Shropshire Magazine December 2023 by MNA_Media

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FESTIVE FAVOURITES

The toys topping present lists

CHOCOLATE HEAVEN

Tempting tastebuds with sweet treats

MAKE DO AND MEND

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DECEMBER 2023 ESTABLISHED 1950 Grosvenor House, Central Park, Hollinswood Road, Telford TF2 9TW

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EDITOR Caroline Jones caroline.jones@mnamedia.co.uk 01952 241461 FEATURES EDITOR Vicki Jones vicki.jones@mnamedia.co.uk 01902 319851 NEWS EDITOR Andy Richardson FEATURE WRITERS Heather Large heather.large@mnamedia.co.uk Daniel Morris daniel.morris@mnamedia.co.uk Matthew Panter matthew.panter@mnamedia.co.uk

EDITORIAL AND SOCIAL DIARY heather.large@mnamedia.co.uk 01902 319501 ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Clare Weaver clare.weaver@mnamedia.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Alison Jukes alison.jukes@mnamedia.co.uk 01952 241339 DISTRIBUTION, SALES & SUBSCRIPTIONS 0800 174064 CONTRIBUTORS Karen Compton Ed Thomas Robert Boutﬂower

FEATURES SELECTION 7

PUBLISHED BY MNA Media, Telford PRINTED BY Precision Colour Printing, Halesﬁeld, Telford

Family favourites

Andy Richardson looks at what the region’s theatres have in store for panto fans this season

Chocolate heaven

Heather Large meets the couple getting creative with chocolate and gearing up for their busiest time of the year

Deck the halls...

A festive decor staple, Sam Wylie-Harris looks at the pick of the wreaths and garlands to choose from this Christmas

Shop local

Can you buy gifts for all your loved ones on your local high street? Dan Morris discovers the answer is most deﬁnitely yes!

Top toys

Matthew Panter visits the Telford ﬁrm helping to create the toys on Christmas wishlists

Cover story

Gathering the best of local products under one roof is a winning formula for one couple. Dan Morris ﬁnds out more...

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

51 66 47 47

Make do and mend

Heather Large visits a repair cafe where volunteers are putting their practical skills to good use to help the community

In the frame

Helping people connect

His stunning images have seen Aaron Northwood scoop a top photography prize. Matthew Panter chats to him.

Heather Large meets the mum who is passionate about raising awareness of Makaton.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Stunning Severn

Andy Richardson explores the wonderful River Severn and the beneﬁts it brings to our county

Raising a toast

Ed Thomas pays local vineyards a visit and discovers that the English wine industry is going from strength to strength

Food & drink

Shropshire boasts a bountiful supply of all your fresh festive favourites. Andy Richardson looks at what is on oﬀer

Social scene

Travel

Severn Hospice staﬀ are rewarded at their annual awards night and guests gather for a charity secret supper

Hannah Stephenson samples the local tipple and eats like a local oﬀ the beaten track on a Caribbean island paradise

110 What’s on

From Christmas concerts to festive fairs, there is plenty going on around the county this month 5

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Above: The cast of Jack and the Beanstalk at Theatre Severn. Below: Katya Jones and Carl Dutﬁeld as Silly Billy Bones

THERE’S PANTO FUN FOR EVERYONE... OH YES THERE IS ... sorry, we couldn’t Resist!

ANDY RICHARDSON BRINGS YOU A HANDY GUIDE TO THE BEST PANTOMIMES HITTING THE STAGE IN SHROPSHIRE AND BEYOND THIS DECEMBER AND JANUARY.

anto season gets into full swing in Shropshire as we head into December. At Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn, Jack And The Beanstalk opened at the end of November and runs until January 7. This year’s giant family pantomime stars Shropshire’s legendary Dame – Brad Fitt, alongside Tommy J Rollason, who is back by popular demand. They will be joined by Lucas Rush, Laura-Dene Perryman, and Reece Duncan. The show has been written by Paul

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Left: Tom Roberts as Long John Silver and Shelley Anne Rivers as The Magical Mermaid in Telford’s production of Treasure Island. Right: Alison Hammond in Jack and the Beanstalk at Birmingham Hippodrome.

Hendy and produced by Evolution. With stunning sets, hilarious comedy, audience participation and breath-taking special effects, Jack and the Beanstalk promises to be the theatre’s funniest and most spectacular pantomime ever. At Telford Theatre, BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing winner Katya Jones will star in Treasure Island from December 8 to January 6. It will also feature X Factor’s Sean Smith, as Jim Hawkins, alongside West End Star Shelley Anne Rivers, as the Magical Mermaid. The spectacular pantomime features a delicious blend of beautiful scenery, colourful costumes, a live band, dazzling dance routines, great songs and plenty of laughter. Theatre-goers can join Jim Hawkins as he finds the long-lost treasure map and sets sail with his friends Captain Smollett and Silly Billy Bones. Once they reach the Island, they meet the Magical Mermaid who helps them on their search for riches beyond their wildest dreams, it won’t be easy though as the evil Long John Silver has a few tricks up his sleeve to thwart our heroes and claim the treasure as his own. Will Jim and his pirate crew find the treasure and win the day? There’s only one way to find out… At Bridgnorth’s Theatre on The Steps, a production of Jack And The Beanstalk will feature from January 6 to 27. 8

In the village of Old Windy Bottom everyone lives in fear of the giant in the sky. Fans can join Jack, Simon, Dotty and friends as they head up the beanstalk to defeat the wicked giant. This fun-filled adventure is full of well-known songs, hilarious comedy, and the usual misfortunes and mishaps. With opportunities to boo, hiss and cheer it is the family pantomime people have bean waiting for. The show will be brought to life by the Theatre on the Steps Company. In Ludlow, the town’s Assembly Rooms will host Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Ludwig Theatre Arts will feature professional actors and a host of local children in their production, from December 12-30. If this isn’t enough and you need more of a panto fix this year (Oh yes you do!) there are plenty more hitting the stage around our region. Over the border in north Wales there is a host of fun on offer for panto fans. Theatr Clwyd in Mold will once again be staging the popular Rock ‘n’ Roll panto - this year the panto of choice will be Sleeping Beauty. For one year only Theatr Clwyd’s Rock ‘n’ Roll panto takes place in a Big Top Tent as the re-development of the building continues. The Big Top will seat over 900 audience members on three sides, meaning audiences will be closer to the

action than ever before. Tickets are selling fast for this year’s show with over 22,000 already booked, so don’t miss out, be quick and book now. Sleeping Beauty can be seen at Theatr Clwyd (Big Top) in Mold until January 6. Tickets are from £15 and are available from the Theatr Clwyd Box Office on 01352 344101 or at www.theatrclwyd.com Meanwhile over in Wrexham, Grove Park Theatre will be staging Jack and the Beanstalk from December 7 to January 6. For more information visit www. groveparktheatre.co.uk/ Over in Powys, Teme Spirits will be performing Aladdin on Friday, January 19 (evening performance) and Saturday January 20 . Tickets are on sale from Thursday, December 14 at 10am from Teme Treasures, Knighton. Tickets will be £10 per adult and £6 per child (primary school age). Mirror, mirror, on the wall, don’t miss the fairest pantomime of them all... Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is promising a truly wicked adventure with Snow White featuring from December 2 to January 7. The ultimate festive family spectacular stars Kelle Bryan (Eternal, Hollyoaks, Loose Women) as the Good Fairy Elementa, with Gyasi Sheppy (CBeebies) as the dashing Prince and Niki Colwell Evans (X Factor, Blood Brothers, Kinky Boots). They join Evie Pickerill (CBeebies) as Snow White, Tam Ryan as DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Top: Brad Fitt as Dame Trott in Theatre Severn’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk Below: The famous Rock ‘n’ Roll panto at Theatr Clwyd is returning this month.

Theatr Clwyd

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY n Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn will host Jack And The Beanstalk, which opened at the end of November, until January 7. n Treasure Island will hit the stage at Telford Theatre from December 8 until January 6. from /o

£15

30 Nov/Tach - 6 Jan/Ion theatrclwyd.com

01352 344101

Muddles, and Ian Adams as Nanny Nolly. Families can join the cast as they look in the mirror, defeat the Evil Queen and follow Snow White and the prince on their journey to find true love’s kiss in this ultimate fairy-tale family adventure. Expect spectacular scenery and costumes, magical special effects, wicked humour and plenty of audience participation. Book tickets at www. grandtheatre.co.uk In Staffordshire, Beauty And The Beast will play out at Lichfield Garrick, until January 7. The Garrick’s legendary dame Sam Rabone will be joined by Ben Thornton as Phillipe, Kat Chatterton as Belle, Melad Hamidi (Les Misérables) as the Prince and the Beast, Natalie Pilkington (Six the Musical) as the Fairy and Sarah Annakin as the Enchantress. Expect hilarious comedy, lavish sets, fantastic music, beautiful costumes, magic and mayhem. Visit www.lichfieldgarrick.com And at Stafford Gatehouse is another production of Beauty and the Beast running from December 8 to New Year’s SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Eve and starring Mark Rhodes (Pop Idol). Visit www.gatehousetheatre.co.uk Booming, bubbly Brummie and brilliantly infectious, you can’t help but join in the fun with Alison Hammond. It’s the reason audiences will be belly laughing even more than usual at this year’s Birmingham Hippodrome pantomime. Alison is the star of the venue’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk this year. Alison said: “This is a dream come true for me, I didn’t even hesitate when they asked me. Mom would have absolutely loved that I’m in panto here. “It’s our family tradition to go to the Hippodrome panto on Boxing Day.” Jack and the Beanstalk will be staged at Birmingham Hippodrome from Saturday, December 16 until January 28. Tickets for the shows can be booked at www.birminghamhippodrome.com n For more shows and events being held around Shropshire this month see pages 110-112.

n Ludlow’s Assembly Rooms will host Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from December 12-30. n Jack and the Beanstalk will be on the stage at Bridgnorth’s Theatre on The Steps from January 6 to 27. n Beauty And The Beast is on at Staﬀord Gatehouse from December 8 to 31. n Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is promising a truly wicked adventure with Snow White featuring from December 2 to January 7. n Beauty And The Beast will play out at Lichﬁeld Garrick, until January 7. n In north Wales, Theatr Clwyd is once again staging its popular Rock ‘n’ Roll panto. This year’s show, Sleeping Beauty, runs until January 6. n Grove Park Theatre in Wrexham will be staging Jack and the Beanstalk from December 7 to January 6. n Jack and the Beanstalk is on at Birmingham Hippodrome from December 16 to January 28. n Aladdin will be staged in Knighton on January 19 and 20.

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SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

HEATHER LARGE TALKS TO BESPOKE CHOCOLATIERS THE LEFEVRES ABOUT THEIR SPECIAL SWEET TREATS

hether it’s an indulgent truffle or fruit-filled bonbon, chocolate is always a must-have treat at Christmas time. And Shrewsbury-based Lefevre Chocolate has plenty to tempt the tastebuds this festive season with enticing flavours such as mulled cider, gingerbread and cranberry. The business is run by husband and wife team Richard and Laura Lefevre, who supply handmade truffles to farm shops, cafes, delis and hotels across the UK. They also design and make limited edition boxes of chocolates with a Christmas theme making the autumn months a busy time of year for the couple. “We try and limit the stress by only releasing a limited number of Christmas boxes – once they’re gone, they’re gone and our fan base know those six flavours are only going to be available in those Christmas boxes,” says Laura. “We also do it this way so there is no chance of waste come the New Year. We operate on a make to order basis giving our stockists the shelf life instead of storing them for months ourselves.” Richard has been making his own sweet treats for some 30 years after being challenged by a girl he was keen on to give it a go. At the time he was working as painter and decorator alongside his father Joe but threw himself into his mission and taught himself to make chocolate. Caught by the bug, he visited the famous London chocolatiers, which included some casual training from Paul A Young, he began selling his chocolates to friends and work colleagues at Christmas time. It grew by word of mouth as his truffles caught the eye of a few cafes and restaurants in the West Midlands and friends of friends requested wedding favours. Richard, now aged 51, stopped making chocolate for a while to help look after his poorly late father Joe and after his passing moved to Shrewsbury from Bloxwich to start a job at Shrewsbury High School as a chemistry technician around 15 years ago. He once again began making his ‘12 Days of Christmas’ boxes and selling 12

Richard, Freya and Laura Lefevre. The couple have prepared some very special Christmas truﬄes. Pictures by Martin Webb

them to work colleagues – just for a bit of extra spending money. In 2017, Richard was reunited with an old work colleague, Laura, after they bumped into each other by chance at The Old Post Office pub. Laura, now 40, remembered Richard’s chocolates and asked if he still made them. At the time, he was still only making the Christmas ones, so they set about starting a business and Lefevre Chocolate was born. Their friendship soon blossomed into romance and the couple are now married with a three-year-old daughter named Freya. Teamwork is key to the business with Richard developing the recipes and making all the chocolate by hand and Laura taking care of the customer service, selling, admin and marketing tasks. She also helps with packaging the chocolates and together they come up with new flavour ideas plans for the overall branding and look of their products. “Before being parents, we used to have our research and development meetings over a pint of cider at The Dun Cow or the Nags Head – but now it’s usually not given a specific time slot, rather we will bounce ideas off each other over WhatsApp or in quiet conversations and brain storm sessions once Freya is in bed,” says Laura.

Richard continues to work termtime in his role of chemistry technician at Shrewsbury High School so days off and evenings are often spent making chocolates while Laura looks after Freya back at home. Laura will complete the admin, accounts and marketing tasks while their daughter is asleep or at nursery. On delivering days they will travel around Shropshire as a family topping up their stockists, hotels and cafes. This year, their festive flavours in their Christmas range, which is available in packs of six and 12, are cranberry, chestnut, gingerbread, mulled cider, winter warmer and dark rum caramel. The cranberry truffle will be decorated with a red shimmer edible dust to look like a festive berry. “The trick will be to balance the acidity of cranberry and the sweetness of chocolate – so I’m planning a white truffle to carry the acidic cranberry and will enrobe in white too,” says Richard. Chestnut was a very popular festive flavour many years ago and is close to Richard’s heart because it reminds him of his parents. “One of their first dates when courting was when they went to the pictures and afterwards my dad Joe bought roast chestnuts from a stall on the

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

side of the road, and they walked home together eating them. “Marrons Glacé – the French candied chestnuts – are a very popular delicacy around Christmas time in France. I have wanted to make these for a very long time and 2023 feels like the right time. Using organic chestnuts and milk chocolate with sugar holly leaves as decoration, this will look like a Christmas pudding.” Gingerbread has been a long-term favourite for the Christmas boxes. “It was my first year working with Richard on the Christmas boxes in 2017 and during a brainstorming session I put forward some Christmassy flavour ideas, including gingerbread,” explains Laura. Creating a gingerbread chocolate involved a lot of trial and error but Richard’s hard work paid off and this year, it will have a little sugar work gingerbread man on top. The mulled cider was inspired by Laura’s love of cider. “For years we have had mulled wine in the Christmas boxes but for 2023 we felt a change was needed. It’s created using mulled cider apples and brandy in a milk truffle and enrobed in white to sweeten and lighten with a gold sugar star decoration.” The winter warmer is a chocolate truffle version of one of Richard’s favourite winter drinks – a hot toddy. “This truffle balances the flavours of malt whiskey, honey, a hint of orange and a pinch of cinnamon – all held in a dark chocolate truffle wrapped in gold foil,” says Richard. Explaining the origin of the Dark Rum Caramel, he says: “During our development of bespoke dark rum truffles for Derek at Moonshine and Fuggles in Ironbridge, I was so happy with the result that I decided there and then that I wanted to include it in our 2023 Christmas boxes. It’s finished by being hand rolled in dark chocolate and then given a green edible shimmer with the dark chocolate truffle inside.” SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Each truffle is designed to be eaten slowly to let the chocolate melt and develop on the palate so that the depth of flavour can reveal itself over time. “My favourite thing about being a chocolatier is knowing my creations are giving people joy,” says Richard. “Life is quite often rather hard. Joy is becoming something of a rarity for a lot of people – and if in a small way we can help increase the joy quota for people – that makes us happy. It’s a very satisfying job. “When I started making chocolates, I would never have thought people I don’t even know would be enjoying and appreciating the chocolates I’ve developed over time. “That is where the true enjoyment of being a chocolatier lies. Not in awards, not in commendations, but when a total stranger comes up and says how much they enjoyed something you’ve made. That is it for me. That’s the zenith of satisfaction.” After Christmas, Richard and Laura will be gearing up for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter which will all bring a peak in production.

“In 2024 we will be developing Halloween ranges too. And with our monthly hotel and stockist orders – it is never very quiet these days. “As Freya grows up and starts full time school in September 2024, Laura will have more time to dedicate to the expansion and running of the business too.” The limited edition Christmas boxes are available from: Anthony’s Of Wellington, Wellington; Moonshine & Fuggles, Ironbridge; Iron & Fire Coffee Shop, Shrewsbury; Fordhall Farm Shop, Market Drayton; Maynard’s Farm Shop, Weston-under-Redcastle, Shrewsbury; Jackie’s – Prees Village Stores & Post Office, Prees; Castle Kitchen, Montgomery; and Tipples – pop up shops, Unit 3, Lower Edgebold Industrial Estate, Hanwood, Shrewsbury. People can also purchase a box by email or arrange a gift by post by contacting lefevrechocolate@gmail.com Visit www.lefevrechocolate.com or follow @lefevrechocolate on Instagram or www.facebook.com/lefevrechocolate for more information.

PROPERTY

ARTS AND CRAFTS FAMILY HOME

unnymead, is located within walking distance of Church Stretton town centre, while quite literally stepping out to one of the most beautiful valleys in the South Shropshire Hills. This Arts and Crafts style detached four/five bed family home at the foot of the picturesque Cardingmill Valley has been launched to the market. The property is approached via a generous sweeping drive flanked by immaculate gardens. The front door opens into a porch with glazed French doors to the generous reception hall where light floods in from ground and

first floor. Doors off the hall lead to three reception rooms and the kitchen, also to the cloakroom and pantry. Beyond the kitchen is a utility and a garden room, with a storeroom off. The large light-filled landing opens to four bedrooms and the family bathroom. Two bedrooms benefit from wash basins, while three enjoy character fireplaces. There is a fifth room which could be a dressing room/ensuite, study, hobby room, or a fifth bedroom. Alistair Hilton, head of sales at Balfours, comments: “This is a very wellmaintained character period property with front room bay windows and built to very

generous proportions in terms of ceiling height and room size. Sunnymead also offers scope for modernisation. “Within the well-tended gardens is a greenhouse and a summerhouse, the latter with fabulous views of the hills. The whole is a true delight,” he adds. Shrewsbury and Ludlow are 13 and 17 miles respectively, while Telford and the Midlands are commuting distance too. Church Stretton is on the main Cardiff to Manchester railway line. Balfours are marketing Sunnymead with a guide price of £850,000. For more information call 01743 353511.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

FIVE-BED PROPERTY IN POPULAR AREA

house in the heart of Shrewsbury’s popular Belle Vue area is a rare find; add that this five-bedroom home was built less than ten years ago, making 58 Oak Street an exceptionally desirable and well-designed property. Now launched to the market by Balfours, Number 58 has a generous hallway giving access to three good-sized reception rooms, plus the kitchen, dining room and a downstairs cloakroom. The well-equipped and presented kitchen opens out to a fabulous dining space where bifold doors billow natural light through and provide access to the terrace and garden. The largest reception room also opens to the terrace, this is with French doors and glazing to two aspects. A wood burner provides the focal point for cosier times. To the front of the house are rooms currently used as a sitting room and children’s playroom, though the latter would make a spacious home office. Both have large bay windows. The master room overlooks the rear garden and has two fitted wardrobes, plus a luxurious en-suite bathroom with bath and shower. Two bedrooms benefit from a Jack and Jill shower room, with SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

one of these rooms having a pair of fitted wardrobes. A family bathroom serves a further two bedrooms. Head of sales at Balfours, Alistair Hilton, comments: “Number 58 was built by Shropshire Homes, so it is stamped with quality and is very well presented, in a great location at the end of a quiet cul-du-sac. Its location not only puts Shrewsbury town centre within walking distance, but also provides an excellent choice of state and independent schools.” To the rear is a split-level garden, with a double detached garage alongside the house, plus off-street parking for several cars. Balfours are marketing 58 Oak Street with a guide price of £850,000. For more information call 01743 353511. 15

SOLD

Church Stretton

Shropshire

SOLD

Guide Price £1,300,000

Stretton Westwood Shropshire

Guide Price £1,250,000

An Impressive Three Bedroom House, Two Holiday Cottages, Outbuildings, Set in 43 Acres (17.40 Ha).

A Three Bedroom House with Unique Views overlooking a Privately Owned Lake, plus One Bedroom Annexe.

AONB Location, Holiday Let Business, Permanent Pasture, Lakes and Woodland, Open-Plan Kitchen / Breakfast / Family Room, Large Barn, EPC D.

Landscaped Garden, 2.59 Acres (1.05 Ha), Three Reception Rooms, Two Bathrooms, Integrated Sound System, Double Garage and Outbuildings, EPC D.

SOLD

Clive Avenue Shropshire

SOLD

Guide Price £925,000

Shrewsbury Shropshire

Guide Price £825,000

A Contemporary Five Bedroom House with One of The Best Views in Church Stretton situated on Clive Avenue.

One of the Finest Victorian Semi-Detached Villas in Belle Vue, boasting Unrivalled Accommodation.

New Build, High Speci�cation, Contemporary, Stunning �iews, �nspoilt Countryside, Open-Plan Kitchen / Breakfast Room, Lounge, Garden Room, EPC B

Five Bedrooms, Four Storeys, Flexible Living, Sun Terrace, Secondary Accomodation Potential, Good Decoration, Three Reception Rooms, Freehold, EPC D.

NEW

Church Stretton Shropshire

Guide Price £850,000

Cruckmeole Hanwood

Guide Price £825,000

A Versatile Lifestyle Property with a Range of Outbuildings plus a Caravan Park set within 24 Acres (9.72 Ha).

A Grade II Listed House which has undergone Extensive Refurbishment whilst retaining Original Features.

AONB, Stunning Location, 4 Bedroom Farmhouse, 2 Bedroom Barn Conversion, Potential Annexe / Holiday Let / B&B, Permanent Pasture, Cottage EPC: F, Annexe EPC: D.

Open Countryside Views, Semi-Rural Location, �nder�oor Heating, Study, Family Room, Open-Plan Kitchen / Breakfast Room, Workshop.

Abdon

Welshpool

Craven Arms

Guide Price £776,000

Powys

Guide Price £550,000

Lot 1: 98.14 Acres (39.17 Ha) of Level Grassland with Some Arable Potential.

A Handsome, Period, Country Residence teeming with Original Features and Enormous Potential.

Flexible Versatile Land, Established Agricultural Area, AONB, Reddish Soil Suitable for Livestock Rearing, Fodder and Cereals, Well-Drained, Mains Water and Electricity Available at Roadside.

Chalet, Snug with Wood Burner, Kitchen / Breakfast Room, Garden Room with Wonderful Views, Master Bedroom with En Suite, Family Bathroom, EPC: G.

