Right folks, I'll
start this week's Saturday Snapshot with
a huge 'thank you' to everyone who commented on my duck pictures in
last week's post. The response was tremendous (as I keep saying, the Internet
is a wonderful thing), and I am so grateful to the knowledgeable people who
were able to identify my mystery water fowl. They turned out to be mallard
hybrids, rather than a rare and strange new species, but I'm glad I know what
they are, and I am still watching them when I walk by the lake.
I only have a
couple of photos today, but they both made me chuckle. The first is of a
sign on Bridge 74 on the Coventry Canal at Tamworth, where Tamworth Cruising Club is based, and many narrow boats
are moored. It's very blurred, because there's no towpath or public access on
that side, and I was balanced on the very edge of the water on the
towpath (opposite the sign)trying to get a shot!I have cropped the photo, but
it's still not very clear. Basically it's asking boaters to slow down, so the
wash from their craft doesn't disturb others, and it's a little rhyme which
says:If you slow down when passing through
We will smile and wave at you
But thrash on past without a care
And all you'll get is a stony stare.
It made me wonder if people would pay more attention if all public notices were poetic!
And I couldn't resist taking a snap of this sign stuck on a glass bus shelter
in the town centre, because it seems to be a case of health and safety gone mad
- stating the obvious I think. Why warn people that there are moving buses at a
bus stop? What else would anyone expect to find there? I just hope time and
money won't be wasted putting them up on any other bus shelters.
You may notice
(it's hard to avoid really) that the blog has a new look - I wanted something
cheerful and uplifting to make me smile when I look at it, but I do wonder if
this is a little over the top! I did it last night, and it took me hours - at
one stage I ended up with gobbledy gook appearing on screen, then the blog
disappeared completely when I tried to get it back to normal, because I'd
forgotten to save the original template! It's still a work in progress, but
I'll attack it again later on, and see if I can remember how to put borders
back on photos.
I'm not sure if
everything that was there before is still here, and I'm not sure if the
comments will work - last time I tried to be clever and put a different
background on no-one could comment, so if there is a problem please leave a
message on my other blog,
which is where I originally started blogging, and it got overtaken by this one!
Fun signs...thanks for sharing and for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Saturday Snapshot
Thank you for commenting Elizabeth.
DeleteLOLs, I think all warning signs should be more entertaining. That bus sign is bright, but let's face it, the people who would walk to close to a moving bus are the people who WON'T read the signage... Book Savvy Babe
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right - I guess people who walk too close to the buses just aren't bothered. And if they did read the sign, perhaps they wouldn't stop doing it anyway!
DeleteI love seeing amusing signs -- thanks for posting! Your new blog design is very pretty, just in time for Spring! :-) I know how you feel, though, when you play around with it and then things go wrong, lol. Thanks for stopping by my Snapshot post!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Melissa. I'm glad you mentioned Spring, because that's just what I was trying to achieve with the blog. I keep looking at the grey skies, and wrapping up against the wind and rain when I'm out, and I wanted something cheery to look at.
DeleteYour comments are definitely working...and I love the new design.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is the first time I noticed about your Norwegian grandmother. Mine was Swedish and left her home country at age twenty with only a trunk. I have a photo of it somewhere. Mine left sometime around the turn of the 20th Century.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Oh, what a co-incidence! I'd love to see a photo of the trunk - we don't have much from my grandmother, but I have a photo of her with two of her sisters and her father, when they were very small - less than five I think. And Mum has a couple of photos of her as a young woman, possibly a teenager.
DeleteGlad you've ID the water birds. Always interesting to see hybrids. This is a fresh, new look. The type style looks like manuscript... good prompt for writing. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you, glad you like the new look, I still want to make a few alterations, and shift some of the stud on the side bars on to their own pages.
DeleteGreat signs.
ReplyDeleteThey made me smile, and it's nice if other people laugh as well!
DeleteI love to find quaint signs or funny ones...it's interesting the first sign is so small that it would be hard for the boaters to read! I like your new design, the side panels complement your header nicely. I have similar problems when I want to update my blog. I've avoided it but my blog needs a new look and I'll work on it in time.
ReplyDeleteI think boaters would probably see the sign fairly clearly from the canal, and I could read it (with a bit of squinting) from the tow path - I suspect the main problem is my camera!
