LornaMcHardy

By LornaMcHardy

Cones

As Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, enters the city wearing his trademark traffic cone - in honour of the season, his horse has been equipped with one complementing it - after a long and weary ride, he is only too glad to find a hostelry within easy reach.

Only in Glasgow!!

This statue of Wellington is just outside the Gallery of Modern Art, and according to Wikipedia, was erected in 1844.
Wikipedia continues:
"Capping the statue with a traffic cone has become a traditional practice in the city, claimed to represent the humour of the local population and believed to date back to the first half of the 1980s if not before. The statue is a Category-A listed monument and due to minor damage and the potential for injury that the placing of cones involves, the practice has been discouraged by Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Police.
In a bid to reduce the cost of removing traffic cones from the statue, alleged to be £10,000 a year, Glasgow City Council put forward plans in November 2013 to double the height of its plinth as part of a £65,000 restoration project. The plans were withdrawn after widespread public opposition, spearheaded by a Facebook campaign called "Keep the Cone" (that accumulated more than 72,000 likes within 24 hours) started by Scottish musician Raymond Hackland and Glaswegian photographer Steven Allan. An online petition defending the cone received over 10,000 signatures. As the council indicated that action against the practice could still be considered, National Collective organised a rally in defence of the cone."

You couldn't make it up!!!

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