PERIOD FARMHOUSE

lms Farm is an extremely attractive period farmhouse which was originally two cottages, dating back to the 18th

century. It enjoys a beautiful setting amongst the Shropshire Hills, with access to footpaths, bridleways and cycle routes. The property at Church Bank in Clun, near Craven Arms, is on the market with Savills with a guide price of £1,250,000. The house has been altered and renovated over the years and has more recently had an extension added, creating a wonderful family home whilst making the most of the stunning views and surrounding countryside. The house is approached via a private drive where there is a parking area for several vehicles. The original front door opens into a boot room with WC, and a further door opens into the spacious living and dining room which has a wonderful exposed stone inglenook fireplace. There is a dining area, and an office/bedroom five off. An inner hall provides access into the fabulous L-shaped kitchen breakfast room, which is part of the modern extension. There is a four-oven AGA, 18

with a separate electric oven and induction hob, fitted units with solid oak worktops, a central island with a breakfast bar and granite worktop and a separate dining space. Doors lead to a raised patio. There are two staircases leading to the first floor; the original leads up to a landing where there are two double bedrooms both with en-suite bathrooms. A set of double doors lead through to the modern extension and further landing space, off which is the principal bedroom with doors to a balcony. There is an ensuite bathroom with bath and shower. Bedroom four is within this part of

the house and also has a door onto the balcony. The second staircase leads back down to the kitchen. Outbuildings include the original workshop, a partially converted timberframed barn and the steel barn, currently used as a recording studio with a small kitchenette and a shower room. The land is mostly to the front, sloping down towards the valley with a wildlife pool. Elms Farm is about half a mile outside of Clun, with the amenities of Knighton about seven miles away, Craven Arms about nine miles and Bishop’s Castle about five miles away. DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Opulence and luxury

Ultimate lifestyle property

Newport, Shropshire

Clun, Shropshire

Modern credentials offering a fabulous and stylish family home. State of the art living, modern 5 bed detached family home, 3 reception rooms, double garage, number of schools in the immediate area, well located for the M54.

Set amongst the glorious Shropshire countryside. Plenty of potential for a hobby farm, and multigenerational living/holidays lets (subject to planning) 4 bedroom detached family home with workshop, barn and studio.

Freehold | Council Tax Band = G | EPC Rating = C

Freehold | Council Tax Band = D | EPC Rating = E

4907 Sq Ft | Guide £1,300,000

About 6 acres | Guide £1,250,000

Peter Daborn

Head of Residential Shropshire 01952 239 500 peter.daborn@savills.com

Head of Residential Shropshire 01952 239500 peter.daborn@savills.com

Architecturally designed

Historic charm

Cleobury North, Shropshire

Newcastle, Shropshire

Beautifully designed barn conversion set within the glorious South Shropshire countryside, 5 bedroom family home, with outbuildings and beautiful gardens, The A49 is approximately 12 miles away, providing access to Shrewsbury, Hereford and the south.

This charming converted Old School House is steeped in character and charm with traditional features and a contemporary twist. Set in an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with 4 bedroom, 3 reception rooms and 2 acres of private woodland.

Freehold | Council Tax Band = F | EPC Rating = E

Freehold | Council Tax Band = E | EPC Rating = G

3718 Sq Ft | Guide £1,100,000

About 2.36 acres | Guide £750,000

Peter Daborn

Head of Residential Shropshire 01952 239 500 peter.daborn@savills.com

Newport town centre, approximately 0.8 miles.

Bridgnorth approximately 7 miles

*pricing correct at the time of print

Craven Arms approximately 9 miles.

Newcastle approximately 0.2 miles

VILLAGE PLOT FOR EXQUISITE HOUSE

on’t miss out on an incredible opportunity to own a brandnew, exquisite four-bedroom family home nestled within a spacious plot with picturesque openviews. Adjacent to Longford Grange in Longford near Market Drayton, Plot 2 is part of a sought-after gem located in a charming village, set within a small, exclusive development of only two stunning homes. The property is on the market with Prestige by Mannleys for offers in the region of £795,000 freehold. As an early buyer, you’ll have the unique chance to influence the choice of fixtures and fittings. The ground floor of this remarkable residence offers a generously sized open-plan kitchen, dining, and family room that seamlessly extends with bifold doors, a welcoming reception hallway, a cosy sitting room graced by French doors and a feature floor-to-ceiling window, a convenient utility room, and a ground floor WC. Ascending to the first floor, you’ll find the main bedroom with a striking floor-to-ceiling window and an en-suite shower, as well as three more spacious bedrooms. A well-appointed family bathroom 20

awaits, complete with a bathtub and a separate shower. This property boasts modern conveniences, including air source central heating with underfloor heating on the ground floor and radiators on the upper level. It also features a 3.68kw solar system (with battery storage available at an additional cost), an electric vehicle charging point, beautifully landscaped gardens offering enchanting open views, ample driveway parking and a garage. Completion of this dream home is scheduled for March 2024. DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

RABAK SYTCH LANE, WATERS UPTON, TELFORD, TF6 6NT OIEO £650,000

2 DRURY LANE RODINGTON, SY4 4RG OIRO £435,000

A stunning, ex tended 4 bedroom family home located in this highly sought after village location. Open-plan k itchen/dining room/sitting room, lounge, playroom/ family room, utility room and wc. Stunning main bedroom with Juliet balcony and en-suite shower, three fur ther good-sized bedrooms (one with dressing area), family bathroom with bath and separate shower. Good-sized landscaped rear garden, garden room/ gym, driveway park ing, garage. EPC C

Charming Grade II Listed, three -bedroom detached cottage that exudes charac ter nestled in a highly sought-af ter village location. Entrance hall, breakfast k itchen, sitting room with a captivating double -sided log burner, dining room, utility room, and a convenient ground floor WC. Upstairs, you’ll find three bedrooms, a study and a family bathroom with bath and separate shower. Driveway park ing, a generously sized garage, and beautifully established garden areas.

ROSE COTTAGE 3 WAPPENSHALL, TF6 6DE OIRO £570,000

38 ALBERT ROAD WELLINGTON TF1 3AU OIRO £425,000

R are oppor tunity to acquire this beautiful, ex tended, Duke of Sutherland cottage with lovely open views to the rear, located in a popular rural location. Open-plan k itchen/dining room with log burner, sitting room with log burner, large utility/boot room, wc. Main bedroom with en-suite shower, three fur ther good-sized bedrooms and family bathroom. Gated plot, ex tensive driveway, garage, front side and rear gardens. Great potential for ex tension (subjec t to P/P). EPC E

A spec tacular 3 bedroom semi- detached proper ty full of charac ter with gorgeous period features. Highly sought af ter location approx. 5 minutes walk from Wellington Train Station. Entrance hall, living room, snug, dining room, breakfast k itchen and downstairs WC. To the first floor, main bedroom with en-suite, two fur ther bedrooms and a family bathroom. Driveway park ing, detached garage, front garden and a large landscaped rear garden. EPC E

23a Market Street, Wellington, Telford, TF1 1DT 01952 245064 • prestige@mannleysproperty.co.uk

STUNNING VIEWS

airfields is a superior, beautifully designed and immaculately presented, four-bedroomed detached house. The property has been extensively renovated by the current owners to provide superb family accommodation with all rooms presented to an exacting standard. It is on the market with Miller Evans for offers in the region of £950,000. In brief, the accommodation includes: entrance vestibule, entrance hall, sitting room, playroom/study, superb open plan kitchen/living/dining room, family room, utility room, cloakroom/WC, master bedroom suite with dressing room and en-suite shower room, further guest bedroom with en-suite shower room, two

further double bedrooms and principal bathroom. The kitchen is a beautiful room fitted with a high quality range of kitchen units with granite work tops over and a range of integrated appliances, a tiled floor and windows to the side and rear overlooking the garden and grounds. The family room boasts a feature fireplace with wood burning stove and bi-folding doors leading out to the rear garden A purpose-built oak outbuilding comprises: double garage, workshop, log store and annex comprising a kitchen/ living area and double bedroom. Outside the property is a large gravelled forecourt approached through an electric gate, attractive and good-sized formal garden and a paddock totalling

to approx half an acre. The property benefits from underfloor heating, double glazing and an oil-fired central heating system. Internal inspection is highly recommended. This property occupies a pleasant position boasting stunning views of the surrounding countryside and towards Haughmond Hill. The village of Uffington is approx. seven miles east of Shrewsbury and provides an excellent range of amenities including the renowned Corbet Arms Public House, a village church, the Shrewsbury Rugby Club, a frequent bus service and the property is also well placed for easy access to the Shrewsbury by-pass proving an M54 Motorway link to the West Midlands.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Radbrook, Shrewsbury

£750,000

A superior, spacious and luxuriously presented six bedroom family residence, lavishly appointed with high quality finish and extending to approx 2700 sq ft together with numerous features and refinements throughout. The property benefits from three reception rooms, study, six bedrooms and three bathrooms. Double garage and parking. Landscaped gardens. Situated in this desirable residential development, well placed within reach of local amenities and the town centre.

The Redlands, Shrewsbury

£630,000

This superior, detached four double bedroomed family residence provides well planned and well proportioned accommodation throughout, which has been greatly improved and enhanced. The owners impeccable taste and sense of style together with an unfaltering attention to detail and exacting standard of presentation, showcases the property at its absolute best. Located on a private drive with one other property, on this popular residential area, close to excellent amenities

4 Barker Street, Shrewsbury • 4 The Square, Church Stretton

IMPRESSIVE BARN CONVERSION

he Brambles is an impressive four-bedroom barn conversion, newly developed to a high standard, located in Cruckton on the outskirts of Shrewsbury. The Brambles benefits from farreaching countryside views and is on the market with Jackson Property for offers in the region of £625,000. Shrewsbury offers a wide range of amenities, including shops, pubs, restaurants and recreational facilities and also a range of well-regarded schools. The property also benefits from excellent communication links. The Brambles is a spacious fourbedroom barn conversion which has been finished to the highest of standards. From the parking area, a path leads

you through the lawned garden to a fully glazed door which takes you into the spacious, open-plan living kitchen/dining area. The kitchen has feature exposed brick walls and includes a range of base and wall-mounted units with solid Quartz surfaces. The kitchen also benefits from a large central island and AEG integrated appliances. The oak effect Karndean flooring continues throughout the living kitchen/dining area and in to the utility room, WC and plant room. The open plan kitchen flows through to a formal sitting room. Double oak doors open off the sitting room to an office/snug or playroom. On the first-floor, four bedrooms and a family bathroom are accessed off the spacious landing. The master bedroom

benefits from a large en-suite bathroom with walk-in shower and offers stunning views to the rear aspect through French doors which open onto a Juliet balcony. The guest bedroom has exposed oak beams and is positioned to the front of the property and also benefits from an ensuite shower. The other two large double bedrooms are serviced by the family bathroom which has a free-standing bath and walk-in shower. The Brambles has parking for up to four vehicles. A stone path leads through the lawned gardens and up to the patio area. The garden is laid to lawn with a tall wooden perimeter fence and exposed brick elevation of the neighbouring property. The garden to the front is neatly laid to grass with estate fencing.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Rural, Equestrian & Commercial Specialists

SALES | LETTINGS | MANAGEMENT | INVESTMENT | DEVELOPMENT If you are looking to sell or let your property/land, or need advice on a range of professional matters, please call or use the QR code to visit our website

WISHING YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Richard Burton

Dora Prytherch

Gillon Crow

James Willis

Millie Hinds

Shropshire (Head Office) Franks Barn, Preston On Severn, Uffington, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 4TB

01743 709249

01948 666695

info@jackson-property.co.uk

INTERIORS

DECK THE HALLS... ADD FAUX FOLIAGE AND GLAMOUR TO YOUR DOOR DÉCOR, SAYS SAM WYLIE-HARRIS.

hen it comes to conjuring the spirit of Christmas and festive cheer at home, nothing says ‘welcome’ like a beautiful festive wreath. Christmas wreaths and garlands always make an impact – whether hung on your front door or used as a showstopping centrepiece to style around indoors. Versatile and very of-the-moment, this winter, take your pick from ribbons and bells, pre-lit faux fir and brilliant baubles to create an inviting entrance…

1. Pre-Lit Foraged Winter Wreath – 60cm, £145, The White Company

With a cottagecore aesthetic, this charming ring features white berries, pussywillow, eucalyptus, twigs and fir branches, with a decorative jute ribbon tie to string to your door knocker – or hang over a spindle back dining chair.

2. Pre-Lit Foraged Winter Garland – 250cm, £145, The White Company 1

When you want to tie everything together for a fluid, festive feel, garlands

lend themselves beautifully to bedroom décor. With a generous display of LED lights, rich faux fir and berries, this one can be draped across a headboard or bed frame. Featuring flocked foliage, gold berries, blue baubles and pinecones, this lavish design is right on point.

3. Very Home Glam Pre-Lit Christmas Wreath – 60cm, £29.99 (was £39.99), Very

Featuring flocked foliage, gold berries, blue baubles and pinecones, this lavish design is right on point.

4. George White Berry Christmas Wreath, £20, Direct.asda

When you want to dazzle friends and family with an all-white scheme, all this sumptuous wreath needs is some snow spray on the windows to fashion a wonderful winter wonderland.

5. Pre-Lit Oversized Mistletoe Christmas Wreath & Garland, £164.99, Lights4Fun

Love Scandi style schemes? This luxurious wreath and co-ordinating garland features warm white micro LEDs, nestled between the pearl berries and mistletoe. DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

6. Eucalyptus and Pinecone Wreath, £39, Marquis & Dawe

With faux sprigs of eucalyptus aplenty and pretty clusters of pinecones set against generous branches of fir foliage, this natural effect wreath would love a woodland theme.

7. Rainbow Time Capsule Rainbow Tinsel Wreath, £60, John Lewis With a nod to dopamine décor, we’re wild about the dazzling kaleidoscope of colour in this wreath, channelling happy vibes.

8. Golden Alaskan Fir Wreath, £35, and Fir Garland, £70, Cox & Cox

When it comes to glam Christmas décor, warm gold tones and a glitzy garland will spruce up any space. We love this effortlessly chic faux pair – and the flicker of LED pillar candles on your doorstep will add extra pizzazz.

9. George Stacey Solomon Green Cowbell Christmas Wreath, £18, Direct.asda

10 9

This statement wreath has a cosy folk feel, with the ribbon bow adding a dreamy vintage touch. Style with a wintery scene and bleached woods to nail the look.

10. Bauble Christmas Wreath, £35, Next

Beautiful in blue, and a neat way to weave something shiny and sophisticated into your scheme.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

RURAL SMALLHOLDING HAS BIG OPPORTUNITY

elieved to date back in part to the 1600’s, Wilbrighton Manor Farmhouse is thought to have once been thatched. With later extensions and additions, it offers feature fireplaces, exposed brickwork, quarry tiled floors and timber beams throughout. An open-plan living space with large central chimney breast hosts a kitchen/ breakfast room boasting an inglenook fireplace with Aga, dining room with open timber framing to sitting room with log burning stove and former ‘cheese room’ study. Off the kitchen is a useful utility room, shower room and large drawing room with open fireplace overlooking the rear garden and pond. On the first floor, a landing room with open timber frame to secondary area, could easily accommodate a double bedroom, landing area and family bathroom, or master suite. There are three further bedrooms and a secondary staircase, each with timber boarded floors and period feature fireplaces. To the

outside of the property there are a range of traditional brick outbuildings with potential for a variety of uses including stabling, storage or even change of use to business or residential subject to obtaining the relevant planning consents. 6.25 acres of pastureland arranged in two paddocks wraps around the property providing land suitable for grazing and mowing as well as adequate space for the creation of an orchard, kitchen garden or wildlife habitat. Wilbrighton Manor Farm is a charming residential smallholding with an abundance of potential. The property is ideally located four miles from Newport, Shropshire, with good access to motorway and rail networks as well as a number of outstanding schools. The property is on the market with Berrys and offers are invited in the region of £900,000. For further information please contact Melanie Holt on 07469 858749 email melanie.holt@berrys. uk.com

Residential Smallholding With Development Potential

Wilbrighton Manor Farm Newport, Shropshire TF10 9DF An exciting renovation project of a character four-bedroomed farmhouse with a range of traditional brick buildings and pasture paddocks. Development potential for equestrian, business or residential use, subject to planning. Wilbrighton Manor Farm is a charming smallholding with an abundance of potential, extending to approximately 6.25 acres. It is located 4 miles from Newport, with good access to motorway and rail networks as well as a number of outstanding schools. Please contact Melanie Holt on 01743 267062 or email melanie.holt@berrys.uk.com

berrys.uk.com 28

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Thinking of Buying or Selling a Home in Shropshire? Choose PCB Solicitors for Expert Conveyancing Services! Why PCB Solicitors?

Here at Finson Interiors we have a comprehensive range of traditional & modern British and German kitchens that oﬀer you a choice of design, colour and finish to help you create an individual quality kitchen Our simple process of consultation, home visit, design and no obligation quote means you could be looking at your fully immersive dream kitchen plan within days! Visit us at our new showroom 73, High Street, Newport Shropshire, TF10 7AU T: 01952 977964 E: sales@finsoninteriors.co.uk www.finsoninteriors.co.uk

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FROM DESIGN TO COMPLETION

OH CHRISTMAS TREE . . .

THESE TREES AND ORNAMENTS WILL BRING JOY TO YOUR LIVING ROOM, SAYS SAM WYLIE-HARRIS.

hen it comes to celebrations, is there anything more magical than turning on the Christmas fairy lights… and being reminded how your twinkling tree is a tower of happiness? And with so many artfully decorated, realistic artificial trees – from firs to young pines – you’d be hard pushed not to know they’re not freshly cut. Furthermore, if you prefer flocked tips over green, or brilliant white spruce with a light dusting of faux snow, when it comes to fake Christmas trees, the realms of possibility are endless. To help fire your imagination, we’ve shortlisted some hot favourites adorned with dreamy decos, to trigger those feelgood festive moments…

1. John Lewis Brunswick Spruce Un-lit Christmas Tree, 6ft, £229, John Lewis Brilliantly bushy branches boast lighter green tips as they extend out, to mimic new needles. With a natural outline and loads of room for ornaments, a selection of ivory baubles and shimmering decos sets off this spruce magnificently.

2. George Green 7ft Flocked PreLit Christmas Tree, £100, Direct. asda Let it snow… if you’re visualising Santa’s grotto and the look of freshly fallen snow, a flocked tree is where it’s at. Pre-lit with 200 lights, this one is a thing of beauty before you’ve even crowned it with a tree topper.

3. Cox & Cox Young Pine Christmas Tree – 6ft, £210; Twelve Satin Tree Bows – Bright Mix, £12.50 per set, Cox & Cox Think vintage style satin ribbons in beautiful brights bringing your bushy pine tree to life. And with so many branches to embellish (1,799 realistic tips), you can really go wild with decos – and build up the bows with glitzy baubles. Pre-lit options available.

4. John Lewis Newington Pre-lit Christmas Tree, 7ft, £200, John Lewis At its core, a rich emerald green, and the structured silhouette lends a contemporary look to this popular size tree. Pictured here with a kaleidoscope of colour, we love this nod to dopamine décor… and the more the merrier. DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

5. Bonnie & Maisie Ballerina Decorations – Set of 2, £24, The White Company

branches, it’s a trendy option for monochrome interiors or Scandi-style spaces.

Just think… bringing the ballet to your showcase of ornaments with this darling dancing pair, complete with tulle tutus and touch of silver shimmer.

7. Canadian Blue Green Spruce, 4ft, Un-lit, from £169, Balsam Hill

6. George 6ft Evergreen Classics Pre-lit Sierra Crystal Frost White Spruce, £150, Direct.asda If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, this dazzling crystal frost spruce comes with the promise of 300 white fairy lights to steal the spotlight. With a dusting of faux snow on the

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Flush with dense needle foliage, these blue-green tips with silvery hues would love to be complemented with gold beads, baubles and gilded red ornaments for a glamorous centrepiece. Available in a variety of heights with pre-lit options.

8. John Lewis Rainbow Time Capsule String of Chilis Bauble, £7, John Lewis Looking to spice up your scheme?

We’re wild about these red hot chilli peppers for a funky, festive edge.

9. Glitter Edge Honeycomb Hanging Christmas Tree Decorations, £9.99, The Wisteria Tree With a luxurious feel and velvet finish, these glitter-edged decos in rich colours add style and elegance to any scheme.

10. George Christmas Iridescent Sparkly Moon Bauble, £3, Direct. asda A crescent moon with crystals… c’est très chic.

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Christmas Trees

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CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS, LIGHTS AND GIFT IDEAS VISIT THE SHOWROOM TO SEE OUR UNRIVALLED RANGE

Pop in for a Magical Experience this Christmas

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SHOPPING

PRESENTS MISSION NOT IMPOSSIBLE

IN NEED OF SOME GIFT INSPIRATION AHEAD OF CHRISTMAS? WE ARE HERE TO HELP. WE SENT OUR MAN DAN MORRIS ON A MISSION TO FIND THE BEST GIFTS ON THE HIGH STREET

hristmas shopping can feel like a daunting task every year. But help is at hand. In Shropshire we are blessed with many fantastic high streets that can meet our shopping needs ahead of the festive season. With this in mind, I decided to head to Newport – one of our region’s finest market towns – to see what a gift-hunt would yield. Home to a number of independent businesses, Newport offers a fun retail experience that I hoped may be the key to unlocking a bit of special Christmas joy. This personality-packed town is easily accessible from most of Shropshire, and can be a great destination for those looking to shop local. With a spring in my step, and a mission to tick the box of three gifts in hand, the game was on...

Something for the children

When it comes to Christmas shopping, for most of us the children are the number one priority, so finding something sweet for my daughter seemed 34

like the best place to start. Newport’s broad high street is very easily navigable, with a treasure trove of businesses ripe with gift-worthy goods. In searching for something for my little one, Number 45 stood straight out. An independent shop specialising in homeware, jewellery and generally stocking gifts galore, Number 45’s festive window display enticed me straight through the door. This beautiful business also has a section of its shop floor devoted to Jellycat children’s toys – a cuddly toy brand known for producing safe teddy treats for newborns and young babies. Dropping on a cute Jellycat ‘Naughty Penguin’ for £14, the search for baby’s gift was over, and I was off the starting grid. Number 45 also offers a gift-wrapping service for those wanting to get this sorted right there and then. Perfect!

Treating the lady in your life

Whether it’s mum, grandma or a partner, finding that perfect present for the most important lady in your

life is a crucial part of your Christmas shop. Happily, Newport offers plenty of businesses that may hold this Holy Grail, as Daisy Chain did for me. This ladies’ boutique specialising in clothing, footwear and accessories seemed like the perfect place to start this particular search, and, low and behold, it delivered. With a gorgeous variety of goods on offer, Daisy Chain stocks a pretty range of ladies’ scarves priced at £10 – a bargain that ticked the box and also kept me well within budget.

