Shropshire Magazine February 2024

THE COUNTY’S FAVOURITE LIFESTYLE PUBLICATION SINCE 1950

FEBRUARY 2024 £3.95

CR AFTY CAREER

Sisters share creative talents

RINGING THE BELLS Keeping ancient skill alive

JUNKYARD GENIUS From scrap to stars of stories

MUSIC MAN JULIUS IN TUNE WITH LIFE

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9 770037 439654

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

FEBRUARY 2024

The Shropshire Magazine has a controlled, selected distribution in Shropshire towns, and is available for sale from many retail outlets and by subscription EDITOR Caroline Jones caroline.jones@mnamedia.co.uk 01952 241461 FEATURES EDITOR Vicki Jones vicki.jones@mnamedia.co.uk 01902 319851

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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

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ADVERTISEMENT SALES Alison Jukes alison.jukes@mnamedia.co.uk 01952 241339 DISTRIBUTION, SALES & SUBSCRIPTIONS 0800 174064 CONTRIBUTORS Ed Thomas Robert Boutflower Megan Jones Richard Williams Toby Neal PUBLISHED BY MNA Media, Telford

FEATURES SELECTION 7

Cover story

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Ringing the bells

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Lights, camera, action

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PRINTED BY Precision Colour Printing, Halesfield, Telford

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Heather Large chats to the county singer-songwriter building a promising career in the music industry.

The dedicated team of bell ringers at St Oswald’s Church in Oswestry chat to Heather Large about their pastime.

Dan Morris discovers how a broken wrist failed to derail a county filming project.

Crafty career

Two sisters from Shropshire are putting their talents to good use, helping others learn craft skills.

Heather Large finds out more.

Junkyard genius

We chat to the husband turning scrap metal into robots and his wife who is writing childrens’ books about them.

Olympic icon

Dan Morris looks at the Olympic links to the fascinating story of William Penny Brookes.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

CONTENTS 55

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64 50

55

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Ironwork excellence

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Soap icon

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Andy Richardson is singing the praises of popular attraction The British Ironwork Centre in his On Your Doorstep series.

Australian singer and soap star Jason Donovan talks to Naomi Clark about his long and varied career ahead of a county gig.

Food & drink

Ed Thomas meets the couple who help to take the stress out of hosting a dinner party.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

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Walking on air

From childhood fame to singing for royalty, singer Aled Jones tells Andy Richardson about his new tour.

Education

A county school is marking a landmark year, celebrating 50 years since the first female students joined Wrekin College.

Social scene

From a Beer and Bangers night for the NSPCC to a round-up of the High Sheriff’s month.

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Travel

Hannah Stephenson explores some of the world’s most beautiful gardens, while Sarah Marshall meets the wildlife on Richard Branson’s Kenyan hideaway Mahali Mzuri.

100 Motoring

Jack Evans puts the Landrover Grenadier through its paces.

110 What’s on

From comedy shows to an exhibition of science fiction art, there’s lots going on this month.

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FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

JULIUS IS TUNING UP MUSICAL SKILLS HEATHER LARGE MEETS A YOUNG SINGER%SONGWRITER WHO TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE AND IS NOW PURSUING AN EXCITING CAREER IN MUSIC

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

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M

usic has the power to convey emotions, evoke memories and connect people from all walks of life.

Julius Eastwood, who recently released the first single from his debut EP, loves writing songs that will resonate with listeners.

“I hope that even if they don’t understand what I intended when I wrote the song, although it’s lovely if they do, that they have their own emotional reaction to it.

“When people have a connection with something you’ve written, it’s a really special feeling,” he says.

Growing up near Oswestry, music has always been a huge part of Julius’ life.

In 2018, the classical trained saxophonist moved to London to study songwriting at BIMM University.

During the final months of his degree course, he was given the “incredible opportunity” to play the bugle in the second season of Netflix’s hit period drama Bridgerton.

Since graduating, the self-taught pianist and vocalist has thrown himself into his music.

“Songwriting is my favourite thing in the world and I want to do it forever so I’m working as hard as possible to make that happen,” says Julius.

Every song starts by penning the lyrics and then he adds them to the piano where he works on creating the melody and building up the song.

“I never intentionally sit down to write. Normally I’m going about my day and I get a lyric idea in my head or I might be going through something emotionally or feeling frustrated and I can hear a song starting in my head.

“By writing songs, it allows me to let go of what is troubling me and get my feelings out in a coherent way.

“Sometimes I’m so inspired by an idea that I keep writing and I don’t stop until all the lyrics are down.

“It’s really important that when I start working on the melody that I’m honouring the lyrics and emotion in them.

“The melody has to be a perfect fit for the lyrics,” he explains.

His debut single, Westminster’s on Fire, was inspired by “a lack of transparency and decency in UK politics”.

The follow-up, which he describes as a love letter to the border of Shropshire and Powys, was Borderlines, released in September 2022.

The song was his ode to the people, places and history of the area and how this environment has shaped his perspective.

“It is an ode to childhood, to widening your world view and to those who left home but return with gratitude for the place they come from,” he explains.

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FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

It was played numerous times by BBC Radio in Shropshire and in Hereford, and amassed over 2,000 streams in its first two weeks on Spotify.

After hearing Borderlines on the radio, Welsh director Julia Pentz reached out to make a music video for the song.

Filming took place over two days in early March last year at many historic local sites including LLanrhaedr Waterfall, Lake Vyrnwy, Oswestry and The Old Racecourse.

At the end of last year, Julius also released the first single from his debut EP, Visions, which is expected to be available towards the end of spring.

The track Mirror (I Saw Me) marks his transition from indie-pop into electronic music and has already received airplay. It has also featured on The Salopian Mixtape, a podcast hosted by Simon Berry and Michaela Wylde, which aims to promote the music industry in Shropshire.

Describing the song, he says “Mirror (I Saw Me) is a reflection on a period of time in my life where I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin – at 18 years old I was introverted, had low self-esteem and barely recognised myself.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

“It’s a retrospective song about who I was, how I felt at the time, and how I chose to change my life.

“It’s a story about transformation and the decision to turn my life around – I lost five stone, moved to London, finally began pursuing music, and successfully auditioned for university.

“It is a hopeful song about finding yourself, empowerment, trusting your instincts, and living authentically.”

The second and third singles from the EP are due to be released in the coming months and Julius also hoping to release another music video in the future.

“I’m so excited about these songs and I can’t wait to play them live.

“They were co-produced by Jamie Amos and Andrew Ioannou at a recording studio in Surrey,” he says.

Although he is now based in London, he returns to the Oswestry area regularly and recently visited the town’s Hermon Chapel Arts Centre.

Julius was full of praise for the performing arts venue which promotes an intimate setting for live music, small cast plays, and workshops.

“It’s a really special place and it’s wonderful, especially for young people, to

have this centre in Oswestry,” he says, His plans for the coming year include releasing Visions and organising some live performances.

He will also be returning to the recording studio to work on his next project.

“I write songs every day so I’ve got lots of songs I want to produce and I’m hoping to release more music by the end of the year,” says Julius.

n Mirror (I Saw Me) is available now on Spotify and a lyric video can also been viewed @JuliusEastwood on YouTube.

Follow Julius’ music journey on social media @julius.eastwood on Instagram.

PAGE 8, FROM TOP: Musician Julius Eastwood from Oswestry; the artwork for Borderlines and Mirror; a scene from the video for Borderlines.

PAGE 9: Julius Eastwood pictured at The Hermon Arts Chapel in Oswestry.

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

$I0&0.#2! (-2 0.#'"0I%+I)10 /&,# I)/#2I.#$ #,#2*./I)1!

In an age where blended families are commonplace – the once rarely litigated issue of mutual wills is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Mutual wills are two wills, signed by two individuals (usually spouses), with an agreement that neither party will alter or revoke their will without the consent of the other, including after one of them has died.

The recent case of Mclean v Mclean 2023 (EWHC 1863 CH) highlights the unfortunately all too common situation that can occur where a couple do not execute mutual wills, nor consider putting in place a trust mechanism to protect their individual wealth. Here Reginald and his wife Maureen executed their wills in the same terms as each other, passing their estate to each other on the !irst death, and then e"ually between their four children from different relationships on the second death. Maureen con!irmed at the time she would not change her will should Reginald pass away !irst. Reginald passed away in 2019 and Maureen executed a new will leaving her whole estate (which included that wealth which she inherited from Reginald) to

her biological son. Upon a claim being made by Reginald’s children, it was held by the judge that the wills were not mutual, there was nothing legally preventing Maureen from changing her will as she wished, and therefore the last will providing for Maureen’s son alone was valid.

Although the above case is demonstrative of a situation whereby mutual wills were not established, the judge did provide some useful clari!ication in stating that it is possible on different facts one could argue the promise made by Maureen was binding.

A further recent case which resulted in a different outcome was that of Colicci v Grinberg ([2023] EWHC 1177 (Ch)).

Here, a divorced couple signed a Deed, agreeing to make a will providing shares in a company they built together to the children they shared. Mr Colicci, one party to this agreement passed away and his will left this part of his wealth to his new wife. The judge, when deciding this case, held that there was an obligation formed by the signing of the Deed, which removed the freedom of the couple to dispose of that part of the estate which was subject to the

If you would like advice about Mutual Wills please contact Rebecca Beaman Contentious Trusts & Probate Solicitor 01743 294 111 | 07977 260 310 | rebecca.beaman@aaronandpartners.com

agreement, in any other way than was set out within the Deed. The promise to leave the company to Mr Colicci and Ms Grinberg’s children was therefore binding and upheld by the court.

This case highlights the importance of considering not only the testamentary documents themselves but the surrounding circumstances to consider if any binding obligation can be established.

Rebecca Beaman Contentious Trusts & Probate Associate Solicitor

Ringing in a new year with the bell ringing team at St Oswald’s Church in Oswestry are Jenny and Chris Hoare with Oliver Miller.

LEARN THOSE ROPES TO RING THE BELLS HEATHER LARGE MEETS A DEDICATED GROUP OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS FROM OSWESTRY WHO COME FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE AND TELL OF THEIR PASSION FOR AN ANCIENT ART

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he traditional sound of church bells is one many of us have grown up with and is deeply embedded in our culture.

They ring out to signal the time for worshippers to attend services, to celebrate special events, such as weddings and christenings, and to provide solace during periods of mourning.

And they’re also a symbol of peace as during the Second World War, they remained silent until the end of conflict.

If you live in Oswestry then you may be used to hearing the eight bells of St Oswald’s. Every Sunday, a dedicated band of ringers climb the steps of the tower to bring the rich tones of the bells to the community. Coming from all walks of life, the group, aged 15 to 80, share a passion for this ancient and much-loved skill.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

The eight bells were cast by Rudhalls of Gloucester in 1717 in the Key of F. The seventh was recast by the same founders 30 years later, the fifth bell was recast in 1846 by Mears of Whitechapel and the Treble (the first bell) in 1886 by Taylors of Loughborough. The biggest bell (tenor) weighs more than 600kg.

Each bell is attached to a wooden

wheel and has a rope running round it.

Each is rung by a different person and is tuned to a different note.

When the ringer pulls on the sally, the coloured part of the rope, the wheel and the bell rotate through 360 degrees.

The clapper hits the rim of the bell, making it ring once. When the ringer pulls for a second time, now with their hands on the end of the rope, the wheel and bell rotate back again through 360 degrees and the clapper hits the opposite side of the bell. This process is repeated until the ringing stops.

The simplest pattern is to ring the bells in order, highest to lowest (1 to 8), but to make the pattern more interesting, the next time the bells are rung, the order is varied. This developed in the 17th century. It is known as change ringing and there are thousands of mathematical

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permutations. Previously, bells were chimed in a random uncoordinated manner, something that travellers abroad may have heard in other countries.

There are are around 6,685 church towers with full circle rings – at least three bells – in England, 230 in Wales, 39 in Ireland and 23 in Scotland.

Residents of Oswestry may remember the bells of St Oswald’s ringing out in a sombre manner after Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September 2022.

But last year, to mark the King’s Coronation, the sound was much more joyful and members of the band at St Oswald’s also visited other churches in the area, that don’t have ringers, to ring the bells in those communities.

Experienced ringer Jenny Hoare first tried her hand at ringing while studying at university. “A friend of mine who was learning the bells took me up the tower at the Anglican Cathedral in Glasgow, which is a 10-bell tower.

“I remember as a small child hearing the bells where we lived and I always liked the sound of them,” she explains.

When Jenny began learning the ropes, she was instantly hooked and over the years that followed her love for ringing has never left. “It’s a lovely hobby. It’s for all ages, it crosses social and cultural boundaries and it’s for those of any or no

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faith,” she says. Jenny and her husband Chris, who is also a ringer, moved to Oswestry in 2021 and joined the band at Oswald’s.

“We got to know people very quickly.

It’s a very friendly tower, that’s not to say that other towers aren’t friendly, it’s just that we felt welcome immediately. It’s a good way to form friendships,” says Jenny.

The group is always on the lookout for more experienced ringers to join as well as beginners who want to learn.

“I like teaching other people to ring. I think it’s interesting how different people learn in different ways.

“Some people like the tradition of the bells, some people like the sound and others like the mathematical side of change ringing,” says Jenny.

Retired engineer Peter Woollam is the steeple keeper and carries out any required repairs and maintenance.

He is also a voluntary expert advisor on bells for the Diocese of Lichfield.

“I started when I was in my early teens – and I’m in my 70s now. I was in the choir and when little boys’ voices broke, it was suggested that they might want to have a go at bell ringing. After I left school, I went into higher education and I didn’t ring for 30 years. In that time I started working, got married and had children, there was other stuff to keep me FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

occupied. I came back to ringing when I was in my 50s,” he explains.

He has been part of the band at St Oswald’s for the past 12 years and there are many reasons he enjoys the hobby.

“It’s a highly sociable activity, we have a lot of laughs together. It’s light exercise and there’s an intellectual stimulus, there is always something new to learn, if you want to.”

Cordelia Warr has been ringing for 45 years, the past 15 of which have been at St Oswald’s. “I started when I was about 11.

My parents wanted me and brother to do something out of the house, my brother joined the choir and I wanted to do bell ringing, which in the end was a good decision.

“After I left school, I went off to university and I have lived in various places since then like Newcastle, Aberdeen and London. Everywhere I have gone, I have had a ready-made group of people to meet and talk to so it’s been very good,” she explains.

Over the years, she has also taken the opportunity to ring in churches in Australia, the United States and Canada and has always been welcomed. Cordelia also believes the hobby is a great way to exercise both the body and mind. “It’s really good for coordination. It’s exercise, but not mindless exercise. You have SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

to think about what you’re doing. You can’t think about anything that might be stressing you at work, you just concentrate on bell ringing.”

Richard Major, who has been ringing more than 60 years, describes it as “a nice gentle physical workout and a nice gentle mental workout”. “It keeps you active.

People think it’s hard work but it isn’t as hard as some might think,” he explains.

