But suddenly I had to shake my head and look again—there it was, above the door of a licensed premises: "Grape and Grain". A very imaginative name for a drinks store, I thought, because wines and brandies are made from the grape, while beers and whiskeys are produced by the brewing or distillation of grain.

One might quibble that the contribution of the humble apple had been ignored in respect of cider, that rice was not given due recognition in the preparation of Japanese sake and that other fruits which are the basis of many liqueurs were also set aside, but "Grape and Grain" has a nice ring to it and gets the message across quite well and was a good example of effective signage.

However, what had taken me aback at first glance was that the lettering was in a somewhat rounded style and from the angle I had at first looked, I had momentarily misread the letter "a" as an "o". My peepers are doubtless not as efficient as in days of yore. But, all became clear and I wish all associated with it well. Cheers!

Signage, whether static or on vehicles, can be attractive and can convey a good impression of the business it represents. If enough imagination is used, even a neutral passerby can be encouraged to smile.
A boarding kennels not far from Kildimo, for example, is called "Mutlins", being a kind of Butlins for mutts. The name is not original, but the signage attracts attention nonetheless. I see a lorry quite frequently which says "Annyalla Chickens".

Now, having started my working life in the poultry business with Castlemahon and having familiarised myself with the fine new hatchery which we were completing at the time, I knew as a matter of fact that ALL chickens are yalla when hatched.

For a County Monaghan enterprise to tour the country seemingly seeking that people bring out any day-olds for purchase seemed very altruistic and a fine contribution to sustaining rural life.

But Annyalla is a place in County Monaghan and chicks are "yellow" not "yalla" when hatched, regardless of regional variations in accent. Another fleet of vehicles which proclaim what I at first considered to be nothing but self evident information is "Greaney Concrete".
Concrete, by its very nature, one would have thought, is grainy. All the sand would make it so. It is difficult to imagine non-grainy concrete.

But, once again it was a combination of myopia and dyslexia which had set me on the wrong track and I should have remembered that Greaney Concrete is a firm near Shanagolden which has been producing precast
products for more than 30 years.

Signage, if good, can be beneficial but, if sloppy, can convey a negative impression. Far be it from me to embark on a lecture, but the number of times one sees cabbage plant's for sale or similar in respect of round bale's is annoying. At least we don't yet have signposts pointing to Foyne's. Our local councils are generally vigilant in preventing too many commercial roadsigns, especially where they might interfere with visibility or otherwise distract driver concentration. The main roads are fairly adequately provided with direction signs.

But what infuriates me is country road junctions where a sign helpfully points the way to my destination but, having followed that advice, the said destination is nowhere referred to on the signposts at any of the
next half dozen crossroads. And, of course, the likelihood of there being anyone around to ask directions of is in inverse proportion
to the urgency of the journey. One gets to see quite a bit of the countryside that way.

As far as I know, under the litter legislation, people are not supposed to put signs on ESB and other roadside poles. I can well imagine that some worthy organisations, wishing to publicise some forthcoming charity event, would be willing to take a chance, and usually get away with it.

But why can't they be as assiduous in taking them down after the event has happened? And will people please realise that a poster measuring two feet by two might be all very well in a grocery window, but is totally indecipherable on the roadside.

Little posters, often with 20 or so words on them, are whizzed past at traffic speed and
nobody has any hope of knowing what any of them are about Cappamore Show was billed for this Wednesday, and the small roadside signs simply read: "Cappamore Show,Wednesday, 20th August", which is all that a passing driver can absorb and was all that needed to be said.