Looking after the chaps

With the two most important presents secured, it was now time to focus on the chaps. Finding something for dad or grandad can often be a bit of a chore, but luckily Newport is home to a gift emporium that holds a treasure trove of more masculine gifts as part of its offering. The Little Card and Gift Company is another independent business on Newport’s high street that specialises in exactly what it says on the tin. In DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

DAN’S CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE JELLYCAT NAUGHTY PENGUIN STUFFED TOY, £14 (NUMBER 45)

approaching this charming shop, I was pleased to spot a number of choice items for the boys right there in the window – from premium quality shaving soap to hip flasks, bottle openers and more. Staff were incredibly helpful, and when I told them of my available budget, directed me to a couple of lovely options. The film fan in me found it impossible to resist a fun set of novelty clapperboard cufflinks, priced at a perfect £12.95. So, to round-up, my spot of retail therapy in Newport was a fantastic festive success, with three presents bought for the grand total of £36.95. Not only were three lovely gifts purchased, but three of our region’s independent businesses were also supported, and my Christmas shopping was started economically with a nice bit of shopping local. Still looking to find those allimportant Christmas stocking fillers? I think Newport could well be the way to go. SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

LADIES SCARF, £10 (DAISY CHAIN)

CUFFLINKS, £12.95 (THE LITTLE CARD AND GIFT COMPANY)

GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING Finding the perfect presents for your loved ones can feel like a daunting task. But Christmas shopping doesn’t need to be overwhelming. There are ways to take the stress out of the experience and ensure everybody gets a gift that will make them smile. Although it’s sometimes easier said than done, starting early can make the process go a lot more smoothly. It’s also a good way to spread the cost – because there is no getting away from it, it’s an expensive time of year. If you can, pick up gifts as they catch your eye in the shops, rather than waiting until the week before Christmas But before you buy anything, start by making a list of everybody

you need to buy for, how much you want to spend on each gift and jot down any ideas you’ve already had for presents. This will help you focus on what you really need rather than being tempted by impulse purchases. Independent shops are often a great place to find unique and unusual gifts. Remember Christmas shopping should be fun so, rather than continually rushing from store to store, make sure to take a break and pace yourself – you could enjoy a hot chocolate and a mince pie at a local cafe, for example. Once all your gifts have been purchased and wrapped, you can relax a bit and look forward to the smiles on Christmas Day morning which make it all worthwhile.

FEATURE

INN FOR ROMANCE HEATHER LARGE SPEAKS TO THE SHROPSHIRE ACTOR WHO MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF PORTRAYING A GANGSTER BUT IS SHOWING HIS SOFTER SIDE IN A CHRISTMAS ROM COM

e received critical acclaim for his portrayal of notorious gangster Reggie Kray and won awards for his role in horror film 13 Graves. But now actor Kevin Leslie is hoping to show his softer side in a new festive romantic comedy - Christmas at the Holly Day Inn. He appears in the film alongside Dr Who actor Colin Baker, former EastEnders star Anita Dobson and Tamla Kari, best known for her role in BBC drama The Musketeers. Kevin, who developed a love for acting while at Thomas Telford School, said playing the male lead, Oliver, was too good an opportunity to pass up. “I had worked with the production company, M and M Film Productions, before and we were discussing another project when this Christmas film landed on their desk. “They sent it to me and asked if I would be interested in the male lead – I jumped at it,” recalls Kevin, who was born in Shrewsbury and grew up in Edgmond, near Newport. “Christmas is all about family and friends so to have the opportunity to lead out a Christmas romantic comedy was amazing. “I’ve got a big family, my brother and sister have quite a few children but they’ve never seen anything I’ve been in because they’ve all had an age rating of 15 or 18. It’s nice to be in a film that all the family can watch together,” he adds. 36

Filming for Christmas at the Holly Day Inn took place in and around the village of Cheddar in Somerset in April and May last year. “The majority of the film was shot in early spring and although it was cooler at night, we would still have the odd sunny day. I can remember a day when we were wearing these woolly Christmas jumpers and it was really quite warm. “The art department has done an incredible job at making it look like it’s winter and Christmas time,” says Kevin, who previously starred in The Rise of The Kray and The Fall of The Krays. The film, directed by Adam Wilson, follows over-achieving executive Emma, played by Tamla, who quits her job before Christmas and travels to her father’s

country inn to regain balance. When she discovers the retreat empty and under pressure to sell, she sets about saving the inn and restoring her father’s spirit. While she’s back home, Emma meets Kevin’s character Oliver who she believes is a travel writer reviewing the hotel but not everything is as it seems. “Oliver was born and raised in the corporate world, that’s all he’s ever known. He’s set the task of acquiring the Holly Day Inn and getting the contract signed. “He’s not very sentimental. He never really grew up with family traditions. Emma really loves Christmas and her enthusiasm is infectious. Oliver becomes smitten with these traditions that he’s never had in his life before,” says Kevin, who doesn’t want too give too much away DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

“It’s the perfect ﬁlm to warm the cockles and watch with a hot chocolate in front of the ﬁre” – Actor Kevin Leslie

about what happens next. “It’s a very Christmassy and feel-good boy-meetsgirl, girl-meets-boy film. It’s the perfect film to warm the cockles and watch with a hot chocolate in front of the fire,” he adds. The 35-year-old, who now lives in Tunbridge Wells with his wife Dr Kate Evans and baby daughter Athena, says working with the cast was very enjoyable and they had a lot of fun together. “Tamla was a delight to work with, I had seen her in BBC’s The Musketeers and really respect her work. I would work with Anita on every project if I could – they just don’t make them like her anymore. Watching Anita and Colin work together was great. Colin is just hilarious. We had a little game on set of trying to make each other laugh. SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

“It was a great opportunity to step up and work with some household names and hopefully be on par with them,” he tells Shropshire Magazine. Kevin, who graduated from Arts University Bournemouth with a BA (Hons) Acting degree in 2010, is looking forward to starting work on a new sci-fi film, also directed by Adam, next year. “I’m really excited to get cracking on it as it’s something a little different for me and I’m happy to be working with Adam again,” he says. n Christmas at the Holly Day Inn is now available on demand from streaming platforms Amazon, Apple TV, Microsoft Store, Google Play and Sky Store.

PAGE 36, FROM TOP: Kevin Leslie and Tamla Kari in Christmas at the Holly Day Inn; Colin Baker and Anita Dobson; Colin Baker on set. PAGE 37 FROM TOP: Tamla and Kevin ice-skating during a scene from the festive ﬁlm, Director Adam Wilson on set with Anita Dobson; the ﬁlm poster

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Barry Hughes, managing director of Telford-based Golden Bear Products Ltd, with the new Soccerbot games which has been three years in development

BEAR ESSENTIALS FOR TOY HEAVEN MATT PANTER MEETS THE BOSS OF A SHROPSHIRE TOY FIRM THAT IS GEARING UP FOR CHRISTMAS AND IS BUSY CREATING THE TOYS ON THE TOP OF YOUNGSTERS’ GIFT WISHLISTS

e are all just big kids at heart, aren’t we? Even now, at 47, I feel tempted, while out on shopping trips, to sneak into a toy store and have a peek at the latest talked-about figures and games. So to have the chance to actually work at a company which brings toy ideas to the table, as well as creating and marketing them, seems like a dream role. And according to Barry Hughes, managing director of Telford-based Golden Bear Products Ltd, that’s exactly what it is.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

“You have to pinch yourself sometimes,” he says. “It’s fun having board meetings and talking about Iggle Piggle and Farty Freddie! It beats nuts and bolts. “We have a great team here and they do so well. I am proud of them. They are all really passionate and it’s great we are all working in toys.” The business – based at Hortonwood 40 in Telford – launched in 1979 when John Hales and Christine Nicholls were eager to start their own toy company, having gained considerable experience in their previous roles at Chad Valley.

With enthusiasm, they created Golden Bear Products Ltd which rapidly became a leading manufacturer of soft toys and the company has gone from strength to strength ever since. The company enjoyed success with the Teletubbies in the late 1990s and have worked on a lot of pre-school licences, everything from Peppa Pig to Thomas the Tank Engine. The first licence was Ed the Duck, and more recently, In the Night Garden, Hey Duggee and Bing. Such names are toy heaven for children and now it’s the time of the year when the staff at Golden Bear are most

excited, when toys are on the wishlist of every child in the land. The public has, Barry says, been a little slower in getting ready for December 25. “We have looked at a lot of analysis and Christmas has started much later this year,” he says. “We do research, for example, on Amazon searches and can see when searches build up on things like festive gifts, trees and decorations. “Searches were six weeks behind and I think the weather had an impact. “Up until recently we had some sunny days and when people are walking around in short sleeves, they are not thinking about Christmas. But things are speeding up now.” Golden Bear has been getting ready for Christmas ever since the last big day passed and has launched a host of new products this year, including many taking the global market by storm. “I do love this time of year, it’s really fun,” says Barry. “This is when you see toys in the hands of the children and look at the joy they bring.” Among the exciting creations of Golden Bear this year are Smart Ball SoccerBot and a game called Farty Freddie, both of which are now on sale at leading retailers.

Members of the Golden Bear toy company team, Telford, and some of the products they create and sell including Curlimals and football range. Top: Niamh Beer, Michael Henny and Dave Mapp Bottom: Heather Preece,Louise Cooper,Kathy Lesser and Melanie France.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Sales of the company’s Curlimals range continue to soar. Curlimals are now on the market in the USA, along with more than 50 other countries. “We have got some winners,” Barry says with excitement and enthusiasm. “One of the most exciting products we have created is SoccerBot, which has been three years in development. “I had tasked the team and said ‘Can we find a football product that mum and dad will let you play indoors?’ “This is it and research has shown we have ticked all the boxes. We launched it two weeks ago and it’s selling out everywhere. “Basically, if you imagine a little vacuum cleaner that you can set to do the carpet, then this is similar – a little bot that comes with its own ball, which it chases and it tries to tackle you. “You have got to try and keep the ball and avoid the bot and you have three lives. “It has six different speeds and works on hard floor or carpet and you can set the size of area you play in. “It can work for a six-year-old starting out or a professional player and it gets you up and active, exercising inside on dark nights, improving football skills no end. It’s the most exciting product I have ever worked on.” He could go on for hours about it and why not? “I sound a bit obsessed by it, don’t I?” he says “That’s because I am!” But there are a whole host of other products which the company has developed recently. Golden Bear has also launched a football quiz game called Fanzone, for up to six players. It’s electronic and takes players through an interactive journey, with lights and sounds. It is ‘going down a storm’.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Above: The Golden Bear factory in Telford; below: John Hales, chairman of toymakers Golden Bear Products, pictured with Teletubbies during the 1990s at the factory showroom.

And then there are the previously mentioned interactive soft toys Curlimals, which continue to grow too and are being searched more than last year. The range includes Higgle the hedgehog, Bibi the bunny, and Blue the badger – adorable woodland creatures that respond to touch with over 50 sounds and reactions. They react by talking, giggling and sneezing and they have their own sounds and phrases, reflecting their individual personalities. When they are tired, they curl up into a cute ball and snore softly but pet them again and they wake up ready to play

again. “We are in 55 countries now,” said Barry. “The range is a big success story and we have just gone on shelf in Walmart in the US, which is a major victory for a family firm in Shropshire. “We have extended the range with Flutter Wonders Bella Bear, Arctic Glow Perry Polar Bear and Pip Penguin. “And we have also created a new game based on a character called Farty Freddie! It’s like a farting pass the parcel. “Kids just love that and we give that to people and ask them to film it and we use that for marketing because it’s so genuine, the laughter and the fun from it.” While all eyes are on this Christmas, the work never stops and the business is already looking for the next big thing to capture the imagination of children across the world. “We are working on Christmas 2024 and 2025,” Barry adds. “We are presenting to retailers what we are going to be launching next year and also working on the development of the year after. We are always looking ahead. “It can be a challenge because you have to predict the future all of the time, what the economic environment will be like in two years and you have got to predict what the trends will be. It’s a fashion industry in a weird way. But we take leanings from this year and what’s working and think about how to take products to the next level.” You can bet those board meetings are going to be great fun again as we head into the new year.

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MAGIC OF A POP-UP WONDERLAND IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS AS DAN MORRIS REPORTS ON A FESTIVE BUSINESS THAT STARTED DURING LOCKDOWN AND CONTINUES TO FLOURISH

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

t’s true what they say – every year the festive season seems to come around a little quicker. Indeed, in 2023 it feels like we blinked in July, and all of a sudden it was very much beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well, at Shropshire Magazine, we’re delighted that Yuletide is upon us and are already in the fine throws of eating, drinking and being merry. Yet, despite our enthusiasm for the season of good cheer, many of us (myself in particular) have been a little lackadaisical in getting the Christmas shopping sorted, and preparing for that sumptuous family feast. If you’re in the same camp, fear not – help is on hand from a seasonal Shropshire business dedicated to bringing all of the county’s best festive produce under one roof, and making sure your Christmas has all the magic sparkle it needs. Based in Hanwood, near Shrewsbury, the team at Tipples Mobile Bar And Catering Hire have been running a popup Christmas shop at their premises on the Lower Edgebold Industrial Estate for the last four years. Run by Tim Aversa and his wife Charlotte, this side-arm of their business represents an Aladdin’s Cave of all things festive, and offers keen Christmas shoppers the perfect place to get stocked up for the season. “We started the pop-up Christmas shop during Covid as a bit of extra income and something to do,” said Tim. “During Covid there were no weddings or events happening for our catering business, so it was just a way of trying to make a little bit of extra income and trying to keep busy and keep our name out there. “It started off as a very small area of the shop and we’ve gone from probably 25 per cent of the ground floor to 100 per cent now. We were going to just do it for

Covid, and then customers said ‘I can’t wait to come next year’, so we said, ‘well, actually let’s do it – let’s keep it going and see what happens’.” Each year, Tim and Charlotte have been pleased to expand the shop’s stock, working with local suppliers to present a proud selection of festive goods and wares made right here in the region. The result is that this year, Tipples’ Christmas shop is positively bursting with treats to make your Yuletide extra special. “This is now the fourth time of doing the Christmas shop,” said Tim. “The first time people were having to social distance, and it’s nice now to just be doing it as a normal shop.

“We’ve got local cheese, chocolates, fudge, mince pies, local real ales, local gins, and produce from different wine companies. We’ve also got tree decorations, ornaments, and a little bit of jewellery. My wife has a gift business as well and produces Christmas decorations, and all of her work is available. “We’ve also got a local lady who makes candles for us, and we have artwork as well. “We’ve got a big selection of goods and gifts, and we’ve extended this every year to build on the variety. “We’ve got a few new suppliers this year, and still work with pretty much all of our original suppliers. They recommend

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

other people in the industry, and so it grows.” So far this year, reception to the popup shop has been as enthusiastic as ever. “It’s been fantastic,” said Tim. “We’ve had a lot of messages on Facebook saying ‘I can’t wait to come and see you again’. We’re building up a real regular customer base now. “One of the main things is, we’re on an industrial estate, so people’s perception of what it might be like is different to what they find. “As soon as they walk in, it’s like a winter wonderland – there are Christmas trees, it’s nice and warm, there are thousands of fairy lights – it’s really

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

special and we hope that everyone who pays us a visit just enjoys being here.” Like many businesses, Tipples was hit hard during the pandemic, though happily for Tim and Charlotte, things are once again on the up with the main part of their business. “We’ve slowed down on the mobile bars,” said Tim, “but we’re concentrating more on the catering equipment hire – the ovens, the furniture, cutlery, crockery, glassware. That side of the business has fully recovered since Covid and this year particularly we’ve had a really good summer.” That said, the couple have no intention of throwing in the towel with

the Christmas shop anytime soon, and are keen to keep bringing a bit of extra festive magic to the area for hopefully many years to come. “We’ve tried to create a wonderful Christmas shopping experience, offering as much local produce and as many unique gifts as possible,” said Tim. “We’re open from Wednesday to Sunday until December 23. We’ll do a little sale after Christmas and then be fully shut on January 7. But we’ll then be back for Christmas 2024!” n Tipples’ pop-up Christmas shop can be found at Unit 3, Lower Edgebold Industrial Estate, Hanwood, Shrewsbury, SY5 8NY

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Members of Ellesmere Repair Cafe, from left, Suzanne Hutchinson, Amanda Weeks, Ewan Williamson, Anne Wignall and David Brown at the town hall

BROKEN OR BENT? WE CAN REPAIR IT HEATHER LARGE CHATS TO THE GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS PUTTING THEIR PRACTICAL SKILLS TO GOOD USE, REDUCING WASTE AND HELPING MEMBERS OF THEIR COMMUNITY AT THE SAME TIME

very month volunteers with skills to share descend on Ellesmere Town Hall to give items that might otherwise end up landfill a new lease of life. A Repair Cafe was launched in April this year to help mend people’s broken and damaged belongings, enabling them to save money and reduce waste. Around a dozen repairers, or ‘fixperts’ as they’re known, are on hand to look at a wide range of items from clocks and wooden furniture to vacuum cleaners and hair dryers to hats and cuddly toys. There is a team of sewing experts ready to mend clothing by hand or machine while a glass expert can carry SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

out very intricate repairs of treasured possessions. The event is part of an international Repair Café movement that was started by Martine Postma in Amsterdam in 2009 to fight climate change by bringing communities together. Today, there are more than 2,200 repair cafes in dozens of countries worldwide including Belgium, Germany, France and the United States. And in Shropshire, volunteer fixers can also be found in Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Telford. Setting up an Ellesmere branch was the idea of the town’s mayor Anne Wignall, who has been in the civic post

since May last year. “I had read about repair cafes and that they were spreading across the globe. I thought it would be a great way of helping people because they can get their items repaired which means they don’t have to throw them away or pay to replace them. “I contacted the organisers of Oswestry & Borders Repair Café who invited me to visit one of their cafes, shared all their setting-up and compliance documents, attended our first meetings, and have since volunteered to help at the monthly cafes – we are very grateful to them.” Among the volunteer repairers is Rod Evans, who runs cycle shop A Mere Cycle

also with his wife Jo. Rod knows more than most about maintaining bicycles as he has been repairing them since he was 11 when his grandfather taught him the necessary skills. Every month, he brings a bike stand and tools to the town hall so he can make minor repairs and adjustments to any bicycles that are wheeled through the door. He was keen to get involved in the repair cafe to help fellow cyclists and has since also qualified to carry out Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) on electrical equipment and appliances brought to the cafe. By law, any item used and repaired during the sessions must be tested for safety. “When I saw the repair cafe was looking for volunteers, I thought it was a really good idea,” says Rod. “I can repair punctures, fix brakes and gears on people’s bikes and do safety checks. I can also fix pram and wheelchair wheels “I enjoy meeting people and it feels like I’m giving back,” explains Rod, who is always happy to share advice and information on all aspects of cycling. If there are any problems too complex to fix straight away, the cycle shop is just down the road in Market Street. There are a number of husband and wife teams among the repair cafe’s dedicated group of volunteers, including Andrew and Mary Thomson. Mary brings her hand-sewing skills to a variety of mending and alteration tasks and Andrew has the knowledge and know-how to repair and renovate furniture. They have both taken items home with them on occasion in order to take the time necessary to do a thorough job. David Brown is a key steering group member who also fixes a range of electrical and mechanical problems while his wife Angela triages the customer

requests and helps the café afternoons run smoothly. “I’ve got an engineering background and I’m quite a practical person and do a bit of DIY so I thought I could use these skills,” says David. “The ethos of the repair cafe is repair and reuse but there is also a community aspect to it as well. “I also wanted to help people to develop some skills themselves, people don’t always have the confidence to give it a go but often a simple repair is all that’s needed. “We see a lot of portable electrical items like toasters, printers, kettles, radios and garden machinery. There is a great satisfaction in taking something that’s

scrap and getting it working again. Some people genuinely couldn’t afford to get it repaired elsewhere so it’s nice to help out your neighbours.” David and another fixer offered to help the owner of juke box who came to the cafe seeking help. “It had stopped working with a bang and he asked if we could help. Myself and another volunteer went to his house and I downloaded the manual and worked through it. “It was a simple fix in the end, a wire break in the power cable. It was good we were able to mend it as otherwise he would have been looking across the country for a specialist,” says David. Amanda Weeks deals with the repair café administration and her husband Alec also carries out Portable Appliance Testing. The testing equipment was purchased with a donation from the Ellesmere League of Friends, which also paid for a specialist set of screwdrivers. Multi-skilled Geoff Ardill tackles a wide range of repairs and his wife Sue processes customer requests at the reception desk. As well as being a destination for people who need items to be repaired or fix, the sessions are also open to anybody who wants to pop in for a chat and a cuppa. “People can can come along and have a cup of coffee or tea with a piece of cake and enjoy the friendly atmosphere,” explains Anne. The cafe is managed by Ellesmere DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Rotary Club stalwart Ewan Williamson and a rota of volunteers. Ewan supplies home-made soup to the fixers as they set up their stands and also contributes signature tray-bakes to the cake table. Anne says she has been delighted by how well the repair cafe has been received by the community. “We’ve had a fantastic response. On average we are repairing around 38 items every month which is great. “Repairs are free of charge but we do ask for donations if people are able to afford which cover the running costs. People have been very generous.”

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Donations from repair cafe customers provided funding to purchase an iron and ironing-board for the seamstresses, extension leads and cable covers, aprons and numerous small items for the “spares” box. “If our volunteers can’t mend it on the day, they may take it home if it needs more gluing or drying time for example, or if it requires more specialist skills, we will try to signpost them to somebody who can help,” says Anne. “It’s such a lovely atmosphere and we all enjoy working at the repair cafe. “Some people don’t stay for the afternoon but they drop off cakes because

they know we need cakes,” she explains. “The repair cafe is a great way to stop items being thrown away. Often people bring items that have special meaning so it’s lovely to be able to mend somebody’s treasured procession.” n Ellesmere Repair Cafe meets on the first Saturday of every month at Ellesmere Town Hall, between 1pm and 4pm. Top left: Carole Main sewing; bottom left: Mary Thomson mends a bunny belonging to Mali Jones. Top: Rod Evans ﬁxes a bike belonging to Julie Parker; above left: Anne Wignall watches on as Luke Groves ﬁxes a toaster; above right: Ewan Williamson feeds the volunteers soup.

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BLEAK MIDWINTER IN SHARP FOCUS MATTHEW PANTER CHATS TO THE TALENTED TEENAGER WHO HAS JUST WON A TOP PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE FOR HIS ATMOSPHERIC SHOT OF A TREE NEAR HIS SHROPSHIRE HOME

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Above: Building ruins and the doorway in the light was taken at Cwmorthin Quarry, near Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales. Page 51: Aaron’s prize-winning picture ‘The Wishing Tree’, which was taken in Aston-on-Clun

Taken in Iceland, the Litli Hrútur eruption, shot from a helicopter.

eenager Aaron Northwood loves exploring the great outdoors. And why not? We are, after all, blessed to have the most beautiful surroundings here in Shropshire. It’s enough to inspire us all to try out a wide range of hobbies and outdoor pursuits, rich and varied. For Aaron, that hobby was photography and now he’s taken his pastime to the next level by winning a national competition. The Landscape Photographer of the Year awards were founded by Charlie Waite, one of today’s most respected cameramen, in 2006, whose pictures are held in private and corporate collections throughout the world. To impress such a name would take a special photograph and Aaron’s work has achieved just that. The 18-year-old electrical engineering student at Shrewsbury College has been crowned UK Youth Landscape Photographer of the Year with one of his pictures also claiming the the title in the category ‘classic view’ – The Wishing Tree, a lone tree in the snow taken behind his house in Aston-on-Clun. It was an incredible moment for Aaron, who is an apprentice at GM Cooke in Bishop’s Castle. After collecting his award at Octopus Book headquarters in London, he said: “I was very shocked and also very proud of myself. The Landscape

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

A picture of lightning taken behind Aaron’s house in Aston-on-Clun.

