I missed this story when it was reported a couple of months ago, but its pretty amusing. and reminds of the the 'Dead Bod' story from Hull back on page 32, which showed even the most basic graffiti if left untouched for decades can work its way into peoples affections. And in Dead Bod's case it was saved by the locals and ended up becoming a symbol of the city itself. Original link to the Dead Bod Story here:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/street-art.221565/post-5148891
This time its about some long lasting graffiti on a motorway bridge that was recently removed, much to the outrage of many motorists. Located on the M25 and surviving for over 20 years, it was arguably one of the most viewed pieces of graffiti in the country and seen by millions. I am one of the millions to have driven past it, and though I did not know the story of it until today, it always made me smile and think of the John Lennon song. I bet its caused more smiles than Network Rail have managed since its formation in 2002. And it must have diffused some road rage over the years on one of most congested roads in the country.
I don't fancy their chances on getting this officially reinstated, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the original slogan reappear on the bridge, crowd funded maybe
. Full story:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-45593174
I find Network Rail's 'no graffiti is good graffiti' line a bit draconian. I understand their safety concerns, but this has not stopped graffiti artists taking to the tracks and arches for decades now. As owners of millions of miles worth of track and I don't know how many buildings, bridges, underpasses and overpasses, ie painters real estate
, they could be doing more community work by setting aside some safe sights for budding artists to practice on, hopefully also helping keep people off the tracks . There is a series of arches in Mile End that this was allowed, and one of my regular haunts in Leake St, under one of the many rail lines at Waterloo its also allowed, here's one from there today.
But Network Rail could be doing much more, who knows, with a bit of extra training some graffiti artists could be trained up to do some signal repairs and other jobs on the creaking network