DeleteThese signs are priceless. I like the look of your new blog design. The flowers, birds, and rosy color have me dreaming of warm spring days!
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ The Key to the Gate
Rebecca, that's kind of you to say so, and I think we're all dreaming of warm spring days - I just wish the dream would become a reality!
DeleteOur no wake signs aren't nearly as entertaining here! I bet they might make people slow down just to read them.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure poetic road signs would help reduce accidents!
DeleteHow fun! I love amusing signs. :)
ReplyDeleteI always find silly signs very cheering.
DeleteI like your new look for spring. Sometimes a blog revamp gets pretty scary during the process!
ReplyDeleteScary doesn't even begin to describe it! Sheer panic set in, followed by a feeling of mild hysteria!
DeleteYes, the updated blog template is looking good♫♪ Enjoyed your signs and especially your description of your balancing act to get a good snapshot♫♪ Life is a balancing act! Happy Week-end♥
ReplyDeleteYou are quite right, life is a balancing act - just s well I didn't fall in!
DeleteI noticed your makeover straight away! It looks great. The bridge sign is great. The bus sign just makes me despair- we seem to be getting more stupid and signs need to be put on everything- one of my favourite is when they put a Warning- contains nuts on a packet of nuts....
ReplyDeleteLouise, I've seen warnings about nuts on packets of nuts and other nut products (like nut roasts or nut cutlets), and it always makes me laugh because it seems superfluous. And announcements on trains are the verbal equivalents of silly notices!!
DeleteI think the first sign is much more effective than the second one - I hope they don't replace it with a health and safety gone mad one!
ReplyDeleteI was amused by your blog template change - I went the other way from a picture of books in my background to a completely plain one! I've tried to find a more cheerful background but each time I change it I don't like the result, and I'm not very technical so I worry about messing it all up - so well done!
Thank you Margaret. I'm not very technical, and I get very het up when things go wrong, but I was determined to do it!
DeleteGreat photos, Christine. I love clever signs.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the photos - I'll keep my eyes open for more signs.
DeleteSigns can be a lot of fun, can't they. Thanks for your take on them and for visiting my blog. Here's Mine
ReplyDeleteEasy to overlook them, and think they are not worth a photo because they are not 'pretty' or scenic, but they can capture a moment!
DeleteI love finding funny signs! Sometimes they are so dumb but it seems like everyone has to worry about legal issues now. Remember when McDonald's had to pay the woman who spilled hot coffee in her lap? After that they put warnings on their cups - Hot Coffee! Or a sticker on a toaster that says not to take it in the bath tub!! (Duh, but sad it's come to that) They are still entertaining.
ReplyDeleteYour blog looks very pretty and perfect for spring! You've done a great job with it! :)
Sadly, I suppose people do have to consider the legal implications and make sure they are covered, so they are not responsible, but it all seems daft to me.
DeleteCool post.
ReplyDeleteYour new look seems just fine to me. Maybe I should have a makeover..... and my blog too.
Have a good week.
I'm pleased you like it.
DeleteVery cute rhyming sign! Sadly some people need the obvious warnings. :)
ReplyDeleteThey must have taken so much time over that little rhyme.
DeleteSometimes I think I'd like to use signs each week for my Snapshot. So many wacky signs.
ReplyDeleteLove your new look here.
Thank you. It would be easy to get hpooked on signs I think.
DeleteLike Wrighty said - people are worried over being sued because even those who can't recognized the likelyhood of moving buses at a bus stop know about lawsuits and what they perceive as the quick jackpot!
ReplyDeleteI know that, sadly, people in all walks of life are worried about being sued, and that there are people who are prepared to sue at the drop of a hat if they see a chance of getting something (in this case money) for nothing - but I still think it's a shame we live in such a bonkers world!
DeleteI love that first sign!
ReplyDeleteIt's so polite, and amusing, but I'm sure people do take notice, simply because it makes them smile, whereas they would probably ignore one of those standard 'Do Not...' type warnings.
DeleteOn the subject of health and saftey gone mad, one school has banned triagular flap-jacks because they're "dangerous".
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that - I thought it was a joke to start with, but apparently it's true! Something to do people throwin them I believe.
Delete