Aaron collects his prize. Picture: Tony Cowburn

Photographer of the Year is such a major award, the biggest one in the country. “I was thrilled to win my category, but to then win the overall youth section, I was a bit surprised by that! It is really lovely to have some recognition like this and it has really inspired me to carry on.” Aaron says that he is blessed to have such lovely places to visit as those in Shropshire, but he has also gone further afield to north Wales, France and Iceland to capture some stunning sights. “I was bought my camera about five years ago and it’s been a fantastic present,” he said. “I love getting outdoors and enjoying the countryside, it’s good for you, so having a camera gave me the opportunity to do more of that. “I enjoy going up the hills and seeing

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Skiers descending at Chamonix at Mer de Glace in France.

A misty picture at Hopesey Hill.

what’s around me and it’s snowballed from there really. It is great capturing beautiful places and good memories. “The winning image was just one taken behind my house in the snow we had in March,” he adds. “I had a day off and just went out to see what I could find. I didn’t think much of it at the time when I took it but it has certainly gone a long way for me!” Thrilled mum Trish added: “We are so pleased for Aaron. We bought the camera for him one Christmas and he has always loved it. He is outdoors-y and it’s something he enjoys so it’s great he has been honoured. “Where we are in Shropshire, it encourages you to get out and about. “I run, my daughter Amelie is always out doing things and Aaron has photography. “We are all appreciative of where we live and the surroundings so it’s nice to be able to utilise that with a pastime like this.” And now Aaron is already planning his next set of photographs. “Having some great places on our doorstep, I want to explore Clee Hill more,” he said. “I have been up there a few times but there are definitely more shots to be taken up there. “There is so much of Shropshire to explore and I would like to go to Canada too and experience the sights there.That’s very high on my list.” With so much of the world to explore, it might not be the last we see of Aaron’s stunning pictures. 54

A tree in the slate quarry, taken at Dinorwic Quarry in north Wales.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Trained tutor Sarah Case and her son Alﬁe, who has Down Syndrome, communicating together using the Makaton sign and symbol language

SARAH’S SIGNED UP TO COMMUNICATE HEATHER LARGE TALKS TO SARAH CASE WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT RAISING AWARENESS OF MAKATON, A TEACHING METHOD THAT HELPS PEOPLE MAKE THEMSELVES UNDERSTOOD

eing able to communicate is one of the most important skills we need in life but it’s also one many of us can take for granted. Sarah Case is passionate about raising awareness of Makaton – a language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to help users connect with other people and the world around them. She discovered Makaton after her son Alfie, who has Down Syndrome, was born in 2014 and now she shares her knowledge with others as a trained Makaton tutor. “I started to learn Makaton when Alfie was a baby. Alfie had a severe speech

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

and language delay and I had done a lot of research into language programmes,” says Sarah, who lives in Telford. “I started with Makaton Signing for Babies and then progressed onto Mr Tumble, Dave Benson Philips and the Singing Hands.” Makaton was first created in the 1970s by speech and language therapist Margaret Walker. Although the signs are based on the gestures used in British Sign Language (BSL), there are differences between the two. “BSL is a language in its own right for the deaf community and Makaton is a language programme using signs and

symbols. Whenever we are signing, we are talking and when we use symbols, we have text with them. It’s not just for children with additional needs, it’s used by adults, anyone who has difficulties with speech and communication,” explains Sarah. More than 100,000 children and adults use Makaton symbols and signs. Most people start as children then naturally stop using the signs and symbols as they no longer need them. However, some people will need to use Makaton for their whole lives. The language programme comprises two vocabularies – a core vocabulary of

essential words or concepts presented in stages of increasing complexity and a much larger, open-ended, topic-based resource vocabulary covering broader life experiences. Sarah’s passion for Makaton was ignited as she saw first-hand the difference it was making to Alfie’s life. “I saw the positive impact it had on Alfie and I started using Makaton with Alfie all the time.” She said: “It really helped to bring on his speech and it enabled him to have a voice and relieve his frustrations when he couldn’t communicate what he wanted. “All of the research that has been done shows that Makaton enhances speech and language development. It can also help with reading and learning words.” At home, the family uses symbols and signs in lots of different ways such as displaying Alfie’s timetable for the week, so he understands what activities he is doing. He also has a wheel labelled with different emotions that he can spin to show how he is feeling that day. When Alfie started attending Newport Infant School, Sarah provided staff with a Makaton dictionary as well as photos of his version of the signs. “They needed to know how he interprets it. I told staff that if he’s doing weird and wonderful things with hands, we would work together to work out what he is trying to communicate. “Anyone who has difficulties with their fine motor skills may have different versions of the signs. It’s important to understand how the people we are interacting with use Makaton,” she explains. Sarah, who went on to attend Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 Makaton workshops, says the language programme allowed Alfie to be included within his school and to be able to communicate with staff and his peers. He now attends Newport CE Junior School and Sarah runs a monthly club for pupils teaching symbols and signs. “I wanted to give something back and raise awareness. The children go home and teach their parents the signs,” says Sarah. In October 2021, Sarah and Alfie started posting daily Makaton sign videos on social media as another way of raising awareness. They also celebrate Makaton International Awareness Day, which takes place on August 28. In September last year, Sarah successfully completed her Makaton tutor training to help more people learn how to sign. “I want to enable as many people across as many settings and environments as possible to be able to use Makaton. “A lot of the work I do is with

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

childminders and nurseries. It’s giving them a tool to be able to communicate and interact with every child. “I think we all take for granted having a voice and being able to get our point across and we don’t think about the people who can’t. It’s a basic right – to have a voice and to be able to communicate.” Sarah offers face-to-face and online training at levels 1 to 4 as well as Makaton signing for babies and families, taster sessions and workshops focusing on safeguarding. She says safeguarding is a topic she feels very strongly about as it provides people with a way of reporting issues. “It’s a horrible subject but it a necessary one. Criminals prey on vulnerable people because they think they don’t have a voice to tell on them and to know what’s right and wrong. Through safeguarding, they are given a voice and they know they need to tell someone and know if something is wrong, shouldn’t be happening and they need to tell someone.” Sarah would love to see more people take the time to learn at least five signs and symbols. “It would help them to interact with Makaton users and help them to feel understood,” she says. “One of the other benefits of Makaton is that there are no SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

regional variations. With BSL, there are different regional dialects so different regions will use different signs for the same word. Makaton is the same from John O’Groats to Lands End so people can move around the country without needing to learn new signs,” explains Sarah. Every month she runs free Makaton

Storytime sessions at Waterstones both in Telford and in Wolverhampton. “I’m also very passionate about reading and believe it should be available to all,” she tells Shropshire Magazine. n For more information about Makaton see makaton.org or www. sarahthemakatontutor.com

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I’m illiterate – can I execute a valid Will? One of the criteria to execute a valid Will is knowledge and approval of its contents. Can someone who is illiterate truly know and appreciate the contents of their Will? A recent case appeared in the High Court and discussed just that. The case involved the three eldest children of the deceased and their challenge to the validity of his last Will, on the grounds that he did not know and approve its contents, due to his inability to read it. The deceased married twice in his lifetime, from his first marriage he shared three children, the claimants in this case, from his second he shared two children. In his estate was an interest in his current property he shared with his wife, but also an interest in the family home he shared with his first wife and three eldest children. In the deceased’s last Will, which was subject to challenge, he cut out his three eldest children entirely, meaning their family home would pass to his second wife.

Usually, the law imposes a presumption that a Will that is validly executed, if on the face of it, it appears so. Where that Will was executed by an illiterate person however, that presumption may not apply, and the court will look for specific evidence that the person understood the contents of their Will. This is usually by way of evidence that the Will has been clearly explained and read out to that person. In a case decided in 2022, a Will was declared invalid by the court simply due to there being no evidence which could be produced to support that the Will was in fact read out to the Will maker. Should the will be declared invalid, the position will revert back to that which would have been the case should it not have been executed at all, and therefore the estate shall pass in accordance with any previous Will, or if there was no previous Will, in line with the rules of intestacy. While the case which is discussed here has yet to be decided, it serves as an important reminder that despite

For further advice, please contact… Rebecca Beaman, Contentious Trusts & Probate Solicitor at Aaron & Partners. 01743 294 111 | 07977 260 310 | rebecca.beaman@aaronandpartners.com

a Will appearing on the face of it to be valid, this does not mean that it is so. Should there be any concerns regarding the validity of a Will, it is best to seek professional advice from a specialist solicitor who can carry out an investigation into whether the document represented the true intentions of the deceased.

Rebecca Beaman Contentious Trusts & Probate Associate Solicitor

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVERN’S BEAUTY ANDY RICHARDSON EXPLAINS HOW A MIGHTY RIVER SHAPES THE LOCAL AREA, ATTRACTS TOURISTS, IS A HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE AND FAUNA AND IS FREE FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY

sn’t it funny that one of the most remarkable and adored elements of the county’s heritage is, in fact, entirely free. There are no charges to enjoy the River Severn, there’s no geographical barrier – it runs across the county – and there are never any queues of people waiting to get in, nor problems finding parking. The River Severn is simultaneously the county’s most prized tourist attraction, and its most democratic. Free to all, ever-changing as the seasons move, and heavily influencing this beautiful part of the country, it runs through Powys, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The effect it has had in shaping the county is clear. Take Shrewsbury, for instance. Not only does it dominate the town and its hinterland, but it also provides historical perspective. During the Roman occupation, the Severn was known by the Romano-

British Latin name, Sabrina, and in the Dingle Gardens, in the town’s Quarry Park, there is a metal sculpture denoting that, which was erected in 2013. The Severn has, of course, been responsible for shaping the very fields and towns that so many people know and love. Its route owes much to complex geological processes, including the bedrock that underlies Shropshire and the result of glaciation, during the last Ice Age. Across its length, there are many other rivers, tributaries and lakes, all of which provide remarkable beauty to the county. The River Vyrywy, and Lake Vyrnwy, are key in Powys, and along the border between England and Wales. The River Perry joins the Severn near Shrewsbury while the Rad Brook and Rea Brook are further sources that flow into the Severn, while also providing place names for estates nearby. The River Tern, the River Meese, and the River Roden all meet the Severn at the DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

The River Severn provides the focal point in Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Ironbridge and teems with wildlife including the kingﬁsher, grey heron and otters

r u o y on DOORSTEP

magnificent Attingham Park, while the River Worfe adds to the weight of water just above Bridgnorth. Other local rivers, from the River Onny to the River Corve, and the River Rea, all make their way towards the Severn, in their cases, via the River Teme. Throughout the county’s history, the River Severn has played a key part in shaping a number of settlements. Shrawardine sits back from the river, while Atcham, Wroxeter, and Cressage also owe their origins to it. Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Quatford, Hapton Loade and Upper Arley also grew around the River Severn, at a time when it was used for trade. The Severn provides access for many, while some of the bridges that criss-cross it provide a window into the past. Montford Bridge was Thomas Telford’s first ever bridge design, and it was built between 1790 and 1792. The Welsh Bridge, in the Centre of Shrewsbury, was built in 1795 at a cost of £8,000. The English Bridge, meanwhile, further along the town, was designed and complete in 1774 by John Gwynn. While the Severn provides considerable beauty, it has also been the source of misery, at times. There have been frequent floods in Shrewsbury, for instance, not to mention Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Bewdley and other settlements.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

One of the many reasons to love the River Severn is for its abundant wildlife. Many different fish live in the river and its tributaries such as carp, roach, minnow, eels and brown trout. Some furry friends that can be found are otters, dormice, badgers, polecats, water voles, stoats and mink. The Severn provides a natural wildlife corridor that supports a huge community of birds, fish, and insects. Riverside plants such as willows, rush and sedges enrich the banks and aquatic plants sway beneath the surface. Among the more interesting species are the grey heron, a slender and remarkable bird, with wide spanned wings. It’s delightful territorial habit means river watchers can observe them for quite a while as they set up a fish hunting station patiently waiting to stab down on their hapless scaled prey. The European otter is a river icon that has returned from the brink of extinction and is seen surprisingly often along or in the Severn.

A large and beautifully adapted mammal, ungainly on the bankside, it comes into its own in the waters. Keep quiet and allow yourself to gently and safely float to make the most of any sighting. The grey wagtail is a busy riverside forager, dipping its tail in metronomic fashion as it picks over the gravels and woody debris of the shore line. Despite the challenges of surmounting the weirs and man-made obstacles of the past centuries, the Atlantic salmon can still be seen powering its way upstream each autumn to its spawning grounds higher up the Severn and its tributaries. Care must be taken to not disturb the important gravels that hold the eggs. The kingfisher is one of the river’s great delights. Heralded by a loud peeping and the azure blue of its departing, this sublime bird is a welcome sight. In search of prey, this aerial angler can nearly hover before its plunging dive onto a fry or minnow. It is a bona fide treasure. The River Severn’s greatest contribution might simply be its beauty. It presents a formidable sight at stages across the county, at different times of year. In winter, it roars as the rains fall; in spring, it teems with wildlife and new vegetation on its banks; in summer, it makes for a majestic sight; while in autumn, it dazzles as the leaves fall. It truly is an attraction for all the seasons. 61

WALKS

Explore Attingham Park’s wonderful estate and enjoy 200 acres of parkland where you will ﬁnd the Mile Walk is particularly spectacular. Picture: Ian Dunning

GREAT OUTDOORS! NOW IS THE TIME TO ENJOY SOME OF THE NATIONAL TRUST’S MOST SPECTACULAR WALKS

s Autumn heads into winter, get outdoors and enjoy the best of what the National Trust has to offer in our county. With hundreds of walking trails to choose from, the National Trust has pulled together a list of the best places for an autumnal stroll.

Walk. Visitors can get closer to some of the magnificent trees at Attingham. The Walled Garden is bright with colour at this time of year, with dahlias in bloom during early October, and deep orange pumpkins and squashes ripening ready for harvest, while there are more than 37 varieties of apple growing in the orchard.

Attingham Park

Benthall Hall

With woodlands, pleasure grounds, walled kitchen garden and orchard, autumn is impressive at Attingham. Explore the 18th century mansion’s wonderful estate and 200 acres of parkland and you’ll find the Mile Walk is particularly spectacular, with its views across the River Tern to the changing colours of the woods in the Woodland

The woodland and parkland walks at Benthall Hall are open all year round. Lace up your walking boots, bring your dog and set foot into the surrounding countryside. Take a stroll down the avenue of chestnut trees.

Dudmaston Comer Woods Explore the variety of trails through

Visitors walking at Carding Mill Valley. Picture: National Trust/John Millar

the changing woodland and watch the chestnuts and oaks change colour and catch scent of warmed pine needles and fallen leaves on sunny days. One track takes you past a beautiful old cottage, whilst one takes you to a lake full of wildlife if you sit and watch for a while, all lead back to the meadow and Heath Barn where you can enjoy a coffee, tea or cake to warm you as the weather cools. Every other week, join in with one of the regular Wellbeing Walks where you can meet new friends or just take in the atmosphere on a friendly guided walk. For walking trails to follow visit: www. nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/shropshirestaﬀordshire/walking

The Stableyard at Dudmaston. Picture: National Trust/James Dobson

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

STEP BACK IN TIME ANDY RICHARDSON EXPLORES A WALKING ROUTE THAT TAKES IN THE BEAUTIFUL MARKET TOWN OF LUDLOW, ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE AND SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST

udlow is one of the prettiest market towns in Britain – not just in Shropshire. A beautiful space that’s steeped in history, that boasts magnificent architecture, it has great independent shops and is located in a sumptuous environment, with a stunning river and verdant countryside all around. There are numerous walks that begin in Ludlow Town Centre, taking walkers around the area on rambles of varying length. One of the finest is along the Breadwalk, a path alongside the River Teme that takes in local weirs and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. A longer walk, of six miles, heads out of town through nearby fields and around the Lower Corve River. It crosses over six stiles, some steps, fields, and takes walkers out into picturesque countryside. Start at Castle Square and make your way through the town to the Bull Ring, then bear left and cross over the road by SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

the traffic lights before walking down Corve Street and Lower Corve Street. At the end of the road walk under the railway bridge, bearing left along Fishmore Road. In just over half a mile, cross over a bridge above the A49, the Ludlow Bypass. After the bridge, take the signed, metalled drive for Elm Lodge on the left. Keep straight onto a private gateway for a bungalow. Take the footpath to the left between the hedge and fence, over stiles and up to a kissing gate. With the hedge on the left, go over a set of stiles, through a gate, and down to another set of stiles at the bottom of the field. With the hedge and stream on the right, carry on for half a mile to the kissing gate. Bear left and head over the bridge, over the River Corve. Cross and take the pedestrian gate to the right, following the river bank for 400 yards to a kissing gate and along the field edge in the next field. After 300 yards, you’ll reach another kissing gate – it provides access to

a vehicle track around the racecourse and golf course. Turn left to the road, B4365, and bear left over the railway bridge to the main road. Take great care when crossing over the A49, into the field opposite, where there is a well-marked bridleway. Follow the track, turning left to pass through a gate by a house and farm, and crossing a private drive to Burway. Follow the path back to Ludlow, walking on a path that becomes metalled after 300 yards. Continue through Boiling Well Meadow over the River Corve, then head towards the Castle and Castle Square. This route might well have been made and used by Saxon Age people as they travelled by foot and horseback to farm their plots of land in the large, open fields. The Tumuli, about 20 in total near Old Field, Bromfield, are Bronze Age burial mounds dating from at least 600.B.C. Some of the finds from the excavation are in Ludlow Museum.

FOOD&DRINK

Checking the grapes for wine making in Colemere. The county has seen a major growth in production as the boom in English wine making continues.

A GRAPE YEAR FOR ENGLISH WINES ED THOMAS EXPLORES SHROPSHIRE’S VINEYARDS, AMID THE GROWTH OF ENGLISH WINE, AND DISCOVERS WHAT WE CAN EXPECT IN FUTURE AFTER ANOTHER TOUGH BUT REWARDING YEAR

The grapes maturing on the vine at Colemere

Gathering the grapes at Commonwood

hropshire’s expanding area under vine is a buoyant example of the larger surge in the popularity, quality and consumption of English Wine. According to the trade body Wine GB there are now more than 900 vineyards across England. These vineyards cover more than 10,000 acres and in 2022 produced 12.2 million bottles of mainly sparkling, but an increasing quantity of still table wine. Viticulture across England has grown by 74 per cent in five years and according to a report from advisors Strutt and Parker, production will triple again to around 40 million bottles by 2040. Things have come a long way since Emperor Claudius’ Roman Legions imported and cultivated vines in England from about 40BC. Today we still drink a lot of French wine in the UK. It was only in the 18th and 19th centuries when a small number of wealthy landowners began to experiment with planting vines on their estates in the south of England. Even then it was only in the 1950s that we can trace back the first commercially available English wines. Today viticulture is the fastest growing agricultural sector in England. A fact Wine GB are proud to trumpet.

Ed Thomas and Richard Laing take a break from harvesting at Waters Upton. Picture Susan Laing

The sector is certainly in rude health with the public enjoying more English wine each year. Which means vineyards are expanding and new ones are being established. Chardonnay now accounts for almost a third of the vines planted at 31 per cent. Closely followed by Pinot Noir at 29 per cent, Pinot Meunier, another traditional Champagne grape, comes third with nine per cent, then its Bacchus with eight per cent and Seyval with three per cent. The DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Top clockwise, harvesting the grapes at Commonwood; the Hencote wine range; the sun setting at Colemere vineyards and grapes from Rowton. Rowton pictures by Felicity Crawshaw, Commonwood pictures Joe Breakwell.

remainder is made up of a whole host of traditional colder climate varieties such as Rondo, Dornfelder and Solaris as well as new hybrids such as Cabernet Noir. Focusing in on Shropshire, the history is much the same with evidence of Roman winemaking to be found in the county. Fast forward almost 2000 years and modern vineyards began to be established in the county, including at Wroxeter where the vineyard is now more than 30 years old. Since the turn of the millennium and in particular in the last five to ten years more and more vineyards have cropped up. From Kerry Vale right on the Welsh border near Clun, to Rodington which is between Wellington and Shrewsbury and Colehurst near Market Drayton, intrepid landowners have been planting vines and making wines. While most would not consider Shropshire to be in the north of England it is further north than the traditional vine growing areas in Sussex and Kent, along with Essex and Hampshire. Being just a shade further north does add to the challenges of growing grapes and making wines. Weather is always a key topic of conversation with viticulturalists. Sunlight hours are essential for ripening grapes and while the early growing season in May SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

and June were fantastic, high summer in July and August was damp and dull. Talking to Alan Goddard, of Commonwood Vineyard, he shared the same sentiment and challenges as others. The consistent dampness during much of the growing season presented a particular challenge of preventing mildew, but it also means the sprays that can be used were difficult to apply, the weather needs to be dry to go spraying. Commonwood was established by Alan more than 20 years ago. Located near Wem, the vineyard is planted with Rondo, Regent, Dornfelder and Phoenix. Over in Rowton, twins Zoe and Mel Evans, who established their vineyard on their family farm in 2020, enjoyed a successful harvest helped by the growing band of volunteers. Zoe explained that the volunteers travel from as far away as North Wales and Cheshire and come to enjoy a day in the vineyard and a glass of Rowton wine. At Rowton they not only contended with mildew but also wasps. The final crop has maintained levels of sugar and acid that will produce some exciting wines. The still wines will be available probably from next spring, the sparkling wines we will need to wait a little longer for. Rob and Laura Windsor, of Colemere Vineyard, also contended with wasps

and mildew. Not that this had lasting effects having now harvested a bumper Solaris crop which weighed in at three times the 2022 yield. Rob also explained how Colemere wines are now flying the flag for Shropshire wines outside of the county. Colemere wines can now be found on the wine list at some prestigious venues in North Wales and Cheshire. Hencote’s winemaker Gavin Patterson explained that they too had contended with some challenging conditions but that the final crop has been successful. Gavin expects the 2023 vintage to sit alongside the rest of the range with pride. Overall, there is plenty for wine drinkers to be excited about when it comes to local wines. Shropshire’s established vineyards continue to produce some great wines, new arrivals are really starting to ramp up their production and associated quality. There are even some new entrants into the market. Vineyards that have planted but, given that it takes at least two to three years to produce cropable grapes, are yet to release wines. Folly View is one example and there is another near Waters Upton where 50,000 vines have been planted over 31 acres. This sustainably focused vineyard enjoyed its first harvest in 2023, so we can expect the first still wines in 2024. 65

