Many blocks in the town of Richmond-on-Thames are bisected by narrow footpaths just wide enough for two people to pass each other. I imagine they are medieval and therefore older than most of the buildings. Unless you know the town well it’s risky to take them, because some are dead ends and you have to double back, but I find them more intriguing and peculiar than the shopping streets; you never know who or what you will meet. This one took me through a pretty little churchyard, where I found a grumpy Dickensian sign. There was no bank to be seen.
A Bad Guide 
Back to the blog ! This is definitely forward-looking retro.
I’m glad to see people are still alerted by its activity.
That sentence about responsibility doesn’t make sense. First of all, when the bank can be held responsible (at law) for *any* particular thing, then the bank’s stating it will not be held responsible for that thing does not alter their responsibility.
Second, when “other persons” litter the ground, those persons are responsible for littering the ground. The question does not arise of who else might be held responsible, apart from the persons who littered. So either the bank’s disclaimer is irrelevant, or else it is an attempt to exempt bank employees from responsibility. We have just seen that such an attempt is pointless.
This reminds me of the sign that often hung in front of building construction sites in Germany: “Eltern haften für ihre Kinder” (parents are responsible for their children). But construction companies can’t create legal liability by fiat, any more than banks can evade legal liability by fiat.
In fact parents are responsible for what their children do only in specifiied circumstances having to do with the children’s age, whether the parents exercised due caution etc etc.
Yes, it’s all nutty, but it was the intimidating language that I thought sounded like Dickens.
Hooray, a new post! On topic, how does “litter-rubbish” differ from litter, and how from rubbish?
And very welcome comments!
All litter is rubbish, but not all rubbish is litter. Old unmatched socks and broken toys or the contents of a vacuum cleaner aren’t really litter but they might be rubbish. You’d have to ask the bank why it feels responsible for all other kinds of rubbish – old tractor tires and broken Christmas tree lights come to mind – but not, say, chewing-gum wrappers.
These are deep terminological waters. The Germans have avoided them by not offering a clear distinction. “Abfall” and “Müll” can be litter or rubbish. I don’t believe there is a fixed word or phrase for litter, you have to circumlocute it, like a cat prowling around hot porridge (Ger.loc.).
Or like a cat prowling around her litter.
That’s the association in Heidegger’s “Geworfenheit”: we enter the world as litter.
There is no bank, but it can apparently catch fire.
Is there a blog, still?
What’s the German word for “porridge”, Stu? I am fond of the word “porridge” for several reasons. I missed this post the first time around — just found it when I was alerted to the next post. Hooray, Crown, you’re back!
Haferbrei (oat porridge).
Porridge in Norwegian – I’m sure you’re wondering – is grøt. Gröt if you’re Swedish. The Norwegians talk about grøt much more than I talk about porridge. And there are as many different grøts as there are types of grain.