A new 50p coin, coming in autumn, will feature a cyclist. Part of a Royal Mint series to celebrate the forthcoming London Olympics, the new design was made by a keen 16-year-old cyclist from Yorkshire.
A Royal Mint spokesman said the design (right) "captured the essence of speed and cycling in general". Hmm. Racing cycling maybe, but not Real Cycling. (Although his expression is the one of someone trying to negotiate the roadworks on Southwark Bridge.)
We'd like to see a series celebrating the everyday experience of cycling in the capital. How about something like this (right), for example, to celebrate the forthcoming Superficial Cycleways? (Surely 'Cycle Superhighways'? - Ed.)Actually I preferred the 50p when it had a simple Britannia on it. But if they brought her back, there'd only be a debate over whether she should be wearing a helmet.
There's a round-about at Bank?!
ReplyDeleteYet another example of where I've been going wrong all these years....
BillG
Surely the first design realistically shows a cyclist wincing in shock and pain, and just about to tumble forwards off his bike, after being hit on the back of the head by that large jagged object which has just been thrown at him by a yob in an overtaking car.
ReplyDeleteOr possibly it shows part of the side of a heavy goods vehicle at the moment the driver lurches sideways into the cycle lane and "clips" the screaming cyclist.
But then again it might show the cyclist at the moment of impact with the vehicle which has just overtaken him, cut in, and braked.
@BillG - I'm afraid I haven't a clue what I was on about.
ReplyDelete[The bit that now says 'the roadworks on Southwark Bridge' originally said 'the roundabout at Bank'. I've changed it for the benefit of future historians.]
Probably I started off to say 'the roundabout at the Elephant and Castle', thought that was too southern-biased, and only half-changed it.
Tch. This is what comes when you try to blog in a hurry as you bolt your breakfast, pack for a trip away, and shout at Radio 4.
Hmm. If you're trying to avoid south-London bias, changing "the roundabout at the Elephant" to "the roadworks at Southwark Bridge" doesn't really go quite far north enough...
ReplyDeleteYes, but he went via Bank...
ReplyDelete