Builder undertaker decorator plumber

Ghost sign in South Brent, Devon. Well, if you live in a village, you've all got to muck in, haven't you? Let's hope the trades didn't get muddled ....

Need a whip maker?

There's never a whip maker around when you need one. But James Smith & Sons has been around since 1830, as the sign on its handsome shop front will tell you.

Known simply as the umbrella shop, it's in New Oxford Street in London, and remains pretty much unaltered since Victorian times. Its gorgeous shop front boasts of tropical sunshades and golf umbrellas, and a rather more interesting range of life preservers.

Why not pick up a dagger or swordstick while you're there?

A good night out in Manchester

Great neon sign for the Picturehouse bar in the Band On the Wall, in Manchester's trendy Northern Quarter. A music venue since the early 20th century, it was originally the George and Dragon pub - so small that bands played on a stage halfway up the back wall, giving the venue its name. A grungy room way back when I was a student, it's now extended and poshed up. It's a great live music spot, run as a charity. Check out its website and archive videos.