A few weeks ago I was walking down the Harleyford Road on the way to the Oval when I saw a man daubing the famous Ashes “obituary” on the outside of the ground. You likely know the one: “In Affectionate Remembrance of English cricket, which died at The Oval on 29th August 1882 …” This was no spontaneous piece of street art. A professional muralist was painting a perfect facsimile on the wall outside the Bedser Stand, just opposite Archbishop Tenison’s School. Next to it in bold lettering was written “THE KIA OVAL – BIRTHPLACE OF THE ASHES”.
I stopped and stared as the traffic whizzed by. Looking at the increased size of the “obituary”, two things struck me. First, that there is something satisfying about its simple yet effective design. Rather than being off-putting, the different style and sizes of font draw the eye.
