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foodie tongue twister
try saying this fast. excellent stuff
2 cheap
even they admit it
nothing over $20 except the things which are
'designer' - good use of both apostrophes and an asterisk here
5000 items whilst stocks last
surely as soon as they sell one item they'll have less than 5000 items. which is probably why they needed the asterisk
7 night smorgasboard
we'll ignore the question of whether it should be smorgasbord rather than smorgasboard. i liked how it was a 7 night one assuming you only eat between the hours of 4.30pm and 9pm each day.
and the shop was only open 6 nights a week ...
a very cool bookshop
a veritable Aladdin's cave of books about Aladdin's caves (and other things)
smile mart
it's a smile monger (with a new core shopping centre attached)
50% off whsmith products
we don't have whsmith in new zealand. that explains the empty table i suppose
adver-graffiti
i've shown you this shop window before. i love it as it's absolutely packed with things and they've scrawled the names of the products on the outside of the windows with nice words. like lovely crockery
as i went past the other day i noticed they've started selling anti virus which i assume is a computer thing. and they now think their paper parasols are cool.
and they sell silks (plural) on rolls
gone to get more stock
thank-you
priceless ($6.90)
does it have a price or not ? and it looks like you can pay with a degreaser if you haven't got $6.90
lovely crockery
it's all about the presentation.
perhaps these signs weren't actually written by the shop keepers and were actually graffiti feedback from passing shoppers ? twitter has a lot to answer for.
weird charity shop window
this charity shop looks fantastic but i only ever go past it when i go to wellington early in the morning so i suspect i'll never go in which is a shame.
shops for everyone
we stayed a night in a place called whitianga over christmas
they have shops for everyone - the kids shop is next to a ladies' fashion shop next to a blokes shop.
pretty useless photos i'm afraid !
farteze
\you've got to love a fine food takeaway that calls itself 'farteze'
it's in stiff competition with this advertising in the chip shop two doors down
what is manchester
manchester randomly added to the list of things on sale in the local john lewis equivalent type shop.
UPDATE: there's some problem with comments on the blog at the moment. This is what two of my new zealish friends said:
BUSS SAID:
Answers on a postcard.
a)Manchester (pronounced /?mænt??st?r/ ( listen)) is a city and
metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England.
b)A linen and bedding manufacturer in New Zealand.
ANDY SAID:
towels, bedsheets, pillowcases all equal Manchester - from a time when
all such products were produced from said city's mills.
the rather worrying army surplus shop
there's an army surplus shop near my new office and it's worryingly fantastic. everyone who works there is wearing the clothes on sale which makes finding an assistant a good challenge. I decided not to attempt to take any pictures in the shop in case i got attacked.
woolworth
the reflection of the spar sign is quite poignant. as is the reflection of the word 'babes'. it's a tribute to my concentration that i didn't bother to turn round to see what the babes shop was. oh well.
extreme signage
i was delighted by this electrical shop in dunoon town
dead midges bought and sold. excellent stuff
the money cult
didn't really come out as nice as i'd have liked, but it vaguely says the money cult next to the betting shop. oh well. next !
euro and asia models
i'm sure i've had spam emails aout this shop
tesco chaos
the chaos in my local tesco continues. the reduced goods are now so wide spread that the cleaning trolley thing couldn't get round the corner without knocking the display over, thus causing more cleaning work. great stuff
high brands
tesco and homebase. up in the air
tescos discount overload
i've photoed the discount shelf in tescos before, but it keeps on growing. it's now spilled out in to a basket on the floor ...
and a whole new container
it won't be long before even the good stuff is just thrown in to this giant heap and people can fight each other for the bargains.
more tesco chaos
i've been thinking why i like this little corner of my local tesco so much. it's the chaos.
the thing i love about supermarkets in general is how they put all the stuff 'together' ie all the ketchups are in one area, fruit in another, an aisle of toilet rolls and so it goes. i love the repetition and the colours.
but i also love the unstructured corner that is the reduced goods area. it's a real pick and mix (rip woolworths). and i guess in these crunchy days, shops are trying to sell every last thing rather than chucking stuff away, so this area has been packed to overflowing recently with busted packets and split multipacks.
