Shropshire Magazine April 2024

INSPIRED BY NATURE

Howartistis helpinghomeless

FIELDOF LEARNING

Educationcharity marks80years

FROM FARM TO CLASSROOM

Ploughingahead to spreadmessage

ENDOF AN ERA

ESTABLISHED 1950

Grosvenor House, Central Park, Hollinswood Road, TelfordTF2 9TW

The ShropshireMagazine has acontrolled, selected distribution in Shropshiretowns, and is available for sale from many retail outlets and by subscription

EDITOR

Vicki Jones vicki.jones@mnamedia.co.uk 01902 319851

FEATURE WRITERS

Heather Large heather.large@mnamedia.co.uk

Matthew Panter matthew.panter@mnamedia.co.uk

Andy Richardson andy.richardson@mnamedia.co.uk

Daniel Morris daniel.morris@mnamedia.co.uk

EDITORIAL AND SOCIAL DIARY heather.large@mnamedia.co.uk 01902 319501

PHOTOGRAPHY

Jamie Ricketts

SteveLeath

ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER

ClareWeaver clare.weaver@mnamedia.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT SALES

Alison Jukes alison.jukes@mnamedia.co.uk 01952 241339

DISTRIBUTION, SALES &SUBSCRIPTIONS 0800 174064

CONTRIBUTORS

Caroline Jones

Ed Thomas

James Tanner

Toby Neal

PUBLISHED BY MNA Media, Telford

PRINTED BY

Precision Colour Printing, Halesfield, Telford

APRIL 2024

FEATURES SELECTION

7Coverstory

Head gardener Martin Gee has retired after 54 years of tending to the grounds of Weston Park. Heather Large has achat.

43 Lessons on farming

Matthew Panter meets the county farmers who are helping to bring the field to fork message to county classrooms.

www.shropshiremagazine.com

11

Inspired by nature

Heather Large talks to the artist who is helping the homeless through her paintings.

38

Field of learning

The Shropshire-based Field Studies Council has been helping people learn about the natural world for 80 years.

47

Stately staycation

Abeautiful family home has been renovated into an impressiveholiday let. Daniel Morris finds out more.

52 Creativehub

Heather Large learns about a creativespace wherepeople can develop their artistic talents.

47

52

55 Awardwinners

Teamwork is keytothe success of acounty golf club. Matthew Panter finds out more.

61 Designs on success

Andy Richardson meets the entrepreneur who is helping county businesses thrive.

64 Fine dining

Food writer Ed Thomas chats to the county chef who has brought his culinary skills and experience to anorth Shropshire restaurant.

CONTENTS

55

72 Pizza the action

Matthew Panter meets the two women who areinthe pink with their pop-up food business.

76 All aboard

The Severn Valley Railway is on track for abright future. Andy Richardson looks at its story.

89 Social scene

Walkers gather for asnowdrop event to raise funds for Lingen Davies Cancer Fund and High Sheriff Mandy Thorn looks back on her final month in the role.

93 Travel

After agap of 25 years, Lauren Taylor returns to Singaporeto discoverifithas retained its charm and beauty.

98 Motoring

TedWelford puts the Porsche Cayenne through its paces to see if the upgraded model is still firing on all cylinders.

110 What’son

From art exhibitions to workshops, tribute shows to theatre, there’slots going on.

SHREWSBURY TELFORD

HANGINGUPTHE PRUNING SHEARS

HEAD GARDENER MARTINGEE, WHOSE FAMILYHAS TENDED THE WESTONPARK GROUNDS FOR TWO CENTURIES, TALKSTO HEATHER LARGE ABOUT HIS CAREER AND RETIREMENT

His family have tended the land and grounds at Weston Park for more than two centuries.

But now Martin Gee has stepped down as head gardener after keeping the grounds at the estate on the Shropshire border blooming for 54 years.

The 69-year-old was the sixth generation of his family to work on the estate since their connection with Weston began in 1803.

The first of the Gees to arrive at Weston was Martin’s great, great, greatgrandfather John. He was achampion ploughman who came from Weeting in Norfolk at atime when the Bradford family inherited the estate from Lord Mountrath.

Next was his son William who served as agamekeeper and was proud when his son George continued the tradition by becoming an agricultural worker

After George came Arthur,Martin’s grandfather,who saw the estate switch from horses to tractors.

His son, William, Martin’s father, began his career as agardener before moving into agriculture.

But his passion was for horticulture and he returned to work in the gardens when he was in his 50s.

It was inevitable that Martin would follow in their footsteps. Aspell of work experience in the estate’s greenhouses before leaving school convinced him it was the job for him.

He began as agardening apprentice when he was just 15 and started by honing his horticultural skills at Radbrook College.

“I learned alot during that time but you never stop learning really.Every day is aschool day,” says Martin, who was born on the estate.

His first duties were managing the walled garden, producing the fruits and vegetables for the family,before progressing to the formal gardens and the pleasure grounds.

“When I first started it was still very much afamily home. The Earl of Bradford and his family lived here. Then it was handed over to the Weston Park Foundation in 1986,” he says.

Until very recently,Martin lived in ahouse on the estate with his wife Suzanne and would start every day taking his Shetland sheepdog Charlie for awalk around the grounds.

The couple, who have adaughter, Felicity,have moved to anew-build property afew milesaway from Weston

Martin sayshis morning walk with his canine companion would enable him to spot any priority jobs such as pruning that needed attention.

“I can assess what jobs need doing. Youalways have aplan of what needs doing each week but often it changes

because of the weather,” he explains. “No two days are ever the same in this job.”

As head gardener,Martin, working alongside ateam of sevengardeners and agroup of dedicated volunteers, was responsible for nurturing the formal gardens and 19th century Italianate parterre, the rose garden, theTear Drop garden and the Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown-designed pleasure grounds.

“The pleasure grounds are very important to us.

“Capability Brown designed alot of landscapes on English estates but he only did five pleasure grounds and we’ve got two of them –Temple Wood and Shrewsbury Walk,” says Martin.

Each day,one of the team will collect the data from the weather station which has been in operation on the estate for centuries.

“Werecord the weather every morning at 9am and the records go back to 1866. They make for interesting reading,” says Martin, who has led guided walks around estate for many years.

“The seasons are changing, there’s no doubt about it. But you can’t control the weather,you have to work around it and draw from experience,” he adds.

In recent years, Martin hasled the

restoration of the gardens including reestablishing the tree-lined walks, the rose garden and the decorative display areas in front of the 17th century house.

“We’ve done alot of restoration but whatever we have tried to do, we have tried it to make sure we’re historically correct or as near to it as possible.

“Although it’s aGeorgian and Victorian landscape, we have tried to be sympathetic to the generations that followed and left their mark on it,” he explains.

“The projects have to be achievable and manageable because we have to be able to look after it and keep it looking good.”

Martin is rightly proud of the restoration work.

This has included the southern walled garden, now home to the maze and orchards, and the northern garden, which is now athriving vegetable garden with the produce going straight to the estate’s Granary restaurant’skitchen

Theteamalso worked with rosarian Michael Marriot, from David Austin Roses in Albrighton, to breath new life into the rose garden.

“It’s been challenging at times but it has been enjoyable,” Martin says. “One

of my greatest achievements was winning Professional Gardener of the Year award in 2006.”

He’s spent such along time caring for the gardens that Martin says it would be difficult to choose his favourite spot

“It’s all beautiful. My favouritetime of the year is May because it’s abit quieter and the planting is all done. Youcan sit back and enjoy it.”

Now that he has retired, Martin is turning his attention to his own garden at his Shropshire home and is hoping to do some volunteer work.

“Because it’s anew-build, it’s abit of a blank canvas. I’ve got aplanfor the garden and it will be nice to start planting it,” says Martin.

Although he could have started his retirement afew years ago, he says that, until recently,itnever felt like the right time.

“Initially,itwas ahard decision to make because my heart’s in the place. Ayearago Isuddenly thought I’m approaching 70, it’s time to hand it over to someone else now

“I will miss the team. Icouldn’t have done the job without the team around me. I’ve been very lucky,” says Martin.

Ready for the Weston Park spring plant fair,back in 2022, were gardener Dan Charlesworth and head gardener Martin Gee, who is retiring at the age of 69

INSPIRED BY THE POWER OF NATURE

HEATHER LARGE MEETS STEPHANIE EUFEMIA

WORLD-FAMOUS ARTISTS

WHOSEWORK HAS BEEN DISPLAYED ALONGSIDE

AND DONATES TO HOMELESS CHARITIES FROMHER PAINTING SALES

Art has the power to evoke a wide range of emotions. For Stephanie Eufemia, it’s all about creating asense of peace with her landscapes and seascapes.

Born in Shropshire with Italian heritage, her work has been inspired by both her home county’s beautiful rural views and tranquil Mediterranean seas.

“I always want my paintings to feel calming andrelaxing in people’s homes. Iuse alot of blues, because blue is a calming colour,and have big open skies and open waters,” explains Stephanie.

Painting had always been ahobby and away to unwind for the 30-year-old until the pandemic gave her more time to indulge in her passion.

“My nan was an artist so Ithink it’s

in my genes,” says Stephanie. “Painting is such arelaxing experience. It’s feels like mediation.

“My artwork has always been heavily influenced by the Mediterranean because my mum is Italian and Iused to do alot of seascapes.

“When lockdown happened, I was going on lots of long walks in the Shropshire countryside. Iwas painting and putting photos of my artwork on Instagram.

“People were spending more time at home and becoming more interested in their homes and buying art. Since then it has grown and grown,” explains Stephanie, who specialises in oil and acrylic paint on canvas.

Every painting starts with a

watercolour,sketch or photograph which she uses as astarting point before using an array of tools including brushes, sponges, palette knives and even her hands to produce the finished picture.

“I make notes of colours to use because photos don’t capture colours in the same way.Idon’t tend to paint it how it looks, Ilet my instincts take over,” she explains.

Last year,her workattracted the attention of aleading art publisher and was exhibited in galleries across the UK, including Aura Fine Art and Soho Fine Art.

Her paintings alsocaught the eye of distinguished interior designers and have been displayed in ShropshireAirbnb properties, including Heather and Stone in the Stiperstones.

And she was delighted when her work was chosen to appear alongside that of famous artists including Salvador Dali, Damien Hirst, Hockney,Picasso, Hepworth, Matisse and Banksy at an exhibition hosted by Soden Collection and the Shrewsbury Arts Trail.

Around four months ago, Stephanie moved into her studio, near Shifnal, and the rural setting has further fuelled her creativity.“The surroundings arereally beautiful and it’s really instilled alove of landscapes in me,” she says.

“Since landing my dream studio in the countryside and painting the beautiful surroundings, Ihave attracted a flurryof Shropshire interest for commissions and my personal work.”

As well as inspiring people with her artwork, Stephanie, who also works on commissions, wants her paintings to help those less fortunate.

“When my gallery representation started last year,Idecided Iwanted my artwork to fulfila purpose greater than

just being something prettytohang on awall. So, from every sale made since, Ihave put 10 per cent in savings that go towards ahomeless charityonayearly donation.

“A year on from my first gallery representation –thisApril –I will be donating the percentage of my sales to Shrewsbury Ark.

“When Ilived in London, Iwas really disturbed and affected by the amount of homelessness and ended up doing a charity sleep pit. The charity event was so eye-opening as we slept (I didn’t sleep) on asliver of cardboard in the bitter cold.

“The experience was painful –although nothing compared to what someone sleeping on the streets would actually experience –itreally encouraged me to do more to help the homeless.

“Now that my art sales are consistent, it feels amazing to be able to put money behind the causes Icare about. Ihope I can look back oneday andfeel proud of what Iwas able to contribute from my art practice,” explains Stephanie.

Sustainability is also important to her and she is committed to finding ways to be kinder to the planet.

“My artwork is inspired by nature and it only makes sense to not harm nature in the process of creating my art.

“I’m by no means perfect but I’m making efforts every day to make my practice more sustainable. Ihave abucket with clumping cat litter in it –agenius tip Ifound on Instagram –which clumps the paint water so you can put it in the

bin instead of our water system,” explains Stephanie.

“I endeavour to deliver paintings myself to avoid having to use excess packaging or bubble wrap to protect the art. This has been mucheasier to do since painting Shropshirelandscapes and is a lovely way to get to know my customers. I spend more on quality brushes as they last longer.Iresearch the suppliers Iuse to ensure they’re also doing their bit for the environment through shipping, packaging etc. There is definitely more Icould do and the next step I’m looking into is to incorporate eco-friendly paints into my practice and switch to linen canvases.”

Stephanie, whose work featured in the Simple Truths exhibition at Mrs Jones Art Shop &Gallery in Coleham, Shrewsbury, in January,also curates and organises exhibitions for the Footprint Gallery in Ironbridge.

Her next collection will be in Cotswold Contemporary Burford and Cirencester,later this year.“It’s an exciting step in my career as I’ve always wanted to be part of those galleries.”

Stephanie is also planning the first solo exhibition of her work and is also hoping to team up with hersister,a yoga teacher,tooffer painting andyoga retreats.

n Formore information visit www stephanieeufemiaart.com or email hello@stephanieeufemiaart.com. Stephanie can also be found on Instagram @stephanieeufemia.art

GEORGIAN GEM IS FORMERLIBRARY

The Library House is abeautiful example of aGrade II Listed Georgian town house with wonderfully proportioned rooms.

This extremely elegant property in Severn Bank, Ironbridge, is on themarket with Savills for offers in the region of £775,000.

Originally an Ironmaster’s residence and also the town library,the property dates back to about 1735.The current owners have overseen acomprehensive restoration programme, including anew roof and extensive work to the wiring and plumbing and run partofthe house as asuccessful B&B. The house works perfectly well as afamily home, but does offer the flexibility for income potential.

The house retains many of its original features including sash windows, wooden shutters, bannister andcornicing.Itoffers plenty of living space with an entrance hall which has oak flooring, off which is the formal livingroom, which was the original library,with fitted bookshelves and a fireplace with amultifuelstove

Thedining room has quarry tiled flooring, storage cupboards and adoor

leading back to the entrance hall. The kitchen was redesigned and replaced in 2021. There are fitted wall and base units with granite worktops. There is aFalcon range oven with gas ring hob and underfloor heating. The kitchen and dining area off feature large glazed oak-framed windowsand doors leading outside to the courtyard.

Off the landing are the guest bedrooms, includingthree double rooms with en-suites and another bedroom, which is currently used as aprivate office.

The second and third floors are

currently used as aprivate suite by the owners. It has adouble en-suite bedroom and family bathroom. Additionally,ithas steps up to afurther double bedroom created from one attic; and separate steps up to afurther attic space which spans the lengthand width of the house and which canbeused either as abedroom, relaxation space or home office.

There is no dedicated parking, but there are two permits which arevalid throughout the town. There is access down an alleyway to the inner courtyard and the well-maintained terraced gardens.

Perton,

Peatswood,

Kynnersley,

Peter

WELL-PRESENTED BARN CONVERSION

Number One The Barns is afour-bedroom barn conversion with far-reaching countryside views.

It is found in the lively hamlet of Fauls, with rural walks on the doorstep and amenities found nearby at Prees. These include convenience store, newsagents, cricket and recreation club. There are primary schools at Preesand Hodnet, each some three miles away Secondary schools are to be found at Whitchurch and Market Drayton.

The property is one of three within agated courtyard and has itsown three parking spaces.

Step inside and aspacious hall greets you with good storage. To the one side of

the hallway is the open plan kitchen diner

Balfours, head of sales, Alistair Hilton, comments: “This is agenerous space with room for alarge dining table and sofa. Recently it has been fitted with aWren kitchen, incorporating an island with breakfast bar,built-in wine cooler and feature lighting. Beyond the kitchen is a utility room with fourth bedroom, which could be astudy or alternative dedicated space. Adjacent is ashowerroom with wc.”

To the opposite side of the hall is the equally generous lounge which like the kitchen enjoys high ceilings with character beams. While there is dual aspect glazing there is the opportunity to enhance the room with doors leading to thelarge rear

garden. The first-floor benefits from natural light flooding onto the landing leading to three double bedrooms.

The master room has an en-suite, while two additional bedrooms each boast porthole windows and high ceilings. The latter are served by abeautifully presented bathroom with free-standing bath and walk-in rain shower

The large rear garden, mainly laid to lawn, currently boasts asummerhouse, which could be repurposed in many directions, including ahome office and a pagoda with hot tub.

Balfours is marketing One The Barns with aguide price of £535,000

Formore information call 01743 353511.

Prees, Guideprice£400,000to£420,000 Shropshire

ive,eco friendly,threebedroombungalowsthato er modernlivingwithahighlevelof nishingandattention todetail.

VillageLocation,NewBuild,Open-PlanLiving,High Speci cation,Garden,Garage, P Pending

Shrewsbury, Guideprice£875,000 Shropshire

Undeniablyoneofthemosthistoricallyinterestingtown centreresidences.Locatedinacommandingpositionon theancientTownWalls.

esira leLocation, own alls,Grade Listed, itchen ining rea, or al ining oo , irst loor rawing oo , aster with nSuiteand ressing oo O ce Bedroo , ellar

Crudgington, Guideprice£750,000 Shropshire

spaciousandstunning vebedroomhomeboasting almost3000sqftofspace,perfectblendofmodern familylivingwhilstretainingcharacter.

haracterPropert , ull enovation, uralLocation,OpenPlan itchen a il oo ining oo ,G , P

Somerwood, Guideprice£1,550,000 Shropshire

necountryhouseincludingaseparateapartment, stableblockandtraditionalfarmbuildings,setin22.25 acres(9ha)ofmainlygrazingland.

cellentLocation, a il House,Out uildings, uestrian, OneBedroo nne e, oodland, ar- eachingViews, P

IMMACULATEAND SPACIOUS HOUSE

This four-bedroomed semidetached home is an immaculate and well-appointed property

The home in Mount Street, Frankwell, Shrewsbury,isonthe market with Miller Evans for offers in the region of £585,000.

It is presented throughout to an exacting standard and has been much improved to provide well-planned and well-proportioned accommodation with attractive rooms of pleasing dimensions. The accommodation is arranged over three floors and benefits from gas-fired central heating.

It occupies an enviable position in the ever popular and much sought-after residential area of Mountfields. The property is within walking distance of the town centre with its manyamenities and is in the catchment area of Ofsted Outstanding-rated nursery,infant and secondary schools.

Apanelled entrance door with decorative stained glass leaded lights leads into the entrance hall, off which is abedroom with awindow to the rear

garden; sitting room with adeepbay window and a fireplace which is flanked by built-in storage; the dining room has a fireplace recess and an archway to the garden room.

Apanelled door leads to the inner hall, off which are the cloakroom, garden room and kitchen. The kitchen is wellappointed with arange of bespoke units with granite work surfaces and windows overlooking the garden.

Astaircase rises to the first floor, off which is the master bedroom with a deep bay window,anattractive fireplace andbuilt-in wardrobes. There is also a luxuriously appointed en-suite shower room. The family bathroom features a free-standing roll top bath and afeature fireplace.

Afurther staircase leads to the second floor which has two further bedrooms, both with built-in storage.

The property is setback from the road behind an enclosed gravel forecourt and has agarage. The walled rear garden enjoys asunny south westerly aspect and has abrick set patio and terrace.

Primrose Cottage,Lyth Bank

£1,100,000

Astunning and superbly appointed, attractive, detached five bedroom house providing spacious accommodation to include; entrancehall,a superbopen-plan living/ dining room leading into breakfast room and kitchen, utility, cloakroom, sitting room/study to the ground floor.Master bedroomwith walk in wardrobe and en suite bathroom, twobedrooms with en suiteshowerrooms,two further bedrooms and family showerroom. Detached double garaging,car portand ample parking.Large terracetothe rear overlookingthe extensivegardens with far reaching countryside views. Lyth Bank is amuch soughtafter andrenowned area close to Shrewsbury, surrounded by beautiful countryside with an abundanceofwalks etc. Thevillages of Longden, Annscroftand Hook-a-Gate arenearby

12 Tudor Gate,Shrewsbury£495,000

This detached four bedroom property is presentedthroughout to an exacting standardtoprovide well planned and well proportioned,comfortable family accommodation to include; entrancehall with cloakroom, apleasantsitting room with alarge baywindowand fireplacefeature, the kitchen/dining room is well appointedwith arange of units and an adjoining garden room with doors opening onto the rear garden. Guest bedroom 2with en suite, bedroom 3, bedroom 4is well equipped and fitted with arangeofoffice furnitureand provides an ideal study spaceand aneatly kept and well appointedfamily bathroom to the first floor On the second floor thereisa master bedroom with windowenjoying viewsacross the QuarryParkwith St Chads and ShrewsburySchool in the distance. Luxuriously appointedensuiteshowerroom. Theproperty occupies an enviable position on this small exclusiveand gatedresidential development, situatedclose to the town centre via the Quarry Park and Dingle Gardens.Shrewsburytowncentreprovidesawealth of boutique style shops,fashionable bars and restaurants,the TheatreSevern and the ShrewsburyRailway Station.

4The Square, Church Stretton

RENOVATED HOME IN POPULAR SPOT

Anexceptional opportunity awaits to acquire this beautifully extended and comprehensively renovated detached house that occupies agreat-sized plot and is ideally positioned in ahighly sought-after locale with convenient access to local amenities and motorways.

Prestige by Mannleys is marketing 263 Holyhead Road, Wellington, for offers in the region of £850,000.

The property presents outstanding and adaptable living spaces, with the ground floor encompassing an entrance

hallway,a remarkable open-plan kitchen/ dining/family room featuring adistinctive walk-in pantry,central island, media wall and sliding patio doors, along with a separate sitting room, family room, utility, and aground floor WC

The first floor boasts an impressive main bedroom complete with awalk-in wardrobe/dressing room and aspacious en-suite bathroom featuring both abath and separate shower

Additionally,there is aguest bedroom with an en-suite shower,two more generously sized bedrooms, and afamily

bathroom. The property benefits from planning permission for asizable detached garage with home office above, ample driveway parking, landscaped gardens and is offered with no upward chain.

Athorough inspection is crucial for potential buyers to fully grasp the exceptional features and merits that this stunning home presents.

Please be aware that the garage mentioned has not been constructed, and it remains the responsibility of the new purchaser to undertake its construction, if deemed necessary

THE MAIZIES

35DULWICHGRANGE, BRATTON,TELFORD,TF50ED

OIRO£600,000

EPC C

Immerse yourself in the charmofthis 5-bedroom, 2-storey detached property in Bratton. Presentedbeautifully,itboasts local schools, amenities,and convenientroad links.Nestled on asecluded plot,it offers ample parking,including adetached double garage.The Maizies provides flexible family spaces,featuring agrand reception hallway, sitting room, open-plan kitchen/dining/family room, conservatory, utility, and more. Upstairs, find amain bedroom with en-suite, aguest bedroom with en-suite, and three additional bedrooms.Landscaped gardens and adetached garage completethis stunning home

HADLEY PARK WINDMILL

HADLEYPARK,TELFORD, TF16QJ

OIEO £650,000

Diveintohistorywith this Grade II listed Windmill turned modern marvel! Capturing 360° views, this five-storyfamily home seamlessly blends contemporaryliving with 18th-centurycharm. Themain house features an open-plan kitchen, alounge with exposed beams,and three bedrooms,including abreathtaking top-floor suite. Adetached oak-framed annexprovidesextra space, while landscaped gardens,aterrace,and asummerhouse add elegance. Accessible through agateddriveway,this property offers ample parking and superblocal amenities

36CRUDGINGTON

TELFORD,TF66JG

OIRO£625,000 EPC D

Explorethe charmofthis improved 4-bedroom Duke of Sutherland cottage in a sought-after village location. Situated on a secluded plot with planning approval forasingle-storyextension, this property offers flexibilityand style Thegroundfloorboastsanopen-plankitchen/diningroom,sittingroomwith afeature fireplace, dining room, study,utility, and entrancehallway.Upstairs, find a spacious main bedroom with en-suite, three additional bedrooms and afamily bathroom. Enjoyextensivedrivewayfrontage, adetached double garage,and alandscaped south-facing garden with open field views.

ESTOVER LODGE LONG LANE

TELFORD,TF6 6HQ

OIRO£750,000

EPC D

DiscoverEstoverLodge,acaptivatingcountrypropertyofferingaspaciousthree-bedroom bungalow, separate one-bedroom annexe,double stables,and adetached garage within nearly an acreoflandscaped gardens,plus an additional one-acrepaddock.Enjoythe perfect blend of privacyand accessibility. Themain residencefeatures alounge with French doors,alog burner,dining room, and abreakfast kitchen.Threedouble bedrooms including an extended master suite, completethe living quarters.Adetached log cabin, extensivegardens,and double stables enhancethis equestrian-friendly haven. Don’tmiss out—view this gem foratasteofserene,semi-rural living with excellenttransportlinks

23a Market Street,Wellington, Telford, TF1 1DT 01952 245064

• prestige@mannleysproperty.co.uk

NEWERA AS ESTATE

Jackson Property (Shropshire and Cheshire) are excited to announce that as of the 1st April 2024 they are rebranding as Larch Property within the framework of Jackson Equestrian Limited.

Larch Property is an independent estate agency and surveying firm with activities being undertaken across the Midlands, North West of England,Mid and North Wales, with their head office based just outside of Shrewsbury

The relaunch introduces two new directors, Charlie Giffard BSc, Dip. Surv andRichard Corbet LLB MSc MRICS, both highly respected with extensive experience in sales and estate management sectors respectively

Additionally,Rebecca FifieldMRICS joins the team, boasting over 25 years of expertise in local country house sales, enhancing the company’s depth of professionalism.

Larch Property will retain the knowledgeable, professional and highly experienced team, all dedicated to delivering an exceptional, personalised service, building on values of thepast. Significant investment has also been

made in accounts staff andmanagement software to strengthen their property management services.

Managing rural estates has become a cornerstone of Larch Property’s services, providing clients with personalised attention for their portfolios of estate properties.

Their dedicated team of young and dynamic professionals offers not only

expertise but also ashared commitment to growth and learning. By collaborating with like-minded country estates, Larch Property foster an environment where experiences are exchanged, bolstering resilience in the face of today’s challenges. At Larch Property,the team are poised to navigate the evolving landscape of rural estates, ensuring their enduring success.

Spring 2024 sees the rural and

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

AGENT REBRANDS

residential property market continue to showcase resilience amidst abackdrop of evolving economic landscapes. The team at LarchProperty have seen asurgein market appraisals sincethe beginning of the year which they feel has been aided by the calm within the mortgage market and are feeling greater confidence now compared to this time last year

Since the global pandemic, the allure

of rural living has only intensified, as individuals and families seek the space and calm offered by the countryside.

Larch Property have here found their niche and are positive about theway the market is feeling so far this year andare excited about pushing the residential sales part of the business with their growing team.

At Larch Property,the committed

PAGE 22: Top: Larden Green, Faddiley, Cheshire–sold, asking price: £650,000 ; Charlie Giffard, David Griffiths, RichardCorbet, Rebecca Fifield, RichardBurton, Millie Hinds, James Willis, Dora Prytherch, Gillon Crow

PAGE 23, CLOCKWISE

FROM TOPLEFT:

Tilston, Malpas, Cheshire–sold, asking price: £765,000; Worthen, Shrewsbury, Shropshire–sold, asking price: £2,150,000; Manley, Frodsham, Cheshire–sold, asking price: £1,500,000; Little Leigh, Northwich, Cheshire–sold, asking price: £2,350,000.

team stands ready to provide independent advice for all your property requirements. Whether you are selling, buying, or seeking professional or property management services, they will be there to support you every step of the way

Contact details: www.larch-property co.uk, email info@larch-property.co.uk, call 01743 709249 (Shropshire office) or 01948 666695 (Cheshire office).

Stone’s Wharf, Weston Rhyn Comingsoon

Acanal

developmentof2,3and

WhitleyFields, EatonuponTern

Final3homes on this exclusivecourtyard development of contemporary family homes

Prices from £875,000

ields upon sought ctly sbur the

Introducing Kilnside

Kilnside,Porth yWaen, Oswestry

An exclusivedevelopment of just 3contemporaryhomesaffording stunning views to the rear overadjoining countyside and hills.

£7Pricesfrom 95,000

Each having been well thought out in design and offering spacious and versatile accommodation perfect fortoday’smodern lifestyle and being finished to an exceptional standard of specification.

Beautifully designed by Shropshire’sAward Winning Ke-design.

MORTGAGE ADVICE ON OFFERATMONKS

Monks Estateand Letting Agents has entered a new partnership with independent mortgage broker Ellis-Ridings Mortgage Solutions. Offering specialist mortgage advice and associated protection services, EllisRidings can provide the support you need when buying or selling your property with Monks.

Monks has chosentopartner with Ellis-Ridings Mortgage Solutions due to their up-to-date knowledge and conscientious approach to helping home buyers. Co-owner Sarah Ridings worked with Monks for many years and has extensive knowledge of the property industry,especially new homes and shared ownership purchases.

Judy Bourne, Director of Monks, explains: “Weare delighted to have Sarah back under the Monks umbrella! It’s early days into the relationship but we are already receiving the feedback we expected from this great partnership.”

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

One client said: “Mike Ridings is handling ourmortgage– thank you for recommending him, he’s brilliantly efficient!”

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SOOTHINGSHADES FORCHILLINGOUT

SEEKING SANCTUARY AT HOME WILL PUT YOUINAHAPPY PLACE, SAYS SAM WYLIE-HARRIS

Longing for arestful retreat to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life, and want to set the scene for the slow lane? Tranquil tones andsoothing shades signal harmonious decor

From fittings and finishes to soft furnishings, thinkivory,putty and sandy colours, with afusion of dried flora and palms to create acohesive look with a natural aesthetic –putting your mind at ease the minute you walk through the door.Sympathetic to colours found in nature, these choice pieces will help you relax while you renew your space…

1. Calm Art Gallery Wall: 10 Posters, 10 Frames, £382.80 (was £475), Desenio

The closest thing to havingaspecially

curated art collection, think agallery wall with tranquil landscape and abstract prints by the likes of VanGogh and William Morris. We’re in.

2. George Cream Boucle Chair, £150, Direct.asda

Not only is aboucle accent chair bang up-to-date, but tailor-made for arelaxing reading hour

3. Sea Mist Grey Linen Duvet CoverSet,from£192 (Double with StandardPillowcases), Chalk Pink Linen Co

This French farmhouse style bedding range in 100%linen evokes casual charm, and is designed to look crumpled with the luxurious feel of stonewashed linen for a lived-in, relaxed aesthetic. The fabric also

has the added bonus of being naturally breathable.

4. WoodWick Coastal Sunset, from £10.99 to £32.99

Finer details such as scented candles boost our mood and wellbeing, and bring happy thoughts of summer holidays nudged by the aromas of sun-kissed blossom and creamy coconut found in this Coastal Sunset collection.

5. Beige &BlackCushion Tranquil Palms (50cm x50cm), £95, Click Style

This lofty palm tree will feel right at home on asofa with soothing upholstery in stone, tan or grey.And it won’t be overwhelmed if it’s framed by some small-scale greenery

Warm Sand Boucle, £119.20 (was £149), Dunelm

Ideal for long lazy brunches or catchup coffee mornings, these stylish bar stools channel aboutique hotel vibe –and are an easyway to create abespoke bar

With its retro vibe and dusty,plaster pink shade, it’s time to tune into this Roberts’ Rambler with Bluetooth connectivity,digital and FM radio, alarm and sleep timer for peace of mind.

With strong, clean lines, minimal clutter and natural woods, you want your waste bin to be as functional as your kitchen units; mindful that it’s modern

and matches your mood. Meet the Brabantia Bo Touch with two removable inner buckets to make sorting and recycling stress-free.

aselection,

Styling a#shelfiecan inspire all sorts of creativity with everything placed ‘just so’. The natural beauty of these wooden candlesticks is complemented by wood grains with asoothing effect on the eye. Pair with bud vases, and sandy and verdant hues to elevate your space.

Cool to the touch, this glazed vase and tinted wine glasses sets the mood for tranquil tablescapes… while chilling out

6. Elements Alva Bar Height Stool,

7. Roberts Rambler BT Stereo, Dusky Pink, £149.99, Roberts Radio

8. Brabantia Bo Touch Bin, £187

9. Hambledon Candlestick Short, £18, Tall, £20, Ravello Bottle Vase, Charcoal, £14, rest of items from

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10. StonewareVase, White, £22.99; 2-Pack Wine Glasses, £9.99, H&M

EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT HERBS

FORGET PARSLEY AND MINT,TRY GROWING BERGAMOT,LEMON GRASS AND SWEET CICELYTO PERK UP YOUR DISHES, SAYS JEKKA MCVICAR. HANNAH STEPHENSON FINDS OUT MORE

Want to add some herbs to dishes that aren’t so runof-the-mill?

There are so many easy-to-grow herbs which are overlooked, says award-winning herb expert, designer and author Jekka McVicar, who runs Jekka’s Herb Farm in South Gloucestershire andisa 14-times RHS Chelsea Gold Medal winner for her organic, peat-free herb exhibits.

Many of these are detailed in her latest book, 100 Herbs To Grow,a comprehensive guide to the best herbs. Here, she suggests five herbs which gardeners who want to be slightly more adventurous might grow

1. Hyssop

“This is an absolute must-have. Apart from the fact that it’s stunningly beautiful when in flower and the bees adore it, it’s amemberofthe Lamiaceae family (which includes mint, sage, thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary and lavender),” she enthuses.

The flowers of this hardy perennial are generally blue and purple, but there is also apink variety and awhite one too. Flowers are edible and have aslightly minty flavour,or you can make atea with the leaves, with agenerous teaspoon of honey

“The leaf makes afantastic salad dressing and will grow in exactly the same place as your sage and thyme. It goes really well with tomatoes in apasta sauce. It just adds aslightly different flavour to adish.”

Toptip: Grow it in asunny position in awell-drained, neutral-to-alkaline soil. Youmay need to add grit to the soil as hyssop will die if waterlogged. It’s agreat companion plant for cabbagesasitlures away the cabbage white butterfly.

2. Myrtle

McVicar uses the aromatic dark leaves of this fragrant evergreen shrub in her cooking as you would use bay,adding them to stews, soups and sauces, before

removing and discarding them.

“The white flowers are stunning. It’s the herb of love, Aphrodite’s herb. They are followed by black berries, which you can make myrtle gin from, as we would make sloe gin,” she says.

Toptip: Plant it in full sun in awelldrained soil. Toomuchwet will kill it, as will cold winds, so plant it against asouth or west-facingwall and don’t overfeed it or it won’t flower.Protect it from frost and wet weather in winter,making sure that your container is lifted on to bricks if it’s in apot.

3. Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)

Monarda fistulosa has amauve leaf and the flowers look like alady’s fancy summer wedding hat, McVicar reckons

“I use the petals of that flower in salads. It’s glorious. They have awarm, minty,spicy flavour,again they are part of the Lamiaceae family.”

Native to North America, this

Hyssop is ahardy perennial and usually has pretty blue or purple edible flowers which haveaslightly minty flavour and the leaves can be used to maketea

perennial plant hasspreading rhizome roots which grow to 1m (3ft) tall and the leaves can be used to make aspicy tea.

“It’s very easy to grow in awelldrained soil and although they are sightly rhizomatous they are not invasive,” she says. “They are glorious in flower andyou could easily grow it as an ornamental. It’s known as bee balm because it’s good for bees and other pollinators. Youalso get the seedheads which finches adore in the autumn.”

Toptip: Grow it in well-drained soil in asunny spot and dig up plants over three years old, removing the dead centre and replanting in aprepared site.

4. Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

“In the UK you can only buy the stem but if you go abroad, everyone uses the leaf,” she says. “It’s apropergrass, like the goose grass that you used to whistle through as achild.”

Youcan grow it from seed, sowing indoors in spring in prepared seed trays or modules on a frost-free windowsill.

Often used to add fragrance to Thai curries and other South East Asian dishes, keep it in indoors in the winter andput outside in the summer when the night temperature doesn’t fall below 8C. Pick the leaves when they are young.

“You can make tea with

the leaf.You just chopitinto small pieces and add boiled –not boiling –water and it is so refreshing. Or you can have it cold in summer,and make ice cubes with the tea, which go really well in agin and tonic.”

Toptip: Use it as acontainer plant, McVicar suggests, using aloam-based compost, and don’t let it dry out in summer.Inthe autumn bring it indoors into afrost-free environment

5. Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata)

This native herbaceous perennial which resembles cow parsley is our natural sugar herb, McVicar explains.

The leaves start pushing through now, at the same time as rhubarb is ready,she says

“Add those leaves to the rhubarb, when you’re cooking it, and you can cut down your sugar by about three quarters. When you crush the leaf,ithas asweet aniseed flavour.”

The leaves can be chopped and used in salads, or added to soups and stews, while the roots can be cooked as avegetable and served with butter,or eaten raw,grated and used in French dressing.

Toptip:The plant can be invasive so choose carefully where you plant it.

n 100 Herbs To Grow by Jekka McVicar is published by Hardie Grant, priced £30.

Above:Herb expert Jekka McVicar; right: myrtle flower, lemon grass, wild bergamot, sweet cicely

TOUGHLOVEFOR YOUR VEGETABLES

AN EXPERT SHARES SOME ADVICE ON HELPING YOUR PLANTS ADAPT TO CHANGING SEASONAL WEATHER WITH HANNAH STEPHENSON

Vegetable growers may be lamentingthe weird weather recently –warm and cold, wet and windy,incessant rain, consistently unpredictable.

“There’s no longer seasonality as we were previously used to,” says Kim Stoddart, author of The Climate ChangeResilient Vegetable Garden, anew book which outlines aclear path toward building resilience in your vegetable plants and your soil.

Editor of Amateur Gardening magazine, Stoddart runs courses on climate change-savvy growingfromher training gardens in west Wales. She says:

“There’s amuch greaterrisk of pests and disease with this erratic weather. For example, with warmer,milder,wetter winters there’s moreopportunity for pests to overwinter.This, combined with the fact that some varieties are struggling and becoming weakened, means that having a healthy garden is key.”

Here’show to makeyourplantsmoreresilient

“There’s lots of research around this idea thatwetend to overwater and overfeed our plants and because of that they get lazy and don’t dig deeper with their rootstoseek out the potential gain they can have from the amazing resilience that’s below our feet in thesoil,” she says.

“If you have ‘no dig’ soil thatiswell mulched and arich, fertile composition, then the likes of mycorrhizal fungi can help them find food and water.”

Soil management is vital

“The idea of ‘no dig’ is now very commonly known, but you need to really look after thesoil, mulching well. For example, during periods of drought, make the soil thebest it can be, which will help afford further resilience to your plants,” she says.

Saving seeds from the plants that have fared well against extreme weather can

also help build resilience, she adds.

Crops which may withstand our erratic weather include:

Perennials

Perennials, which come back year after year,are an obvious choice, says Stoddart. “They are longer-lasting in nature and can develop deeper,widerranging root structures and are arguably more able cope with extreme weather

“They may merge with mycorrhizal fungi and fungal networks to help them find food and water.”

Amaranth

“This is areally resilient crop which is great to use in-between other plants and as ground cover.Italso self seeds. Ifound that using it as ground cover in my polytunnels enabled alot of my plants to survive because the amaranth helps protect the soil and the plants.”

Jerusalem artichoke

“These perennials produce delicious tubers which are pre-biotic in natureand help to feed the healthy gut bacteria in your stomach, she says. “They can be used as awindbreak in thevegetable garden, are easy to grow and you won’t harvest all the tubers so they will grow back.”

Crystal lemon cucumber

“Cucumbers have exacting watering requirements and I’ve tried lots of different varieties over the years but crystal lemon cucumber is so resilient. Youcan even allow it to trail along the ground and it will grow in asort of semiwild capacity.Start the seeds off indoors. It lends itself very well to pickles and preserves. Plant it with flowering herbs to help attract pollinators.

n The Climate ChangeResilient Vegetable Garden by Kim Stoddart is published by Cool Springs Press

Celebrating 80 yearsare JoyBlizzard, Policy and Communications Officer,and ArranHoldsworth, CentreManager,onthe banks of the River Severn

SEAT OF LEARNING CLOCKSUP80YEARS

HEATHER LARGE FINDS OUT ABOUT THE FIELD STUDIESCENTRE WHICH HAS PROVIDED EDUCATION ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD TO COUNTLESS SCHOOLCHILDREN SINCE 1943

For more than 80 years, the Field Studies Council has offered meaningful education experiences to anyone interested in learning more about the natural world.

Founded during the middle of the Second World War, theenvironmental education charity has12residential centres across the country including Preston Montford, near Shrewsbury

Situated on the banks of the River Severn, this site is set within a12-hectare estate, which is managed to provide arich range of habitats.

“We’re probably best known for providing residential courses for people who are doing their A-level and GCSE biology and geography fieldwork but we’re actually about far more than that,” says Policy and Communications Officer, Joy Blizzard.

“We’re about wanting make sure that everyone has fantastic opportunities to

learn about the environment, to care for it, to get really excited and enthused about it.

“So we do have courses available for preschoolers rightthe waythrough to postgraduates andstations in between, and we do courses for all ages and abilities as well.

“So if you’re just slightly interested

in some creatures or nature or wanted to learn alittle bit about plants or animals, we’ve got courses for you, but we also provide opportunities for people who want to study to become incredible experts in their field,” she adds.

The Field Studies Council was created on December 10, 1943, when the founders met at abomb-damaged Natural History Museum, and the Preston Montford site was acquired in 1956.

“When Ilooked in the archives, it talked about describing Preston Montford as a field centre in an ordinary English countryside which sounds alittle bit rude but actually it was ageniusdecision because Shropshire is the most fantastic place for all sorts of landscapes to study

“So of course, we’re really famous for our geology so that was very much in the minds of the founding wardens, who worked here, but there’s also incredible archaeology,history,wehave some

fantastic landscapes that you don’t get anywhere else.

“We’ve got the Long Mynd, we’ve got the Stiperstones, we’ve got The Meres and Mosses and, of course, we’ve got the River Severn which winds its way around the site and Charles Darwin himself,as achild, was pottering along the banks studying nature. So that’s anicelink to a famous scientist there,” says Joy.

There have been many challenges for the charity since it was founded, but it also always remained committed to fulfilling its aim of helping people get closer to nature.

“Times were not particularly easy, we’ve got to remember that manyof our centres started off when we were on rations and Irealisedwedidn’t actually have our first fridge bought until about 10 years into the charity so thepeople were doing the most incredible things and taking on buildings like this wasn’t easy either

“There was ashortage of tools and materials, particularly after thewar,so

we had some really quite enterprising wardens who would make their own furniture or make do and mend.

“Wedidn’t have mains electricity in some of our centres for quite awhile so they were an incredible pioneering group of people.

“But the warden for Preston Montford, despite it being described as being in ordinary English countryside, he had areallyquite novel idea at the time and his idea was that we could probably teach ecology in almost any kind of setting so he was quite keen on making sure that you could teach ecology in the grounds.

“That turned out to be areally wise decision because quite soon after we opened there was afoot and mouth epidemic in 1960 and 61 and therefore we couldn’t take people out into the countryside understandably

“But he had already planned for all the lessons that could take part in our centres.

“So one of the things we do is that all our centres do have the most beautiful grounds and habitats and we’re

responsible for looking after some of our nature reserves.

“You’ve got veteran trees, you’ve got all sorts of interesting species and that becomes part of what we offer

“You’re not coming to aboring building with aload of tarmacadam and aplaying field with lots of plantains on it, you’ve got all sortsof thingstostudy without having to travel very far

“And Ithink sometimes for some of our smaller,younger visitors, they really appreciate being able to tumble out of acoach and, you know,enjoy the surroundings without having to travel too far,” adds Joy,who has worked for the Field Studies Council since 2015.

During the last academic year,from September 2022 until August 2023, Preston Montford welcomed more than 5,700 visitors on day or residential courses, including specialist biodiversity courses.

The centre’s site includes River Severn Montford SSSI (Sites of Special ScientificInterest), asemi-ancient

woodland growing on asteep bank of glacial drift, grazed fields with hedges and 18th century specimen trees as well as some more recently planted copses.

Theeastern side of the estate is home to an area of more specialised habitats; ponds, wildflower meadow,ancient orchard, the remains of awalled garden and abee hotel.

One of the daily duties is recording data from the site’s weather station for the Met Office.

Centre Manager Arran Holdsworth, who has worked as the site since 2019, says: “Wehave alot of schools visiting from all over the country,taking part in field work, alot of GSCE geography field work studying rivers and towns and we have alot of A-level biologygroups coming here studyinginthe grounds, the biodiversity,and looking into the ponds and woodlands.

“Wealso have alot of primary groups who come on site and go building shelters

in the woods and doing bushcraft.

“They love pond-dipping and just enjoying being out in the outdoors in the open space that we have here.

“Wehave alot of adult groups as well studying all sorts of natural history courses.”

“It’s areally rich biodiverse environment that we have and we’re very lucky and Ithink everybody that comes here really enjoys whatever they are studying and it’s apleasure to have them visit us,” he adds.

The centre, which has 25 staff,also welcomes university students such as those reading tropical medicine as well as young people working towards their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

To mark the charity’s anniversary,80 new trees were planted across the Field Studies Council sites, and 80 Young Darwin Scholarships were created to help nurture apassion for outdoor education in anew generation of ecologists.

