As a society, we are almost all of us thoroughly reliant these days on our cars for personal transport and the independence they offer.
But with that reliance comes the problem of where to park and the thorny dilemma of how much we should pay. Our local authorities, including Argyll and Bute Council, provide car parks in our town centres, complete with meters to allow us to stump up for the privilege.
Until now, apparently. At present, many of the payand- display meters are unable to accept the new £1 coins that have very recently been introduced by the Royal Mint as a means to combat an increasing problem of fraud. There is also a problem in using the new coins in vending machines and supermarket trolleys.