Magpies of Sheffield

Yesterday morning I went for a quick stroll around the city centre in Sheffield before breakfast. It was bitterly cold and the streets were mainly empty, a good opportunity to take a few pictures. As I made my way down Devonshire Street from the car park, I came across this stencil of a magpie; It was placed on the wall above a cigarette bin outside a bar and was marked with the number 7. As I moved on, I pondered the significance of it’s given number and the zipper across it’s beak. I didn’t have to wait too long for an answer of sorts as I discovered number 7’s sibling – number 8, who was perched outside another bar on Division Street; After breakfast, I spotted yet another member of the clan – number 5, hanging around outside a store on the way back up Devonshire Street to the car; I would have happily spent another few hours searching for the rest of the group* but it was still freezing cold and I didn’t think junior unsubscriber would have shared my enthusiasm so we headed for home. I shall return to the hunt another morning.

Postscript – After doing a little research about these intriguing stencils online later in the evening, I found a picture of yet another family member – number 6, on a rather fine blog called Little Bits Of Sheffield (here).

* The collective noun for magpies is a tittering, or so I’m led to believe.