Funny Photos

That's funny . . . amusing images in town

AS I walk around town, something often catches my eye as being amusing - as the pictures on this page show.

DO WHAT? How many instructions are there in this notice urging care to all who enter? I spotted this on the door of the Shelter charity shop in Beam Street just days after a similar notice was referred to during a funeral service in Nantwich Parish Church. Referring to a "Wet floor" notice, the Rector cited the question "Is that an instruction?" as a guide to the sense of humour of the deceased, after seeing a similar sign in a local hospital.

In any case, does clean footwear guard against slipping after the cleaners have been at work?

WALKING BOOTS RECOMMENDED. A gentle stroll to Reaseheath College might be all right - a mere 1,760 yards. But 21 miles to Chester is only for the fittest of walkers, surely? Of course, the walk is also the route of cycleway 75, and so enthusiastic cyclists should be all right. This is a sign erected by the Upper Weaver Valley people on a road near to the River Weaver as it flows to the north of town.

OH, WHAT TANGLED WEBS . . . It is a little hard to see but there are four separate spiders' webs here - highlighted by the fog on an early November morning. You can see three central whorls in the upper left quarter of the structure (but there were four!). Was it one forgetful spider who kept spinning webs or four spiders who all liked the same location? Actually, they are not tangled as such, but so close that you wondered how the middle two caught any flies, even when their position wasn't revealed.

SIGN OF THE TIMES. As you will be aware this is a "100 yards ahead" sign warning of a road hazard immediately ahead . That's a piece of tape stuck over the "1" to block it out. (The road works were less than 100 yards away). But when I saw it I thought it looked like a mug - and a biscuit (?). This was very apt as it was the weekend of the Nantwich Food and Drink Festival, and the marquees were just ahead on the left at the junction, on Mill Island. [The event is now held in the town centre.]

MONKEY PUZZLE TREE. This is an old photo from The Brough Collection and so the "face" seen in the tree doesn't look anything like this now. There are more branches and the tree has matured a little more. The "eyes", I presume, are where branches had been cut off in the past, the nose is general roughness, but the mouth - which looks to be a nearly perfect oblong - is a little harder to identify. A light effect, or just a coincidence?

BARGAIN PRICE. When this shop in Hospital Street was put on the market some years ago, the vendors had held a closing down sale and the sign was still on the window. I am sure the buyers would not have got away with paying just half the selling price . . .!

YES . . . ER, NO. At first glance, this notice (left) outside the Civic Hall in the centre of Nantwich was contradictory. It stood at the edge of the road in Market Street, in front of the building which was constructed in 1951 to commemorate the town's heroes from the Second World War.

But on closer inspection of the conditions of use, it does make sense. It stood just outside a bay in front of the hall's doors which was constructed as a place where vehicles dropped off and collected dancers and others attending events at the Civic Hall.

I had never thought of it as part of the car park - which stands at the rear and to the right of the hall. But I suppose that vehicles may have parked in this spot before. Now, of course, they can't.

l The sign has since been removed and replaced with one with an accurate name for the area - Civic Hall Forecourt (above right).

Love locked out . . .

LOVE LOCKED OUT. This example of photographic humour has been around for many decades, appearing in a local weekly newspaper and at least one national publication. The Scope charity shop, on the corner of Love Lane and Pillory Street, closed in 2018. Other businesses have since taken over the site in turn.

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? Signs like this one to the Secret Bunker outside Nantwich appear at several points in town. They always raise a wry smile. My thanks to Giles Butcher for his suggestion to include the photo in the website. I must confess I am in two minds about the picture.

Yes, I can see the humour in it - giving directions to a secret location. After all they took direction signs down during the Second World War so as not to help the enemy. But I am old enough to remember when the secret of Hack Green RAF Station was revealed and so the name makes sense to me - all joking apart.

Nevertheless it is a brilliant name for a tourist attraction. It certainly gets people talking - and hopefully visiting the location. Visit the official Secret Bunker website. With so many websites featuring the bunker it can hardly be kept a secret, anyway. There are several Secret Bunkers throughout the country. Try an Internet search to see the list.