April Fool jokes get too fat

British Waterways made a small contribution this year to April Fool's Day.  

It was a very small one. I didn't see it as a separate story, just as a round-up on a couple of sites of April Fool's jokes.  One on BBC Wales, the other on Virgin Radio.  Says Virgin:

British Waterways have been forced to install speed cameras along some of their busiest waterways in order to combat speeding commuters, who have taken to the water to avoid traffic congestion on the roads and public transport during rush hour.

It was a brave attempt, but it didn't get coverage as a lead story.  It didn't even appear in Waterscape (although a search for 'speed cameras' there does turn up a couple of interesting results).

BW did a good one four years ago about how ducks were being overfed and getting too fat, which took me in too, for a while.

But the media these days simply go through the motions about the April Fool.  To work, it has to be believable, and April Fools are now so oversubscribed that no one believes them any more. 

Since I saw a speed camera sign on the Upper Peak Forest Canal late last year (not a camera itself, just a joke 'slow down' sign) , I've long discounted the idea of canal speed cameras.

Very few editors are hooked by real April Fools nowadays. Instead, cynical editors simply catalogue them.

I suggest a return of the practical joke which comes out of nowhere, and it should certainly not be in April.   How about announcing the closure of a particular canal during the whole of the winter stoppage season, or the demolition of a famous structure? 

Or perhaps they could report on the installation of a Chinese Junk restaurant in Birmingham's Gas Street Basin.  BW already tried that one (and they weren't joking) ten years ago, but as a return visit it would be a wonderful jape.

If you do it as a practical joke you won't be part of a boring round-up of April Fools by jaded editors.  You might get into trouble with some people for 'lying', but Granny will certainly take her hat off to you.

Comments

[Paul Grainger]

My favourite April Fool this year was this one:-

http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html