OPEN ALL HOURS

[FUJI]

Kenilworth has its very own.....Open All Hours....type shop, it isnt a grocers, more of a hardware store that sells selected foodstuffs, the proprietor Arthur set up in business here 30 years ago, has been moved because of town centre development four times; he is as much of a character as the BBC TV series Arkwright used to be, wears a cowgown, hates doing deals, loves banter and has a hardworking assistant called Frankie....seen here carrying a box out.

Yes....all that stuff is put out every day no matter what the weather, to enter the shop is a very real experience, you need to be able to walk sideways and can get lost in the very depths of stock stacked floor to ceiling....

Everyone in town loves Arthur and his shop because it was said, that when a new, large, branch of WILKO's opened directly opposite he would close.......Oh No!....he just stuck two fingers up and carried on wheeling and dealing, increasing his stock variety and prices, a real mixture of Arkwright and Delboy.

He stocks everything, biscuits for dogs and humans, tinned food, solid fuel, dog beds, electronics, DIY materials galore, bedding, lamps, seeds, containers, cooking and garden tools and utensils....oh, and much, much more....a veritable....Aladin's Cave.

It is always difficult to get out without buying something, its difficult to get out anyway................for years it was Arthur who supplied or found many of the quirky things and materials for my toy making and school and museum workshops....it is almost worth visiting the town to just to go there.

Have you been in there yet Nanny?

Best viewd LARGE.......Click on Pic:

FUJI

[GrahamNfk]

Superb, fantastic, awesome, and other superlatives I don't know how to spell

[David]

I think I would just be putting the last lot out when it was time to pack it all up again...I wouldn't sell much lol

[Black Pearl]

It's great that businesses like that still exist - I would worry that a local pleb would accidentally on purpose trip over one of those items then sue Arthur.

[FUJI]

Good point BP but local folk, old young, disabled and visually impaired know it's all there, thankfully the pavement is extra wide at this point.

Arthur is often taken to task for overspill on to the shop front next door, and into the footpath to the left, but because he us such a great character he tends to be treated very leniently.

But you want it.......He'se got it.....or...will get it for you.

FUJI

[ChrisLumix]

Excellent - but what's a cow gown when it's at home?

 

(..or have I walked into one of Fuji's set-ups?

  Like where I write "duckdo".

  Someone replies "What's a duckdo?"

  "Quack". )

[FUJI]

Excellent - but what's a cow gown when it's at home?

(..or have I walked into one of Fuji's set-ups?

Like where I write "duckdo".

Someone replies "What's a duckdo?"

"Quack". )

No Chris, no set up.....

....Cow Gown is the name given to the long 1930s -1960s ( still going) .....Mac like long cotton coat or overall, commonly worn in the past by farm hands, dairy men in particular, hence the name......look at old film of agricultural shows and you will see they were very common.........in fact, they are practically the same as those white coats once worn by hospital doctors and clinic staff.

I wore a grey, then blue ones, in my role as Life Skills Tutor in a local day centre, they are an ideal coverall if the wearer occasionally comes into contact dusty, dirty or messy items.....Come to think of it, most school woodwork and metal with teachers wore them, to protect their sports coat and flannels.

Please see here.......Ronnie Corbett ( behind the counter) is dressed in a Cow Gown..

Please ask me what.....Bib and Brace Overalls are now ;-)

FUJI

[FUJI]

Cow gown

FUJI

[ChrisLumix]

My favourite comedy sketch of all time!!

 

"O's"

" 'oes? Right."

"No, O's."

" 'ose! I thought you meant 'oes."

 

[BlackFox]

Every town should have a shop like that. I'd love to see a photo of Arthur stood in his doorway guarding the shop, just like those early old photos you see of the butcher or barber posing in front of their premises.

[NannyFerret]

Brilliant. I will have to look out for it.

[Black Pearl]

Purely from a photographic point of view I notice the image has huge levels of distortion - at a guess you're shooting RAW which is fine but the camera won't get the chance to correct this as it does when using the jpeg engine. 

Make sure you apply the lens corrections when processing the file in ACR as this will remove not only the curvature but also light fall off towards the corners and most is not all chromatic aberrations. 

 

Most budget lenses are set up these days to be fairly sharp edge to edge and the way they do this is by compromising straight lines. The reason behind this is it is very easy to correct and 99% of the end users will shoot jpegs so they will never know any different.

 

Try it - set your camera to jpeg - pick a wall where you can see the bend and take a shot. The image a second later once the camera witches to played back will 'pop' and magically be straight. 

[FUJI]

Hi, BP,

All very interesting.......it was shot with my GF1 with the LUMIX Wide Angle 20-1.7 lens, from the other side of the road........I have never messed with lens corrections, I must take a look to see what they do.

The darker corners........I find this quite funny because just lately, I have been taking advice on processing and presentation from well respected judge for a number of clubs and societies. He has been advising about toning down anything that takes the eye from the main subject.......

Here, the shop on the right and the buildings to the left have been darkened, whilst the main subject has been selectively brightened using curves and levels.......as a finishing touch it was given a tickle in Topaz.

The original RAW files are untouched, so I can go back for another go.

Cheers!

FUJI