We have written before about ghostsigns - these old, nostalgic and gradually fading adverts on the sides of buildings - which can be found across Stoke Newington and many other places in Britain.

Our original piece was about the (admittedly as yet unconfirmed) plans of Hackney Council to label them as graffiti and to scrub and airbrush out these works of art in the name of aesthetic progress, and turn the parish into yet another anodyne, bland New Labour paradise by deleting and rewriting Stoke Newington's old culture and history.

So far this does not seem to have happened but who knows what is going on in the mindsets of Fortress Mare Street? After all, they nearly did for Banksy on Church Street, although it's not quite the same. Sam Roberts has dedicated himself to the recording and preservation of these wonderful pieces of advertising artwork, and his results can be discovered in his website www.ghostsigns.co.uk. He is about to establish a ghostsigns archive in March. You must support this man's efforts. These signs are everywhere in Stoke Newington and have to be preserved for ourselves and future generations. Most people look straight ahead or at their own feet as they trudge along. Look up for a change, and marvel at the talent of some of these artists and designers. Real social history, and never mind Banksy.