Speaking about the milestone, Joy says: “It hasn’talways been easy,there have been times when you can imagine foot and mouth caused aproblem, government funding disappeared overnight in the 1950s, there were financial crises, Covid had amassive impact on us because we had to close all our centres but we’re celebrating the fact that we’re still here and that original vision of offering opportunity for everybody to engage with nature and understand the countryside.

“That’s as relevant today as it was then because, of course, now we’re facing a biodiversity crisis and aclimate change crisis so the more people that we have who are trained up and skilled in the kind of things that will help solve these problems, the better.”

n Formore information, visit www field-studies-council.org

Clockwise from top, ArranHoldsworth working at the centre, JoyBlizzardoutside the HQ and Geography GCSE students learning about the environment

LOTTERYAID FOR WILDLIFEWORK

Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle is celebrating an award of £238,000fromThe National Lottery Heritage Fund to hire staff as co-ordinators to support the community to develop and implement local wildlife and nature projects.

The group has been working with community groups over the last two years with arange of wildlife and nature projects in and around Bishop’s Castle, focused on the ecological management of local land. Projects have included building and installing swift boxes and establishing meadowlands on local properties.

Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle has become known for its winter talks and summer activities series. The ‘Going Wild Kid’s Club’ provides an extracurricular outdoor education and bushcraft clubfor young people in the community.

Bernard Edwards, chair of the Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle Steering Group, said: “Thanks to The National Lottery Players and everyone who has supported us in the winter talks series and the summer activities. We look forward to

working with the fantastic community of Bishop’s Castle.”

The grant, secured with help from Enterprise House, will allow Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle to hire apart-time coordinatorand apart-time assistant to support the development, delivery and monitoringoflocal biodiversity projects.

“This will help us increase wildlife locally and share our activities with a wider audience to showcase the potential of community-level rewilding.

“Above all, this is about joining the people of Bishop’s Castle to learn together and celebrate ourlandscape through embracing nature,” said Bernard.

Town councillor Grant Perryadded: “The town council is delighted to have supported andcontinues to support Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle. This project helps us contribute to thetown’s Climate and Nature Recovery Plan.”

The role will be based out of Enterprise House in Bishop’s Castle –a local hub which offers arange of support to businessand community groups, such as the local library,printing and IT

Timber

BRINGINGFARMING TO THE CLASSROOM

MATTHEW PANTER TALKS TO THENFU MEMBERS WHOHAVEBECOME AMBASSADORS FOR THEIR INDUSTRY AND ARE SPREADING APOSITIVE AND FUN MESSAGE TO SCHOOLCHILDREN

School field trips. Those were the days.

Armed with apacked lunch, we’d all race to get to the back seats of the coach ahead of our classmates before embarking on agrand day out.

Looking back, few days were as enjoyable or as sensory-rich as a first trip to afarm.

But now,its notjust acaseofchildren paying avisit to arural location.

Farmers are taking their message into schools too, dispelling myths about the agricultural industry and sharing views, with the next generation, on why farming is so important.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) currently has more than 40 staff members who speak in schools and more than 200 farmers and growers who all bring an array of skills, talent, expertise and experience as NFU Farmers for Schools ambassadors.

The innovative work of NFU Education also extends beyond traditional classrooms with live lessons, including Science Farm Live, Harvest Thali and The Lamb Diaries reaching more than 360,000 students across 5,000 classrooms last year

Josh Payne, NFU Education manager, said: “More than 250 ambassadors have spearheaded the Farmers for Schools initiativesince its inception, visiting primary and secondary schools across the country to help children learn about the vital work British farmers and growers do to produce safe, tasty and nutritious food, and how this goes hand in hand with caring for the landand environment.

“Last year was alandmark year for us as the programme ploughed new grounds in agricultural education, reaching more than 500,000 students across thenation –weare keen to extend our reach in 2024.The impact is evident, with the ambassadors having visited more than 70 schools from September 2023 to now and delivering assemblies on farming to more than 9,000 schoolchildren –that’s an increase of 180 per cent and 155 per cent respectively

“Our ambassadors show passion and knowledge for British farming and, in teams of two, regularlydeliver two 30 to 45-minute assemblies over the course of an academic year,but we do so much more through ouron-farm work and online engagement.”

Here in Shropshire, Kate Mayne, who farms near Shrewsburyand is NFU Shropshire deputy chair,isa Farmers for Schools Ambassador who has loved paying avisit to schools in the countyto share herviews.

She says Farmers for Schools appealed to her because she wanted to share her passion and experiences of farming in Shropshire.

“I was born and bred into farming,”

she says. “It’s never gone away from me and it’s something that does get under your skin.

“For some of us, it’s in theblood and you can’t get away from it even if you wanted to.”

So, she says: “Itissoimportant to encourage young people to take an interest in what we do to produce their food. We can engage kids in stuff they know and things they like –food, big tractors andthe countryside they live around –but thereare many more points we can share and talk about.”

Kate says she gets as much out of going into schools as anyone. Her visits so far have been to talk to children at the younger end of the secondary school age bracket.

And she reflects: “It can be quite surprising how muchknowledge they have and how much interest they show in farming.

“They can be self-conscious about sticking their hand up and asking questions.

“But then they will come up to me at the end. Yousuddenly have aqueue of kids talking to you about what they know and it’s so heartening,itreally is.

“There was one school where some of their questions really blew my mind. We had to wrap it up because they were

asking so many questions and it was mad. But they were absolutely brilliant. They were asking me the most amazing questions such as: ‘How are interest rates impacting on farm businesses?’

“Wehad abig conversationabout how much, for example, acombine costs and how borrowing is really important for the farming industry

“Wetalked about interest rates and how they have this massive impact on investment in the industry.”

Much of the interest shown by inquisitive minds, Kate says, surrounds climate change and how it impacts on farm and the crops grown.

“The climate agenda can be quite negative,” Kate says. “You do see alot of negative rhetoric around agriculture in the press.

“But there’s away in which we can frame this and show we are changingso the future can be abetter place.

“There’s alot there we can work with to make the messaginga lot more positive and this is an opportunity to talk to the kids in apositive way

“Wehave still got lots of stuff we need to do better in the industry, that’s agiven

“Westill need to drive down emissions, whether it’s runoff water, carbon, methane or anything else but we are working really hard on this.Weneed

bright minds in our industry who are going to drive this forward.

“Wetalk alot about biodiversity loss too,” Kate explains. “Some of the rhetoric in GCSEs is quite old-fashioned.

“They talk about removing hedgerows. We haven’tbeen able to do that for decades so there’s alot we can present.

“For example, we can say,‘this is how much hedgerow we have been putting back in’.

“It is achancetopresent ourside of key issues and we are more likely to change theway we are off the back of positive messaging than negative.”

But, despite some serious issues being discussed, Kate adds: “Wemake it as fun as possible.

“Wetendtodovisits in pairs and bounce off each other,while bringing our own agricultural experience. So one of my colleagues told how milk from her farm is sent to Ben and Jerrys. The kids love hearing about that–a direct link to one of their favourite foods! It’s just ajoy to be able to bring stories into the classroom and the kids lap it up, so it’s really nice.”

Kate isn’t the only champion of Farming for Schools. Sharon Hammond, apoultry and livestock farmer from Radnorshire, farms with her family at Llanyre near Llandrindod Wells and

was recently handed this year’s Meurig Raymond Award –named after the NFU’s former president –for her work as aNFU Cymru Brecon &Radnor member.This included her work in schools.

Sharon, aformer teacher,said her family had historically invited schoolchildren onto their farm– 40 or 50 years ago.

“Weused to have aschool group aweek coming onto our farm in the summer,” she recalls. “It was extremely important for us, even back then, to be able to explain what we did and how we did it.

“More recently,NFU have done alot of work with schools and it’s an important part of the school curriculum.

“I work with primary and secondary schools and we can tailor what we are doing to what they want to know

“Wetry to makethingsactive and interactive, making what we do fun and informative and Idoget pleasure in seeing children engage with what you are showing them. We do get avery good reaction.

“It’s important from my perspective that Ican tell our storysopeople can understand about the farming industry and make their own, more informed judgements rather than just reading

one person’s opinion. Nothing is ever completely black and white.”

Both Kate and Sharon believe that spreading the message on farming is vital, moving forward.

And Kate concludes: “I’m looking forward to doing more talks and spreading awareness about how important British farming is.

“Farmers who do future NFU training sessions for our work in schools will not regret it as speaking in classrooms about what we do is the absolute best.”

School teachers and farmers who want to know more about the work of NFU education can visit education.nfuonline. com

PAGE 43: NFU Farmersfor Schools Ambassador Kate Mayne on her farm in Ruyton-XI-Towns

PAGE 44: This year’sMeurig Raymond Award –named after the NFU’sformer President –was presented to NFU Cymru Brecon & Radnor member,SharonHammond; students listening to atalk by the NFU; Josh Payne: PicturebySimon Hadley.

PAGE 45: The NFU ambassadors take farming into schools

RELAX IN ASTATELY HOME FROM HOME

DANIEL MORRIS DISCOVERS THE CHARMS OF MARTON HALL, ACOUNTRY MANSION THATHAS BEEN LOVINGLYRESTORED BY THE OWNERS AND CONVERTEDINTOASTAYCATION VENUE

Charm, beauty and acaptivating story of its own. Since the pandemic, the appetite among the public for astaycation, and enjoying the rich wonders of our own land, has increased dramatically

Shropshire boasts some of the UK’s most glorious countryside, along with atruly impressive slice of historical intrigue.

Now,thanks to the efforts of a particular county couple, staycationers can enjoy both without leaving the sanctuary of asingle quaint hamlet, and one rather grand abode.

Named from the small village in which it stands, Marton Hall is astunning country house that is now available to rent as aholiday let that sleeps up to 12

Located nine miles from Shrewsbury, the hall has spent recent years being

refurbished under the guidance and passion of Honor and Giles Gwilt.

Beautifully restored to much of its Edwardian glory,this veritable ‘miniDownton’ will doubtlessly delight all who are looking for ataste of the grandeur of abygone age. Yetfar morethan simply being enchanting in its aesthetic, it has afascinating tale to tell, as researched and documented by Honor on the hall’s website.

Marton Hall originally stood nearer to the road than the present day hall, adjoining the chapel and stable yard buildings that still remain today.Atthis time the hall and surrounding estate was owned by the Atcherley family,who resided at Marton for around 250 years. The last Atcherley left the old hall in 1889, after which timethe hall was rented out.

It was eventually sold to Captain W.S. Gosling in 1911. Captain Gosling had big plans that he soon put into action, commissioning the design of anew hall at Marton, which was built from 191314, approximately 100 yards from the previous hall. This is the present hall you see today.Itwas built of local red sandstone from the Webscott quarry,in the Tudor style, with an Arts and Craftsinspired interior

The new hall interior comprised many elements from the old hall, including an entire oak panelled room from the old house which was incorporated into the morning room. Ashort railway track was constructed between the two sites to aid transportation, so there must have been a great deal that was reused.

Captain Gosling reached the rank of Major before he eventually parted

Abird’s-eye view of imposing Marton Hall which is just nine miles from Shrewsbury and is being offered as aholiday venue after amajor revamp

company with the army in 1919. His time at Marton was destined to be somewhat short lived, as with the death of his older brother in 1922, he had to take over the running of his family’s ancestral estate.

Major Gosling was an excellent football player,who played for Upton Park, representing Great Britain at the 1900 Olympics. He must have retained a soft spot for Marton Hall, as despite not living there after 1922,henever sold the property in his lifetime.

Rented out for over 30 years, Marton Hall was sold to Honor’s father-in-law, William ‘Bill’ Gwilt, in 1953.

The rented period between 1922 and 1953 is not well documented, but an advertisement in the Field newspaper dated April 24, 1937, details the house as a family home for rent. The advertisement enlightens us as to how the house was intended to be used, describing it as a‘five reception, nine bed and dressing room’ house with nine servant’s bedrooms and a further two men-servant bedrooms. The men-servants appear to have their own bathroom, so they did rather better than most!

During the later part of this period, Marton Hall’s use in fact changed to become that of aschool,asdid that of many large houses of the period.

“Recently,wehave been told that the hall was first usedasaschool by evacuees during WWII,” said Honor “Later Marton became the prep school for Adcote Girls School, although the exact year is unknown. The headmistress, Doris Gough, (daughter of the school’s founder), still held the tenancy when it was purchased by our family in 1953.”

Not wishing to purchase the property, the prep school relocated to Aston Hall just outside Oswestry in 1954. It was just after the school relocated that Marton Hall once more became afamily home.

Whilst the Gwilt family lived in Marton’s main rooms, the servant’s quarters were in fact used as offices as storage rooms for Bill’s corn business. Fewchanges were made to the house at this time to accommodate the corn trade, but one notable one was to replace the servants’ dumbwaiter lift with a mechanised wooden chute to help transport the sacks of feed to the upper servants’ rooms for storage. This was certainly an unusual fixture to find in a large country house. Alarge agricultural shed was soon erected in the walled garden, after which time only the ground floor of the servant’s quarters was used for the business.

Aproudly self-made corn merchant and farmer,Bill Gwilt lived with his family at Marton Hall for 60 years. Only six months away from his 100th birthday, Bill sadly passed away in 2014, and it was then that the use of thehall was once

again re-evaluated. The family agreed that the hall was in need of amajor renovation, and the seed of the idea to transform Marton into aholiday let was planted.

“Renting it out as aholiday home means it cannow payfor its own upkeep,” said Honor.“Amajor renovation needed doing because it needed new electrics and plumbing. It’sbeenalong slog, because we have project managed the work ourselves.

“Most of the furniture we’ve brought in I’ve hadtosource, buy in and renovate because ‘new’new furniture always looks alittle odd in places like this –the proportions can be all wrong. Also, we were on atightbudget, so you’ve got to roll your sleeves up anddoityourself! It’s something I’ve always done abit of.I’ve always liked old things and bringing them back to life.”

Renovation work began in September 2020 and took atotal of three years. All the bedrooms were made en-suite by using the two existing bathrooms or converting dressing rooms into bathrooms. This was to minimize spoiling the hall’s character.Downstairs the

kitchen was the greatest change, as it was too small, so the hall area was reduced by moving awall and inserting ahuge RSJ to create avery large kitchen.

All the woodwork from the original house was reused and afew random doors stored in the attic were utilised.

Though it hasbeen hard work for the Gwilt family,Marton Hall’s renovation

has also been atrue labour of love, and one that indeed evoked the passion and enthusiasm of other relatives.

Honor’s brother,Justin Byrne, sadly passed away in 2021 and one of the bedrooms is named in his memory for the keen interest he took in the project.

With Marton Hall now taking bookings, Honor andGiles have been delighted at the interest and responsethey have so far received.

“Our first booking was November last year.Wewere fully booked over Christmas and New Year,and we’re already rammed for this October,” said Honor

If you’re looking for astaycation with adifference at an enchanting property packed with character,you could do worse than paying Marton Hall avisit.

The family really hope that guests enjoy their time at Marton Hall justas much as they do.

n Formore information on the venue, visit martonhall.net

Pictures: Paul Elton

The original plans for the current Marton Hall

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ATHRIVINGHUB OF CREATIVE TALENTS

HEATHER LARGE MEETS MAGGIEALLMARK, WHOSE ARTSHACK CENTRE IS OFFERING ART, DANCE AND WELLBEING WORKSHOPS TO PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, ABILITIES AND BACKGROUNDS

It’s acreativespace where people are encouraged to develop their artistic talents in afriendly and nonjudgemental environment.

Since 2017, ArtShack has offered art, dance and wellbeing workshops to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

It was founded by director Maggie Allmark, who teaches arangeof skills including textiles, machine embroidery, ceramics, painting and drawing, design and printmaking.

“It started really small. Istarted teaching machine embroidery to asmall group of ladies and one of them asked if they could do abit of art. It has evolved from there,” she explains.

“Wewere getting quite busy when we went into Covid and to keep all of our members happy during thelockdowns, we went online for awhile.After Covid,

it was still quiet because people were worried about comingback into the world and we kept it low-key

“Now we’re back to being busy again and we have over 70 members.”

ArtShack offers regular Get Creative art sessions at Berwick Wharf near Attingham Park, Shrewsbury,where people can try their hand at awide range of techniques in avariety of media.

Experienced artists and teachers are on hand to guide participants and help them to learn new skills.

“People can book ahalf-day or a whole day and we have all of the materials they need,” says Maggie, who has exhibited in galleries across the country

“Weget so many people come here who have their own art room or art shed at home but they don’t use it because it’s quite an isolating experience. There is no

one to bounce ideas off,totellyou if what you’re doing is any good or suggest ways you can improve.

“It can also be quiteexpensive doingit at home because you have to buy all of the materials.

“People seem to be much more creative in an environment withother people and they support each other,” says Maggie.

ArtShack also offers focussed workshops taught by artists that specialise in different techniques and mediums.

The beautiful shapes of seedpods will be used as inspiration to create batiks on fabric during aworkshop run by Ellesmere-based textile artist Jenny O’Leary on April 18

On April 20, there will be an introduction to enamelling for beginners with artist Ann Jones.

Participants will learn more aboutthe artoffusing glass to metal while exploring colour to develop surface designs using avariety of decorative, enamelling techniques on coppershapes.

Jenny will return on May 4toteach a class focussed on still life in batik. Avase of flowers or afew favourite objects will be the inspiration to create batiks on tissue using her contemporary interpretation of atraditional technique.

On May 18, Samuel Johnson-Squire, who works in multiple disciplines including printmaking, lino cuts, stencils,

line drawing, and animation, will be providing an introduction to lino cut printing.

“Our focussedworkshops are very diverse and we have some very talented artists,” says Maggie, who taught art and design at secondary level for 15 years.

As well as providing people with a creative outlet, ArtShack also plays apart in helping to boost people’s mental health.

“It’s also about increasing people’s wellbeing. Alot of people became very lonely and reclusive during the lockdowns. We’re on the social prescription register andsome people are referred to us through that.

“Wehave people with complex needs and people with fibromyalgia who come here. The beautiful thing is that we don’t focus on problems, we focus on creativity There is areal sense of community here,” explains Maggie.

ArtShack alsohosts bellydance classes and workshops for beginners and improvers, taught by JWAAD trained instructor Sue Lloyd, and monthly Qi Gong classes taughtby instructor Caroline Gibson.

In March, ArtShack held an exhibition showcasing the artistic achievements of more than 40 of ArtShack’s pastand present participants at the Bear Steps Art Gallery in Shrewsbury

It was the first time ArtShack had organised an exhibition for members and

it was supported by a£4,625 grant from the UK Government through the Vibrant Shropshire Grant Scheme, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

“Thecreative skills that they have developed whilst supported by ArtShack’s artists is just amazing and we were delighted to be giving them the opportunity to showcase their work,” says Maggie.

An open day will be taking place at ArtShack on April 6, between 10amand 4pm, when visitors can find outmore about the arts venue and the workshops.

“Wewant people to see what we do and how lively and vibrant it is and how much culture enriches our people’s lives and wellbeing,” says Maggie.

Formore information, seewww myartshack.co.uk, email info@ myartshack.co.uk or follow @myartshack. co.uk on social media.

PAGE 52: Members Amie Morris, from Shrewsbury, Kate Burton, from Bridgnorth, and Paula Eardley from Oswestry.

PAGE 53: CLOCKWISE, FROM TOPLEFT: Jane Pritchard, from Much Wenlock; Chris Platt with tutor Jacob Gourley; founder Maggie Allmark, Abigail Lloyd Bottom and Jacob Gourley; amember creating artwork for an exhibition

Ruby Wax

The Signatures

GOLFERS CHIPIN FORA TOP AWARD

MATTHEW PANTER DISCOVERS HOW TEAMWORK IS MAKING THE DREAM WORK AT ACOUNTY GOLF CLUB WHERE MEMBERS ARE CELEBRATING SCOOPING APRESTIGIOUS AWARD

It’s agolf club steeped in tradition.

But, as recent eye-catching news from the venue has shown, Shifnal Golf Club is about more than the past. Its present and futurelook pretty special too.

The Shropshire club welcomed the English Girls’ under-16s and under-14s Championship last August. And its work in hosting the prestigious event has now been recognised by the country’s national governing body

An army of volunteers played ahuge part inthe club picking up the England Golf Tournament Venueofthe Year award for 2024 at theEngland Golf Centenary Dinner &Awards at The Midland Manchester Hotel last month.

Teamwork does, after all, make the dream work. And, as Steve Hawk, Volunteer Co-ordinator,reflected: “It meant agreat deal because it was aclub effort.

“Wehad 60 volunteers spread across a range of activities and tasks, with people

keen to be involved, do the right thing and show our club at itsbest.

“Volunteers by their nature just get on with it and don’t necessarily want agreat deal of recognition or accolade, so to be able to recognise people’s efforts with an event like this is exceedingly worthwhile.”

During the championship, the course was in immaculate condition for the competition with extra green staff having

come to help ahead of the event, while four course managers, three from other clubs, were in attendance too.

Shifnal erected ashort-termmarquee, with temporary furnitureatthe back of the clubhouse, to accommodate the influx of people to their limited clubhouse space.

Ahut at the 10th tee is not aserviced hut, but they ensured it was operated by volunteers selling drinks and snacks while there was an additional tea and coffee station setupnext to the practice putting green for people to grab and go.

The club alsomade their own highvis vests andtheir own lanyards to identify members as an officialvolunteer

Hosting the event and the subsequent award were proud moments in aclub history dating back–officially –nearly 100years, somethingwhich will,initself, spark further celebrationsinthe next five years.

Minutes of the Shropshire Golf Union reveal Shifnal Golf Club as a member in 1913, theyear the union

was formed. However,there are no official club records from the period to substantiate it and, so, the earliest true evidence of club is from ameeting on April 8, 1929 held at the Jerningham Arms, Shifnal.

The club’s previous course consisted of arentednine holes on and around Lodge Hill and the clubhouse facilities comprised aroom in aprivate house known as Sunnyside.

Various course alterations were completed by 1936 including adding bunkers and the re-routing of holes to relieve course congestion.

The course was extended to 18 holes before the Second World Warstarted, a month later

In 1941, an order by the War Agricultural Executive Committee dictated that seven of the nine new holes required ploughing up for food production and they were never reinstated.

Post-war facilities were basic.

In August 1956,the club purchased the clubhouse and land including the first and final hole, financed by loans from the members.

The club became owner of this small part of the course and rented the holes around Lodge Hill from the landowner on an annual tenancy.

In 1963, as negotiations to purchase arenewed lease proved unsuccessful, the club relocated,

The beautiful Georgian Country House and adjacent land at Decker Hill

came on the market and asum of £25,500 was agreed to buy the house and 113 acres of land.

The purchase was financed by members loans together with the proceeds from the sale of the old clubhouse and adjoining land.

By December 1963, the layout of the new course designed by Mr J.J.F Pennick of golfarchitects T.CCotton and Partners was approved.

