Bridge of Reason

The man was trying to give people something, but no one was taking it. Most ignored him, many crossed the road to avoid him and the odd one who did listen refused his offer. He wasn’t trying to sell something, nor did he appear to be some crazed religious fanatic, but clearly people did not want what he was offering. What was he handing out that seemed so objectionable? Five-pound notes. What a monster! You don’t get owt for nowt. We have a saying in Yorkshire: ‘You don’t get owt for nowt’. Now for those of you not fortunate enough to have been born in God’s own county, let me translate. It means: ‘One does not receive something without paying for it’. I recently had to visit someone in hospital. Upon arriving in the car park, I made my way to the Pay Station. There was a notice on the machine which said: Machine broken – parking is free today. As parking at hospitals can be quite costly, I should have been jumping for joy, but not me, I was suspicious. Parking at the hospital ca...