Lost in Translation?

You're still sweet on the brilliant ads in Snacklish; I'm still stuck on moments from the June holiday. While trying to be aware of signs or symbols that are clear for peeps of all nations, I noticed some communications in London that are charmingly country-specific. Humps instead of bumps is a pretty easy one to figure out.

However, the neighborhood watch sign that's prominent in Sydenham, south of London, stumped me. When I asked my friend and hostess if ferrets headlined the sign because they poke up out of holes to monitor things (lame or what? heck! I was on vacation, as was my brain), she replied that the critters are meerkats, which are universally acknowledged to be neighborly and vigilant.

In this particular case, I was clueless and in my own local head (um, I think of the meerkat as the comic relief in "The Lion King"), not to mention unschooled in the ways of the real animal kingdom. Perhaps Lord Attenborogh and his brother have educated the British public in the ways of the cooperative and generous members of the mongoose family. Do meerkats signal community to you?