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Rather OT: Odd roadside adornments

Started by Tim Dunne · · Last activity · 8 posts · 384 views

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UK and Europe
Published
29 September 2007
Last activity
3 October 2007
Original author
Tim Dunne
Posts
8
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Public discussion
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  1. This is a bit strange.

    While out and about on the bike this afternoon, zipping around east
    Staffordshire (specifically between Shuttington & Seckington, four or five
    miles from Tamworth) On a remote and quite featureless road I passed by a
    substation in an enclosure - normal enough. On the fence around it, at the
    roadside, were cable tied 9 or so different childrens teddy bears. All
    white, quite symmetrical in layout. At first I thought it was a roadside
    shrine to an accident, but there were no cards or flowers. Shaking my head,
    I left and rode on.

    About a mile or so further on toward Seckinton, I came accross this:

    http://www.nervouscyclist.org/odd.jpg

    It's the work of the same hand. It's on a fieldedge fence, at the roadside,
    no buildings for some distance. Again, there were no cards or flowers, but
    it's obviously drawn attention because the grass before it has been stomped
    flat. Something about the way some of those guys have been fixed suggests
    that this wasn't done with great affection.

    Has anyone got any idea what this is about? It's creeping me out...

    Tim

    --
    Sent from Birmingham, UK... Check out www.nervouscyclist.org
    'I find sometimes it’s easy to be myself, but sometimes I find it’s
    better to be somebody else.' - Dave Matthews 'So Much To Say'
    My 'reply to' address is valid, mail to the posting address is dumped

  2. Tim Dunne <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Quoted message said:

    This is a bit strange.
    http://www.nervouscyclist.org/odd.jpg

    Something about the way some of those guys have been fixed suggests
    that this wasn't done with great affection.
    Has anyone got any idea what this is about? It's creeping me out...

    Gamekeepers used to do that. You kill a few squirrels or magpies or
    whatever, and you hang the corpses up to warn off the others.

    Or highwaymen, or pirates. Would it work for speeding motorists, d'you
    think?

    --
    Sue ];(🙂

    Why aren't we demanding regular retests for motor drivers?
    It's obvious a lot of them would fail so that'd solve the congestion problem too.

  3. Sue White said:

    Tim Dunne <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Quoted message said:

    This is a bit strange.
    http://www.nervouscyclist.org/odd.jpg

    Quoted message said:

    Something about the way some of those guys have been fixed suggests
    that this wasn't done with great affection.
    Has anyone got any idea what this is about? It's creeping me out...

    Gamekeepers used to do that. You kill a few squirrels or magpies or
    whatever, and you hang the corpses up to warn off the others.

    I was wondering about that. Maybe it is an attempt to scare off
    invasive species? I wonder if it would have worked for zebra
    mussells?

    John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

    Quoted message said:


    Or highwaymen, or pirates. Would it work for speeding motorists, d'you
    think?

  4. In message <[email hidden]>, John
    Kane <[email hidden]> writes

    Quoted message said:
    Sue White said:

    Tim Dunne <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Quoted message said:

    This is a bit strange.
    http://www.nervouscyclist.org/odd.jpg



    I am almost certain that what we have here is "art". For example, if you
    visit the Glasgow gallery of modern art you will find lots of this
    infinitely depressing genre. I am only surprised that the artist hasn't
    added a skull or 2 to juxtapose the fluffiness and childishness of the
    soft toys with the finality and futility of life. For some reason
    certain artists like doing that.

    Even more depressing is the possibility that the artist is covertly
    filming peoples reactions to finding his outdoor display so that he
    (probably) can make a looped video to show as part of an "installation".
    --
    geomannie (with artists in the family)

  5. John Kane <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Quoted message said:
    Sue White said:

    Tim Dunne <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Gamekeepers used to do that. You kill a few squirrels or magpies or
    whatever, and you hang the corpses up to warn off the others.

    I was wondering about that. Maybe it is an attempt to scare off
    invasive species? I wonder if it would have worked for zebra
    mussells?

    I've seen whole beaches of shells from dead bivalves, and sure enough
    there were no bivalves living on the beaches.
    The effect seems to be short range though, as the rocks nearby were
    encrusted with them.

    --
    Sue ];(🙂

    Why aren't we demanding regular retests for motor drivers?
    It's obvious a lot of them would fail so that'd solve the congestion problem too.

  6. Tim Dunne said:

    This is a bit strange.

    Quoted message said:

    http://www.nervouscyclist.org/odd.jpg

    Quoted message said:

    Has anyone got any idea what this is about? It's creeping me out...

    More creepy artwork:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/02/nheads102.xml

  7. Sue White said:

    John Kane <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Quoted message said:
    Sue White said:

    Tim Dunne <[email hidden]> whizzed past me shouting

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Gamekeepers used to do that. You kill a few squirrels or magpies or
    whatever, and you hang the corpses up to warn off the others.

    Quoted message said:

    I was wondering about that. Maybe it is an attempt to scare off
    invasive species? I wonder if it would have worked for zebra
    mussells?

    I've seen whole beaches of shells from dead bivalves, and sure enough
    there were no bivalves living on the beaches.
    The effect seems to be short range though, as the rocks nearby were
    encrusted with them.

    Now you tell us! We could have been pasting dead zebra mussells all
    along the lakes' shores.

    John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

  8. Marc Brett said:

    On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:27:15 GMT, "Tim Dunne"

    Quoted message said:

    This is a bit strange.
    http://www.nervouscyclist.org/odd.jpg
    Has anyone got any idea what this is about? It's creeping me out...

    More creepy artwork:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/02/nhead...

    Good interview with Fiona Gould on As It Happens (CBC Radio ) last
    night. She seemed to have some suspicions about the carver.

    John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

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