Ring out the old year, ring in the new!

Happy new year!

Give us a bell

I made a pilgrimage to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry earlier this year. It's a place I'd always wanted to visit, and I wasn't disappointed. We were given a warm welcome, and enjoyed the fading museum exhibits which tell of its impressive history. The shop was a delight - you're allowed to ring a selection of small bells, and I bought a tiny tourist bell as a memento of my visit. So I was sad to see the recent news that its future is uncertain. Activities will cease on the Whitechapel site, in the East End of London, by May 2017 and negotiations are underway to settle the future of the business. 

As the signs say, the business was established in 1570 and it has been on Whitechapel Road since 1738. Spanning the reigns of 27 English monarchs, it's Britain's oldest manufacturing company. The Liberty Bell and Big Ben were cast here. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Disappointing secret

The sign's promising, but the staircase isn't. I was very excited to see this sign at Palace House, once the gatehouse to Beaulieu Abbey in the New Forest. I couldn't wait to climb the starcase and discover the history behind it.

Unfortunately, it was roped off and no one knows why it was built, leaving the sign more exciting than the staircase.

The rest of Beaulieu is really worth seeing, though - great motor museum, lovely gardens and beautiful surroundings, so don't let this little secret put you off.

Free smells

Sign on a Liverpool restaurant. Makes me smile every time.

No parking

I find this No Parking sign in Liverpool very pleasing - there's something of the Monopoly board about it.

Usual toll applies

There's a bewildering list of tolls on this sign on the Old Toll House in the village of South Brent, Devon. Reading this, I think I understand where our complex tax laws come from. I particularly like the catch-all "For every stall exposing article of whatsoever description for sale" - the usual toll, of course, applies. The toll house dates from the late 18th or early 19th century and is a grade II listed building.

Intelligent graffiti

Do you think you're more intelligent than the average person?

The average person thinks they're more intelligent than average.

Sign spotted in London Road, Liverpool.