Has anyone else seen this overambitious information plaque at the foot of Trellick Tower? As well as showing you where you are in relation to the rest of southern England, it also attempts to map out the solar system, gives a chronology of the Earth and, most surreal of all, incorporates a scale showing how much tea different nations consume. Just when you thought we Brits were losing our eccentric ways, eh?
Here’s a snapshot. As you can see, Slough is located somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, an area normally occupied by the monotonous rubble of the asteroid belt. Kind of figures. Elsewhere, we learn that dinosaurs became extinct somewhere around Guildford, and that Kilburn is still in the Stone Age. Marvellous stuff.