He has been ringing since he was a teenager and was introduced to the hobby while he was singing in the choir.

“One of the other choir singers said he was a bell ringer and I instantly knew I wanted to be a bell ringer. I took it up, enjoyed it and I’ve been doing it ever since,” explains Richard.

Over the years, he has rung not just in Oswestry but also in Morpeth, Northumberland, where he became tower captain before returning to Shropshire 10 years ago and rejoining the team at St Oswald’s.

“One of the nice things about bell ringing is that you can go anywhere there is a tower with ringing bells and you will be welcome to join them,” he says. n Following a successful ‘taster’ day on January 13, a second event is now planned for February 3. Anyone interested in learning to ring, can email oswestry. bellringers@gmail.com to reserve a place.

PAGE 12, FROM TOP: The bell ringing team at St Oswald’s and Ben Rothera, aged 17 practising his technique.

PAGE 13, CLOCKWISE: Chris Hoare and Brian Rothera; Brian takes a picture of the team; Jan Snowball with an old photo; Brian with Oliver Miller and below, two of the team.

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PROPERTY

PERIOD DWELLING

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angerton offers a superb semi-rural position being near to the villages of Hanwood and Pontesbury, and just six miles away from the larger market town of Shrewsbury.

It is on the market with Jackson Property for offers in the region of £700,000.

The property enjoys beautiful views towards Pontesford Hill and the South Shropshire countryside beyond.

The village of Hanwood is just 1.5 miles away and has a village hall, public house, general store with post office, church and primary school.

Shrewsbury is easily accessible and offers a comprehensive range of schools, shopping, leisure and social facilities.

Mangerton is a delightful four/ five-bedroom period property which has views over the delightful gardens which surround and benefits from having stabling and a 0.68-acre paddock adjacent. The property has great scope for modernisation and reconfiguration, subject to planning permission.

From the gravelled parking area, you go along a paved path which leads up to the front door which is located under 14

an idyllic porch covered in Wisteria. On entering the property, you come into the hallway. From the hallway, the dining room, snug and drawing room can all be accessed, leading onto the garden room beyond.

The spacious dining room has a feature gas fire and the drawing room has a log burner with timber mantel above. The kitchen/breakfast room has underfloor heating and is fitted with

a range of units along with an electric Rayburn and integrated appliances. The utility room, pantry and WC complete the ground floor accommodation.

On the first floor, there are two double bedrooms that are served by a Jack and Jill bathroom with the larger having fitted wardrobes. The third double bedroom is serviced by the family bathroom adjacent and the fourth bedroom has an en-suite bathroom and FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

kitchenette within. This room opens into the fifth bedroom which would lend itself to being a good home office but does have space for a double bed.

The property is accessed through a wooden five-bar gate. The gravel drive sweeps to a part brick and timber double carport. There is also a triple garage, adjacent log store and pony stable.

The garden is mainly down to lawn and the borders are fully stocked. Within the garden is an impressive summerhouse which has a power supply. There are also some traditional brick pigsties to the side of the orchard.

Extending from the back of the house is a large, terraced area. On a slightly raised part of the terrace is an impressive Nordic barbecue hut.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

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Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Ellesmere, Shropshire

A delightful period property with mature gardens and outbuildings all set within 1.4 acres of garden and paddocks.

An impressive barn conversion with attractive gardens, equestrian facilities and 4.2 acres of land.

4/5-bedroom period property | Open-plan kitchen/diner Conservatory | Great scope for re-configuration | Summer house Large outbuilding & stabling | No upward chain | EPC rating D

Open-plan kitchen/diner | 2-bed, two ensuites | Attractive gardens Stable block with adjacent Dutch barn | 20m x 40m outdoor arena Idyllic rural location | EPC rating C

For sale: £700,000

For sale: £695,000

Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Westbury, Shropshire

An impressive 4-bed barn conversion, newly developed to a high standard, located on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

A unique opportunity to let a substantial farmhouse with self-contained annexe and excellent equestrian facilities.

Open-plan kitchen/diner | 4-bed, two ensuites & family bathroom Exclusive rural community | Semi-rural location | Tarmac parking area Lawned garden with secure fence perimeter | EPC rating C

6-bed period property | 7 stables, wash box, tack room, rug & feed room | Garage, storage, log shed & workshop | 25m x 60m manage 5-horse covered walker & hay barn | Approx. 17 acres | EPC rating C

For sale: £599,000

To Let: £3,750pcm

5Radbrook, HolywellShrewsbury Terrace, Shrewsbury

£750,000 £650,000

A particularly attractive, Grade II Listed, period town house with accommodation arranged over four floors, to include two reception rooms, a garden room, four bedrooms, bathroom and enclosed garden. The property retains many attractive and original features and has the benefit of gas fired central heating and is ideally situated in a delightful and quiet residential location, a short walk from the Medieval town of Shrewsbury, with all its major shopping and transport facilities.

Redlands, Shrewsbury 2The Dogpole Court, Shrewsbury

£630,000 £975,000

This delightful and well appointed Grade II Listed Queen Ann town house possesses a wealth of charm and character and provides well planned accommodation with rooms of pleasing dimensions. On the ground floor, the drawing room which is generously sized, has a stylish fireplace of fine detail and a French sash window, which opens onto a raised terrace with balustrade and steps leading down to the landscaped garden. On the lower ground floor is a further sitting room with French doors and steps which ascend to the garden. The dining room is adjacent to the well appointed kitchen. From the entrance hall, an elegant staircase rises to the first floor with master bedroom and en suite bathroom, together with a further guest bedroom two with en suite bathroom. The staircase continues to the second floor where there is a further spacious bedroom with en suite bathroom. The property benefits from a secure parking space and is well placed in a quiet, secluded and enviable courtyard, in Shrewsbury’s vibrant town centre.

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

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BEAUTIFUL HOME

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his truly immaculate, sympathetically improved and extended, four-bedroomed Edwardian residence is situated in one of Shrewsbury’s premier residential localities.

Number 24 Porthill Gardens is on the market with Miller Evans for offers in the region of £750,000. The property has been greatly improved and sympathetically enhanced. There is an attractive and secluded garden, parking to the fore

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and to the rear a garage with additional parking space.

It occupies a prime location in Porthill Gardens within walking distance of the nearby town centre with all its major shopping, transport and social facilities, whilst also being well placed for an excellent selection of schools.

On the ground floor, a pillared entrance porch leads to the entrance hall which features built-in storage and a cloakroom. An original oak staircase rises

to the first floor. The drawing room boasts an open fireplace with raised marble hearth, while the walls and ceilings feature decorative moulded reliefs. The dining room also features an open fireplace and overlooks the rear garden. There is also a family room/snug.

The kitchen/breakfast room has an attractive range of matching wall and base units and glazed doors to the garden.

Also on this floor are a utility room and shower room.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Off the first floor landing are the four bedrooms, two of which have original fireplaces, and a family bathroom.

To the front, the property is set back with an attractive landscaped forecourt with a gravelled hard-standing providing parking for two cars.

A paved pathway serves the formal reception area and is flanked by an attractive knot garden with box heading and shrubbery and herbaceous border.

A good-sized enclosed rear garden has a raised decked terrace, laid predominantly to lawn and intersected by a variety of mature trees and fruit trees etc. An additional area of garden would provide an ideal kitchen/vegetable garden.

The pathway extends to a garage.

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IDYLLIC COTTAGE

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ew Tree Cottage is a charming stone cottage, which sits slightly elevated in its plot of about 1.5 acres.

The home in Acton Burnell is on the market with Savills with a guide price of £585,000.

Positioned to take in the wonderful views towards Nether Wood and Lodge Hill, the house offers the ultimate lifestyle within the golden triangle of Shropshire.

The front door opens into a glazed porch and boot room with a further door leading into the cosy sitting room.

There is a brick and stone inglenook fireplace, with a supporting beam and the original bread oven to the side. Within the fireplace is a wood burning stove.

There is a door leading into a downstairs bathroom with a bath and shower over. A further door provides

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access into a utility and pantry.

The kitchen is off the sitting room, and has an inglenook and a further original bread oven. There is a Rangemaster with LPG gas hob and oven, fitted wall and base units and a sink.

A door leads through to the dining room, which has double aspect and a door leading to the patio and gardens.

Stairs rise from the sitting room to the first floor where there are three double bedrooms, all with wonderful views over surrounding countryside.

Approached via a gated driveway, the gardens wrap around the property with post and rail fencing to separate the paddock to the side and rear. There is a stone outbuilding, which was updated in 2020 into a summer house and bar,.

To the back of the house is a wooden summer house with decking to the

front and a solar panel. A further stone outbuilding offers a log store and a garden store, and has previously been used as an office.

There is a patio and seating area to the side of the house. The paddock has a gated access from the back garden, but also on the lane below. There are two water taps within the grounds and there is a garage at the bottom of the drive.

Acton Burnell is a pretty village and home to the well-known Concord College. The graceful red sandstone shell of Acton Burnell Castle, built between 1284 and 1239, remains and is managed

by English Heritage.

The village, which is designated a conservation area, has a shop and post office, along with a lovely community and is within about eight miles of Shrewsbury and Much Wenlock.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Architecturally designed

Period family home

Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury

Edstaston, Wem.

A truly remarkable, new build. Set on the edge of the village with spectacular views, and private access to the River Severn. 4 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, large detached garaging with multiple accommodation options, set within a large plot of 0.88 acres. *Computer generated image is indicative only and subject to change.

An extremely appealing home with stabling, and a modern steel-framed outbuilding. 4 reception rooms, 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, exceptional modern steel-framed outbuilding measuring 60 x 30 feet, with full height pitch roof.

Paddocks & stabling.

Freehold | Council Tax Band Range = Not yet allocated | EPC Rating = A

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

4,950 Sq Ft | Guide £2 million

5007 Sq Ft | Guide £1.195 million

Peter Daborn

Peter Daborn

Residential Sales Shropshire 01952 239 500 peter.daborn@savills.com

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

Immense character

Idyllic haven

Chelmarsh, Bridgnorth

Llanyblodwel, Oswestry

This family home has so much to offer, set on the edge of a picturesque village with glorious countryside views. 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms, post and rail paddock, 41 ft outbuilding which could have a number of uses, and south-facing gardens.

Offering huge potential, sitting in a charming plot with 360 degree views. 2 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms, outbuildings with potential for conversion, subject to the necessary planning permission.

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

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

About 4.06 acres | Guide £890,000

About 1.42 acres | Guide £625,000

Peter Daborn

Peter Daborn

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

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

Shrewsbury | 6 miles

Bridgnorth | 6 miles

*pricing correct at the time of print

Shrewsbury | 13.4 miles

Oswestry | 6.3 miles

A SPACIOUS AND STYLISH PROPERTY

F

our Highfield is an ultra-stylish five-bedroom home, built in 2017 and boasting a highly efficient Energy Performance Certificate of C. Found at Montford Bridge, Number Four is one of five properties in a gated development enjoying an elevated position. The driveway leads you to the property which is designed and finished to a very high standard. On the market with Balfours, Alistair Hilton, head of sales, says: “This is not only a fabulous location with rural views but offers a substantial contemporary home.”

The welcome is to a good-sized reception hall with direct access to the living room, kitchen/diner, cloakroom and stairs to the first floor. The kitchen/ diner is quite literally the heart of the home, with a designated kitchen area featuring double built-in oven, separate induction hob, integrated wine cooler, dishwasher and fridge freezer. A breakfast bar complements the large area dedicated to dining and relaxing.

From the dining area two pairs of French doors lead to the terrace and to the newly-built garden room where light floods in and provides another set of French doors to the terrace and bifolds to 22

a second aspect. Alistair adds: “This room has really enhanced the family and social space within the house, it has an in-built Evonic fire and glazing to three aspects.

An alternative form of heat is offered in the large living room with wood burner, in addition all ground floor rooms enjoy underfloor heating adding to that contemporary uncluttered look.”

A study, utility and boot room complete the ground floor space with a direct link to the double garage which benefits from electric remote-control doors.

On the first floor the master room and a double room enjoy en-suite facilities, whist a further two double rooms and a single bedroom benefit from a stunning

family bathroom with a free-standing Porcelanosa bath.

The rear garden benefits from three areas, the patio close to the house, a large lawned area and a second raised patio to the rear of the garden offering fabulous countryside views. To the front the tarmacadam drive is flanked by lawn with an avenue of coniferous trees leading to the gravel parking area.

Alistair concludes: “Montford Bridge is highly accessible to Shrewsbury and to the A5 north, with the northern relief road on the horizon, it could not be better positioned. Balfours are marketing Four Highfield with a guide price of £765,000.”

For more information call 01743 353511.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Baschurch, Shrewsbury

Guide price £995,000

A sympathetically renovated, Grade II listed, timber framed residence with outbuildings and indoor swimming pool.

Character Property, Sought-After Location, Period Features, Refurbished Kitchen, Wet Room, Utility, 5 bedrooms

Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury

Guide price £765,000

Church Stretton, Shropshire

Guide price £850,000

A 1930s Arts and Crafts style, detached, family home. Sunnymead is set within its own gardens and is located at the foot of Carding Mill Valley.

AONB Location, Four / Five Bedrooms, Lounge and Snug, Large Garden, Garage, Sweeping Driveway, Summerhouse, EPC: D

Ludlow, Shropshire

Guide price £495,000

An ultra stylish new build family home located in Montford Bridge boasting well balanced accommodation and open country views.

A unique residence, set within one of the most sought-after areas in Ludlow, with views of the town, river and countryside.

Open-Plan Kitchen / Dining Area, Sitting Room with Log Burner, Extended Family Room with In-Built Evonic Fire, Five Bedrooms (Two with En Suites), Large Lawned Area and Entertainment Patio, EPC: C

Grade II Listed, Flexible Accommodation, Private Garden, Large Living Room with 180º Views, Four Bedrooms, Ideal for Modernisation, Potential Holiday Let / Investment Opportunity

A FAMILY HAVEN

S

et against the backdrop of Newport’s vibrant market town, Wellbank Villa graces an idyllic rural expanse, occupying just over four acres of scenic land.

Wellbank Villa at Pickstock is on the market with Prestige by Mannleys for offers in the region of £1,100,000.

This family haven features generously proportioned living spaces, offering sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.

The property includes versatile outbuildings, garaging, and a secure gated driveway, providing ample parking for multiple vehicles.

24

Wellbank Villa seamlessly combines timeless character with modern features, providing versatile and spacious living spaces perfectly tailored to the needs of contemporary family life.

The accommodation includes a stunning open-plan kitchen/dining / family area, a cosy lounge, a sitting room, a welcoming reception hallway, a main bedroom with a striking ensuite bathroom, three additional wellproportioned bedrooms, and a separate shower room.

Designed as a registered smallholding, this residence is a haven for those seeking both a home and expansive land and is

ideal for equestrian enthusiasts or those looking for a unique lifestyle business opportunity.

