Happy New Year....

Happy New Year to all Tonbridge folk and especially the ones who bother to read this blog. Well I've had a crap Christmas due in the main to feeling ill practically for the whole festive season. Today though, feeling the best I've felt for a couple of weeks, I decided to go for a News Year's Day walk, as did half the town judging by the number of people out and about. Now I like a long walk but, due to the recent bout of flu and all that, decided to play safe and just park up at the Hayesden Country Park and take it from there. I noticed the pay and display signs on the way in which reminded me of the hoohaa in the Summer when dear old Tonbridge and Malling Council installed the machines. Not thinking for one moment that they'd be charging on a Bank Holiday, I didn't even bother to check before proceeding on a two hour stroll up to the flood barrier and then around Barden Lake and back. When I arrived back to the car, something prompted me to check the pay and display notice which confirmed that the council are indeed charging "every day" which presumably means what it says. Penalty charge £50! I breathed a sigh of relief as I realised that there was no sticky penalty charge notice stuck to the windscreen. It was only sheer luck that I didn't drive away from the park feeling robbed and cheated on this New Years Day. As I drove out I saw that about one in 5 cars had displayed a ticket in their windscreens; in fact the council could have made a killing if they'd bothered to send a parking goon along. Maybe they have a heart after all; naah I reckon they were just short staffed. Anyway Happy New Year; Let's hope it's a good one without any tears etc. Below is a selection of the best of Tonbridge blog from 2008 before I switch over to the new fangled technology of Google blogger for you to feast your eyes on if you get the time. Let's face it some of you may have lots of time on your hands soon what with the recession and all that; sorry to be a doom merchant....