2020 has been a strange year for shopkeepers. In March all nonessential stores had to close in England. Although most stores were allowed to reopen in July footfall is still down in the shopping centres and malls. Customers are worried about their jobs, many have been put on furlough or on reduced hours. Others prefer to shop on line rather than risk catching covid or wearing a mask.
I help in a local charity shop and we have had to limit the number of customers in store, introduce a one way system, prevent customers trying on clothing and quarantine donations for thirty-six hours. An alarming number of well known names are holding closing down sales.
Cabot circus one of Bristol’s main shopping centres has tried to match the public mood by having low key autumn decorations. Autumn leaves now cover everthing from a piano to a bicycle.
Where are they now? The British phone box
Everyone knows the iconic red telephone box designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1926. In 2006 it was voted one of Britain’s top 10 design classics along with the mini, the submarine, the spitfire, the London tube map, the World Wide web, Corncorde and the routemaster double decker bus. But have you ever wondered what happened to them when we all bought mobile phones. Little used boxes can be adopted for other uses. I have seen them used to house defibrilators, as small libraries and as kiosks but I think these two are rather special.
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The South West Rambler 
It is heartwarming to see the imaginative ways that people are choosing to repurpose these iconic phone boxes. Fun post!
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I remember using them as a child. We always checked button B in case someone had forgotten to get their change.
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Nice spot. I’ve not been to Cabot Circus since March…
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It is still very quiet.
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Soon to be getting quieter I fear.
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For some reason I can see the top photo of the red phone box before I load the page, but can’t get it to load. However, I finally did see both the very cute boxes, so that was good. 🙂 Where my s-i-l and b-i-l live in France, I’ve seen some re-purposed phone boxes too, which makes me happy. But these are so iconic to Britain that I’m glad people are still keeping the around.
janet
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That looks gorgeous…very imaginative to change the image of the phone booth. But as a tourist, I definitely love seeing it as its original colour.
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Very strange & worrying times indeed. It’s definitely disturbing seeing big names struggling and shutting down the way they are. It doesn’t give much hope for the little guys. The autumnal telephone boxes are beautiful – what a creative idea to put a smile on people’s faces. I’d love a trip back to Cabot Circus and Bristol generally as soon as this pandemic is over! Stay safe, Anne. xx
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What a lovely way to re-purpose the phone boxes!
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