TALKING TURKEY ON FESTIVE FOOD ANDY RICHARDSON DISCOVERS WHY SHROPSHIRE OFFERS SO MUCH AT CHRISTMAS – FROM THE TRADITIONAL BIRD, TO BEEF, LAMB AND PORK TO THE FINEST LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE

he preparations have begun. The nation’s biggest feast is upon us and here in Shropshire there are reasons to be cheerful. The county has a reputation as a centre for gastronomic excellence and a wide range of exceptional producers. That, coupled with a healthy, independent restaurant scene, mean there are plenty of great opportunities to eat out, or eat in, in the months ahead. With Christmas looming, most

thoughts will turn to traditional turkey dinners, though, in Shropshire, there are also great quality geese and game, for those who fancy something different. There are no better places to turn than Home Farm Produce, at Condover, near Shrewsbury, when it comes to turkeys. The farm breeds Kelly Bronze turkeys, which is the gold standard. Nigella Lawson is among the many fans of the breed, saying: “I think for Christmas lunch it has to be turkey, furthermore, the turkey has to be a Bronze. The Kelly Bronze is the best bird you can buy, a good turkey reared well is what makes all the difference.” Home Farm is run by the Cartwright family, which specialises in Kelly Bronze turkeys and potatoes, as well as other arable crops, including wheat, barley, oats, and oil seed rape. They also rear and fatten beef cattle and sheep. Their fascination for Kelly Bronze follows its introduction to the UK in

the 1980s. Following that, it was not long until the bird was discovered by some of the nation’s leading chef writers. The Kelly Bronze has since then won numerous food awards from the BBC Good Food Award to numerous British Turkey Federation Awards. The secret of the Cartwrights’ success is, they believe, the way they breed and raise their turkeys. They adopt traditional farming methods, enabling Kelly Bronze turkeys to roam freely in pastures. At night, the turkeys have the shelter of open-sided barns, with deep straw and plenty of fresh air. All Kelly Bronze turkeys are slowgrowing strains, grown to maturity over several months. Their feed is based on locally grown cereals and vegetable protein. Kelly Bronze turkeys are bred without additives, drugs or growth promoters and, of course, they are GMfree. The Cartwright’s processing methods, DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

too, are traditional. The birds are hand plucked and then hung in a chilled environment for 14 days to develop an even fuller flavour. All of Home Farm’s facilities are independently inspected to ensure compliance with the food hygiene regulations. Presentation is everything, of course, and Home Farm turkeys are individually wrapped and boxed to ensure their quality is protected. The meat cooks quickly as the turkeys are very mature when killed and, more importantly, the meat is very tender because of the hanging process. Choice is everything, of course, and many people opt to push the boat out and opt for a goose, rather than a turkey. Brisbourne Geese, at Broomhill Farm, in Nesscliffe, are the county’s number one – while they also keep barn-reared chickens and Kelly Bronze turkeys, too. Their free range geese are brought to Shropshire as day-old goslings each May, from Norfolk-based Danish Legarth strain breeding stock. From experience those birds provide the best frame to build on for the Christmas market. The geese are reared free range, grazing fields adjacent to the old A5 which passes through Nesscliffe, and they have become quite a local landmark. They graze and roam freely with ad lib supplements of home produced wheat (grown to Farm Assured standards), potatoes and a specially prepared corn ration, without the use of growth promoters and additives. At night the geese are brought indoors, for protection reasons, and bedded down daily on fresh straw. SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Though sheltered at night they are still open to fresh air and natural light. All of Brisbourne’s geese grow naturally to reach full maturity. In December, the geese are traditionally processed for fresh collection. Each bird is individually dry plucked and waxed then hung for 7-10 days in a chilled environment to produce a deep and succulent flavour. All birds are dressed and finished by hand. On collection each goose will be oven ready with vacuum packed giblets and some fat, all presented in a convenient carry home box along with cooking

instructions. When customers arrive home, they can store their goose and giblets separately in the refrigerator. Roast goose makes for a very special Christmas celebration. Goose is a rich succulent meat so large portions aren’t necessary. Goose fat is a fundamental part of the appeal. It contains a low level of saturated fats and a higher proportion of the more desirable mono-unsaturated and essential fatty acids and only a mere trace of cholesterol. It is highly prized amongst top chefs and customers can use it to roast potatoes for superb results, and also for basting other meats. It makes incredible 67

Ludlow Farmshop

pastry, too, and will store in a refrigerator for several months while also freezing well. And though Brisbourne Geese are traditionally viewed as a special occasion purchase for Christmas or New Year, freezing has no adverse effect and they can be enjoyed at other times of the year. Once home cooks have decided on their preferred meat – and, of course, Shropshire also has brilliant farmers who produced great beef, pork, and lamb – there are other provisions to procure. Ludlow Farmshop stands out as the best. The one-of-a-kind shopping

environment is where farming, passion for great food, and retail come together to create an award-winning experience. Farming is at the very heart of what Ludlow Farm Shop does. Its retail premises are located two miles from the beautiful town of Ludlow and produces many of its award-winning products, from the bountiful supply of wonderful produce both from the farm and surrounding area. It traditionally rears Limousin cross beef cattle along with Shropshire lamb (a mix of five breeds) all of which are used

across the farm shop site, in its butchery and restaurants. Free range high welfare pork and poultry are sourced locally along with venison and game. Seasonal vegetables are supplied to the shop from its walled garden nearby and a state-ofthe-art robotic dairy provides the milk it uses when making our cheese and yoghurt. With scores of other farm shops, farmers’ markets, independent retailers, and great restaurants, people in Shropshire can look forward to a very tasty Christmas season.

Gino D’Acampo’s Brussels Sprouts and Chorizo “Sprouts are like Marmite – you either love them or hate them – but I’m a true believer that the haters have probably only tried plain boiled sprouts,” says chef Gino D’Acampo. “So I urge those people to please give this recipe a try and then decide. All my family love sprouts cooked this way, and, as a side dish, it can go with almost anything.”

Ingredients: (Serves 4 as a side dish) 4tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 1⁄2tsp chilli flakes 150g chorizo, finely chopped 500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed, then par-boiled for five minutes 68

3tbsp maple syrup Fine sea salt METHOD:

Pour the olive oil into a shallow saucepan and set over a high heat. Add the onion and chilli and fry for three minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the chorizo and continue to fry for a further eight minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the par-boiled and well-drained Brussels sprouts, then add the maple syrup and a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to medium and fry for four minutes, stirring occasionally. So quick and easy, but the ﬂavours together are amazing. n From Gino’s Italian Family Adventure: Easy Recipes The Whole Family Will Love by Gino D’Acampo DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

THE FESTIVE SPIRITS PUT THE CHEERS INTO CHRISTMAS WITH THESE TERRIFIC TIPPLES, SAYS SAM WYLIE-HARRIS

hether it’s your best mate, older sister or hard-toshop-for father-in-law, sometimes the best way to spoil someone special is to say it with a bottle. From fun gift packs to limited editions and fail-safe fizz, these delicious drinks deserve a big smile…

A juniper journey with all the bells and trimmings, this festive gin combines frankincense and myrrh over nutmeg and ginger root for a warm, spicy juniper base.

1.Craft Gin Club Taster Box, from £45, Craft Gin Club

5. The Duppy Share Caribbean Rum Gift Box, £30, 70cl, John Lewis

One for cocktail hounds, this subscription box – you can gift one, two, four, six or 12 months – features a surprise gin paired with mixers, cocktails, snacks and a magazine packed with recipes and gin stories.

The closest thing to a winter sunshine break, this blend of aged Caribbean rums will ensure tiki-tastic cocktails. Gold metal tasting cup included.

2.Glen Marnoch Whisky Trio Gift Set, £9.99, (3 x 50cl), Aldi in-store The perfect stocking filler for whisky noses, this tasty trio includes an Island, Highland and Speyside single malt from this award-winning, crowd-pleasing producer.

3. A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky, 15 Years Old 2023 Edition, £89.95, 70cl, The Whisky Exchange A Speyside single malt fully matured in sherry casks, with top notes of gingerbread, marmalade, candied peel and ‘sultana-studded sponge cake’… we’re in. Rich, fruity and rousing at 52.5% abv. SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

With engraving options for an additional £10.

4. Edinburgh Gin Christmas, £34, 70cl, Edinburgh Gin

6. Tipplemill London Dry Gin With Gift Wrap, £46.95, 70cl, Tipplemill Gin New on the gin scene, Tipplemill hails from Lincolnshire and was voted the best gin in the world at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition. The brand suggests serving it in a martini, for an alternative to a G&T.

7. The Wine Society Half Bottles Mixed Case, £62, The Wine Society When one of you loves white and the other red; a white with your first course and red with the second; or a glass or two of sparkle but don’t want to crack open a whole bottle, the answer lies in this slick selection. 69

FOOD REVIEW:

‘FARM TO FORK’ MENU EXCELS ANDY RICHARDSON VISITED THE WOODBERRY INN IN BRIDGNORTH AND ENJOYED GREAT SERVICE AND DELICIOUS DISHES

t used to be someone’s home. Imagine that. A house the size of a pub in one of the West Midlands’ prettiest and most popular market towns was actually a gentleman’s residence. The gent in question was a Mr Southwell, who owned Bridgnorth’s carpet factory, on the River Severn. By day, he’d be devoted to Axminster. Then, by evening, he’d trot back to his palatial abode where he could chew the fat with family and friends. The house long-since changed hands and, having spent much of its long life as The Woodberry Down, was renamed The Woodberry Inn. In more recent times, it was bought by two local families; Chris and Wendy Yates and Keith and Jenny Alderson. All would be known to some locals, though Keith Alderson might be the best known. He runs the town’s best butchers, Aldersons, which most recently was in the headlines for the quality of its produce. The butchers in Sydney Cottage Drive saw its rib eye steak and its steak and ale pie shortlisted in the prestigious 2023 Golden Cleaver Awards. The awards, which are organised by the Institute of Meat, recognise and celebrate innovation and quality in retail butcher shops. Not only was Alderson’s Butchers Pie House & Kitchen shortlisted for two awards, but the shop was also given the maximum three stars for its ribeye steak, its steak and ale pie and its lamb hotpot.

The Woodberry Inn in Victoria Road, Bridgnorth

It was also awarded two stars for its traditional sausage. The Woodberry Inn has set similar standards. When the local owners bought it, it was handsomely remodelled throughout, with oak flooring and leather seating, while retaining the original features and charm of the building, becoming a muchloved asset to Bridgnorth. Its ethos is to serve a ‘Farm to Fork’ menu, as its beef is reared at Keith Alderson’s Morville farm, which is supplied through a local butchery business to the restaurant. The Woodberry offers locally sourced seasonal produce and real ales in stylish surroundings. This unique gastro pub also features eight individually styled en-suite rooms for its guests, along with on-site parking and free Wi-Fi throughout

the building. That makes The Woodberry Inn a perfect location for those looking to seek out something new, or while away an afternoon in the sumptuous surroundings. The Woodberry knows its market, it knows what people want, and it tries to provide good food at an affordable price, without too many cheffy flourishes. The menu is relatively simple, with a range of steaks, inevitably, alongside pulled pork, halloumi, a chicken dish, or, at the weekends, a traditional Sunday roast. There’s also a lasagne, soup of the day, a chicken liver pate and other dishes that are tried-and-tested pub classics. The emphasis is on decent delivery, affordability, and pleasant service. And who can argue with that? Pubs across the region face continued challenges. They close at a rate of knots as the high costs of energy, the competing leisure pursuits available to us all, and the increased price of labour and ingredients make it ever harder to make ends meet. Customers have become increasingly conscious of price – eating out is a luxury, DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

The whitebait to start were crispy and crunchy on the outside, with a delicious bite

A chicken breast cooked in cider and served with a mushroom and tarragon sauce

for many, rather than the regular treat. So venues have to be increasingly focused and increasingly competitive – and those are two areas where The Woodberry excels. It doesn’t try to dazzle with swishes of this or quenelles of that. It sticks to basic principles, focusing on recognisable dishes that make people feel comfortable, while providing personable service from a polite team. When I visited, I enjoyed a small bowl of olives to start before tucking into a small plate of devilled whitebait with tartare sauce. The sauce was good, with plenty of tang and just the right amount of texture. The whitebait, similarly, were delightful. They were crispy and crunchy on the outside, with a delicious bite. A chicken main followed. Winner winner chicken dinner. A chicken SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

breast cooked in cider and served with a mushroom and tarragon sauce came with green beans and sauted potatoes. The chicken was still tender and carried the gentle, sweet, and autumnal flavours of the cider. The mushroom sauce added a creamy, earthiness to the dish, while the notes of tarragon added a degree of refinement to it. The green beans were lightly cooked and served al dente. The saute potatoes were reasonable and deliciously buttery, though they might have been better had they been cooked a tad longer so that they’d become crisp in the pan. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant course that was seasoned with skill, cooked with a fair degree of precision, and was pleasurable to eat. Dessert was a plate of meringue roulade that was dressed with a chocolate

sauce and served with a little custard. A crunchy exterior hid a mallowey inside. It was light, delicately flavoured with coffee and served in sensible proportion to the rest of the dinner, providing a pleasant conclusion. And that was that. Service had been good throughout, with staff being attentive but not intrusive. The dining room was enjoyable; a light and airy space that had been refitted to a high standard and allowed the light to flood in. There was a good atmosphere, with guests clearly in a good mood and enjoying the ambience created. The Woodberry Inn is one of the region’s better dining-pubs. It doesn’t set the world alight with once-in-alifetime food, but it does provide the sort of experience that Mr Southwell, the premises’ one-time owner, would have been proud of.

n To book a table or for more details call 01746 762950 or visit www. woodberryinn.co.uk 71

Studio Sale of

ORIGINAL ARTWORKS by

Penelope Timmis

For wines that deliver

Saturday 9th December 2023 10am till 8pm

AND Sunday 10th December 2023 10am till 4pm The Morris Hall, Shrewsbury SY1 1JB Wine, Fizz & Hot Drinks available to buy while you browse

Tanners.Wines

TannersWinesLtd

www.tanners-wines.co.uk

TannersWines

01743 234455

Enquiries: carol@bearsteps.co.uk

Matthews & Peart LIMITED

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To place an order please call us on 01743 741672 Email: info@brisbournegeese.co.uk www.brisbournegeese.co.uk

TIME TO GET FIZZY

FROM DOM PERIGNON TO PROSECCO, TANNERS SALES DIRECTOR ROBERT BOUTFLOWER TAKES A LOOK AT HOW A BOTTLE OF BUBBLY OR TWO CAN PEP UP YOUR CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

hether it’s a simple halfbottle of champagne on Christmas morning for two, or a case of Prosecco when friends come round, there are plenty of options on the fizz front… providing you choose wisely of course. Let’s start with champagne. The ‘best’ are those well-known premium brands and the top selections from the grandest houses. Think Cristal from Louis Roederer or Dom Perignon from Moët – amazing wines but at amazing prices. Select carefully and you might get something almost as good but at a fraction of the price. André Clouet used to supply all the big names with the best Pinot Noir grapes that he grew in Bouzy, a ‘grand cru’ vineyard. Then he started making the wine himself, and Clouet’s Un Jour de 1911 was born, his best creation and a fraction of the price compared with the other premium brands. However, by choosing his wines or those of many smaller, independent growers, you’ll be saving yourself a tenner and I know you’ll love the style and character. The same can be said of the own brands of many merchants. We have to work really hard to match the ‘pulling power’ of the big players. This year our Tanners Brut and Tanners Special have been on top form with a rich, generous character. Other merchants have also benefited from a run of great vintages that have produced more intense, flavourful wines making this an excellent time to try those lesser-known

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

names in the champagne section. Of course we have started at the top of the tree so to speak, and there are many different styles of fizz to make your day go with a pop. Made using the same method as champagne, hence the term on the bottle ‘méthode traditionelle’, there are numerous wines produced in France and other countries that use the same grape varieties and the same production techniques. Australia, South Africa, in fact nearly every wine producing country has a go at producing a champagne look-alike, and some succeed extremely well. However, and for a bit more variety of flavour, I’d advise you to consider one of the Crémants produced in French regions. The best known of these are Crémant de Bourgogne, invariably using straight Chardonnay, and Crémant de Loire which majors on the very versatile Chenin Blanc grape. A Crémant such as Limoux, located in the foothills of the French Pyrenees down in the SouthWest, has the perfect situation to make a

fabulous sparkler from the Mauzac grape. The cooler, higher slopes of Limoux, away above Carcassonne, allow the growers to get character and a zesty zip into their famous fizz. Another consideration, and getting better every year, are the ‘traditional method’ sparkling wines from the UK. ‘English Fizz’ has much better balance and substance than even 10 years ago. The acidity isn’t as harsh as it once was. Remember that the soils of the South Downs and round into Hampshire are a continuation of the chalk found in Champagne, so it is easy to see why we can make some good stuff. It’s a great time to drink English Fizz. And so to party pop – you need something that folk won’t surreptitiously tip into the nearest plant pot! Prosecco is usually in the front of more people’s minds but you do need to find a decent one with balance. Prosecco is made with the second fermentation which produces lighter, frothier bubbles but lacks a bit of length. The Glera grapes however make a fresh, juicy style that has made good examples very popular – the best comes from the heart of the Prosecco region, Conegliano Valdobbiadene and deserves its place as a true party wine. Alternatively turn to Cava which has had a genuine resurgence in popularity. The top end wines are much vaunted by the Spanish as being the equal of anything from France, and there’s some truth in that. They are certainly keenly priced and possibly the best option for a great Shropshire gathering this Christmas.

TUCK INTO THAI TAPAS

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

hai restaurant group, Giggling Squid makes its Shropshire debut, opening on Monday 4th December at 25 High Street, Shrewsbury. Giggling Squid is all about bold flavours and exotic ingredients, cooked by expert Thai chefs and shared with warmth and generosity. At its heart lies the spirit of Thai mealtimes – lively, informal with a feast of dishes to share with friends and family. Founded by husband and wife team, Andy and Pranee, in a tiny fisherman’s cottage in Brighton, Giggling Squid was inspired by Pranee’s food memories of growing up in Thailand. Her passion for fresh, authentic ingredients comes from visiting food markets as a child and being awed by stacks of vibrant spices, herbs and vegetables and barrels of live seafood. When Pranee moved to the UK to study, she waitressed at a Thai restaurant where she fell in love with hospitality and dreamt of opening her own place with a unique approach. Pranee said: “I wanted to create a

different Thai vibe, not like the rest of the Thai restaurants full of carved wood like a temple. I wanted to set my own trend and not just follow what other people had done.” With its unique décor of vibrant colours, cosy banquettes and stunning murals inspired by Thailand’s abundance of ingredients from the sea and land, Giggling Squid is as much known for its stunning interiors as its food, offering a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. Twenty years have passed since Andy and Pranee opened their first restaurant, but their original Thai tapas are still a hit. Alongside old favourites, new dishes are always being created and there’s something for everyone on the lunch and dinner menus including luscious curries, stir fries and vegan options served alongside an extensive list of cocktails, bubbles and premium spirits. And the question they always get asked – Giggling Squid was the nickname for one of their three kids! Pictured left: Interiors of the couple’s other Giggling Squid venues DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

SHREWSBURY, there’s a new

THAI IN TOWN 25 HIGH ST, SHREWSBURY, SY1 1SJ gigglingsquid.com | @gigglingsquid

FREE VALUATIONS OF ANTIQUES, FINE ART & JEWELLERY Our valuers are available every week for free valuations and advice about selling at auction.

To book your appointment:

01743 450 700 fineart@hallsgb.com

SOLD £2,400

An 18ct gold sapphire and diamond stylised buckle bracelet set with EMKA watch

ANTIQUES

CARTIER HAS ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL

artier; arguably the most famous brand of luxury jewellery. Whether you’re an expert in the field or have absolutely no interest in the antiques or art world, the name is globally recognised and synonymous with high fashion and opulence. Founded by Louis Francois-Cartier in Paris in 1847 it now operates over 200 stores internationally and remained under the Cartier family’s control until the 1960s. The brand has created some of the most iconic designs in jewellery and watches of the 20th century. Their Tank and Santos wristwatches are immediately recognisable, their ‘Tutti Frutti’ series of sumptuous bright multi-gemstone set pieces break records when offered for auction and how can we forget the legendary ‘LOVE’ bangles favoured by a whole host of A-list stars. It isn’t just Hollywood royalty that favours the brand, King Edward VII referred to Cartier as ‘the jeweller of Kings and King of the jewellers’ and issued a Royal warrant to the manufacturers in 1904 following an order of 27 tiaras for his Coronation in 1902. Over the century Cartier would go on to produce many more stunning tiaras for the Royal family which are often seen ‘out of the vaults’ for special state events and weddings, such as those worn by the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex on the occasions of their marriage. One of the most infamous unions within the Royal family, that of the Duke of Windsor to divorcee Wallis Simpson, which rocked the foundations of the monarchy at the time causing the abdication of King Edward VIII, also features its own Cartier story. Simpsons engagement ring, showcasing a large rectangular cut emerald weighing almost 20cts, was designed and created by the firm. Throughout their marriage the Duke showered Wallis with gifts and jewellery, of which many were purchased by the French brand. However, the most famous in her collection was commissioned by herself; a spectacular diamond and onyx panther bracelet. Designed as an outstretched panther with emerald set eyes, the bracelet effortlessly drapes across the wearers

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Diamond set brooch by Cartier

Rare Cartier Tank ‘Normale’ wristwatch

A 18ct gold stylised ﬂower brooch sold for £2,000 in an auction held by Halls Fine Art

wrist. In 2010 it broke the world record for the highest price a bracelet had ever realised at auction reaching £4.5 million in a room packed with bidders from around the globe. Cartier has continued to break records, with a Tutti Frutti bracelet comprised of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds, selling for more than $1.3 million in a dedicated online only auction in 2020. It was the highest price ever achieved for a piece of jewellery in an online only sale, a format which has grown in popularity over the past few years and I’m sure will continue to do so. Over the years at Hall’s Fine Art we’ve been privileged to offer a host of Cartier pieces, ranging from jewellery and watches, to more affordable pens and

lighters. In 2019 we achieved £11,000 + BP for a rare Cartier Tank ‘Normale’ wristwatch and prior to this we sold an 18ct gold stylised flower brooch for £2,000 + BP, to name but a few. We’re also delighted to be offering a stunning diamond set brooch by Cartier into our December 6 Fine Art, Antiques and Jewellery Auction. This striking piece is designed around a superb principal central old cut diamond mounted within a pave diamond pierced surround. It’s still housed in its original red leather and tooled gilt box and estimated between £4,000-£6,000, the perfect Christmas present for someone special! For more information, or for a free valuation please contact Halls Fine Art team 01743 450700.

