Around The World In 80 Waves

Steve, the surfer I was chatting to in the water at Del Mar told me about the Cardiff Kook, which is the nickname given to this statue which has been erected adjacent to the beach at Cardiff-by-the-Sea. I had missed it on my way south, so I drove back northwards to check it out.

Apparently there was some degree of dismay when it was first installed that the surfer looks like such a geek even a tad effeminate, and the statue has been dressed up and abused by mischievous pranksters ever since. However the town has now embraced the statue and regularly goes to some efforts to decorate him. He is naked as the day he came into the world on the day that I get there but I have added some pictures of their best work below. There are many, many more. Check them out at http://thecardiffkook.org/

The statue’s official name is Magic Carpet Ride and there is an engraving of this poem of the same name on the side.

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