SHROPSHIRE SPRINGTIME

BY HEATHER LARGE

With April Fools Day,Easter and St George’s Day,April is amonth full of culture and celebration.

It’s also atime to herald thearrival of warmer months and longer days as the likes of daffodils and bluebells add a splash of colour to the countryside.

In 1968, visitors flocked to Dowton Castle, near Ludlow,tosee the seasonal flower displays during awalk through the grounds.

At the start of the month, everyone is on their guard for tricksters hoping to catch people out with their April jokes and pranks. It’s atradition that has been in use for several centuries, though its exact origins remain amystery across the River Severn in April, 1983. It was the of its type in Britain and was developed by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory to activate an illuminated sign to weigh vehicles at each approach to the bridge. Watching Inspector Roger Jenks is pictured with the driver of an overweight vehicle Trevor Stevenson (left), chief engineer of TelfordDevelopment Corporation, and Keith Madelin, ShropshireCountyCouncil surveyor

Easter brings bonnet parades such as that organised by the Newport and District Society in 1984.

Eggs, representing new life and rebirth, have longbeenpart of springtime celebrations and egg rolling is atradition that still continuesinsome parts of England.

This selection of photos gives a glimpse into daily life around the county during April in past decades...

Arecordcrowdturned up at the Bucks Head, Wellington, on Good Friday in the 1934-1935 season when Wellington Town played Shrewsbury Town. The band entertaining the crowdwas that of the King’sShropshire Light Infantry who stopped off during amarch from Lichfield to Hereford. The crowdwas nearly 13,000.

Dawley