Lai See | Campaign against illegal parking is anything but fine

We have been flagging in our campaign against illegal car parking. The police may say the number of tickets they have issued for illegal parking have increased, but the overwhelming anecdotal evidence is that there is very little prospect of getting fined.

A reader tells of an annoying experience he underwent when attempting to drop off elderly relatives at the drop-off bay for Hong Kong Park at the end of Justice Drive - the only access to the park for the not very mobile.

He writes: "Despite the fierce signs threatening immediate prosecution/removal without warning, inevitably I could not get anywhere close, because the bay was full of chauffeurs sleeping in their vehicles, with other waiting cars effectively double-parked - causing, of course, a long, slow-moving queue of traffic. Given that it takes some time to unload the elderly, I could not just stop and block the remaining road space - and it would have been unsafe. When I asked the driver of one of the parked cars to move along so I could unload, I was of course looked at as if I was completely mad."

We would like to reiterate our suggestion that since the police and traffic wardens cannot be bothered or have more important things to do than to issue parking tickets, Hong Kong should outsource this business.

Some months ago, we wrote somewhat mockingly about English sparkling wine and expressed incredulity that such wines had been rated higher than some champagne in blind tastings. Subsequently, we were given a bottle of Ridgeview Cavendish 2008. Drinking this was a hugely enjoyable experience and has banished forever the wry amusement that has met suggestions that we should consider drinking English sparkling wine.