There is always some cause or other looking for social media support, from the worthwhile to the inane. As such it was no surprise to find ourselves reading about a pair of online missions this afternoon. Nevertheless, as both made us laugh out loud we thought it only right to share the details of each.
First of all then, Glasgow City Council announced plans to raise the plinth on which the famous Duke of Wellington statue sits. The idea was to prevent passers by from placing a traffic cone on its head, which apparently happens so often the authorities spend a reported £10,000 on removing the offending objects, and Lonely Planet has now ranked the ‘Wellington cones’ as one of the world’s most bizarre sights.
Once the proposals were unveiled a ferocious Twitter backlash began, with an account being set up under the handle @Wellingtoncone, and support for ‘The Cone’ coming in from across the Strathclyde area and beyond. This was followed by news from BBC Scotland this afternoon announcing that the idea had been scrapped altogether as a result of the furore. A classic example of public opinion being voiced in the digital world, and having a real world impact, whether or not you agree with the cause or not it’s an impressively swift victory (which may, or may not, be marked with a parade).
In addition to this, word has reached our ears from Down Under that a hopeful claimant is pursuing a law suit against use of the TARDIS, which he claims was invented by his father, who was never properly credited. Just to recap, the TARDIS is Doctor Who’s time-travelling blue police phone box that’s far bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. A fictional invention, from the world of science-fiction. We’re not sure if patents stretch to imaginary things, although reading a little deeper suggests there may be some truth to the rather bold statement.
The guy attempting legal action is the son of a screenwriter who worked on the first series of Doctor Who, and apparently dad never got the recognition he deserved, particularly in relation to the concept of a TARDIS. According to naysayers, who have taken to Twitter in their scores to hurl abuse at the man making these claims, James Anthony Coburn, his version of events is inaccurate, and he has no right to pursue the BBC for neglecting to pay its respects to Coburn Snr… Just another average week in social media land then…
