The dangerous knitting fish

Posted 25 Aug 2008

Places, Signs | Email to a friend  

warning sign on promenade in Shanklin Back to the Isle of Wight for another ’sign’ post (no pun intended … honestly!) Whilst strolling along the promenade in Shanklin, I waltzed passed past a sign that caught my attention. (Ok, most signs catch my attention these days.)

What struck me about the sign was the fifth item down; shouldn’t the sign have perhaps expanded on the need for caution around such creatures. The dangers of currents, winds, tides and large boats should be common-knowledge for most people who frequent the seaside. But is the last item in the same category?

warning sign on promenade in Shanklin

So, what are the dangers of the weaver fish? Could it be that the fish circle around unsuspecting swimmers, quickly weaving a knit sweater (jumper) onto the swimmers, leaving them to struggle in the surf with the added weight of a water-logged garment? Or maybe the sweaters that the fish weave are like the ones are grandmothers used to knit - made with love and the most ridiculous of colours and patterns?

Surely the makers of this sign could have been more explicit in their description of the dangers of such a treacherous fish.

Comments

9 Responses to “The dangerous knitting fish”

  1. CheekyMonkey on August 25th, 2008 3:27 pm

    Hah. I had the same thought - these fish conspiring to create an absolutely ridiculous, colorful jumper which would make you die of embarrassment. Or drown in the lurve they use to make the jumper.

    BTW, perhaps you meant “…I waltzed _past_ a sign..” instead of “… I waltzed passed a sign…”, unless, of course, you meant that you first waltzed and then passed the aforementioned sign.

  2. Liam on August 25th, 2008 4:53 pm

    Hi CheekyMonkey,

    Well spotted on the typo. Corrected now. Should I mention that I was pressed for time today and hence the typo? Nah, I’ll not attempt such a lame excuse.

  3. mark on August 25th, 2008 4:57 pm

    why no “Beware of” lead in to the strong winds……

  4. Liam on August 25th, 2008 7:39 pm

    Hi Mark -

    Not sure on that … perhaps it is because strong winds are less of a danger? And maybe the ‘wash of passing ships’ is underlined because it is more of an immediate danger in that area.

  5. Conall on August 25th, 2008 7:50 pm

    It would be nice if the passing ships would just keep their laundry on board instead of putting swimmers in harms way! Not only does one have to watch out for the weaver fish wrapping them up in a sweater (jumper) but they’ve also got to be wary of trousers ambushing them after being tossed off passing ships!

  6. Quirky Indian on August 27th, 2008 6:21 am

    Perhaps the weaver fish weave nets, and drag ‘catches’ of unsuspecting humans back to weaver-fish-land……

    But ‘beware of wash from passing ships’? That’s funny!

    Cheers,

    Quirky Indian
    http://quirkyindian.wordpress.com

  7. Liam on August 27th, 2008 6:47 am

    Hi Quirky Indian,

    Now there’s a scary thought: fish conspiring to catch humans for dinner. Do you think they would throw us back if we weren’t big enough?

  8. CheekyMonkey on September 5th, 2008 8:29 pm

    Here are some more signs you might like:

    http://bit.ly/1ucWwo

    My favorite: “Sorry for the inconvenience. –Bin Ladin”

  9. Liam on September 6th, 2008 7:28 pm

    Hi CheekyMonkey - Those are good signs. The Bin Ladin one was pretty funny. Thanks for sharing that link.

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