British Waterways is to be superseded by the more-encompassing 'Canal and River Trust' next April. And along with the announcement of the name change came the launch of a new logo.
It's actually a clever revisioning of the old logo, redolent of the Georgian humpback canal bridges that dot the English countryside.
But instead of the bulrushes (or reedmace, as David Owen-Roberts pointed out), they've come up with a swan, to better represent the waterways network.
And the word 'waterways' has been dropped, since they say the public does not often think of a 'waterway' as a navigable thing. Furthermore, they've used a more ornate serif typeface to give a sedate feel to the labelling of signs.
We can now expect a host of PR exercises to draw attention to the launch. The first is a PR exercise competition to find the nation's favourite 'canal canine'.
British Waterways’ search continues to find a ‘canal loving canine’ to front up a marketing campaign for the national charity being set up next year to run the nation’s waterways.
Your four-legged friend could be in with a chance to be the canine face of the new Canal & River Trust, which takes over British Waterways’ responsibility for 2,000 miles of waterways in England & Wales in April 2012.
Or rather more euphemistically announced on Twitter as:
We're looking for Britain's next top dog model to become the canine face of Canal & River Trust. Enter your pooch here
I don't have a pooch, so I couldn't be expected to (ahem) 'enter' it.
Never mind, here's my candidate dog, seen at Hall Green Lock, Macclesfield Canal:
This dog, if memory serves, lives in the adjacent lock cottage, but the photo was taken four years ago.
However, judging by the Canal and River Trust's new logo, it was a prescient image. The swan is a far more widely recognised image of both rivers and canals than the bulrush.
[Reedmace, Andrew, reedmace.]
And I love the way the cob swan and dog are warily eyeing each other up, perhaps pointing to the future of the new charity.
But BW won't like that symbolism. I suspect they want dogs and dog owners who reflects cooperation. Like this dog and owner I met at Leamington Spa a while back:
The dog here seems obedient, faithful and watchful, standing firmly at his owner's side. Meanwhile the owner responsibly has collected his 'doings' to take home.
(Or at least to fling in the bushes when no one's looking!)
Meantime, the cyclists and Granny Buttons in the background show our own position in the scheme of things.
Maffi, the point of the 'dog looking at swans' is that it is glaring warily at the waterway's new emblem!
Posted by: Andrew Denny | Friday, 14 October 2011 at 09:16 AM
Maffi, when I click on your Flickr link it reports 'Private page'. Does that mean BW will keep the winner a secret?
Posted by: Andrew Denny | Friday, 14 October 2011 at 09:14 AM
No!!!! You had a photo of a "Crazy" looking dog with a big stick awhile back. I'm sure you will remember it. That should be the choice!
Posted by: Murray | Wednesday, 12 October 2011 at 09:53 PM
I see that this applies to England and Wales only. In Scotland BW is staying in public ownership but under the title of "Scotland: Hydro Nation"!
Posted by: Andrew Morley | Wednesday, 12 October 2011 at 05:20 PM
This is the winner http://www.flickr.com/photos/58983305@N00/6201108963/in/pool-canaldogwalker/
Posted by: Maffi | Wednesday, 12 October 2011 at 03:55 PM
A dog looking at swans ia a candidate for the Nations favourite canine oh Please! :)
Posted by: Maffi | Wednesday, 12 October 2011 at 03:04 PM