried. What else would you fry in, a cup??!

My personal bugbear is food served on slates, tiles or boards. All I want is a nice plate!!

[Shemadee]

I told OH that he was turning in to Mr Cohen. He lived opposite us and if anyone parked outside his house (on a public road) he would storm up and down banging on all our doors trying to find the culprit. He seemed old at the time but was probably younger than I am now! Our neighbours mother is a real pain - terrible at parking and very arrogant.

[Gemini]

My mum can't bear anyone who isn't visiting her to park in front of her house. Although I point out that when more than one of us visits her someone has to park in front of a neighbours house,, she thinks no one should park in front of hers
I must point out that she has a front garden, and front wall. She has to stand up to even know there is a car there. It's not as if it is right in front of her window and blocking her light!!

[Pearl5]

We have new neighbours, well been there a fortnight so can see OH uses our drive to park car up, well Monday, Tuesday and then Wednesday they parked their car across our drive, luckily OH had errands too do so was later than usual, but i don't know about anyone else, but when i looked out the window seen cars and thought OMG there is going to be murders on, so Wednesday at 3.25 they park across our drive, OH due in 3.30 i had a nice friendly quiet word just saying OH was due in and wouldnt/couldnt get on the drive, then asking nicely have they settled in and blah blah blah with a nice friendly smile on my face, i just don't want any neighbour disputes, so OH comes in and i said i had had a word, only because i know for a fact he would have went banging on there door, telling them in not a polite way to "shift" their car, it drives him mad, i think it is defo one of the worst things that make him angry, so it was either me or him, so took the option of me, they haven't parked in front of our drive again, hope it stays that way!!

[Pearl5]

Why am i smiling reading about other moany husbands, family members but not when its mine....

[Gemini]

Very diplomatically handled there Pearl They really should have realised that you need your driveway clear. At least they seem to have got the message now!

[Plantaholic]

If there is obviously a driveway, what sensible person would park in front of it and block you in or out. Well done Pearl