Play on 18 holes at Decker Hill became possible in late 1966 but over the following years the greens caused considerable problems as tight finance had meant that they were not constructed to modern standards.

Aplan was put in place for 18 greens to new improved specifications and work commenced following the AGMin January 1982.

Finance again dictated how the work could be done and the club took the decision to useits ownstaff,and an ambitious programme was worked out to construct six greens ayear.Work was eventually deemed fully completed in the spring of 1989 and the rest, they say,is history,though sights are now set on an exciting future.

“Our centenary year is in 2029 so we are thinking about options to host something in line with that,” Steve adds. And whatever is planned, it will again be down to the work of great volunteers and staff

Ladies captain Clare Gilg insists: “That teamwork is very much whatwe

are about. We are so proud of the award we received. We didn’t expect to win, alongside such illustrious company to be honest.

“But, as wereflectnow,these things don’t happen on their own. There was a whole team who put alot of work in and everyone pulled together

“Across the whole spectrum of membership, people pitched in and volunteered and now we are all looking forward to stepping up our centenary plans in the comingyears.”

All eyes will be on what the club has planned and, after collecting sucha prestigious award, the interest will be far and wide.

“The award has put us on the map,” Clare adds. “It’s been brilliant

for the county. When people read about England golf competitions happening in Shropshire, it brings people here to see what our coursesare like so it canonlybe agood thing really.”

PAGE 55: Greens Director Ben Gilg, Lady Captain ClareGilg, Men’s Captain Ian Worrall, Lady President Kathy James and Match Director FrankGardner with the England Golf Tournament Venue of the Year award.

PAGE 56, TOP: Members Alan Hammond and Phil Groves; Mark Bowater lines up aputt and the lush course at Shifnal

PAGE 57, TOP: SteveHawk and Frank Gardner collect the award; the professionals and ground staff at the club.

STRICTLY STAR ON COUNTYSTAGE

STRICTLYWINNER AND FORMER SOAP STAR ELLIELEACH IS SWAPPING THE DANCEFLOOR FOR THE STAGE IN HER DEBUT THEATRE ROLE, IN ATOUR THATCOMES TO THECOUNTY THIS MONTH

We’re not sure about the guilty party,yet, or the weapon but surely the ballroom is acontender for the location of where the dastardly crime was committed in Cluedo 2–The Next Chapter?

Perhaps acaseofmurder on the dancefloor? After all, reigning Strictly champion Ellie Leach is among the stars of the show,arriving at Shrewsbury’s Severn Theatre from April 23-27.

Ellie, of course, waltzed her way to victory with dance partner Vito Coppola to win the Glitterball Trophy in December,and was also known to millions of viewers as Faye Windass in Coronation Street, apart she played for 12 years.

Now she will make her stage acting debut as Miss Scarlett in the UK tour of Cluedo 2, joined by Jason Durr,who stars as Colonel Mustard.

Jason is well known for television roles such as David Hide in BBCOne’s Casualty, acharacter he played for seven years from 2016, and policeman Mike Bradley from ITV’s Heartbeat.

Based on the classic Hasbro board game, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year,a five-month UK tour marks the world premiere of Cluedo 2. It is written by BAFTA Award winning writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and directed by the award-winning Mark Bell.

ForEllie and Jason it was achanceto star in ashowtheysimply couldn’t turn down.

“This is my first stage play and Iam very excited to be playing Miss Scarlett,” said Ellie, ahead of her stage debut.

“It is nerve-wracking as it’s something completely different to TV but Ireally want to push myself out of my comfort zone. Ayear ago, Iwould never have expected Strictly,then the Strictly arena tour and now Cluedo 2tohappen. Iamso grateful as Miss Scarlett is such an iconic character to play.”

Jason reflects: “I have done an enormous amount of television but there is nothing quite like performing in front of alive audience and making people laugh. Iamlooking forward to going back to my roots, acting on stage, and getting

my funny bones going again in the form of this rip-roaringcomedy

“When Iread the scripts for the first time,Iwas in aquiet coach on atrain andIstarted hooting with laughter! A lady told me to be quiet but Icouldn’t help but laugh throughout. It’s going to be phenomenal to bring comedy and a classic whodunnit to the stage where the audience get to be the detective.”

Both roles have been cleverly reinvented to fit in with the new setting of the play in the rock and roll 1960s –something Ellie and Jason are both hugely excited by

“Atfirst, MissScarlett seems like butter won’t melt,” reveals Ellie. “She is an interior designer and she seems very unassuming. Butasthe play develops, well….. people may not be quite what they seem. Cluedo is, afterall, athriller and murder mystery game!”

Colonel Mustard is also hiding secrets and Jason adds: “Weare going to be reinventing the narrative. Rick Black is arock star in the play and Mustard is his manager.Like Elvis had the Colonel, this chap has Mustard! He thinks he knows

what he is doing but he doesn’t really.”

The icing on the cake, admit Ellie and Jason, is the chance to work alongside the show’s critically acclaimed director Mark Bell, who is also the director behind the global hit, The Play That Goes Wrong.

“Mark is the past master at mishap and mayhem and he has his finger on the pulse,” says Jason. “This is the perfect tonic we need right now in the world we are living in.”

The Cluedo boardgame represents an iconic partofBritish heritage. Most of us have played it at some point.

And Jason actually took things astep further.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve played Colonel Mustard,” he jokes. “I used to play him and the game as akid. Igrew up in Hong Kong and the one game we loved was Cluedo. I’ve introduced it to my children now too.”

Ellie adds that she loves how unique the characters are. “Everyone can define who all the characters are,” shecontinues. “They are very distinctive.”

Determined to throw everything into the new production, the pair are working hard behind the scenes to make sure it’s another huge success.

Jason hopes to be suretosteady his stage nerves whilst Ellie is drawing from

her experience performing in front of thousands on her recent Strictly arena UK tour

“All the cast havewelcomed me with such open arms,” she says. “Thousands came to watch the Strictly tour andit did give me asense of what it is like to perform in front of alive audience.

“It’s also going to be amazing to take on this new experience and do something different to TV,which is practically at the other end of the acting scale. Television is

very naturalistic and, on stage, everything happens athousandtimes bigger.But that’s what is so exciting.

“My family can’t wait to come and watch me in this show,” she adds. “Obviously after going on tour with Strictly,Ihave nowhad experience of living out of asuitcase and what is great about this show is Iamgoing back to acting again.

“I was known for many years as Faye Windass and, as amazing as that was, it was then nice for people to find out more about me and my personality on Strictly

“Now it’s going to be great to transform myself into anew character.I love how Cluedo 2isperfect for everyone in the family and it is lovely how people really enjoy murder mysteries!”

n To pick up tickets, visit theatresevern.co.uk

PAGE 60: Strictly winner and former Coronation Street Star Ellie Leach

PAGE 61: Ellie with her Strictly parner Vito Coppola; co-writer Maurice Gran; Director Mark Bell; inset: Jason Durr

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BEN’SSIMPLY THE BEST FORBUSINESS

ANDY RICHARDSON CATCHES UP WITH ACREATIVE FORCE OF NATURE WHO HAS SHAPED THE FUTURE OF SCORES OF FIRMS AND ORGANISED ASERIES OF MARQUEE CULTURAL EVENTS

Westart at the end, because that’s when BenStone becomes most animated.

The creative force from Ludlow,who has helped shape the futures of scores of Shropshire businesses and who has played an important part in a series of marquee events, is talking about the things that make him happy

And rather than reeling off alistof achievements –award wins, helping attract live music to Ludlow Castle, creating an identity for Ludlow Food Festival or Ludlow Arts Festival, and much, much more besides –hetalks about something more important: the people who he works with.

“I really enjoy the creative side of the business,” says the entrepreneur who designs websites, creates brands, and manages the digital footprint of many of his clients.

“And the best part of all is working with individuals and businesses and helping those businesses to grow.Wetry to makea real difference to them. When we do acampaign that’s successful, we’re thrilled –that’s the biggest buzz of all.

“Some of our clients have been with us for 20-years-plus. It’sa privilege to see them grow.There’s acompany out at WenlockEdge who we’ve worked with over time and in the early days they were knocking stuff up in buckets. Now they have aseven-storey factory.Being part of that journey and making asmall contribution to their success is the most exciting part of all.”

Ben is genuinely enthused. “There are examples like that, all over the place, where we can say we’ve worked with businesses and seen them fly. It’s tremendously rewarding.”

But we’ve skipped ahead and should go back to the start. Ben started work beforehe’d left school. He reviewed computer games when he was 13, 14, and 15, at atime when the publishing industry was booming and magazines enjoyed six-figure circulations. Soon after,he earned an apprentice with the late Ludlow mayor,Graeme Kidd, who was himself an entrepreneur and innovator,who ran design and tech businesses. Iworked directly for Graeme and learned alot.”

Ben wrote for Crash Magazine, when it was the 35th best-selling magazine in the UK, with acirculation of 140,000 per month. There were two full-time members of staff,including Ben, who was just 16. “They’d send me to Soho, in London, when Iwas 16 or 17.Iwas the staff writer and Iwould be sent to the arcades to play on the imported games machines. They’d send me with bags of 10p coins and then I’d come back and write all about it.”

He did astint at What’s On, in Shropshire, and was one of the early

pioneers who used Apple Mac computers, at an ad agency.Herose throughthe ranks, become anassociateeditor of a computer magazine, before deciding to start his own business. The year was 1990 and Ben was just 20.

“I think Ihad £47whenIstarted the business. Iwas really lucky because there was aspare office with aMac in Stanton Lacy,near Ludlow,where Ilived. So I rented the office and aMac. Ididn’t earn any money at all for 10 years. When the girlfriend’s dole cheque came in it was a real event.”

Ben was agraphic designeraround thetime thatPhotoshop was developed. “It was very DIY in those early years. The technology was all very clunky andIhad to learn alot of technical stuff to make it work, these days it’s on aplate.”

He designed posters for bands, brochures, and did alot of work with the Children’s Society.There was amagazine for computers and after Ben surfed the wave of fast-changing digital technology

“There was no email when we started our business.Itwas all done by letters, or,if you were lucky,byfax, though not everyone had afax. It’s overwhelming the difference in what’s achievable by asmall group of people now.”

He eventually changed his business partners and forged apathalone, taking people on as he grew his business, which remains located in atiny hamlet near Ludlow

The slew of awards that he’s won are testament to his reputation in an industry that is ever-changing. In 1999, he secured an accolade from the PR Awards for ajob he’d done for Shropshire Chamber of Commerce. The E-Commerce Awards named Ben’s company the UK’s best in 2003 for awebsite ithad produced for The Ludlow Sausage Company

Further accolades followed before in 2019 the business was named the Rural Business in the Midlands.

Ben’s company,called The Visual Works, specialises in branding, design, and digital services. “We’re really happy working with small, local independent businesses and start-ups.That’s our key work. We do loads of corporate work for big businesses, whether that’s councils or massive engineering companies. We might create the livery for vehicles, the

development of internal communication systems, or branding on clothing and hats. The range of things we do feels almost endless.”

The Visual Works features asmall team –typically around six people –and that size means it’s adaptable. “We’re always looking to the future in terms of technology.Wechangethe way we do things and the services we offer according to what’s going on in the wider world. We are incredibly lucky that almost all our work comes through referrals.

“If you do something really well and get on with your clients, you get more work. It’s that simple. We get the feedback that the experience people have with us is different from what they have with other agencies.

“All of our business comes from the fact that we do areallygood job. We don’t over-promise, or over sell and we always deliver on what we say.”

That’s been arecipefor success for several decades –and there’s every reason to believe it will continue.

PAGE 62, TOP: Ben has worked on a number of local events including Ludlow Food Festival; taking inspiration from his surroundings; Ben helped bring livemusic to LudlowCastle

PAGE 63: Helping local businesses thrive gives Ben areal buzz.

CHEF’S PASSION FOR THEFINESTDINING

ED THOMAS’ LATEST FOOD JOURNEY SEES HIM MEET STUART COLLINS TO FIND OUT ABOUT DOCKET RESTAURANT

With more than two decades’ experience behind astove, Stuart Collins has aCV brimming with big names and littered with Michelin Stars. It’sa far cry from his first job, which, like most top chefs, was washing up!

Even from these early days in the corner of the kitchen Stuart observed and learnt before gettingmore and more exposure to working with the produce.

He soon progressed, working at a large pub where the head chef encouraged Stuart to go to culinary college.

It was during his time at college in Birmingham that Stuart gained his first experience of famous names.

Having performed well in his studies Stuart was selected for work experience placements, first with Gary Rhodes and then with Michael Caines who then offered Stuart his first job after completing his college course.

This job, in the south west of England, was the firststep in aglobal journey taking in global cities and many exciting opportunities.

It was working with Caines at Gidleigh Park that kick-started Stuart’s development as aprofessionalchef

Young chefs there spent afull calendar year on one section in the kitchen, starting on garnishes and progressing to larder, being let loose on more and more valuable produce until eventually,after three years, working on the meat and fish section.

After four years in Devon it was time to move on. From Gidleigh Park Stuart jumped into aworld famous kitchen at Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea –Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Stuart explained that the three-star restaurant was adifferent world and the most fabulous experience. He must have done something right because Stuart was then asked to join the kitchen brigade at Mr Ramsay’s New York eatery The London NYC.

Every single one of the 147 chefs has previous Michelin Star experience, so it was no wonder that The London NYC achieved two Michelin Stars in its first year

Areturn to the UK, and to working

for Michael Caines beckoned. By now an executive chef,Stuart opened the restaurant at the Abode Hotel in Chester where he also met wife Frances who now leads all things front of house at Docket Restaurant.

The lure of overseas travel pulled Stuart and Fran to Qatar,where for five years they were involved in several hotel and restaurant openings.

It was this experience, leading ateam of chefs with 39 nationalities and culinary cultures, that Stuart explained created the best staff meals, with constant learning opportunities and areminder of why the world of food and drink is so enticing.

Learning from fellow chefs and the day-to-day camaraderie built during long hours in the kitchen has developed aglobal web of friends and culinary contacts that Stuart is still able to draw

on for inspiration. Stuart’s former colleagues now find themselves all over the world, from New Zealand and California to Scotland and London, so why Whitchurch?

Having moved back to the UK again Stuart and Fran were set on opening their own restaurant.

They looked around and came across the North Shropshire market town of Whitchurch.

At the time, while it was abusyplace, it wasn’t exactly aculinary hotspot

What it did have was avibrant high street with great independent businesses doing what they do very well.

There was also clear evidence of alocal communityofpassionate producers and growers, totally focussed on delivering the finest ingredient and produce with real provenance. Businesses

like Appleby’s Cheese, Will Macken’s Shropshire Salumiand TomHolt’s Paso-Primero, amongst many others,all became suppliers, andfriends.

It’s this food heritage that Stuart and Fran believe makes Shropshire avery special place.

It all felt avery good fit, so with suitable premises secureditwas time to prepare to open their own restaurant in August 2017, now almost sevenyears ago.

Right from the beginning, Docket Restaurant has been about welcoming guests for anon-pretentious yet premium experience.

Over the years the offer has evolved but the ethos has remained the same –they want gueststoenjoy arelaxed environment with great service and an excellent dining experience.

What is on the plate is centre stage, but it’s only enhanced by the environment guests sit in and the service they experience.

That’s why the restaurant continues to evolve, having justreopened after amini refurbishment in February 2024 where there were tweaks here and alterations there, all combining to further emphasise the attention to detail that helps deliver on the ethos.

It’s all got just that little bit more grown-up, moresophisticated, more 2024 and areflection of the direction Stuart and Fran areshaping theexperience they

deliver for guests. So, what’s next for Docket Restaurant?

Stuart explained that they have been really lucky to have built aloyal following of return guests visiting from far and wide, he wants to continue to evolve the restaurant and the experiencefor them and for the town which has developed in to agenuine foodie hotspot.

ForStuartit’s about continuing to deliver wow experiences. He wants all guests to leave with agenuine wow feeling. From experienced fine diners to first-timers enjoying abig birthday or a life milestone, he wants everyone to have experienced something new,or different and when they leave thinking ‘wow’.

Coming soon is another restaurant reshuffle. This time focused in the kitchen itself

The kitchen will be reorganised, made open for guests to be able to witness the small brigade delivering each courseof the tasting menu. There will be achef ’s counter and some new equipment. The chef ’s counter will give thosediners an close-up experience of the kitchen.

The equipment will add more strings to Stuart’s bow,more processes enabled, more finishing options and new dishes developed.

Stuart and Fran promise to continue to up the ante and constantly evolve the experience their guests receive, so book now to avoid disappointment.

FOODREVIEW:

ASUPERB EXAMPLE OF FINE DINING

ANDY RICHARDSON STOPPED OFF AT APUB WHERE THE FOOD QUALITY AND SERVICE MADE IT AMEMORABLE VISIT

Brunning &Price, the new owners of the Mytton & Mermaid, at Atcham near Shrewsbury,have agreat track record.

Formany years they’ve successfully run venues across the county, with The Armoury, at Shrewsbury,being alongstanding favourite, and The Fox, at Newport, also earning its spurs.

The Mytton &Mermaid wasacquired after facing challenges during and after Covid. It was closed, underwent an extensive refurbishment,and secured the pubs chain its highest ever saleswhenit re-opened in June.

Since then, it’s gone from strength to strength, and on a filthy,rainy,and cold mid-week evening, on aday –Tuesday –when most restaurantsare empty, it was reasonably full. That’s what acquiring a good reputation does.

The premises were built originally as aprivatehouse on the banks of the River Severn, which may havedated from as early as 1725, commissioned by Richard Hill of Tern Hall,which would later become AttinghamHall, astunning National Trustpropertyopen to visitors that sits opposite.

Since then it has had many names, the Talbot Arms, the Berwick Arms before settling on the unusual Mytton and Mermaid in the 1930s after being purchased by the famous architect Sir Clough Williams Ellis, who developed the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales.

The business has changed radically Once it had asparsely filled restaurant but alargenumberofrooms that catered for weddings. Now the dining room is teeming and providing great food and drink has become the axis.

The joys of Brunning &Price pubs is that you can usually be sure to get a table. They’re no fuss, they’re reliable, the

food is consistent and anumber of dishes appear across the group so if you’ve got a favourite –and in this hungry reviewer’s case, it’s crispy beef with asweet chilli salad –you can eat it at different venues.

Ibooked alast-minute table. An unexpected chat with afriend had inspired a‘let’s go out for dinner tomorrow’conversation, andtables were available.

Service was great. Brunning &Price have ayoung team and staff are well trained. The restaurant manager was polished, assured, confident and high quality

When my friend asked aquestion about aparticularly producer,she rattled off along, impressively knowledgeable answer

Similarly,the young team supporting her were great. Well-dressed, polite, and with good people skills, they were attentive, efficient, and added to the evening’s experience.

They also looked happy in their jobs –service with asmile makes all the difference and their ability to engage was welcome.

The refurbishment has brought about quantum change.The earlier version of Mytton &Mermaid was fine. It earned accreditation from AA, it was reasonably

smart, there were moments of creditable achievement. The new version is avast improvement. The dining space has been smartened up and opened up. It’s in keeping with the cool, rustic, rural chic that features at similar venues, making it acomfortable, desirable, and ever-soslightly aspirational place in whichtoeat.

It runs like clockwork, it’s comfortable, and there was agood ambience when we visited for our midweek supper

The food, of course, has to be the equal of the environment and the service and happily it was.

Istarted with three wild mushroom arancini with apickled mushroom salad. They were decent. The arancini was still alittle moist andthe rice al dente. It was earthy and full of umami flavours that were nicely undercut by amarvellously acidulated salad. The dish was balanced, both in terms of flavours andinterms of textures.

Myfriend’s BBQ jack fruit bao bun was served with apineapple salsa that was acarnival on the plate. Sweet and spicy,soft and yielding, it was alight, flavoursome, playful way in which to start.

Our mains were great. My friend ordered abrilliant, moist sticky lime and ginger chicken breast with ared Thai

curry sauce, coconut rice and pak choi. The chicken was magnificent, the sauce creamy and warming,the rice and veg on-point.

My crispy beef salad with asweet chilli sauce, roasted cashew nuts and leaves was delicious. Topmarks for both.

Desserts were decent –alight, feathery,indulgent sticky toffee pudding, and an intense dark chocolate tartwith a sharp, sweet, sorbet –and the standard of service remained high through the night.

The bill was eminently reasonable; prices are spot-on, neither too high, nor too low,and we’d had athoroughly pleasant andenjoyable evening.

There are some who’d rather Shropshire were dominated by small, independent restaurants,rather than the all-conquering colossi of such chains of Brunning &Price.

They have an argument, which is eloquently articulated on WhatsApp conversations, in pubs, in restaurants, and elsewhere. And yet, such debates about business can’t be factored into asimpler question which is this: but is it any good?

The answer is avery strong yes.

The project has been executed with great professionalism and skill. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of where it used to be and will be successful for avery long time.

CULINARY GEMIN IDYLLIC SETTING

ANDY RICHARDSON MEETS WILLEM AND PIPPA, ACOUPLE WHOSE RESTAURANT OLD DOWNTON LODGE IS THRIVING IN THE HEART THECOUNTY’S GASTRONOMIC SCENE

Willem Vlok looks out across the beautiful courtyard at Old Downton Lodge.

Spring is here and warmer temperatures, green shoots, and the air of promise linger

Willem and his partner,Pippa, have been at Old Downton for 13 years –“lucky for some,” he says –and they love to see the seasons change. Their restaurant with rooms is at the forefront of Shropshire’s gastronomic scene and has been for some years.

As Old Downton gears up for an influx of spring and summer guests, Willem and Pippa are gladtohave retained their position at the heart of the county’s culinary scene.

“Things are looking up,” says Willem. “It’s been atough old time for alot of independents, with the cost of living crisis, Covid, the rise in energy costs, and so many other things.

“But we love it at this time of year We’ve increased the capacity of the restaurant with new tables and chairs. We

used to have nine rooms and we only had nine tables, which meant there were times when we were limited to catering only for our guests. Now we can do about 28 covers and still with one sitting, that’s a massive increase for us.”

Old Downton is amagical, almost mystical place. Located off the beaten track, ashort-ish drive from Ludlow,it’s located in some of Shropshire’s most

beautiful and least spoiled countryside. The drive to the venue is almost as alluring as thebuildings themselves.

Parts of Old Downton aresoancient that history merges with legend: its renovation so sympathetic and creative that guests may confuse fact with fiction. Amixture of buildings –medieval, half-timbered and Georgian –surround aherb and flower-bedecked courtyard that looks out towards the Hereford hills. The venue offers pure escapism –a chance to immerse in history and enjoy an experience that will live long in the memory

The sittingroom is redolent of its previous incarnation –there is no hiding the fact it this was once an impressive milking barn. Mighty timbers thatonce fronted stalls now provide seating from which to watch the roaring log burner, socialise and enjoy adrink from the bar –orinsummertocontemplate the spectacular sunsets over the Herefordshire hills.

