Penny Lane

#3 in an occasional series of Beatles song titles. If you don't want the song in your head all day, be sure not to click here.

I see this sign most days as it's just by my kids' school playing fields - the building in the background is the cricket pavilion. The sign has been stolen many times by souvenir hunters and for a time was just painted on the wall, but now a sturdier version in a metal frame is in place. I found this info for our non-UK blippers:

Several lyrical phrases in "Penny Lane" are very specific to England or even Liverpool, and require some translation for Americans. The "mac" never worn by the banker is short for "mackintosh," or a waterproof raincoat. The "pretty nurse" selling poppies from a tray is a reference to a common practice on England's Remembrance Day (their version of America's Veterans Day, also observed in Canada); blood-red poppies are sold to benefit veterans, the poppy being a symbol of sacrifice, specifically dating back to the poppy fields in Flanders during WWI. "Four of fish" is a popular order representing four pennies' worth of fish and chips, while "Finger pie" is a reference to a bit of sexual stimulation no doubt practiced by the locals in one of the district's nooks and crannies. (For months after the song's release, female chip shop employees in the area were propositioned with orders for "a four of fish and finger pie.")

I now await the deluge of dodgy remarks/reminiscences concerning Finger Pie.