Camley Street cafe is closed for the time being, and so it was back to Store Street for a meet. After a coffee and a chat to catch up (PW did all the chatting and we listened as usual
) we donned our masks and went $chunting in Westminster. It was great to be back and we quickly drew the usual encouraging responses from our audience.
A quick run around the West End found us rolling our way down an old favourite, St Martins Lane. As we got closer it looked like we had drawn a blank, but imagine our (pleasant) surprise when we got right to the bottom of the Lane and found one of the little blighters tucked up nicely in front of a large van, hiding.
As we were parking up we drew a crowd, who quickly caught on to what was going on when we produced our
LOOK! $CAMERA CAR signs. The $car driver (we have nicknamed him WalkLike because he is an Egyptian) was on the phone when we arrived, but barely had we deployed the signs than he was off, with us lot assisting. We must have made quite an impression on the watching public because we actually got a round of applause as we rode off.
Round and round we went for about 45 minutes, and then back to base at Orchardson Street.
Because we haven't $chunted in Westminster for a while, we were not entirely sure how many $cars were out and about, and it was while we chatted (sorry, I mean while PW chatted
) outside the pen that that question was pretty much answered.
One more Moving Traffic Vehicle (MTV = a $car with a single camera mounted on top) came back to join the two (including the one we followed back) that were already on the ramp. Later three Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR = a $car with one or more small cameras in addition to the one single camera that the MTVs have) also arrived to join another one that was on view. From this we deduced that WCC currently operate at least seven $cars, although we suspect there is one more that we didn't see.
After about an hour of hanging around we were getting bored and Pat headed off to see if he could get some action in neighbouring Camden. He never found any and later headed off home to take SWMBO shopping. It's a pity he left early though because it wasn't until later that things started to get interesting (see KS's account above).
We witnessed several $car drivers standing around the entrance to the pen chatting, or sitting in their $cars fiddling with their phones or generally kicking back. So we decided on a different tactic in an attempt to draw them out. What we did was exactly what the $cars do.
WE HID .
Soon afterwards we saw one of the MTV drivers come out of his office and disappear down into the pen, only to reappear about a minute later behind the wheel of his MTV $car. GAME ON!!
Off went Coco and Langy in pursuit. We got a call a little while later that he was stopped and enforcing in a road called Hillside, but they couldn't work out what he was enforcing. A little while later we got another call (Me KS and PW were still plotted up in various spots to keep an eye on the remainder of the $cars) to say that the $car was enforcing a 7.5 ton weight limit and that there wasn't much action.
In the meantime there was movement at the pen. An ANPR car was sent out, and so was KS. He was taken on a little tour, only to arrive back about 15 minutes later. Then suddenly and inexplicably Coco and Langy returned to the pen with no sign of the $car.
“What happened?” we asked. “Did he give you the slip? Did he go down a one way street the wrong way in order to get away?” “No” came the reply. “We got bored and he said he was only going to do some more boring stuff and so we left him to it.
In the meantime WalkLike had obviously been keeping an eye on things and had decided that he didn't like us hiding, so he decided to get us back in one place so they could keep an eye on us. However, we didn't realise that this was his tactic until he had put his cunning plan into action. We (me PW and KS) were still in our hidey holes, not realising that we were being watched, or that they were trying to work out a way to get us to leave so that they could get on with the business of issuing tickets making the streets safe/enabling traffic flow.
So when I saw WalkLike appear out of the pen in his MTV I was scrambling to get my gear on in order to give him the benefit of my assistance, but was surprised to see him heading straight towards where I was hiding in a cul-de-sac. When he got to me he said something in English that I didn't understand because of his heavy accent, but what I did understand was his universal gesture to “follow me”. Intrigued, that was exactly what I did. Then we went round the corner and picked up KS and PW from their hidey holes and all three of us followed him, at his request, straight back to the pen where he parked up and came across to have a word.
In his broken English he got us to understand that they didn't like it when we were all spread out like we were and that they preferred us to be plotted up outside their office so they could keep an eye on us.
Needless to say we weren't so keen on this idea, so off we went again, back to our hidey holes. In discussions afterwards we concluded that the reason they like us being out front is because they can more easily gauge our numbers and work out their own tactics so that they can sneak out without one of us assisting. Now we know that though...
We still had a MTV $car loose somewhere though, so KS and Langy headed towards the West End to find it. Because we had been rumbled for that day, the rest of us went back and sat outside the pen, only to be greeted by the sight of the MTV returning to base. We called KS and Langy back and then began another vigil knowing full well that all the active $cars were safely tucked up in their beds.
There then followed a parade of nervous looking drivers who appeared to be waiting for their opportunity to escape without attracting our attention/assistance. They sent out an ANPR $car which Langy volunteered to follow. Realising that we were not all going to commit to one $car, Langy and the $car were soon back with us, with the driver being given a cheery greeting by us as he went past.
More nervy looking discussions among drivers followed (we gave them a smile and a wave every time they looked in our direction (which was often) so I don't understand what there was to be nervous about) and finally it appeared that a decision was made. One of the more senior drivers made a break for it in a MTV $car. He headed straight back to Hillside with KS and PW providing assistance.
It was while they were there, and the rest of us were keeping an eye on the remainder, that the cops were called. If it was an attempt to divide and rule it didn't work, as is demonstrated by KS's account above.
Whilst KS and PW were having all the fun, we witnessed the remaining drivers gathering up their paperwork from their $cars and heading off back to the office. It was shift change time so we too headed off home with a warm glow in our hearts, knowing that we had given able assistance to our friends at NSL.
We later came to the conclusion that their tactics in the future will be to withdraw to the base when we begin operations so that they can evaluate our numbers and assess whether they can safely operate one or more without our assistance/scrutiny and without giving us any exposure that may be reputationally damaging for them. Now we know that though...