The signs are there if you look… so not so fast with that sharp tongue, Gordon!

Photographer Gordon Ridgewell has had to perform something of a volte-face after one of his typically wry observations…
Having snapped a signpost lacking any place names, Gordon made the withering remark: “If you want a mystery tour, come to north-west Essex as we have a confused signpost. Probably a paint job, but it looks funny. I’m waiting to see if they sign-write it using stick-on computer letters.
“Thinking about signposts took me back to the 1940s when I was growing up. Then all the signposts were painted white with no names so if Gerry landed they could not find their way.
“Now, I suppose, most people have talking signs on sat-navs so they never know where they have been.”
Fair enough, but Gordon went on to be hit by a pang of conscience…
“I now feel bad about joking regarding the signpost. Essex County Council have done a fantastic job conserving it. All the letters are screwed on as they used to be and it now has a dedication.”
That dedication refers to a man called Gerald Thorn who was killed when hit by a car while he was working on maintaining the signpost.
A colleague was also seriously injured in the incident, which happened in September 2009 after two cars collided. Mr Thorn was just 53 and from Saffron Walden.