Always Looking for a Sign

The signage in the United Kingdom is wee bit more polite than here in the States. I particularly liked this first sign, which was at the soup bar at the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. I thought this reflected the idea of living in the moment quite well. Anybody can plan for a soup of the day, but this sign tells me that things can change anytime. How exciting!

Then there are confusing, weird signs. I did not see any pelicans, humped or otherwise as we walked the streets of Inverness, Scotland, but I’m told this is just a pedestrian crossing with a light where you can push the button to gain right-of-way and cross the street. By the time we made it to the actual crossing, I wanted to cross the street like a pelican, but that wasn’t the correct direction for us, and besides, I can’t fly. That brings the question of why pelicans would need a crosswalk at all.

Yield! That’s so abrupt it’s borderline rude. How about we give way to each other instead.

I don’t think the US would use signage like this. Somebody would get offended, and an exact definition of elderly would be debated to death. Then again, there would be those who want to take advantage of a crossing area if it were exclusively for the elderly, and they aren’t really old enough to be considered elderly yet – like asking for a senior discount when you’re not quite there yet. But this sign on a street in Aberdeen, Scotland, is not just a crosswalk. It puts you on alert that the elderly are around, and you better watch out for them. Take that to mean what you will. Be observant of elderly people as they may not move quickly or hear well. Or, watch out for the crotchety old person who may hit you with a cane.

Contrast these interesting signs with a recycled (reused) one in my neighborhood. The primary election is over, so why not put a difficult to read sign along the road to make people slow down and possibly rear-end each other. I asked Bob to pull over so I could snap a photo.