Money, Money, Money

Money – a sore point for most of us in today's financial climate. 

Shops are closing down as businesses fold, unable to sell the stock to pay the rent. Many people have lost their jobs and just don't know what to do next. Most of us are having to tighten our purse strings finding new ways to survive. Apart from the supermarkets, the charity shops might be the only ones doing OK these days.

For me, the world of graphic design for print has taken a bashing and hardly anyone wants to come out for a guided walk. And the sales of my cards and prints is nowhere near what it was this time last year. Chin up, as they say. We're all in it togther (?!).

Money makes the world go round

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

Oh gawd, I've just thought of that awful song used by that gurning politician, but in the meantime, I'll get back to all those DIY jobs I have been putting off and I need to load up some more stuff from my cupboards to online selling sites.

Jane's Advent Calendar – 6th December

Dingley Road, London EC1
Ten fags for sixpence!!
This sign must have been very vibrant 70 years ago.
At the bottom right the signwriter has left his mark: "HARRIS the Sign King"! 

Black Cat Cigarettes were made nearby at The Carerras factory on Mornington Crescent where Craven 'A' cigarettes were also manufactured. These too featured the company's iconic black cat logo.

Update on Battersea Power Station

I read in The Times that work had started on the "regeneration" of Battersea Power Station and the land that surrounds it.

The phone snapshot above is from that article (dated 27th October 2013) and illustrates that, with the help of some well-respected UK architects, the Malaysian owners are spending billions to turn the area into yet another sea of boxy apartments and shopping malls full of [I suspect] designer brands for rich people. Oh and they need spaces to put on lavish events – see the clipping, right, also from the same article. Need I say more?
As you can see the old Art Deco building is going to be swamped by the modern buildings. The four reconstructed chimneys, one of which I hear will have a viewing platform or something on the top (how much will that view cost?!) will probably be the only part of the building visible from the South.

Here's a link to a post I wrote  almost 3 years ago to the day about on here about my concerns for this site (and my suggested solution!).
I just recalled the film Sympathy For The Devil where in some scenes the old derelict site can be seen full of scrap car merchants etc. And, I may be going mad but I pretty sure the site was also used as a location in a Bob Hoskins film; either Mona Lisa or Long Good Friday, both excellent films, and worth revisiting for a bit of late-70s/early-80s old London-spotting.

More about Battersea Power Station here:
BBC report
Battersea Power Station's official site

UKCG urging their worshippers to go into debt

I just read this in today's Times...

It seems the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which occupies the old Astoria/Rainbow building in Finsbury Park, is encouraging its congregation not to pay their personal bills so that they will have more money to give to 'God'.

UCKG say that only when people sacrifice all their worldly possessions will their financial prayers be answered. They even offer financial 'help' with this.

It saddens and angers me that this sort of thing is still going on, and less than a mile from my front door.

Read the articles here, though you have to subscribe to the Times site (I will attempt to upgrade this in due course). And here's a 'review' of the church.

The only positive thing I can say about all this is that having a church in residence has meant that the interior of the lovely old cinema has been kept relatively intact. You can wander in and have a look around – just be sure not part with any cash when you are there.