This is my favourite sign, from Govan in Glasgow. Telling it like it is.
One from Liverpool. We could all do with a Liver Laundrette at some point.
Another Glasgow favourite.
A Glasgow welcome.
A Parade of Shops is now available for £8 including UK P+P.
The first run of Little Shops is now sold out – thanks for your orders. A Parade of Shops can now be ordered for delivery next week.
An unexpected find in Mevagissey.
One from Victoria Road in Glasgow.
I love everything about this, from modesty of the lower case names, to the wooden frontage and the lettering that looks like it’s made from giant Letraset (from Warwick)
A niche offering from Dingwall.
Following on from The Minimalists, here are the Maximalists, where more is definitely…more. These all feature in new book A Parade of Shops – a celebration of little shops and shopfronts.
You’ve got to admire the dedication of the shopkeeper who hauls this in and out every day.
Classic British combination of summer paraphernalia with easy to grab umbrellas.
A Parade of Shops will be out next week. Early copies with the title Little Shops are currently on sale for £6.
After yesterday’s big announcement, I had a brainwave and decided to change the title from Little Shops to A Parade of Shops. That seems more fitting. Unfortunately I had the brainwave after ordering some copies, so the first batch (called Little Shops) is reduced to £6 until the reprints arrive. If you don’t mind a different title, it’s the same book inside.
Anyway, to business. As well as historic and photogenic shopfronts, I wanted to include some where there is barely any shopfront at all. This one from Stromness in Orkney looks like it was designed to withstand the elements.
The Hole in the Wall in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent was the last remaining oatcake shop of its kind. Staffordshire oatcakes, (very different to Scottish oatcakes) were sold out of the window of a terraced house. The whole area was being redeveloped and we got there just before it closed for good. The oatcakes were delicious, and happily, they’re back under new management.
Honourable mention for selling both gadgets and gizmos.
After much swithering, I’ve finished photobook 3: Little Shops. As the title suggests, it’s a book full of little shops, shopfronts and shop windows – from the historic to the hysterical.
Here’s a sneak peak of what’s inside – Part 1: The classics
Little Shops is available to pre-order for £8 including postage. It will be published in early May.
Went to Dundee for the weekend. It is a handsome city with a rich heritage.
First visit to the V&A Dundee to see the Michael Clark exhibition, ‘Cosmic Dancer’. There is a good trailer for it on YouTube, if you’re not familiar with his work.
The videos were plentiful and fascinating (allow a couple of hours to see it all) and the costumes were wonderful.
Also spent a good while in The McManus, Dundee’s art gallery and museum (above) which has some great exhibitions about Dundee’s history, including an exhibition of Joseph McKenzie’s photos and an olde timey street.
I found this idyllic harbour last week in Corrie on the Isle of Arran.
Corrie lies on the north-east side of the island. It has two harbours – this one is known as Sandstone Quay because of the sandstone that was quarried locally and shipped from here.
The sheep came from the Glasgow Garden Festival, and are a fun presence. There is also a lot going on rock-wise, if you like that kind of thing (I do).
The shoreline is full of plants, lichens, birds and sealife. The textures and colours are amazing.
The colour of the sand is warm and inviting. It reminded me of butterscotch Angel Delight.
No trip to Kirkcudbright is complete without a visit to the Stewartry Museum. The Stewartry is the old name for Kirkcudbright and the surrounding area.
The museum collects local items, from birds and animals, to butter churns and communion tokens.
It is slowly being modernised, with the beautiful handwritten captions being replaced by printed ones.
Look beneath the blinds on the balcony to find exquisite collections of seashells, butterflies and birds eggs.
Kirkcudbright (pronounced kir-coo-bree) is a pretty wee town in Dumfries & Galloway.
It’s known as the artists’ town.
It is full of quirky little details.
And an interesting selection of shops.
The local football team is called St Cuthbert Wanderers – named after the patron saint of the town.
There is always something good to see, even on a dull day.
Haven’t been out much recently, so I’ve been travelling the world on a small screen.
Humberston Fitties, historic plotland developments on the bank of the Humber in Cleethorpes, lovingly documented by Seagull Swamp.
How curling stones are made – quarried from Ailsa Craig, a well-known landmark off the west coast of Scotland, and made to Olympic standard by one company in Mauchline – photos by Andy Buchanan
Presenter Kirsty Young has bought the uninhabited Scottish island of Inchconnachan, home to a group of wallabies.
The Hermit of Treig – a great documentary about Ken Smith, who has lived alone off-grid on the shore of Loch Treig for the last 40 years. Incredible for his hardiness and indefatigability, I was fascinated with his thorough approach to record-keeping and the daily admin of being a hermit. (Not currently available on iPlayer but it has been repeated a few times).
The story of Clarion Clubhouses, founded by socialist organisations for the benefit of walkers and cyclists visiting rural areas. Found via a Guardian article about the last Clarion House in Lancashire, which I would very much like to visit.
Slow Ways – help create a national walking network.
Current reading: Tiny Islands: 60 Remarkable Little World Around Great Britain by Dixe Wills.
A Parade of Shops
£8.00
Chips and Ice Cream
£8.00
Beside The Seaside
£8.00
Way Out West
£6.99
Northern Delights
£6.99
