On Little Britain Street (yes), there’s one of those gorgeous moments where a business had a unique opportunity and ran with it: a banana-yellow bananas sign. The colour is great, and it’s made even better by the blue paint in behind it. Adding the mint-green of the Little Green Gallery and the red brick makes the whole scene pretty sublime.
The area around Halston Street and Mary’s Lane is best visited on a weekday, probably in the morning, when the market deliveries and pick-ups are in full swing. By the time we reach the bananas sign, the odds of being run over by a man running past with a broccoli delivery are a bit longer, but it’s still definitely within the markets’ turf.
Jack Dolan Ltd (a fruit and vegetable importer) was bought by Fyffes in 1988, so it’s definitely a strong banana connection. The sign’s provenance isn’t obvious, though the weathering around the edges suggests it’s been here for a while. In behind, you get a glimpse of offices and a sense of the complex logistics behind fruit and vegetables.
(Thanks to David Hannon for spotting this when we wandered the area late last summer.)
