Occupy is over, so let's have some order on our roads again
Now that order has been restored to protest sites, let's try having some on our roads
As the occupation phase of the "umbrella movement" winds to a dignified close - a credit, by the way, to both sets of players - I have been reflecting on how my own mood and the behaviour of other people not directly involved swung back and forth over the last two-and-a-half months.
During the first week it all seemed rather exciting. Like many other Mid-Levels residents, I was forced to go home every night on the escalator, as vehicular access in the evening was extremely time-consuming, if not impossible.
The second week was a full working one, so the novelty was beginning to wear off a bit, but memories of the tear gas were still quite strong, so the need to show solidarity with the students by suffering stoically in one's own middle-class way overcame any feelings of irritation.
I noticed during the same two-week period that most drivers, though all thoroughly inconvenienced, were rather more cooperative than usual. They gracefully allowed other vehicles into their lane and generally refrained from tooting their horns.
By the third week, I was beginning to get annoyed. True, Queensway had reopened and it was now possible to use Garden Road again, but the roads were so congested it slowed everything down. On the rare occasion I was able to get a taxi, the much longer travelling time meant at least an extra HK$10 on the meter.
"It's time those damned kids pulled back. Don't they have an exit strategy?"