sign of the times (3)

Credit Crunch Lunch: I spotted this sign in Chelmsford and I've seen similar signs going up all over the place as pubs and restaurants compete for business in these straitened times. Even before the current economic downturn over 25 pubs a month were closing and more than 100 restaurants closed in January 2009 according to an article in The Independent.

The sign above was in the window of a pub I have known since I was a teenager. In those days the pub was called The Golden Fleece but these days it is simply called The Fleece (below); now that's a real sign of the times.