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Tragic.

As I was driving to work a few days ago I heard that a "neon sign outlet" on Chester Road, Hulme, Manchester had been destroyed by fire. Later in the day I heard that the building was so badly damaged that it had to be demolished.

Anyone who is familiar with my Flickr photostream will know that I love Manchester and have quite a few shots of the city in my "Northern England" set.

I also love lettering and signs of all kinds and have a couple of sets devoted to these - "Signs that I Like" and "Lettering of some kind".

One evening back in 2009 I jumped on my motorcycle and tried to get round as many Manchester landmarks as possible before it went dark. No real plans or route, just a rough idea of what constitued a landmark.

After visiting Salford Lads Club - famous for the Smiths connection, the Imperial War Museum North, Salford Quays, The Lowry, Trafford Park and an unnamed football stadium, I rode down Chester Road to get a shot of the bike with as much of the Hilton Hotel / Beetham Tower in as possible. The side street next to TEL Signs seemed the ideal spot.

To be quite honest I was keener to take a shot of the fabulous neon than one of the bike and the Beetham - and here it is. It took a few attempts to get it all lit up at the same time. I'm sure that there are loads of pics of the building somewhere in cyberspace, but here is my little piece of history.

My best wishes to the owners of the building and the business, it's a real tragedy.

Stunt rider - Wall Of Death

..rocker.

Listen to AC/DCs awesome "Rocker" by clicking the link. Personally I prefer the live version (with Bon Scott at the mike, of course):-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DX6xnmFb70

We arrived here in the middle of the night and were shown to the room in darkness. Pulling open the blinds in the morning is one of the best surprises I've had. Lovely.

Piccadilly