The current owner has ingeniously utilised the space to provide charming Shepherd’s Huts, each with its own private garden, to serve as occasional holiday accommodations.

For guest convenience, one outbuilding has been transformed into two separate bathroom facilities.

The owners have also created an inviting outdoor space with a bar and kitchenette, seamlessly extending to a patio area for year-round outdoor gatherings.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

PLOT 1 OAKLEIGH GARDENS LAWLEY VILLAGE, TF4 2PH OIRO £485,000

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

An outstanding opportunity to acquire a stunning new build three/four bedroom detached dormer bungalow within an exclusive development of only four such homes situated in the sought-after Lawley Village, renowned for its great local amenities and superb road links. The ground floor features a remarkable open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room with integrated appliances and bifold doors leading to the rear garden, a ground floor bedroom with an en-suite shower, an entrance hallway, utility, and a ground floor WC. Upstairs, the property includes a main bedroom with an en-suite shower, two additional well-sized bedrooms, and a separate bathroom. Each home benefits from a single garage, allocated driveway parking, landscaped gardens, gas central heating, and double glazing.

A superb and rare opportunity to purchase a truly spectacular 3 bedroom semi-detached property full of character.

There is so much to like about this home from the gorgeous internal and external period features. Situated in this highly sought after established location that has excellent local amenities and road links and is only approx. 5 minutes walk away from Wellington Train Station.

21 ALDERMEAD CLOSE ADMASTON, TF5 0DD OIEO £505,000

ROWAN HOUSE WITHINGTON, SHREWSBURY, SY4 4PY OIEO £850,000 EPC D

LAST PLOT ON THIS STUNNING DEVELOPMENT ---This stunning and exclusive luxury development of just eight detached bungalows and dormer bungalows. 21 Aldermead is a superbly spacious three bedroom detached bungalow and it offers extremely flexible living accommodation this comprises L shaped entrance hallway, kitchen/dining room/sitting room with vaulted ceilings with LED recessed mood lighting & feature central island, sitting room area with French doors to the gardens, main bedroom with en-suite shower and French doors to the rear garden, guest bedroom/sitting room, third bedroom and a separate bathroom with bath and separate shower.

Beautiful four-bedroom detached house set on an expansive 0.65 acre plot in a highly sought-after village with excellent access to both Shrewsbury and Telford, along with convenient local amenities and motorway access. The ground floor boasts an inviting entrance hallway, a contemporary fitted kitchen, a cozy sitting room with a log burner, an elegant dining room, a family room for your home office needs, a stunning conservatory that floods the space with natural light, and a large utility room, as well as a convenient ground floor WC. Upstairs, you’ll find a main bedroom with an en-suite bathroom with bath and separate shower cubicle, guest bedroom with en-suite shower, along with two more generously sized bedrooms and a family bathroom featuring a bath and a separate shower. The property offers ample driveway parking, a double garage with an electric door for secure storage, and meticulously landscaped gardens.

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

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

25

INTERIORS

HOTTEST INTERIOR TRENDS FOR 2024 FROM FABULOUS FURNISHINGS TO DAZZLING LIGHT IDEAS, EXPERTS PREDICT THE COOLEST COLLECTIONS THIS YEAR

F

rom fashionable furnishings to luxe lighting, if you’re looking for inspiration and thinking about a feel-good fix to up your interiors game, designers are already predicting how your space could take shape.

And with so many collections, schemes and tweaks at every turn, we’ve asked the experts at leading home design platform Houzz to narrow it down and share their forecast…

1. Traditional wall treatments

“An interest in traditional materials and crafts has been growing for a while and this looks set to continue, with traditional wall treatments such as limewash paint and tadelakt [a Moroccan style of plaster] becoming more popular,” says Houzz UK editor, Victoria Harrison.

These wall treatments create a beautiful suede-like texture, and with recent developments meaning they’re more readily available in different shades, Harrison says they are seen being used much more.

“Both limewash paints and tadelakt plaster also have the added benefit of

26

being more environmentally-friendly, as they’re primarily natural substances – and don’t include any chemicals typically found in other wall finishes,” Harrison explains.

2. Bare wood kitchens

Painted wooden cabinetry has been a popular mainstay in kitchen design for years, says Harrison. “However, we’re seeing an emerging trend of unpainted wooden cabinets creep in, with homeowners increasingly opting to let the natural wood grain shine through by foregoing paint on their kitchen cabinets.”

This unpainted wood look lets the inherent warmth and visual depth of materials like oak and plywood take centre stage, she says.

“Timber has such a rich, tactile quality that’s unmatched by other finishes. It also provides versatility over time as it can be easily updated by oiling to lighten or darken it, depending on changing trends,” suggests O’Neill.

3. Squishy, sumptuous seating

Emphasis is firmly on comfort in the home next year with designers embracing

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

curved silhouettes, plushly padded upholstery, and sumptuous textiles you just want to sink into, says Harrison.

“We’re seeing less rigid lines, instead they have been replaced with curved angles and plump cushions.”

Harrison thinks texture will also be key, with bouclé continuing its reign in mellow tonal hues, but also expects to see more fuzzy Sherpa and sheepskin designs in comforting tones of beige and caramel emerge.

Bailey continues. “That might mean soft shapes and finishes combined with clever modular solutions, hidden ottomans or built-in storage, for example.

“Bouclé still has a place, although we’re seeing it move on from the living room to the bedroom.

“Sheepskin and shearling are definitely on the rise – there is a reassuring sense of comfort and authenticity in these natural materials.”

4. Creative lighting

“Last year we saw a growing interest in biodynamic lighting, and next year we expect lighting to become even more bespoke with interior designers embracing lighting that goes beyond standardised fixtures to make bold, customised

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

statements,” says Harrison.

Think lighting schemes with zones and dimmers to adapt the ambience from morning coffees to evening entertaining.

Instead of uniformly bright overhead light, she says designers are using more strategic task lighting, paired with accent beams on feature walls or display cases.

“We always place a strong emphasis on lighting and most rooms will be designed to have a minimum of two lighting circuits – generally one which is practical lighting and one which is more ambient,” explains Julia May Yong, founder, York House Designs.

“Kitchens will sometimes have as many as five or six lighting circuits to make sure they’re well suited to every eventuality from family breakfast, to a couple’s date night in, to large parties and deep cleaning.”

warm shades such as plum and burgundy making their way into kitchen and home designs.

“Tones of ochre, terracotta and caramel were all spotted throughout this year’s Decorex show and designers on Houzz continue to highlight the versatility of earthy green shades,” says Harrison.

Bailey says: “We’re using a lot more red in various shades and textures this season and our clients are loving it.

“Tones of red come alive as an accent or as a canvas for other items. Red has that dual sense of passion, strength, love and joy, but can also signal conflict or danger, so the application is everything,” she notes.

“That might be a splash of detailing to anchor a scheme or a purposeful contrast,” she continues.

5. Autumnal colours

Last year we predicted a shift from cool colours to a warmer palette, and we expect to see an evolution of this trend, says Harrison, with rich autumnal shades taking centre stage in 2024.

“Red, arguably the colour of the season during September’s fashion weeks, is beginning to creep into interiors, with

PAGE 26, FROM TOP: Autumnal colours are set to feature; squishy, sumptuous seating is a key trend.

PAGE 27, CLOCKWISE: Traditional wall treatments are popular; a bare wood kitchen; Victoria Harrison; Stephanie Bailey; Julia May Yong; use of creative lighting.

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GROWING DESIRE FOR HOUSEPLANTS

WHAT PLANTS WILL BE TRENDING IN 2024? HANNAH STEPHENSON CHATS TO EXPERT TONY LE-BRITTON TO DISCOVER WHETHER IT WILL BE AFRICAN VIOLETS OR ALOE VERA IN VOGUE.

I

f you want to add to your growing houseplant collection, or just want to join the growing band of indoor growers, you might want to consider which plants are likely to be trending in 2024.

“We are going to start seeing more flowering indoor plants,” says houseplant expert and influencer Tony Le-Britton, author of Not Another Jungle (DK).

“Traditionally we just see a lot of green in houses and when a houseplant flowers it’s a really special thing. It makes you feel good and you feel like it’s offering you something extra.”

Some houseplants will flower much better than others, he says.

“For instance, it’s very unlikely that you’ll get your monstera to flower, but African violets flower really profusely inside.”

Chinese evergreens

“People are always looking for houseplants that will do well in darker rooms, but still have colourful leaves,” says Jane Perrone, houseplant expert and author of Houseplant Gardener In A Box (Skittledog).

“Chinese evergreens (Aglaonema genus) fit the bill, and extensive breeding means that they come in a whole host of

30

sales of the Chinese evergreen, which is said to be a symbol of good fortune and prosperity.”

Retro plants

colours, from deep green and white to pink, red and orange. They’ve been really underrated until now, but this member of the aroid family should get its moment in the spotlight in 2024.

“This plant does well sitting in a north or east-facing window: the brighter the leaves, the more light they need, so use the green-leaved aglaonemas in the lowest light conditions.”

Craig Wilson, co-founder, director and in-house gardening expert at online gardening retailer Gardeners Dream, adds: “We have seen an 800% increase in

“Flowering plants like gesneriads, streptocarpus, African violets, things that were really popular in the 70s will become more popular,” Le-Britton, who owns a rare plant shop in Northampton, predicts.

Aspidistras are also picking up, he adds. “It’s a fantastic plant because it fills the gaps like no other plant can do. You can have the temperature down to -5C, it can be wet or dry and it will be OK. It has very low light tolerance, is fine in a cold draught or in a dark spot. It covers all bases. It offers lush, elegant leaves, but it is super-tough.”

Aloe vera is one of the many medicinal houseplants with the ‘retro’ comeback tag on as well, says horticultural broadcaster Ellen Mary, co-host of awardwinning The Plant Based Podcast.

“Plant in a mix of compost and sand, water infrequently and place somewhere bright and sunny,” she suggests. “I like to keep mine in the kitchen so I can take some of the fleshy growth and use the gel from inside to ease small burns, cuts or grazes. It’s great for calming skin complaints, too.”

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Hanging houseplants

“While houseplants that are hanging and cascade have been a trend for a little while now, this is certainly set to grow in 2024,” says Sarah Squire, chair of Squire’s Garden Centres.

“The extra dimension and scale many varieties provide is encouraging their popularity and some great examples are plants like Aeschynanthus (zebra basket vine), Ceropegia (string of hearts), Epipremnum (devil’s ivy) and Senecio herreianus (string of beads).”

Parlour palm

The parlour palm (Chamaedorea elegans) is having a huge comeback and not because of the Victorian-era status plant that it was, she continues.

“Once placed strategically in the window so neighbours and visitors could admire the household wealth, it’s now much more about filling a space with one big plant rather than many smaller plants.”

They are easy to care for, just place in bright, indirect light (although it will tolerate a little shade) and allow the soil to dry out between watering every one to two weeks, she recommends. Only repot these plants every two to three years.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Hoya

“Hoyas, aka wax plants, are on the rise as houseplants, not surprising as they have gorgeous foliage as well as flowers,” says Perrone, also creator of the houseplant podcast, On The Ledge.

“The species Hoya carnosa is the most common, and there are dozens of cultivars to choose from, including ‘Krinkle 8’ and the variegated ‘Krimson Queen’. Wax plants do well in a bright spot with some morning sun.

“The clusters of tiny, but fragrant white flowers with pinkish/purple centres are dreamy. They look like blobs of icing sugar and smell just as sweet. Grow in compost with bark and keep up some humidity with a spritz of water each week, along with regular watering.”

Carnivorous plants

“On the back of the John Lewis ad, we’ve had a lot of people asking for the venus fly trap, but they are supposed to be dormant during the winter. We can offer alternative carnivorous plants,” says Le-Britton. “Give them the right care – full sun, bright windowsill and they have to have rainwater, not tap water because it contains too many minerals. Carnivorous plants have evolved in really poor soil with no minerals. And the salts and the

minerals in tap water will kill them,” he explains.

Cacti and succulents

These will remain popular because they are so easy to grow, Le-Britton predicts, but you need a sunny windowsill for them to thrive. Perrone recommends Euphorbia lactea ‘Ghost’, a cactus with spectral white limbs mottled with green that makes a real statement plant.

“This succulent benefits from a sunny spot, and can grow into a large specimen if given the chance. Bear in mind this plant is spiny and its sap is toxic, so take care if you have pets or children.”

Terrariums

Terrariums will continue to be popular, Le-Britton predicts. “Once terrarium plants are established they need very little care. You can go away, you can leave them, you don’t need a lot of space and they are great for people with pets because the plants are protected.”

PAGE 30, FROM TOP: A selection of houseplants; an aloe vera.

PAGE 31, CLOCKWISE: African violet; venus fly trap; an agleomena; plants in a terrarium; Hoya carnosa Krimson Queen; parlour palm.

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MAKING SURE THE SHOW WILL GO ON! DANIEL MORRIS TALKS TO THE FILM MAKERS BEHIND A SHROPSHIRE-BASED DRAMA, WHO HAD TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AFTER AN ACCIDENT THREATENED PRODUCTION

T

hey say that often the tales behind the making of films, the staging of plays and the production of television shows end up being more extraordinary than their plots.

Over the last 12 months, a team of talented Shropshire screensmiths has found this to be more than true in so many unbelievable ways.

In the early part of last year, production was almost wrapped on Henry House – a TV pilot being independently produced in Gobowen by Rocking Horse Media.

Starring newcomer Órla Jones and exBlue Peter presenter Peter Purves, Henry House was to follow the story of a familyrun care home and the unlikely friendship formed between a young receptionist and a new resident with dementia.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Filming – which had taken place at Derwen College – had almost been completed when the unthinkable happened, and Purves broke his wrist in two places while off set.

With the actor fitted with a cast that could not be disguised, director Gareth Thomas and production manager Luke Allen were forced to admit that Purves could not continue filming without there being obvious continuity errors.

The entire pilot would have to be reshot at a later date if it were to be saved.

The problem was, as production was so close to completion, the budget had almost been fully spent.

“It was the night before one of the biggest weekends of filming in the whole schedule, involving some of the biggest scenes with Órla, who is the lead star,” said Gareth.

“Peter was due to travel in. We’d already had some issues that weekend with Covid and various different things, but had so far overcome every obstacle and had a bit of an ‘invincibility feel’ about ourselves.

“But when this happened, we just didn’t have an answer to this one.

“We had some really big, physical scenes to do where you would have clearly seen his hands. After racking our brains and exploring every possible solution, we realised our best shot was to stop filming altogether and take a massive gamble on hoping we could appeal to enough people to help us find the money to start again.”

As well as Purves – also a Doctor Who alumnus who was taking on his first dramatic TV role in over 50 years – Henry House had featured a number of big-

35

name British stars including Mark Benton and Annette Badland.

The question was, would all those who had already completed their work on the project be on board with coming back to re-film at a later date?

