I like it when you go somewhere and find a great hand-painted sign,
then another
suggesting that one (most probably) talented yet unsung signwriter
has global dominance, albeit in a very small geographic area.
I mean, look at the frosting on that lettering. That is ice cold.
Well, we had a smashing time in Somerset despite a bit of bother at the start. The car broke down in Carlisle and we had to get towed back to Glasgow. After scrambling about for a hire car on a Saturday (harder than you think in this day and age) we were off back down the road. Everything else went swimmingly. The weather was great most days and we went to lots of lovely places. I was trying to find one picture that sums it up so here's Danny on the enormous beach at Weston-super-Mare with its impressive pier in the background. I've added what seems like loads of photos onto Flickr with more to come throughout the week. Until then, commiserations to everyone else going back to work tomorrow.
Time for a Holiday. Found on the BFI's youtube channel, this great short film from 1957 shows Blackpool in its element. There's the wonder of the Pleasure Beach, a supergay diving competition, a freak show, and a wonderful hand-painted sign sequence round about the 4-minute mark. All with a jazzy soundtrack. It was made by Oscar-winning cinematographer David Watkin (who sounds like quite a character) for British Transport Films.
Anyone heading to Morecambe this weekend for the swinging Tutti Frutti 1950s seaside festival look out for the uber-stylish Sunset Ices ice cream van with its wonderful "Everyday is like sundae" slogan. Morrissey did write that about Morecambe after all. This is the brainchild of Kate Drummond who made such a lovely job of the Midland Hotel website and introduced the Knitted Village to Nothing To See Here. By way of return, after reading about the Top Hat - an ice cream delicacy peculiar to Rothesay (an ice cream cone with a snowball on top) on Nothing To See Here, she has introduced it to Morecambe as the Snowball Topper. As well as great ice cream she's got a little art gallery going in the back. If you're down that way do drop by and say hello. She'll be on the prom every weekend from Friday to Sunday.
