In a provincial English city, a man has taken it upon himself to address what he referred to as a “fun deficit” in town.

By placing humorous signs in the style of public notices and road signs around town, he hopes they will disarm people into seeing issues in a new perspective, whether that’s the fun he focuses on, or poorly managed roads.

Chichester is located in West Sussex, and was actually found in one study to be ranked as the best place to live in the historic county. However, the “Chichester Anti-Recreation Partnership” or CARP, as he refers to himself, says there are significant shortfalls in the amount of things that could be construed by any reasonable person as “fun.”

“I absolutely adore Chichester,” CARP told the BBC, explaining his modus operandai. “But it does have some notable gaps—particularly when it comes to fun and things for younger people to do.”

Attempting to brighten up the place, he has for some months been placing trick signs, noting for example that one was entering a “formal attire only zone” or a “coffee control area” monitored between 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

“Humor has this unique ability to disarm people—it lowers their defenses and allows them to consider issues from a fresh perspective,” he said. “It reframes problems in a way that’s more approachable and less confrontational, which makes it easier to get your message across and spark discussions.”

BBC spoke with the Chichester City Council, which “doth protest too much,” one might say.

Working hard, they noted, to put on more exciting events for all ages including light shows and concerts after dark, the council said they had been met with appreciation from the citizenry.

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They currently run an “after dark” working group to collect views on what young people would like to see in the future. Young people are a very important part of the community, they state, again noting a sum of $1.3 million currently earmarked for play area refurbishment.

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CARP, however, isn’t waiting around. His handiwork gains traction on social media, and even though the council takes his signs down very quickly, they can’t stop him from sharing images of them online.

He says he isn’t concerned about what becomes of the signs, so long as they spark a smile, a laugh, a conversation, or, in the best case scenario, action to make Chichester a more fun-focused borough.

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