“We spoke to Annette Badland and said, ‘we know you’ve finished all your stuff, but would you be willing to come back and do it all again because of this?’,” said Luke. “And she was like, ‘Oh of course, that’s horrible’. She’d never known anything like this happen, and also didn’t question that we needed to do this, which helped us feel it was the right decision.”

To allow Henry House to begin filming again from scratch, Gareth, Luke and the team set out on a mission to raise the needed cash – though the ambitious figure required to secure the production’s future was £30,000.

Undeterred by the task in front of them, the team got to work.

“It started with Gareth’s nephew, a young autistic boy from Shrewsbury who had visited the set and absolutely loved Henry House and what it stood for,” said Luke. “He sent us a voice note the day after the setback and said he was going to give us his £5 pocket money to help save Henry House. Everything started with his first kind donation.

“We then launched a crowdfunding campaign and coined it ‘Here’s One We Nearly Made Earlier’, in reference to Peter’s Blue Peter legacy. This campaign raised a fantastic amount for us, reaching over £6,000.

“We staged a live variety fundraising concert, which we called ‘BounceBack’.

It showcased inspiring performers with SEND, such as a local disability dance group and a signing choir. The night was headlined by Órla, who sang her heart out to try and save her own show.

BounceBack raised us £1,000.”

There was still a long way to go before Henry House could be saved, but the donations kept coming.

“Heather Meiklem, a lady with cerebral palsy and one of our background artists, maintained that Henry House gave her the chance to live out an acting dream she thought she would never get because of her disability. So she took matters into her own hands and organised a fundraising event at her own house for the Coronation weekend. That event raised us £100. But, her care providers, Swanton Care found out about her own donation and what Henry House meant to her, leading them to be so inspired that they donated £2,500.”

With additional support from Derwen College and contributions from other crew members, over £10,000 had been raised before August. Hope had been reignited, but there was still a very long 36

Órla Jones with Blue Peter star Peter Purves

Órla with director Gareth. Picture: Dani Harry.

Crew members in action.

way to go. Then, however, America called.

“Basically I got a text from Peter Purves (on his good hand!) and he said that he wanted to speak to his friend, Howard Hayes – a very rich American and Doctor Who super-fan who goes to all the conventions and buys everyone dinner,” said Gareth. “He’s a lovely chap who just takes over the room in a good way; you hang off his every word.

“So Peter texts me out of the blue and says ‘I’m thinking of asking my friend Howard Hayes for £10,000 to help save Henry House. Would you mind if I ask him?’ And I said, ‘you crack on!’ Peter had worked out that the reason that Howard Hayes was in the country was because he was hosting a dinner down in London, and at this dinner would be Annette Badland, Colin Spaull and Ian McNeice, all three being not just Doctor Who actors, but Henry House actors.

“My job then was to get on the phone to Annette and Colin and say to them, ‘look, you’re going to get asked about Henry House this weekend at your dinner. I need you to just sing its praises, and maybe, just maybe, it’ll be enough to

convince him to give it a go’.

“We left it at that and I woke up to a message from Annette Badland after the dinner had taken place, and she said to me, ‘Gareth, I need to tell you something... I’ve just come away from a fancy dinner in the middle of London, and all this American could talk about was this Shropshire care home drama series!’.”

In an incredible stroke of good fortune, Hayes was on board, but the good news didn’t end there.

“Eventually the contract was drawn up and the money landed, and soon after that £10,000 came in, another American investor found out about us – Jennifer DiGiacomo, another friend of Peter’s – and she put another £5,000 in,” said Gareth. “Both Howard and Jennifer both went on to make even further donations.

Suddenly we weren’t just ‘safe’, we were getting quite comfortable, and we haven’t looked back since.

“On December 11 we had ourselves back on location filming the first of the official scenes for the return of Henry House. It’s amazing how it’s gone from this thing that looked completely gone for

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Órla stars as the young receptionist Izzy at a family-run care home in Henry House. Picture: Winnie Tang, Wowzers Photography.

good, and now it’s back, and bigger than it’s ever been.”

For star-of-the-show Órla, the experience has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least. She said: “It’s been surreal since the get-go,” she said. “The part that I originally auditioned for was only a small part, and it just kind of snowballed.

“Gareth was re-writing the storyline, we were asking consultants what they thought, and they said ‘we really like this Izzy character, we want more of her’.

“And suddenly Izzy – my character – became the leading character and narrative.”

When production was forced to halt, Órla – like everyone else on board – was shell-shocked.

“I was just gutted to hear about Peter’s accident. Obviously with a gentleman of that age you immediately panic. It was just a moment of shock for everyone.”

Like Gareth and Luke though, Órla remembers the palpable resolve and determination to save the show, whatever it took. “One of the big things about the Henry House story and narrative is it’s this huge message of hope and

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

community, and those things also reflect the production and the spirit of everyone involved.

“Everyone is still on board. We didn’t lose anyone. That for me was amazing.”

As Gareth reflects, this enthusiasm never wavered even during the darkest of times.

“For me, the most memorable moment in the entire journey so far was after Peter’s accident and the day we had to go and break down the set. This was only going to be me, Órla and a couple of others. But we walked in and every single department was there. They’d come from all around the country just to be together and help during a tough time. That is something I’ll never forget, and it was at that moment that I knew that we were definitely coming back, because you can’t beat this lot.”

After an unbelievable year, the team behind Henry House are now determined to do the utmost justice to what they and others have worked so hard to save.

“What makes Henry House so special is our partnership with Derwen College, which is a phenomenal place, and our

production has facilitated opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities to get experience on a professional TV set alongside famous actors throughout the whole process,” said Gareth.

Former Derwen students have earned themselves main cast positions, and now they’re in scenes with Peter and Annette.

“On our first day back in production we started with the ball rolling at 100 miles an hour,” said Órla. “It was just the perfect day, and it gave everyone a massive boost. We’re ready to get this thing done now – the energy is just incredible.”

But, Gareth, Luke, Órla and everyone else involved are also keen for anyone who fancies it to come and get stuck in.

“If anyone wants to join the crew, we’re still looking for more and more people,” said Gareth.

“Please get in touch. Whatever you want to do we can find something for you.”

This one, ladies and gentlemen, is a story to be a part of. n Contact info@rockinghorsemedia. co.uk for more information

37

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FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Rosemary Jones at the “Can Do Cra#s” centre where she and her sister help people try their hand at cra#s from embroidery to jewellery making and weaving

SISTERS SHARING CRAFTING TALENTS HEATHER LARGE MEETS SIBLINGS ROSEMARY JONES AND SALLY CHARLTON WHO, AS MASTERS OF THEIR CRAFTS, ARE PASSING THEIR SKILLS ON AT ‘CAN DO CRAFTS’ WORKSHOPS

F

Sisters Sally Charlton and Rosemary Jones.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

rom rag-rugging and willow weaving to embroidery and jewellery making, there are countless crafts to explore and

master.

Not only is this popular pastime a great way to get your creative juices flowing, but it also provides a welcome opportunity to slow down and indulge in some well-needed ‘me time’.

Sisters Rosemary Jones and Sally Charlton are helping people in Shropshire to try their hand at a wide variety of different crafts.

They have set up Can Do Crafts and are running workshops to bring people together to learn new skills, make friends and share their passion for craft. Sessions

have been running in the village of Culmington, near Ludlow for around 18 months and and they proved so successful that Rosemary and Sally have recently launched workshops in Bridgnorth too.

Rosemary says the idea for Can Do Crafts came from wanting to make the most of leftover fabric and other supplies from her work as an upholsterer and her own hobbies.

Keen for the materials not to go to waste, she decided to let other people put it to good use and have fun at the same time.

“I’ve been an upholsterer for more than 25 years and run my own business, Charlton Interiors. I had lots of textiles from my work and remnants from a

39

lifetime of crafting and sewing. I had all of these supplies so it was just a question of what to do with them. I had the idea of eco crafting workshops where people could make something out of nothing.

“I have been running these workshops for around 18 months and they’ve been really well supported. Especially post Covid, we found a real need for “time out” in a friendly safe and creative space, with great wellbeing benefits,” explains Rosemary. Along with her sister, she was keen to find a way of enabling more people to access the workshops.

“Some people have to get in their car and drive to the workshops in Culmington so I thought having Bridgnorth-based workshops too would mean living in the town could walk to them.

“I was born in Bridgnorth and as a family we lived there too, so it’s great, with the help of my sister, to be bringing these workshops to the town,” explains Rosemary.

The sisters are very mindful of limiting their impact on the environment by reusing leftover fabrics and supplies, rather than buying new materials.

They’ve been pleased to receive donations from people who have a surplus or unwanted supplies.

“We very much have an ethos of recycling and trying where possible to use remnants from my work, donated items or bought from charity shops,” says Rosemary.

It was important to them to provide a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere where complete beginners and experienced crafters can work side by side. The classes have been designed to be very informal and flexible so they can be adapted around people’s abilities, strengths and interests.

“We don’t tell people ‘you have to do it this way or that way’, they have the freedom to do it how they want to do it and there is lots of help available if they need it. I believe everyone, with a bit of help, can be creative,” says Rosemary.

Both sisters are enjoying running the workshops, seeing friendships blossom and watching people feel a sense of achievement after making something with their own hands.

“When you are being creative, you forget about your worries. It frees your mind and can be really beneficial to your health and wellbeing. It’s good fun and people often say they can’t believe the two and a half hours has gone so quickly.

“There have been a lot of friendships made. We also have a WhatsApp group going and it’s been nice to see that develop independently. People share pictures of things they have crafted, which is really nice,” said Rosemary.

The workshops in Culmington run 40

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

on Saturday mornings, from 10am12.30pm, and start on February 17 with a focus on multi-media weaving on a willow/wooden frame. On April 27, there will be a chance to try rag-rugging and make a cushion cover or bath mat.

Participants attending on June 22 can try their hand at making a decorative beaded lampshade and felt jewellery will be focus of the session on August 31.

Finally, crafters can get ready for Christmas by making a patchwork

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

stocking or table runner on November 16.

The workshops in Bridgnorth take place on Sunday mornings at the Leisure Centre from 10am-12.30pm.

The next session on March 17 will focus on patchwork tote bags and cushion panels and the subject of the May 12 workshop is ‘button bonanza on an embroidery hoop frame’. Participants of the next session on July 14 can have a go at willow weaving and on October 20 there will be an opportunity to

make decorative wooden boxes. People attending the final workshop of the year on December 8, can have a go at ragrugging to make a Christmas bauble/ pudding.

The sessions cost £25 with all materials as well as coffee, tea and cake provided.

For more information, contact Rosemary on 07837609229, email charltoninteriors@gmail.com or visit facebook.com/CanDoCraftsShropshire

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Andy and Lorraine Laverton run their We are Bert Ltd business from Wem, where Andy makes robots from discarded materials, mainly from aircraft parts.

RO-BERT BUILDER A JUNKYARD GENIUS HEATHER LARGE DISCOVERS HOW BUILDING ROBOTS FROM JUNK AND WRITING ABOUT THEM BECAME A THRIVING PASSION – AND BUSINESS – FOR ANDY AND LORRAINE LAVERTON

W

hen Andy Laverton needed to clear his mind after a stressful day at work, he pottered about in his

garage.

One day, he was feeling creative and he began building a robot out of scrap parts.

Little did he know that the characterful sculpture it would be the first of many to take shape in his workshop.

“It started with me needing an outlet for stress. I have a pretty stressful job, to say the least,” says Andy, a line maintenance engineer.

“I was getting more and more stressed and at the beginning of this year, I started spending more time in my garage. I had always worked on different things in my garage.

“One day I put together a robot – and SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

thought ‘I quite like that’. So I made another one. I got lost in the process.

Every time I made a robot, I would bring into the house,” he explains.

The growing collection of mesmerising robot sculptures are now known as The Berts.

From wiper motor parts to vintage

cameras, they are all made from discarded objects and each robot is given its own personality and name, inspired by their distinguishing features.

Working alongside Andy is his wife Lorraine, who writes stories about his creations as she imagines the adventures they might have.

It wasn’t long after Andy starting bringing each robot he made into the house that they started sparking Lorraine’s imagination.

“I had always wanted to write a book, I used to write as a child but then life took over,” she says.

“Everybody advises writing about what you know but there are so many things you do in life, what do you pick?

“I kept looking over to the robots and I could imagine their characters. I knew I needed to write their stories and we

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needed to give them a name.”

The couple, who live near Shrewsbury, have three children and six grandchildren.

They decided to name the handcrafted sculptures after Lorraine’s greatgrandfather Herbert, who never discarded anything he deemed useful.

Among the growing collection of The Berts is Fulbert who carries a leather backpack adorned with a functional light meter and has a head fashioned from a vintage camera.

There is also Norbert whose head is made from an old Viewmaster that contains photographs of Norway and Lambert who has been created from recycled parts including gears, circuits, and wires and carries a lamp in his hand.

Andy has also made a series of transport and motor racing-themed robot sculptures including Helibert, Jenson Berton, Bertverstappen and Hogbert.

Many of the robots are available to buy on the couple’s website.

For each robot, he repurposes a wide variety of unwanted parts including items destined for the recycling bin at his workplace.

“I go dumpster diving every week at work and pull out scrap parts, nuts and bolts,” he says.

Andy also sources bits and pieces from eBay and car boot sales and receives donations from people who know he will find a good use for them.

“My garage is organised chaos, more chaos, than organised, but I do know where everything is. I have boxes of stuff waiting to be made into robots.

“When I start a robot, I don’t know 44

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

what it’s going to end up looking like. I’ve started a few and said ‘that’s not the right head for you’ and I’ve made something different.

“I’ve got heads sitting in drawers waiting for the right bodies,” he says.

The 59-year-old finds the process of selecting what items to use for his latest creation and putting everything together very therapeutic.

“One day I made breakfast at 6am, went out to the garage in my pyjamas and dressing grown and came back into the house at lunchtime. I thought I’d only been 20 minutes. It’s like meditation for engineers,” he explains.

Lorraine’s first book inspired by The Berts, titled Weebert Has an Adventure, has recently been published.

Illustrated by Amy P Simmonds, the story about friendship and the magic of trying new things features an array of characters including Barbara the sheep, who is based on an ornament in the couple’s garden.

“I had so many ideas and once I started writing, the words just flowed. I’ve got lots more stories in my head, five are written down and Weebert is the first one to be published.

“The book teaches children that

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

everyone is different and our differences should be celebrated,” explains the 60-year-old.

Lorraine visited her grand-daughters’ school in North Yorkshire to read her story to the children and also took along some of the robots. “They loved listening to the story and meeting some of the real Berts. I would love to do the same at other schools,” she says.

Eight of Andy’s sculptures can be seen

in the Winter Lands Exhibition at The Found Gallery in Dunbar. He has also created a special robot bear for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield, which was based on the charity’s mascot.

