Imagethief would like to take a moment to acknowledge the moxie of one of the businessmen in the alleyway near my house. I walk through this alleyway twice a day, on my way to and from work. It's a fairly thriving place, with a well known Cantonese restaurant, noodle stand, tailor, design studio (or architect's office) and a household electronic repair shop. Not bad for an alley that's five across at its widest and about two at its narrowest.

Recently some of the lane houses got a paint job, and a bunch of bamboo scaffolding went up in the narrow part of alley. To walk through you had to go under the scaffold. As it happened, this was right by the small spur where the household electronic repair place is. I remember this place because the owner leaves the front door open with a low board across so he can get some air without allowing his two year old son to go wandering down the alley.

When the scaffolding went up, the proprietor of the household electronics repair shop spotted a marketing opportunity. He hung a thick plastic sign that said "household electronics repair" from the scaffold. And, to make sure you see it, he hung the sign right at face level in such a way that you are essentially guaranteed to smack into it when you walk under the scaffold. Talk about making an impression.

In fact, if you're on foot it's not so bad. There is space to weave around the sign. But if you're on a bicycle or a scooter it's all but unavoidable. This is especially true at night as the alley has typical Shanghai alleyway street lighting, which is to say none.

Imagethief has collided with the sign only once, when preoccupied with an SMS or otherwise distracted (I can't remember the exact circumstances). But clearly I am not the only one because over the course of the past month the sign has eroded dramatically, first chipping away at the bottom, presumably from repeated cranium and helmet strikes, and then splitting clear in two lengthwise, with the two halves continuing to hang. (I'm sorry I wasn't there to see what administered that blow.)

I can only imagine how many people have ended up with concussions in the Ruijin Hospital, mumbling "household electronic repair" repeatedly while confused doctors and psychiatrists stand around scratching their heads.

I mention this because the scaffold was coming down this morning as I walked to work, so I suppose the sign will be gone now. I am curious to see what the entrepreneurial household electronics repair man comes up with next. But it will nice to have one less obstacle in the alley. Freed from having to worry about my head I can again concentrate fully on not spraining my ankles in the pot holes.