Sunday 28 January 2018

No standing in passages

Lovely old sign in the Argyll Arcade in Glasgow. Damp pedestrians must have caused severe blocking incidents for this sign to be erected. Argyll Arcade is one of the oldest in Europe. Built in 1827, it's a beautiful place, crammed with jewellers and diamond merchants. It was designed by John Baird, whose other work seems to have been more spiritual (churches and university buildings, for instance).  It's stunning, and worth a visit.

Sunday 21 January 2018

Briggs Stores ghost sign

Briggs Stores ghost sign, on the side of a house in Heaton Norris, Stockport, on the corner of Belmont Street and Clement Street. This photo was taken a few years ago. When we lived in Heaton Norris in the late 1980s/early 1990s, Belmont Street boasted some fabulous ghost signs, including a smart green and gold Hovis sign, and a chip shop with an interior straight out of the 1950s. It's all smartened up now, of course.

Sunday 14 January 2018

Self reflection

Lloyds Bank sign in Piccadilly, London, with the reflection of Wren's St James's in the window. A calm, cool picture which seems to hark back to the days when banks and churches were trusted pillars of society. In reality, Piccadilly is brash and bustling, the contrast between the haves and have nots is painful, something which St James's admirably strives to address.