Top left: ‘A Quarrel’, a 19th century oil on canvas by Flemish artist Ferdinand Decour; Bottom left: Chinese porcelain ‘Wu Shuang Pu’ teapot sold for £2,200; Above: a pair of 18th century Italian Maiolica tin glazed earthenware olive jars also sold for £2,200

ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL . . .

ith the nights drawing in, there’s nothing better than finding something bright and beautiful to lift the gloom, and buyers at Trevanion Auctioneers’ two-day Fine Art and Antiques Specialist October auction were spoilt for choice! Day one saw bidders vying for a beautiful selection of jewellery, with sapphires and diamonds the stars of the show. Top lot was an 18ct yellow gold sapphire and diamond three-stone ring which sold for £3,800 plus fees. “This was a beautiful ring with a 3.75 carat cushion cut sapphire set with a baguette cut diamond to each side,” commented jewellery valuer Amelia Tomkinson. “It was an exceptional example and so on trend in the current market. A second sapphire ring sold for £2,800 plus fees, highlighting the popularity of sapphires at the moment.” Also performing strongly was an early 20th century diamond and pearl set bangle, featuring five old cut diamonds interspersed with rose cut diamonds and cultured pearls, which sold for £3,200 plus fees. Works of art also proved popular on day one of the auction, with a 19th century portrait of a young girl with her pet dog and rabbit winning the hearts of viewers, before selling for £1,800 plus fees. “This was a charming example of the

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

The 18ct yellow gold sapphire and diamond three-stone ring which sold for £3,800

genre that offered an unusual composition in a beautiful palette” said fine art valuer Simon Grover. Also selling well was ‘A Quarrel’, a 19th century oil on canvas by Flemish artist Ferdinand Decour, which sold for £1,500 plus fees. A single owner collection of rare ceramics took centre stage on day two of the auction. Comprising Chinese, Hispano Moresque, Iznik and continental examples dating from the 18th century and later, the collection attracted interest from around the world. A Chinese porcelain ‘Wu Shuang Pu’ teapot from the Guangxu period (18751908) led the way, selling for £2,200 plus fees, closely followed by a pair of 18th century Italian Maiolica tin glazed earthenware olive jars which also sold for £2,200 plus fees. Associate director Ashley Jones, who

catalogued the pieces, said: “As soon as I saw this collection, I knew it was something special. Each piece offered something of interest to serious collectors, so it was no surprise to see fierce bidding for the most sought-after lots. In total the collection made over £10,000 for our delighted client.” The furniture section concluded the auction, with a pair of George III-style tan leather wingback armchairs proving very popular. “These chairs were the epitome of the gentlemen’s club style, and had a lovely patina,” commented furniture valuer Ian Woodward. “It was no surprise to see them sell for £1,700 plus fees”. A 19th century George II-style walnut, giltwood and gesso wall mirror also reflected strong interest among bidders, selling for £1,200 plus fees. “October has been a great auction for us,” commented managing partner Christina Trevanion. “Every section of the auction performed strongly with some wonderful stand-out lots. It’s so encouraging to see that, even in times of uncertainty, our clients recognise that buying at auction offers access to spectacular and unique pieces.” Trevanion Auctioneers’ first Fine Art & Antique Auction of 2024 will be held on Wednesday, January 10. Public viewing for this auction will be held on Monday, January 8 and Tuesday, January 9 from 9.30am to 5pm. 79

EDUCATION Magic as school is transformed into Hogwarts

Students at Adcote School for Girls enjoying a Harry Potter themed day

Students and teachers at a Shrewsbury school had a Harry Potter-themed day full of fun – and magic, of course. Adcote School in Little Ness, Shrewsbury, transformed into the world of Harry Potter, with witches and wizards roaming the corridors of the Hogwarts-style school. With their very own Great Hall, they were able to hold a special celebration of Harry Potter and an “opportunity for students to share their love” for the fantasy book and movie series. Staff and students dressed up as iconic characters from the franchise. The Great Hall was decorated with socks, banners, pumpkins and floating candles to bring the magic to life. Students enjoyed magic classes and competitions throughout the day, such as potion-making classes and the Triwizard Tournament, Quidditch matches, wand-making and sorting hat ceremonies. The pupils also held a costume competition, Harry Potter Bingo and a Wizarding Quiz. Victoria Taylor, headteacher of Adcote School, said: “We believe such themed activities bring our community together and create an environment of fun-spirited camaraderie.”

Teachers and staﬀ dressed up too.

SCHOOL SO PROUD OF STAR ELENI

10-year-old footballing prodigy has thanked her primary school for supporting her following her rise in junior sport. Eleni Kyriakou, from Shrewsbury, is currently appearing on Sports Direct’s Christmas TV campaign and is signed to Manchester City. She began her football career at Bayston Hill Juniors when she was just aged five and had to play in the boys’ team as not enough girls were playing. The young footie ace then joined Shrewsbury Town before being signed by Liverpool FC. She has since been snapped up by Manchester City and is currently playing for the team’s academy in her second season – but her proud parents say she could not achieve what she has without the support of her new school. Parents Charlotte and Andrew said they enrolled Eleni at Longnor C of E Primary School in Frodesley Road a little over a year ago – and the school has thrown its support behind the youngster’s footballing passion. “They have been so supportive,” said mum Charlotte. “When she started at Longnor School, they let Eleni set up her own lunchtime football club and helped her build up the school’s team. “She also leaves early on Mondays and Tuesdays when she goes to Manchester, and the school has been so good in letting us pick her up at 2.30pm.” She said without the school’s backing Eleni, who plays midfield, would not be able to work towards her dream of playing professionally for both Man City and the Lionesses. “During the Women’s World Cup they even let her have a day off because Eleni was filming an advertisement with Alex Greenwood of the Lionesses.” She added: “It is her dream to become a professional and one day play for England.” She said that Eleni’s passion for football probably comes from having two older brothers, Kiri, 14, and Max, 12. “Her dad is a Spurs fan, but Eleni is 100 per cent Man City,” said Charlotte. “She was always a tomboy, I suppose –

Eleni Kyriakou from Shrewsbury

having two older brothers is what steered her into sport, although her younger sister Anastasia, who is only six, doesn’t share the same enthusiasm as she is a real princess.” Lisa Edgerton, headteacher at Longnor C of E Primary School, said Eleni was a “fantastic role model” at the school. She said: “Eleni has a natural gift for football. Not only has she incredible skills, which she uses when playing, but she is also a fantastic role model for others. “As one of our sports ambassadors she shares her talents; she supports other students by leading lunchtime clubs and helps organise intra-school tournaments in school. We are looking forward to seeing her future football career develop.” You can follow Eleni’s footballing progress on her Instagram page: https:// www.instagram.com/elenisoccer7/ and you can see her in the new Sports Direct advert.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION Come and join us.

Please contact us to make your appointment for a one-to-one tour

An independent school for boys and girls aged 4-18 Bedstone College | Bucknell Shropshire | SY7 0BG admissions@bedstone.org 01547 530961 | www.bedstone.org

Herefordshire, Ludlow & North Shropshire College

Herefordshire, Ludlow and North Shropshire College group is made up of five colleges covering Herefordshire and Shropshire. We work together to boost skills and improve knowledge right across the region, contributing to increased economic prosperity, innovation and inspiration. From A Levels to apprenticeships, vocational courses to higher education – there’s something for everyone.

Call 0800 032 1986 or visit hlnsc.ac.uk for more information.

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

EXCELLENCE AT OLD HALL

hropshire’s Old Hall School is celebrating all-round excellence as it achieved the top rating in every area in its inspection held at the end of last term. A team from the Independent Schools Inspectorate lauded the pupils’ academic achievements as “outstanding” as they rated the school “excellent” across the board. Their personal development and other achievements were also given high praise as the report commended the school for meeting its aim of cultivating an ethos where children were “enabled to achieve their full potential”. Head Mrs Anna Karacan said she was delighted the school had been given such a brilliant report which reflected a community committed to being the best it could be. The report is a tribute to every pupil, parent, and member of staff who are part of the Old Hall family. She added: “We know Old Hall is an excellent school that offers children a first-rate education, both academically and pastorally, and this report is well-deserved recognition of that.” The report particularly praised the high quality of pupils’ knowledge and

understanding adding that it was thanks to the breadth and balance of the academic and extensive co-curricular programme at Old Hall. Communication skills were found to be “outstanding” while pupils also impressed with their “high level” of mathematical abilities and their ICT achievements. In every age group pupils were described as respectful of each other and seen to have advanced moral sensibilities. Pupils become outstanding decision-makers added the report which also pointed out they make strong contributions to others both within and beyond the school. Mrs Karacan said she was pleased to see inspectors recognise efforts by

the school to go above and beyond as teaching was credited for challenging and stretching pupils and the Old Hall Horizons after-school programme was singled out for its wide range of activities. “In all lessons seen, pupils exhibited very high levels of engagement and concentration, focused very well on their tasks, and were eager to contribute their ideas and produce the best work that they could,” the report stated. Sport, music, and LAMDA also won plaudits for a range of top results in exams and competitive fixtures and tournaments. The inspectors noted that a range of specialist rooms and resources help pupils to hone these skills, which include stateof-the-art facilities both at Old Hall and Wrekin College. Developments across the Wrekin Old Hall Trust have included a new covered outdoor classroom, new astroturf, and Music School with a double height ensemble rehearsal space while the schools also share a six-lane 25m swimming pool. Parents can find out more about Old Hall on the website www.wrekinoldhall. com or by attending Old Hall’s Discovery Morning on Saturday, January 27.

PRE-SCHOOL, RECEPTION AND KS1

WHAT WILL YOU

DISCOVER AT THE

OLD HALL DISCOVERY DAY?

SATURDAY 27TH JANUARY 2024 “Excellent” in all areas. - ISI Report 2023

10AM - 12.30PM Enjoy a tour of our school, hear from staff and pupils, and ask any questions you may have about the admissions process. Register your place:

admissions@oldhall.co.uk 01952 223117 Independent co-educational day school 4 - 11

www.wrekinoldhall.com Registered Charity No. 528417

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

PLENTY TO CELEBRATE

here is much to celebrate at Moreton Hall as the independent school, nestled on the edge of the Berwyn Hills near the English-Welsh border in Shropshire, embarks upon its 110-year anniversary. The small but idiosyncratic school is recognised as one of the UK’s leading boarding and day schools offering a first class education in a joyful and creative family environment, to girls aged three months to 18 years and boys three months to 13 years. Following the success of being awarded independent Boarding School of the Year in 2021, at the start of the new school year Moreton Hall were announced as finalists in further national prestigious awards. The nomination for the Independent Schools of the Year Performing Arts, Music and Drama category recognised Moreton Hall’s impressive and dynamic creative arts programme with local community initiatives such as the Face2Face Performance Academy and opportunities for musicians with the North Shropshire

Music Orchestra and Training Orchestra all recognised. Furthermore, teacher of Music and Vocal Coach Mrs Ellie Diack has been shortlisted in the Music and Drama Education Awards. The nomination for the Talk Education Innovation Awards for Business and Entrepreneurship, celebrates the school’s ethos that Moreton means Business, with initiatives such as the in-house, Moreton Enterprises, run for the girls by the girls, the International Women’s Day Business conference and the prestigious Moreton Hall Business

Lunch all putting entrepreneurship at the heart of the school community. On the sports pitch earlier in the year, Moreton Hall enjoyed record breaking success at the National Schools Lacrosse and the senior team were crowned ‘Queens of the North’ status and finalists in the National Schools Lacrosse championships. This comes in the year that Moreton Hall’s Lacrosse Coach, William Baxter, has been selected to represent Great Britain in the Super Sixes Tournament in Hong Kong. At every level, Moreton Hall pupils achieve outstanding success within the classroom, on the stage and across the sports pitches. Moreton nurtures in its pupils a grounded self-confidence, the willingness to give everything a go and the self-belief to tackle any challenge head-on. Moreton is a close community driven by a heartbeat of ambition in which pupils are supported and guided to be the best version of themselves. To find out more and discover what makes Moreton such a remarkable place, contact: admin@moretonhall.com

Girls 3-18, Boys 3-13

11+ | 12+ | 13+

SCHOLARSHIPS & A D M I S S I O N S D AY FRI 26 JAN 2024 Register now - www.moretonhall.org/scholarships Extensive Transport Routes | Full and Flexi Boarding | Scholarships and Bursaries 01691 773671 | admin@moretonhall.com | Moreton Hall, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 3EW 84

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

An Independent Day School for Boys and Girls ages 4 – 18 years

Join our Senior School Now registering for our Year 7 Entrance Test Thursday 18th and Friday 19th January 2024

Penkridge Telford

• Scholarships and Bursaries Available Register via www.wgs.org.uk or with our Admissions Team T: 01902 422939 E: admissions@wgs-sch.net

Wolverhampton Grammar School Compton Road, Wolverhampton, WV3 9RB Registered charity (England and Wales no. 1125268)

Walsall Bridgnorth Oldbury Stourbridge

COMMERCIAL FEATURE

A GLOBAL MOVEMENT IN GIRLS’ EDUCATION

arlier this year Shrewsbury High School’s Junior Head Kate Millichamp was asked to present to the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference in Cleveland, USA, on the power of play to grow successful and happy young people. She was joined by Head of RPE and PSHE at Shrewsbury High, Carla Tonks, a GARC (Global Action Research Collaborative) research fellow who looked at strengthening resilience to change in Year 9 girls. Shrewsbury High School is a founding member of the ICGS and this year more than 500 representatives of girls’ schools from 15 countries joined together to share research, connect and collaborate globally with individuals and schools who are dedicated to educating and empowering girls. This is the second year in a row that staff from Shrewsbury High School have been asked to present to the global conference, sharing their expertise in girls’ education on an international stage. Shrewsbury High School Head Darren Payne recognises the enormous value of being connected on such a scale. He said: “As well as being a GDST school, we are part of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools – this is the largest group of girls’ schools in the world. “Each year, Shrewsbury High School teachers join fellow educators from around the world to share ideas and research, to continually improve the education of girls in our schools. As a deliberately small girls’ school in Shropshire, we are incredibly well connected not only in the UK, but internationally. Our girls have opportunities to collaborate with girls, just like them, but from different parts of the world.”

Kate Millichamp presented on the power of play to transform young lives: “Schools that value, promote, and celebrate play are schools that grow successful and happy young people because they understand the very real power it has to transform young lives. Rooted in research and sprinkled with examples from our GDST schools, we can demonstrate the influential role of play in a child’s physical and emotional development and well-being.” Carla Tonks researched the impact of embracing the Buddhist teaching of Anicca – Impermanence, on the development of positive thinking patterns and optimistic attitudes in Year 9 girls. She added: “Teenage girls can find change unsettling. During the pandemic, we all experienced a profound transformation in the normal rhythms of life. On returning to the classroom many students reported that this uncertainty negatively influenced their mental wellbeing. My research asked ‘How does the teaching of Buddhist

thought in Year 9 Religious Studies strengthen girls’ resilience when dealing with change?’.” Following her presentation at the conference last year in Boston, Shrewsbury High’s School Consultant Teacher for Research Jo Orgill will be expanding the opportunities for action research across the school in collaboration with sister GDST and ICGS schools, to continue to innovate and lead on initiatives that put girls at the heart of teaching and learning. Tours and visits to Shrewsbury High can be arranged via www.shrewsburyhigh. gdst.net. The application deadline for senior school entry is 15 December 2023. n Pictured clockwise from top: Youngsters take part in role play in the Reception classroom; Junior girls in Forest School; Head of Shrewsbury High Junior School Kate Millichamp; Year 9 students explored the Buddhist teaching of Anicca

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

READY STEADY GIRL

‘They’ve lit little fires in my daughter’s brain and she’s absolutely blossoming.’ (Good Schools Guide) All-through, all-girl ages 4-18 11+ & 13+ Entrance Assessment Saturday 20th January Arrange your visit and apply online at shrewsburyhigh.gdst.net

SOCIAL SCENE

Sir Algernon Heber-Percy and Cheryl Johnson.

Hospice president Sir Algernon Heber-Percy and CEO Heather Tudor with the winners.

HOSPICE STARS AWARDS Severn Hospice

Sir Algernon Heber-Percy with Sue Davis.

Staff at Severn Hospice have been recognised at their annual Hospice Stars Awards. At a celebratory awards lunch, the winning individuals and teams were presented with special trophies and certificates. Each year the awards are an opportunity for colleagues to nominate each other and shine a light on the dedication and positivity of everyone who enables the charity to care for and support local families living with incurable illness. Among those celebrating was Cheryl Johnson who, as the hospice’s first registered nurse associate, is paving the way for future nurses with grace and professionalism. Cheryl was delighted to be awarded Clinical Colleague of the Year. Heather Tudor, Severn Hospice’s chief executive, who presented the awards alongside President Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, said: “It’s without doubt that it is our people who make Severn Hospice so special, and the Hospice Stars Awards are a fantastic way for us all to show how much we value our incredible colleagues. “We are so proud of their fabulous achievements which embody our values of care. “It was an honour to present the awards to so many committed, hardworking and inspirational people.” Photos supplied

Sara Toni, Sarah Little, Gaynor Lewis.

Ben Graham, Kerry Davies, Kathryn Taylor, Sue Davis, Samantha Bragg, Sarah Lloyd, Rebecca Griﬃn.

Mandy Reynolds, Marie Griﬃths, Teresa Goddard.

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Nicky Worthing, Joel Richards, Sarah Toni, Sarah Little, Gaynor Lewis, Kay Britton, Amy Jackman.

Sir Algernon Heber-Percy and Bill Stewart.

Victoria Holland, Mandy Reynolds, Marie Griﬃths, Teresa Goddard, Hannah Yapp, Katie Short, Bill Stewart, Elodie Home.

Teresa Goddard, Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, Mandy Reynolds, Marie Griﬃths.

Bill Stewart.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Zoe Thomas and Cheryl Johnson.

Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, Sarah Toni, Gaynor Lewis and Sarah Little (Housekeeping).

Staﬀ from Number Four Butcher Row at the fundraising event for the NSPCC.

NSPCC FUNDRAISER Shrewsbury The Shrewsbury fundraising branch of the NSPCC held an evening event of music, food and cocktails at Number Four Butcher Row. Jacqui William, joint chairman, said the event was very successful, raising £2,530 for the charity. Local businesses kindly donated prizes for a raﬄe that raised £510. Organisers would like to thank musician Si Alton and Alexa & Bud for the balloons. Photos: Phil Blagg

Committee members of Shrewsbury NSPCC, from left to right, Jenny Hardcastle, Julie Otter, Karen Miller (Joint Chairperson) Jacqui Milliams (Joint Chairperson) Mandy Armstrong and Kate Bourne.

Guests with musician Si Alton.

Di Leader and Simon Leader.

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Jenna Binks, Lorna Watkins, Rachel Higgins and Aimee O’Callaghan.

Jean Hall, Vanessa Newbrook and Brenda Coe.

Musician Si Alton.

Matt Hartridge and Kim Hartridge.

Ish Sohpol, Julie Otter, Alan Otter and Celia Sohpol.

Members at the NSPCC charity event.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

Councillor Carolyn Healy (chair of FOTTP), Stuart Davidson, Dave Ottley and front Cliﬀ Poole.

Committee members chatting .

FRIENDS OF TELFORD TOWN PARK Ramada Hotel Telford

High Sheriﬀ Mandy Thorn cuts the cake.

The Friends of Telford Town Park marked their 20th anniversary with a celebration. Committee members, volunteers, councillors from across the town and the High Sheriﬀ of Shropshire Mandy Thorn MBE, gathered at the Ramada Hotel in Telford to look back at the team’s successes over the two decades. Councillor Carolyn Healy was representing Telford & Wrekin Council leader, Councillor Shaun Davies, and said: “I really wanted to say how grateful we are for the work you do as the Friends. It’s amazing to see the group continue over the years and also grow over the years. “We have over 300 parks and open spaces and we couldn’t manage these parks and spaces without volunteers like you. “Thank you so much for all of your eﬀorts and long may it continue.” Pictures supplied

Councillor Carolyn Healy, Chris Pettman, Mandy Thorn and Sheenagh Urwin, chair of Holinswood & Randlay Parish Council.

Members of the committee with Mandy Thorn.

Sophia Vaughan-Hodkinson, volunteer Joshua Creed, Councillor Harvey Unwin and Councillor Sheenagh Unwin.

Volunteers Kevin Smith and Adrian Smith, Eileen Smith, Pauline Foster, Sue Smith.

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Attending the Worcestershire Legal Service at Worcester Cathederal with the High Sheriﬀs of Worcestershire, Shaﬀordshire, Herefordshire and Warwickshire.

Visit to the Rose Paterson Art Gallery at Weston Park, Mandy with Eteri Potapova.

HIGH SHERIFF’S DIARY Mandy Thorn mbe dl

Mandy and Whitchurch Mayor Andy Hall with Helen Morgan MP.

At the community resource AGM: Hugh Strickland, Anna Turner, Selina Graham, Mandy Thorn and Bev Baxter.

Visit to the Rose Paterson Art Gallery at Weston Park: Mandy Thorn, Mark Thorn, Alison Poole, Carol Widenbar.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

One of the great joys of being High Sheriff is being able to get out to all corners of our wonderful county to see some of the truly inspiring work which makes our communities so special, writes Mandy Thorn. In the last month I have had the pleasure of hosting a fabulous event at RAF Museum Cosford to recognise some of the unsung heroes who do so much across Shropshire to help others. It was wonderful to see so many people filling the museum and to be able to pay my own tribute to all of them. Further afield, I’ve had the great joy of visiting community events such as Whitchurch Blackberry Fair, attended the opening of Shrewsbury’s Charity Christmas Card Shop which raises so much money every year for good causes, and enjoyed a visit to stunning Weston Park to see a remarkable art exhibition. Photos supplied

Mandy meets volunteers at Shrewsbury Food Hub.

Mandy with Keith Oram at the gallery.

Timothy Wood and Alison Wood.

Sisters Louise Kiely, Sara Sartain and Jane Preece.

SECRET SUPPER Shrewsbury Restaurants in Shrewsbury helped to raise £6,047 for Self Help Africa, by taking part in a charity dining event to mark World Food Day. Shrewsbury Secret Supper welcomed 240 guests to a drink’s reception at Tanners Wines, before taking them on a safari dining experience, visiting three ‘secret’ restaurants for a mystery starter, main course and dessert. The event, which is held twice a year, has raised over £70,000 for the charity since 2014. Guests enjoyed courses at Momo No Ki, Nooch, Number Four, CSONS, The Beefy Boys and The Alb. Photos: Jamie Ricketts

Alice Chidley-Uttley (Tanners Wines) and Steph Smith (Self Help Africa).

Sharon Pashley, Philippa Bason, Lyndsey O’Loughlin and Nicky Ellery.

Zoe Paton, Chloe Connolly and Elly Carpenter.

Dawn Holloway, Carin Mills, Tiﬀany Rothery, Lyn McMaster and Jess Simmonds.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Gary Howorth, Alison Geib, Chris Geib, Joan Cartwright, Alistair Cartwright and Ann Howorth.

Friends gather at the Shrewsbury Secret Supper.

Vicci Allen and Jennifer Harrower.

Sue Smith and Mark Smith.

Laura Jones, Laura Harrington and Rebecca Jones.

Sylvia Bedford, John Riley, Lisa Moss, Mary Hands, Sue Peters and Deborah Riley.

