Writing a letter to a national newspaper

Cobra said:
All I can say is, you are missing out on a whole new world in that case :D
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oh it's a whole new concept I had not even recognised.. this could be fun..

hotel tomorrow (slackford uber avon) thinks I am paying £10 for the car park.... big mistake.. huge mistake (Did I now misquote Julia Roberts?)
 
Lynton said:
oh it's a whole new concept I had not even recognised.. this could be fun..

hotel tomorrow (slackford uber avon) thinks I am paying £10 for the car park.... big mistake.. huge mistake (Did I now misquote Julia Roberts?)
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I believe you did misquote the pretty woman.
And they have no idea what is about to befall them have they?
:D
 
Cobra said:
I believe you did misquote the pretty woman.
And they have no idea what is about to befall them have they?
:D
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Hey hey hey.....She can stay as 1980's pretty as she likes.....apparently I'm The Woman :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
Some people really do need to learn how to relax, life's far to short to get all wound out over pointless stuff...get out and enjoy life a little more...there's a how world of things to see...hell for over 12 months I've been stuck at home thanks to a dodgy ankle that is only just getting better now...stuck here for that long and I'm still not a miserable as some posters seem to be...so I say again get out and just enjoy life
 
Lynton said:
surely thats what the thing in the car called an ashtray is for... lots of small nugget coins... and think of the satisfaction of feeding it 2p at a time to fill it up so it needs to be emptied quicker...
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Many wouldn't accept 1p and 2p coins. They seem to destroy all the fun things in town
 
SarahLee said:
I'm just bewildered about what and where these parking machines are that don't give change.
All the ones around here give change (unless they're empty) and also have an option to pay by card - I'd assumed that was the norm???
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I've never known any around this way to spit out change.
Its always "use the correct money"
But more and more are switching to card payments, and you have to enter your reg. no.
(I assume that's normal? ) to stop transferring them, I guess ;)
 
No change here. p***es me off too.

For about 10 seconds, until I realise it's cost me 20p more than it should, and then remember I vowed to always keep change in the car but never do.

There's something not right with people that organised ;)
 
SarahLee said:
Slightly amazed that Wales is actually ahead of the rest of the country in something for once :LOL:
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You'll be wanting independence next :D
(But that OK :p)
 
Don't pay.

I've saved a fortune over the years.

I put my incorrect change in a jar at home.

I'll get a ticket one day but I've hundreds built up.
 
It really is simple. fill up ashtray (with small coins) That way, always ££££ for the parking meter.
 
Cobra said:
All I can say is, you are missing out on a whole new world in that case :D
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do you realise, that since 4.31 am (when the cat jumped on my head from the windowsill 1min earlier)i have been googling car park machines... and who the CEO is?

(Actually, I fib, I went to the driving range and smacked little balls at pikey's who are "camping"just over the fence.. 250 yds, so needs a good whack, but a few made it... )
 
For goodness sake, no paper is going to print a lot of drivel about change from a parking machine. Your lack of planning doesn't constitute a crisis or make It newsworthy.

It can't be legislated against ether. Meters are improving in that you can pay over your phone in some cities, Liverpool for example.

You really need to relax and chill out. Anticipate the unexpected. Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents P@@ Poor Performance - the 6 Ps is a good maxim to follow.

Problem - meters do not give change.

Solution - carry spare change in car, replenish when expended.

Sorry this is not a sympathetic or fluffy answer but often all that is required is a bit of self-help and revaluation.
 
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SarahLee said:
Yep - all of the ones round here you have to enter a reg number - whether you pay by cash or card.

Slightly amazed that Wales is actually ahead of the rest of the country in something for once :LOL:
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It sounds as if South Africa is well ahead of the UK too. Collect ticket at boom on arrival, insert ticket into machine when returning to car, and pay for parking with cash or card. All machines give change, and some car parks still have a booth with an attendant at the exit. Parking is cheap, the first 15 - 30 minutes is usually free, and a lot of car parks don't charge for entry after 5pm if you leave the same evening (late night shopping, movies, restaurants etc). I've never come across paid parking where you have to estimate how much time you're going to need in advance, other than at parking meters, and most people just ignore them anyway.
 
Lynton said:
surely thats what the thing in the car called an ashtray is for... lots of small nugget coins... and think of the satisfaction of feeding it 2p at a time to fill it up so it needs to be emptied quicker...
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That matters not a jot to the company. If the machine gets full, it goes into "Use other machine" mode and if that's also out of order/full, people won't be able to purchase tickets and may get landed with a fine for non payment. The coins will be counted by a machine rather than an employee so no inconvenience there. In fact, other than other customers, it's purely your own time you're wasting while feeding your £2.20 (or whatever) in 5p pieces into the machine.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
For goodness sake, no paper is going to print a lot of drivel about change from a parking machine. Your lack of planning doesn't constitute a crisis or make It newsworthy.
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You've never read the Telegraph letters page have you? At the last count they had made 4 books from letters to the paper about amusing and not heavily serious things.
 
DorsetDude said:

You've never read the Telegraph letters page have you? At the last count they had made 4 books from letters to the paper about amusing and not heavily serious things.
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I Frequently do when time permits but avoid the Guardian at all costs !
 
getting back to the original question:

1. keep your letter as short as possible to avoid their wanting to cut it down. Do a draft,, then edit, edit again, and then edit once again until you've nailed the most concise form of words

2. within that constraint, try to make it stimulating either through humour or just using a well-formulated set of pithy phrases.

3. make it topical if possible - is there a theme/topic they're already publishing letters about on which you can piggyback?
 
Probably worth sending it to Honest John rather than the general letters page.
 
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