More car park fun…
Last night we went to the Subways gig at the Carling Academy, Birmingham (more about that later). The M.O. is starting to get familiar – J takes a train to Birmingham and I drive from work, negotiate the maze that is Brum’s inner city road network and park in the Londonderry House NCP car park.
The excitement starts with changing in the car park – not wanting to go to the gig in work clothes! Then judge the weather and take as few extras as possible to stand in the queue. This time there were lots of youngsters and as a whole they didn’t jump the queue by going into the bar and getting their ticket stamped (the official way to boost drink sales =ahem= fast track your way into the gig).
I hadn’t eaten much so after telling J I had arrived she offered to get me a ‘big cake’, a sandwich and a coffee. It was a truly surreal moment as I waited for J to meet me in the queue. There I stood in my work shoes (forgot my trainers in the rush), pink t-shirt. In front of me the youths all dressed in uniform shades of black and lank hair. They were smoking a large jay and I’m sure I got a tiny hit off the fumes… then J arrived, smiles, a healthy sandwich, crisps, large Starbucks cappuccino, a large choc chunk shortbread… heaven.
Anyway, I didn’t want to feel bloated in the gig so I ate the sandwich, drank the coffee. The rest was stashed in the car, in the car park next door whilst J held the place in the queue. Which is where the pictures come in – someone had a bit of fun with the Emergency Parking signs.
Sorry for the blur and poor use of flash – I was in a hurry to get back to the queue…
Of course this sort of meddling shouldn’t be taken lightly – when we came out of the Academy we were nearly blocked in by a businesslady in her sports car stopping to pay for her parking… all because she couldn’t find the emergency parking bay, presumably.