Don't worry I'm not eulogising over them like routemasters, but the other night I found myself needing one when I was in Hampstead and each one I found was smashed and all broken and usually left wounded and unwanted next to a gaping gap where another one would have ajoined it and had subsequently been taken away.
Sadly I didn't find one and it got me thinking that bar all the touristy ones in town with all the 'naughty cards' in them, the mobile phone has destroyed public phones to the point that really you'd never really notice they exist anymore until you actually need one and its at that point you realise that BT etc don't give a shit and are letting an unprofitable dependant fall to the wayside and become vicims of vandals and wayfarers, not realising that one day you may need them for that hopefully one off 'important call'. Perhaps they should be run by local boroughs as I think 'we' still need them for our convenience.

PROLEFACT: I've seen one of the really rare country phoneboxes that they painted green instead of red and yes I'm that sad to actually admit it.