Vespa: Through the John S Lens

Monday and all I could think about is Liverpool's latest transfer saga. I thought it would come to an end by mid-morning when Dalglish was due to speak at his pre-match press conference but, other than confirming Paul Konchesky's and Daniel Ayala's loan moves to Forest and Derby respectively, Liverpool's manager remained silent about the elephant in the room. News of a rejected offer for Newcastle's Andy Caroll didn't help either. I continued the day's routine (and probably most of tonight as well) by clicking the refresh button on my web browser...

To keep my mind away from the insanity (yes, some fans have gone absolutely mental about the whole thing), I turned to my old trusty Green Vespa to provide me with some relief.

It was on one of my regular trips to the NAC that I noticed the absence of any decent motorcycle (or scooter) parking in the whole complex. That got me thinking about the number of proper public motorcyle parking spaces that I've come across. In Dublin, I quickly came up with one (a few spaces that's normally full on the side of the GPO on O'Connell Street) and after that, there was no more in the whole of Dublin that I know of. Yes, there are a good few bicycle ones around town but other than the GPO one, there were no other specifically designated motorcycle parking spaces in Dublin. A bit unfair considering that motorcyclists actually pay taxes to use public roads while cyclists don't.

So, that morning at the NAC I decided to take matters in my own hands. I would emulate the car-driving pricks that would take-up two parking spaces with their awkwardly parked cars (why is it almost always the tiniest of cars?) and park my Green Vespa in a car park space. Yeah, take that unfair public parking system! The Green Vespa strikes again...

Oh, it was for that particular reason and the fact that the whole parking area was actually empty when I rode in that Sunday morning. Rebel with a clause. Haha. Also, it helped that there was a nice grassy knoll behind the chosen parking spot which provided me with a good backdrop to make a picture. Unfortunately, by the time I came out of the centre, the car park was full and the previously empty spaces around my Vespa were filled with all types of four-wheel vehicles. Rather than go home empty-handed, I snapped the above pic anyway and with aching muscles, slowly made my way home.

Now, back to that refresh button...


Update: It's now official - Liverpool site as of 8 pm on Monday night.