Anyone interested in organising a school visit can contact Lorraine on info@ wearebert.co.uk n For more information about the robots and book, see wearebert.co.uk

45

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SPARKING FLAMES OF OLYMPIC GAMES AS THE GAMES PREPARES TO RETURN TO PARIS, DANIEL MORRIS REVEALS HOW THE FOUNDER OF THE WENLOCK OLYMPIAN GAMES HELPED INSPIRE THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN EVENT

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t is now 2024, with it athletes from all over the globe will be preparing for the tournament of tournaments, the Olympics.

The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad – more commonly known as Paris 2024 – will see the eyes of the sporting world fixated on France this summer, as the greatest event in the athletics calendar takes place for the first time since 2021.

For those of us in Shropshire however, part of our gaze can proudly fall much more locally, as we celebrate the part our county played in the revival of the Olympic Games, which was spearheaded right here by a man whose vision is still celebrated by the society he founded.

William Penny Brookes was born in 1809 in Much Wenlock, where his father

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

worked as a local physician. Though he was to follow in a similar career path, he was destined to become more famous as the father of the Wenlock Olympian Games, and the man whose idea and spirit led to the resurrection of the international Olympic Games themselves.

As a young man, Brookes left Shropshire to begin his own medical career with study at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, and later in Padua in Italy, and Paris.

After qualifying in 1831, he returned to Much Wenlock to take over his now deceased father’s practice, and it wasn’t long before he became involved in the local affairs of the town.

“At 32, he became a Justice of the Peace, and shortly afterwards, Commissioner for Roads and Taxes,” said 47

Wenlock Olympian Society member Mac Bardsley. “Later he played an important role in the renovation of the impressive council chamber in the Guildhall to be followed by the building of the Corn Exchange a decade later.”

Brookes was also instrumental in the formation of the Wenlock Gas Company and both the Much Wenlock and Severn Junction and the Wenlock Railway Companies. Yet his greatest legacy was to come in his contribution to the world of athleticism.

In 1850, Brookes formed the Wenlock Olympian Class. The original objective of the Olympian Class was to hold annual games to “promote the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock, and especially of the working classes, by the encouragement of outdoor recreation and by the award of prizes annually at public meetings for skill in athletic exercises, and proficiency in intellectual and industrial attainments”.

The first Wenlock Olympian Games, held in October 1850, featured a mixture of classical athletic events and traditional country sports such as quoits, football and cricket.

“The early games sometimes included a ‘fun’ event to entertain the crowds,” said Mac. “Once a blindfolded wheelbarrow race and another year an old women’s race for a pound of tea!”

Pageantry was a prominent part of the games from the beginning. The games were preceded by a procession of flag bearers, competitors and officials led by a band as they marched through the decorated streets of the town to where the games were to be held – first at the racecourse and then the Windmill Meadow, the latter eventually becoming known as the Linden Field and now the current games’s permanent home.

For years the games expanded, flourished and grew. The Olympian Class changed its name to the Wenlock Olympian Society in 1860, and continued to support Brookes in growing his vision. The first Shropshire Olympian Games took place in Shrewsbury that same year, and the first festival of the National Olympian Association (formed

by Brookes and associates John Hulley of Liverpool and Ernst Ravenstein of the German Gymnasium in London) took place in 1866.

But Brookes’s ambition went even higher, and it was not too long before his vision would come to be fulfilled.

In 1889 Baron de Coubertin, organiser of the International Congress on Physical Education, was in England seeking information on sports education practised in schools. Brookes wrote to the young Frenchman and invited him 48

to come and see his games the following year. “So began a dialogue between the two men who were to set the Modern Olympic flame alight,” said Mac. Baron de Coubertin came to Wenlock in October 1890. This was, incidentally, the same year in which Brookes successfully petitioned Parliament to make physical education a compulsory part of the curriculum in national schools.

“The two men discussed their similar ambitions and the eighty-one-year-old Brookes shared with the twenty-sevenyear-old Baron de Coubertin his dream to stage an international Olympic revival to be held in Athens,” said Mac. On his return to France, Coubertin gave a glowing account of his time in Much Wenlock in the La Review Athlétique journal, and referred to his host’s efforts to revive the Olympic Games.

Sadly, Brookes died in December 1895, and so did not see his dream – an international Olympic Games – come to

fruition just four months later in April 1896.

In his obituary to Brookes, Baron de Coubertin wrote: “If the Olympic Games that Modern Greece has not yet been able to revive still survives today, it is due, not to a Greek, but to Dr William Penny Brookes.”

Following Brookes’s death, the Wenlock Olympian Society kept the tradition of the local games going, staying true to Brookes’s original vision.

There have been some gaps in staging the games, such as during the two World Wars. The latest revival took place in 1977, and since this time the society has gone from strength to strength.

The annual sporting games now attract around 500 competitors, with the society committed to continuing to run the tournament in the spirit of giving all people from all backgrounds the opportunity to compete. Following Brookes’s vision of also promoting accessibility to the arts, the society’s FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

PAGE 47: Athletics action from the Wenlock Olympian Games, and below, William Penny Brookes.

PAGE 48: Competitors and performers enjoy the games.

PAGE 49: Society members plant a tree for the Queen’s Green Canopy and meet TV star Jay Blades.

annual live arts festival draws around 300 annual participants, with the additional winter creative writing competition garnering a typical 200 entrants each year from all around the world.

As the new year has begun, the Wenlock Olympian Society has been proud to reflect on the highlights of the last one.

“Last year (2023) was a special anniversary for the games, as it marked 100 years since Olympian Harold Langley, a Sparkhill Harrier, won the Pentathlon competition,” said Mac. “He went on to represent Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Games in the triple jump – these became famous as the ‘Chariots of Fire’ Olympics.

“To commemorate this, the Wenlock Olympian Games re-introduced a unique medal for winners of the pentathlon, which organisers hoped would raise the profile of modern multi-event athletics and promote greater participation. The introduction of the medal seemed to SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

encourage a greater entry for the event.

We were pleased that Sparkhill Harriers were represented to award the first medal.”

That year also saw the society raise its profile with a TV appearance on Jay Blades: The Midlands Through Time, and make a proud contribution to the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, with the planting of an oak in celebration of Her Late Majesty and her environmental vision.

Now however, in this Olympic year, excitement is running through the society as preparations are made for a new calendar of events.

Next month will see this year’s Live Arts festival, which will feature two weekends of dance, music, speech and drama from March 9-10 and 16-17.

Events will be held at William Brooks School and Holy Trinity Church, Much Wenlock.

And of course, July will feature the 2024 Wenlock Olympian Games

themselves, where competitors will battle it out in a range of contests, from athletics and archery to fencing, badminton, swimming and ice dancing.

“These sporting events will take place over the two weekends in early July with the main day being Sunday, July 14,” said Mac. In a special move for this Olympic year, Blists Hill Victorian Town is joining with Wenlock Olympian Society to stage some Victorian events in honour of the era in which the games were first held.

Reportedly, these are planned to be tugof-war and knitting!

To round the year off, the Wenlock Olympian Society will be opening 2024’s creative writing competition in September, with winners to be revealed next year.

With a town like Much Wenlock within our own borders, who needs Paris?

For more information on this year’s events, visit www.wenlock-olympiansociety.org.uk 49

IRONWORK CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE ANDY RICHARDSON TRACES THE STORY OF A SHROPSHIRE ATTRACTION WHERE SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST STUNNING SCULPTURES ARE PRODUCED FROM WASTE MATERIALS

S

hropshire is full of unlikely attractions. None, however, is as endearing, enjoyable, or downright brilliant as the British Ironwork Centre and Sculpture Park, near Oswestry.

It is Shropshire’s only attraction that is free for children all the time (as well as being free for adults too at off-peak times). It’s also the only attraction in Shropshire and the United Kingdom to make art and sculpture from waste materials – with good reason the destination is a bona fide National Champion of Sculpture and Recycling.

Its Extinction Trail is the only free educational school trip in the United Kingdom addressing the climate and global wildlife crises. It’s popular with the Royal Family, having been visited several times, while it’s received numerous awards for its 60 acres of art and displays.

Growing up in the generation that followed World War II, the 1950s and 60s was an era of poverty and struggling families. Clive Knowles, the chairman, 50

r u o y on DOORSTEP and his family were raised during this time with an intense sense of ambition to become independent and to strive for possibilities. Following from generations before, the Knowles family had a dream.

A dream to move, re-build, create a business, raise a family and have a desire to create something of national significance that worked in tandem with social issues.

Like many during this time, the Knowles family were brought up in the city with a dream to live in the countryside. With this dream, an enterprise began, in a disused workshop in an industrial estate in the heart of Wolverhampton, creating, and making a range of metal ware. With the enterprise

quickly establishing on site and e-commerce growing in popularity, the need to move to bigger premises was a must.

Whitehall Farm encapsulated the dream for a growing family and a business, as it offered acres of land in a quiet area surrounded by charming regional towns and villages. With so much land, and no background in farming, imagination ran riot. In a time of e-commerce, online customers wished and expressed a desire to view some products in the flesh before being able to buy them. With this, a range of garden related items were displayed outside in their true setting.

With Whitehall Farm situated on a main road, and people coming to view products before purchasing, it was only natural that the Ironbridge Sculpture Park approached the Knowles’ regarding the sale of their sculptures. From that moment, the British Ironwork Centre was created. Clive wanted the centre to be a place that was imaginative, patriotically FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

bold, dramatic and theatrical and showcased art and sculptures from both local and worldwide artisans.

During an illustrious history, the British Ironworks Centre has been involved in some remarkable commissions. Among those that stand out are the four iron pavilions that were created in 2013 to celebrate the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. The centre also hand crafted steel forget-me-nots for a charity fundraiser for a local hospice.

One thousand of the steel flowers were unveiled in April 2016, and a hasty reorder was required when the first batch of 1,000 sold out within hours.

The centre hit the headlines in 2013 when illusionist Uri Geller commissioned the centre to create a 12ft high gorilla from spoons sent in from around the world. Initially 6,000 spoons were donated from across the globe including one that used to belong to Winston Churchill.

When the project was complete the final tally was 40,000 spoons from as far afield SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

as China, India, Kenya, Armenia and Tahiti .

One of the most remarkable achievements was the centre’s Knife Angel.

In 2014, Alfie Bradley and the British Ironworks Centre launched a new incentive called the ‘Save a Life, Surrender Your Knife’ campaign. The project ultimately resulted in a 27-foottall sculpture, Knife Angel. The artist and the centre encouraged a knife amnesty in conjunction with local police forces across the United Kingdom, to enable them to build/sculpt an angel statue.

Initially only 37 police forces responded and sent in knives. Clive called out six police forces across England and Wales for not getting involved. By the project’s completion, all 43 police forces contributed to the total 100,000 knives, blades, swords and other weapons used in violent crime.

The centre and the sculptor were praised and at least 80 families left personal messages engraved into the

blades. The artist was a victim of knife crime himself.

The sculpture was completed in 2018.

In the year following its completion, the work was transported on a nationwide tour in order to highlight an antiviolence message. The sculpture is one of hundreds that have been nominated in 2018 for listed status.

Each year, the centre grows larger and stronger, creating heartfelt sculptures and working with the community and charities.

PAGE 50: The British Ironwork Centre and Sculpture Park, near Oswestry.

PAGE 51: Top left, clockwise, a new astronaut sculpture; Rosie White and Natasha Jones take a look at giant millipede creation; the Marvel character Deadpool and a sculpture of fantasy character Durotan.

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Joscelin Dent-Pooley, aka Jerskin Fendix, during his time at Haberdashers’ Adams, where he was a highly thought of student who excelled.

MUSICIAN JOS HAS A GOLDEN TOUCH MEGAN JONES DISCOVERS HOW A TALENTED FORMER PUPIL, WHOSE FILM SCORE CAME SO CLOSE TO LANDING A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD, IS REMEMBERED AT A SHROPSHIRE SCHOOL.

T

eachers of a former Newport schoolboy, now Golden Globe nominee, have fondly remembered the pupil as “bursting with creativity and talent”.

Newport’s Haberdasher’s Adams Grammar School alumni Joscelin Dent-Pooley, known professionally as Jerskin Fendrix, narrowly missed out on a Golden Globe this awards season after Oppenheimer took the trophy for Best Original Score.

Jerkin nabbed a nomination for the prestigious award for his debut feature composition for sci-fi black comedy, Poor Things.

The musician, who grew up near Market Drayton, was chosen for the position after his 2020 debut album ‘Winterreise’ caught the ears of director,

52

Yorgos Lanthimos. “I just listened to Jerskin’s first album and I can’t even describe what it is,” Lanthimos told IndieWire.

“But there was something in it that just felt so right about it.”

The film’s powerful score has already snagged Jerskin a win for Best Original Music at the Ghent International Film Festival.

But before he was Jerskin Fendrix, he was ‘Jos’ – a youngster with a musical talent spotted by peripatetic violin teacher Claire Stanley when he was a pupil at Hugo Meynell primary school in Loggerheads.

He then attended Market Drayton’s Musicland, where he was taught violin

by Janine Kitchen. He went on to attend Newport school Haberdashers’ Adams

where he is still fondly remembered by staff.

“Joscelin was an outstanding student in many ways,” Headmaster Mr Hickey said. “Bursting with creativity and talent, and always caring deeply for integrity and honesty in the arts, especially in music. It is no surprise to any of us here at Adams that he has done so magnificently well.”

Mr Biggins, deputy head and former head of Darwin House of which Jos was part, said: “Joscelin was a superb musician and a major reason for the dominance of Darwin House in the early days of House Music.

“The time limits on solo performances came into play after his violin solo (that started with him taking the top off a piano and playing the strings inside with his hands) went on for seven

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Joscelin Dent-Pooley, (now Jerskin Fendrix) Darwin Music House captain and holding a trophy for music excellence, with staff and pupils at the school.

minutes, without any sheet music to follow!”

The current head of Darwin House and religious studies teacher, Miss Bowater, said as a youngster he was also “superb in the classroom”.

“He had a razor-sharp mind that could pull any philosophical argument to pieces,” she said.

“He would love to sit back, listen to the various arguments put forward and then pull everything to pieces. Everyone was involved in a mental workout.”

Festival Drayton Centre chairman Geoff Vernon sent his congratulations to the composer.

Geoff said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that a lad who grew up visiting the Festival Centre has gone on to achieve such astonishing acclaim in the film and music world at such a young age.

“It seems like only yesterday that his older brother Ben joined us as one of our volunteers, working in our café every week for over a year while earning his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.”

The musician plans to watch the movie at the Festival Drayton Centre on February 19, and hear how the centre’s renowned sound system handles his thrilling mix.

If Jos’ plan falls through it will be because he is on the longlist for a BAFTA and the prestigious awards event at the Royal Festival Hall will take precedence.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Music composer Jerskin Fendrix, now, a Golden Globe nominee, photographed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Described as a science-fiction romance, Poor Things centres on Bella, (Emma Stone), who is brought back to life by Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) who gives her an infant’s brain.

Eager to gain worldly experience, she runs off with debauched lawyer

Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) on a hedonistic adventure across continents.

