* * *
I was sitting on a low wall that bordered an area of
concrete, when two men came along to perform a vital function. One of them placed
a stencil on top of the concrete and sprayed it with paint, which left a small
message that read Don’t drop litter. Bin
it. Four questions came to mind:
1. Why were two men needed to perform this vital function? Was
the second one there to provide moral support, perhaps?
2. How many people actually read small painted messages on
top of pieces of concrete, especially once they’ve become dirty and hardly readable?
3. Do such messages deter the sort of person who is inclined
to drop litter from so doing?
4. Why does the local authority cut vital services in the
name of ‘austerity measures,’ yet continue to employ two men to go around spraying
pointless or near-pointless messages on pieces of concrete?
* * *
There was a large display of chemical air fresheners in one
store, and it occurred to me that they don’t freshen the air at all, they just
fill it with chemicals.
* * *
Tesco had a sign outside the front doors which read Customers are kindly requested to wear a
shirt or T shirt before entering the store. That’s a new one on me, so…
First of all, the English is hardly up to the standard you’d
expect of a large corporation. The
adverb ‘kindly’ is inappropriate, since there’s nothing to be kind about. ‘Respectfully’
would be better. And the conjunction ‘before’ is entirely wrong. It
should be ‘when.’ But mostly, the obvious question it raises is ‘Why?’
* * *
Today’s people-watching produced one abiding impression: A face
is just a face. It’s how you use it that counts.
* * *
Last but no least, shall I shut up?
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