Wednesday – a day of buses, helicopters, decisiveness, queuing and thoughtless drivers

The day started with a long wait for a bus. I do miss listening to the radio in the car on the way in. Competition for spaces in the work car park isn’t an issue this week! Though parking is on the mind of the local residents who were voicing their concern again this morning about the plague of all-day commuter parking in the Markets area.

Whether added by the residents or the nearby car park, the extra notice on the advertising trailer made their point. The PSNI helicopter spent part of the morning buzzing the area flying in low. Maybe they were looking for a space?

The day had a moment of decisiveness. O2 phoned up to ask if I was happy with my tariff. And I cancelled the contract there and then. Only took a couple of minutes and talking to three people to thread my way from sales to accounts and finally to the cancellation team. I’ve had the number since I first got a mobile, but had more recently switched to a data tariff for occasional online use. But not enough to warrant the monthly charge.

The day also featured a queue in the main Belfast Post Office at lunchtime. About fifteen minutes to reach the front. Passport renewal time. Which means it’ll be ten years in September since I went to India with work. Handing over the paperwork, photos and old passport, the woman checked my form and sealed it in its envelope. It’ll be posted across the road to the Passport Office! I’d three full bags of coppers in my pocket – planning to lodge them in the bank on the way back from lunch – but the Post Office happily accepted them as part payment for the passport renewal, with the balance squeezed out of a credit card.

The day nearly involved a bus crashing into a car that at the last minute threw itself out of a side street and into its way. A shocking piece of driving. Annoying too to be held up by parked cars in the urban clearway zone. The view from the top of a double decker bus is fascinating. The amount of clobber thrown up on top of bus shelters could inspire a new Flickr group!

The day didn’t end with a tip to CIYMS and the local Post Office closure public meeting. Story time was the priority. But if you were there, do leave a comment to describe how the meeting went?