another surprise

I’ve said and written so often that I never know what I might find when I’m out cycling that it has almost become a cliché, but it happened again last week. Paula and I were shooting a new video of the outer limits path #2 that incorporated the diversion that I described in An Unexpected Hazard when I spotted a newly painted mural as we cycled past. Obviously, because we were shooting a video, we didn’t stop, but we were back on Monday, and this time we stopped to take some photos. This is what the first glimpse of the mural looks like:

The right-hand section is in the style of a traditional Chinese landscape painting, with a ceremonial arch, a temple, a pagoda and a fisherman in a sampan:

The central section of the mural seems to be unfinished:

The completed figure appears to be riding a broomstick!

You will have noticed Homer Simpson lounging on a lilo, and this is the remainder of the Simpsons section:

This is an enlarged version:

Because the family is relaxing in a pool, Maggie has been given a snorkel instead of a dummy, but there’s an obvious question here: where’s Bart?

And there’s a less obvious question too. I felt sure that when we cycled past this mural last week, the right-hand section included a cartoon mouse. So I checked the video, and I was right:

It’s Tom and Jerry, with Tom in some kind of ridiculous costume.

What is happening here? It could be simply a change of mind, or perhaps there are two competing artists!

You will notice that there is a path junction in the previous image. The established route continues to the left, but I have often wondered where a right turn might lead. Perhaps it connects to this junction, which is near the start of path #2, where the established route turns left:

There is another potential turn-off a short distance before the end of the path:

I checked it out as a potential alternative exit last year but thought it was unsatisfactory, although for the past few months we’ve been looping back via the road and riding it in the opposite direction. This is a better option, because there is quite a testing incline on this path, which is better ridden in the uphill direction:

We had simply been repeating the last part of the established route when this video was shot, but on Monday, I thought that it was time we checked out the possible connection that I alluded to above. And we would shoot a video. Unfortunately, I was sure that I’d charged the camera’s battery, but obviously I hadn’t (or there is a fault with the camera, which may be the case, because this has happened before).

Anyway, I was right. The two junctions are linked, and the next time we come this way, we shall shoot a video of that connection. And we shall also be checking the mural for any changes.

footnote
The videos from which the above stills were taken have not yet been uploaded to YouTube, but this video shows the original route through the area:

Coincidentally, the thumbnail for this video, which was shot more than a year ago, shows me passing the wall on which the new mural has been painted.