44. Krispy Kreme

Hi, I am Greg and I want to grumble about a certain doughnut shop that has opened up on Port Road at Croydon.

Now for years when I have caught planes home I have been bemused to watch people rearranging the overhead luggage so that they could bring their box of Krispy Kremes back to the apparently deprived and doughnut-less frontier town Adelaide.

But now, amid much fanfare, we have our very own Krispy Kreme outlet!

Last Monday I was mildly amused to see people camping in the freezing cold to be the first to contribute to the global franchise’s $500m a year revenue. That was just bizarre (as was the knife-point doughnut theft later in the week), but what I want to grumble about was the number of people who thought it was fine to park in the bike lane outside the shop.

As I rode by on Thursday I counted 12 cars parked in the no-parking zone.

I’m sorry, it is not ok that I and other cyclists are put at risk by being forced out into the traffic lanes just so that they can get closer to the their sugar fix.

I don’t think you need to be a health fanatic to say that in peak hour traffic, my health and wellbeing should have a higher priority than their easy access to breakfast treats.

And ok, having got that Grumble out of my system, I will acknowledge that it is pretty trivial in a week where the Australian government abandoned any real policy to address climate change, madmen or zealots shot down a passenger plane at horrendous human cost, and in a disproportionate and bloody response to rocket attacks against it, Israel is bombing Gaza and continuing the cycle of war and hatred.

But what can I say about that. To paraphrase Gandhi, when I think of western civilisation, I think it would be a good idea.

But the issues here are just too big, too horrible and too disempowering.

I am Greg, and I despair.

This Grumble can be heard online or by podcast.
First Broadcast: 22 July 2014