Out and about

I've blogged before about the superb Victoria Baths in Manchester. A temple to exercise and cleanliness, the building is an orgy of green tiles and stained glass. To my delight, the last time I visited (to go to the excellent vintage fair) they had opened up some rooms I'd not seen before. This sign is on the door from the gentleman's first class pool (there were two classes of pool for the men - just one for the women!) 

Oh for the South Seas

This is one of my favourite plates. I love it for the sign alone. It’s gloriously joyful and brings a little bit of sunshine into the 1950s.

James Meakin set up his Staffordshire pottery in 1845 and his sons, J&G (James and George) took over in 1851. By the 1950s, it was producing new American-inspired shapes, and this Studio Ware style was in production from 1957-69. 

For once, my shaky hand isn’t to blame for the blurry photo – the mark is actually like that on the plate. The colour is hard to reproduce -  it’s really a sharp, fresh, bright lime green, which means not all food looks appetising on it. But it’s more fun to turn it upside down and enjoy its palm tree mark. 

Lost gardens of Manchester

We stumbled upon a floral oasis in central Manchester today. The art gallery and the National Trust have teamed up to tell the story of Manchester's lost public gardens, and to give us a new one (complete with bird soundscape and mock vintage signs). Wonderful!

Bargain!

Another tradesmen's entrance

I've pounded the streets of London looking for a gate with a sign saying "Servants". I've failed, so if you know the location of one I could photograph, please say. As consolation, I thought I'd share with you this very smart Tradesmen's entrance (no sniggering please) in Princelet Street, Spitalfields. It's a great area for ghost signs and Georgian architecture, so a walk is rewarding for sign hunters.

Romance in Reykjavik

You need your gloves in Iceland: it's cold. I spotted this sign, with its artistic display of lost gloves, in the centre of Reykjavik.

It seems to capture the underplayed, knowing humour and phlegmatic stoicism of the Icelanders.

Put a spring in your step

This pretty London mosaic door step sign always cheers me up. The White Hall Hotel, somewhat confusingly, is nowhere near Whitehall. It’s a Georgian townhouse hotel in Montague Street, Bloomsbury, and a very good place to stay.