Public opinion suggests that the crudely animated robin in the north-west corner of the square with the disappearing beak and legs might just be the most pointless decoration ever.
During the course of an afternoon at the height of the festive break, we asked numerous passers-by what they made of the decoration in question. However, our afternoon in the cold only uncovered that the public couldn’t make head nor tail of the blinking robin.
“I can see why you’d have a flashing nose on a reindeer or maybe blinking lights on Santa’s sleigh.” One member of the public commented, “But I don’t understand what’s going on with that bird. Why would its beak and legs flash on and off?”
Yet somebody at Helensburgh Community Council with one eye on the budget and another on an order form has to have ticked the “bird with disappearing nose and legs” illumination off a list of those available. We’re going to press on with our investigation in the hopes of uncovering the rationale before this year’s festive season is upon us.
