It's a deal

Fancy some rotgut?

Thought not. 

Tech sign

Up a cobbled street in Rochdale you’ll find these fine terracotta signs marking the original site of Rochdale Technical School. The college was built in 1892 and closed in 1989. They were saved when the building was demolished and were stored at the Touchstones gallery, but were too heavy to exhibit. They were returned to their original site in 2010. 

Nation shall speak peace unto nation

The sign on the gorgeous Bush House, once the home of the BBC World Service and now part of King's College London. Built in the 1920s and 1930s, the building was once declared to be the most expensive in the world, and it is now listed.

Guttered

Glam address in Bury. 

Pottering

You don't need to be a wizard to guess where I went this weekend. I had a magical time at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour of the Harry Potter film sets. And it was wonderful, for all kinds of reasons, not least because I got a picture of the Privet Drive street sign. 

The first sign of good times was the customer experience - every member of staff was clearly on a mission to ensure you enjoyed the visit. We felt welcomed. Everything was spotless, in working order and well organised. 

It was also full of delights and surprises. I won't spoil it for you by giving it all away, but they stuck to their brand and offered a cinematic experience for visitors. 

And it was emotional. The Harry Potter stories deal with the big topics of life. Love and death, good versus evil, choice and destiny, individual and state. Yes, it's a tourist attraction, and yes it's expensive, but above all the tour is a celebration of innovation, creativity and ingenuity. The sheer pleasure J K Rowling brought to so many people with the Harry Potter books was evident everywhere. 

 

 

Bury nice

I went to Bury market for the first time today and it's rather splendid. It's been voted best market in Britain several times, and no wonder: you can buy pretty much anything, from black pudding to gravestones. You're welcomed by this pretty sign, and in you go, greeted by smells of fresh food, fish, bread, pastries and puddings. There's been a market in Bury since 1444, and it's so popular, it's even got its own coach stop.