Column: Hey, that's my park...

It’s no secret that Martin is a little OCD. Or CDO. It’s like OCD but the letters are in alphabetical order….as they should be! Little compulsive disorder humour there.

But seriously, his OCD is serious. Everything at his desk must sit at a right angle. (One of Sarah’s favourite things to do is to slightly tilt his computer screen when he’s out of the studio; drives him nuts). When he hangs out washing, any pegs used on a single item must be the same colour. He checks the doors are locked at least five times before he goes to bed at night.

And this week he revealed that he has what he considers “his park” at the supermarket. And the video store. And the sports park. Basically anywhere there’s a car park, there’s a “Martin park”. Sarah suggested (as a joke) that he should perhaps get a sign made with his face on it and place it inside his preferred park so everyone knows it’s taken. He’s already called a sign maker.

The strange thing is he’s not alone. We’ve discovered there are many others out there who have a favourite park and they’re a passionate bunch. One listener revealed she not only has a favourite park, but she starts to feel quite anxious if someone else is in her spot. Another admitted to giving people “the look” if they dared to steal her park. Ummm….let’s remember these poor people have no idea that this park supposedly belongs to someone else, they’re just parking their car, minding their own business when they’re suddenly faced with a death stare for no apparent reason! One lady we talked to has a certain row she likes to park in at the supie because she swears the parks are a tiny bit wider. We asked another if she would be willing to pay for the privilege of always having “her park” available to her and she admitted she would. “But not a ridiculous amount,” she said. “It is just a park after all.”

Martin thinks he might start a club as he’s not the only one who is a little fanatical about this subject. Sarah said he could call it ‘People Against Park Stealers’ or PASP. But Martin said no, it should be APSS. Can you guess why?