I challenge anyone with the slightest interest in graphics to hunt for the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. Hidden away in a lovely, little mews just off Portobello Road, you’ll know you’ve arrived when you see the Union Jack exterior of its stylish neighbour, Temperley.

It began with a packet of Munchies Robert Opie set aside when he was sixteen and today the fascinating collection exceeds 12,000 items. It’s an amazing journey through the decades of all the stuff people have been putting in their shopping baskets since Victorian times; some products that have lasted through the ages, some that have disappeared; brands and packaging that show the progress of design and echo our changing fads and tastes. Toys, magazines, souvenirs, posters, old biscuit tins, cereal packets, Beatles lunchboxes and cigarette packets marketed on health grounds – it’s all here, nostalgia by the bucket-load.

Plan for at least two hours to do the museum justice and prepare for lots of ‘I remember that’ or ‘wow, didn’t realise that had been around so long’ moments. There’s a tea room and the inevitable souvenir shop as you exit…but I recommend saving the shopping and dining for Temperley next door and the delicious Ottolenghi just around the corner!

Photo courtesy of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising