This way please

Pretty gate and smart manicule sign on Manchester's fine town hall.

Bread and beer - no flies on us

I thought I’d pick a pretty picture to start the New Year. This gorgeous mosaic sign decorates the doorway of the Fly in the Loaf in Hardman Street, Liverpool. The bar takes its name from the slogan of the Kirklands bakery which once occupied this spot – they claimed there were “no flies in the loaf”. Already appointed as bakers to Queen Victoria, Kirklands opened this building in 1888. According to a Liverpool Mercury article at the time, the bakery was designed to be “a perfectly sanitary bakehouse, combining all the best health arrangements”. It continued as a bakery until the 1970s.

The middle way

When in London, have the courage to veer off the main streets and into the little alleyways and narrow lanes. You’ll be rewarded with some of the more interesting sights of the city.

Middle Temple Lane is just off the Strand, where it meets Fleet Street. It is one of London’s four inns of court. Nip down here and you feel you’re in a different century. It was the home of the Knights Templar, those medieval crusaders. Set up as hostels and schools for lawyers in the 13^th century, Middle Temple now houses barristers’ offices (or chambers). Worth a visit for its picturesque cobbled lanes, gardens and church.