Time of the signs

click photo to enlarge

Near my house, at the entry to a short, scenic lane, with old houses, fine gardens, sturdy trees and a stream alongside it, there is a sign on a pole. It says "Unsuitable for heavy vehicles". Despite the fact that any driver of such a vehicle would have to have the visual acuity of a mole in sunglasses and the intelligence of a dead ant NOT to notice that the lane was unsuitable for his lorry, someone, somewhere, felt it needed spelling out in the form of a permanent sign that disfigures the locality.

The modern world seems obsessed with signs, particularly those designed to be read by drivers. We must have long passed the point where it is impossible for even the most diligent and alert person behind the wheel of a vehicle to take note of every piece of information that highway engineers have put before them. Indeed, there must be an increasing number of locations where to attempt to do so must surely impair your ability to drive safely. In other words they risk becoming counter-productive, encouraging that which they are designed to prevent. When the present government came to power one of the minor policies it gave voice to (and one of the few that I had any agreement with) was the desire for a reduction in the number of signs along our roads. But, they seem to have failed to achieve this goal just as they they are failing with many others. I recall a survey a few years ago suggesting that a large percentage of motorists had forgotten what a significant percentage of the road signs mean, so anyone thinking that a reduction in signage would be detrimental to road safety needs to factor that into their calculations too.

Today's photograph, taken on the beach at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, has two signs, and I'm not ashamed to say that I don't know what they mean. If I were a sailor then I would make sure I did know. However, I have no interest in boats small or large, so I endanger no one with my ignorance. The fact that they are two different colours means, I suppose, that they must do more than simply mark the position of the groynes. From what little knowledge I have I think the green sign may be one of a pair (with a red one) marking the deep water channel. However, the purpose of the yellow one eludes me. By analogy with road signs they are probably warning markers because they are triangular. But I could be wrong, and beyond that, and despite a search I made, I'm clueless.

Of course, it was those green and yellow triangles, stridently coloured to make them noticeable, set against the blue of sea and sky that prompted my photograph, illustrating once again that the nature of something doesn't necessarily preclude it from being the subject of a photograph.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 105mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Wells next the Sea and Wilde

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"I don't desire to change anything in England except the weather."
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish playwright, poet and author

The quotation above is one of the less memorable of the many quotations by Oscar Wilde. It repeats a feeling about England's weather that many English people and visitors to these islands share, but with which I strongly disagree. Elsewhere in this blog I've written about the pleasures of living with weather that is rarely settled, particularly if you're a photographer. Today's photograph was taken in early May, when these 10 beach huts at Wells next the Sea, Norfolk, along with most of the other 190 stretched along the North Sea coast, were uninhabited, the strong wind and scurrying clouds making the sea's edge a place for cagoules, hats, and brisk walking. During my April visit they were busy, and a few days after I took this shot they were, doubtless, thronged with owners soaking up the sun and making the most of the location.

But, since I've written about these huts alongside an image taken on my first visit, I'll return to Oscar Wilde. I have the feeling that, as with many brilliant people, he's not the sort of person you'd like to spend much time with. However, there's no denying that his brand of egotism, vanity, astuteness, insight and wit has its appeal. Here's a selection of some of my favourite quotations. Anyone who isn't familiar with the writer can easily find hundreds more on the internet.

• "I have nothing to declare but my genius." (allegedly said at Customs when entering the United States)
• "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
• "America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between."
• "What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
• "I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I'm saying."
• "Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught."
• "Popularity is the one insult I have never suffered."
• "Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter."
• "I can resist everything but temptation."
• "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."
• "Be yourself: everyone else is already taken."
  
• "Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit." (hence me quoting Wilde today!)

photographs & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 110mm (220mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/160 seconds
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On