Into the car park slinks a dark green car, crawling like an injured dragon or, let’s speculate here, as if the driver has had little sleep, and in the middle of a night-time crisis, is trying to find the correct car park. An impartial observer would have noted it was an old Rover, T-reg, and definitely in need of air in its tires.
The car park was empty, an occasional ambulance but that was it. Dark, eerie, is there anything more terrifying than an empty hospital car park at night? The dragon stops at the barrier and the driver takes a ticket. A heated discussion is taking place, the driver is gesticulating like a petulant child...
“Listen,” I said, “I CANNOT believe that we have to pay to park. It’s 3am, the car park is empty, my daughter is sick and these capitalist opportunists have the audacity to charge us two quid, DESPITE all my taxes and National Insurance contributions.”
“Now is NOT the time,” said my wife, so I shut up.
At the end of the day a couple quid isn't that bad. There are worse things to worry about. Mortgage negotiations for example, or buying a house off an old lady who is buying off another old lady and the contract exchanges are on hold while the two biddies bicker over who keeps which light fitting. Or getting a bit of chicken stuck between your teeth for three weeks.
So I stopped complaining.
The "sequel" to Perdido Street Station, one of my absolute favourites, and I'm enjoying it just as much, if not more so.
The worlds and races Mieville creates are simply superb. If you've not read this series and you like "weird fiction" then please crack on and get reading.
Comments
How's your daughter?
.-= Jeanne´s last blog ..10 Observations From My Trip =-.
Thanks for your concern. Don't worry, she's fine now, just had a nasty bit of croup.
My first question was answered above - so, I'll just have to leave you with the thought that perhaps your real calling is marching about with a socialist placard, picketing such invasions of the wallet.
.-= Tristan Robin´s last blog ..Things You Need to See, Things You Hoped to Never See... =-.
Socialist? I'm no socialist, just grumpy when tired...
I'm so glad the little one is okay now. And I can totally understand middle-of-the-night grumpiness over being nickel-and-dimed for parking. Though I suppose you don't call it that.
.-= Cate´s last blog ..I'm Done Running =-.
When I'm nickel-and-dimed it makes me furious as I only carry Sterling.
I'm surprised you made it out with your clothes still on. My daughter took her daughter to the emergency room for a cut on her chin that needed stitches. $1200 for about an hour at the hospital and another $800 to the doctor that spent 5 minutes super gluing the cut together.
Glad to hear your girl is fine. Hospital visits in the middle of the night are no fun.
.-= ellen abbott´s last blog ..a job done =-.
Well that certainly puts things into perspective!
Glad to hear your daughter is OK.
BTW My BFF let me keep the light switch.
.-= Pseudo´s last blog ..Contest =-.
Very kind of the BFF, light switches are very useful.
I have never heard of a hospital that charged for parking. Go figure!!
I hope your daughter is ok.
.-= blueviolet´s last blog ..I'm NOT That Old! =-.
Sadly they do here, drives me nutty.
Lots of illogical thing in this world and a great deal of them makes us grumpy... glad to hear the little one is fine.
.-= Minka´s last blog ..Where? =-.
Nothing is more illogical than a piece of chicken's desire to cling on to teeth.
Listen pal, you bought that car off of me as strictly 'sold as seen'. Maybe try losing a few pounds fae around your waist would possibly lighten the load. Besides.. your BMW is for family use, the Rover was meant to be for your midnight kerb crawls, no mercy dashes with sick weans.
.-= Jimmy Bastard´s last blog ..The Apple of my iPod =-.
I have a BMW?!
Croup, yuck. So did they send you home and tell you to open a window?
.-= Captain Dumbass´s last blog ..Tastes Like Chicken =-.
Something like that and in their eyes they told me to get a new car.
Certainly glad that your daughter is doing okay. It is a shame how people will squeeze every bit that they can out of other people.
.-= otin´s last blog ..Fableton =-.
Next time I'll drop them off, shoot round the corner and park somewhere sneaky.
I work at a hospital and I HATE HATE HATE parking in the stupid garages. But they're free here, so there's that.
Hope your daughter is doing alright, dear.
.-= OWO´s last blog ..This way for attention =-.
Garages? Not sure I get it, you mean you each have a little garage? Or is this private indoor car parks? Either way, as they're free you have no sympathy from me...
No. I suppose what we call a parking garage, you call a car park. This one is 6 levels of concrete parking for our employees and patients. There are three garages that belong to the hospital, but I park in the one that SUCKS THE MOST. You know, because my job is super important.