Willem and Pippa havecreated a

museum, which is the most mysterious room of all –for astart no one knows the origins of its name. The space has a huge huge cidermill that can still trundle powerfully around its stone trough, providing adramatic focal point to a room which is ideal for small weddings, birthday parties, conferences, and receptions.

The map shows Old Downton Lodge is just six miles from Ludlow –yet those six miles seem to transportyou through time to abygoneage. As the lanes narrow,even the most jaundiced traveller will be mesmerised by the abundance of wildlife and the feeling that they have rediscovered the lost England of Housman andShakespeare.

Although modern roads will lead you to its doorstep, Old Downton Lodge is well off the beaten track –and far away from light pollution: This is the place to see velvety night skiessprinkledwith a myriad of stars. Even the grounds seem timeless –there’s theremains of an ancient Motte andthe cottage garden just invites you to take aseat,relax and enjoy a glass of wine.

Willem says: “There are lots of reasons why people travel here. Yes, we servethe local community,the people of Ludlow,south Shropshire and beyond. But we also welcome people from further afield, from the northofthe county,from Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and those who see us as adestination.”

The closure of Penson’s, near Tenbury Bells, has accentuateddemand. Willem adds: “Wewere very sorry to see Penson’s

go. That was very sad and amassive blow to the area. Losing arestaurant with aMichelin star was agreat shame People are clearly looking for alternatives now and we hope that they’ll find good hospitality when they visit us.”

Willem and Pippa began 13 years ago, in 2011, when they ran OldDownton Lodge as aB&B.A food offering soon developed and the appointment of the venue’s former chef,Karl Martin, helped to secure AA rosettes and astrong reputation for gastronomy

The venue’s present chef,the exceptional Nick Bennett, replaced his predecessor in 2019 and has gone from strength to strength. Willem adds: “The pandemic disrupted us but we came out of that well, which is atestament

to Nick’s food. We have the friendliest, nicest people working with us. Everyone just praises ourstaff.That’s something that you can’t train. They just love what they do and it’s ahappy working environment.

“It’s agreat location and there’s brilliant history.People think they’re stepping back in time when they come here because it’s unchanged over the years. People are amazed by how beautiful it is.

“Wemake apoint of celebrating local produce, so Herefordshire beef is on the menu, there is local lamb, and artichokes from the garden, which we dig up. As far as possible, Nick uses people like Wall’s Butchers, in Craven Arms; Lane Cottage Produce; Ludlow Food Centre for some great cheeses; and Wenlock Edgefor bacon and sausage for breakfast, as well as charcuterie.

“We’ve been in the area since 1996, so we know all of these producers and there are new ones coming up constantly.”

Nick was aprize find forthe restaurant. Originally from Leamington Spa, Nick became known to millions when he reached the finals of BBC2’s MasterChef: The Professionals screened on Christmas Eve2015. He worked at Michelin Star and 3AArosette level for aprolonged period of time, winning numerous awards along the way

Willem adds: “Wehave ahigh-quality, balanced team. It’s very stable. And as spring arrives, we’re looking forward to making the most of the new season produce and welcoming our guests.”

ALAND OF MAGIC

TANNERS CHAIRMAN JAMES TANNER EXPLORES SLOVENIA’S UNIQUE WINE COUNTRY

Slovenia –not to be confused with Slovakia –was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918, later it would become the northernmost part of Yugoslavia.

In the 1970s, private businesses evolved where previously there had only been cooperatives. Slovenia became independent in 1991 and joined the EU in 2004. Yugoslavia’s soft brand of communism left alegacy of localism and communitymindedness, which perhaps has helped to create avibrant wine industry

Slovenia is aremarkably clean and green (both in colour andoutlook) country.It’s amecca for food and wine lovers, walkers, fishermen and cyclists.

The vineyards’ latitude is similar to that of Northern Italy and further over, the Mâconnais and the Northern Rhône in France. Summers are hotand winters are wet, with hills and mountains creating many microclimates. Vines are generally grown on slopes, some quite steep.

According to the OxfordCompanion to Wine there are over 20,000 ha of vines and 29,000 wine growers, with 70 per cent of the production being white wine. Quality control by theauthorities is strict, which hasled to wines of high standards, these are largely drunk domestically with increasingamounts being exported.

Skin contact whites and orange wines are common, perhaps aUSP when exports markets are already awash with

fresh dry whites. Soils, being mostly limestone, are particularly good for growing high-qualitygrapesand Slovenia has plenty of limestone, giving the world the word ‘karst’ for the description of landforms, and claims to have some of the world’s best underground cave systems, the most famous being thePostojna Cave.

We travelled the length andbreadth of the country and started in Podravje wine region in Maribor,Slovenia’ssecond city and the capital of Štajerska Slovenija, which is close to Graz in Austria.

Maribor has awonderfully eccentric restaurant called Mak and also the oldest vine in the world, or so they claim.

Not far away,atthe end of asteep lane and only 5kmfromthe Austrian border, is theDoppler Winery.It’s a strikingly modern structure with clean lines of concrete, expanses of glass giving

panoramic viewsand the fermentation and maturation areas buried within the hilltop.

At over 1,000 feet above sea level, it looks over the PesnicaValley and the Šentilj Hills at the tail-end of the Alps. Mihaela Kopse runs the estate, and it was her grandfather,Ivan Doppler,who bought it in 1938, thoughwinemaking origins here go all the way back to 1816.

Mihaela took over from her mother, but she credits her grandfather with teaching her alot. He died at the age of 92, but not before his wedding ring was returned from Germany,many years after he was held in Dachau concentration camp. The ring features on one of their wine labels.

With 2,000 sunshine hours and 1,000 mm of rain per year,there are large night and day temperature variations that lead to bright fruit flavours. Mihaela andher daughters are committed to nature and respect for traditions. They converted to organic in 2021 so will shortly be certified, though in facttheyhaven’t used pesticides for nine years.

After several more winery visits, we finished our trip via Gorizia in Italy, our Slovenian guide explaining that this nonsensical border had been devised by American GIs after World WarII.

We returned via Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital and must-see Lake Bled which, with its church-crowned island, features in almost any travel article on Slovenia.

FOODIEPAIR GRAB PIZZATHE ACTION

MATTHEW PANTER MEETS ANGELA TWIGG AND SARA THOMAS, TWO WOMENFROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS WHO HAVE TEAMED UP AND ARE IN THE PINK WITH THEIR POP-UPBUSINESS

Variety is the spice of life, they say.And, in this case, we’re not just talking about pineapple, ham, cheese and different types of pizza toppings.

Instead, we’re talking about how Ludlow’s Pizza Girls –Angela Twigg and Sara Thomas –have enjoyed careers full of variety

The pair are making areal mark in business, at pop-ups around Ludlow, including the brewery and village halls, as well as events like the Shrewsbury Flower Show

But making pizzas –now something they simply love –wasn’t always their calling.

Both haveshone in other ways, succeeding in everything they have done.

Forexample, Angela’s background was in theatre, running acommunity group –Integreat Theatre.

The theatregroup aims to break down barriers and bridge the gap between deaf and hearing communities through performance and drama and promoting the use of sign language.

Sara does have abackground as a trained chef,having previously worked for the Forte Group in places such as Stratford, Windsor and London, as well working in Spain.

The pair first worked together when they set up acarpentrybusiness called Hammered nPlastered.

“It was great to have achange of direction,” says Sara. “For me, Ihave always liked doing very practical things

where you do something and can then see an end result.

“Sara and Iwere DIY fanatics and did awoodwork course,” adds Angela. “We started doing plastering and things as a hobby but we then found, particularly,a lot of older women wanted us to go and do work for them.

“Weended up setting up an awardwinning business and one that thrived. I feel we have shown we can turn anything we do into apositive story.”

Health issues led to the pair bringing an end to Hammered nPlastered but that was not the end of the story

The pair,with abright pink horse box, have continued their success story with The Pizza Girls, wowing people around the town with their delicious food, after setting up four years ago.

“It started as just ahobby really,” says Angela. “Welived in Clee Hill and had lots of clay in thegarden.

“Wealways wanted apizza oven as Sarahad been achefand so went to Centre for AlternativeTechnology in Wales and built one!

“Wepaid £90 and you can do acourse and build an oven out of clay for your garden, which is what we did.

“After that, we would ask lots of

different friends around and would cook and trial different pizzas.”

The response was overwhelmingly positive. The local pub, the Bennett’s End Inn, then invited the pair do make pizzas.

“Weadvertised it to people in the pub and had 100 people come,” Angela reflects. “Welaunched it there and it became so popular and we turned it into a business.”

They were originally called Mother Earth Pizza, but Angela remembers: “Every time people in Ludlow saw us, they would just say ‘there’s the pizza girls!’ And so it stuck.

“Wechanged our nameand rebranded. It was risky but we went big. We got ahorsebox and made it pink and we had abespoke, pink and sparkly pizza oven. We launched at Ludlow Brewery and things grew

“Wereally took off in Covid. We thought outside the box andset up in car parks during lockdown and had 15-minutes time slots that people would pre-book. It made us take off and we became more popular.”

Now the pair arewell known right across the town, forever out and about travelling to different locations and events.

“Wejust love it,” Angela enthuses.

“Weget invited to people’s parties to serve pizzas and it’s great.Ithardly feels like work really! We just have fun and Idosilly TikTok dances sometimes to entertain people. Ilove alittle boogie!”

“I think we just lovemeeting people,” says Sara. “Itishard work and long hours, the preparation before and packing away after.But it’s rewarding. People seem to love our pizzas which is good and we have agreat following. We can’t thank them enough really.”

Angela adds: “Wechangethe menu now and again, adding specials, but meat feast, peperoni, ham and pineapple are popular.Wehave people travel to us from various places and we have even had someone come from Devon justtoget a pizza!”

The pair areset for another busy year with events such as the Ludlow Spring Festival andthe Ludlow Food Festival to comeaswell as araft of special occasions such as weddings and parties.

“It’s great because we have so many happy events to be apart of,” Sara concludes. “Weare looking forward to what will hopefully be another great year.”

It should be one full of variety too, fitting in with the duo’s rich and rewarding lives.

ADROPTOSAVOUR

Whether you’re awine geek, enjoy the simple pleasures of adecent drop, or are ahedonist in the cellar, chances are there’s abottle you’ve been saving for ‘best’ that’s languishing on the shelf

Proving the old adage, there’s no time like the present, crack open one of these…

1. Morandé Terrarum Patrimonial Semillon 2022, Maule Valley, Chile, £9.99, Waitrose

Clean as awhistle and super refreshing, this one offers astreak of lime acidity with vibrant citrusy fruits, concentrated lemon, awaxy texture with notes of savoury herbs and amouthwatering finish exuding lemony freshness. Fantastic with fish and chips.

2. Yalumba Gen Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2022, South Australia, £11, Ocado

With awelcoming blossomy nose,

hints of passion fruit, lemon grass and herbs and delicious freshness, it alsohas tropical fruit flavours, ahint of minerality and apure, crisp finish.

3. Robert Oatley Semaphore McLaren Vale Shiraz 2021, Australia, £10.50, Co-op, in-store

This great-value red from awardwinning producer Robert Oatley showcases how dependably delicious a stylish shiraz can be. Plush,polished and generous with aforest floorof blackberry fruits, savoury spice laced with fragrant black cherries and smooth, silky,lengthy finish, it’s impressive from word go.

4. Asda ExtraSpecial Cru De Beaujolais Fleurie 2021, France, £11, Asda

Beautifully fragrant with an open bouquet of rose petals, asilky palate of dark cherry fruit andripe blackcurrant lifted by floral notes, with savoury accents on the finish.

5. The Wine Society’sGeneration Series Haut-Médoc 2019, Bordeaux, France, £14.95

Abordeaux to broaden your horizons, 2019 is cited as an excellent vintage and don’t be surprised if you’re blown away by the rhapsody of rich ripe fruit, intensity on the palate, concentration and silky textured tannins… plus we applaud the price. The wine opens up with exquisite florals, exotic spice, opulent blackberry and blackcurrant fruit with cedar notes lingering on the finish.

6. Mythral Rosé 2023, Côtes de Provence, £15.99, (£13.99 Mix Six), Majestic

An eye-catching rosé for all seasons, and with its grace and charm,this is a wine to have on standby whatever the weather.This ballet-slipper pink offers enticing aromas and flavours of peach blossom, red berries, awhisper of citrus, herbal nuances and has afresh, minerally finish.

CRACK OPEN SOMETHING YOU’VE SET ASIDE TO HITTHE SWEET SPOT,SAYS SAM WYLIE HARRIS

LEADINGTHE WAY

ANDY RICHARDSON HIGHLIGHTS THE BEAUTY TO BE FOUND ON AN EPIC COUNTY WALK

There are endless walks across Shropshire thatillustrate the beauty of towns and villages across the county.Only one, however,manages to bring that beauty together –and that’s the Shropshire Way.

Originally devised in 1980, the Shropshire Waywas a136-mile trail running mainly through thecounty’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,the Shropshire Hills featuring the great hog’s back of the Long Mynd, the mysterious outcrops of the Stiperstones andthe unique Wenlock Edge.

Links from the south of the county then took it to Wemand on to Whitchurch where it met theSandstone Trail. In 2007, amajor two-year programme upgraded the southern sections and “tweaked” the route to take it to places that were not possible to access in 1980. Anew guidebookwas written, the Shropshire Walking website expanded and aHarvey map created.

But the “Shroppy”Way still did not take people to some of the wonderful places in the north of the county so another programme of work started in 2010 using European LEADER funding. This time new routes were created in partnership with the Ramblers, local walking groups, the Canal and Rivers

Trust, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Pughs andNatural England taking the walker to the mystical Oswestry uplands and the Meres and mosses landscape that makes this area so special.

The Waywas extended to include: Llanymynech with its fascinating Hoffmann lime kiln, Old Oswestry racecourse with its figure of eight track so loved by Mad Jack Mytton, Chirk world heritage site, Ellesmere, Fennsand Whixall mosses that are internationally important RAMSAR nature reserves and Brown Moss nature reserve.

There is something other-worldly about the north of Shropshire –a watery landscape of green and blue which seems to be lit up from within. Glacial lakes and canals weave through acountryside with some amazing heritage and attractions.

By Offa’s Dyke in the west is Llanymynech where the wildlife is as interesting as the remainsof the 19th century limeworks. At Chirk,the World Heritage Site of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal begins as Thomas Telford’s aqueduct carries the waterway highover the Ceiriog Valley before plunging into the 400 metres of The Darkie tunnel. There’s Hawkstone Park, near Wem, an 18th century fantasyofgrottos and follies which made just the rightlocation for the TV adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia. And Ellesmere, where in spring you can watch heronshatch their young and enjoy the lakeside views anytime of year

The market towns have character And decent beer.Stonehouse of Oswestry, and Joules of Market Drayton are twoof the local breweries. Artists and musicians seem to like it here so there’s plenty going on. The walks along canal towpaths and around the Meres and Mosses are not strenuous, but allow plenty of time, look closely and you’ll spot wildlife and heritage that you’ll probably see nowhere else.

n Visit: www.shropshirewalking.co.uk where you can download the guides and maps as well as the podcastssponsored by alocal company Pughs.

Awintersunset from Stiperstones and belowasprawlingview of the county from WenlockEdge which can be enjoyedonthe 136-mile long ShropshireWay

RAILWAYONTRACK FORBRIGHT FUTURE

ANDY RICHARDSON DISCOVERS THE RICH AND VARIED HISTORY OF THE SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY, ORIGINALLYAWORKING RAILWAYAND NOW AN IMPRESSIVE TOURIST ATTRACTION

How did we get so lucky to live in aregion that boasts one of the UK’s most impressive tourist attractions?

The Severn Valley Railway is precisely that. It’s aventure that brings together the best of the region’s landscape with the best of its architectural heritage. It provides afascinatinginteraction with history while embracing the best of our modern communities. It takes us on awhistle-stop journey throughspectacular scenery while celebrating the fortitude and commitment of citizens past andthose from thehere and now

The Severn Valley is, simply put, all things to all people. Young and old alike can enjoy the noise, the whistles, the steam, therhythmic motion, and the remarkable effort of locals during avisit to one of its stations.

Its history is remarkable. Opened in 1862 afteranine-yearbuilding project, the Severn Valley Railway was originally part of themuch longer Shrewsbury to Hartlebury line. The original line contained 15 stations. the Bewdley to Kidderminster section, or loop line, was constructed by the GWR, who ran many of the railways in the area, and opened in June 1878.

As the organisation explains: “The line was never the busiest, largely because it had been laid as asingle-track line

for the economy.Although several passing loops were added later,the limited capacity meant thatitcould never aspire to regular through trafficfrom stations and industries outside of the Severn Valley,and so only saw local passenger andgoods traffic. Fortunately,there were several coalfields in the area that used the railway to transport their coal to nearby power stations and further afield.

“In 1948, the government nationalised the railways and the Severn Valley line passed to the newly-formed British Railways (BR). The following decade saw many of steam-hauled passenger trains replaced by diesel units. Traffichad been in decline since the 1920s, and in the early 1960s BR announced the line was ‘suspected of being unremunerative’. Although plans to closethe line began as early as 1961 and all passenger services stopped in 1963, amere two years later a

plan to save the Severn Valley line began in apub –asmost good things do.”

The SVRS conducted the initial discussions with British Railways (BR) through 1965 and 1966, however it quickly became apparent that for legal reasons aLimited Company would be necessary to buy the line from BR and obtain aLight Railway Order to operate the railway.InMay 1967 the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited was formed for that purpose.

The SVRS continued as the ‘public face’ of the SVR through 1967 and 1968, during which time it continued to promote the railway and also ran four joint rail tours with the Manchester Rail Travel Society.In1968, it was involved in the production of the first published history of the Severn Valley Railway,a 60page volume entitled ‘The Severn Valley Railway’byD.J. Smith.

By late 1969, with theopening of the SVR in sight, it was considered that the original society was no longer required. It was therefore merged into the Severn Valley Railway Company Limited on December 6thatyear, althoughthe name was still used on membership applications until at least 1971. Following this change, issue 14 of Severn Valley Railway News for Autumn 1969 was thelast headed “The Magazine of the Severn Valley Railway Society”; issue 15 became “The Magazine of the Severn Valley Railway Company”.

Asection of the line was opened for

public passenger services on May 23, 1970 –the first service being the 2pm from Bridgnorth, hauled by locomotive 3205. The only trains to run on the line before that date had been for SVR members and day members only,with the approval of British Rail.

By May 1974, astretchfrom Hampton Loade to Bewdley had opened, with services as far as Highley beginning a month earlier.The SVR also acquired the line between Bewdley and Foley Park, although that was only used on special occasions such as ‘Enthusiasts Events’. BR’s use of Bewdley Station and the Foley Park connection had ended in 1970 when onward services from Bewdley ceased.

Progress continued and in July 1984 passengers were able to ride from Bewdley to Kidderminster.The use of the last portion under BR ownership for commercial trafficfrom Foley Park to Kidderminster had ended in 1982. BR would continue to use the existing station at Kidderminster as part of the Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester line. As it was not feasible to share that station, the SVR built their own adjacent station, Kidderminster Town.

Aremarkable feature of the railway, that visitors may not readily appreciate, is that it is largely run by around 1,700 unpaid volunteers. On operating days, up to 200 volunteers work around the railway,repairing and repainting stations, maintaining track and rebuilding locomotives and rolling stock, and of

course, operating thetrains themselves.

Many of the trades practised require specialised training. Professional staff and experienced volunteers are on hand to teach younger generations the skills needed to keepthe railwayrunning.

The railway is always striving to improve its position as apre-eminent national and international visitor attraction as evidenced by its Visit England Award, which places it in the first three attractions in the country,inthe ‘Best Tourism Experience’ category

Every year,250,000 visitors come to experience the golden age of rail travel, and 10,000 school children learn about their country’s railway heritage in the SVR’s educational programmes.

Over the past five decades, the SVR has emerged from relative obscurity to aprominent position in British railway preservation. It’s all because of the efforts of agroup of visionary railway enthusiasts who formed the Severn Valley Railway Society at Kidderminster in 1965,and to their successors

The vision for the next 50 years is to create aworld-class heritage railway,with ambitious projects and programmes that engage people and provide ameaningful understanding of the power of steam and diesel. Looking to the future, plans are being developed to make further investments in the infrastructureand rolling stock to ensure the continued preservation and operation of the Severn Valley Railway.

ANTIQUES

LITTLETREASURES OF JAPANESEART

OThese are usually quite small and carved in wood or ivory,often in the most intricate detail, such was the skill of the artists who created them. But apart from being little gems of miniature sculpture, they also served avery practical purpose.

Netsuke (pronounced net-skee) came to prominence in the 17th century,during theEdo era, in Japan at atime when the ruling classes, the Bakufu or Shogunate, dictated strict codes of behaviour and also dress and deportment.

At the time, agentleman’s garments were not permitted pockets and so in order to carry anything around such as money,medicines, tobacco and the like, they would use small pouches or multi-compartment caskets called inro. These inro could, themselves, be highly decorative and either carved or lacquered with incredible artistic detail. The inro had aretaining cord holding it together, the end of which would be looped through the wearer’s sash belt or obi. To prevent the cord from slipping through, the end was fitted with atoggle andthisis the netsuke.

Like many items that startoff with apractical purpose, over time they became increasingly decorative. The skill of carvers and the breadth of their imagination seemingly knew no bounds and what the collector cannow enjoy is a huge array of subject matter and themes.

Animals are regularly found in the form of okimono (little sculptures) as well as netsuke. These include various forms of birds as well as elephants, hippos,

camels, frogs and toads and all manner of aquatic life.

In Japanese culture, rats arerevered rather than being reviled as they are in Europe. They are seen as industrious creatures and very hardy,able to seek out and find food even in times of scarcity

Consequently,rats and other rodents feature frequently in netsuke carving, often found resting on bags of rice or giant gourds, they are always playful and usually depicted with affection.

Apes are native to Japan andhave played anumber of roles in Japanese culture. They are sometimes seen as messengers from the gods or embodying

wisdom such as the proverbial ‘hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil’.

During the Edo era (1615-1868), theatre was popular with most of Japanese society and masks featured in many performances. These masks would represent characters as well as mythical figures andbeasts and can be quite elaborate.

In June of 2022, the British Government introduced the new ivory trade legislation which is one of the strictest in Europe. Essentially it means that anyobjectmade of ivory cannot be bought or sold, regardless of its age.This means thatthe previous dateline of 1947 is no longer relevant for ivory objects in the UK.

Exceptions have been made for certain objects such as musical instruments or items that contain ivory elements, so long as they date before 1918 and the ivory makes up no more than 10%ofthe volume.

What this means for collectors of antique Chinese and Japanese ivory, previously among the most sought-after works, can no longer buy or sell them in the UK.

