At Last; The End.

In 1988, when I began working in Holborn, this premises was a gentlemen's outfitters which was having a closing down sale.


That closing down sale continued for over twenty years. I have no idea how long the closing down sale had been there before I arrived, but I suspect that it was the longest closing down sale in history.



It became a landmark. You'd say "walk past the closing sale store and take a left", confident that it rivaled the British Museum in it's steadfastness.

Prime Ministers came and went, political systems changed, Iraq got invaded twice in that time. There was no internet when the sale began.

Yet finally, I missed it's passing. I missed the point at which the closing down sale became a real closing down sale, and the day when someone wrote "Last Day Today" on the window (enlarge to view).

Was it written on the last day? I can't imagine that they could resist scribbling it well before the shutters came down for good, just for old time's sake.