Here's a lovely quintessentially London Documentary from 1984 "Just Another Day" Traffic Wardens from the celebrated documentary maker John Pitman Shown on BBC 2
Actually the Traffic Warden Service hated this programme at the time,with traffic wardens being shown arguing with the motorists which wasn't how we were trained, I was not always a complete saint myself I will admit motorists can be very aggressive,and staying calm under fire is not always easy,but I would never argue with them or swear at them.We were trained to see the bigger picture and to realise that the angry motorist was really barking at authority rather than you as an individual.
I served as a member of the London Metropolitan Police Traffic Warden Service for about 3 and a half years from 1983 onwards I was stationed in Chelsea Traffic Warden unit in Yeomans Row SW3 not far from Harrods. It was a job you were best not taking too seriously.I was very strict for the first year until I saw the light and realised oneday what a sham /parking regulations were,and that honey is sweeter than vinegar,and a blind eye can be a beautiful thing to keep you out of trouble. Watching this wonderful documentary brings it all back. During my time doing a job that had its lovely moments and the occasional horrid moment.I met a few motorists who were horrors,but most of them were very kind and knew we traffic wardens were there to do a job and try even if it was in vain to keep the traffic moving. I have many happy memories of my friends and colleagues at Chelsea Traffic Warden unit,and I would love to hear from any that remember me.Please do drop me a line so we can share a few memories and catch up
hyperbolelad@hotmail.com
Apologies I have had to mute the last minute or two of this documentary to avoid youtube's complete muting of the sound for copyright reasons.
Kind Regards
Jim Clark
