Signs of the times

It must be a sign of the times that my local "everything for one pound" shop is closing down - and reducing its prices until it does. Perhaps that just reflects the local Hackney economy.

But then an hour later I saw this, not altogether unusual sight, and yet it's on Leadenhall Street, right in the heart of the City, with all that bonus money waiting to be spent.

It had been a clothing shop before it closed - not a "gentlemen's club". It seems that the recession can strike anywhere.