PEST CONTROL

Shopping in Rhyl town centre remains my habit despite psychopathic cyclists on the pavements and silly unsheltered benches in High Street (useless when raining). Another obstacle to enjoyment: people trying to sell you something as you walk along. They don’t want cash; they want you to sign pledges to give money later.

These pests are rather like cold callers and spammers. Sky sellers in White Rose Centre are comparatively well behaved. I remember saying, ‘I don’t want Sky TV – too much American stuff on there.’ To which they replied, ‘But American TV is better!’ Are these people trained to say things like that are or they just making it up as they go along?

Last year a chap walking in front of me encountered a pest calling out, ‘Sir, will you support our soldiers overseas?’ The chap replied ‘No, they are only making things worse.’ Well, why should we be called at (and asked questions of) as we struggle to remember what was on the shopping list we left on our kitchen table?

In Rhyl High Street you can see pests at a distance and take evasive action – not so easy in White Rose Centre, but I find that dodging in and out of Iceland via B&M Stores reduces the risk of encountering them. Some pests employ aggressive tactics like handing you an item such as a ‘welcome pack’ but not letting go of it while they hit you with their spiel!

Illustration: Parasites by German artist Katrin Alvarez. Find out about her here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrin_Alvarez


Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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SAT 28^th FEB UPDATE: Mrs. M. of Rhyl East, a wheelchair shopper, uses Poundland as a pest-free route to and from White Rose Centre’s Supernews (was Supercigs) and Sayers café.

Instead of Poundland, Mrs. M. would rather get to her destinations via Boots chemist where she usually has to go anyway, but the stairs at the back exit of Boots are too much of an obstacle.
"The exit is owned by White Rose Centre who are too mean to put in a ramp," says Mrs. M.

She needs assistance in some places in town centre because of closed doors that are too stiff to open. I know what she means, there are some real shoulder-wrenchers!

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