Naturally this applies to ivory netsuke as well. Thankfully,though, other materials were used by netsuke carvers and collectorscan still enjoy these beautiful objects crafted in various woods. They are no less beautiful, intricate and charming, meaning that the joy of collecting netsuke can remain very much alive.

n Halls Fine Art hosts an Asian Art Auction on April 10, featuring several examples of netsuke. To find out more visit fineart.hallsgb.com

Top: Five carved wood netsukemodelled as rats, est £130 –£150; Above:Six carved wood netsukeinthe form of masks, est £150 –£200; Five carved wood netsukeinthe form of apes, est £130 –£150

ne collecting area within the broader scope of Asian art is the collecting of Japanese netsuke.

BERYL’SPAINTING COOKSUPASTORM

Inthe strike-bound, power-cut plagued Britain of the 1970s, there emerged an artist whose joyful, bold and colourful depictions of largerthan-life women having fun, were aray of light in an otherwise drab world.

Beryl Cook OBE captured people of all ages and backgrounds doing everyday things, and her work became instantly iconic, so TrevanionAuctioneers were delighted to offer averyspecial collection of her work in their two-day February Fine Art and Antiques auction.

“During her lifetime, Cook’s original paintings were collected avidly by her loyal fans as soon as they went on sale, and they don’t come to market very often,” said TrevanionAuctioneers’ art valuer SimonGrover,“So it was a wonderful surprise to be contacted by a vendor and asked to appraise their Beryl Cook collection, which included an original oil on canvas. Her wonderfully self-deprecating attitude towards her work is very refreshing, of her fame, she once said ‘People say to me that Iamthe most popular artist in Englandbut Idon’t take a blind bit of notice’.”

The painting was titled ‘Shopping with Robin’ and it showed an excited young boy leading his mum downstairs in ashopping centre, but most viewers seem drawn to the Roland Ratbackpack worn by achild heading in the opposite direction. Whether it was Roland that inspired the ensuing bidding battle is unclear,but three telephone bidders were pitched against numerous internet bidders, driving the work far past its £6,000 highestimate, to an eventual sale price of £8,500 (plus fees), despite having suffered some damage due to being in long-term storage. The vendor’s five limited edition Beryl Cook prints also sold well, and the collection made atotal of £10,000 (plus fees).

Continuing the ‘Beryl’ theme of the auction, a25-carat aquamarine stone, which is also known gemologically as amemberofthe Berylfamily (which also includes emeralds), made £1,000 (plus fees) and formed part of the highly successful jewellery section of the auction.

“Day one of the auction took place on Valentine’s Day,soitwas no surprise to see jewellery performing strongly,” commented specialist Amelia Tomkinson, “A spectacular 19thcentury diamond

crescent brooch, possibly by Wartski, sold for£3,200 (plus fees), as did agorgeous mid 20th century diamond and untested pearl ‘toi et moi’ ring, while abeautiful 18th century intaglio ring sold well above its estimate at £3,000. Ilike to thinkthat allthese pieces became special gifts for a special someone.”

Day two of the fine art and antiques auction saw furniture come under the hammer,and standout pieces included an impressive George III oak housekeeper’s cupboard, which sold for £2,200 (plus fees). “Aswell as its impressive scale, what sold this piece was its lovely honeyed patina which took around 250 years

to develop,”’ said furniture valuer Ian Woodward, “it’s the kind of unique look that new furniture justcan’t replicate.”

Speaking after the auction, Managing Partner Christina Trevanionsaid: “As we began putting together the catalogue for our February auction, Iwas thrilled to see the breadth and the depth of the range of lotswewere offering. There were some truly beautiful pieces, and it was apleasure to bring them to market, particularly on Valentine’s Day!”

Trevanion Auctioneers are due to hold their next sale on Wednesday,April 24. To book aone-on-one valuation appointment please call 01948 800202.

Clockwise, from top left:Beryl Cook’s‘Shopping with Robin’sold for £8,500; aGeorgeIII oak housekeeper’scupboardfetched £2,200; 19th centuary diamond crescent brooch sold for £3,200; a 25-carat aquamarine stone made £1,000; a‘toi et moi’ ring sold for £3,000

Public

EMPOWERING STUDENTSTOBE LIFE: READY

Settled in the Shropshire countryside since 1884, Ellesmere College has retained its focus on individual student success while providing outstanding educational and personal success for all students –whether local, regional or international.

An incredibly friendly co-ed boarding school, 580 students from ages seven to 18, and from all across the globe, are encouraged to explore, engage and evolve to the best of their potential through the College’s innovative and dynamic academic and co-curricular opportunities.

The school has recently been accredited as an HPL World Class School –one of only39schools worldwidedemonstratingour committment to High PerformanceLearning in all areas across the curriculum.

At every entry point to the College –fromYear 3toSixth Form in Year 12 –students are offered abroad choice ofacademic subjects as well as avast range of co-curricular activities (DofE, CCF,ESB, EPQ, ILM, Survive & Thrive, expeditions, career conventions, affiliations, etc) that develop essential life skills –leadership, initiative, confidence, teambuilding, and above all abeliefin themselves that they can achieve if they try their best –the ethos at the heart of the school –tobe‘Life:Ready’.

Academic Excellence

From age seven, students are offered awide curriculum preparing them for their choice of i/GCSEs as they move up to Middle School at age 13 –providing subjects thatappeal to all pupils’ interests

and academic strengths,while keeping class sizes small. Our award-winning DU Category Support for Learning department supports those students with arange of academic needs including dyslexia and dyscalculia. Cocurricular activities such as the ESB, John Muir Awards, Survive &Thrive and the creative arts ensure thatall children are fully engaged, learn and are prepared for the world around them.

In Sixth Form, students choose ALevels, BTEC or International Baccalaureate (IB), and our students regularly gain entrance to their firstchoice university including Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group institutions. We are ranked in the top 20 British schools offering the IB with students regularly attaining >30 points.

Drama, Music and the Arts –CreativeEnrichment

The College was the first independent school to be awarded Artsmark Platinum

by the Arts Council of Great Britain for its commitment and delivery of the arts the traditional to more modern media. Singing is an area of real excellence with four award-winning choirs and awide range of ensembles with opportunities to perform. Participation at every level is encouraged and supported by ESB, LAMDA, ballet &dance classes, and individual tuition.

Sports –Olympic Aspirations

We are immensely proud of our sporting tradition at Ellesmere College, and physical education is an integral part of the curriculum –playing for ones’ house or school, or at national, international and Olympic level. We are an accredited WAoS (World Academy of Sport) AthleteFriendly Education Centre (AFEC), which provides greater flexibility to students so they can balance their studies with demanding training and competition schedules –there is no need to compromise one for the other There are seven distinct SportsAcademies –rugby,cricket, tennis, swimming, shooting, football andgolf –aswell as the wide range of sporting teams andclubs available to pupils across the age spectrum at Ellesmere.

We believe very strongly that education is more than just passing exams but developing the breadth of education to allow pupils to grow andflourish in all academic and co-curricular pursuits. At Ellesmere College we empower and enrich our students to become confident, strong and exceptional young adults –truly Life:Ready

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INSPIRING PUPILS

Moreton Hall celebrated International Women’s Day with pupils from across the school gathering to explore the journey women have been on in pursuit of equal rights, the achievements so far,and the work still to be done.

Hosted by Moreton Hall’s Bronwen enrichment society and M-PWR (promoting women’s rights) group, local business woman Alison Parr, communications specialist Flavia Paterson and journalist Jessica Hatcher-Moore, together reflected on the most significant changes they have seen in women’s rights and the work that still needs to happen.

Flavia Paterson’s focus was the importance of ‘knowing your worth’ and in highlighting the continuing gender pay gap, she encouraged the pupils gathered to have the confidence to make their case for parity of pay in their future workplaces.

Linked to this, Alison Parr talked about the lack of women in the top

executive roles and the challenge for women accessing top jobs as well as having afamily

“In talking about her own experience, she reminded the audience about the success many women have in leading their own business as she and her husband have done at Stonehouse Brewery

As our keynote speaker,Jessica Hatcher-Moore, gave afascinating and

insightful talk on herown journey from Moreton Hall pupil to an award-winning journalist based in Kenya, andnow as afreelance writer and podcaster juggling her professional and family commitments.

She reminisced about how Moreton Hall had encouraged her to think anything was possible and as well as talking about her successful career, she also spoke frankly about the reality of combining life as aprofessional woman and a mother of two little boys.

Sixth Form student Amy Elliott added: “I truly felt like Moreton celebrated International Women’s Day and inspired inclusion across the whole school.

“The guest speakers were amazing. The advice they provided such as prioritising yourself and your ambitions and holding yourself with confidence in the workforce and life are things I will take with me as Icontinue on my academic and eventually career journey.”

An

Year5DiscoveryDay

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GetatasteoflifeinourSeniorSchool aheadofapplying

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£1m dining hall and canteen opens

Anew £1million dining hall and canteen has opened at Newport’sBurton Borough School as part of amajor upgrade and expansion.

Work on the project –which has included an extension of the dining hall and acomplete kitchen refurbishment –has been going on since last summer “It is such apleasuretosee this facility nowopen; it reallydoes transform the student experience,” said the school’s business manager Rita Barton.

“Our catering team havebeen nothing short of phenomenal overthe past few months, working out of temporary facilities and amobile kitchen while the building work has been going on.

“This new facility is arewardfor all their sacrifice and hardwork. For the students, it gives them agreater selection of hot food choices and a much larger and moremodern indoor social space. We have triedtogiveit moreofa college or university campus feel, and we’re very pleasedwith the results.”

The school was becoming part of the Telford-based Learning Community Trusts,joining other local secondary schools Hadley Learning Community, Ercall Wood, TelfordPriory School, and Charlton.

The trust says the primary focus for Burton Borough will be built around four strategic objectives –creatingengaged and successful students, ensuring high-quality teaching, continuous improvement, and effectiveleadership and governance.

Executiveprincipal RichardGummery said: “Catering facilities aresuch an important part of school life. We know that encouraging students to eat nutritious meals at school every day boosts attendance, productivity and results.”

The Learning Community Trust was established in June 2017.

ANEW ERA FORSCHOOL

AShropshire grammar school will become fully coeducational from September –with 25 girls joining in the first Year Seven intake.

Haberdashers’ Adams in Newporthas been preparing for the change to become fully co-educational since 2022

Girls first joined the grammar school more than 30 years ago, when six girls joined the sixth form in September 1993.

Sixth form girls are now awellestablished and integral part of school life and will play their part in mentoring the new Year Seven girls, according to the school.

Charlotte Harman, deputy head in charge of girls, said: “It feels like along time coming and I’m very excited to finally welcome the first cohort of Year Seven girls. Ilook forward to meeting the girls over aseries of transition events in the coming months.”

Haberdashers Adams said that with girls already studying in the sixth form, the school already has many excellent facilities in place for the move to fully co-ed.

It said additional preparations include the school signing up to the‘Girls On Board’ approach to managing female friendships. The school libraryhas also received agrant to purchasebooks enjoyed by younger female readers.

Meanwhile, planning permission has been granted to expand and resurface the existing hard court multi-use games area (MUGA) to meet Netball England specifications, andplanning permission is being sought to upgrade the swimming pool-changing facilities.

Headmaster Gary Hickey said: “My mission, as headmaster of Haberdashers’ Adams, has been centred on social mobility and equality.Significant changes made during my time have seen our intake of local pupils grow to over athird of the roll with priority going to some of the most disadvantaged children in the borough.

“The natural progression is to offer our outstanding grammar school education to both girls and boys throughout theschooland I’m very excited to see this development come to fruition.”

Haberdashers’ Adams is becoming fully co-educational from September

Edie-Mae Swinn and Max Harris with Anita Oakes and Louise Armstrong

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HIGH SHERIFF’S DIARY MandyThorn MBEDL

As Ilook back on my year as High Sheriff,I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet some of the people across our county who havegone that extramile to makeShropshireanevenmore wonderful place to liveand my final month has been no exception, writes Mandy Thorn MBE DL.

This month Ihad the pleasureofhelping organise acelebration evening with the TelfordInterfaith Council, recognising some of the fantastic work their volunteers do within the Telfordand Wrekin borough, whether it be organising food parcels for local people or uniting the community with their basketball tournaments.

My final month also saw me takepart in the annual fine ceremony organised by Shrewsbury Drapers and this year it was held at Henry TudorHouse.It’satradition that dates back to Henry II and originally included donations of corn and wheat. Thank goodness the requirement was not index-linked, as that would be over £4,000 in today’sprices!

It was an honour to round off my shrieval year byhosting the annual High Sheriff’s Outstanding Young Citizens Awards at Shrewsbury College.

This year saw arecordnumberofentries nominating inspiring young people from all overthe county who havemade a remarkable impact on our community and beyond. Their dedication, resilience and passion areaninspiration and a reminder that our county continues to be avery special place. Pictures supplied

Presenting the High Sheriff Awardto members of Ironbridge Rugby Club.

Celebrating volunteers at TelfordInterfaithCouncil.

At St Andrew’sChurch whereshe met with members of the community and enjoyedalunch cooked by volunteers.

With Cllr Raj Mehta presenting awards at the TelfordInterfaith Council.

Meeting WemCarers Group.

LINGENDAVIESCANCER FUND SNOWDROPWALK

WinsleyHall,

Alabour of love to create amagnificent carpet of snowdrops helped smash another fundraising record for cancer patients –inmemory of alongtime supporter

The late owners of Winsley Hall in Westbury, Mr and Mrs Wolstan Whitaker,planted thousands of snowdrop bulbs overa25-year period in the grounds of their home.

Their son Charles kindly agreed to host the annual Lingen Davies Cancer Fund Snowdrop walk again in memory of his mother June Whitaker who passed away from cancer in August last year

Members of the Whitaker family, friends of June’s,and hundreds of supporters enjoyedthe seasonalspread and walk around the estate, raising £6,100 and bringing the total amount raised from theevent overthe years to morethan £25,000.

Mr Whitaker said: “My mother and father did atremendous amount for charity. Someone once said to me they didn’t think therewas another single person aliveorpassedwho has raised more money for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital than my mother

“During mother and father’slifetime they planted millions of snowdrops over thecourse of nearly three decades using just ashovel andtheir hands, all the way up the driveand into thewoods.Ofall the charitable activities they undertook this event –opening their home for others to enjoytheir work –was probably their most favourite.

“So it’sveryspecial to me personally and the family to be able to host this again, and we’reveryeager to takethis legacy forwardand support Lingen Davies.

“Mother didn’t want amemorial when she passed away so we decided to use this weekend as afitting tribute,” he added.

Helen Knight, Head of Fundraising for Lingen Davies, added: “Weare so grateful to the family for continuing to host this popular event for us. We knowitmeans alot to many of our supporters to be able to come to this beautiful place and enjoyawalk with lovedones.

“I’dliketosay atremendous thank you to the Whitaker family and everyone who attended the event.”

For moreinformation on the work of Lingen Davies Cancer Fund visit www.lingendavies.co.uk

Photos: Jamie Ricketts

Helen Taylor and Chris Weston.

Elizabeth Somervaille and Dorothy Petri.

Dan Myatt, Elliott Whalley (19 months) and Jess Jarvis.

Snowdrop walk in aid of Lingen Davies, at Winsley Hall.

Lillian Naylor and Peter Naylor

Mark Thorn, ShropshireHigh Sheriff Mandy Thorn, former ShropshireHigh Sheriff Christine Holmes and David Holmes.

TerriFletcher and MikeFletcher.

Leila Inger,Rachel Davies and Karen Palmer.

LauraMorgans, Annette Morgans, Julia Morgans and Rosita Whitehouse.

Jane Steventon and RichardSteventon.

Margaret Brown, Ruby Randall and Philip Brown.

Lingen Davies’ Mandy Williams, George Whitaker,Charles Whitaker (hall owner), Amanda Whitaker,ShropshireHigh Sheriff Mandy Thorn and Mark Thorn.

DINNERDANCE

HawkstonePark Golf Club

Hawkstone Park Golf Club hosted amasked dinner,dance and trophy presentation evening at Hawkstone Park Hotel, Weston-Under-Redcastle.

Captains Stephen Saunders and Angela Boxall presented the trophies. The Club Championship winners for 2023 were Nigel Chesters and Louisa Goff Awonderful eveningwas enjoyedbyall. New members are always welcome at Hawkstone Park Golf Club. For more information, see www.hpgcgolf.com Pictures supplied

Sarah Wynn.

Phoebe Ruscoe, Kathleen Thorneycro Francine Nutt, TerryNutt, Wendy Simpson.

Louisa Goff,Nigel Chesters.

Jane Williams, Dai Williams.

Angela Harrop, President Tony Harrop.

Roger Boxall, Lady Captain Angela Boxall.

Dale Benbow, Angeline Ooi, Christine Apperley.

Liz Dutton, Angela Gwilt, Issi Brisbourne, Lady Captain Angela Boxall.

SINGAPORE SLINGS IN ICONIC RAFFLES

RETURNING AFTER 25 YEARS –ISBOOMING SINGAPORE STILL AN AUTHENTIC BEAUTY? AFTER LEAVING IN 1999, LAUREN TAYLOR VISITSTHE SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRY TO FIND OUT

People often think of the tiny island city of Singapore, just north of the equator off the tip of the Malay Peninsula, as alayover stop en route to somewhereelse.

Thosewho do leave Changi Airport (just voted the best in the world for the 12th time, so there are worse places to wait for a flight) might spend aday or two barely scraping the surface of this wonderful country

I’m biased, admittedly,having spent six years of my childhood living here in the nineties. Now I’vereturned 25 years after leaving the Southeast Asian hotspot famous for its high-rises, humidity and being meticulously clean andsafe.

It’s easy to sum Singapore up with generalisations though (it’s trueyou can’t buy chewing gum or take the strong-

smelling durian fruit on the subway,to mention some of the lighterlaws), but there’s alot beneath the strict, shiny exterior

Space has always been abit of a challenge here. With apopulation of 5.5 million crammed into a700 sq km space, authorities have been forced to build upwards outwards –expanding the island by 25 per cent of its original size.

Aquarter of acentury ago, I remember the vast green open space of newly reclaimed land on the south coast; people used to jog around it. Now it’s one of Singapore’s most recognisable areas for tourists, the spaceship-looking Marina Bay Hotel with its Instagram-famous infinity pool hovering 57 floors up, and Gardens by the Bay with its illuminated Supertrees. The best place to survey

the new skyline is the hotel’s SkyPark observation deck, around 200 metres high. There are long-standing tower blocks I still recognise, like the AXATower,the world’s tallest cylindrical building, and the Gateway,which looks paper thin from acertain angle– both were feats of architecture at the time of their building in the late Eighties and early Nineties.

Now newer structures, like the Esplanade –Theatresonthe Bay– a durian-shaped dome –make up the everchanging landscape. It’s hard to believe that before the British arrived in 1819, this place was asleepy fishing village of just 500 inhabitants, finally gaining independence from Malaysia in 1965.

One green space that has been here along time, right back to 1895, is the 82-hectare SingaporeBotanic Gardens.

The islands city of Singaporehas abooming economy and is abrilliant tourist destination

The closest greenery to my childhood home, it’s since gained UNESCO status. Between the ages of eight and 14, I remember tearing through these curved pathways on my bike and running around after my brother amid the perfectly manicured lawns and lakes. As Iwalk through now it feels so familiar,although there’s little relief from the humidity –you need Singapore’s famously cold air conditioning for that.

The covered walkways in the traditional ‘shophouses’ (two or three stories instead of 50) still offer relief from the sun (year round) and rain (short, sharp storms in the four-month long monsoon season). The shophouse businesses in Little India havelong histories and it feels like time has stood still, while the Muslim quarter,Kampong Glam, is now painted in colourful hues and made up of sleek boutiques and trendy coffee houses around the goldendomed Sultan Mosque.

When you look above traditional low-rises you’ll probably spot atowering HDB. Built by the government’s Housing Development Board, these heavily subsidised buildings are asource of pride for the island state. Some 77 per cent of Singaporeans live in HDBs, meaning that the vast majority are home owners once they pass the criteria of being married or over 35 to qualify.“People don’t propose, they say,‘Shallweget an HDB together?’” jokes my tour guide Toon Hee, as we walk through residential area Ang Mo Kio.

Despite being one of the most expensive countries in the world to live in, there’s very little poverty in Singapore. One thing that isn’t expensive, however, is eating out in ahawker centre –a concept that started in the Eighties when all of the street food stalls were rehoused into undercover markets with water and drainage systems. Now the hawker scene, made up entirely of individually-owned eateries, is an essential part of Singaporean culture and an everyday occurrence for many people.

Nasi goreng (stir-fried rice and meat topped with fried egg) and Hainan chicken rice (the rice itself is cooked in chicken stock) featured heavily when I was growing up. I’d tuck into big plates of it at Adam Food Centre, which is still going strong somethree decades later and now known for being one of the best places for nasi lemak –rice cooked in coconut milk and pandang leaf

According to Toon Hee, chicken rice should cost S$4 (£2.30), any more and you’re being ripped off,but Idon’t see ahawker meal for more than S$7 (£4). In true local style, save your seat with apacket of tissues while you order, acustomknown as ‘chope’ in Singlish (Singaporean English). And always clean up your mess; littering is considered

highly disrespectful and you risk ahefty fine

Forsatay –astaple of the cuisine and my childhood –there’s nowhere better than sittingamong therows of tables on the street outside the historic Lau Pa Sat market,known as Satay Street. Plumes of smoke billow from the open flames under sticks of chicken, beef,and goat, by arow of sellers. We demolish 50 satays, at 80 cents (50p) astick, with peanut sauce and aS$25 (£15) jug of Tiger beer

At the other end of the spectrum, Singapore is fast becoming aculinary destination for its high-end restaurants. While some 77 per cent of Singaporeans are of Chinese heritage, Malay and Indian lineage feature too. There’s also alesserrepresented cultural identity here –Peranakan, referring to anumber of mixed heritage communities. The newly opened Peranakan Museum gives a poignant journey through the history,and TV chef Damian D’Silva is painstakingly recreating and celebrating thecuisineat his restaurant, Rempapa.

While, hawker food was traditionally eaten by the working public, D’Silva explains his menu is based on home cooking. Idig into bacaassam (beef brisket cooked for six to eight hours) and chee cheong fun noodles.

And I’d travel the 13-hour flight again just forthe moreish and rightfully

famous pepper crab and coffee pork ribs at at Keng Eng Kee, an open-air familyrun Cantonese eatery with yellow plastic chairs which has earned aplace in the Michelin Guide.

But you can’t leave Singapore without sipping aSingapore Sling at its birthplace. Even as achild Iknew the significance of the Raffles hotel. Aperfectly preserved piece of colonial architecturebuilt in 1887 and named after ‘founding father’Sir Stamford Raffles.

