It’s with a Nokia 808 in-hand that I decided to kill an hour at the port of Dunkirk in France recently. It’s a grim place. The petro and chemical industry, the lorry parks, old rail infrastructure and the grime caused by the transport of 29 million tonnes of freight per year and 13 million tonnes of roll-on-roll-off vehicles. 2.5 million passengers pass through that part of the port every year and most of those go via the DFDS (was Norfolk Lines) ferry that runs every 2 hours to Dover. Nearly 750 thousand vehicles per year pass through a parking bay with one set of toilets located in a reception building that is, like a disused prison, depressing and interesting at the same time.
Image via the Port of Dunkirk. Reception building and waiting area at middle bottom of image.