blind down photographers
brad sent me this picture of a shoes ! last week (at least i think it was brad - i seem to have lost the email)
and moments later shorely sent me this fast fashion picture which he said was 'Clearly a little too fast for its own good'.
air conditioned
good plan. advertise air conditined cars on an icey morning so it looks like they're got really powerful chillers.
bargains (new to you)
ah. you see they are technically new. they are new to you
fancy a snog ?
great name for a shop/brand/thingy
golden hnd
we're all looking for that gilt edged qualification. how about a golden hnd ?
strange machine
there's an empty office with glass windows near my old office which has this mysterious machine in the corner. i think they used to have something to do with robot wars there. anyone know what this is ?
two pounds ninety nine pence
jane and esther were waiting patiently in an award winning fish and chip shop which obviously didn't win any awards for speed of service. kezia and i were restless so we walked across the street to look at this gift shop.
nothing much passes kezia's attention and she spotted that lots of the prices were two pounds ninety nine pence (apologies for not using the pound sign, it seems not to work properly on the blog)
2.99 was not a special price at all !
when things were a different price, they were often reduced from 2.99 (note the rare rogue 3.99 and 4.99 behind)
i thought it was brilliant. and hopefully you do too !
day 10 shopping in haverfordwest and narberth
day 10 was a town visiting day. we were in search of the gorky's barafundle album which we eventually found in a second hand record trail. we went to two of the most fantastic second hard record shops ever in fact, and i highly recommend them both if you find yourself in that part of town. one of the gorky's himself pops in occasionally, so that would have been very bizarre.
anyway, bonkers is a great name for traditional ladies clothing
it probably would have been a better name for this charity shop which had a mannequin dressed mostly in plastic bags
of course the welsh need to keep an eye on their flags
and you can never have enough apostrophe's
anyway, bonkers is a great name for traditional ladies clothing
it probably would have been a better name for this charity shop which had a mannequin dressed mostly in plastic bags
of course the welsh need to keep an eye on their flags
and you can never have enough apostrophe's
seaside commerce
i spotted a lot of use of the word 'famous' by the seaside. i suspect it might be used in place of the word 'only'
these posters in an abandoned hotel were advertising tenby's famous fun fair
and in the nearby town of saundersfoot there was a massive pound shop
this claimed to be saundersfoot's famous one pound shop.
tune in tomorrow for more pictures from the famous funkypancake website
coffee emergencies catered for
this is a great sign on a shop just round the corner from Tony Blair's house in london. i wonder if he has coffee emergencies these days ?
if he does he can be sure that "they'll serve him". in quotes.
those quotes probably mean they can give you a price before you place an order. probably.
resident's refuse store
council: "do you want a shop ?"
residents: "no"
---or---
customer: "can i have a packet of crisps and a can of coke please"
residents store worker: "no"
award winning charity shop
it's a shame comments aren't working as i'd love to get your thoughts on how a charity shop can become 'award winning'. perhaps they excelled in odours. or colour coordinated clothe rails, or retro vinyl, or number of salad spinners held in stock, or most used wedding dress, or ...
ironing service
supreme
u name it
seaside shops are the actual best
the best shop in the world ?
this shop was in bushmills in northern ireland. it looked good from the other side of the street.
so we crossed over and had a good look.
i've got a mug like that (the one on the left).
it reminded me of bagpuss. if you look carefully in this picture you can see me and backpacker jess
a sign about ordering meat
village life is brilliant
fantastic travel company window display
this made me chuckle. i think it's a travel agents shop which does holidays and tours of different places. but the little toy train track in the sparse window display has broken track and the whole thing has seen better days.
didn't really install much confidence
open 7 [long space] days
why the long space between 7 and days ?
quality helensburgh signage
lots of shops in helensburgh have dodgy signage. which is quite a high proportion as there aren't lots of shops in helensburgh to begin with.
going out of business (and proud of it)
stop shutting down.
skip sale
and here's another skip
repair all ipods
here's a call to action for anyone who has a soldering iron.
guess the sign
beetee sent me this photo and asked me to ask you what you think it is of (is that a proper sentence?)
list of contents
i like it when you see signs on shops which show you what's inside. it's like a content list on a food packet.
