It’s hard to understand how people’s minds work sometimes, isn’t it?
I mean, it’s good to try to keep members of the public safe, but this is a private reservoir on private land, with a rather patriotic locked gate, and a fence around it and everything. In fact, you wouldn’t know there was water there at all if you didn’t have local knowledge, because you can’t see it unless you’re trespassing. You can see nothing from the road here, can you? And on the footpath side, it’s overgrown and practically invisible.
That being the case, the sign below is more than a little puzzling.
I’m guessing that the owner of the farmland wants to avoid a lawsuit, possibly from parents of local youngsters who decide to go for an illicit swim. Or maybe he thinks some dog-walker might accidentally climb the barbed wire fence, negotiate the thistles and brambles and the steep, rutted and weed-strewn incline, and just, you know, think it’s a large rectangular puddle or something and try to walk across it.
But there’s a flaw in this thinking. You see, someone stupid enough to do that would simply not be able to decipher the message on that notice.
‘Overhead water’? I couldn’t help it, I looked up involuntarily to see if I was about to be hit with some vast practical joke of a deluge.
So what chance does Mr Stupid have?
My first thought was “Overhead water?” Whatever could have been in this persons head when writing that notice?
Ahhhh! It must have been raining when he decided to put a notice up, and the fence is an electric fence. No? Oh well, back to the first though – Stupid idiot person!
Babs – beetles last blog post..An illustrators life for me!
*thought*
Babs – beetles last blog post..An illustrators life for me!
Isn’t overhead water … rain? LOL That can happen anywhere can’t it?
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Hmmm. Well, here, overhead can also mean the operating expenses of a business. Could the sign mean “Be ware, the cost of water to operate this pond.”
No, I didn’t really think so.
You don’t suppose the farmers name is Noah, do you? Warning of another flood to come?
Ruth Hull Chatliens last blog post..Casablanca at Dusk*
Huh…?? …I’m with all of them ^^^. He’s probably referring to rain, and trying to sound smart in the process. Perhaps he’s warning of a flash flood should his reservoir overflow??
Wow.
Angis last blog post..Friday Discombobulation.
Babs – LOL! Good thinking – but no, not an electric fence!
DM – Exactly – and I looked up even though it wasn’t raining that day. It might as well have said ‘Warning – Clouds!!’ Tee hee.
Ruth – ‘Overheads’ means the same here – running costs not related to the actual business, like building rent etc. Noah? Hmm. Might be. Maybe I should check, and be prepared to trade the motorhome for a boat?
Angi – Well, it’s a good thought, but here in the fens we’re pretty safe from flash floods because the dyke system is very efficient and they haven’t built on all the flood plains. Yet.
Any more ideas? I have one of my own, but I’ll save it. I want to see what creative alternatives you all come up with.
Hmmmm perhaps it was his way of saying that the water was deep if one was to climb the fence and get that far! Maybe he should just have written ‘danger of drowning’o clear his conscience.
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Classic . . almost as good as beware of falling pinecones!
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That is priceless!
D
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‘Deep Water’ would have made more (some?) sense. ‘Depp Water’ makes no sense at all but I just wanted to type it anyway
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Overhead water?
So, how fun would it be to put a video camera there and film person after person reading that sign and looking skyward, trying to figure out the meaning of that sign?
I bet it happens regularly.
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Kate – I reckon that’s it – and why he didn’t write something easier to understand we’ll never know. It’s fun to speculate though, isn’t it?
Baino – Yes! I thought of you when I was writing this.
River Poet – Isn’t it? And the nice thing about blogging is that I don’t pass these things and stop and shake my head and move on, I take a photo and share it! LOL!
JJ – There is actually a famous magazine article with a photoshoot by Herb Ritts, which they called Depp Water. He’s posing in an empty swimming pool. Nice. Very nice. I’d like to see him pose out there by that sign, but the chance would be a fine thing!
Jenn – It would be fun! Sadly, there is nothing out there near that reservoir except fields and ditches and one lonely single-track road.
Perhaps it’s a cryptic warning? I couldn’t help noticing that Beware Overhead Water is an anagram for “Where Brave Tread, A Woe”…
(or something :-. )
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Somnambulist – Aha! I do believe you have it! ROFL!!
Or maybe ‘We were brave! Oar death!’
LOL!