.-= OWO´s last blog ..This way for attention =-.
I understand. Being super-important myself I can attest that the world is against us.
It's all part of the universal symmetry, you have national health care...we have free parking at the hospital. It's a trade-off.
Incidentialy, my doctor, Dr. Imah Butchur, informs me that a three week chicken chunk in your teeth is ok, unless it turns green...in which case you'll have to pay the parking fee, and get help.
Well currently the chicken is suing me for neglect and claiming squatter rights so I'm not happy about it at all.
I didn't want to say any thing, but this has been my exact experience with chickens...you always run afowl of them.
My issue with chickens is that they are all about take, take, take. You never end up on the receiving end of a chicken's generosity, I'm not on any chicken's Christmas list and none of the chickens in my road even so much as speak to me, apart from the one stuck in my mouth of course. Which is a flamin' nightmare. I'm thinking of becoming a chickenetarian.
K but I don't know what a Rover or T-Reg is? Dog? Dinosaur? but it needed air in the tires...hmmmm. CAR!
glad your daughter is feeling better sunshine.
.-= JenJen´s last blog ..Silk and Gravel, III =-.
Sunshine?
I see from the comments that your little daughter is better. Nothing harder on the spirit that when a child is not well, so not well that you must go to the hospital. I hope the chicken comes out of your teeth in short order.
.-= Cheri @ Blog This Mom!´s last blog ..For the Now-Twenty-Three-Year-Old Hero Who Survived the Assault of John Albert Gardner in 2000 =-.
Me too, me too
Chicken are jealous because they HAVE NO teeth. So then, it's quid pro quo.
That's good, so my irrational fear of being stuck in a chicken's tooth can be ditched.
I'm so glad she's okay. Midnight hospital runs are always stressful, especially when they involve our children. And paying for parking just adds insult to injury.
I hope your week and your daughter improves. (and that you don't get the crud. I feel miserable. I might be the one off to the hospital tonight)
I'm a mad flosser; I never let anything get stuck between my teeth for more than a few minutes. Eww.
I can imagine Alice now, as she meets the Mad Flosser
Oh I got mad flossing skillz, yo. Mad. Flossing. Skillz.
But, I'm way cuter than the mad hatter.
Cleaner teeth, fo sho.
Maybe you'll luck out, and the first old biddy will pass on, and her estate (greedy children) won't give a fig about the light fixtures. That would solve everyone's problems.
So a little more permanently than others, mind you. But solved is solved, I like to say.
Solved is solved.
.-= Scope´s last blog ..Say WHAT? =-.
It's always possible!
Jeeez Mo. You just pointed out something good about us Yank's health care system...free parking at the hospital. Thanks, I feel better now.
.-= Mr. Charleston´s last blog ..For Men Who Leave The Seat Up =-.
My work is complete
Well mo, seems like you know now that hospitals don't charge for parking here.
I know what you mean though, I HATE being nickel and dimed, I recently looked at my cell phone bill and saw all these taxes for different areas I don't even live in. I complained and they looked into it, then credited me $300 for all the taxes they took out that they shouldn't have over years and years.
I keep imagining your daughter getting seen, then you have to walk up to a hospital cash register while they ring you up for all the stuff that was used (like the wooden throat stick, band aid, tissue paper,etc...).
You're alive?
I was starting to worry that you had been captured by some trailer-park folk.
He lives in a trailer park. It's common knowledge over here.
It took me a minute to figure out the car park thing. Ahhh ... parking lot!
Croup is awful. My oldest son had to go to the ER for it more than once. Glad your daughter is better now!
.-= Twenty Four At Heart´s last blog ..Aliso Beach =-.
The poor princess was just struggling to breath properly.
Took my (26 year old) daughter to the Emergency room a few weeks ago. A four hour wait, two prescriptions which we had to fill at a 24 hour pharmacy, and a bill for $600 later, and she still had to go home and wait for her condition to "present". (another way of saying "it's not bad enough, wait a few more days so we can charge you even more to treat it.")
But at least the parking was free.
And now that the health care bill has passed, I'm waiting on the edge of my seat for Rush Limbaugh to flee the country...
.-= Cactus Petunia´s last blog ..unsolicited advice... =-.
It would be ironic if you guys started charging for hospital parking...
Actually, here in the U.S. the emergency care is free and the parking is $6,000.
.-= injaynesworld´s last blog ..injaynesworld it's the "Sunday Recap..." =-.
Now THAT would make me cross...
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