4 October (Part 1) - Bexley Council. Converting misery into money
I had forgotten about the Southeastern rail strike when I drove the mile to Sainsbury’s at 7 a.m. this
morning. The roads were busy around Abbey Wood station but they always are and I
managed to get there without being stopped by the two sets of pedestrian lights. How often does that happen?
While there I helped myself to 34 miles of free driving courtesy of
Sainsbury’s EV chargers and got more than £7 off my £32 shopping basket using a Nectar card.
The self service machine failed when I told it I had no bags and came up with a “moneychute error”. The assistant had obviously been on the relevant
training course because after the machine failed to respond to a plethora of commands she
transferred my bill to the adjacent machine where I was able to pay. It took a
while but the longer it took the more free electricity Sainsbury’s were giving me.
I left at 8 a.m. and the roads were gridlocked and lazy drivers conveying lazy Elizabeth line passengers were stopping
and U-turning on the flyover. Traffic was at a standstill as far as
I could see up Knee Hill and its junction with Wilton Road was chaotic as buses
and cars tried to get to the station in Gayton Road.
It is no wonder that Gayton Road is the most profitable car park in Bexley.
The queue of stationary traffic in Abbey Road extended beyond the CPZ boundary
and cars were parked every which way in my road. I saw RY55 EBL block the red
van in - it is hemmed in at the back end too - and a neighbour will have to be very
careful if she takes her Audi out today.
At 9 a.m. the Micra showed up driven by a 20 plus year old woman. I asked her
what she thought about parking in front of drives and blocking them. She said
she hadn’t blocked anyone and in any case she didn’t care. Just like Bexley Council doesn’t care.
