Jennifer Howard

Hoist a pint to the pub sign, now an endangered species: The painted pub sign, one of the oldest popular visual arts traditions in Britain, is locked in decline. That is the fear of conservationists who hope to alert pub chains and breweries to a “catastrophic” loss of the traditional skills involved and a failure to preserve a heritage that dates back to Roman times.” Want to help? Drink independent: The growing corporate ownership of public houses across the British Isles has led to the standardisation of what is on offer, both inside and outside the bar. The situation has… Read more...

“Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World,” said the Rat. “And that’s something that doesn’t matter, either to you or me. I’ve never been there, and I’m never going, nor you either, if you’ve got any sense at all. Don’t ever refer to it again, please. Now then! Here’s our backwater at last, where we’re going to lunch.” (Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows) The British have decided it’s time to stop messing about (in boats or anywhere else) and give Ratty the water vole some serious legal protection. Not a minute too soon, the Guardian reports: Water… Read more...

Britain has done away with a thousand of its zebra crossings (picture John, Paul, George, and Ringo on the cover of “Abbey Road”). The London Times columnist Janice Turner waxes nostalgic : And, while our towns are now besmirched with vile signage, clashing coloured lanes and ugly railings to imprison pedestrians, zebra crossing have a quaint charm. Belisha beacons, with their 1950s Toytown, Tufty Club associations, rank with pillar boxes and red phone booths as rare examples of elegant native street furniture. Moreover, zebra crossings represent the British libertarian spirit, an upholding of ancient rights of way, the freedom to… Read more...