theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Repurposed
Posted on May 12, 2021
There is still an extensive medieval centre in the the city of Limoges although, unlike in many other places, the old buildings are still in active use with more up-to-date shops and businesses.
Thursday Doors: Chabanais – empty shopfronts
Posted on October 31, 2019
More doors from Chabanais, but there’s a theme this week and it’s one I’ve written about before – the demise of the independent local retailer in rural France.
Thirty or forty years ago, the town could probably have supported two boucheries, but no longer..
I found the English sign in this window a little anomalous:
Other trades have also struggled to keep going:
Thursday Doors 31 October 2019
Thursday Doors: Perigueux – Shopfronts
Posted on October 18, 2018
So many doors in Perigueux…enough even to allow an individual theme of shopfronts for this week’s instalment.
Since we finished up last week with a blue door, continuity dictates that we start now with another:
Another clearly marked, if less colourful, example:
This is the shop window of a ‘luthier’ – a maker of violins and other string instruments:
Rather less obviously, this is now a boutique, but one with a pretty impressive entrance:
But I have no idea what these two commercial premises may once have been:
Thursday Doors 18 October 2018
Boots and shoes
Posted on April 27, 2018
I spotted this juxtaposition of two photographs in the window of a shoe repair shop in the old part of Cahors. Footwear: the same but different.
Tuesday Photo Challenge: Healthy
Posted on May 2, 2017
This week, Frank has chosen the theme of ‘Healthy’ for his Tuesday Photo Challenge. A bit tricky, but this greengrocer’s stall in the Rialto Market in Venice has an abundance of stuff that’s supposed to be good for you:
Thursday Doors: A Vendre
Posted on March 30, 2017
Something a little different this week…À vendre: For Sale.
Here in rural France there are innumerable properties, both residential and commercial, for sale. Many of these – perhaps even the majority – have been up for sale for many years. And they are, frankly, unsaleable.
When it comes to commercial properties – shops – the economic consequences of improved transport links and the spread of car ownership have left many rural communities with little more than the bare essentials available locally. In our village, for example, there is a boulangerie, a pharmacy, a ‘superette’ and – bizarrely – two hairdressers.
There are also plenty of empty shops optimistically displaying ‘À Vendre’ signs – as they have been for many years, to judge from the distinctly dated style of the shopfronts. Here are a couple of examples:
Of rather more architectural interest is this failed enterprise – hairdresser, parfumerie and purveyor of fishing supplies. Obviously, nothing worked:
Even large towns are proving incapable of supporting smaller local shops, as these two examples from Confolens illustrate:
Normal service will be resumed next week, with some reassuringly knackered doors from the cathedral city of Chartres.
Thursday Doors 29 March 2017
Thursday Doors: Haddington Part 2
Posted on December 8, 2016
As foreshadowed last week, some of the shop and other commercial doors that can be found in the East Lothian market town of Haddington
This one’s hard to miss:
And I particularly like this door set into the corner of the building:
An old building that’s seen rather better days. I derive no reassurance whatsoever from the message on the door:
A rather more modern – although still dated – shopfront:
The local estate agencies don’t stint themselves when it comes to imposing doorways:
Thursday Doors 8 December 2016
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