There’s a new bookshop in Farnham. It’s called the Blue Bear Bookshop and it’s in the Borough. That’s rather sad. Not the fact that a new independent shop has opened or that it’s a bookshop (though I’m not sure how WH Smiths feel about it given they are almost next door); no, the reason it’s sad is because it’s in the Borough.
I love a bookshop and, normally, I’d be in there like a shot but the lack of air quality in the Borough makes it more unpleasant than it should be.
And, to add to the general annoyance of pollution, there’s the fact that the owners feel it’s reasonable to block the footpath rather than the road when they want to unpack stuff.
The photo above was taken on Sunday so the traffic was minimal which, to my mind, begs the question of why. Why is he parked half on the footpath? Why isn’t he just on the road? I guess being inconsiderate is just something that arrives with your driver’s license.
I’m sure the guy I saw unloading this car is a lovely chap, generous and considerate normally however, there’s something about the magic powers exerted by vehicles that turn people from mild mannered and nice human beings into inconsiderate arseholes.
Interestingly I heard something on the radio this morning regardng the forthcoming horrorshow of an election in which the Conservatives have pledged to fix all the potholes in the country. It stems from the fact that Boris Johnson once hit one while riding his pushbike. He swore he’d fix them so no-one else would be inconvenienced.
To my mind, that is the problem. Improving driving conditions merely increases the amount of drivers. The answer isn’t filling in potholes. The answer is easier than that. The answer is to make MORE potholes. The answer is reduce the number of lanes for vehicles in town and city centres. The answer is to reduce traffic.
Discouraging motor vehicles from my town centre would be a brave election promise but it would definitely get my vote.
I realise that our MP (Jeremy ‘homeopathy is real’ Hunt) has invested a lot of hot air, time and energy into the idea of the pedestrianisation of Farnham but it’s been many years and lots of talk with nothing to show for it but…well, more cars.
The situation for mice is a bit different.
This morning, walking into town, I spotted two dead mice on the all weather path. Clearly the result of a night time cat attack, their tiny bodies were like a testament to the cut and thrust of the animal kingdom. Except they hadn’t been eaten. Just killed.
I wonder if it’s the same thing as parking on the footpath; cat owners who allow their pets to go out each night and decimate the Little Creatures of the Park. Perhaps they just don’t care. Mind you, there’s a much easier (and cheaper) solution with the cats: A small bell on the collar.
The equivalent for parking cars would be big metal spikes on the edge of the footpath but I doubt anyone would do that.
Sadly.
