Big Tins

I'm not getting out and about much these days.  I make it too the museum, hobble home via Tesco and flop.  A saunter around town if I must is all I can manage at the moment.  Today I unwound myself from the heater under the desk and gathered the rubbish and dumped it outside, as I did so I noticed the shop on the corner still had some tins on show, I had noticed them the other day, and raced slowly upstairs to get some cash.  
This shop was once selling only second hand furniture, he cleared houses and bought in stuff from self employed folks making bookcases and the like on the side (as far as I can see).  Now however while he still does this I notice his shop is stuffed with odds and ends, almost everything in the world can be found there somewhere!   This is something to remember, and I wished I had time to look around as I went up there for two large tins of fruit.   
I took the Pear Halves and Apricot halves today but will go back for more.  Just look at the size of the tin!  For these catering sizes he charges £1:25 and as supermarket stocks cost from 25p to £1 this is indeed a bargain.  Naturally I checked the dates, 2017 is the sell by date and having eaten some apricots I am well pleased.  I need to eat more fruit and as the Aussies are keeping most of it down there this is excellent for mean miser poverty struck me.  

Busy Indoors

Having been given my instructions by Deadly Deke at the museum I found great encouragement to research as the rain laden mist sits upon the town throughout the day.  Foolishly I ventured out in search of information during a dry spell, returning home as it ended, upon me!  

The present idea was to collect info regarding the towns buildings, many dating back to the 1400's, the old railway line, and other details of interest.  I have begun to sort out what little I have discovered and now have plenty to keep me from wearying, if I can work out what to do that is!

An interesting item appeared this morning in the 'Daily Mail.'  After Hague's warning yesterday re chemical weapons a story appears in the Conservatives favourite paper telling of children burned by chemical weapons!  The commentators to a man cried 'WMD!'  The nation is cynical to say the least re this governments words on Syria.  This item has now been replaced by one showing  drawings from children in Syria.  Not surprisingly these are dominated by the war.
This war is a complicated one, our part is not as clear as we are being told.

  
This delicate ironwork stands above a shop in the High Street.  Not sure if it would stop an individual falling out of the window but I suspect it has been there for many years.  I am not sure what the letters are, 'H,' certainly and 'W,' but not to clear if that is an '&,' or an 'S,' also.  My eyes are wearying with looking at such as this today.  When the rain goes off, about Thursday I may go out.  Hold on!  I am at the museum tomorrow!  Oh dear, where's the wellies?  

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Shop Fronts

I came across this shop doorway in Harwich when a beautiful woman drove me there hoping to push me into the harbour. This very small town, now somewhat run down, was abounding in public houses, probably because of the historical harbour, and certainly because the Royal Navy based the submarines there during the Greta War. However this shop doorway caught our attention and no wonder. It was closed, and appeared to have been that way for a while, and whatever product Mr Smith retailed to his clientèle was not obvious to our eyes. 

 

However the wonderful tiled picture portrays a nattily dressed male collecting fruit of some sort, possibly apples, and passing them down to his lady, also overdressed for working in the fields. There are no large superstores in the town as far as I could see but there must be one a short drive away. Such stores were the death nell for small shops and while many complain about the closure of the High Street few are willing to pay the higher prices that are charged there. 

Modern shops are not as well presented as this one, and this is a pity. Plastic and large glass panes, often with lurid lighting and lettering, now deface many otherwise attractive buildings. Many ancient tenements are ignored by the passer by however a few minutes observance will reveal the talent that went into their construction. Scotland has of course many such buildings. Scots egalitarianism was aided by the need of Edinburgh's citizens to live in close proximity on the High Street leading up to the castle. It also bred many famous diseases and this in turn led to many famous doctors learning their trade and discovering their cures simply by existing in such squalor. Life is far better today and the buildings now feature all the most modern appliances, however, as Stephen Sweeney's photo of this Glasgow example reveals, they could sometimes do with a bit of cleaning!

  

Note the pinkish sandstone much used in Glasgow, the windows, and the decoration. The quality of the work is outstanding. Compare this with the Pink shop doorway further up and wonder!