I am increasingly out
of touch with popular culture. I don’t recognise many of the celebrities
paraded as such on TV. I have to ask Chris who they are and why they are famous
and often she does not have a clue, either. It strikes me that perhaps some of
them are famous for being, well, famous and not a great deal else.
When I have
occasionally met celebrities, I hope that I have not been reduced to polishing
any already enlarged egos, unlike the inhabitants of early nineteenth century
Ramsgate, where the harbour-side inscription reads, “To George IV, the King Of
Great Britain and Ireland, the inhabitants and visitors of Ramsgate and the
directors and trustees of the harbour have erected this obelisk as a grateful
reminder of His Majesty’s gracious condescension in selecting this port for his
embarkation of the 25th September in progress to his Kingdom of
Hannover and His happy Return on the 8 November 1821.” Talk about an over the
top response; he only passed through, got on a boat and came back.
Amongst my own more
recent celebrities are those who have painted pictures of the railway in action
or the places that the railway could take you. Railway posters were designed to
be viewed by people who were in a hurry. They were to be glanced at in passing,
maybe from across a platform or even when the train was moving through the
station. They create an impression in the flicker of an eye, which the best
examples manage by having a well defined and uncluttered image. This is why the
art deco examples, typified by bold lines and strong splashes of colour, are so
effective.
I do a bit of bird
watching, a hobby with some similarities to trains, though some of their
leading lights have spoken out in the past in less than complimentary tones about
“tickers” or “twitchers.”
Celebrity birds are ones
that the bird watchers are not expecting. They are often lost vagrants who have
condemned themselves to a life away from their mates as a result of faulty
on-board navigation systems. You can generally find them pretty easily once
their presence has been announced by spotting the bird watchers themselves, who
will usually be present in some numbers.
The watchers have
their own distinct characteristics - camouflage clothing, expensive optical
equipment and high tech’ communications gadgetry. Bird guide books are not
considered to be best practice out in the field. It’s not cool to admit that
you need one of those, so I keep mine hidden until I get back in the car.
As with trains, they
are a knowledgeable lot with their own big-name stars - both bird species and
their human luminaries. Celebrity bird stories might include the return of red
kites, avocets and sea eagles. Like railways, they have allowed certain species
to become extinct - or, more likely, to lose their hold in former domains. Rebuild
projects in the bird world re-create habitats that have been lost to “progress,”
in the hope that specific “missing” bird species will then come back.
[Based on an article
published during 2017 in the Railway Antiques Gazette, with thanks to the
editor, Tim Petchey]
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