Funny shop names

This week's pictures are about funny shop names. These can be intentional or unintentional and certain retail trades seem much more prone to them than others. Shoe shops and hairdressers, for some reason, are especially fond of puns. Clothes shops will often go for an amusing moniker to stand out from the crowd. Independents are more likely to risk a funny name than multiples, though that didn't stop Richard Branson with Virgin or Anita Roddick with Body Shop. Undertakers, obviously, are not going to want anyone laughing at their names. That was why, when the first Body Shop opened in Brighton in 1976, the undertaker opposite tried (unsuccessfully) to get it closed because he thought the name would upset his (living) customers. His building now sells army surplus clothing and the place next door is called Wai Kika Moo Kau.  But that's another story - it's a restaurant.

Last week's pictures featured post boxes

Recent pictures of the week

A drunken Chinaman drove down our street in the early hours of the morning just before before Christmas and lost control, crashing into four cars and writing off three of them. One, unfortunately, was ours. So there could only have been one possible subject for the picture feature two weeks ago. It just had to be wrecked cars. It might not have been in the best of Christmas spirits, but then we could be excused for not exactly feeling very "Ho ! Ho ! Ho !". At least drinking and driving is a seasonal subject. Sadly. I bet the three wise men were comprehensively insured.

Crude graffiti was the subject of the picture set three weeks ago. Marvellous word, "crude" - you immediately know what to expect with it.  It's the language of the playground, but generally with added swear words. The insults are basic and the humour often of the toilet kind, but the best kind of crudity is hardly ever really nasty and unpleasant.  It's just, well, crude. The pictures in this set were taken in Brighton and London between 2001 and 2006. You might also be interested in seeing two other related sets - the first on rude and offensive graffiti and the second on the F word.

The weather for the first half of last December was pretty rough, so it seemed appropriate that the picture feature four weeks ago should have been about some Brighton storms in recent years. Nothing as dramatic as the tornado that hit Kensal Rise (of all places) earlier in the month, but the seas and winds on the South Coast can be pretty spectacular. A combination of gale and high tide tends to cause the most damage, as in December 2002 when the central section of the old West Pier collapsed into the sea and hundreds of people turned up on the beach to collect the bits. Global warming is going to increase the severity of winter weather in Brighton and everywhere else in Britain, so beach huts may not be the best of long term investments.

About this site and picture library

There are now over 48000 images in the library and they can all be keyword searched from the picture search page. New or updated subjects include shop names, post boxes, wrecked cars, graffiti, storms, t-shirts and beards. The site has several ways to help make relevant and fruitful searches, including index pages for both subjects and events & places.  There is also a useful search guide and information page.

A good showcase of the type and range of photography available can be explored in the pictures of the week series. Published on the site since December 2001, this now totals more than 2400 images. Every week there is a set of ten pictures about a particular place, event or theme. Almost all the library's pictures are available for personal or commercial reproduction. Digital files can be delivered by email or CD, prices start from as little as £8 and there is further information on the prices and terms & conditions pages. You can also contact David Gray for quotations and availability for new photography commissions.