Boater Graffiti

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Whilst travelling down the Trent and Mersey today I passed through Bridge 70 and have to say that I was not in slightest bit impressed with a piece of Graffiti that had clearly been sprayed by a 'boater'. It was in red, sprayed on the towpath walkway under the bridge and the text was,"No Licence Hike, No Gentrification of Canals". Whilst I have no problem with free speech and protest does the half wit who put this on the bridge not realise that there is nothing to distinguish him/her from the scrotes around Brum who spray tag other CRT assets (lock gates,bridges,etc). This licence fee that he/she complains about will now have to be spent cleaning this crap off the wall, how is that helping keep fees down.

I would normally describe myself as against gentrification of the system, but if it results in idiots such as this no longer being able to afford to have anything to do with canals, bring it on!

Rant over

[blackrose]

But on the other hand canalside graffiti could be a whole new platform for boaters who want to express their opinions. 

I can just imagine it: "Widebeam w*nkers!", "Pump outs are pants!" or "Real boaters don't need girly buttons" 

But seriously, is it really worth getting worked up about one random bit of graffiti? It's not like it's a big problem.

[Jerra]

9 minutes ago, blackrose said:

But seriously, is it really worth getting worked up about one random bit of graffiti? It's not like it's a big problem.

Having watched graffiti (as opposed to street art ) for many years it seems to breed once there is one example.

[dmr]

Where's it all going to end? before long there will be graffiti carved into lock beams.

..............Davei

[bizzard]

I think it can be quite informative and educational, it can teach you how to spell and how not to spell and interesting to look at whilst sailing along and can break the monotony. It is also very useful as a guide to where not to moor, especially if it looks fresh.

[blackrose]

I was in Germany a couple of weeks ago and they just seem to live with graffiti over there. Nobody attempts to clean it off. Mind you it is of a significantly higher standard than most of the stuff you see here. 

[Bee]

Yeah, it just messes up the brickwork and its a bit childish and its not something I would ever approve of but I think I know what the perpetrator means. Presumably this was done by someone who is struggling to make ends meet. Years ago when we had a residential mooring and two very young children the licence and mooring fees shot up. I was working full time and could barely afford to pay, I thought we would have to go back to mooring on the towpath, in fact we sold up and left the (English) waterways forever and bought a terraced house not much bigger that the boat. That was back in the days of Thatcher and BWB and I well remember how I felt at the time, A bit of graffiti would not have expressed it.

[Rob-M]

12 minutes ago, bizzard said:

I think it can be quite informative and educational, it can teach you how to spell and how not to spell and interesting to look at whilst sailing along and can break the monotony. It is also very useful as a guide to where not to moor, especially if it looks fresh.

Not always a good indication of whether to moor or not, I overnighted next to the bridge the OP is referring to as we like the nearby pub for food.

[Rose Narrowboats]

Some of the poems used to be quite fun.

"Geography is everywhere" always amused me as it was undeniably true.

The most random bit I've seen recently said "Vote Le Pen" - which seemed a little out if context under a bridge on the Oxford Canal near Ansty.

I think that bit on the T&M as mentioned by the OP has been there for a while - sure I saw it last year.

[blackrose]

I remember a classic bit of 70s graffiti on a wall at the big roundabout in Harrow, next to what was then the technical and arts college.

It read "Nicholas Parsons is the neo-opiate of the people"  

I was only a kid and my dad had to explain it was modern take of Karl Marx's "Religion is the opiate of the masses"

I don't think young people do that sort of intellectual graffiti these days? 

Edited April 9, 2018 by blackrose

[WotEver]

8 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I don't think young people do that sort of intellectual graffiti these days? 

My ex told me that her favourite was seen in a ladies loo...

My mum made me a lesbian. 

Followed in a different hand by...

If I buy her the wool, will she make me one too?

[bizzard]

I thought ''For fox sake stop hunting'' was quite good.

[pearley]

32 minutes ago, Bee said:

Yeah, it just messes up the brickwork and its a bit childish and its not something I would ever approve of but I think I know what the perpetrator means. Presumably this was done by someone who is struggling to make ends meet. Years ago when we had a residential mooring and two very young children the licence and mooring fees shot up. I was working full time and could barely afford to pay, I thought we would have to go back to mooring on the towpath, in fact we sold up and left the (English) waterways forever and bought a terraced house not much bigger that the boat. That was back in the days of Thatcher and BWB and I well remember how I felt at the time, A bit of graffiti would not have expressed it.

Except the T & M is a narrow canal so I assume the graffiti 'artist' travelled to do his work. Presumably also responsible for the posters on every notice board and other convenient surface (flyposting?) 

