parking boom!

Sadly, we won't make it to my mum's for Lewes Bonfire Night and Pope Burning this year. But it's a good date to post this photo of a different kind of Lewes explosion, from when we visited in the summer.



It's not just that Lewes people like to blow things up (which they do). The local NCP-run parking scheme is enough to bring out violent tendencies even in peacefully car-hating monkeys like me. (I approve of Cambridge's fierce parking enforcement, for goodness sake!)

In Lewes, with no spaces reserved for residents, and far too few to go round anyway, the NCP has chosen to put the meters in what would otherwise be parking spaces. Each one occupies rather more space than a badly-parked SUV, and is surrounded by bollards just at bumper level. They are understandably unpopular with locals, who--did I mention?--like their explosives. Rockets have been inserted.  Hence the stickers.

Last time we attended Bonfire, the parking meters were all locked away in sheet-metal jackets...

I heard rumours that NCP are losing the contract, but I don't really know.