Ciaran’s Omnipurpose Blog

I was wondering when I’d feel inspired to blog something. So here goes. Rebecca and I were out looking for our lost foster cat, Piper. We’d leafleted our neighbourhood and had a call from a neighbour who had spotted him in the fields nearby. Sadly we didn’t find him, although a very cute tortoiseshell followed us around as we shook a bag of kibbles to get his attention. Here’s a photo of Piper. What about those eyes, eh?

So we headed back to the house. On the way home, we stopped at Rebecca’s car, parked around the corner. Where we live, there are no residents bays or similar nonsense. It’s one of the nice things about the area; we never have to worry about finding our cars have been clamped after coming back from a holiday. The only downside is that you sometimes can’t park outside your own house, but this is a small price to pay.

Unfortunately, Rebecca has been unable to use her car for many weeks. This is because she broke her foot. It’s also been a bit or a turbulent time in our household, so we’ve been away from home a lot. We got into the car and Rebecca started it first time. Good sign! The windscreen was a bit dirty, so we spent a bit of time spraying and letting the wiper blades do their thing. Suddenly, there was a vigourous knocking on Rebecca’s window. We jumped a mile! A middle aged woman’s face was pressed against it. She was wearing a kaftan or something. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Here’s the conversation as I best remember it:

Woman: You’ve been parked outside my house for a long time. That’s not fair. Where do you live?
Rebecca: Just around the corner.
Woman: It’s not fair that you’ve parked here..
Rebecca: Well, it’s the street, so we can park here.
Woman: Well it’s really unfair that you parked here. I was about to call the police.
Rebecca: The reason the car has been here so long is because I broke my foot and couldn’t drive. I’m just trying to move the car now – I’m testing to see if my foot is strong enough.
Woman: Well it’s very unfair that you parked here. I was going to complain to the police!
Me: Did you not hear what she just said? She broke her foot and couldn’t drive!
Woman: Yes well, but I don’t see why you had to park there for so long. It’s very unfair on us!
Rebecca: I *broke* my *foot*! This is a public road! I don’t know why you’re having a go at me!
Woman: I’m not having a go, It’s just really unfair that you parked here.
Me: The lady just told you twice that she broke her foot. If it were me, I’d be too embarrased to complain about the parking, but clearly you’re not. End of conversation.