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.

Think inside the box

I saw this sign outside a bar in Manchester last year and the message made me smile. The sun has been out today, so I will be thinking inside the box again soon, aiming to get some herbs and salad leaves growing.

A doorway to the past

In the heart of Manchester’s Chinatown, near the Chinese Arch, number 55 Faulkner Street offers a concentration of ghost signs and a doorway that looks like it leads straight back to Victorian times. Reflecting Manchester’s leading role in the textiles industry, the signs on this building offer worsteds, woollens and handkerchiefs.

This handsome warehouse was built by architects Clegg & Knowles in 1870. Clegg & Knowles helped shape the face of modern Manchester, designing good looking warehouses in Peter Street, Portland Street, Spring Gardens, Fountain Street and Albert Square, as well as this gem in Faulkner Street.

Fancy a Turkish bath?

Well, you won’t get one, despite the tempting sign. Usually too covered in trampling feet to be photographed, I was pleased to find this ghost sign deserted one evening and so I was able to take a quick foot-free picture.

The sign is on the pavement in Russell Square London. The baths, part of the Imperial Hotel, were opened in 1913 and considered very fine, though not fine enough to escape demolition in the 1960s.

18 Woburn Square

The number sign on this door is so pretty that it caught my eye. It’s in Woburn Square in Bloomsbury, London. Named after the Duke of Bedford’s family seat – Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire – the houses in the square were built between 1829 and 1847 and are now mostly occupied by University College London. Number 18 houses the Social Science Research Unit. There’s still a small garden in the centre of the square. To my delight, I discovered that Camden Council have run a project documenting the doors of Bloomsbury, including those in Woburn Square – worth a look for some fabulous Georgian gems. 

Busy Bros.

Whether it was a lampshade frame you needed or a bit of spot welding, it looks like the Heinson Brothers were the people to call. They've left their mark with some great ghost signs on this building in the Fitzrovia area of London .