Stepping out of acar in front of its grand entrance and famous cream-

coloured arches feels strangely symbolic, even though Iwas never old enough to drink at the Long Barwherethe pinkcoloured, gin-based cocktail was first mixed in 1915 (as asocially acceptable option for awoman at the time).

Forsomewhere that charges S$39 (£23) acocktail, you’d probably expect a clean floor but thepiles of monkey nut shells are indeed meant to be there; nut plantation owners used to sweep the shells onto the floor and the practice stuck.

To reallycome full circle Istroll past the shops on Orchard Street, where I used to meet friends for coffee, through the still-bustling Boat Quay,and down the long road Iused to live on until my old block of flats comes intosight. It’s warming to see that while so much in Singapore has changed, some things special to me remain.

FACTFILE

Forfurtherinformation andtoplanyour visit to Singapore,headto visitsingapore.com/en Doublesatthe OasiaHotel Downtown costfrom£157withbreakfast. Visit oasiahotels.com

Above,the Oasis Downtown Hotel in Singapore; Gardens by the Bay with its illuminated Supertrees and street food being prepared. Opposite page: the bustling street market, the infinity pool at Marina Bay Hotel, busy river trafficand the island’sspectacular BotanicGardens all attract visitors

DISCOVER BEST OF OURBRITISH BIRDS

FROM PHENOMONAL AERIAL SPECTACLES TO SUCCESSFULLYREINTRODUCED RAPTORS, OUR BIRDLIFE IS PHENOMENAL, AND CANINSPIRE ASHORT BREAK SAYS SARAH MARSHALL

Nothing heraldsthe startof spring quitelikebirdsong. As trees blossom anddaffodils flower,our feathered inhabitants are hurriedly gathering materials for their nests.It’s also agood time to wave goodbye to migratory visitors preparing to make their journeys home.

Once considered abit of anerdy sport, birdwatching hastaken off in recent years, as more and more people begin to appreciate the natureimmediately around us. Besides, we have our own share of Attenborough-worthy spectacles –including thegreat aerial displays of knots at Snettisham in Norfolk, and the largest gathering of northern gannets at Scotland’s Bass Rock.

Discover the brilliant birds of our skies with one of these trips…

Topupontwitching

If you’re short on time but want to increase your bird count, David Leslie’s Big Day Birding Tours could be the

solution. Packing as many feathered encounters as possible into one day (ideally more than 100), there aretwo tours available in Aberdeenshire, an area with avariety of habitats ranging from mountains andfreshwater lochs to beaches and woodland. These can be done individually or combined to create aBig Day Birding Weekend.

Start the search along the River DoninSeaton Park, where dippers and wagtails can be found. Forvie National Nature Reserve is home to breeding colonies of common, Arctic and sandwich

terns. Little grebes can be seen at Meikle Loch, while puffins, kittiwakes and skuas can be spotted on coastal paths.

In the Cairngorms, head to Cullerlie Stone Circle, where red kites were introduced just over adecade ago.Climb a viewpoint above the upper Dee Valley to spy golden and white-tailed eagles.

How: The two-day package costs £300, including transport from any Aberdeen accommodation and guiding. Visit aberdeenshirebirdtours.com.

Stay at the Sandman Hotel and Spa from £115 per night with breakfast. Visit sandmansignature.co.uk

Exploring sky and land

Birding trips don’t always have to be about check lists and binoculars. Many of the areas frequented by avian species also happen to be scenic and often only accessible by foot, making them ideal stops on awalking tour.North Norfolk is the perfect example; trails running through meadows, woodlands, vast sandy beaches and marsh areas are prime

sports for some of the UK’s top birding spectacles.

From September until early April, thousands of wading birds gather at the Wash and Snettisham, an RSPB Nature Reserve. Spring tides are especially eventful, when water pushes birds from the mudflats causing astarling-style murmuration as they take to the air

At Holme Dunes, find over-wintering migratory wildfowl preparing to make their journeys home and explore 4,000-year-old Bronze Age timber circle Seahenge.

How: The six-night Seascapes of North Norfolk tour costs from £1,105pp (two sharing), including B&B accommodation, three dinners, luggage transfers and route notes andmaps. Available from March 1. Visit inntravel. co.uk

Our feathered marvels

Throughout history,Dorset has always been abiologically rich region. Fossils found along the Jurassic Coast

provide aglimpse into aworld roamed by dinosaurs grasslands are teeming with wildlife –albeit much smaller in scale.

Observe both bird and marine life on awildlife-themed tour based in Dorset at Warmwell House. Naturalists Mike Dilger and Ed Drewitt will guide several excursions, including atrip to Salisbury Plain to learn about asuccessful project to reintroduce bustards.

How: The eight-day South Coast Wildlife Extravaganza tour costs from £2,995pp (two sharing), including accommodation, most meals, transfers and guided activities. Departures on May 10 and 18. Visit wildlifeworldwide.com

Followfootsteps of Attenborough

He’s travelled extensively across our planet, but agathering of 150,000 northern gannets at Bass Rock in Scotland still had the power to amaze Sir David Attenborough. The birds begin to gather at this wild outcrop around mid-February, reaching apeak in the summer months to become the world’s largest gathering of

the species. See the spectacle for yourself on aguided trip to Northumberland and Scotland, visiting several top seabird colonies.

Start the tour south of theborder with aboat trip to theFarne Islands to see puffins and guillemots. Back on the mainland, the warden’s hut at Long Nanny is famous for its colony of terns. Best known for itsphotogenic Priory,the Holy Island of Lindisfarne also provides a home for several speciesofwaterfowl.

How: Asix-night Wild Isles trip costs from £2,295pp (two sharing), including accommodation, all meals, guiding and transfers. Departures on May 11 andJune 15. Visit wildernessengland.com

PAGE 98: An avian aerial display at Snettisham in Norfolk; bustards lekking at Salisbury Plain

PAGE 99, CLOCKWISE, FROM TOPLEFT: Aberlady Bay NatureReserve;puffins at Bullers of Buchan in Aberdeenshire; agatheringofred knots at Snettisham; ablackcap at the Muir of Dinnet in Aberdeenshire

REDHOT CAYENNE SETSTHE STANDARD

PORSCHE HAS REVISED ITS LARGEST SUV WITHNEW ENGINES AND SIGNIFICANT INTERIOR TWEAKS, BUT IS IT ABIG IMPROVEMENT ON ITS PREDECESSOR? TED WELFORD TRIES IT OUT

The importance of the Cayenne to Porsche should never be underestimated. It was its first SUV in the early 2000s and is often earmarked as helping to save the German company

More than two decades later,it continues to be akey contender in the large premium SUV segment, aided by the addition of amore stylish ‘Coupe’ variant afew years agoand abroad choice of engines, including several plug-in hybrids. To help keep it competitive, Porsche is back with arange of upgrades, but can they succeed?

What’snew?

Thecurrent generation of Cayenne has been around since 2018, so arefresh was needed.Visually,not all thatmuch appears to have changed, as is often the Porsche way,but it’s everywhere else

where you’ll find differences. There’s the firm’s latest touchscreen and digital dial displays, while the front-seat passenger can even have their own screen in the dashboard.

The plug-in hybrid, which accounts for the bulk of sales, also gets more power and amuch larger battery that extends the claimed electric range to 46 miles –significantly more than before.

What’sunder the bonnet?

While more might opt for the hybrid, Porsche hasn’t forgotten about the regular petrol versions. The standard ‘Cayenne’ uses a348bhp 3.0-litre unit but if you want more performance, there’s the Cayenne Swe’re trying here.

Previously this was quite arare choice as it used aV6and was down on power compared to the equally-priced plugin hybrid, but the Snow uses amighty

4.0-litre V8 engine, buckingthe trend for downsizing engines, andessentially replaces the previous ‘Turbo’ model.

Power is up 34bhp to 468bhp, with torque standing at 600Nm. With an eightspeed automatic gearbox and four-wheeldrive, the Cayenne Scan accelerate to 60mph in 4.8 seconds and on to a170mph top speed. The downside of that V8 brawn? You’ll need deep pockets to run it, with Porsche claiming just 22.6mpg and CO2 emissions standing at 283g/km.

What’sitliketodrive?

The Cayenne has always been the driver’s SUV and it only gets better with this latest model. At just under five metres long, the Cayenne is abig car but the way it behaves behind the wheel is astonishing. There’s alevel of agility you just don’t get from large SUVs, and you can throw it into acorner at speeds that would ruffle

the feathers of manyofits rivals.

As long as you’re not looking at the fuel economy,this V8 engine is superb, with adelightful grumble as you put your foot down, and asurge of power to go with it.Combined with its quick-shifting gearbox, you’ll struggle to find amore enjoyable and rewarding SUV to drive.

Youmight expect the payoff to be aharshride, but it’s the exact opposite, as even in harder driving the Cayenne’s ride remains composed and never brittle. Our test came with optional adaptive air suspension andthough you can’t help but feeling it should come as standard on an £80,000 SUV,isa boxcertainly worth choosing.

Howdoes it look?

Though Porsche calls this oneofthe ‘most extensive product upgrades’ in its history,you’d never know looking at it. There are changes, predominantly at the rear where the number plate has been moved from the boot lid to to the rear bumper and there’s anew 3D-effect light bar,but it’s mainly business as usual from adesign perspective

We’d say that’s apretty good thing with the Cayenne, as –like most Porsches –it’s aged brilliantly.Itgetsthe balance just right between being bold but never over the top. The German firmalso offers extensive personalisation options, as well a more stylish-styled ‘Coupe’ version with a

What’sitlikeinside?

Thereare some pretty big changes on the Cayenne’s interior,with anew widescreen touchscreen, digital dial display and redesigned centre console being the main ones. The displays offer superb clarity andease of use, and there’s even the option of having atouchscreen in the dashboard for the passenger,but we struggle to seethe point of it. The gear selector has also moved from the conventional placing to alittle toggle next to the steering wheel, but it’s abit awkward to use.

But the quality of the Cayenne can’t be faulted, as it feels every inch apremium product with top-grade materials used throughout. There is masses of interior space as well, with a huge 698-litre boot.

What’sthe spec like?

Prices for the new Cayenne kick off from £70,400, but if you’d like the excellent V8 engine with the S, you’ll need £84,000. Standard equipment is a bit penny-pinching, with features such as leather seats and adaptive cruisecontrol both absent.

Optional extras on the Cayenne are expensive too, with our test car’smany add-ons coming to more than £20,000,

with features such as apanoramic roof (£1,500), 21-inch alloy wheels (£1,900) and ablack leather interior (£2,565) all quickly racking up the price.

Verdict

The Cayenne continues to be the SUV thatgoes against those who say vehicles of this type can’t be great to drive. Its combination of agilityand comfortis unmatched.Itoffers alevel of class that many of its premium SUV rivals seem to have forgotten, andaslong as you’re mindful that Porsche isn’t as generous with its equipment as many of the Cayenne’s rivals, this is adeeplycomplete package.

FACTFILE

PorscheCayenneS

Priceastested:£84,000(£105,235 withoptions)

Power:468bhp

Engine:40-litreturbochargedV8

Torque:600Nm

0-60mph:48seconds

Maxspeed:170mph

Emissions:283g/km

sloped roof for those who prefer that style of vehicle.

ROYALVISITSIN WARMER WEATHER

HEATHER LARGE TAKES ALOOK BACK AT ROYAL VISITS AND CHANGING LANDSCAPES IN YEARS GONE BY IN THE COUNTY

April is atime to herald the arrival of warmer months and longer days as the likes of daffodils and bluebells add a splash of colour to thecountryside.

In Shropshire, it’s been atime for royal visits with Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands spending time in Bridgnorth in 1980 and The Duke of Gloucester enjoying atrip on theCliff Railway from Low Town in 1981.

There was also excitement for pupils at theCharlton School who were preparing for atrip to Tunisia in 1975,

while young performers were getting ready to provide musical entertainment for elderly residents in care homes in the county in 1971.

The landscape of many of our towns was also changing with demolition work taking place in Ludlow as theold cinema made way for housing much to the dismay of campaigners, while the old Shire Hill in Shrewsbury has also been reduced to rubble.

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

1981: The DukeofGloucester walking along the Castle Walk at Bridgnorth on April 23, 1981, during aroyal visit to the town. He had just caught the Cliff Railway from LowTown.

1975: Ready for their school trip to North Africa, party leader Mrs Elaine Beamond studies abrochurewithpupils of Charlton School, Dothill, Wellington, beforeleaving for Tunisia.

1969: Mr Ernest Pee, of Bridgnorth, with an old coaching poster in April 1969. It was entrusted to him by Mrs A. Oliver,ofDanesford, Bridgnorth, and advertised anew link coach run on the express line to London, down WatlingStreetin 1836. Mrs Oliver’shusband was alicensee atthe Bell Inn, wherethe coaches used to stop.

1980: The royal visit of Prince BernhardofThe Netherlands to Bridgnorth on April 19, 1980. He was attending aremembrance service for 53 Dutch airmen who trained at RAF Bridgnorth at the end of the war and later died.

1963: Darts and dominoes competition at Shrewsbury Drill Hall in April 1963. Sergeant Dan Powell, of the North ShropshireSquadron, Shropshire Yeomanry, with Sergeant TedGrey, of ‘B’ Company K.S.L.I., from Oswestry.

1982: The Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham, Councillor Stan Parker,held areception in the Mayor’sparlour for the head teachers of local schools in 1982. Councillor Parker (right) is pictured talking with, from left,MrJ D Chapman (Bayston Hill Junior), Mr Alan Harper,(Lancasterian School), Jean Lennox, (Woodfield Infant), Mr Peter Greenley (Oakland, Bayston Hill), and Mr LynPearce (Meole Brace Comprehensive).

1986: The demolition of the Beaconsfield club at Raven Meadows, Shrewsbury, was taking place to makeway for ashoppingdevelopment in April 1986.

1930: The presentation of the ShropshireSeniorCup to Shrewsbury Town at theGay Meadow, Shrewsbury, on April 12, 1930. Shrewsbury won it for the 18th time, against arch rivals Wellington, winning by 3-1.

1987: In April 1987, workmen had completed the demolition of Ludlow’sformer cinema. Campaigners had wanted to convert the building to acommunity and arts centrebut all that remained was apileofrubble. The Old Street site was being cleared to makeway for flats.

1971: Having arun-through of an aptly named song are, left to right, Jackie Leverington, Jackie Groves, Mrs Maureen Benson, Steven Brown, and Gary Hall ahead of The Moorland Youth ShowinApril 1971.

1966: The crew of the host club, Pengwern, haul their boat ashoreatthe endofthe Head of the River race at Shrewsbury in April 1966.

1971: Demolition workers clearing the old ShireHall, Shrewsbury, created anew view of Shrewsbury Square. For many years the old market hall had stood in the shade of the giant ShireHall buildings, but for ashort time it stood in the full light of day in April 1971.

ENGLAND LEGEND BILLYISTHE STAR

TOBY NEAL LOOKSBACK AT AGAME WHERE WOLVES ICON WRIGHT WASTHE MAIN ATTRACTION

What brought Wolves legends Billy Wright and Johnny Hancocks to the Gay Meadow?

Here they are at the old Shrewsbury Town ground in aphoto that was published recently as partofan100th birthday tribute to Billy

And it prompted Mark McIntyre to get in touch with details from the programmefor that match, which was abenefitfor Town stalwarts Jack Butler and Joe Wheatley which was played on Wednesday,April 26, 1950.

It featured aLeagueXIin“red jersey, white knickers,” and the Town who played in their familiar blue andwhite.

“I’ve never seen the picture before and just recently bought theprogramme,” said Mark, who is formerly from Madeley but now lives in Shrewsbury

On the left is Ironbridge-born Billy, and he is shaking hands with Jack Butler, commonly known as Jackie Butler,from Dawley.Hancocks, from Oakengates, is centre.

Joe Wheatley is the chap in the overcoat who was unable to play because of tonsillitis, but nevertheless had aminor part in thematch, as he kicked it off.The

referee was Sam Rogers, Shrewsbury’s only league referee at the time.

The League XI won 2-1, with Bobby Barker of West Bromscoring both goals, withRon Hood getting the Town’s goal.

Mark’s programme shows that the League XI line-up, or at least thatwas billed, was: Streten (Luton Town); Farquahar (Arsenal), Wade (Arsenal); Antonio (Mansfield), Foulkes (Walsall), Wright (Wolves); Barker or Inwood (West Brom), James (Arsenal –but the match report says he was a“disappointing absentee”), WRichardson (West Brom),

Kelly (Arsenal), and Hancocks (Wolves).

Shrewsbury Town had some guest players, the billed line-up being: H Rowley; Hornby (Crewe), Lewis; Wheatley or Kernick–though as we have seen Wheatley was unable to play; Hodgson (Crewe), Robinson; Griffin, Hood, Jackson, McCall, and Butler

Jackie Butler hailed from Dawley and was one of six brothers, three of whom played for Shrewsbury Town. They were himself,Bill –who wasdubbed “Battleship Butler”bythe press for his defensive qualities and sadly was killed in action in North Africa in 1943 –and Joe, who played just afew gamesfor the Town before injury.

The detailed programme for the game notes described Jackie as “top goal scorer on many occasions, is well liked and loved by all.”

Jackie hadalso won many prizes as asprinter,and was once attached to Birchfield Harriers.

Jackie said that he hoped thatwhen his playing days finished the Town would keep him on as atrainer or coach, and indeed he was to become assistant trainer to the reserves, and later was atrainer for Wellington Town.

Billy shakes hands beforekick-off with Jackie Butler.Centreisanother Wolves andEngland star,Johnny Hancocks, who hailed from Oakengates

Jackie went on to become acoach for both Shrewsbury Town andWellington Town.

PHILIPPA’SBATTLE BACK TO HEALTH

THE TV PRESENTER TALKSTO HANNAH STEPHENSON ABOUT HOWHER EARLYMENOPAUSE WENT UNDIAGNOSED FOR MORE THAN ADECADE AND HER BOOK ON INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN

TVpresenter and author Philippa Forrester is recalling all the symptoms of menopause that she had in her mid-30s, which remained undiagnosed until she was 49.

“I had years of it,” says Forrester,now 55, who made her name on CBBCand appeared on Tomorrow’s World, The Heaven And Earth Show and Robot Wars, natural history documentaries and has a new podcast, Conscious.

“I had hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog, putting on weight, all of that stuff,which nowadays somebody would immediately go, ‘You’ve got the menopause, go and get your hormones tested’. Nobody mentioned hormones to me at that time. Ithought maybe Ihad a bit of PMT or something.Ididn’t have a clue what was happening.

“So my fingers are crossed that if the same thing is happening to somebody else, now they’ll know because we all talk about it way more.”

She talks about her menopause in her new book, Wild Woman, which celebrates women, past and present, working in nature around the world, from female conservationist heroes to botanists and those who do extraordinary work in the field, through grit and determination.

Her research takes her across continents and harsh landscapes as she records anecdotes of discovery and danger.Those stories are interspersed with her own painful journey –abroken marriage (she was married to wildlife photographer Charlie Hamilton James for 18 years) and areluctant return to the UK after six years in the wilds of Wyoming, her life in disarray, returning to the family home in South Gloucestershire with her three sons and dog, but minus her husband.

That was back in 2020, during Covid. Forrester felt she had completely run out of fight, left to grapple with her overgrown substantial garden which had been neglected during her long absence, feeling loneliness engulf her and her selfesteem at rock bottom. “There was no joy,” she recalls.

“The grief over leaving my wild home in America and all my friends –ontop of the relentless pain of losing my husband, the man Iloved and thought loved me

–became toomuch,” she writes. Today, she says that hadthe marriage not broken up, she wouldn’t have returned to the UK. She had counselling in the US and embarked on a‘nature coaching’ course, which helped.

“Sometimes when we struggle, there are so many layers. We have so many things going on as humans that our brains are going, ‘All right, can you just do Escape and Delete now?’ That was my state of mind.

“I had way too manytabs open, from the logistics of moving us all across the sea to the emotions around leaving that place, leaving all our friends as we had built such awonderful community there, and the place itself,the wilderness, which Ireallyfelt connected to.

“There were feelings of loss about the marriage and then coming backhere into this really strange world –because we came back between lockdowns –and effectively went straight into alockdown. It was the weirdest of times.”

The depression that enveloped her had begun with menopause, family deaths, her sonFred’s cancer (he was diagnosed with abrain tumour in 2016 but is doing well now,she says) and finally with what she calls “my husband’s change of heart”.

She says there were duvet days when she didn’t want to leave her bed, or when she felt unable to function because of mental and physical exhaustion. But Forrester finds inner strength outdoors.

The book records that slowly,through the seasons and her wild garden, which she gradually tries to tame, she finds a healing power in nature. Sheclears the silted pond, swims in the river,watches wildlife, contemplates the great outdoors, and as her neglected garden starts to take shape, so begins her recovery and apath to find joy again.

But the undiagnosed menopause –the constant fatigue, not sleeping properly and feeling depressed for years –had been abarrier to happiness, she reflects.

“I felt awful alot of the time. Iwas really struggling with it and not knowing what was wrong with me. Another symptom Ihad was terrible migraines,” she recalls.

“The doctor said to me, ‘You need to go running more’, but Idid go running three times aweek, so he didn’t have an answer after that.

“Then another doctor,who was awoman, said to me, ‘Maybe you’re just amiserable person’. And Itook that on board for awhile until another female doctor said, ‘I’m going to check your hormones’. She later told me, ‘I don’t know how you’ve been operating because you’ve got no hormones –you are meant to have some!’”

Forrester says shedidn’t realise she had stopped ovulating, because in an earlier procedure she’d had her womb lasered and wasn’t having periods.

Today,she says: “We need to have our bloods looked at regularly.It’s tricky if you are still ‘cycling’ because you get

different readings at different times of the month. Butthese things need to be paid attention to because, even if you’re not sleeping well, it affects every other aspect of yourlife.”

She stopped drinking and put herself through an intensive exercise and healthy diet regime to try to lose the weight she’d inexplicably gained.

It was her friend, fellow TV presenter Anthea Turner,who told her to seek further medical opinion and get her hormones tested.

“She’s been there, done that and she was brilliant with me. She’s so good at all the anti-ageing stuff and she’ll always be there to listen.”

When she was finally diagnosed, it took some juggling to get her HRTright,

she recalls, because she’s not good with artificial progesterone. “But the difference was extraordinary,even with things like aching joints, because Iwas aching all the time. By the end, I’d been completely through the menopause and my hormones were becoming non existent.”

Her garden and its once overgrown, disorganised state, seems to have evolved into aless frenetic environment, in parallel with her own state of mind.

“It felt like ametaphor,for sure,” she agrees. At the beginning, she tearfully swiped overgrown brambles with a machete, cutting nothing,until shefound atechnique, a flow,which gave her the rhythm to move forward. Youcan see the simile in her life.

