Parking Restrictions

I know who was first to crack. I saw him do it. I was getting changed and looked out of my bedroom window and he drew up in his car, moved the cone, parked up and then unloaded his shopping. Well it would have been a bit of a walk with heavy bags if he hadn't and he is probably very unfit with all the smoking. Thought he might move the car afterwards but he left it there.

The next car sneaked in behind him. Can't tell if that driver knew the space had been made by a resident moving a cone or simply thought that there was a mysterious gap in the middle of the line.

You see these houses were built in 1892. The road finished at the end of the terrace so you could, I guess, leave your buggy outside and stick the horse in the field. Italian prisoners of war dug the road through to Lillington - not their fault exactly but now it's a rat run despite the traffic calming/driver enraging measures.

Some of the houses are now converted into flats and so many of them are occupied by more than one car owner. As the width of a house is fifteen feet (excuse the imperial but they were built in it) there is barely room for one car outside each house.

So the Severn Trent Water Authority's recent return trip to re-open a large hole, pull out some bits of Victorian brickwork and piping and scarper leaving it open was followed up, last Friday evening, by a row of police no-waiting cones outside numbers 80-90. This is presumably so they can park their vans when they return.

No sign yet and, as I say, the chain-smoking shopping carrier was first but, when I woke up this morning I discovered that one-by-one cone moving had now hit the the grand total of 'all'. A neat pile of cones (this is Royal Leamington Spa after all so we are tidy) stands at the end of the row and all the old parking spaces are taken.

My neighbours become very angry if drunken vandals throw the cones around but find it quite acceptable to move them gently, slowly and neatly.

Leicester Street neigbourhood watch; watching everyone except ourselves.