Marion Reardon, Rachel Pike, Amanda Garrett, Karen Bennett, Cheryl Walton, and Louise Wellard.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

AT THE PEAK OF HIS POWERS IN SPACE RETIRED BRITISH ASTRONAUT TIM PEAKE TALKS TO YOLANTHE FAWEHINMI ABOUT HIS NEW BOOK, HOW HIS EPIC SPACEWALK CHANGED HIS LIFE AND THE FUTURE OF SPACE EXPLORATION

ven though Tim Peake is filled with “awe” every time he arrives at a space station, the first thing he needs to do is go to the toilet. “There’s that juxtaposition, because on the one hand, you’re filled with a sense of awe and wonder,” the astronaut says. “But on the other hand, as soon as you arrive on the space station, the first thing you need to do is go to the loo, then it’s the case of OK, here are the fire extinguishers. This is the emergency equipment, on with a job, on with normality, on with a routine.” Peake, 51, would then get on with the all-encompassing job of being an astronaut, working 12-14 hour days. “Space is a very busy place. It’s like going somewhere very remote and isolated like the Amazon Rainforest or Antarctica, where you leave your emails behind, the daily humdrum, and completely step outside of your life on [the] planet for six months,” says Peake, who is based in Chichester, West Sussex. “I’ve been fortunate that there haven’t been any family emergencies whilst I’ve been in space, as that can be a constant worry, not being able to support them. I’d have to wait until the mission ends before coming home. And though I didn’t struggle with my mental health, it’s nice that space agencies give you access to a psychologist every two weeks, if you do need that kind of support.” Before Peake was selected to join the European Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut training programme in 2009, he was an Apache pilot, flight instructor and test pilot. He admits becoming an astronaut wasn’t always the plan. “I think that’s partly because I grew up in Britain, where we didn’t have astronauts and couldn’t be them. Now, that changed in 1991 when Helen Sharman visited the Mir space station. But even then, that was a one-off. “We weren’t part of any human spaceflight programme and didn’t have a space agency until 2010. 96

To be an astronaut, you have to see it to believe it. It’s why I grew up thinking I was going to be a pilot.” He realised it was achievable “later in life”. “It’s why I still tell young people that space agencies are still looking for that STEM background, but most importantly they are looking for a level of commitment, professionalism, passion, dedication and all the soft skills that go into making a good astronaut. It has to be something you absolutely love with all your heart.” In January this year, Peake announced he was retiring as an ESA astronaut, transitioning to an ambassador role for the agency. Looking back, his favourite experience was in 2015, when he became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) and went spacewalking. “You already get this amazing experience going into space, the rocket launch, rendezvousing and docking at the space station, living there, looking out over Earth and looking up at the Milky Way galaxy. But then to go outside the space station, it’s like another order of magnitude as to going into space. “You just feel that freedom and exhilaration of floating in space with just a visor. It’s like going to the universe’s greatest IMAX movie theatre, and it’s all there. Right in front of you, to see this incredible sight, something that will change every astronaut forever. It’s hard to process.” It’s why the cover of Peake’s new book Space: The Human Story – about the warmth, humour, humility and everyday lives of the 628 people who have left Earth – features the iconic photograph of a personal hero of his, the US astronaut Bruce McCandless during his remarkable untethered spacewalk, taken from the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984. “What Bruce did on that first spacewalk – going untethered out in the cargo bay and just disappearing for

a few 100 metres off into the universe – that takes a huge amount of courage and faith in the equipment you’re operating,” Peake says. “The photo is just so iconic. It’s a human who looks so small and fragile against this backdrop of the Earth and the blackness of space. “For decades, humans have ventured off our home planet in search of answers. It reminds me of what we have achieved.” So what do his two sons, Thomas and Oliver, think about his job? “We try and normalise family life as much as possible,” Peake says. “But occasionally I think they get surprised when people ask why they never told them that their dad was Tim Peake. And they would be like, why would I tell you my dad is Tim Peake? He’s just my dad.” We’re in a new era of space travel, with the rise of space tourism and billionaires investing money into the sector. But Peake is still a firm believer that space should be for the benefit of everybody on Earth, with a focus on science and research. “Though I do think there is a greater number of the population who could potentially afford a flight to space in comparison to the 1920s and 30s. But often things start out because wealthy people invest money into it. It just needs to be done in a sustainable and responsible way so we can protect the space environment for future generations.” n Space: The Human Story by Tim Peake is published by Century, priced £22. DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

“It’s like going to the universe’s greatest IMAX movie theatre, and it’s all there. Right in front of you, to see this incredible sight, something that will change every astronaut forever. It’s hard to process.”

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

BOOKS

PATRICK BOLDLY GOES TO STARDOM

ir Patrick Stewart, Shakespearean actor and king of the Star Trek and X-Men franchises, says that at 83 he is starting to tick things off. “Riding a bicycle is no longer a good idea for me. I try to exercise as much as I can. I also try very hard to spend as much time as I can with friends, particularly my Star Trek friends, because I love them all and we see one another as often as we can.” Stewart played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series from 1987-94, and in its subsequent films and TV spin-offs, but feels he may not quite have finished with the captain. “I have a feeling that a film based on the Picard series, particularly on the third and final season, would be a very appropriate and I hope entertaining way of saying goodbye to Star Trek,” he suggests. Today though, he is focusing on his memoir, Making It So (a take on Picard’s often said phrase ‘Make It So’ in the series), which he wrote over three years and which features many stories from his life in theatre and on screen. Anecdotes abound about the actors he worked with, from Ben Kingsley and David Tennant to his great friend Sir Ian McKellen, who officiated at his wedding, as well as his recollections of those in the audience who’ve watched him, including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Robert Redford and Lauren Bacall. There are tales of Stewart driving Paul McCartney’s Aston Martin, taking tea with Kirk Douglas, and of Ricky Gervais corpsing when he appeared with him in the TV series Extras. Yet he still seems rather surprised that he has come from a working-class Northern town, to end up an awardwinning actor in Hollywood. “I had never anticipated that my future might hold these potentials. I never gave a

thought to Hollywood, except that I love movies and have done since I was a little boy.” And he cannot quite believe he’s written a book. “There’s a word we use in Yorkshire, where I’m from, ‘gobstopped’,” he says. “And I’m somewhat ‘gob-stopped’ – imagine a mouth wide open but not saying anything.” Stewart’s story is a real-life rags to riches one. He was born in the small town of Mirfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where the family home had an outside toilet, no central heating and bath night was once a week. He won a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School – and later joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for 14 years, won multiple Olivier Awards and a Grammy and was launched into the galactic spotlight of fame with Star Trek: The Next Generation and X-Men. The height of fame arrived fairly late, through the screen franchises. He was 47 when he took the Star Trek role and pushing 60 when the X-Men opportunity came along, in which he plays the mutant Charles Xavier. He still has goals – Shakespeare parts he hasn’t yet played and other acting opportunities. He’s come a long way from that little house in Mirfield with the outside toilet. n Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart is published by Gallery Books UK, priced £25.

BOOKCASE Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, £16.99

These short stories from the Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri present a diﬀerent view of Italy and of Rome. That of the outsider, the migrant, the refugee, the person who doesn’t quite belong – but still wants to be there anyway. The alienation of the people who inhabit her stories is mirrored by the namelessness of many of the protagonists. But despite this and the elliptical nature of the writing, the stories are full of feeling and the desire for connection.

Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty by Emma Dabiri, £7.99

Academic Emma Dabiri puts her focus on the relationship between beauty and the patriarchy. Dabiri – author of Don’t Touch My Hair – gives a tour of Western beauty standards and how they can be weaponised against women. She expands on what it was like growing up as a black person in Dublin and how that impacted the way she saw herself. A powerful read.

Light Over Liskeard by Louis de Bernières, £20

A monstrous net fail threatens to send the world back to the Dark Ages, while the selfabsorbed population is oblivious to the impending doom. All but middle-aged Roman toga-wearing Q – who sets about preparing for it in a Cornish farmhouse Captain Corelli’s Mandolin author Louis de Bernières has a talent for creating an achingly romantic aﬀair from what may at ﬁrst glance appear to be a mundane midlife crisis.

What You Need To Be Warm by Neil Gaiman, £12.99

What does the concept of warmth truly signify to you? This question was posed by Neil Gaiman on Twitter, and from responses he received, he crafted a poignant poem, brought to life by a team of illustrators. The proceeds from this project are dedicated to UNHCR, providing vital aid to those who have been displaced. This book serves as a strong reminder of the overlooked signiﬁcance of warmth, a comfort we often take for granted.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

A RUM DO ON AN ISLAND PARADISE UP FOR SOME TASTY WINTER SUN? HANNAH STEPHENSON SAMPLES THE FAMOUS BOOZE AND EATS LIKE A LOCAL OFF THE BEATEN TRACK ON THE CARIBBEAN’S ‘SPICE ISLAND’

itting in a shady bar called Friday, overlooking the Maurice Bishop airport runway and the Caribbean Sea precariously close beyond it, I’m about to sample a Grenadian shot called ‘under the counter’ – and all before breakfast. The co-owner Leana Mcintyre and her 19-year-old son, Kyle, show me the potion, which sits in a gallon glass jar filled with a myriad homegrown herbs, leaves and spices including lemon grass, ginger, nutmeg and perhaps even a centipede, forming a brown concoction steeped in the local Rivers white rum. It’s a welcome drink often given to regulars free of charge, and when the mixture sears the back of my throat, I decide that the herbs and spices are more for show than flavour. Islanders claim that Rivers rum, produced organically on the River Antoine Estate, the oldest rum distillery in Grenada, doesn’t give you a hangover no

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matter how much of it you drink, because there are no chemical additives. I’m yet to be convinced. After knocking it back I’m served a hearty Caribbean breakfast of curried aubergines, salt fish, amberjack, fried plantain and a puffed up fried bake the consistency of a doughnut. It’s accompanied by a creamy-tasting cocoa drink; chocolate is big on Grenada with its profusion of cocoa fields, six chocolate companies offering tree-tobar experiences and an annual chocolate festival. Laid-back hospitality and casual dining eateries are peppered along the hilly climb out of the capital St George’s in the south west, home to the majority of low rise hotels, from the swanky Silversands at one end of the 2.5-mile Grand Anse Beach, to the relaxed, airy boutique hotel Mount Cinnamon, where we’re staying, at the other. Some offer all-inclusive packages, but

if you’re looking for eateries and bars off the beaten track in any of the six parishes which make up the regions of the island, you won’t have to go far. At 21 miles by 12, Grenada – known as the ‘Spice Island’ due to the profusion of spices grown in its fertile, volcanic soil – is a little smaller than the Isle of Wight. I last visited in 2018, pre-Covid, and while bars and restaurants were dormant during the pandemic, they have now come out of hibernation. This is typical of the resilience and the optimism of the islanders, who use the rich land to its maximum, growing everything they can in what small spaces they have, from bread fruit and nutmeg to soursop, lime, coconuts, bananas, mangoes and avocados. The lush, mountainous landscape offers a huge bounty of delicious edibles, while the sea provides lobster, lion fish, mahi mahi and king fish, which are as popular in the upmarket hotels as they

are in Grenadian homes. No one goes hungry. Village communities swap their surpluses – an avocado for a soursop, a jackfruit for a star fruit. Nothing is wasted. Calabash shells double up as food bowls and dried coconut husks provide the fuel for outdoor cooking. “If you use everything from the earth, you should get everything you need,” guide Ashel reflects of the Grenadian ethos, as she takes us through the chocolate-making process at Tri Island Chocolate, the smallest chocolate factory in Grenada and one of the stops on a Spice Foodie Tour (EC$160/around £48; spicfoodietour@gmail.com) exploring the island’s culture, signature dishes, local eateries and street food. Among the favourites is oil down, Grenada’s national dish and its most famous comfort food, widely available from street vendors and low-cost joints. This hearty, flavoursome one pot stew of breadfruit, pumpkin, sweet potato, meat or fish, dumplings, callaloo (like spinach) and spices is all steeped in fresh coconut milk, which cooks down to leave the oil from which the dish gets its name in the bottom. It’s filling, satisfying, salty and delicious. Travelling an hour across country, winding roads cutting through the Grand Etang Forest Reserve, I arrive in Grenville, the second largest town in Grenada, on the east facing the rougher Atlantic coastline. Amid the honking horns of traffic edging forward between brightly coloured ramshackle buildings, vendors at street stalls and shacks are flogging all manner of goods, from local Carib and Stag beer to dangling dried orange peel for tea infusions. It’s here on the tour that we stop at Boogie Buss Up Shot Joint, a popular take-away for ‘buss up shot’, a roti street food brought to the Caribbean from India in the 1830s, around the time slavery was abolished. The nickname literally means tattered shirt because of the way the paratha flatbread is served, almost like a torn shirt. It’s served with chicken, pork or lambie, which is curried conch, accompanied with perfect dipping material including chickpea and potato aloo, and mango amchar, like a chutney. I’ve barely room for Grenada’s trademark gooey, rich dark sweet potato pudding, a blend of sweet potato, ginger, coconut milk, dark sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and bergamot served to us by Daniela Thomas in her front garden, cooked in metal drums fired by charred coconut shells on the top and coals underneath. Vegans are also catered for, given the bountiful fruits of the island. Budding 100

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This page, clockwise from top left: Joachim Joseph cooking a vegan meal in the forest; Grand Anse Beach, Grenada; bananas growing in Grenada. Opposite page, from top: Annandale Waterfall, Grenada; Hannah Stephenson outside Tri Island chocolate factory; women serving oil down at the Dodgy Dock. First page: Grand Anse Beach, Grenada

entrepreneur and vegan Joachim Joseph set up Volcan Vegan three years ago, which offers farm to table events. “There are six in my family and I used to cook for them all the time. I’ve got more creative but I always cook with love,” he says. He meets us in the forest next to the popular Annandale Waterfall in the hills of St George’s, where he is cooking our lunch in a wok on an open fire fuelled by nutmeg branches. I have a quick swim in the cool pool below the fall before returning to the forest where, in the shade of giant bamboos, he has prepared a tasty stir-fry with cabbage, peppers, tomatoes and spices including turmeric, giving the mix a yellow hue. He serves the meal in calabash bowls, accompanied by coconut dumplings and crispy roasted and fried breadfruit, which tastes like potato. “Eighty per cent of my customers aren’t vegan,” he says proudly. As a SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

carnivore, I’m impressed with his veggie offering. An experience will cost from around £34, depending on the menu. You can also enjoy fine dining off the tourist trail, as I discover taking a table on a white verandah at Armadillo, a small guesthouse and restaurant at Mount Rodney in St Patrick in the north, run by Swiss chef Bernie Huss and his wife, Andrea Nyack. While hummingbirds hover amid the flowering vine which frames the dining area, I feast on lion fish ceviche before Bernie shows me his garden, which is more like a wild, tropical arboretum with banana palms, coconut trees and other exotic plants. Other regular food experiences can be enjoyed at the Dodgy Dock street food night every Wednesday at the True Blue Bay boutique resort in St George’s, featuring a host of street food vendors who’ll cook and serve your favourites, while you listen to live music from a Caribbean band.

There’s also Fish Friday at Gouyave, the fishing capital of the island 45 minutes north from the main hotel district, a joyful, noisy affair which comes alive with steel drums, as local vendors equipped with grills and cookers tempt hungry customers to try everything from barbecued snapper to conch, lobster and fish cakes. All washed down with some ‘under the counter’ – and fingers crossed no hangover the next day.

FACTFILE British Airways oﬀers seven nights in Mount Cinnamon Resort & Beach Club on a B&B basis from £1,705pp (two sharing), including return ﬂights from London Gatwick. For more information on Grenada, visit puregrenada.com

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MOTORING

AUDI’S BIG BEAST’S A SHOWSTOPPER BILL MCCARTHY EXPERIENCES THE EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE OF THE AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK, A VEHICLE WITH A V8 ENGINE THAT MATCHES AND OUTGUNS MANY SUPERCARS

he new RS 7 Sportback performance is aptly named. A beast of a car, it delivers performance in every sense offering amazing acceleration, fantastic stability and a driving experience few can match. The mighty four litre V8 engine has even more power, as if the previous 605PS was not enough and delivers a whopping 625PS. As a result, it powers the car 60mph in just 3.4 seconds, supercar performance. It also delivers a whopping price tag at £124k plus. Expensive? There was another £10k worth of options on this model. It is a big car, long and wide, but is actually practical and the raging beast is transformed into a tranquil puppy when pottering around despite the immense power lurking under the bonnet. The RS and Quattro badging is quite prominent as are the huge twin exhausts

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and optional 22-inch alloys on this model. But despite the low-slung, sleek appearance, with its muscular body and slim, stylish lights, its appearance only hints at the power it can unleash. Allied to its four-wheel drive system and eight-speed tiptronic gearbox, performance is astonishing with the car capable, where permitted, of hitting a top speed of nearly 190mph. Not that you would ever be able to achieve that, except maybe on a runway or track, and it is limited anyway to 155mph in the UK. The V8 bi-turbo TFSI engine has cylinder-on-demand technology. This means four of the eight cylinders can shut down for more leisurely driving conditions, ergo saving more fuel. But floor it and it literally pins you back in your seat as it rockets to 62 mph in a couple of blinks of the eye, with the twin exhausts burbling and spitting as it surges ahead.

This is as a result of a decision to reduce sound insulation to amplify the V8 soundtrack. The claimed average fuel consumption is also pretty decent at a claimed 24-odd mpg, which for a supercar is positively miserly and is helped by the slightly incongruous stop/start technology. That I suppose is part of the beauty of this car, a light touch on the accelerator means it behaves in a refined and comfortable way out and about in town. But for a real thrill, select the dynamic setting and you have full-fat performance. It’s not just the speed, the ride, handling and steering are sensational, and the optional RS Dynamics and suspension package includes all-wheel steering and the quattro sport differential. This means the car can be powered through bends and twists in country lanes with ease. The steering is nicely weighted, while the 22-inch tyres and all-wheel drive DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

offer incredible grip, even at edge-of-theseat speeds, although road noise can be intrusive. The multiple driving modes allow drivers to tailor their experience to their preferences. With all that power on tap, it’s important to be able to stop it and this model features the optional (at more than £9k) blue Brembo-style RS Ceramic brakes, which brings the vehicle safely to a halt as quickly as it hits 60mph. It needs to be safe as well and it features a dual-airbag setup that is supported by knee, side, and rear passenger-side airbags, lane departure warning, surround-view camera system with front and rear parking sensors and a full complement of airbags including knee airbags. You get the full Monty in terms of equipment, with a beautifully laid out plush leather interior, with a state-of-theart central control system that offers more technology than a space probe. There is a variety of colour options, interior accents, and additional features to personalise the vehicle. Goodies are

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

too numerous to name but include a host of technological wizardry, heated seats, parking aids, radar warnings, adaptive lights, top-notch infotainment system. The heated seats are both comfortable and still supportive enough for hard driving while the centrepiece is two digital displays, the central screen brains of the car operates the latest infotainment, smartphone connectivity and navigation. The familiar virtual cockpit delivers real-time information to the driver and new features like the blinking shift indicator and Launch Control. The boot is shallow, but long and with the rear seats in place it offers an excellent 535 litres, which opens up to a huge 1,390 litres. Clearly, a high-performance vehicle that caters to enthusiasts who value driving thrills but still has plenty to offer in terms of practicality and even a nod to fuel economy. A brilliant car with a brutal price tag. But with sales still on the up, it seems Audi can do little wrong.

AT A GLANCE Audi RS7 Sportback Price: £122,175 Mechanical: 625PS, 3,996cc, V8 petrol engine driving four wheels via 8-speed auto gearbox Max speed: 155mph limited 0-62mph: 3.4seconds Combined mpg: 22.8 Insurance group: 50E CO2 emissions: 282g/km Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles 103

NOSTALGIA

Filming of A Christmas Carol in Shrewsbury in 1984

ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS Mr Alf Shepherd, 86, of Heath Hill, Dawley, receives his Christmas dinner chicken from members of Dawley Circle Club who distributed gifts to sick and elderly residents in Dawley in 1968.

HEATHER LARGE LOOKS AT THE MANY AND VARIED WAYS WE CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTY BACK IN THE DAY

he Christmas season is upon us once again. Around the county, there will be plenty of eyecatching displays of lights and decorations. Pantomimes and Christmas carols have long been a highlight of this time of year and in 1967 Cubs from the 2nd Wellington pack visited Wrekin Hospital to sing to the patients. In 1983, schoolchildren were busy designing Christmas cards for a competition run by Telford Development

Corporation. First prize went to 11-yearold Justin Millard, of Leegomery, while the runners-up were Warren Hughes, of Oakengates, and Tracey Pritchard, of Lilleshall. It’s also the season of goodwill which in 1968 saw members of Dawley Circle Club distributing gifts to sick and elderly residents in Dawley. We’ve dipped into the archives to look back at Christmas activities that happened across Shropshire in past decades so sit back and enjoy our picture selection.

A school Christmas party at High Ercall Village Hall in 1956.

In December 1987, Ironbridge Gorge Museum’s Christmas theme was Father Christmas meets the snowmen. The photograph shows Ellen Tranter meeting Marie Adams (left) and Vicky Tranter, both dressed as snowmen.

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Children with the ‘ﬂoating monster’ at Shrewsbury Swimming Baths when it re-opened after the Christmas and New Year break in 1983.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

‘Santa’ Derek Podmore scales the walls of Shrewsbury Prison with presents for the prisoners in 1977.

Lord Northfield, chairman of Telford Development Corporation, presented the prizes to the winners of the corporation’s first Christmas card competition for schoolchildren in 1983. Eleven-year-old Justin Millard, of Leegomer,y took first prize and he is seen discussing his design with judges Mrs Elizabeth Holt and Lord Northfield at Priorslee Hall. Competition runners-up Warren Hughes and Tracey Pritchard look on.

Cubs of 2nd Wellington visited Wrekin Hospital to sing carols to the patients in 1967. From left are Ian Pendlebury, Trevor Brice, David Corbett, Simon Stubbs and Martin Davies, with patient Mrs A. Phaysey, of Oakengates, and her daughter, Mrs W. Meredith.

A Christmas procession through Oswestry in 1976 featured the RAF Cosford Apprentice Wing Band.

Christmas turkeys and Christmas trees outside the J.P. Wood shop in Craven Arms, with shopkeeper Trevor Turner of Clun, in 1956.