this sign is a nice summary of their literature section
the worst sign ever ?
i suspect this wasn't designed by a professional sign designer.
type setting
from another time
fitting batteries as a spectator sport ?
if you are feeling board you can watch batteries being fitted here. well, it beats hitting yourself on the head with a bent coathanger.
new co is no co
50% off nothing is nothing (but only half as not anything)
spicey nights
a great shop name and logo.
experienced barbers needed
chair renting. that's the future.
stencil writting
i was delighted to see this sign which has been prepared using an old fashioned letter stencil thing.
it doesn't look that great to modern eyes used to computer generated text but it must have taken ages to make. well done to them i say.
25
this dry cleaners is excited because it's 25 years old and is having lots of 25 related bargains.
however, i'm a bit confused, as it proclaims 25% off, but also £25. And it seems to be suggesting they've got a selection of services including 25 hours, 25 days, 25 weeks, 25 months, 25 years. I can see the 25 hours service being popular (although plenty of other places do cleaning in fewer hours), but a 25 week service ? why ?
ShoP
interesting use of upper and lower case letters
the new coffee bar
a new coffee shop has opened on one of the platforms at my local train station and it's been interesting to see who has been loyal to the existing newspaper shop (which sells some hot drinks) and who has flirted over to the new establishment.
i was very anti the new until i bought some pain-au-chocolats last week which changed my mind. and the people working there are really nice too
i do like their sign too. open monday. like that's a rare thing in the coffee trade. i chose not to get excited by this.
the section section is a little intriguing too (and i won't be checking them out).
and the final statement 'get involved.' is a little over encouraging i think.
selfridges
selfridges have some great window displays. i haven't been by for a while so it was nice to see the current crop.
these chaps were made out of jelly beans (including the one with the beard in the foreground)
and here was a giant pile of shoes
happy days
this shop is called happy days and seems to be selling cranes to grab koala. it's probably run by mad kiwis (the hairiest of all the fruits (except the coconut which is probably not a fruit))
Dad's unisex hair salon
who wants a haircut like their dad's ? this shop claims to be a specialist in afro caribbean and european hair cuts. i hadn't thought that the European hair was a particular genre of the hair cutting game, but it must be.
i also like how there's some wire hanging in front of the 'uni' of unisex suggesting a very different sort of place.
the laundrette next door is good too. but have you ever seen a laundrette which isn't incredibly photogenic ?
cheap booze
this is absolutely fantastic advertising. we saw it back here, but here is a bigger better picture. especially note the beer bottle with 'cheap booze' written on the label.
the 'off licence open' next to the closed shutters is good too.
cheesey film puns
we like a good pun here on funkypancake don't we. so i was delighted to see this sign outside a shop selling cheese. you'll probably need to click the picture for a closer look at the cheese films. the quality reduces as you get closer to the bottom.
disgruntled customer
here's an upset customer taking action
i like the way the cardboard isn't quite long enough so they've had to make do
a dead cert
a funeral parlour next to a betting shop. what a great idea. you could even play chicken by running across the road between the cars. if you make it you get a payout from Coral. if you don't you end up next door.
the changing face of retail
i now go to Osterley a couple of times a week and i walk down from Ealing Broadway station. Right near my destination, there's this PC World store.
I like the old Do It All logo, not quite properly removed in the background.
I think it says something about technology progress. From do it yourself, to automate it, to get someone else to sort it (that'll be the PC Clinic)
shopping web
selfridges window
welcome to the golden hour shop
a cheery welcome (back in July)
french diary
it's a french diary
milk from an old water source
mens cut price ladies fashions
this shop had shut down. obviously not enough men wanted cut price ladies fashions. it's a tra(n)vesty
we can hardly believe it ourselves
YES ! EVERY ITEM IS A POUND !
pret whooping
i walked past pret on oxford street just before 7.30 when they were all being whooped up for the day by their leader. i was out in the cold rather than in with them being whooped, but i'm not a real whooping sort of guy so that was fine with me.
fast food
for when you need your vinegary cabbage snack in a hurry.
faded glory
this shop, which was still open for business had the oldest dustiest window display ever
except maybe this shop nearby
guns, skeletons and visible horses
here's a strange thing. it's a gun shop. which also sells skeletons (so you can pretend you shot a person and have kept the skeleton).
it also, rather mysteriously, sells 'visible horses'
closed for good
here is a sign on the old police station in henley. it says it's "closed for good". but it might have been for bad. surely it's too early to tell ?
here's a dreadfully photoshopped attempt at giving the old police station some character.
