There is a bittersweet element to this photograph – a contrast between the fossil fuel being pumped and its environmental consequences, and the quaintness of a scene where a woman, watched by her companion, fills her car in a fashion that already seems to carry an air of nostalgia.

There is something wonderfully vernacular about the mechanics of it all. The petrol pump occupies the pavement and the hose swings overhead – a pedestrian almost has to negotiate the apparatus to continue along the street. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere about the physical imposition of the motor car upon our everyday lives.

But, for me, the overwhelming feeling is nostalgia. The name Bunner stretched across the shopfront, the word IRONMONGER, the crowded window and the slightly improvised petrol station bring back Open All Hours – Arkwright’s shop, Granville’s till – and some of those extraordinary pub, grocery and funeral director combinations I once came across in Ireland.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that this isn’t a recreation – it is still part of the everyday life of the place; something that is such a rare sight today.

Montgomery

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