Right there is something that gets my goat and it bugs me.
Disabled Parking Badges.
There seems to be a lack of knowledge regarding these special parking permits and to who they can be issued to.
I have lost count of the number of times I have parked up, with J in tow naturally, and have been looked at, tutted at, muttered at that we should not have a badge as there is nothing wrong with us.
So the implication from those busy bodies is that J should have a physical disability to qualify for a badge.
Should I be facetious and carry a copy of the rules regarding the aquisition of the badge and the rules in place to obtain the higher rate of the DLA which in turn enables the badge to be procurred? I could then detail to these people the facts and enlighten them as to their lack of knowledge. Can I be bothered to? Meh (that sound one makes along the lines of pah).
What does tickle me however is that a sprightly pensioner hops out of their car, with the badge displayed, and they almost hop skip and jump their way to their destination, after giving glances at my car, J's badge and us (I point out that there is no-one else in their car it is just them soley).
If indeed one must have a physical disability then I must concur the solitary, sprightly, skipping pensioner is not a part of that group.
It appears that youngsters are the target. The 'children should be seen and not heard' brigade who are getting their blue rinses and polyester crimplene slacks in a twist over the fact that a child should be afforded the luxury of being able to park on a yellow line whereas in their day the children had to walk 35 miles everyday just to get the lard for their meat and potato pie.
Why do our children need this entitlement?
Because they can experience melt downs which erupt into gigantic screaming fits and trying to walk long distances can exacerbate this. Because they can become frightened of new places. Because large open spaces can trigger bad behaviour ( a common autistic trait, something to do with the audio receptive and echo). And because they already have special needs and do not need to be persecuted anymore by the likes of those bullying and interfering misers.
Do these people really believe we love to have these badges? Because believe me I really really don't want one. I just have it because it makes life just that little tiny bit easier.