(this is exactly why i don't use photoshop much !)
time warp cafe
click to admire the tables, chairs, cupboard and that fantastic wall paper !
selfridges window
selfridges on Oxford Street often have excellent window displays. here's what's on at the moment.
it's very doctor who isn't it ?
no idea what it's about. and i like that feeling
retro techno
this establishment already looks dated. just a few years back it would have been cutting edge
back in 2 weeks
this shop has had a sign saying 'back in 2 weeks' up for the last 3 weeks, but you wouldn't know as there's no date.
but there is a Soduku and crossword on the newspaper stuck on the window and i'm kinda tempted to use a washable pen and write the answers on the outside of the window !
bicycle magic
brilliant idea. a shop that sells bicycles and magic tricks. or tricks you can do on bikes.
shoe world. it was a world of shoes
as theme parks go, shoe world was doomed to failure from the very start.
just the essentials
i don't smoke. but i certainly eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of hot water.
and it's good to see someone abiding by the government's colour coordinated car parking policy.
bitter exit
i love the understated anger in this sign.
top tip for sign measurers ...
... always allow for a border when you measure the size of your sign
mop'eds
an interesting display of mopeds in a shop window. it's for a shop which sells glasses.
you're obviously meant to walk past it and say "i don't believe my eyes, i better buy some new glasses"
tripe on your desktop
i've taken this shot before, but the sun was so good today i had to take it again when i happened to walk past this old tripe shop (and public toilet extension)
click for desktop sized picture
incomplete
incomplete sign from matt the funkypancake web-landlord
fantastic shop sign
i'm not sure why this sign looks so fantastic. i think it has a timelessness about it.
tailoring is a fairly timeless tradition so it's only fair they haven't grasped modern technology and gone for a professionally produced sign.
quality butcher
here is a butcher. what can we learn from his position on his shop roof ?
he looks like he's up there waiting to shout at customers who are coming to buy his meat products.
merry christmas update
now it has nothing to say
the worst combination ?
this place is called Drug Opera. Surely the worst combination of things ever ?
my new favouritist bar in the world ever
if you are in brussels and want to go to a bar which is just completely bohemium (don't like the word, but there's no other way to describe it) go here. it's just a few second walk from the grand-place and is so completely laid back.
go up to the first or second floor if you want to sit on a seriously beat up sofa and daydream the night away in the glooming junk-shop interior
enticing enough for you ?
pity i only found it on my last night here
the original celtic pub ?
i suspect this isn't actually the original celtic pub. chances are that was in Ireland or somewhere.
note the authentic Irish entertainment on their telly.
what is it with pubs in the Irish theme around the world ?
gallery of mini-mes
where did dr evil from austin powers get his mini-me from ? this shop probably.
the cod father. we'll batter anything
after hair dressers' shops, fish and chips shops have the best names.
2 or £1 or 99 pences each
what a bargain. who would be foolish enough to buy one bag for 99 pences when you can buy 2 for 1 pound ?
i'm not stupid. i bought three.
two different approaches to advertising nails
competition in hardware shops has increased significantly recently. they used to be able to attract customers to their shops by hanging ladders outside their front doors and putting hammers and screwdrivers in their windows.
but i've noticed another trend. specialist shops concentrating on the fundamentals of Do It Yourself and home improvement. shops which specialise in selling nails.
of course this fledgling industry is still searching for its identity. which is why these two nail shops have approached their window display in different ways.
neon or 80s fashion ? you decide which hardware shop to shop at.
i guess this is no different from Staples which too specialises in one of the smallest, inconsequential stationary elements. they don't even sell staplers apparently.
hair by malcolm
it's true you know. in this shop they employ a number of people called malcolm to sit next to you when you are having your hair cut.
it's a lovely, but ultimately pointless idea.
