Friday, May 15, 2020

A Kicking Sticker


Here's something you're not likely to see again on Shadows & Light -- a sports-related post! In fact, it may be my first.

It's only tangentially sports-related, though. While I was walking on the Heath with Olga a couple of weeks ago, I saw this bit of a shiny sticker or decal lying on the ground in an off-the-beaten-path wooded area. I'm always intrigued by interesting old logos, graphics or artwork, so I picked it up and put it in my bag until I could take a closer look.

When we got home, I carefully unfolded and scanned it, and this is the image I got:


(I had to tape it onto some paper to get it to lie flat.)

The words at the top, I believe, say Derby County, which is an English football club. Their nickname is the Rams. I can't find a similar Derby County sticker or logo anywhere online, though, which makes me think it's either quite old or it's a different team entirely and I'm simply misreading it. What do you think? (If you have any opinion at all on this, and I won't hold it against you if you don't.)

Sorry again about the misery of yesterday's post. I was happy to hear that many of you have your own rat stories -- it made me feel less alone! I bought a couple of snap traps yesterday, but they weren't used overnight and the rats have gone silent, so I assume they've died. I'm going to see what I can do about cleaning up the remains but I'm not sure I can get to them. The exterminator assured Dave we wouldn't smell them if we left them under the house, but that seems unlikely.

I'm almost done with library inventory -- I ought to be able to wrap it up today. So far we're missing a fair amount of stuff -- about 75 items, maybe? This was our first full academic year since we removed our semi-functional security gates, which used to beep if anyone tried to leave the library with something they hadn't checked out. The gates were expensive to maintain, so we decided to just get rid of them and go to an honor system. We knew a little more stuff than usual might go wandering, but I think we may have lost more than we expected. Of course, a lot of it could still come back, if people simply forgot to check something out and later return it anyway -- and it's been an unusually chaotic year, especially just before the school closed in March.

This leaves open the question of what I'll do at work next week, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

15 comments:

John Going Gently said...

I like his legs

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I have seen Hull City play Derby County on a dozen occasions over the years. Derby County do indeed play in white shirts with black shorts but their players are all much uglier than that. Let's have more sports-related blogposts please Steve! I like most sports - apart from those that involve animals or motors. Even though you and Dave are middle-aged, it is not too late to take up a sport together. You rejected my rugby club idea in the past but how about crown green bowling? The West London Bowling Club is the only one in Kensington and Chelsea. Go here:- http://www.westlondonbowlingclub.com/

Moving with Mitchell said...

I hope someone recognizes that sticker and has some history to share. Again sorry about the rat issue. I hope the exterminator was correct in that you won't smell anything! Maybe because it's under the house as opposed to inside a wall?

Sharon said...

I can't shed any light on the sticker but I do think the drawing of the young man looks a bit dated. You have a bit of the archaeologist in you the way to find and research things. Urban archaeologist....I like that.

Ms. Moon said...

I have nothing to add about the sticker. I will say that after having listened to Elton John's memoir it is quite obvious to me that even gay men can love football. Which I really do not understand but it had a lot to do with his father.
Of course.
Show me a rock star who didn't have father issues and I'll show you someone who wasn't really a rock star.
Sorry that made no sense.
It's still early here.

Anonymous said...

I don't have any words of wisdom about that sticker. I like what Sharon wrote, you do have a bit of the archaeologist in you.

The Padre said...

Classic Yorkshire Comment - Cracked Me Up - Have A Brilliant Weekend Of Olga Walks

Cheers
P.S. Have You Tested Any Small Tissue Products On Olga? Glucose, CBD, Calcium, etc

Red said...

75 missing items? I'm sure many of those will find their way back.

The Bug said...

I of course can't shed any light on the sticker - plus I find both kinds of football kind of boring. Although as a baseball fan I guess I don't really have a leg to stand on - ha!

I hope you find something interesting to do at work next week - I hate being bored at the office!

Dee said...

I like the graphic of that sticker, although I have no ideas about it.

And, if it helps, I know we had at least one rat that was wounded by a trap (ugh, sad) in our crawlspace that died in there. And I worried about the smell because it was summer time. There was one moment where I thought, am I smelling something dead? Literally for like 10 seconds and then I didn't smell it again. So, I think you might be okay. Or at least I hope so. I really worried we'd be smelling it for weeks and I think what I did smell might have just been my imagination.

The poison would worry me as well, but I don't know as I'd try to remove it.

37paddington said...

No apology needed for yesterday's post. This is where we process whatever needs processing, and you are speaking to an audience that cares very much for you. Glad the noises in the wall have stopped. I actually dont think you will smell them. I think whatever the exterminator used takes care of that, too. As long as the poison is not anywhere else but in the wall, you'll probably be ok.

I love how you found library work after your years as a journalist, and discovered it to be so satisfying.

Edna B said...

I agree, no apology needed. It's just good that the matter appears to have been taken care of. I think it's wonderful how you enjoy your job. That's not something everyone gets to say about their work. That piece of the old poster is rather interesting. It will be nice to see if someone recognizes it. You enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

Catalyst said...

I was thinking about your "rats" post and it suddenly came to me. What you need is a CAT!

ellen abbott said...

zero input on the sticker from me. I don't think I'd judge the amount of lost items by this year. like you say chaotic ending and perhaps it will all come back...or not. by the time school opens again maybe everyone will have forgotten the library book that didn't get returned.

Steve Reed said...

John: Soccer players ALWAYS have good legs!

YP: Gardening is my sport!

Mitchell: Well, that's the hope, I guess. It IS ventilated under there so that should help.

Sharon: That's what 37Paddington says too -- I am an archaeologist at heart!

Ms Moon: My father loved American football but I HATE it. I'm not sure what that says about me.

Robin: I was always intrigued by archaeology, and I do love finding treasures in other people's discarded stuff.

Padre: Can you imagine me lawn bowling?! We are giving Olga glucosamine, but that's all we've ever tried on her.

Red: Fingers crossed!

Bug: Oh man, baseball games just go on and on. I don't understand them either!!

Dee: Well, that's encouraging! I suppose if the animal dies in an area with some ventilation that makes a big difference. In this case we don't really know where the rats were nesting, so who knows what's going to happen. The exterminator seemed confident that we wouldn't smell them, though.

37P: That's exactly what I needed to do -- process! I'm glad you're all so understanding.

Edna: I am lucky in that regard, it's true! I mean, some parts of the job I don't particularly care for, but that's true for everyone, right?!

Catalyst: Olga would NEVER tolerate that. She'd eat the cat in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately she is not equally avid about chasing rats.

Ellen: Yeah, it is a freaky year. Definitely not normal. Even if we had to replace all 80 of those missing books, we might spend less than we did on the security gates.