Spijkenisse near Rotterdam has replaced the usual crossing sign by the town hall with one of a man with a bowler hat and briefcase flinging his leg high in the air, in emulation of John Cleese’s performance from the ‘Ministry of Silly Walks’ sketch.
Aloys Bijl, a local fan of the show, saw a similar sign put up by a prankster in Sweden, and asked Spijkenisse council to make an official version. “Cleese parodied a man from the ministry, and sometimes strange things do happen in town halls.”
Alderman Jan Willem Mijnans liked the idea, and agreed to preside at the not-very-formal opening of the rebranded crossing.
“It’s nice to see people crossing the street with a smile on their face, and we hope lots of people will do so,” he told the expectant crowds, before trying out his own silly walk.
The crossing is one of the busiest in town, but Mr Mijnans assured the public that, no matter how silly their progress, “traffic rules still apply, and cars have to stop as normal”.He added that the sign will revert to the original if it proves to be more of a distraction than an aid to road safety.
The people of Spijkenisse have taken to the idea with great enthusiasm, and filled social media with clips of pedestrians crossing with a variety of outlandish gaits.
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‘mix a little foolishness with your serious plans.
it is lovely to be silly at the right moment. ‘
-horace
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credits: abc news, news from elsewhere, martin morgan, nos public television
I didn't have my glasses on.... 
all taken in stride…life’s too short to be so serious all the time
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That’s right-
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People stepping out together in fun. Beautiful.
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I think so, too
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Love that show! I hope that catches on – but we take ourselves much to seriously.
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I so agree with all of that, mark
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I think I saw something about this story. That sketch always makes me laugh.
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Me too!
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🙂
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My kind of town!
>
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Same here
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Mad just mad but fun
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Absolutely
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Love it. What fun and who doesn’t love Monty Python???
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Exactly
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As long as it doesn’t coincide with Silly Drivers Day, all should be good, Beth.
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Great point
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My town of Almost Iowa has a similar sign to warn of icy sidewalks. It is not that we have sidewalks, (the council is still working on that), but we could afford the sign, so we got that first.
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Good choice
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I loved Holland the week I was there. I can tell people there are nuts. Outside the central train station, there’s a sign hanging on a pole that says “4,353 miles to Wall Drug.”
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What a riot)
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What a great idea!
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I agree!
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I am bookmarking this post. Thanks for sharing. It put a huge smile on my face!
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I’m so glad
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They should also put a sign like this one outside my orthopedist’s office. 😀
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That would be so great
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Oh, I love this! My son and I were just talking this evening at dinner about the silly walks skit and now I happen upon your post. We need a little more of this in the world :-).
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we sure do!
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Brings joy to people!! Love it!
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me too!
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love it!
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so fun for everyone
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I agree. It’s lovely to be silly.
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and why not? )
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Such a great idea! I think it would be tough to resist doing a silly walk to get across. 🙂
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oh, absolutely
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We need more silly walks, especially now!
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We do
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Brought a smile to my face just reading about it.
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Good)
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