See things a little differently. Once you start to spot, you won’t be able to stop.
Life is in the details – don’t let them pass you by.
Richard Horne is a graphic designer, illustrator, author, screen and gocco printer. He has written, illustrated and designed six other books, five in the popular 101 Things To Do series and A is for Armageddon, an illustrated catalogue of disasters. He also illustrated the bestselling book, The Dangerous Book for Boys, winner of the 2007 book of the year at the British Book Awards.
He lives in Norwich, UK.
As you work through the list of spots, you will earn Modern Day Spotter’s Guide titles in honour of your achievements. The more you things you spot, the greater the title.
The points you’ve been accumulating will count here too. In recognition of the extra effort you may have put in to gain the rarest spots and to complete the tasks, you can add a Bronze, Silver or Gold merit, depending on your overall points total at that stage. For example, if you had seen 21 things on the list, and had a points total of 525, you would earn the title of See Farer Bronze.
As you work your way up the honours list, visit the Modern Day Spotter’s Guide website to enter your current status and to see how others are faring.
You have achieved the title of See Cadet.
Welcome to the world of modern-day spotting.
We hope you’re enjoying the view.
See Cadet Bronze: 125–189 points
See Cadet Silver: 190–249 points
See Cadet Gold: 250–500 points
You have earned the honour of See Farer.
You’ve made a great start to your modern-day spotting career. Keep up the good work.
See Farer Bronze: 350–674 points
See Farer Silver: 675–999 points
See Farer Gold: 1000–1500 points
You are now a Sightseer.
Keep spying with your little eyes.
The only way is up.
Sight Seer Bronze: 575–899 points
Sight Seer Silver: 900–1299 points
Sight Seer Gold: 1300–2500 points
You have been awarded Spy Master.
Congratulations! Well over half the list has been completed.
Spy Master Bronze: 900–1499 points
Spy Master Silver: 1500–2099 points
Spy Master Gold: 2100–4000 points
You have earned the title of Hawk Eye.
You’re well on your way to achieving legendary status in the Modern Day Spotter’s world.
Hawk Eye Bronze: 1250–1999 points
Hawk Eye Silver: 2000–2874 points
Hawk Eye Gold: 2875–5500 points
You have reached the top class of Eagle Eye.
Over 65 things spotted is an amazing achievement.
Long may you continue to spot such anecdotal incidents, everyday oddities and epic fails.
Eagle Eye Bronze: 1475–2399 points
Eagle Eye Silver: 2400–3399 points
Eagle Eye Gold: 3400–7000 points
Firstly, a huge thank you to Helen Szirtes for her time, patience, editing skills and for planting the seed of the idea in the first place. Thank you for transforming my clunky sentences and rearranging my errant words. This book wouldn’t be the same without you.
Thank you to Rosemary Davidson for being so enthusiastic about my unusual projects and for spotting the potential in this idea.
Thanks to the following for their stories and input that have helped shape this book: Philippa Milnes Smith, Ele Fountain, Jane Horne, Ruby Harrison, Christine and Neville Horne, Clarissa Upchurch, George Szirtes, Tom Szirtes, Rob Ellis, Rob Hackett, Paramjit Virdee, The Norwich Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press, Jo Stafford, Vicki Johnson, Hayley, Neil and Daisy Gosling, Su Owen, David Drake, Joanna Millington, Paul Flack, Kim Haddock, Iain Young, Dom Bellingham, Henry Layte and the Book Hive, Simon Rhodes, Cian McCourt, The entertaining and inspirational tweets by @PresentCorrect, House cafe and the Window coffee shop for the enlightening coffee breaks.
An honoury mention to those that like to help out, namely: Ryan Watts, Caroline Sykes, Sammy Merry, Libby Ostle Bowker, Becky Webb, Stephen Laverick, Beck Illsley, Karly Ellis, Zoe Thomas, Sophia Colley, Paul Nash, Tim Moss, Jennie Walker, Isabella Pereira, Neil Tweddle, Nick Stone, Sarah Bays and Lee Smith of the Norwich Frame Workshop. Thank you. Thank you.
Finally, a big thank you to the cities of London and Norwich for providing much of the inspiration for the spots in this book. There’s nowt so funny as folk.
A is for Armageddon: An Illustrated Catalogue of Disasters
101 Things To Do Before You Die
101 Things To Do Before You’re Old and Boring
101 Things You Need To Know … and Some You Don’t
101 Things You Wish You’d Invented and Some You Wish No One Had
101 Things To Do to Become a Superhero or Evil Genius
You’ve reached the final part of the book, where you can take stock of the things you’ve seen along your modern-day spotting journey.
Enter your scores for each spot in the YOUR TOTALS section on the following pages. Once you’ve added up the points for all your spots so far, find out which title and merit you’ve achieved.
If there are any other things you’ve spotted along the way that weren’t featured in the book, then you can enter them in the extra pages provided.
