Another omen?

Following the last lighter-weight post I need to regale you with my visit for my annual eye examination.  It's not about the exam. but the process of parking in the small short-term pay-and-display car park close by.

The pay machine, by card only, had clear illustrated instructions of which buttons to press: hit start, then card, then length of time, then agree with yourself, and await instructions.  Slowly words emerged on the screen: Wait for reader.  Obediently, I waited.  Nobody else was in sight in the car park.  Eventually, seeing its instruction to insert card I pushed it hard into the slot with aplomb.  But nothing happened...after a couple of minutes the screen reverted to the process's beginning.  Undaunted I repeated the process with exactly the same result. 

Leaving on the windscreen on a piece of paper explaining how I had tried and failed, I beetled off to my optician.  Forty minutes later I returned to find a traffic warden leaving the scene. "Excuse me,' I said plaintively, 'I parked here but had trouble with my card.' 'Were you the gentleman who left me a note?' he said.  'Yes, I am. I really tried to make it work.'  'Well,' he said,' don't worry I left you alone!'  Mightily relieved I asked him whether other users had tickets.  He told me they did.  Well what did they do differently.  'With that machine,' he answered, ' you must never insert the card.  Always use contactless. But Happy New Year, sir!'   So that sort of worked out OK. Gracc amid complications. I really wouldn't mind that being how 2022 works out!