Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
This is the last holdover from my trip-to-England pictures ... I just had to share. While there I became fascinated with street signs that were unfamliar to my Canadian eyes -- so I took snaps of a few particularly unique ones.
This one mystified Jason and me. What was it warning of? A snake that had swallowed a pig, lying in the middle of the road? Turns out it's nothing more amazing than speed bumps.
Here's one of my absolute favourites. You know those "School Crossing" signs, or "Children at Play" signs with the silhouette of a boy and girl? In England, they have these:
They appear near retirement homes, etc. Sometimes they say "Elderly People Crossing" but other times it's just the visual. I love it!
Finally, my vote for the "Most Obscure Street Sign in England" competition:
I think I'm going to throw this one out there as a contest -- to readers outside England, of course. Not sure what the prize will be for a correct answer, but I think I'll have lots of time to come up with something. Blogreaders, I ask you: What precisely is a "Humped Pelican Crossing?" What should one do upon seeing this sign? Place your answer in the "Comments."
Speaking of contests (file this under "Shameless Self Promotion"): Did you know that right now, if you post a reader review of a book on www.indigo.ca , you are eligible for a prize draw in which you can win a big mucho grande gift certificate for lotsa books? What a good time to post a review of The Violent Friendship of Esther Johnson!!! Everybody benefits!
Again with the contests ... thanks to the host and judges of last month's "Blogging for Books" contest for voting me the winner! If you missed my essay, "The Waste Land," you can go back and read it. B4B is a great contest ... every blogger should have a shot at it.
Finally ... this is just for a laugh (not that the thing with the signs was all that serious). Last night I visited the website that makes me laugher harder than anything. So hard I cry; so hard I'm weak afterwards. It's a good, cleansing, cathartic laugh. Of course, if your sense of humour is different from mine and Jason's, you might not find it funny at all. BUT ... if you want to risk being very amused, go to ... http://kookychow.com .
posted by TrudyJ | 8:01 AM
7 Comments:
My don't the English have a way with words! I thought perhaps they had found a use for all those pelicans who had starved to death ue to the shortage of fish world-wide, but no! it's just their way of lumping abbreviations together to form a word. Now that we know that, I won't spoil the suspense by giving the answer, but it has something to do with people and traffic lights, and speed bumps.
On sober second thought, I may have been too literal in take on the Humped Pelican Crossing sign. Since the shortage of fish world-wide, pelicans have been reduced to getting their meals at Fish and Chip takeaways. The British, being an orderly lot, have designated certain places to be used as crossings, to enable the pelicans to feed in an orderly manner. Unfortunately, with the rise in the price of fish and chips, there are frequently too few left-overs to feed all the birds and, alas, some fall be the wayside, forming a sort of elongated mound. To ensure that no one steps unadvertantly into such a mound, the proper authorities have posted warning signs.
Pelicans are big birds, and they have big poop. Drivers need to be forewarned in areas where pelicans are known to cross because the splat could obscure your vision. The hump is the result of all of this piling up during times when there were no cars to accept the spillage.
Humped Pelican Crossing...hmmm. Perhaps the old humped pelican's resemble the old humped people in the previous signage you posted. England...perhaps on a lesser known scale, must be fowl friendly for more than just pigeons.
I imagine the humped pelicans aren't particularly agile, and are fairly easy to mow down with one's car. It must be difficult to get about on those spindly legs, especially when one is sporting a curved Quasiemodo'ish spine. They can't fly, of course. If they took off the alignment would cause them to just circle down and smash into the ground. How terribly sad. "SAVE THE HUMPED PELICANS!" No wonder they have their own sign!
oWell, I've never come across any humped pelicans!
I do have an elderly persons crossing sign on the roadside near our house but I've never had any idea why! Amuses me too!
I'm so glad that you and your family had a good trip.
I might add that now you're back home its 18C, wet and windy.
Come back soon!
Perhaps we should ask which part of England had the sign posted? Their terms may not be as refined...as say other parts of the country...when referring to a pregnant bird.
and what about the "danger - large exclamation mark bouncing in road" sign?
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