This is the last day of the summer holidays: tomorrow I go back to school as a Year 2. I have declared that I'm looking forward to it because I can see Erin and the teachers again: but I'm not looking forward to having to learn stuff, a slight drawback to being a student. I celebrated this auspicious occasion by getting up at 1130, because I can. Now. Everyone is .... well, not disabled, but challenged in some small way or other. Bud was born without a sense of shame, quite obvious when you think about it, and I seem to have inherited this defect. However, if you can harness it properly, you can turn a crisis into an opportunity, think of all those synaesthetic artists. So this meant that when we went into town, I was able to remove my shoes and socks, and paddle around in the big fountain in Commercial Road and pull all the coins out.
Every couple of weeks this fountain erupts in pine-foresty green foam as some mischievous kid pours a bottle of washing-up liquid into it, and every now and then the coins magically disappear as some enterprising kid rolls up his trouserlegs and gets busy. One of the country's oldest religions is veneration of freshwater sources, endowing the pond, well or stream with a Shinto-style spirit, because fresh water is vital to any civilisation. Thus to this day you will see coins in mill races, fountains, wishing wells and so forth. The Trevi fountain in Rome is a prime example: the bottom of the old dock at Gunwharf is strewn with coinage of all sorts. As I paddled round and round scooping out the silver coins with my fingers (and a stack of the Neodymium Uber-magnets soon rounded up all the coppers), a few people asked me what I was doing.
I even witnessed a penny being thrown in: I whipped it right back out again in front of the astonished coin-thrower. They said I wasn't supposed to be in there, I see no signs, I said, no 'these coins are the property of the city council' or 'Beware, shark-infested waters' etc, no little plaque saying monies collected from this fountain will benefit local charities, I reckon he was just jealous. One of them was a £1! A little over £3 richer, which is better than the last time I did this, I dried my feet off and we melted away into the lunchtime crowds, a transient ephemeral dream in the minds of those around us. After hours of TV-related inactivity I finally agreed to some Park action. It was quite full but my classmates playing football are all much bigger and better than me so I gave up. We randomly decided to visit Buds' work where I get to use the getting-in badge and we collected vast piles of cardboard he's been saving to make Box #8 (see 'Cardboard: Joy of Box' on the right-hand side). We strolled down the central corridor through the offices dwarfed by the cardboard goodies we were carrying - easy when you have no sense of shame. When Jof got back home she made me do more homework. It is traditional to complete your Holiday diary/project on the last possible day before handing it in: I am no different.
This is the last day of the summer holidays: tomorrow I go back to school as a Year 2. I have declared that I'm looking forward to it because I can see Erin and the teachers again: but I'm not looking forward to having to learn stuff, a slight drawback to being a student. I celebrated this auspicious occasion by getting up at 1130, because I can. Now. Everyone is .... well, not disabled, but challenged in some small way or other. Bud was born without a sense of shame, quite obvious when you think about it, and I seem to have inherited this defect. However, if you can harness it properly, you can turn a crisis into an opportunity, think of all those synaesthetic artists. So this meant that when we went into town, I was able to remove my shoes and socks, and paddle around in the big fountain in Commercial Road and pull all the coins out. 
Every couple of weeks this fountain erupts in pine-foresty green foam as some mischievous kid pours a bottle of washing-up liquid into it, and every now and then the coins magically disappear as some enterprising kid rolls up his trouserlegs and gets busy. One of the country's oldest religions is veneration of freshwater sources, endowing the pond, well or stream with a Shinto-style spirit, because fresh water is vital to any civilisation. Thus to this day you will see coins in mill races, fountains, wishing wells and so forth. The Trevi fountain in Rome is a prime example: the bottom of the old dock at Gunwharf is strewn with coinage of all sorts. As I paddled round and round scooping out the silver coins with my fingers (and a stack of the Neodymium Uber-magnets soon rounded up all the coppers), a few people asked me what I was doing. 
I even witnessed a penny being thrown in: I whipped it right back out again in front of the astonished coin-thrower. They said I wasn't supposed to be in there, I see no signs, I said, no 'these coins are the property of the city council' or 'Beware, shark-infested waters' etc, no little plaque saying monies collected from this fountain will benefit local charities, I reckon he was just jealous. One of them was a £1! A little over £3 richer, which is better than the last time I did this, I dried my feet off and we melted away into the lunchtime crowds, a transient ephemeral dream in the minds of those around us. After hours of TV-related inactivity I finally agreed to some Park action. It was quite full but my classmates playing football are all much bigger and better than me so I gave up. We randomly decided to visit Buds' work where I get to use the getting-in badge and we collected vast piles of cardboard he's been saving to make Box #8 (see 'Cardboard: Joy of Box' on the right-hand side). We strolled down the central corridor through the offices dwarfed by the cardboard goodies we were carrying - easy when you have no sense of shame. When Jof got back home she made me do more homework. It is traditional to complete your Holiday diary/project on the last possible day before handing it in: I am no different.
I hope you're not turning into a tea leaf! Stealing from fountains is not fair play young man!
ReplyDeleteWell you certainly know who your friends are when you make that extra bid for personal glory and everyone is jealous. I also found a £1 coin in the Gymnastics car park. Should I render it unto one of the trees, or just stick it in my savings account?
ReplyDeleteJealousy is not a consideration, just what's right and what's wrong, simple really there is a difference between finding money and taking it!
ReplyDeleteI would definitely take the money in the car park. A year 3 gave me a £5 note that she found on the grass at school today! I gave her 2 team points.
ReplyDeleteBack in 2004 the rules of acquisition were written for my account and stealing has always been an absolute no-no. Thus the coin collection in the lifeboat on the seafront, the wishing well in front of St Marys' Hospital, any hat in front of a busker and many similar labelled charity-related coinpots are very out-of-bounds. But the Comm. Rd fountain is unlinked, unlabelled, not allied to any good cause or livelihood. The coins, bottletops and bananaskins contained therein belong to no man or corporation and are regularly cleared out by council workers (who will more than likely pocket them), I simply got there first. Who exactly do you think owns these coins? What exactly was wrong?
ReplyDeleteShould there ever be any evidence that this actually belongs to someone then suitable restitution can be made but I am sure they're fair game.
Because these coins represent wishes at the time of throwing, I can see that it's a little on-the-edge of moral allowability. But these wishes have been successfully purchased from the water-spirit and as such the spent coins can be recycled before they rust and block up the fountain pipes.
I must say I agree with the Professor on this one - do these things while you're young and can get away with them I say, also, can't wait for Year 3, as it's my section at the school - I will collect all the lovely coins and other things I find while working. We'll have sooo much stuff ;)But we won't tell anyone!! *Evil laugh*
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