Pub Sign Study The Phoenix Hazel Grove Stockport

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The cliché about rising from the ashes like a Phoenix is rooted in mythology. The Greek myth belief in a bird that dies and literally resurrects from the charred remains of itself (every 500 years) rather than giving birth to the next generation is very well known. The idea has inspired a great deal of fantasy fiction. The X-Men character Jean Grey is reinvented as the Phoenix, or Dark Phoenix, a hero with so much power that she becomes a threat to everyone. A friendly Phoenix plays a key role in the Harry Potter books, especially the fifth book and movie in the series, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. A pub called The Phoenix is usually built on the site of a previous pub, or a new pub started on the proceeds of a failed former business. Some businessmen purposely push a business into insolvency and use the money saved to start a new one under a new name, a practice sometimes called Phoenixing. The Hazel Grove sign is quite beautiful, capturing the bird as it is about to succumb to the flames or as it emerges anew from the inferno. It is a bright, colourful image that captures the majesty and miracle of the bird without the horror of it being roasted to death. The pub itself has now closed down. Arthur Chappell