A small, random collection of London Ghost Signs

Today I am posting another assortment of pictures I took whilst drifting around London during various psychogeography inspired wanders. Not quite as random as my previous post as these ones all have a ghost sign theme.

I'm not sure how long the ghost sign in the first two pictures has been re-exposed for. I would imagine that it was probably partially, or even fully, obscured by the building which has been demolished. Very hard to make out what it says though. It's on the north side of Oxford Street, just west of Tottenham Court Road tube station.

Ghost sign, Oxford Street, London

Ghost sign, Oxford Street, London

This one is however a little clearer and is one of several United Dairies buildings scattered around London.

Ghost sign, Weighhouse Street, London W1

And finally in today's short post, a ghost sign somewhere between Clapham Junction and Wandsworth Town.

???

& Co Ltd.

ELECTRICAL WHOLESALE

DISTRIBUTORS

Ghost sign, Clapham Junction, London

So, another short but hopefully sweet posting today as I work my way through the backlog of pictures.

    

Urban Wanderings around London

During my various Psychogeography inspired urban wanders over the past months, I have inevitably amassed a fair number of individual pictures which I have not included in a coherent blog post, or series of posts. However, not wanting them to be left on the digital shelf, I have decided to combine a few into one or more blog posts. Some may follow a theme whereas others may be more random and follow a drift of their own. I can recall where some were taken, but others remain a bit of a mystery.

I do remember this first one though. We had spent pretty much all day wandering the streets and were most definitely flagging by the time we reached this café, somewhere near Clerkenwell. A comfy sofa, sustained by a flat white coffee and some cake, 30 minutes later we were ready to hit the streets once more.

Tap Coffee, London

I have walked past this sandwich bar near Kensington Olympia endless times, but only ever ventured in recently. Just over the wall is the railway line running south from Olympia station. Not only is it a great life café, but it also acted as a good wind up for one of my friends who works for Pepsi.

Frank's Sandwich Bar, Kensington Olympia, London

Frank's Sandwich Bar, Kensington Olympia, London

Making a nice segue from food to cars, here's a food van parked up during the University open day at Queen Mary's, East London.

Food van, Queen Mary's University, East London

A lovely old Morris Minor convertible, somewhere in Shoreditch if I recall rightly. Only just spotted the wonderfully distressed looking door in the background. Shame I didn't see that at the time as that would have made an interesting picture.

Morris Minor, Shoreditch, London

No distressed doors in this picture.

An MG near Shepherd's Bush, London

    

A short wander around the leafy suburb of Richmond, London

Richmond-upon-Thames has always been one of my favourite places in London to visit, but I've not been there for a while. Last week I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time there for a work event. Most of the time was spent locked away in a conference room, but I did manage to get out for a for a short suburban wander.

The early morning view from Richmond Hill over the River Thames was quite spectacular. Hard to believe that a relatively short distance down the hill is a London Underground tube station.

View over the River Thames from Richmond Hill

I didn't see any ghost signs on my wander, but did spot these two beautiful, doorway mosaics. The first for

J.CLARKE & SONS

Doorway mosaic, Richmond, London

and the second for

BLANCHFORD

Doorway mosaic, Richmond, London

I'm not sure what shops these used to be as they are now both long gone, but great that they have been maintained.