Just when I thought France and Italy were trying to outdo each other in the greediness stakes, a short trip back to Britain reminds me of where the serious grasping is still done.
Whoever operates Luton Airport's car parks may be no worse than countless others around the country.
But if I have bridled at airport parking charges in Toulon and Nice, what am I really supposed to make of Luton tariffs?
Let's start with the drop-off and pick-up charges. It is not so long ago that I would fly regularly from Heathrow, pay about £12 including tip for a booked minicab from Ealing and be able to step from it directly outside the terminal without the driver having to pay.
At Luton, warning signs tell approaching drivers what to expect for this simple act - "charges now apply" - and then whacks each of them for £2.50 even for 15 minutes. The drop-off car park is far enough from the terminal building for a father, say, helping his daughter and her luggage to check-in, to stray into the next bands - £5, £7 and £9 for 20, 25 and 30 minutes respectively.
The short-term car park, an even longer walk from the arrivals area, cost me £12. I had arrived just 13 minutes from the scheduled arrival of a flight and managed to keep my stay below two hours by only a minute, taking account of a short delay in arrival and a longer wait for the passengers concerned to appear.
One more minute and I'd have been fleeced for £16.
I truly hope the attendants are well paid to reflect these exorbitant rates. I saw a couple of them who gave the impression, at first sight, of being able to eat quite heartily but didn't like to ask.
To be fair to Luton, I also had to pay £4.70 for up to two hours at Ealing hospital, not wishing to risk overstaying a single hour if the people on whose behalf I was being charged, the hospital, failed to keep to the appointment time. In the event, we were in and out reasonably quickly and I took great, mischief-making delight in disposing carelessly of my ticket, doing nothing to prevent it being picked up by a woman waiting to take my place.
Again to be fair, this time to London theatres, I cannot complain too much about what we are paying to see the West End musical based on the Kinks tomorrow night. I paid comparable prices for Coldplay live in Nice and the Stones in Paris.
All the same, London and the home counties reek of ripoff and I cannot wait to be back in France ...
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