Woolly

A week or so ago I happened to notice an old map of the Isle of Wight in a public house next to the beach at  Shanklin. Which brought to mind the junior geography teacher at my secondary school; a chap of around 30 years of age, who sported a neat beard and who was a bit obsessive about maps which showed boundaries as what he called woolly bear caterpillars. Old maps did them and I suppose school boys did them too. No doubt they were marked down. A few samples of the sort of thing he meant are included below. His nickname was 'woolly'.

The Isle of Wight, not the map in question.

Europe.

Europe again, still worse!

Then a day or so after that, heading up Doctor's Lane in Brading, I came across the real thing, snapped at the top of this post. I thought the telephone and zoom did quite a good job. Maybe three centimetres long, marching steadily across the lane. Maybe he made it before some bird spotted him.

PS 1: interested to see at reference 1 that in Paris at least they still make reasonable provision for puffers on the tables outside their cafés. Indeed, one table in two seems very reasonable in these times of woke. Not segregated either. Also reminded what a ridiculous circus the Olympics have become: a mystery to me why people want to watch them, an even bigger mystery why cities want to pay for them. I dare say that it is all very exciting for the athletes involved and some politicians seem to think it important that their own country excels. Whatever the case, I do not expect to watch any of it - although I suppose if I were a pickpocket, a ticket tout or some other professional who preys on crowds, I might make more of an effort.

PS 2: I associate now to the bizarre spectacle of civil servants at the Home Office cheering in the central well of their building when the news that Past Master Blair had clinched the London Olympics came through. I was only on loan there, so I didn't count.

References

Reference 1: Paris brasseries and shops reel from Olympics lockdown: Low footfall before Games raises doubts among locals over scale of immediate economic boost for France - Sarah White, Leila Abboud, Adrienne Klasa, Financial Times - 2024.