A little piece of Ian Allan for my wall

The sad closure of the final Ian Allan shop in Waterloo leaves the country with no chain model shops. 

However, thanks to the generosity of the new occupant of the premises, a little piece of the shop will live on. On finding that there were still a few shop fittings knocking around, rather than throw them in a skip, they took the time to find RMweb, register an account and then post, offering the signs from above the shelves to anyone as a memento. 

The effort required was substantial, and incredibly generous. 

I leapt at the chance, and soon found myself the owner of the "New Title" and "Maritime" headers. I was beaten to the "Railway" one by another evil blogger, but I'm not too worried. The chance to own a little bit of somewhere I had enjoyed visiting means I'm not really fussed, and both are appropriate for me anyway. 

The shop itself is to become a dental practice. 

The iconic tiled frontage and unusual window is retained, so if you are in the area, it's still possible to spot the old place. 

This isn't the only bit of IA memorabilia in my collection though. I bought this for £3 at a show years ago. 

Luck was on my side - surely I can't be the only person who would want it?