AS we make our plodding and determined way along life’s highways and byways, we often catch sight of something deeply unpleasant and wretched in our rearview mirrors that turns our stomach and haunts our waking hours.

For a lot of Abergavenny people in recent times that thing of great ugliness has been the disused bus shelter at Pen-y-Pound.

Since the dawn of time, or at least the 1950s, the stone shelter has been a popular place for people to smoke fags, stare contemptuously at passers-by, hurl abuse at cyclists, or simply wait for a bus that may never arrive.

During the bright and bold utilitarian promise of its early days, the shelter had an open place for people to sit and perhaps hide from the fundamental ugliness of the modern world.

However, due to its increased popularity as a toilet for people on their way back from the pub, it was bricked in and what was once ugly became even uglier.

Nevertheless, for years it continued to serve its designated purpose as a place to stand and ruminate on the woeful nature of public transport. That is, until recently.

Like an old, worn, torn, and destitute thing that is falling apart at the seams, but somehow miraculously still standing, the old bus shelter began to crumble.

Little by little, pieces started to fall off the roof. The centre could not hold, and as these lumps of falling stone poised a mortal threat to life and limb, MCC soon got involved.

Like a white knight on a shetland pony, the authority quickly designated the bus shelter a no-go area and surrounded it with precautionary measures.

It was difficult to imagine how the bad could be made worse, but somehow the council found a way!

After quarantining it with mesh steel fences and imprisoning it in a cage like a dangerous animal, the bus shelter has now become a no-go area and one of the sorest sights for sore eyes in a town that has its fair share.

The Chronicle contacted MCC earlier this year and asked how long this state of affairs would last. On May 15 a spokesperson informed us, “Structural engineers are currently making assessments and any works will be completed as soon as possible.”

As everyone and their monkey knows, the phrase “As soon as possible” is open to interpretation when it comes to local government.

However, the questions remain. Are some things worth persevering just because they’re old? And, should the council simply pull down the old bus shelter and replace it with something useful, like a statue that sings?|