London's* most-viewed bit of graffiti has been erased. The famous defacement 'Give peas a chance' on the western section of the M25 has itself been defaced.
We profiled the history of the message only a month ago, lamenting its fading letters. Now, the leguminous graffiti has been replaced with a new tag, whose name we won't glorify with citation.
While we can't condone criminal damage, the surreal 'peas' message has found a special place in the London psyche. The slogan has decorated the rail bridge between junctions 16 and 17 for a decade. It must have been seen by tens of millions of people. Many Londoners consider it a sign that they've almost reached home after a long car journey.
Its loss removes a moment of cheer from an otherwise bland driving experience. May it rest in peas.
*Technically Buckinghamshire, but we're unilaterally claiming the M25 as proper London turf.
