Tag Archives: signs

Lovely By The Seaside at St. Kilda In Spring

The throngs are yet to arrive — it’s only Spring y’know — but several dozen people were sprinkled up and down the beach and boardwalk at St. Kilda Beach this week. We’re lucky to live in such a pretty place, but I’ve lived in seaside towns in the USA and the UK and there certainly was a familiar feel to our stroll along the boardwalk. In spite of the whipping wind, the smallest bit of sun appears and off come the shirts, out comes the lily-white skin, and up go the refreshed signs from the local council telling folks what they are and are not allowed to do on the beach.
 

The sparsely populated St. Kilda beach and boardwalk on a sunny Spring day in Melbourne, Australia

The sparsely populated St. Kilda beach and boardwalk on a sunny Spring day in Melbourne, Australia


 
Spring sunbathers at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia

Spring sunbathers at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia


 
Sand sculpture of a shark at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia

Sand sculpture of a shark at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia


 
Woman on a bike at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia with her Jack Russell dog sitting in the front basket

Woman on a bike at St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia with her Jack Russell dog sitting in the front basket


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No dogs allowed on the beach at St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, during the 5 months of high tourist season

No dogs allowed on the beach at St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, during the 5 months of high tourist season


 

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Signs Of The Past

65 years may have passed in Normandy in northern France, but the physical signs — whether bullet scarred buildings or actual road signs — still exist to remind the world that this was one of the most ferocious battlegrounds of World War II.
 

Bullet pocked roadsign for Caen, Normandy leftover from the World War II battles in France


 

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Pourquoi Parking Signs Called The Musketeers?

Whilst driving north from the Pyrenees to Normandy over a several day period, we stopped one afternoon at an Intermarche grocery store to pick up picnic supplies for one of our cheerful and healthy lunches and I saw these signs on the covered parking area for bicycles and motorscooters. I didn’t know what the words meant at the time, but when I took a few minutes and did a Google translate of them a few days later, I discovered that Les Mousquetaires meant The Musketeers.

 

Les Mousquetaires logo on the cycle parking at Intermarche grocery stores in France

 

Les Mousquetaires logo on the cycle parking at Intermarche grocery stores in France

 

But why??? What did parking spaces have to do with the legendary musketeers of old? And was there some kind of association with Alexandre Dumas, the author of The Three Musketeers???

 

Image by Maurice Leloir, 1894

 

A bit of research answered that question — and don’t we just love the internet for speedy answers! The Intermarche grocery chain is one of several companies owned by a retail marketing conglomerate called Les Mousquetaires.

Ah well — marketing — plain and simple — using the romantic imagery of heroic figures as the name of a retail umbrella corporation.

C’est la vie!

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Pictures Full of Words

Today’s post is another photo break — and we examine the words on signage that aim to catch your attention. Both of these signs were seen on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Enjoy!

Do Angels With Bagpipes Create Sottish Foodie Heaven?

And in the sign below, it’s nice to imagine that some cranky old miser can’t always dictate his spin on the news — or pick and choose what he wants ‘the masses’ to know or think or believe.

Can it be that there is still some freedom in today's media?

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Please respect the text and pictures on these pages. All rights reserved.