The best two days... Ever!

I think I may have just had the most successful two day period so far in this game. 9 cars, wooh-hooh!

I've been going to Saisnbury's at least once a week since I started playing, and I always have to pass through the car park and see lots of cars, but before Sunday I'd never managed to find a plate there. This has always felt like extreme bad luck, possibly because it was extreme bad luck. This week I had a feeling that things might work out better. And they did! On the right hand side of the car lane, about 7 cars away from the entrance was a 45. The time was 1220. From this point, 46 was going to be almost trivial, as I knew there were two parked up that I'd pass on my way home.

It was quite irritating though to then spot a 47 and a 48, in that order, before I got to the first 46. I didn't worry too much though, as I've observed that 47s are quite common round here.

Sunday therefore finished with 2 spots (the 46 was in the Post Office depot at around 1 o'clock). Would Monday be better?

Yes, it would be much better. We went out into the Peak District to go for a walk around Castleton. This is about an hour and a half away, so lots of potential for spotting. Some of it is motorway though, which isn't that good. Cars coming towards you with a relative speed of 140mph - it can be hard on the eyes to check all the plates.

Didn't start off too well, but just before arriving in Hillsborough, Sheffield, I got a 47 at 1051. It was on the downhill approach, but I forget what the area is called. I think there may be small retail park on the left hand side as you descend. After navigating through the land of Sheffield Wednesday, we started to head away from Sheffield and into the Peak District itself. At 1120, parked by Ladybower Lake was a 48. So with two down, I'm pretty content. More importantly, Chris hadn't got any yet, and I really need to eat into his lead. But there's still half a day to go, anything can happen.

But it doesn't. Not for me anyway. Chris nearly crashed the car as I saw a 77 that he needed drive past us. But sadly for him, he didn't see it. He got a different one later though so he wasn't sulking for too long.

On the way home, I spotted a 49 near Hope Station at ten to five. Then, twenty seven minutes later I got the 50. Halfway to 100! Happy, big smiles.

51 to 53 were always going to be really easy, as half of all new cars have these plates, due to a change in the UK number plate numbering system a few years ago. Some people think these should not count, but if I may just quote from the official rules: "For all but the most obsessed player, personalised and new style number plates are acceptable". Hence I think the new ones are fine. I got all three of them in the same minute as I got the 50 - two of them were the car in front and the one in front of that!

Back to normal spotting now, but the new 54 plates are released later in the week so I shouldn't have too long to wait if I don't get an old style one in the meantime.

And 44's a taxi

Saturday night on my way to Totos - best way is through the train station, as I gain bonus car parks. Nothing in the car parks though. There never is. The Flourescent yellow taxi, driving past the station at around 10 to seven was very welcome. It was 44.

Whilst sitting at dinner I had a great view of the road. I kept staring out at it. Ignoring people, just looking at cars. Saw 46 and 47, but they could not help at that point. I know where there are two 46s near the flat in any case, and every other car that drives past me at the moment seems to be a 47 so I'm not hugely worried on that front. Just gotta get the 45 first.

Sandwich 43

On a Saturday lunchtime, it is quite likely that I'll want a sandwich. I have a choice:

1) Advance preparation - ensure that I have bread & filling in my flat before Saturday. It is then a simple matter to prepare a sandwich.
2) Head townwards and purchase a sandwich from a shop in town. Often I find M&S is a good Saturday choice.
3) Head left up Leeman Road to the little local shop (for local people) and purchase a sandwich there.

Today I chose option 3. This turned out to be a fantastic choice, as parked just round the corner from me, at around ten past midday, was a purple Ford Fiesta with a 43 plate.

The sandwich I had was quite nice - beef, red onion and horseradish. I dripped horseradish on my t-shirt slightly, but other than that it was good.

Grafitti is good

It's great that there was some grafitti in the pedestrian tunnel. It meant that the cleaning van had to turn up this morning to get rid of it - a great van, it was the 42 I needed. I saw it at around twenty past eight. The van also do CCTV apparently, but that would have been no use to me. The walls are all clean now, ready for new writing to be put on them so that a new van with a new number can be called out. Maybe it was part of a fleet with consecutive plates...

Later I saw a taxi, also 42. You are no use Mr Taxi! Get out of my life, I don't need you!

Back to normal ie slow

Back to normal spotting now. Things are still going pretty slowly, hopefully they'll pick up at some point. Saturday could be promising as I'm going to head to a barbecue in a brand new area.

This morning, 41 drove past the traffic lights on the south side of Lendal Bridge at around 0820. I seem to get a lot of spots around there. Maybe because it's a place I pass on virtually every trip I ever make.

The Ballad of CNPS nos 31 to 40

So here at last is the final part of the task I set myself back on May 29 - it's taken be around 2 months to get 10 cars. Not a good rate. Oh well, here's the promised poem:

The Ballad of CNPS nos 31 to 40
A long time ago, Rich set himself a task:
To collect 10 number plates should not be too much to ask.
One to thirty had been found without a huge kerfuffle,
So thirty one to forty should be trivial with no hassle.
But pride of a collector will come before a fall
And in weeks one and two he found not one at all.
Eventually at a fancy dress, held at Castle Bert,
A thirty-one outside the house, at last, an end to hurt.
So now the game's afoot, the next one must be near,
But three more long days must he pass before he sees his dear
Next plate - To the North of Lendal bridge it's found:
It's night so the plate is hard to see, inches above the ground.
It's definitely a thirty-two, a check at the back confirms it,
But who'd have thought it'd be three weeks before he'd increment it?
On the way to the races, the John Smiths Cup, on the 10th day of July
Seeing a thirty-three on Blossom St did nearly make Rich cry.
And oh, the joy, and oh, the surprise
That plate would not be his only prize.
On the way home from the horses, forty odd quid better off,
Thirty four was near the train station hooray! Cough!
So now he's making progress, how much longer will he be?
At least a week it does turn out until the next he see.
But the eighteenth of July was to be an excellent day.
Three plates were seen on a walk round town - he walked a lucky way!
Thirty-five, thirty-six, and thirty-seven were apparently
At the Euro-CarPark, The Post Office and On Leeman Rd respectively.
So now the end is finally near, just three more plates to witness!
But wait, foreign holiday coming up, to finish before would be sweetness.
And oh, it's going to be so close, but he'll get two more in England -
On the twenty-fourth in Russell Square a thirty-eight he lands.
And the next day on the A2, from the window of the coach he spys
a plate thirty-nine on the road ahead, so quickly flying by.
And that's it for a while, as Rich has European Holiday
In Europe plates are all different, CNPS he can't play.
But when back in York on the sixth of August, walking with his bag,
In Euro-CarPark is parked a forty - this banishes all jet-lag!
And now the challenge is over, apart from writing this epic yarn.
The pressure's off, it's time for rest or maybe to buy a barn.
Whilst trying this challenge, Herring's finished the whole game.
But Rich still has 959 more to go before he'll feel no shame.

I thank you.

The journey continues...