You’ll also find links to the website, where you can upload the things you’ve spotted and share your stories.
Award points for:
Food and drinks
Items of clothing
Wallet, purse or keys
Other, e.g. documents
You’d expect to see this happen more often, and the reason you don’t is probably because things left on the roof don’t stay there for long. It’s an easy mistake to make when, arriving back at the car with a half-eaten sandwich, a large coffee and other sundry items, you pop something on the roof for a few seconds in order to delve for your keys or load your shopping or children. It’s only when you’re hurtling along that you reach for your drink and, oh …
But it’s one thing to forget a coffee, quite another to forget your life savings. In 2010, police in Essex began a theft inquiry after a pensioner drove off with £80,000 on the roof of his car. After years of stashing it under his bed, he had been going to take the money somewhere for safekeeping. Unsurprisingly, it was never recovered.
Pretty much everything has been left on a car roof, including: jewellery, computers, phones, shoes, hats and gloves, wallets and purses, homework, gardening equipment, Christmas presents, frozen turkeys, animals, a police taser and even a three-year-old child.
Award points for:
Escaped pet
Escaped farm animal
Escaped zoo animal
Other
When there’s an escaped animal on the loose, you’ll often find out about it by way of a flyer posted through your door or taped to a telegraph pole, usually featuring the badly photocopied face of a cat with a name like Schrödinger looking blankly out at you. But in 2008 police in the Netherlands had to hunt down and round up a troupe of animals who’d escaped from a nearby travelling circus. The breakaway gang comprised of fifteen camels, two zebras, some llamas, a number of pigs and a very conspicuous giraffe.
Escaped animals can be seen all over the land: the south of England is a great place to spot one of many thousands of escaped exotic birds that have flocked and bred; and the UK’s wild moors and valleys are the best places to glimpse elusive big cats.
Once a year, at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, one or more zookeepers dress up in animal costumes and make a break for freedom. In 2012 staff hunted down and successfully recaptured a two-man papier mâché rhino. After the all clear, the rhino was returned to the art cupboard.
Award points for:
Animal
Object
Face or figure
Rude object
As clouds are constantly changing shape, it’s highly probable you’ll be able to see whatever you want to see, provided you’re in the right place at the right time and have the necessary patience. But while you’re waiting for that perfectly shaped cloud to form, here are some other sky sculptures to look out for, all of which have been previously sighted: from animals of all kinds – pigs, rabbits, bears, horses and unicorns – to famous people, such as Maggie Thatcher and Elvis Presley, along with images of Jesus on the cross, love hearts and nuclear explosions.
It would be better still to spot a natural cloud phenomenon, such as the roll, shelf or mammatus formations. Or the giant sky cock. Keep your eyes on the skies for these rare and spectacular events.
Lenticular clouds offer the best extra-terrestrial-like visions. These rare formations create saucer shapes in the sky which have a tendency to trigger numerous calls to the Ministry of Defence, warning against an impending alien invasion.
Award points for:
Anonymous face
B to Z listers, e.g. reality TV stars and soap stars
A listers, e.g. George Clooney, Barack Obama, Michael Jackson
Jesus and other religious figures
Since the discovery of Christ’s likeness upon the Shroud of Turin many centuries ago, believers and non-believers alike have been finding the face of Jesus, or something like it, in all sorts of surprising places. Food stuffs seem to be a particular favourite, with Christ appearing on a slice of burnt toast, in a half-eaten Kit Kat, within a jar of Marmite, on a fish stick, a pancake, a three-cheese pizza and a burnt frying pan, to name but a few. The Virgin Mary turned up in a similar vein on a grilled cheese sandwich. Away from the kitchen, the Son of God has also appeared on the base of an iron, in farmers’ fields in Hungary (via Google Earth – see here) and even on the surface of Mars. It seems that God is trying to tell us that He’s always watching us. So don’t do anything bad, OK? Did you check your cappuccino froth at breakfast this morning?
Other famous faces have also made unusual cameos. For example, ET’s visage was spotted in a felled tree’s rings. But second to Jesus in popularity are Hitler sightings – his likeness has been found in cherry tomatoes, cats’ faces (see here) and a house exterior (see here).
Award points for:
Missing the bus or train by seconds
Being delayed by someone or something
Being distracted or engrossed in a book, conversation or phone
Sleeping through their stop
The daily commute is a necessary evil of modern life for many of us, and a mis-set alarm clock or uncooperative bus driver can turn a bad journey into a bad day. Turning the corner to see that your bus has already arrived leaves you with a split-second decision: to peg it to the stop or not. Those who choose to run risk failure and humiliation. Missing the train is worse: the doors closing in your face, the hellishly long pause afterwards while a carriageful of faces stare out at you, before the train slowly pulls away. You’ve probably been on both sides of those doors at some time or another. And it’s not just about getting on (or not). Becoming engrossed in a conversation or a book, not paying attention to announcements or falling asleep are among the many pitfalls that lie between a commuter and his or her destination.