I was watching Endeavour last night and there was an Indian Restaurant called the Jolly Rajah (tee hee). I love those shop name puns, they really make me smile. Many years ago I was a visual artist designing ads for Yellow Pages, it was good fun and I was always amazed by some of the names businesses went by (and I'm not talking AAAAAA00000001Aardvark here). One of my favourites from back then was the great Walter Wall Carpets and there are loads of others. A Launderette called Lord of the Rinse, a sandwich shop called Bread Pit, a restaurant named Thai Tanic, Only Food and Sauces, Hand Job Car Wash, Morrisinghs Corner Shop, British Hairways, Wok This Way, and the slightly sad Amy's Winehouse to name just a few of the better raise-a-wry-smile ones.
What great senses of humour these business owners must have and when I think of them I see them as a cross between 'Del Boy' Trotter, Arkwright, Compo, all those slightly silly but really funny sentimental, gently self-sending-up, sitcom characters that we used to watch and laugh at before Fleabag came along. Such innocent times back then (only a couple of decades ago), and that's much the same with those shop names whose owners are slightly taking the piss out of what they do for a living. It's all so typically cheeky-chappie British and no matter how hard I try I can't imagine a French boulangerie called J'ai un Pain, or a German sausage shop called Worse Wurst, or even an American sandwich shop called Subway...?!?
What great senses of humour these business owners must have and when I think of them I see them as a cross between 'Del Boy' Trotter, Arkwright, Compo, all those slightly silly but really funny sentimental, gently self-sending-up, sitcom characters that we used to watch and laugh at before Fleabag came along. Such innocent times back then (only a couple of decades ago), and that's much the same with those shop names whose owners are slightly taking the piss out of what they do for a living. It's all so typically cheeky-chappie British and no matter how hard I try I can't imagine a French boulangerie called J'ai un Pain, or a German sausage shop called Worse Wurst, or even an American sandwich shop called Subway...?!?
British humour is so music hall, so 'I say, I say, I say', so very Dunkirk spirit light us a fag boy, it's Max Wall, Tommy Trinder, Arthur Askey, Sid James - not very sophisticated but a language most of us Brits understand.
Anyway, my very favourite is a second-hand electrical shop called Sell Fridges, can you guess what it sells (clue in the picture)?
No comments:
Post a Comment