This year’s Golden Globe for Best Original Score was won by Oppenheimer.

Poor Things won the Best Film – Musical or Comedy award and Best Actress (Emma Stone).

53

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JASON RIDES HIS LUCK TO STARDOM AUSTRALIAN ACTOR AND SINGER JASON DONOVAN TALKS TO NAOMI CLARKE ABOUT HIS CAREER FROM NEIGHBOURS TO MUSCIALS, AHEAD OF A SUMMER GIG IN THE COUNTY

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

55

Jason Donovan in his lead role with the cast of Joseph and The Amazing Techicolour Dreamcoat

J

ason Donovan believes you create your own luck in life, “I’m very much of that belief,” says the actor and singer.

The Australian star, who will appear at Let’s Rock Shrewsbury in The Quarry park on July 13, recognises he has definitely had a good dose of fortune throughout his 35-year career in the entertainment industry, but he feels his work ethic has spurred him on.

Born to Australian actress Sue McIntosh and British-born stage and TV actor Terence Donovan, he was aged nine when he took on his first professional acting role. His major break into stardom came after he landed a role as Scott Robinson alongside Kylie Minogue’s Charlene Mitchell in the long-running Australian soap Neighbours, making his first appearance in 1986.

He later followed Minogue into the pop world and worked with her producers, the acclaimed Stock, Aitken and Waterman. With them he released his debut single Nothing Can Divide Us in 1988, which soared through the charts Down Under and in the UK. His second track, Especially For You, was a collaboration with Minogue, which secured him his first UK number one.

They both appeared on his charttopping album Ten Good Reasons, which was supported by his 1990 Doin’ Fine Tour.

“I landed in a TV series which gave

56

me leverage,” Donovan, 55, tells me as he reflects on being propelled into the spotlight.

“I’ve always been passionate about acting and entertainment, through my parents and my dad, particularly, so it’s not really by coincidence.

“But timing in life is everything and the timing for me back in those days couldn’t have been better and I embraced it and I worked my ass off, and I took some risks.

“I mean, some people might say jumping in the bed with Stock Aitken Waterman wasn’t really a risk, but a lot of people told me not take up music at all.

“A lot of people, when they heard some of my vocals, thought maybe I shouldn’t take up music ever.

“But that changes as one gets older and one works harder at focusing in on stuff, and I think that’s why people have stayed with me.

“It’s not really how you start, it’s how you progress and you grow.”

Donovan followed up his success with five more albums and branched out further into the world of theatre. Within his career, he has starred in a West End run of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert and a touring production of The Rocky Horror Show, but he is arguably best known for his time playing the titular role in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

He feels these roles helped show that FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

With his Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue. The on-screen couple went on to gain a UK number one with Especially For You in 1988.

he was an artist who was “willing to try some good stuff and keep working at it”.

However, amongst the brilliance of fame, he also struggled with his sudden rise initially.

“I’ll be honest, success came very young to me and I probably didn’t know how to deal with it,” he muses.

“I was down to earth but I didn’t know how to deal with it in my own head.”

He admits he went through a belated teenage rebellion in his 20s as he began to find everything “claustrophobic”.

“Most of my friends when I was 19 were putting surfboards on the top of their cars and heading up the coast and doing a number of things that, probably, we shouldn’t be talking about, but I didn’t really have those experiences,” he recalls.

“But in my mid 20s, I needed to go out and just be Jason Donovan and I did that quite successfully.

“But I realised the real value of life is not trying to be cool, it’s about your friends and your family and not going out to nightclubs, as much fun as it was.

“At my age, I feel very grateful for what I have, which is a lot of stability and a lot of knowledge and possibly even a bit of respect these days, which is quite nice.”

The entertainer says he passed on a few films over the years including an adaptation of Priscilla, but knows he had his reasons. Another one he felt was “a bit edgy” for his popstar image at the time.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

“There was always a conflict as a pop artist in those days, but you’ve got to push the boundaries… and I just think I played it a bit safe sometimes,” he says before adding “but not all the time”.

These days, the father-of-three is more focused on putting his family first, which has only become heightened as he has gotten older.

“While my career might have been important for a while, I’m one of the lucky people to say that is quite solid in my life,” he says. “But it’s my friends and family and my people that are the most important and the most vulnerable in the world that I live in.”

He has also gotten more concerned about his health and home, revealing that he can be “a bit OCD” at times.

The singer says he has not sat down to talk to someone about his obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies, which includes him loving to be clean and making his bed every morning.

“I double check the front door’s locked about 16 times before I go to bed, make sure that all the taps are not running and the stove is turned off – and that’s getting worse,” he adds.

However, this attitude means he does not procrastinate, which is probably one of the reasons he can still put on a tour across the UK. His upcoming Doin’ Fine 25 tour, which will come 35 years after his first one, will take fans on a journey through his hits on stage and screen,

accompanied by his live band.

Kicking off in February 2025, Donovan will visit cities including Birmingham, York, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. What does he have in store for fans? “Always a bit of theatrics,” he jokes.

“You never know, I might do a little bit of dancing – Jesus Christ. In those days I did do a little dance break, I think it was the Running Man, which at the time was very in fashion.

“Whether I’ll be capturing the spirit of the running man and skateboarding across the stage, I don’t know whether my insurance policy goes that far at 55.”

He is still exploring how he will approach the show, but so far he is keen to cast his mind back to the 1990s by looking at old footage and previous set-lists.

“I’ve got 35 years of work, theatre work, music,” he adds. “And I always try and bring my own personality to a show.”

In the future, he is open to writing a film and says “never say never” at the idea of collaborating with his former co-star Minogue again.

He also wants to start winding back, adding: “I want to not do as much work and I want to be content just having six months off and going ‘That’s cool, don’t need to stress, don’t worry about it’.” n Limited tickets for Let’s Rock Shrewsbury are available at www. letsrockshrewsbury.com/tickets/ 57

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BOOZE-FREE TIPPLE TREASURE TROVE DANIEL MORRIS’ MISSION TO FIND AN ALCOHOL-FREE WAY TO ENJOY A DRINK OR TWO PROVED A SUCCESS

I

f you made a new year resolution to cut down on alcohol this year, you may be looking to treat your taste buds to a decent alcohol-free substitute for your favourite tipple.

But, which booze-free bevvies are the best? These days, the non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drinks market is happily massive, meaning there is a great range of choice for those who want to enjoy the taste of their favourite tipple without the subsequent headache.

Whether you are a lager lad, a cider lass, keen-o for vino, or in the spirit for a spirit, there’s a plethora of alcohol-free options out there for you.

But, how do you navigate what has now become such a big market place? I’ve tried a variety of alcohol-free beverages in my time, but when set the challenge of finding the best to recommend to you, I decided to enlist an expert...

Mike Dalton and his wife Nicola opened their business, ‘Dry’, in 2022.

Based in Shrewsbury, this beverage emporium is a treasure trove for those who love a drink, but hate a hangover, and are looking for the best tipples in the alcohol-free market.

An aficionado with a passion and a keen eye for alcohol-free products, I knew Mike would be the chap to steer me straight in my search for the tastiest beverages out there with low or no alcohol.

He did not disappoint, and pulled out multiple magnificent options he thought would tick the box for me. It was time to start a’ tasting – let’s do this...

Sober Brummie – low-alcohol beer, 0.5% ABV, Birmingham Brewing Company

The first drink that Mike produced from his well-stocked larder was a light, low-alcohol pale ale. I was keen to find a refreshing alternative to a cold pint at the end of a good day’s work, and hoped this might be it. With the first sip, I knew Mike had picked us a winner. “This is a pale ale from the Birmingham Brewing Company,” Mike said. “It’s a great beer – really refreshing, a real light taste.

“Birmingham Brewing Company is an old-style traditional brewer. They 60

Mike Dalton and Dan Morris try out the options at Mike’s Shrewsbury business ‘Dry’

do alcoholic drinks as well, but they also do this which is one of their best sellers.

They also donate part of their profits to the Midlands Air Ambulance.”

The Sober Brummie was refreshing and light, and perfect for those just looking to wet their whistle and relax. I enjoy a decent pale ale, and this is one of the best low-alcohol options I have ever tasted. My mission was going well...

I smiled with the first taste; this was another winner for me and a nice alternative to the Birmingham Brewing Company pale.

“This is proving a very popular drink and certainly tourists like buying it because it’s a momento of their visit to Shrewsbury,” said Mike “This is an IPA, so slightly more hoppy than the pale ale. A bit fruity – it’s a really nice beer.”

Hobsons Free IPA – low-alcohol beer, 0.5% ABV, Hobsons Brewery Co.

Zeno Alcohol Liberated Red – alcohol-free wine, 0.3% ABV, Zeno

A favourite from Shropshire, Mike recommended Hobsons Brewery’s alcohol-free option for those who may prefer a bit of a fruitier beer.

It had a full-bodied, hoppier flavour, and the fruity kick was definitely there.

While I’d previously explored supermarket shelves searching for the finest alcohol-free beers, I’d never given a thought to non-alcoholic wine.

To be brutally honest, I found it hard to imagine a nice full-bodied red tasting FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Dan Morris tries some of the non-alcoholic beverages at Dry Shrewsbury and loved the kick he got from the alcohol-free Ginger Switchel

right without an alcoholic kick. Yet, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

With a flourish, Mike handed me a glass of Zeno’s flagship tipple, and I was truly taken aback by its pleasant flavour.

Fruity notes were present in the aftertaste, and the balance in its aroma was wonderful. Somewhat flabbergasted, I was delighted that Mike had found me an alcohol-free wine I’d be happy to liberally imbibe with dinner.

“Zeno wines are probably our best selling non-alcoholic wines,” he said.

“They’ve also won several awards.

They’re Spanish wines, and they are what they call ‘de-alcoholised’ wine. These are wines that have been made in exactly the same way as ordinary wines, the only difference being the alcohol is extracted at the end of the process.

“Non-alcoholic wines in particular have had a bit of a bad press over the last few years, and I think what’s happening now in the market place and by the producers is they’re upping their game.

There’s a lot more effort and a lot more money going in to producing these kinds of wines.”

Ginger Switchel – ‘alcohol-free aperitif for the flavour curious’, Mother Root

For his final recommendation, Mike was pleased to offer up a ‘spirit alternative’ SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

that could be enjoyed in a short glass, and – despite its lack of alcohol – packed a mighty kick of its own.

The signature product of Mother Root, this one was an absolute blast to finish my tasting session on.

“This is a ginger switchel,” said Mike. “A switchel is a type of drink that dates back to the 1700s. It’s got an apple cider vinegar base to it, so really good for your gut health. This one’s packed full of ginger. It’s got a really fiery kick to it; you’ll feel it going down.”

He wasn’t kidding, but the effect was fantastic. When I drink a ‘full-fat’ spirit, I like to feel the warmth and accompanying kick the alcohol brings. But the geniuses

at Mother Root had created this effect without the booze simply through an intelligent and exciting choice of ingredients. According to Mike, they’re not alone in having done so.

“What tends to happen, particularly with the herbal aperitifs, is they’ll often introduce flavours to replace that kick or burning feeling you get from the alcohol.

Ginger is one. We do a Danish nonalcoholic gin where they use a little bit of chilli and also coriander to give it that peppery flavour at the back of your throat.

It’s just about being more creative really.”

Mother Root’s Ginger Switchel was my favourite drink of the day, and anyone looking for something to literally spice up their Dry January next year would do well to grab a bottle.

Mission Accomplished

With Mike’s help I’d found four fabulous beverages I’d be happy to recommend to any one hoping to cut down, and a couple that I intend to keep in stock all year round.

Cutting back doesn’t have to mean you can’t have fun with a drink, and there are so many alcohol-free options out there, there is bound to be the perfect one for you. But if you are looking for suggestions, all of the above finds get my seal of approval every day of the week.

Cheers!

61

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FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Moor Farm Shop’s Melissa Roberts with the new cafe operator, Sarah Evans-Webster.

SARAH SERVING UP NEW ROLE AT CAFE MEGAN JONES MEETS THE COUNTY WOMAN WHO HAS TAKEN A CHANGE IN DIRECTION AND TAKEN ON A NEW ROLE BEHIND THE CAFE COUNTER AT A POPULAR FARM SHOP.

A

farm shop cafe has a new face behind the counter after being taken over by a woman in a “dream” career move.

Sarah Evans-Webster, 37, has taken over the running of the cafe at Moor Farm Shop in Baschurch in what she calls a “dream” career change.

After getting the keys on Boxing Day, Sarah and some dedicated friends and family have been working hard to revamp the space. She opened up for the first time to customers in early January.

Sarah, who lives in Baschurch, said her opening weekend had been “amazing”.

“I’m knackered,” she said after her second day, “but it’s been great, really great. I’ve been working at a client acquisition firm, and Hazel and Melissa

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

approached me to see if I’d be up for taking it over.

“It’s been a dream of mine to get something like this. I always worked in catering when I was younger, and I’ve worked part time as a chef at a local pub so it’s always been my passion to be in the industry.”

Hazel Timmis and Melissa Roberts had been running the cafe alongside the farm shop for 12 years.

The handover is part of wider changes to ease financial pressures and give the pair a bit of time to themselves.

As well as handing over the keys to the cafe, the farm shop, which has been open for 20 years, has reduced its opening hours to two days a week.

Hazel said she was thrilled to have Sarah on board at the farm.

She added: “It was primarily a financial decision – the minimum wage is going up, interest rates have trebled, electricity has gone up, but we also haven’t had a day off in quite a long time.

“So Melissa and I will run the shop Friday and Saturday, keep selling our home-produced grass-fed beef, homereared pigs, homemade bakery with sausage rolls and baked goods.

“We’ll carry on with that and we’ll be able to go completely from farm to fork, and Sarah will have the cafe – that’s her love, her passion.”

The cafe is now open from Wednesday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

The farm shop will be open from 9am to 5.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

63

Jess and Scott, the creative forces behind The Host’s Pantry which offers a bespoke delivery service for dinner parties to your doorstep.

CATERING EXPERTS AT YOUR SERVICE THIS MONTH ED THOMAS FINDS OUT ALL ABOUT A SHROPSHIRE BUSINESS THAT DELIVERS DINNER PARTY INGREDIENTS DIRECTLY TO YOUR FRONT DOOR FOR THAT SPECIAL OCCASION

H

umans are social creatures.

So, for as long as we have had friends, we have wanted to spend time with them and break bread with them.

Everyone has stories of great, and calamitous dinner parties that they have been lucky enough to have attended which is probably why they are very much alive and kicking, especially after a couple of years where getting together was far more challenging than usual.

While the popularity of welcoming friends and family in to your home to enjoy a home cooked meal is undiminished, it can also be stressful. It’s this stress that Jess Beardmore and Scott Woodland, the creative forces behind The Host’s Pantry, are removing with their innovative menu boxes.

Scott explained that The Host’s Pantry was born out of a love for good 64

food and hosting his friends and family.

