The Serpent Stone

It's been another wet, grey and altogether dismal day. I did contrive to get out on the moor for a short run before catching the train into work, and for once I actually remembered to take a cloth to clean the raindrops from the lens of my camera. There was an astonishing amount of water flowing in the becks, as well as down the paths. I thought I'd share this shot with you today, of a modern carving up near the Crocodile Rock. I've not been able to find out anything about this work. I've no idea who was responsible and whether it was officially sanctioned or just graffiti of a rather superior kind. Any locals have an idea about this?

I've always enjoyed seeing this symbol as I run past. It's somehow energising, and it's been executed very well. But if it had been bodged then I'm sure I would feel altogether different about it. It's not as though it could be scrubbed away! I have no problem with it because of the quality of the workmanship. Does this degree of quality raise it beyond vandalism to the status of public art? And who can possibly judge? The ancient symbols that adorn so many of the rocks on the moor might well have been considered vandalism once. We now try to preserve these cup and ring marks but who is to say that they were not the work of a rebellious bronze age teenager desecrating the sacred stones of an old religion. It's a theory!

It's been an ok day on the software side of life, but I've had some rather difficult political issues to try to find a way through. One can't underestimate the extent to which we believe what we want to believe and see what we want to see, distorting our perception to fit the reality we expect. I've been trying to marry different people's perceptions, all the time trying to make sure I'm not imposing mine. It's a minefield!