This is a short post from Kate that has nothing to do with gardening, except that gardening has taken us along the south of France for 12 months, and I took these photos of old shops, fonts and door knockers along the way!
From left to right. I’ve taken many photos of outdoor laundry pools, ‘lavoirs’, and communal bathhouses, the latter being one of my favourite things about life in Japan.The only bathhouse we’ve seen that is still in use is for the homeless, next to the Montpellier botanical garden. The cinema in the above collage is now used for tai ji. The Pont du Gard is engraved by craftsmen who used it to advertise their name and tools. The tall stone is a road sign indicating the way to St. Hippolyte du Fort. The bridge is in here in memory of Suzanne Robinson, and the brick, like many old bricks and roof tiles, is engraved with the details of the company that manufactured it.
Hairdressers have all the best fonts…
Most of these lovely shops are still trading although we’ve seen quite a few converted into houses with the signs restored.
And possibly my favourite thing to photograph, door knockers of animals, women’s hands and lovely shapes. The town of Auch had the best ones by far.
And to sign off, some terrible showing off with my name in font!
Le Jardin Champêtre 
Looking forward to getting a new door knocker in France this Summer after our cast iron bird knocker was stolen from our Brighton front door earlier this year!