 

[howardang]

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

But on the other hand canalside graffiti could be a whole new platform for boaters who want to express their opinions. 

I can just imagine it: "Widebeam w*nkers!", "Pump outs are pants!" or "Real boaters don't need girly buttons" 

But seriously, is it really worth getting worked up about one random bit of graffiti? It's not like it's a big problem.

I bet you wouldn't say that if you found your first example painted on the side of your boat. :-)

 

Howard

[artleknock]

The best I have seen was on a condom machine in the public toilets. it was " My dad says these don't work".

[WotEver]

10 minutes ago, artleknock said:

The best I have seen was on a condom machine in the public toilets. it was " My dad says these don't work".

That makes a change from “So did the Titanic” just below ‘Conforms to BS3704’

 

 

 

 

 

Incidentally, part of BS3704 states that it must be able to contain a litre of fluid without bursting...

[sharpness]

40 minutes ago, artleknock said:

The best I have seen was on a condom machine in the public toilets. it was

This chewing gum tastes like rubber.

[zenataomm]

The one that made me laugh 30 odd years ago .......

 

Gag Gagg

[AndrewIC]

Seen under a bridge on the currently waterless stretch of the Middlewich Branch: "Mondays are fine. It's your life that's rubbish."

[Wanderer Vagabond]

I wouldn't say that I'm totally against graffiti since some of the toilet graffiti can lighten up a moment of strain, and I would have no objection to Banksy putting something on my house/boat but it just struck me what a stupid piece of graffiti the bit on the bridge was, and done by a boater. Here we had someone complaining about a possible increase in his/her licence fee whilst committing Criminal Damage to the canal infrastructure which will cost money to clean up, they obviously have little or no conception of cause/effect. It isn't as though their 'protest' is going to change anything whatsoever, to Joe Public it is probably meaningless (what licence? do they mean stop canalside house-building?) as far as CRT are concerned it is just another piece of graffiti to clear up so the only real 'target audience' are other boaters and I have no real sympathy with someone who scrawls on the canal infrastructure, whatever their beef may be.

There are legitimate means of protest but in my view, this wasn't one of them. How can we, as boaters, complain about CRT not clearing up offensive Graffiti when some of our 'fellow boaters' are putting up graffiti themselves.

[bizzard]

14 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I wouldn't say that I'm totally against graffiti since some of the toilet graffiti can lighten up a moment of strain, and I would have no objection to Banksy putting something on my house/boat but it just struck me what a stupid piece of graffiti the bit on the bridge was, and done by a boater. Here we had someone complaining about a possible increase in his/her licence fee whilst committing Criminal Damage to the canal infrastructure which will cost money to clean up, they obviously have little or no conception of cause/effect. It isn't as though their 'protest' is going to change anything whatsoever, to Joe Public it is probably meaningless (what licence? do they mean stop canalside house-building?) as far as CRT are concerned it is just another piece of graffiti to clear up so the only real 'target audience' are other boaters and I have no real sympathy with someone who scrawls on the canal infrastructure, whatever their beef may be.

There are legitimate means of protest but in my view, this wasn't one of them. How can we, as boaters, complain about CRT not clearing up offensive Graffiti when some of our 'fellow boaters' are putting up graffiti themselves.

Straining on the toilet is not good, it can bring on piles, an ailment that perusing graffiti at the same time won't ease.  I suggest more roughage and less stodge in the diet.

Edited April 9, 2018 by bizzard

[Dr Bob]

4 hours ago, blackrose said:

But on the other hand canalside graffiti could be a whole new platform for boaters who want to express their opinions. 

I can just imagine it: "Widebeam w*nkers!", "Pump outs are pants!" or "Real boaters don't need girly buttons" 

"Summer is coming" or " mm's better than inches"

[Laurie Booth]

4 hours ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

Some of the poems used to be quite fun.

"Geography is everywhere" always amused me as it was undeniably true.

The most random bit I've seen recently said "Vote Le Pen" - which seemed a little out if context under a bridge on the Oxford Canal near Ansty.

I think that bit on the T&M as mentioned by the OP has been there for a while - sure I saw it last year.

A church near me had this on the roof "Jesus Saves" then one day this was written underneath.

"Not on my pay he couldn't"

How the chap got onto the roof beats me. 

[MtB]

Another version is a formal church poster saying "Jesus saves"...

Underneath which someone scrawled "and Moses invests".

[David Mack]

5 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Another version is a formal church poster saying "Jesus saves"...

Underneath which someone scrawled "and Moses invests".

"Jesus saves, but (footballer of your choice) scores on the rebound."