When the restaurant first opened I commissioned a sign to be made stating the opening hours and giving contact details for the restaurant. I needed to tell the customers when we were open and, as importantly, I needed to set for the kitchen staff clear guidelines for our operation. We open at noon, so the restaurant must be open, lights on and the chefs ready.
The sign is visible to all who come up Preston Street and is on the side of the building. It's a beautiful, well-styled piece. Function and ornament.
Some scrote wrote graffiti all over it last night. Graffiti over my brand new sign.
It turns out that the same person, or persons, unknown, decided to do a lot of about-town decoration. Their 'tag' looks like MCP. I am trying to find out whose initials they might be. One candidate, the brewery wine and spirits manager whose initials are close, I have dismissed as unlikely. But I do seek to unload my wrath on the idiot who has done this. Part of the frustration is that, in anticipation of any graffiti, I have cans of spare paint ready to cover any blemishes. I do believe that once graffiti starts on a building it is only a short time before the whole building is defaced. I thought I could respond to most scenarios quickly but the sign cannot be repaired like that. I didn't think they would do the sign. That was stupid.
Another victim of this vandalism phoned this morning and gave us guidance on dealing with it. We've reported it to the police and got a crime number, we've spoken to the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, someone from the Street Crime Unit and a Graffiti Clean-up Team will be visiting us shortly. I await counselling from the Victim Support Unit and the Youth Crimes Response Bureau. But I am not confident they will prosecute anyone despite the fact that they have CCTV footage of two hoody-wearing youths carrying spray-cans. Mind you, the way I am feeling at this moment, I would happily help them remove themselves from the gene pool.
Graffiti is an odd hobby. It has always been with us. They had it in Pompeii and it is still visible. Cro-Magnon man was probably tagging his caves before that. Some is fantastically artistic. Graffiti I've seen in Holland and Germany is stunning. Work I've seen in New York is exquisite. I rate people like Banksy for their visionary masterworks. On other buildings it can be great.
But when an idiot defaces my sign, like they did last night, the last thing I am contemplating is art appreciation. I simply want revenge.