Weymouth lamposts gets shades – bollards get toilet roll covers
THERE’S a pink lampshade dangling from a street light along Weymouth’s Olympics-ready seafront at Greenhill. The lamp was too bright – too “agressive” – so it’s been dimmed with a shade.
A notice by the lampshade states:
“Do not remove the lampshade.”
Problems began when the Victorian lighting columns from the Esplanade were relocated to Greenhill as part of the seafront regeneration scheme. Nothing points to a rosy-fingered dawn like a Victorian lamppost.
We do not know who put the lampshade on the lamp, only that the light is between two homes. Val Cole, who lives opposite the landmarks, tells the Dorset Echo:
“We used to have an uninterrupted view and now the light has spoiled that. On top of that the light comes directly into our room. It’s light pollution. The lampshade is brilliant, it’s a great laugh.”
A Mr Murphy, 53, adds:
“It’s like a car headlight. Even from a distance it lights up our garden. It’s like having a torch shone in your eyes. I love the lampshade, it’s fantastic. It even has little LED lights in it. It’s bringing people down this end of the seafront. It’s a talking point.”
Nick Hoare, 61, lives by the light. Says he:
“The light is intrusive. It needs a baffle so the light shines downwards. the lampshade hasn’t made much difference but it’s beautifully-made and a gesture of defiance.”
Says the anonymous lampshade donor:
“Some friends helped me and we ensured we were very safe doing it. It’s just a way of saying ‘turn it down please’. It’s aggressive and blinding. Nobody has smiled at the light bulb but they’ve smiled at the lampshade. The seafront should be full of smiles.”
Lampshades all round, then. Plastic sofa protectors for the benches. Toilet roll covers for the bollards. And bath mats dotted long the seafront to let bathers dry off.
Says one local hipster: “Weymouth will be turned into a post-modern guest house.”
It’s the kind of thing a go-ahead town like Weymouth demands.
Spotter: Arbroath
Posted: 27th, March 2012 | In: Strange But True Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