He wanted to create a service that would allow anyone, experienced home cooks or total novices, to feel like they can host a wonderful meal at home for their friends.

The central ethos at the heart of The Host’s Pantry, ‘food brings people together.’

The idea for the foodie business was sparked in Scott’s mind while visiting a friend’s place in London about 10 years ago. He spotted a flyer for a well-known menu box company and thought he could do better. He wanted to fill the gap in the market for boxes aimed at entertaining, not just routine mid-week meals, which is the typical domain of other menu boxes.

Scott continued to mull the idea around while working in hospitality in London, gathering knowledge and expertise as he went. It was only after a return to Shropshire and a career change

did the opportunity to pursue the idea present itself, thanks to Coronavirus and the pandemic.

The concept for the experience that Scott and Jess share is simple. Create exciting menus using premium produce and ingredients. Then explain, step by step, in clear language how to put a delicious meal on a plate and serve it to your loved ones.

Starting out creating boxes for friends and family, Jess and Scott refined the offer before launching the boxes for the paying public to order and enjoy.

The business has gone from strength to strength with Scott’s partner Jess joining the business full time in 2023.

From the first experiments over three years ago, the offer has evolved from recipe boxes to a fully fledged one-stop shop for entertaining at home. You can even add a bespoke wine pairing if you FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Jess preparing ingredients at the Host’s Pantry HQ. Pictured right are some of the dishes available.

wish. The menus can be produced for two diners, or they can be scaled up to any sized dinner party. Perfect for date night at home, a special occasion, or getting together with friends. There are even groups of friends who will cook a course each so they each get part of the experience because while the meal is the main event, the preparation and cooking are very much part of what’s on offer.

There is no simply reheating a prepared dish here. The raw ingredients are delivered in sustainable packaging with a folder packed with clear instructions.

Opening the box and exploring the treasure trove of fresh produce was just the beginning.

In my box was a Cicchetti menu.

These Venetian tapas dishes included a Shropshire Bavette of beef, mushroom arancini and Prawns alla Bursara.

Something for everyone. Having explored the produce, it’s time to start the prep.

Clear instructions are divided up in to ‘plan and prep,’ which is completed in advance, before your guests arrive. Then ‘cook and serve’ tasks which are done immediately before sitting down to eat.

Scott explained that the doing is as important as the consuming and getting stuck in is certainly a fun part of the experience. With the ingredients laid out, saucepans ready to be filled and a clear plan for timings explained it made the slicing, dicing and peeling much more SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

enjoyable. Just make sure you don’t finish off the wine pairing before your guests arrive. Or is that chef ’s prerogative?

The produce is portioned according to your menu and number of diners so food waste is minimal. This is an important sustainability credential, with food waste a key contributor to global carbon emissions keeping it in check is good for the planet as well as your bank balance.

The risotto rice and breadcrumbs were weighed out and herbs bunched up.

Even the saffron arrived with the perfect number of strands in a little pot waiting to be added to a bubbling sauce.

Ever conscious of food miles, Jess and Scott source as much produce and as many ingredients from as near their North Shropshire base as possible.

Much of the beef used is locally sourced ex-dairy animals. This requires attentive cooking but provides bags of flavour. For anything that can’t be grown or reared locally there remains a focus on sustainability and quality, fish comes from UK-based day boats for example.

The recipe boxes are available to order online at www.hostspantry.com This year you will be able to catch Jess and Scott in person at food festivals and other events around the county.

You will be able to find out about their new and existing menus, which might just include produce from their market garden.

65

DO TRY THIS AT HOME

LINGUINI VONGOLE Ingredients:

350g dried linguine 1kg live palourde clams 3 ripe plum tomatoes 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 red chilli, seeds and pith removed and finely chopped 200g dry white wine Sea salt To finish: 10g flat-leaf parsley

Method:

The cooler winter months are all about hearty food.

And Michelin-starred chef Paul Foster has published a dazzling collection of recipes in his third book, How To Cook Pasta Properly.

Paul went on a voyage to Italy to learn from pasta masters, who taught him techniques that had been passed down over the generations.

That allowed Paul to create a stunning new book, which features dishes from different parts of Italy.

The book is the third in a series by Paul, who is the chef-patron of Salt, a restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon, which holds a Michelin star.

Paul said: “How To Cook Pasta Properly is fully focused on stepby-step instruction, teaching real skills and proper techniques to help build a firm foundation – a#er all, no building stands tall without a solid foundation.

“Cooking properly is a cra#, and all cra#s take time to master. I hope to build this series of books into a platform that you can trust and grow with as a cook.

“It is predominantly about pasta, so the main theme is naturally Italian, but this book isn’t an Italian cookbook. I have also included a rice and grain section including recipes with worldwide influences as these dishes fit well with the overall concept.”

Here’s a selection of recipes from Paul’s new book.

66

Place the clams in a large bowl and run cold water over them. Leave to sit in the water for at least an hour in the fridge.

Bring a small pan of water to the boil. The pan must be big enough to fit the tomatoes comfortably. Prepare a bowl of iced water.

With a small knife remove the eye of the tomatoes. When the water is boiling, drop the tomatoes in for 10 seconds, then drop them straight into the iced water to stop the cooking process.

Remove the skins of the tomato, then cut into quarters, remove the seeds, dice the flesh into 1cm pieces and reserve until needed.

Bring a large pan of boiling salted water to the boil. Add the linguini and cook until just al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large pan heat the olive oil gently, then add the chilli and garlic and cook without colouring.

Carefully drain the clams and remove any that aren’t tightly closed. Add the clams to

the pan with the garlic and chilli then pour in the white wine, cover with a tightly fitting lid and turn up the heat.

Finely shred the parsley and keep to one side.

When the clams are wide open (about two minutes) remove the lid and discard any that are still closed.

Drain the pasta and add to the clams, mix well and season to taste with salt.

To finish: Stir in the parsley and serve immediately in warm bowls.

CHESTNUT FARFALLE WITH CONFIT DUCK This is a perfect autumn or winter dish when you want rich comfort flavours without it being too heavy on the palate.

It has all the depth of flavour you want for a cold evening while retaining a lightness as it doesn’t have a rich coating sauce.

Ingredients:

Confit Duck: 2 duck legs 50g Maldon sea salt 3 star anise 2 sticks cinnamon 1 tsp Szechuan pepper 400g duck fat 5 sprigs thyme 2 cloves garlic Crackling and Almonds: Reserved duck skin 50g Marcona almonds, peeled Sea salt

Pasta: 480g fresh chestnut farfalle 50g duck fat, reserved from the confit 1 banana shallot, peeled and finely diced 10 needles rosemary, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, grated 1 lemon 10g flat-leaf parsley, finely shredded 10g chives, finely chopped Salt and pepper

Method:

Confit duck: Mix the sea salt with the star anise, cinnamon and Szechuan pepper.

Sprinkle half of the salt mix into a deep tray and place the duck legs on top. Cover with the remaining salt, clingfilm and refrigerate overnight (or for at least eight hours).

Remove the duck legs from the salt and wash in cold water to remove any excess.

Drain and pat the duck legs dry with kitchen paper.

Pre-heat your oven to 110°C. Line a deep FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

GARGANELLI, CEP RAGU, BLACK TRUFFLE Ingredients:

Cep Ragu: 750g ceps (frozen are best) 2 tbsp olive oil 50g butter 2 banana shallot, finely diced 1 clove garlic, grated 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped 2 tbsp sherry vinegar 250g Madeira 200g brown chicken stock Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp soy sauce Salt and pepper Pasta: 300g fresh egg garganelli 50g cordyceps 20g sunflower oil 30g butter 40g Parmesan To finish: 10g black truffle Extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper

Method:

Cep Ragu: If using frozen ceps defrost them fully, squeeze out the excess moisture and reserve.

Dice the ceps and sauté them in the olive oil and butter until golden. Season with sea salt.

Add the shallot, garlic, and thyme to the mushrooms and cook for two minutes.

Add the sherry vinegar and Madeira to the pan, and reduce the liquid quickly to almost

nothing. Add the chicken stock and reduce by half. Add the lemon and zest, Dijon mustard and soy sauce.

Simmer until the consistency is like risotto, season to taste and decant into containers to chill until needed.

Pasta: Shallow fry the cordyceps in sunflower oil until crisp, drain on kitchen paper and season with sea salt.

Gently heat up 200g of the cep ragù.

Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil

roasting tray with greaseproof paper. Put the duck legs into the tray, cover with the duck fat then add the thyme and garlic.

Cover with another piece of greaseproof paper, and cover tightly with foil.

Place into the oven and cook for around four hours until the meat is just cooked.

Insert a small sharp knife into the centre to check for tenderness and that the meat coming away from the bone.

Once cooked, remove the duck from the fat and allow to cool. Retain the duck fat. When the duck is cool, remove the skin and set aside. Pick the meat from the bone and set aside.

Crackling and almonds: Put the reserved duck skin into a frying pan skin-side down.

Heat gently until the skin is golden and crisp.

Drain on kitchen paper and season with sea salt and allow to cool. When cool, cut the duck skin into small strips and set aside.

Spread the almonds on a baking tray and

bake at 160°C for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden.

Season with sea salt and allow to cool, then cut the almonds in half and set aside.

Pasta: Place a large pot of salted water on to boil. Cook the farfalle for two to three minutes until al dente, drain and reserve some of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat the duck fat in a wide pan, add the shallot and rosemary and sweat over a medium heat. Add the garlic and sweat without colouring for two to three minutes.

Add the confit duck to the pan and warm through gently. Gently stir in the farfalle, grate in a quarter of the lemon zest and squeeze in a quarter of the lemon juice, add the parsley and chives.

Season to taste, adding a spoonful of pasta water to loosen if necessary.

To finish: Spoon the pasta into warm bowls, top with the almonds and crackling, and serve hot.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

and cook the garganelli in salted boiling water for two to three minutes until al dente. Drain, retaining a little of the pasta water. Combine the pasta with the ragù, add the butter and grate in the Parmesan.

Mix well, adding a spoonful of pasta water to loosen if needed.

To finish: Season to taste and spoon the garganelli onto warm plates. Top with the cordyceps, drizzle with the oil, and grate over the truffle. Serve straight away.

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FOOD REVIEW:

SERVING UP THE BEST – BY GEORGE! ANDY RICHARDSON SAYS FOOD AT THE GEORGE, IN LUDLOW, IS LIKE WINNING THE GOOD VALUE LOTTERY

I

t was one of the most ambitious openings of last year.

The George, in Ludlow, has been transformed into a light, bright, and breezy space that showcases great quality food, offers a welcoming space for drinkers, and provides a great meeting place for locals.

The question is, after an impressive start, is it now firing on all cylinders?

Does The George have what it takes to be a lasting success or, metaphorically speaking, is it a flash in the pan?

The answer is simple. It’s here to stay.

The George has been the most impressive new addition to Shropshire’s dining scene of the year. It might not offer the greatest gastronomic thrills – there are other, accolade-chasing restaurants within walking distance that will offer sublime food for a special occasion.

Yet great food isn’t just about a swish of this, a foam of that, or a quenelle of the other. It’s about offering great ingredients, sympathetically cooked, and bringing fabulous flavours together on the plate.

It’s about creating a brilliant environment and favourable atmosphere so people can relax and have a great afternoon or evening. And it’s about being fed at an affordable price where people go away feeling as though they’ve had a great time, without needing to remortgage their home.

And on all fronts, The George is exceptional. The menu covers all bases. The space is cool, contemporary, and on-trend. The staff are a delight – they enhance the offering and add value, providing warm smiles, genuine engagement, and a touch of class. Service is polished and high class. The money that the venue has presumably spent on training has been well spent and front of house workers are keen to assist and welcome all-comers.

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And then there’s the food. It’s delicious. It’s also served in portions that would make a giant feel over-full, a weight-lifter imagine he’s – or she’s – eaten enough for five, or a dieter to throw the towel in and embrace a larger size.

Those looking for a three-course lunch ought to look elsewhere, or embrace their inner XXXL. Eating at The George is like winning the good-value lottery. There are parts of Shropshire where such portions are described as being ‘farmer’s sizes’.

They are, and then some.

Here’s the thing. Go back a generation and Ludlow had it all. There were Michelin stars. There were brilliant independent producers. And there were great, mid-priced restaurants run by savvy restaurateurs who simultaneously knew how to make a decent profit while also putting a smile on customers’ faces.

Ludlow still smashes it when it comes to great producers, excellent retailers,

and thoroughly enjoyable mid-priced restaurants that offer great food at valuefor-money prices.

The George, in many ways, is the embodiment of that ethos.

Its specials menu is magnificent and combines recognisable dishes that people love to eat with others that offer adventures into different gastronomic cultures. So a cauliflower and cheese soup – the perfect bowl of food for cold winter days – features alongside a delicious assemblage of rosso prawns with celeriac puree and an apple and fennel salad.

Pizza of the day – in our case, mushroom, chicken, and pancetta – is served as well as a delicous-sounding pasticio, or, in more detail, a Greek pasta bake, topped with cheese sauce, a mini pitta bread, and a feta salad.

The fish of the day features a panroasted cod wrapped in pancetta and served with Meditteraean vegetables, new FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

potatoes, tomato sauce, and more of those lovely rosso prawns.

The regular menu is just as impressive. A chorizo Scotch egg is soft-boiled and free range, providing a delicious golden yolk, and comes alongside a rocket and basil pesto, and rocket leaves to garnish.

Cauliflower is harissa-glazed, to bring out the earthy, wintery flavours, before being served with a red pepper and garlic hummus, and crispy onions. Good quality mozzarella di bufala is served with garlic and basil marinated Marazanino tomatoes, torn basil and olive oil.

The mains read like a list of dishes that all of us secretly crave: brilliant burgers, a bowl of chunky chips, a bacon and cheddar house burger, or gammon, egg and chips – because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like that stuff?

We opted for the big guns: cumberland sausage and mash, with green SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

beans, peas, mashed potato – and there was sooooo much mashed potato – and a caramelised onion gravy.

My partner ate porchetta, comprising rolled belly pork with fennel, rosemary and sea salt, thyme-roasted carrots, tenderstem broccoli, and more of that fabulously buttery, creamy mashed potato.

A portion of apple sauce and gravy finished that dish.

Both were a delight – and, at £14 and £17.50 respectively – were as cheap as chips. Well, nearly. Chips are actually £5.50, or £6.50 if you have the Lebanese version, but I digress.

The bangers were great. Well seasoned, fat, pork sausages have plenty of flavour and were sufficient for two.

The mash was great, velvet-ey, and a little bit naughty, with oodles of butter.

The gravy was nourishing and flavoursome. It was just so damn B.I.G. The porchetta was similarly

impressive. Slow-cooked, so the fat had rendered through the meat, and filled with the flavours of fennel, rosemary and sea salt, it was magnificent.

As were the accompaniments. The thyme-roasted carrots were earthy and sweet, the tenderstem broccoli was cooked al dentre while the apple sauce was sweet and the gravy just right.

