I was rather impressed by the elaborate graffito underneath Donnington Bridge last summer. It has now been overpainted. Here are some photos of Donnington Bridge before and after.
Usually the two walls under the bridge are painted with slogans of the various rowing teams that compete on this river. Last summer I was delighted to see something more creative had appeared. It is even designed to reveal different messages as you approach along the towpath: you first see 'Free your mind'; when you get to the opposite bank you can read the yellow speech balloon 'Snoggin' grrls ’n' boyz'. In still smaller lettering the artist complains that graffiti is illegal.
Alas! this has now been overpainted with the single word 'Tediouse'.
This is a little mystifying -- is the eccentric
spelling intentional (perhaps some boatie in-joke?) or mere ignorance?
Whatever the reason, it is rather disappointing replacement -- not
just badly spelled, but also badly lettered. Ugly. Dull.
Maybe I'm just being curmudgeonly, but is there anything more boring than someone telling you they are bored?
Update (2004-06-09). I linked to the above pictures on LiveJournal and Ian says that on the Saturday he saw it reading 'Teddy Hall', meaning St Edmund Hall, who, I understand, did well at this summer's rowing festeto. This might expalain why 'tedious'--a rival team presumably thought it important to overpaint SEH's name in an hilarious fashion.