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FROM OPERA TO CLASSICS OF ROCK ... TENOR ALFIE BOE REFLECTS ON THE CHALLENGES IN HIS LIFE AND WHY HE WANTED TO EXPLORE ROCK IN HIS NEW ALBUM

here’s obviously downs with any aspect of life and career,” says opera star Alfie Boe. “You have the ups and the downs, it’s how you handle them, how you deal with them and how you grow from them and learn. “I’ve had my challenges in my life. I’ve had my moments that I have needed to work through and deal with, move on from.” The famed tenor has been candid about his struggles in his past over the years, including suffering from depression after splitting from his wife Sarah during the pandemic after 16 years of marriage. He explores these lower moments alongside the highs of his career and life, and there have been many, in his new memoir Face The Music. Performing at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and her 90th birthday, playing Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, taking to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall are among a few of his highlights. “I appreciate my success, I appreciate what I’ve done in my career,” he says. “I’ve done a few things that I’ve been fortunate enough to have the ability to do and the chance to do. It’s lovely to remember those moments.” Raised in Lancashire as the youngest of nine children, the singer got his break with the D’Oyly Carte after he was encouraged to audition for the opera company when a customer overheard him singing in the car factory where he worked. After training with the Royal College of Music, he was selected to play the lead in Baz Luhrmann’s Broadway production of La Boheme, which won him a Tony, and shot further to fame starring in the West End’s Les Miserables. His long-term partnership with fellow singer and friend Michael Ball has also led to performances across the world and a string of number one albums. After five recent projects together, Boe is stepping out on his own again

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with his first solo collection since 2018. The Symphonic Songbook – Open Arms sees the tenor pair his signature vocals to bold, orchestral renditions of rock classics such as Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer, Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters and Bryan Adams’ Summer Of ‘69. “I think every artist that I cover on the album, I admire as a musician and performer,” he says. “Growing up as a Metallica fan, or particularly a Bon Jovi fan. But I appreciated their ability to present their music and it’s nice to have this opportunity to give them homage to their art form.” He brought his worlds closer together by recording the album with a contemporary band and a symphony orchestra – hoping to reflect how the genres can, and have often in the past, intertwined. It may come as an unexpected departure for those who are more accustomed to his operatic and musical stylings, but Boe feels this is a natural progression from his lifelong appreciation of the genre. “With my career, I do a lot of varied genres, a lot of different styles and this is a style of music that has been a part of my life, really, from a very early age, from growing up in Lancashire,” he says as he reflects on how the album came about. “But it’s not me trying to be a rock singer. And I want to hold that down as a fact, it’s not me trying to be something that I’m not, I want to literally just show people the beauty of classic rock ballads.” Aside from releasing his emotions in his memoir, Boe reveals he has been writing his own music for the last few years, provoked by wanting to express himself during the pandemic. “I wanted to be creative,” he recalls. “I wanted to try and keep my mind going with music and I started writing every single day.” The singer says it has been “lovely” to create his own melodies alongside some other “wonderful” people and hopes to record and release them some day when

“I want to literally just show people the beauty of classic rock ballads” – Alﬁe Boe the opportunity crosses his path. He adds: “To write your story down and sing your story, and write the lyrics to your life and your moment in time, or whatever you’re singing about, whether it’s your child, or your parents, or your partner, or whatever, it’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to do that.” At this stage in the game, the 50-yearold no longer has a bucket list of things he wants to do or achieve, but instead wants to remain open to any project or opportunity that may be on the horizon. And it is this sage advice that he would like to pass on to up-and-coming artists. “I would like to tell people to take every opportunity that they can. “If they want to pursue a career as a singer or performer, then take every opportunity that comes across the path, don’t hesitate and also don’t ignore your roots, your grounding, your family, your friends. “Don’t disconnect from people. Talk, keep open-hearted with the people that are close to you and communicate and when things are getting you down, talk about it.” n Alfie Boe’s album Open Arms – The Symphonic Songbook and memoir Face The Music is out now. DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

PUZZLES

Sudoku

SUDOKU 1

9 3 1 6

6 4

1 2

3 7

3 9 4 5 6 8 3 5 9 2 5 7 3 8 9 7 5 2 1 5 9 8 4 3

REMEMBER WHEN THE FOLLOWING EVENTS ALL OCCURRED IN A YEAR IN LIVING MEMORY. CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE?

1. Actor Dennis Hopper was born 2. The Crystal Palace burnt down 3. Gary Cooper starred in Mr Deeds Goes To Town 4. The speaking clock service was introduced in the UK

1. Clint Eastwood and Telly Savalas starred in Kelly’s Heroes 2. Actor River Phoenix was born 3. Freda Payne had a UK No.1 single with Band Of Gold 4. Athlete Lillian Board died at the age of 22

FOUR WS 1

WHO… was the mother of Hector in Greek mythology? WHAT… does mea culpa mean? WHERE… was the first ghetto in Europe established? WHEN… in the Jewish calendar is Yom Kippur celebrated?

WHO… etched the engravings Beer Street and Gin Lane? WHAT… is the twelfth letter of the Greek Alphabet? WHERE… is Alor Setar the capital? WHEN… was the first Cannes Film Festival?

WHO… wrote A Defence Of Poetry in 1821? WHAT… letter comes after X C V on a QWERTY keyboard? WHERE… was the first free settlement in Australia? WHEN… did Samuel de Champlain found Quebec?

WHO… was the thirteenth president of the United States? WHAT… is Zuppa Inglese? WHERE… were the 1972 Olympics held? WHEN… was the Bank of England founded?

WHO… is often referred to as the Father of Artificial Organs? WHAT… was the surname of Edward III? WHERE… is the highest mountain in Mexico? WHEN… did the name for Rhodesia first include Zimbabwe?

WHO… won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983? WHAT… is a line of verse containing six iambic feet? WHERE… does the Kootenay River rise? WHEN… was the Anglo-Zulu War?

1. John Taylor and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran were born 2. Stirling Moss won the Monaco Grand Prix 3. Albert Finney starred in Saturday Night And Sunday Morning 4. Roy Orbison had a UK No.1 single with Only The Lonely

WORDWISE

1. George Michael was born 2. John F Kennedy made his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech 3. Gerry and the Pacemakers had three UK No.1 singles 4. Richard Harris starred in This Sporting Life

1. ROCAILLE A Filigree platinum. B A Swiss cheese. C Decorative rockwork.

3. TRAMONTANE A Type of trampoline. B Treading heavily. C From beyond the mountains.

5.BACCA A A type of fruit. B South American monkey. C Greek god

1. Actor Harvey Keitel was born 2. Band leader Glenn Miller recorded In The Mood 3. Actor Douglas Fairbanks died 4. Greta Garbo starred in Ninotchka 1. Monty Python And The Holy Grail hit the cinema screens 2. Tammy Wynette had a UK No.1 single with Stand By Your Man 3. Actress Drew Barrymore was born 4. Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win the Wimbledon Singles Championship

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

THE WORD MAY SOUND FAMILIAR, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

2. SPOLIATE A Shin-bone soup. B To plunder. C Long syllables

4. ABSTERGE A Stay away from. B Cleanse. C Stop drinking

6. CAROCHE A Yellow pigment. B Type of carriage. C Locust-tree

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CROSSWORD QUICK CLUES Across 1. Curative (11) 9. Instance (7) 10. Sham (5) 11. Go in (5) 12. Rags (7) 13. Clothe (6) 15. Ship (6) 18. Trap (7) 20. Memorise (5) 22. Stick (5) 23. Jealous (7) 24. Symbolised (11) Down 2. Centre (5) 3. News (7) 4. Abundance (6) 5. Inappropriate (5) 6. Malady (7) 7. Kindness (11) 8. Animality (11) 14. Trace (7) 16. Invigorate (7) 17. Alcove (6) 19. Portend (5) 21. Exclusively (5) CRYPTIC CLUES Across 1. Proportion Stalin found out to be antisupernatural (11) 9. Letters to be sent to remote settlement (7) 10. Corn to be seen in the wood? (5) 11. Spoil first-class backing for girl (5) 12. Otherwise cool van could erupt (7) 13. Feeling less for the figure? (6) 15. Blamed for the mad-house (6) 18. Priest loses one in church (7) 20. Big hit – 150 published (5) 22. It’s more pleasant in Venice, really (5)

23. Source of gratuities at the race-course? (7) 24. Show men road test (11) Down 2. A man of parts … (5) 3. … set apart from one extremely tardy (7) 4. Four in neat arrangement are indigenous (6) 5. It’s lawful for example in all construction (5) 6. Defence against main attack (3-4)

An actress, I was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. I won a Best Actress Oscar in 2002, the same year I starred as a Bond girl. I also played the title role in the film Catwoman.

WHAT’S MY NAME?

A singer, I was born in California in 1975. As a child I was on the childrens’ TV series Kids Incorporated. I found success as a member of the bands Wild Orchid and The Black Eyed Peas, and my solo album The Dutchess was released in 2006.

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A writer, I was born near Birmingham in 1903. I joined the British Army during WWII, before following my brother’s lead to become a published author. My science fiction novels include The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos.

7. Order remark about fellow dunderhead (11) 8. Tell a British Conservative it’s instructive (11) 14. It puts one pupil under glass (7) 16. See carp as the one that got away (7) 17. Jars in fireplaces (6) 19. Roots forming the trunk (5) 21. 8 etc. to reform (5)

A television presenter, I was born in London in 1964. I have appeared in Casualty and EastEnders, and have been a presenter on Loose Women and a co-host of The One Show with Adrian Chiles.

A DJ and presenter, I was born in Northern Ireland in 1977. I was the anchorman for Five’s football coverage and before a short stint on BBC’s Match of the Day 2. I’m currently the host on the game show Countdown.

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

WORDSPIRALS STARTING FROM 1, FILL IN THE GRID IN A CLOCKWISE DIRECTION WITH FOUR-LETTER WORDS. THE LAST LETTER OF EACH WORD BECOMES THE FIRST LETTER OF THE NEXT WORD. IF YOU HAVE CORRECTLY FILLED IN THE GRID THERE SHOULD BE A SEVEN-LETTER KEY WORD READING ACROSS FROM 8.

1. Large sharp tooth 2. Become bigger 3. Female spouse 4. Engrave 5. Hurt 6. Is obliged to 7. Group of three 8. Woodwind instrument 9. Peepers 10. Slip, slide 11. Fall in drops 12. Fruit type 13. Prevalent 14. Wickedness 15. Floor covering 16. Dolts Key word clue: Football term

IMPOSSIPUZZLES

“It’s your birthday today, and your boy’s too!” said Ted. “That’s wonderful. How old is he now?” “I’ll tell you with fractions,” replied Bob. “One over his age, plus one over my age, makes one over seven. That’s a seventh, of course.” You work it out!

Jason held up a piece of paper. “Look, Dad. Our new phone number,” he said. “If you add together its two parts, and square that, you get the complete number again.” Gavin checked the boy’s working. “494 plus 1729 is 2223, and 4941729 is 2223 squared,” he commented. “That’s okay. Do you think there’s any other phone number, with its first part 3 figures, that works that way?” Well?

“Do you know, it’s eleven years since I first met you,” said Igor. “I was a year less than twice your age.” Rihanne smiled. “Quite an old man! But what of it?” “Just something that struck me,” Igor replied. “Now I’m only one and a half times as old as you are.” How old would that be?

I know a young man in Dundee Whose age you see, ends with a three. It’s three less than the square Of his daughter’s age there. So what do you think it must be?

1. Pavement edge 2. Stopper 3. Equipment 4. Precipitation 5. Pleasant 6. Gain by working 7. Signals agreement 8. Seagoing vessel 9. Formal agreement 10. Melody 11. Heroic 12. Imitation 13. Jabbers 14. Lather 15. Rebuff 16. Grain husks Key word clue: Tool type

1. Carpet nail 2. New Zealand bird 3. Greek letter 4. Highest point 5. Simple 6. Scream 7. Molten volcanic rock 8. Opera song 9. Very dry 10. Composition for two 11. Throw upwards 12. Grain store 13. Lubricates 14. Ride on waves 15. Worry 16. Cylinder Key word clue: Canadian province

ANSWERS ON PAGE 112 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

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WHAT’S ON

Left: Weston Park’s Christmas Markets will take place on December 2 and 3 and December 9 and 10 from 10am to 4pm in the grounds of the stately home. Right: Tara Marisa Kelsey and Yuri Sabatini perform at Newport’s Cosy Hall on December 8

DECEMBER

Whole Lotta Shakin’ – The Shakin’ Stevens Story is on at Theatre on The Steps in Bridgnorth at 8pm. The show has been nominated by The National Tribute Awards for Best UK Tribute show 2017. The all-new Christmas Special will take you on a nostalgic roller coaster ride back to the 80s based on the 40 hits produced and performed by Shakin’ Stevens including his no.1 hit ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’, ‘Blue Christmas’, ‘Best Christmas of them all’ and many others. The rags to riches story is an explosion of pure delight and will have you dancing in the aisles as the soundtrack of our youth floods your memory with hits that just keep on comin’...‘Oh Julie’, ‘You Drive Me Crazy’, ‘This Ole House’ plus many more. Rebel Dean, who recreates Shaky at the peak of his powers, has for a number of years performed in all the top venues in Great Britain and Europe including the London Palladium, appearing as the lead role in the hit West End Show ‘4 Steps to Heaven’ by Bill Kenwright, ‘Elvis the Musical’ and a decade with the hit show That’ll Be The Day’. Rebel takes fans on a journey with all the authentic costume changes, celebrating the music of the man who had more hits than any other artist in the charts throughout the 80s. All driven by a five-piece band, this is a must-see show, if you have ever wondered what’s behind the ‘Green Door’, now is your chance to find out. Tickets cost £25. For more details visit www.theatreonthesteps.co.uk/ product/wholelottashakin-

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FitkinWall are composer/pianist Graham Fitkin and harpist Ruth Wall. Their new album is loosely connected with ideas of migration. Migration is not a new phenomenon, but has been with us for thousands of years. Ruth’s Scottish background has driven this album. The enforced eviction and subsequent migration of farmers and crofters from the highlands, as part of ‘the clearances’ which benefited wealthy Southern sheep farmers, provides the central focus. The pair have predominantly taken traditional Scottish tunes, performed on varying harps and reworked them completely keeping migratory ideas in mind. They will perform at Ludlow Assembly Rooms on December 1. Tickets cost £16.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Shropshire Music Trust is bringing a host of performers to Shrewsbury. Bringing us into the festive season, on December 1 choral vocal group Ex Cathedra will entertain the crowd at St Chad’s Church with with their everpopular Christmas programme directed by their founder and director, Jeffrey Skidmore. “The singers will envelop the audience in a spellbinding sequence of seasonal favourites, little-known gems and inspirational new music and readings,” said a spokesperson. The event will begin at 7pm. Tickets for the concert are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/ smt

Oswestry Christmas Live! Visit Oswestry for one of the largest and most spectacular, night-time Christmas events in Shropshire. Oswestry town centre is turned into a festival of fun with huge amusement rides, indoor and street markets, Porthywaen Silver Band, street food and late-night shopping. The Bailey Head market square will be ready to rock with live music and Father Christmas will be in his grotto at the indoor market. As the evening draws to a close, there will also be quiet fireworks from the town’s Cae Glas Park. The fun starts at 5pm.

One of Shropshire’s most magical venues will host Coronation Te Deum by Salieri and other choral works by three composers who studied with him – “Sotto Il Maestro” – including Schubert’s Mass in C. The concert at St Laurence’s Church, Ludlow, will feature works by Salieri, Beethoven and Liszt. Tickets cost £15. For more details visit www. ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk/event/ schubert-mass-in-c-and-works-by-salieribeethoven-and-liszt/

Much Wenlock Christmas Fayre will be held from 10am-6pm. With around 150 stalls, plus the town’s fantastic selection of independent shops beautifully decked out for the festive season, organisers promise a fabulous Christmas shopping experience. There will be a variety of

DECEMBER 2023 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Left: Jason Allan, who can often be seen busking on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury town centre, is gearing up for his ﬁrst hometown headline show at The Buttermarket, which will take place on Sunday, December 3. Right: The Shakin’ Stevens Story is on at Theatre on The Steps in Bridgnorth

performances and entertainment all around the town. The day ends with an atmospheric candle-lit procession down the High Street and traditional Christmas carol singing in The Square.

2&3

Start your Christmas shopping at Weston Park’s Christmas Market from 10am to 4pm – it’s a great way to kick start the festive season. Find that special gift from talented crafters; from luxurious hand-made candles to treats for your furry friends, stunning jewellery to homemade keepsakes, tree decorations to festive wreaths. With a great selection of artisan food and drink, you can find all your festive treats in one place. Put the finishing touches to your feast with classic pork pies, mighty cheese boards, sweet treats and indulgent savouries. There will be live music, terrific street food, mulled cider and the best hot chocolate to warm you up. Temple Wood will be open for woodland walks and you can take a ride on the Miniature Railway. Also held on Devember 9 and 10. For tickets visit www.seetickets. com/event/weston-s-christmas-markets/ weston-park

A musician from Shrewsbury who has amassed a huge 1.3 million followers on social media is gearing up for his first hometown headline show. Jason Allan can often be seen busking on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury town centre, SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023

engaging with members of the public and performing his music. The 26-year-old, who is originally from Aberdeen, has called Shrewsbury his home for the last two years and said the best thing about the place was the people. Jason has become a bit of a TikTok sensation, amassing a following of 1.3 million on the social media platform, which allows people to create short-form videos and clips. Now, he is gearing up for his first hometown headline show at The Buttermarket, which will take place on Sunday, December 3, from 7pm until 11pm. It follows his first-ever headline show which took place in Aberdeen earlier this year, but Jason said by performing in Shrewsbury, many of his new friends and family will see him perform for the first time. “I’m ecstatic for this one. Sometimes it just feels right,” he said. To listen to Jason’s music visit spotify. com Tickets for the show are available to purchase via the website Skiddle

Immerse yourself in the incomparable Christmas atmosphere of André Rieu’s winter wonderland on screen in the Walker Theatre at Theatre Severn. Marvel at the magnificently decorated Christmas palace, complete with snow, two ice rinks, gorgeous winter scenes, romantic lighting, red carpet, countless lights, beautiful chandeliers and Venetian candelabras. Savour the spirit of the season while singing and dancing in the aisles

to timeless Christmas carols, romantic waltzes and beautiful songs from all over the world – Jingle Bells, Ave Maria, Oh Holy Night, Hallelujah, Sleigh Ride and many more! Cinema audiences will also enjoy exclusive backstage access, as host Charlotte Hawkins speaks with André about creating his musical winter wonderland. It’s a perfect early Christmas present for André fans!

5-23

The month of December means the chance to see Santa. He will be on the Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club sleigh which will be touring areas of the town as well as visiting local supermarkets. The first of the supermarket visits is to Asda from 12 noon to 6pm on December 5 and the sleigh will also be at Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco throughout the month. Santa’s final appearance is at Morrisons on December 23.

Mezzo soprano Tara Marisa Kelsey and renowned Italian tenor Yuri Sabatini from Rome will be joined by pianist and composer Ian Stephenson to perform a Christmas concert on December 8. It will take place at Cosy Hall, Newport and will feature well-loved classical and popular Christmas songs and there will be a traditional serving of sherry and mince pies during the interval. Yuri, who hails from Rome and now lives in London, was awarded Best Male Singer in the Royal Opera House BP 111

Above left: Victorian Christmas weekends will be held at Blists Hill Victorian Town. Right: Violinist Matt Glossop returns to his hometown Shrewsbury for a special Christmas concert full of festive music classics including The Nutcracker, Christmas Classics and Festive Movies Soundtracks.

Summer Screens Competition in 2008, which saw him singing to over 10,000 people in London’s Trafalgar Square. Yuri was also a semi-finalist in the Mario Lanza singing competition in 2017. The concert will be supporting Newport Cottage Care Centre. A donation of tickets have been made for their Christmas raffle to help raise money for the centre. Tickets for the concert, which starts at 7.30pm, cost £16, including refreshments, and can be booked by calling 07957661222.

8&9

Market Drayton School of Dance will present their Christmas showcase, Spotlight, which is a mix of all dance genres with a little bit of Christmas sparkle, at the Festival Drayton Centre in Market Drayton. Audience members can enjoy seeing talented dancers perform, from tots to adults. Tickets cost £10. For more details visit www.festivaldraytoncentre.com/whatson/ liveevents/liveeventsFeature.php?Market-

Drayton-School-of-Dance-PresentsSpotlight-27

9&10

A Victorian Christmas weekend will be held at Blists Hill Victorian Town. A choir and a brass band will bring festive spirit for visitors. There will be the chance to do candle dipping and make Victorian Christmas cards. Last-minute shoppers can take advantage of the Christmas Emporium for some unique gifts. Reindeer and snow will add to the wintery feel. A further Christmas weekend will be held on December 16-17. For details visit www.ironbridge.org.uk

The Marches Choir, conducted by Alistair Auld, will present their “Big Christmas Sing!”, a festive evening of carols and Christmas music in St John’s Church, Bishop’s Castle. The concert will start at 7pm, and tickets (£8, children and students free) are available by calling 07806 433394.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON PAGES 107-109 REMEMBER WHEN: 1. 1936. 2. 1970. 3. 1960. 4. 1963. 5.1939. 6. 1975 FOUR Ws: 1. Hecuba; Through my fault; Venice; Tishrei 10. 2. William Hogarth; Mu; Kedah; 1946. 3. Percy Bysshe Shelley; B; Glenelg (Adelaide); 1608. 4. Millard Fillmore; An Italian dessert; Munich; 1694. 5. Willem Johan Kolff; Plantagenet; Pico de Orizaba; 1979. 6. Answers: William Golding; Alexandrine; Canada; 1879. WORDWISE: 1. C. 2. B. 3. C. 4. B. 5. A. 6. B CROSSWORD: QUICK SOLUTIONS: Across: 1 Therapeutic; 9 Example; 10 False; 11 Enter; 12 Tatters; 13 Invest; 15 Vessel; 18 Ensnare; 20 Learn; 22 Cling; 23 Envious; 24 Represented. Down: 2 Heart; 3 Reports; 4 Plenty; 5 Unfit; 6 Illness; 7 Beneficence; 8 Beastliness; 14 Vestige; 16 Enliven; 17 Recess; 19 Augur; 21 Alone. CRYPTIC SOLUTIONS: Across: 1 Rationalist; 9 Outpost; 10 Grain; 11 Maria; 12 Volcano; 13 Number; 15 Bedlam; 18 Minster; 20 Clout; 22 Nicer; 23

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Tipster; 24 Demonstrate Down: 2 Actor; 3 Isolate; 4 Native; 5 Legal; 6 Seawall; 7 Commandment; 8 Informatory; 14 Monocle; 16 Escaper; 17 Grates; 19 Torso; 21 Octet. WHAT’S MY NAME?: 1. Halle Berry. 2. Stacy Ferguson (Fergie). 3. JohnWyndham. 4. Nadia Sawalha. 4. Colin Murray. WORDSPIRAL 1: 1. Fang 2. Grow 3. Wife 4. Etch 5. Harm 6. Must 7. Trio 8. Oboe 9. Eyes 10. Skid 11. Drip 12. Pear 13. Rife 14. Evil 15. Lino 16. Oafs Key word solution: OFFSIDE WORDSPIRAL 2: 1. Kerb 2. Bung 3. Gear 4. Rain 5. Nice 6. Earn 7. Nods 8. Ship 9. Pact 10. Tune 11. Epic 12. Copy 13. Yaps 14. Suds 15. Snub 16. Bran Key word solution: SPANNER WORDSPIRAL 3: 1. Tack 2. Kiwi 3. Iota 4. Acme 5. Easy 6. Yell 7. Lava 8. Aria 9. Arid 10. Duet 11. Toss 12. Silo 13. Oils 14. Surf 15. Fret 16. Tube Key word solution: ALBERTA

Experience a festive concert full of sparkle and joy! Violinist Matt Glossop returns to his hometown Shrewsbury for a special Christmas concert full of festive music classics including The Nutcracker, Christmas Classics and Festive Movies Soundtracks. Be prepared for a heart-warming and joyous evening celebrating the best of Christmas Greetings LIVE! Experience the stunning festive surroundings of Christmas-lit St Chad’s Church and the Christmas Tree Festival Extravaganza. Matt, who is originally from Shrewsbury, now enjoys a diverse and exciting performing schedule including performing on records for Sony Music, collaborating with Universal Record Artists and performing on stage with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Regular appearances on national television have seen Matt perform on Strictly Come Dancing, Eurovision Song Contest Final, X Factor and Songs of Praise. Matt is performing two concerts with The Bloomsbury Soloists, one at 5:30pm and the second at 7:30pm. Visit ChristmasGreetingsLive.eventbrite.com

Sudoku

1 Easy 4 5 6 8 9 3 1 7 2

9 7 8 6 2 1 3 4 5

2 3 1 5 4 7 8 6 9

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7 6 2 4 5 8 9 3 1

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5 2 3 9 8 4 7 1 6

6 8 7 1 3 5 2 9 4

1 4 9 2 7 6 5 8 3

Kakuro IMPOSSIPUZZLES: 1. Ages 8 and 56 years. 2. One other number: 744 1984. 3. Igor 36, Rihanne 24. 4. Father’s age 33 years

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