Love the feel of your blog! And who can escape “The Depp
Effect.” Great title! I’m a screenwriter; obsessed with film. I think he’s up there with the greats already! Would you mind if I added you to my bloglist? I’ll never find you again in the black hole of blogland. Petra p.s. If you love film, come on over and vote your favorites on
“Whose Role…?”
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Hi Petra – Welcome aboard – do feel free to add me to your bloglist and/or news feed! I’d be honoured!
I’ll pop over and see what’s up at your place.
overhead water? What? Wait? MaybetThese land owners can MAKE IT RAIN if you trespass on their already creepy property?
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Hello Jay, Thank you for stopping by. If I had it my way I’d include Dame Judi and Johnny in every mini-script because they’ve already be contenders, but, of course, it
) Petra p.s. Just thought of it. Would you be able to offer some suggestions of British actors/actresses. It would level the global playing field, don’t you think?
wouldn’t be realistic. There’s always the Other if you don’t agree with whomever. Glad you enjoyed. I post one every week if you’d care to.
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Jay,
Overhead water?! When it rains! Maybe the person who posted this sign can conjure the rain. That would be interesting. And something I’d like to see.
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Is he perhaps expecting rain? Does he think it necessary to warn others of it? I can’t figure it.
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Overhead water? Like a waterfall? Um. Yeah. I would be walking around with my face to the sky looking out for a deluge.
Weird.
Petra – I’m not sure if I played your game right – you’d better tell me if there’s a place with rules I should look at! Dame Judi and Brian Blessed are both British – but I’ll see if I can come up with different ones next time.
Ellen – I’d like to see that too, especially if he could keep it local. I don’t want it raining on my house! Still, it would be interesting to see a small local shower happening a couple of fields’ distance away!
Jenny – I don’t think he’s expecting much rain, that’s why he built the reservoir! ROFL!
Maureen – LOL – that’s what I did!
I have an email from you this morning – I want to tell you that I did answer the last one, and don’t know what happened there. I’ve sent you another, but I’ve sent it from a different mail server to see if that gets through. I was going to send one via your blog too, but it just opens up an email form so it would be duplicating the one I’ve already sent (I was thinking maybe it would be an online form). Let me know if you don’t get it and I’ll work on it!! I don’t want you to think I’m ignoring you.
Ha ha! this was funny. The other day I read a sign ‘ Drive slow. Men at work.’ and at some distance I saw that men were lavishly smoking their cigarettes and chit chatting. Also the signs on deodorents make me laugh- ‘Do not spary in eyes’. Do these companies think that are people dumb? Who would spary a deodorent in eyes when there are other places that in dire need of a deodorent?
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Ohhhhh stay away, that’s a torture camp, ran by the Americans, or the Nazi…!!!
*laughing* Yes, I just now listed Brian Blessed on list of actors. He would have made a wonderful Zeus! The British are easier than those from other parts of the world, obviously. But even there, don’t have the pallet not living there. To vote, what you do, is read the mini-script and then to the right is the poll which lists 4 or so actors/actresses to play that role. Just click who you think should play that role. Voila!
petra michelles last blog post..MT. OLYMPICS
Scratch – Ah yes, the ‘men at work’ syndrome! Seems they need a lot of tea and smoke breaks! As to the warnings on things like deodorant, they must have been written for very silly people. That’s all I can think of – that and lawsuits!
RMH – You could be right! I’ll take a different path tomorrow! LOL!
Petra – Oh, I see! Thank you. Next time I’ll play properly!
petra michelles last blog post..MT. OLYMPICS
I think the bloke (see how English I’m becoming?) obviously meant “Beware, there is overhead water ahead if you persist in forging ahead, so if you’ve never used your head to learn how to swim and become able to keep your head above water, you might really be in over your head, so use your head and stop now while you still can.”
Sometimes two (or more) heads are not better than one.
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Bob – Hahaha! Yes, he’d have had a hard job fitting all that onto that sign, wouldn’t he?
Neat bit of shorthand, and neat explanation. You’ll do well if you ever come to Blighty! LOL!
i guess they figured a sign is better than no sign. overhead water? let me look that one up on the web.
ooohhh, maybe he meant overhead water tank. there is a such thing. who knew?
maybe he got hit with one and couldn’t finish writing the word “tank”.
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Natural – Nope. No water tank out there. It’s all flat, just fields, footpaths, trees, and this reservoir, which is a little bit raised but only a few feet. ‘Twas a good thought, though!
I’m guessing that ‘overhead water tank’ would be those huge round things on legs, like you get in small towns? I’ve seen them in Florida, and in Delaware.