What

A display sign spoofing local history and the area of Rothwell near my home known as “The Pastures”, mostly on land that used to be a railway, pit, mill pond and ancient castle.

IDEA

WASTED TIME

REVIVAL CHANCE

Why

I liked the idea of creating something amusing about my local area, which used aspects of its interesting history so it would provide genuine interest as well as humour.

When

About 2002.

Development & Progress

I collated lots of old photos from books and the local library as well as taking some of my own and photoshopping things like the dinosaur into the pond that has become an ugly marsh.
There were some different sections and images that got discarded along the way too.
I also included some different agency and organisation logos to lend some supposed authenticity to it.

Reason for Abandonment

The design had been more or less completed, but I was never quite entirely happy with it. I also thought the humour was lacking in some areas. I wanted it to look genuine (from a distance, until you saw the content), but executing the large laminated print or frame in a professional way was beyond my budget or capability, so making it in an inauthentic manner just for it to be removed or destroyed anyway, seemed a bit pointless. A big part of not finishing it was also the issue over what to frame it in and having to make a big structure that could be attached to the landscape, and also not look too much like it wasn’t genuine. That all seemed way too expensive and beyond my ability or non-existent budget, so the history project was history.

Chances of Revival

For a long time, I thought the chances were zero because I’d have to create some different content and re-design. To pull it of, in addition to some waterproof canvas print or something, I’d also have to have some sort of metal work fabricated at some ludicrous cost and then go and concrete it in to place for it to be up to a level I think it deserved. Having said that, there is a concrete block down there that featured a Council sign that featured some history well after mine was put to bed. That sign was ripped off by kids, but I retrieved it. It couldn’t be re-attached because there was no plastic cover to it, just a laminated poster. I may put my version on that in some way or other one day.

Legacy

Nothing as such.

Regret

Not too much, but it would have been good to see it up in one or two locations. I did get to share it on a local Facebook page and people thought it was funny, so not a complete waste of time and effort.