And the joy has crept back in, she

BOOKCASE

The Island Swimmer by Lorraine Kelly, priced £20

Mystery clouds the sudden departureof Evie from the Orkney Islands overan incident shrouded in secrecy, which frays the bond she had with her father.When her father becomes ill, Evie returns home to face her past. Switching between present and past Orkney, and Evie’s failed attempt at anew London life, this shift of time builds arich and layered pictureof its characters. However, it is the story of Evie’s regretful life that movesthe plot forwardeffectively.

Red Side Story by FforJasper de, priced £20

Eddie Russett –who boasts ahigh perception of red–and Jane Grey –on the lowest rung thanks to her monochromatic view of the world –are facing potential execution following the events of the first book. They must negotiate the conflicting rules of their rigid society to clear their names, with Fforde painting aflamboyant and Terry Pratchett-esque picturelaced with laughter throughout.

agrees. She used to scoff at tree huggers, but now she’s tried it and quite likes it.

“There’s agradual creeping of it (joy), rather thana sudden moment of enlightenment. Any big paradigm shift of change of circumstance for humans takes our brains alittle while to catchuptothat being anew normal.”

n Wild Woman: Empowering Stories From Women Who Work In Natureby Philippa Forrester is published by Bloomsbury Wildlife, priced £18.99.

Nuclear

Family

by Kate Davies, £16.99

When, on awhim, Lena buys DNA tests for her father and twin sister Alison as aquirky Christmas gift,she has no idea of the shock which lies ahead. Lena feels cast adrift and searches for answers after her rootsare pulled up, while Alison, who is trying for a baby with wife Suria, remains calm but starts to question howtheir child might feel about being created with adonor’ssperm.KateDavies’ thought-provoking second novel considers natureversus nurture.

Empireworld: HowBritish Imperialism Has Shaped The Globe by Sathnam Sang- hera, £20

Author Sathnam Sangherarecalls howhis attempt to haveaholiday in the resort-filled Caribbean pulls him back into looking at howBritain shaped Barbados –arunning theme as he journeys around the world. Sangheralooks at imperialism throughout the globe, showing that empireissomething we need to acknowledge and understand to havearealfuture.

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REMEMBER WHEN

THE FOLLOWING EVENTS ALL OCCURRED IN AYEAR IN LIVING MEMORY.CAN YOUGUESS WHICH ONE?

PUZZLES

WHO... composed the Blue Danube Waltz?

WHAT. as thesurname of the author Anthony Hope?

WHERE were the 1992Summer Olympic Games?

WHEN... wasthe first Ideal Home Exhibition at Olympia?

WHO… claimed to have written the music hall song It’s A Long WayToTipperary?

WHAT… is the surname of Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim?

WHERE… are the Maldives?

WHEN… is the feast day of St Ursula?

WHO… won the Best Actress Oscar for TermsOf Endearment?

WHAT… nationality is tennis player KristinaMladenovic?

WHERE… was Solomon Bandaranaike prime minister of from 1956-59?

WHEN… did Gary Taylor win the World’s Strongest Man title?

WHO… in 1958 prevented Juan Manuel Fangio from winning the F1 Championship five times in arow?

WHAT… football team won the 2015 League Cup Final?

WHERE… was the comedienne and actress Libby Morris born?

WHEN… did Charlene have aUKNo. 1single with I’ve Never Been To Me?

1. Prince Edward left the Royal Marines

2. The Herald of Free Enterprise sank off Zeebrugge

3. Mel Gibson starred in the first instalment of Lethal Weapon

4. Michael Ryan killed 16 people in Hungerford

1. Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert won Wimbledon

2. The Police National Computer went intooperation

3. Mikhail Baryshnikov defected while on tour with the Kirov Ballet

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4. Actor LeonardoDiCaprio was born

1. Stalin’s body was removed from Lenin’smausoleum in Red Square

2. The birth control pill became available on theNHS

3. Gary Player won the US Masters by asingle stroke

4. Indian troops captured Goa which had been in Portuguese hands for more than 400 years

1. Sir Alec Douglas-Home resigned as Tory leader

2. Ringo Starrmarried Liverpool hairdresser Maureen Cox

3. The Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic met for the first time on Irish soil

4. Liverpool won theFACup forthe first time

1. Sting was born

2. George VI had amajor lung operation

3. Kiss Me, Kate and South Pacific opened in London

4. Ludwig Wittgenstein and Andre Gide died

1 2 3 4 5 6

1. JR got shot on Dallas

2. Bjorn Borg won his fifth successive Wimbledon title

3. The SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy

4. Mount St Helens erupted

WHO… won the 2005 Dunhill Links Championship in golf?

WHAT… won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical?

WHERE… in Africa is Ouagadougou?

WHEN… was the Battle of theAlmainthe Crimean War?

WHO… created the children’s characters Jennings and Rex Milligan?

WHAT… is the colour of the centralband on the flag of TheGambia?

WHERE… were the 1992 UEFAEuropean Football Championship Finals held?

WHEN… did Imagination haveTop Five hit singles with Just An Illusion and Music And Lights?

THE WORD MAYSOUND FAMILIAR, WHATDOES IT MEAN?

1. POGROM

A Organised massacre B Vegetable related to the cabbage. C Dwarf,gnome.

2. TRIBBLE

A Akind of gardening implement. B Frame used for drying paper C Dwarf shrub.

3. VIRAGO

A Soloistinopera. B Charlatan. C Strong, warlike woman.

4. DEVALL

A Instrument used in surveying. B To prevaricate, evade the truth. C To sink,decline.

5. FLAM

A Beggar B Nonsense. C To bake or cook.

107 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE APRIL 2024

CROSSWORD

QUICK CLUES

Across

1. Ring (4)

3. Sheath (8)

9. Relationship (7)

10. Attack (5)

11. Tear-jerking (5-7)

13. Region (6)

15. Gasp (6)

17. Disturbance (12)

20. Dagger (5)

21. Meanwhile (7)

22. Kudos (8)

23. Curve (4)

Down

1. Buy (8)

2. Greek letter (5)

4. Meat chop (6)

5. Murderous (12)

6. Lack (7)

7. Obligation (4)

8. Delay (12)

12. Saved (8)

14. Limit (7)

16. Near future (6)

18. Tend (5)

19. Gambol (4)

Across

1. One spot round the end of the chin could be (4)

3. Apotted version after mid-January is certainly not antiquated (2,2,4)

9. To increase the tension is adifferent way to get thin! (7)

10. Bird coming back in the winter, generally (5)

11. Everybody showing close affection –that’s quite comprehensive(3-9)

13. Mast replaced by an early navigator (6)

15. It’s used for shooting –America would

Awriter,director and producer,I was born in New York in 1964. I created the popular US television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer,aswell as it’s spin-off show Angel. Ialso wrote and directed the 2012 film The Avengers.

Aglamour model, Iwas born in Essex in 1978. In 2006 Iwas briefly engaged to house music producer David Doyle. Ihave appeared in various TV reality shows, including TrustMe –I’m AHoliday Rep and Celebrity Big Brother.Ialso hit theheadlines for becoming interested in bodybuilding.

be reformed without one! (6)

17. Making anet gain?(8,4)

20. It can be heard in North India (5)

21. Aname is wrongly written because of this affliction (7)

22. Unsettles when rage ends in confusion (8)

23. Where those in the services are accommodated (4)

Down

1. To take part in an unusualstart is alluring (8)

2. Name the first of the guys in the wrong line (5)

4. Food store where asocial worker comes

WHAT’SMY NAME?

An actor,Iwas born in Chester in 1968. Imarried Rachel Weisz in 2011 andweworked together on the 2011 film Dream House. My films include Layer Cake, Munich and Casino Royale.

Asinger,Iwas born in California in 1969. Iplayed Jean Harlow in the 2004 film The Aviator.Iwas

in to satisfy curiosity (6)

5. Finished with attacking –that’s asking too much (12)

6. Make the score suit the players (7)

7. Partakes in the cafe at seven (4)

8. Lots of different impressions can be obtained at this event (5,7)

12. Those in charge of hostilities produce explosives in torpedoes (8)

14. Painter who produced ‘The Crucifixion’ (7)

16. I’d returned behind time to speak at length (6)

18. One uses different publication (5)

19. Fall off the building (4)

the lead singer of the band No Doubt, and my solo albums include The Sweet Escape and Love. Angel. Music. Baby

5

CRYPTIC CLUES 1 2 6 3 4

Acartoonist, Iwas born in Cambridge in 1920. Idrew for Punch Magazine in the 1950s, and illustrated the Molesworth books. Icreated the series of cartoons that originally featured the St Trinian’s School.

An actress, Iwas born in London in 1945. My films include Greenfingers, Calendar Girls and Raising Helen. Iwon the 2006 Best Actress Oscar for my role in The Queen.

WORDSPIRALS IMPOSSIPUZZLES

STARTING FROM 1, FILL IN THE GRID IN ACLOCKWISE DIRECTION WITH FOUR-LETTER WORDS. THE LAST LETTER OF EACH WORD BECOMES THE FIRST LETTER OF THE NEXT WORD. IF YOUHAVECORRECTLYFILLED IN THE GRID THERE SHOULD BE ASEVEN-LETTER KEY WORD READING ACROSS FROM 8.

1. Hairless 2. Daybreak 3. Close to 4. Spool 5. Lighting device 6. Choose 7. Lock openers 8. Appear 9. Female servant 10. US coin 11. Heinous 12. Public pool 13. Line in darts 14. Consumes food 15. Counterfoil 16.Boxing match

Keyword clue: Camera part

1. Trout, say2.Foot part 3. Missing 4. Amphibian 5. Floor of aship 6. Brown seaweed 7. Liquid measure 8. Written words 9. Strong taste 10. Adhesive 11. Deserve 12. Bird’s home 13. Playthings 14. Chair 15. Former Russian emperor 16. Thick cable

Keyword clue: Printing term

1 2 3 4

“I bought afew cheap mugsand plates,” said Kitty, unpacking abox. “Plates 59p each and mugs 97p, about nine pounds for the lot.”

Jack had alook. “But why didn’t you get thesame numbers the other way around, with more mugs than plates?”

Kitty shook herhead. “I took all they had. And anyway,that would have cost me 76p more.”

How many plates and mugs did she buy?

When Florencia went out into the garden, she was surprised to find the men had finished the job. “That was quick work,” she said. “54 minutes for thelot!”

“Well, we just kept going and it was the same for all three of us,” old Gaz replied. “Bob is two-thirds as fastasBert, and young Bert’s half as fast as Iam. ButI’vehad more experience.”

How long would Gaz have taken to do the whole job alone?

“You got yourself anew tie, Dad,” said Maisie. “I bet it wasn’t cheap.”

“Nothing is these days,” her father chuckled. “But it cost three pounds less than three-quarters again more than threequarters of what it cost.”

What an answer! Youwork it out.

Drive slower,Sean,” Maya exclaimed, as the car swerved back into its proper lane.

“Sorry,honey.” Sean grinned. “But that’s another American, and I’ve noticed his number.It’s the same as ours if its second half is shifted to in frontofits first half,and the funny thing is that it’s exactly six times our number.”

What was Sean’s number?

1. Twelve inches 2. Small branch 3. Spirits mixed with water 4. Scottish valley 5. Body part 6. Considerate 7. Entrance 8. Space 9. Thaw 10.Rotate 11. Fingertip cover 12. Noisy 13. Terrible fate14. Night insect 15. Lofty 16. Wolflike cry

Keyword clue: Surname

APRIL

1All aboard the Easter ‘Carrot Express’! Join the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway for an eggstra special Easter family fun celebrations and meet the Easter Bunny at Welshpool Raven Square Station, where he and friends will be organising Easter-themed games (weather dependant!)

Take the 45-minute journey by vintage steam train to Llanfair Caereinion Station wherethere will be family entertainment at intervals and lots more to see and do.

The Easter Bunny has been very busy this year and has an eggciting egg hunt for allpassengers during the journey.Every child travelling on the train receives a handsome chocolate Easter Egg.

Additionally,the Llanfair ‘Connections’ Museum will be hosting a mini egg hunt for younger visitors,with colouring and other interactiveactivities.

All this is included in the standard ticket price! Family tickets start from only £31. Daily steam train services operate throughout the Easter school holidays.

Formore information visit: wllr.org. uk

1–7

Beverley Frywill be showcasing her ‘A Life in Art’ exhibition at the Footprint Gallery in Jackfield. Celebrating alife in paintings, from 1984 to 2024, her retrospective will be acreative melting pot of portraits, landscapes and still lifes.

She has aloyal following in Shropshire and although she now resides in Devon, Beverley felt her home county was the best setting for aretrospective.

Further details can be found on the Footprint Gallery website at www footprintgallery.co.uk

2-4

Get Your Wigle On’s junior performers take audiences on a magical journey‘Over the Rainbow’with the musical one-act version of The Wizard of Oz –Young Performers’ Edition at the Walker Theatre, Shrewsbury

This classic tale, in which aKansas farm girl travels over the rainbow to discover the magical power of home, has been entertaining audiences for generations. Meet Dorothy,Lion, Tinman, Scarecrow and all the colourful characters in this unmissable musical perfect for all ages.

With fabulous costumes andset and songs including Munchkinland, Emerald City and If IOnly Had ABrain…Get Your Wigle On this Easter half term.

Fortickets, which are £17.50, visit www.theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/ the-wizard-of-oz/

6ArtShack hosts an open day at its base at Berwick Wharf,Shrewsbury,where members of the public can come along, see the space and find out more between 10am and 4pm.

It is hoped that the open day will demonstrate that artisfor all, everyone can find their own creative voice, and that ArtShack is ready to help and support you on your creative journey

Email info@myartshack.co.uk or visit www.myartshack.co.uk

6 Martin Harley has been making music and touring the world for over two decades. His sound has never been more down to earth.

Exploring roots, blues andslide guitar in astyle The Guardian referred to as ‘Spellbinding’, Harley has released nine albums to date, four recorded on home soil and four across theAtlantic in Texas andNashville.

Martin Harley will be performing at Hermon Arts, Oswestry,onApril 6. Tickets cost £20 and are available from www.hermon-arts.org.uk/events/martinharley

13 Telford Stamp Fair takes place between 10am and 2pm at the Belmont Community Hall, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1HJ.

The hall is off the far side of the free TanBank car parkfrom the entrance in TanBank.

The free fair offers agood range of stamps, postcards and coins, with items bought and sold. Accessories will also be for sale. See material before buying and talk to the dealers. Freshlycooked light refreshments available.

Forany enquiries, call Richard Camp on 01952405458

13 In collaboration with Attingham Park, Hedgerow Media are bringing thejoy of the art of photography to aspiring photographers and budding artists.

Afull-day Beginners Photography

Artshack stages an open day at its base at Berwick Wharf, Shrewsbury, from 10am to 4pm on April 6togivevisitors achancetoget creative, while on April 13 Hedgerow Media will bring the joyofphotography to Attingham Park with afull-day Beginners Photography Workshop

Workshop takes place at theNational Trust property.The event will introduce attendees to the artoflight and anew way of seeing, with technical introductions and all of the information and help needed to get budding photographers started on their journey

To find out more email victoria. elsmore@icloud.com

14

Renowned violinist Zoë Beyers returns to Shropshire, this time as leader of and soloist with theEnglish String Orchestra. She performs at St Alkmund’s Church, Shrewsbury,from 4pm.

From its beginnings as the English String Orchestra in 1980, the ESO soon earned an international reputation for performances of English music, made over 50 recordings and began touring regularly in Europe.

The Worcestershire-based ESO,the international orchestra of Elgar country, is an ensemble which in recent years has become synonymous with artistic excellence, innovative and visionary programming, distinctive commissioning, ground-breaking recording, awelcoming andimmersive concert experience, transformative youth programmes and service to the community

The programme will include: Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin and Strings in Dminor,Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70;Elgar: Serenade forStrings in Eminor,Op. 20.

Fortickets visit www shropshiremusictrust.co.uk/tickets

18Three outstanding West End artists pay tribute to three icons of Rock ‘n’ Roll –Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley–all backed by a four-piece band, and all done in true Rock ‘n’ Roll style.

Firstly,Darren Page performs a heartfelt tribute to the one and only Roy Orbison, with songs including ‘I Drove All Night’, ‘Pretty Woman’, and ‘Ooby Dooby’.

Next up is Marc Robinson who, having portrayed Buddy Holly on stage and screen for many years, once again dons the oh-so familiar horn-rimmed glasses and joins The Counterfeit Crickets to give you atruetaste of Buddy Holly This authentic set includes such nostalgic hits as ‘Heartbeat’, ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’, ‘Peggy Sue’ and ‘True Love Ways’.

Finally,Steve Halliday from the BBC’s‘Christmas Elvis Show’and ‘Better Than The Real Thing’, brings you the ultimate King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll himself –Elvis!

The trio star in We Three Kings of Rock and Roll at Assembly Rooms, Ludlow.Tickets are £25 and can be purchased from www ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk/event/wethree-kings-of-rock-n-roll/

18Join award-winning comedian Sophie McCartney as she ventures into the perilous world of parenthood in this rollicking new standup show set to test pelvic floor muscles to the max(i) pad.

Best known for her wickedly accurate insights into adulting, Sophie thought by the time she became a‘proper’grown-up (someone who likes olives) life would all be figured out. How very wrong she was

Feeling like an out-of-depth-teen trapped in the slightly sagging skin suit of a30-something mum-of-three, why did no one tell her what to really expect after she was expecting? Will her belly button ever go back to ‘normal’? Why do you need adegree in collapsing travel cots? And does she have what it takes to stop her current cereal eaters from becoming future serial killers?

Hold onto your ‘Apple Bottom jeans and boots with the fur’, as you follow Sophie on her evolution from nonmaternal ‘noughties’ wild child, to the highs and lows of being with child.

Her show –Sophie McCartney, Is Tired And Tested –isonatTheatre Severn, Shrewsbury.For £22 tickets visit www.theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/ sophie-mccartney/

21 Forever proud to call herself a folk singer,Kate Rusby’s vocals never fail to connect theheartofasong to that of heraudience.

Named as one of the TopTen Folk Voices of the Century,a Mercury Prize Winner,six-times BBCRadio 2Folk Award Winner and awarm, Yorkshire sense of humour to boot, Rusby has achieved an unprecedentedcross-over appeal.

Celebrating over 30 years of touring and 22 albums including her latest

Renowned violinist Zoë Beyers performs with the English String OrchestraatStAlkmund’sChurch, Shrewsbury, from 4pm on April 14, while folk singer Kate Rusby will be visiting TheatreSevernonApril 21 with songs old and new celebrating 30 yearsoftouring

beautifully stunning Christmas album, Light Years, released in 2023, Kate and her band of merry and very talented men will be visiting Theatre Severn in her 50th birthday year with songs old and new Tickets cost £31 from www.theatresevern. co.uk/shows/whatson/kate-rusby

23–27

Following the huge success of the smash hit original play,Cluedo is back on stage in 2024, with abrand new hilarious whodunit –CLUEDO 2.

Starring Heartbeat and Casualty’s Jason Durr and Strictly champion Ellie Leach, CLUEDO 2isset in the swinging 1960s and introduces anew house, new suspects, and lots of new bodies, in this all new tale of murder,mystery and secret passageways.

Written by BAFTA winners Laurence

Marks and Maurice Gran, and directed by Mark Bell, CLUEDO 2, is arollocking spoof of acomedy for all ages, thatwill keep you guessing right up to the final twist. Fortickets visit www.theatresevern. co.uk/shows/drama/cluedo-2/

27 Are YouExperienced? are now in their 25th year andwidely regarded as one of the best Jimi Hendrix tribute shows on the circuit. Catchthem when they appear at Telford’s Oakengates Theatre this April.

Guitarist John Campbell bears more than just apassing resemblance to Jimi, and has drawn upon many years of playing in different bands and exploring various styles to perfect his ‘Hendrix’ persona. When he plays his Strat behind his head and with his teeth, it brings a smile to the face of even the most finicky

ANSWERS TO PUZZLESONPAGES 107 –109

REMEMBER WHEN: 1.1987, 2.1974, 3.1961, 4.1965, 5.1951, 6.1980

FOUR Ws: 1.Johann Strauss (the Younger); Hawkins; Barcelona; 1908.

2.Jack Judge; Dixon; Indian Ocean; October 21st.

3 Shirley MacLaine; French; Ceylon; 1993.

4 Answers: Mike Hawthorn; Chelsea; Canada; 1982.

5 Colin Montgomerie; Monty Python’s Spamalot; Burkina Faso; 1854.

6 Anthony Buckeridge; Blue; Sweden; 1982.

WORDWISE: 1.A, 2.B, 3.C, 4.C, 5.B

CROSSWORD: QUICK SOLUTIONS:

Across: 1 Peal; 3 Scabbard; 9 Rapport; 10 Onset; 11 Heart-rending; 13 Sector; 15 Wheeze; 17 Interference; 20 Knife; 21 Interim; 22 Prestige; 23 Bend.

Down: 1 Purchase; 2 Alpha; 4 Cutlet; 5 Bloodthirsty; 6 Absence; 7 Duty; 8 Postponement; 12 Redeemed; 14 Confine; 16 Offing; 18 Nurse; 19 Skip

CRYPTICSOLUTIONS:

Across: 1 Acne; 3 Up to date; 9 Tighten; 10 Egret; 11

Down: 1 Attracts; 2

4

5 Overcharging; 6 Arrange; 7 Eats; 8 Stamp

12 Warheads; 14 Stainer; 16 Dilate; 18 Issue; 19 Shed.

WHAT’S MY NAME?: 1.Joss Whedon. 2.Jodie Marsh. 3.Daniel Craig. 4.Gwen Stefani. 5.Ronald Searle. 6.Helen Mirren.

WORDSPIRAL 1: 1.Bald 2.Dawn 3.Near 4.Reel

5.Lamp 6.Pick

Hendrix fan. Tickets cost £18.50 and are available from the box office at www telfordtheatre.com/whats-on/music/areyou-experienced

30

After his sell-out performance in 2023, Strictly Come Dancing legend and judge Anton Du Beke returns to the stage at Theatre Severn!

With his live band, special guest singer and his dancers, expect afab-ulous evening of song, dance and laughter Anton will perform some of his favourite songs anddances that haveinspired his career.Expect behind the scenes stories from his time on Strictly that will have you laughing out loud. Don’t miss this chance to get up close to the King of the ballroom. Tickets cost £35.50fromwww theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/ anton-du-beke/

Strictly winner Ellie Leach is starring in CLUEDO 2atTheatre Severn from April23to27, while Anton Du Bekewillbesharing behind the scenes stories from his time on the showalongsideentertaining the audience with some of the songs and dances that haveinspiredhim on April 30

All-embracing; 13 Tasman; 15 Camera; 17 Catching fish; 20 Hindi; 21 Amnesia; 22 Deranges; 23 Pews

Nigel;

Pantry;

auction;