Asterix and Obelix try to get Permit A38

[Jamie123]

I think the writers must have experienced the joys of trying to get a parking permit from Preston Town Hall in the 1980s. I still have nightmares...

Edited May 14 by Jamie123
Got the number of the permit wrong

[Carborendum]

Classic.

I take it you had some recent run-in with the real-life version?

Even better was when Obelix refused to spend another minute on the Island of Pleasure because they had no wild boar to eat. Just grapes, Ambrosia nectar, and the most beautiful women in the world to tend to you.

"What kind of Island of Pleasure is this?  No wild boar, indeed!"

Edited May 14 by Carborendum

[NeuroTypical]

My life has been like this a couple of times.

[Jamie123]

19 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I take it you had some recent run-in with the real-life version?

It wasn't recent - it was 1986. I was staying in a house with "residents only parking" during the day, and although I was a resident, I didn't have a resident's permit. That meant I had to move the car a few streets away every morning and then back to the front of the house every evening, to avoid getting ticketed. Eventually I found out the Town Hall was where you got permits from (though this was by no means advertised) and that was only open week days and was about 20 minutes walk from my workplace. So during each lunch hour I had exactly 20 minutes to negotiate with the Town Hall people. During the first visit I just about managed to find the right department, and the next day I went in and got the forms. I brought them back again the next day, but you had to pay a fee, and the place you paid the fee was different from the place that issued the permits. Furthermore it had a different lunch hour from the permit office, so the next day I had to get special permission to be away from work during an hour the fees office was open to go in to pay the fee. Of course I had find the right room and then queue up to pay, but I did just about manage to hand over the cash and get my recept just before I had to dash back to work. The next day I had the forms all filled in (or "out") and I had the recept... so I finally went back to the first office to claim my permit...

... and they couldn't find the permits.

They hunted around for about five minutes looking in cupboards and filing cabinets, and then the guy came to me and said "could you come back tomorrow?"

I bit my tongue, but I wanted to make the noise that Winnie-the-Pooh made when he was trapped in the heffalump pit with the hunny pot stuck on his head, just at the moment Piglet looked over the edge.

Luckily the look on my face (despite the fact that I was only 21 and looked younger) sent him searching again, and a few minutes later I had my permit.

At last no more playing musical cars. Luxury.

Edited May 15 by Jamie123

[Ironhold]

Coincidentally, Free Comic Book Day was the first Saturday of this month.

One of the titles available as part of the FCBD offerings was a special Asterix book in which select panels from different stories from over the years were strung together with narration putting them in the context of advising the reader on how to adopt a life of health & fitness. Advertising in the book included reference to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris this year. 

[classylady]

I was introduced to “Asterix” while on my mission in Germany around 1976\77.  My experience has been reading them in German.  I was just in Germany last month and found two new editions. Now, my German is so rusty I’m having a hard time reading them! But, I’m persevering. I figure it will help me with the language. I’m so tempted to buy the books in English, but I will not give in.