inflatable bouncers
maplins is a shop i love. it's the british radio shack though i don't think they are related.
anyway, the one just off edgware road has recently installed a giant bouncer to keep trouble out of the shop.
there's nothing worse than battling gadget nerds, and this red suited inflatable giant will quite literally be able to 'bounce' such people out of the shop. he takes up over half the door way !
pull up nannies
here is a shopping list.
nrawn
notatoes (no potatoes)
catrot (cream to stop your cat smelling)
pull-up nannies (they are so tired they need a hand to get off the sofa)
napies (cross between a nappy and a pie - nothing is wasted here)
shall i put this in a bag for you sir ?
biggernisation requires a click of the above
lack of forward thinking
this shop (now shut down) was asking for trouble when it ordered its sign saying it had been going for 40 years. it was committing itself to annual sign refreshes.
in the end, escalating sign costs lead to the demise of this once thriving premise. i imagine.
all the old ones had melted
nobody likes old ice-cubes.
nothing but a potty
i passed an historic chemist which was being refurbished a few weeks back. the only thing insider was this potty which is a very strange colour.
one million sandwiches
they gave away 1 million sandwiches last year. but is that good i wonder ? 1 million is a lot of sandwiches.
imagine if they all went to one person. initially you'd be pleased and they'd probably be some media interest. but quickly you'd realise the logistical nightmare which would result.
You could sell a few on, but time would be running out before the best before date expired. And then what ? I pity that poor person i really do.
finally closed
this shop has been saying its closing down for over 2 years now. it's finally gone. i'm slightly relieved as it's a horrible thing to have hanging over my walk each day. but now i can relax knowing the shock of its closure has now passed.
There's another shop just up the road which has also been having its closing down sale for the last year. this was has recently changed its sale to 'factory clearance' suggesting it's not going the same way.
harts the grocer is gone
the end of an era. harts the grocer on marylebone high street is to close on friday.
i like a shop that advertises when it's closed rather than when it's open. i also like it's understated closing down sign. you almost don't realise they mean closing FOR GOOD on the 13th.
and what at great footnote to have on a closing down notice:
click for big
(the website seems to have closed already)
sherfield on loddon post office
now, i had a bit of a rant about he british post office system yesterday.
i was therefore delighted to spot this in the front garden of the post office in sherfield on loddon - it's a crocodile, half a dog and a load of plastic ducks:
more post office woe
i was lucky enough to be able to spend half an hour in a post office today. i've written about my love of post offices before but each experience makes me want to write more.
i came prepared for this visit with some chocolate and an ice cool drink and happily chatted with my queue-neighbour for the 20 minutes it took to reach the cashier desks. i suspect the hot and airlessness is a ploy to kill a few customers off before they get served so the queues are shorter.
i was amazed to see this display for BT Broadband Internet. BT and the Post Office used to be the same nationalised company a few decades ago so it was nice they are working together in this way. Unfortunately their advert says "hurry, offer ends 2th June 2004" so it was over a month out of date which was most appropriate for the post office.
when i eventually got to a cashier the man told me off for arriving at his window too soon. "i didn't press my button" he said. "well press it now" I said.
he looked me in the eyes, paused, then pressed his button. we were off !
there's more to this story, but this isn't a text blog so i'll end it there.
warning - tipsy shoppers
the revamped tesco's next to my office has obviously spent its advertising money on alcohol and giving free cocktails to shoppers. i went shopping with John as a kind of social lunchtime event.
it's quite big and quite strong (tescos) and lots of people are merrily wandering around grinning whilst shopping.
one woman in the next aisle was busy shouting "criSPS, criSPS, ooh, doesn't the SPS bit of criSPS sound funny, criSPS, criSPS".
the local street alcoholics were enjoying it too, although you could tell they would rather drink straight from the bottle instead of these nice dainty cocktail glasses. the serving staff were less impressed by their drinking enthusiasm.
tesco
the tescos next to my office has been under construction for about a year and now it's finally opened. hoorah.
so, having spent millions on refurbishing it, how did they celebrate the opening ? by hanging some balloons up and making a chap walk about with some cardboard on.
welks jellied eels, weymouth
photo by dave