We’d planned on staying for dessert, but it was a struggle to get through the two mains – we didn’t – and so bills were paid and it was time to go.

We’d seen enough, however, to know that The George will be around for a long, long time, to know that the management team and investors have backed the right horse, and to know that the staff working in the kitchen and front of house are all pulling in the right direction.

It’s great to write about a success story – and that’s exactly what The George is rapidly becoming.

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

THE POWER OF THE LABEL TANNERS’ ROBERT BOUTFLOWER LOOKS AT THE POWER OF A WINE BRAND.

T

he power of the brand is a curious thing in the world of wine. Widespread appreciation of wine (as opposed to being enjoyed from his lordship’s cellar at dinner) has only really taken off in the past 50 or so years.

Before the early 1970s most people drank beers, spirits or cocktails as a routine drink, which means that for a wide section of the drinking public, and certainly the recent retirees, the ‘wine names’ of five decades ago are still the most recognisable.

I say ‘wine names’ because many early imports that got into wider circulation, through off-licences, wine shops and restaurants, are still remembered by their somewhat generic titles.

Wines labelled Chablis, Châteauneufdu-Pape and Rioja all came (and still come) from a specific area or region in Europe yet could have been imported from a myriad of producers.

With a few mass-market exceptions such as Mateus, Harvey’s Bristol Cream or Blue Nun, which are true brand names, and possibly the top clarets such as Château Lafite, wines were recognised principally by the region of origin and those names are still very familiar.

As technologies for wine improved across the world in the 1980s, we saw the rise of the grape name as an additional

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‘brand’ for wine. Australia led the way with their Chardonnay (which is the constituent grape of Chablis but that is never put on the bottle due to French labelling laws) and ubiquitous Shiraz.

Bulgarian Merlot cashed in too, and the path was laid for a proliferation of recognisable ‘wine names’ attached to recognisable wine merchants – as ownlabels!

Tanners Claret was one of the first own-label clarets to emerge onto the market, it still is ‘famously juicy’, and 2022 saw us celebrating its 50th birthday.

Interestingly a peek into the archive shows that Sainsbury’s very recognisable

yellow-and-brown livery was splashed all over their biscuits and tins of tuna in the early seventies, but own-label supermarket wine took maybe another five years to hit the shelves. Tanners Claret proudly led the way, and a succession of other merchants have since taken up the baton, but Shropshire can lay claim to one of the originals, and probably the best!

After the success of Tanners Claret, our eyes turned to Champagne. The story here is a little different, as the branding and marketing of top champagne houses has always been very strong, something they don’t want to dilute by supplying ‘other’ brands like Tanners. Most ownlabel champagnes therefore come from smaller, less well-known makers. Tanners work with an outstanding producer in Mardeuil, close to the Champagne heartland of Epernay. These own labels offer outstanding value: you don’t pay for those big marketing campaigns to keep the big brands visibility up, yet less visible Champagne houses make excellent wines that develop loyal followings.

Since the birth of these, many more have followed suit and we can safely say that for many companies their own range is incredibly important to customers who, rightly, see this area as being the best place to find quality and value from their local supplier.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

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71

WINTER WARMERS THESE TOP DROPS WILL HELP TO DISPERSE THE WINTRY CHILL, SAYS SAM WYLIE-HARRIS.

I

t’s the dreariest time of the year – and taking comfort in a glass of red ramps up your mood, with winter warmers to cosy up with.

Something smooth and easy-going which feels right at home with comfort food, and has enough oomph to stand shoulder to shoulder with a beef and red wine casserole, sausage and mash pie or spicy curry.

Here’s what has the depth of fruit to make your meal shine, and take the chill out of the air...

1. Waitrose Argentinian Malbec 2022, Argentina, £6.99, Waitrose You can’t beat a fragrant malbec with its perfumed nose of violets and roses to stir the senses, with a core of blackberry and plummy fruit, fine-grained tannins and hint of oak. This big-value malbec will enrich your cottage pie.

2. Cramele Recas Paparuda Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Romania, £7.99, Adnams A crowd-pleasing cab sav that’s light

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on its feet, and bursting with well-defined blackberry flavours to tease the taste buds.

Enticing hints of raspberry come into play with hints of wild berries closing the finish. One for pan-fried gammon steak and chips.

3. Château de Caraguilhes Corbières 2021, South of France, £11.99, Waitrose A rustic red to have on your radar.

Concentrated flavours of spiced berry fruits, cassis and peppered note meld seamlessly together and keep you coming back for more. One for homemade French cassoulet (sausage and beans).

4. Journey’s End ‘The Steam Train’ Merlot 2022, Western Cape, South Africa, £12.99 (£9.99 Mix Six), Majestic A smooth merlot with a lifted nose and plush, plummy fruits galore in a dense, deliciously drinkable style, with juicy black cherries shaping the long, lingering finish. Versatile and ebullient, this South African gem works like a

dream with beef lasagne or practically anything you fancy.

5. Errazuriz Max Carménère 2020, Chile, £13, Tesco Chile’s signature grape really comes into its own this time of year. Beautifully smooth, soft and round, hints of paprika add complexity to the red and black fruits with refined tannins on the finish. A wine you want to drink all winter long, especially when treating yourself to a Thai green curry.

6. Twelve Giants Merlot Paper Bottle 2022, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain, £13.99, Laithwaites Uplifting layers of juicy, ripe fruits are waiting to unfold in this sun-kissed red to inspire an early spring getaway, this Spanish beauty is bursting with lush red berries, jammy plums and soft spice. A joyous glass, the winemaker suggests pairing it with Manchego cheese; otherwise why not try it with a rich, meaty paella?

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

WALK

HAVEN OF BEAUTY ANDY RICHARDSON EXPLORES THE QUARRY, SHROPSHIRE’S MOST ACCESSIBLE BEAUTY SPOT

T

he Quarry Park is a 14-minute walk from Shrewsbury Railway Station. It is one of Shropshire’s most accessible and prettiest

spots.

A 29-acre parkland, encircled by the majestic loop of the river Severn, The Quarry has been Shrewsbury’s most important site for recreation since the 16th century. It still provides the perfect place to relax, enjoy walks, picnic, fish along the banks of the River Severn, or just let off steam.

At the heart of the Quarry lies the Dingle. A floral masterpiece cultivated by world-renowned gardener Percy Thrower, who served as Parks Superintendent for 28 years. It’s a delightful sunken garden landscaped with alpine borders, brilliant bedding plants, shrubbery and charming water features.

You can grab a coffee on your way to the Quarry or refuel in one of the town’s pubs and restaurants before heading back to the station.

West Midlands Railway offer trains every hour from Birmingham New Street.

It’s the best eco-friendly and budgetfriendly way to explore Shropshire.

The Quarry is the main recreational park in Shrewsbury, created in 1719 and SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

and is open to the general public 24 hours a day throughout the year, including most public holidays. The facility is maintained to the high standards required for such a high-profile area. The River Severn runs through the parkland.

The Quarry is used for various events throughout the year, including the wellknown annual Shrewsbury Flower Show.

It has also been used as a live music venue with the likes of Jools Holland, Will Young, and the Sugababes all gracing the stage.

The Quarry complex comprises amenity grass areas, children’s play area, swimming baths, paddling pool, hedges, shrub bed areas, feature ornamental rose beds, seasonal tubs, hanging baskets, memorial seats, plaques, specimen trees

and public conveniences. For two days each August, The Quarry comes alive with more than three million blooms, as the park hosts flower show. There is also show jumping, arena entertainment and top military bands, as well as a spectacular firework display.

There are plenty of other areas of interest. The Kingsland Toll Bridge was opened in 1882 by the Kingsland Bridge Company. Shrewsbury School also moved to Kingsland in this year, helping the area to establish itself as a wealthy Victorian suburb.

The bandstand was restored to its former glory in 2003 and officially opened for the 2004 Shrewsbury Flower Show.

It provides an attractive venue for small musical events.

The Dingle started out life as a wet quarry providing a poor quality red sandstone which was the main source of the town’s building stone. The gardenesque design you now see was created by the Shropshire Horticultural Society between 1875 and 1879. The design combines irregular forms, winding paths and an intimate scale.

The The Dingle received a Horticultural Excellence Award from Heart of England in Bloom in 2012 and 2013.

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FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

ALED WALKING ON AIR WITH SUCCESS ANDY RICHARDSON TALKS TO THE SINGER, PRESENTER AND WEST END STAR, WHO AS A BOY SHOT TO FAME WITH THE SNOWMAN, ABOUT HIS LIFE AND HIS NEW ONE%MAN SHOW

H

e’s been ever-present in our lives for more than 40 years. Aled Jones burst onto the scene and enjoyed remarkable success as a boy singer, finding a permanent place in all our Christmases with his smash hit, Walking In The Air. He was the boy treble who captivated the world with his angelic voice. Selling over seven million albums, Aled was the original, classical crossover star. His recording from the animated film The Snowman, firmly established him as a household name and he has become an integral part of the nation’s festivities.

Equally at home on the classical stage, or starring in musical theatre productions in London West End, his credits include lead roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. As a singer, Aled is in demand globally and has performed in the world’s most iconic venues, from London’s Royal Albert Hall to the Sydney Opera House.

A favourite with the royal family, he even gave a private performance to King Charles III in Kensington Palace.

He is an award-winning television broadcaster and radio presenter who’s interviewed hundreds of A-List stars over the years. He heads up BBC’s Songs of Praise and his own Saturday and Sunday morning shows on Classic FM. Now, after 40 years in the business, he’s looking back on a remarkable career with a one-man show, that will feature never-before-heard music, tales from the decades and for the first time, his story told in his own words. It’s time to come Full Circle.

Full Circle is the title of both his new book, out in March, and his new tour, which will celebrate his life. The tour reaches Lichfield’s Garrick Theatre on April 15, when fans can enjoy that unmistakeable voice, as well as amusinglytold stories. He’ll return to the region in October to play Cannock’s Prince of Wales on October 12, Hereford Courtyard on October 18, and Wrexham’s William Aston Hall, on October 24, before ending the year at Dudley Town Hall on November 21.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Having recently been to No 1 on the Classical charts with his latest album, One Voice, which paired boy-Aled with man-Aled, he’s looking forward to telling his story.

“The idea for One Voice – the original record, came from going home, to Wales.

My dad told me casually, over dinner that I had a couple of records in the airing cupboard. I must say that my initial reaction to this was to take away his glass of wine and send him to bed! He was right though! There, in between my old

socks and pants was an old DAT (digital audio tape) and on it was twelve folk songs from Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland. My voice had broken before it could be released and so the powers that be at Virgin Records had given the master copy to my dad, with the advice to make sure the tape was kept dry at all times.

So my dad, being an engineer, decided to keep it in the airing cupboard. What a genius!

“And that’s what the One Voice project has been all about. It’s about

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looking back while looking forward. It’s about taking stock, while enjoying the present. It’s about reflection and thanks and expressing my gratitude and respect to those who’ve helped me along the way.

It’s about making sense of the journey I’ve been on, since those very early days as a chorister at Bangor Cathedral. Most of all, it’s a letter of deep thanks to my family; to my dear mother and father, to my wife, and to my kids.”

Aled’s achieved that rarest of feats – he’s somehow managed to sustain a level of success across four decades. There are plenty who enjoy fame as kids, or as stars on talent shows, but they’re frequently here-today and gone-tomorrow. Aled has broken that mould.

Having enjoyed a remarkable four years as a kid, during which he became the most interviewed guest on TV’s Wogan talk show, forming a close bond with the ace BBC presenter, he forged a new career. He became a star in the West End, in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Joseph, while teaming up with Lorraine, as cohost on ITV’s Daybreak.

“I’ve always felt lucky, having the career I have, but as I get older, I feel that I am so honoured to be living this life. I love what I do for a living. I have been so fortunate to be a part of people’s lives for so many years. In fact, I feel almost teary when I think about it.”

The fun part came when he was hanging out with royalty and singing in the Royal Albert Hall, year after year, as a boy.

“It felt like being the heavyweight boxing champion of the world and until 76

you get knocked out it’s great. I knew that my boyhood was to be short-lived but for those four years I crammed in as much as I could. Maximum singing and maximum fun! The fun bit was down to my mum and dad, really. When I was back at school, it was interesting, to say the least!”

His relationship with the royal family has endured over many years. He shared the same hairdresser as Princess Diana and was invited to sing for Charles and Di while still a boy.

“The highlight was the private performance for Prince Charles and Princess Diana in their home in Kensington Palace. The Palace rang my dad at work and my dad put the phone down thinking it was someone from his work playing a practical joke. Then an equerry rang back and said the call was for real!

“I sang for an hour, whatever songs

they wanted.” And then there was the performance at the celebrity wedding of the year, when Bob Geldof married Paula Yates and rock royalty descended. Aled was photographed next to David Bowie, before following the members of Spandau Ballet around for the day, in case they wanted him to join.

“The wedding was utterly beautiful.

I remember standing with Bob before he went into the church. He wanted everything to be just perfect. I sang my songs, and I remember looking into the congregation and seeing a sea of famous faces all smiling enjoying the music.

“Then there was massive fireworks display and a free bar, with the party going on into the early hours. As you can imagine the live band at the party was out of this world.

“Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Lulu etc all sharing the mic. I didn’t sing then!

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

It was all quite incredible. My dad was an engineer at the time and my mum was a primary school teacher and there we were, the three of us, rubbing shoulders with A-List celebrities. My parents had the time of their lives because it was so incredible. It was the most extravagant and spectacular thing I’d ever witnessed.

Bob and Paula were so kind to me that day and at subsequent meetings too. I was honoured to sing on their big day.”

He sang for Leonard Bernstein, a man he likens to Mozart, and became great friends with Judy Dench. He played alongside Julie Andrews, and won an Ivor Novello, an Emmy, and an MBE – not that he can remember where any of those are. And then he became one of the nation’s best and most loved interviewers and presenters – so much so that Michael Parkinson told him there was nobody else better, well, apart from himself.

One of the best moments was working with Julie Andrews: “There’s SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

a video of Julie Andrews and me I singing Edelweiss and at the end, we put our heads together and she gives me a kiss. That was probably the most overwhelming thing I’ve ever done.

“For me, she’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest, film stars of my generation.

“Growing up, I Ioved those films, like Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music. A brilliant actress with a sublime voice.

“To get the invitation to interview Julie Andrews on her tour was just a dream come true. It was a pinch-me moment. Julie was so lovely to me. She wrote me a hand-written letter at the end of the tour. I have it framed in my office.

“Working with her is one of the highlights of my career. It wasn’t just that we performed together onstage. It was also the time we spent backstage.

“She had a wonderful team around her of genuine people who’d been around her for years and years and for them to

allow me to get into that inner sanctum was very special.

“I was completely transported.

I was singing Edelweiss with Dame Julie Andrews. It doesn’t get any better than that. It was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”

And now he’s come Full Circle, hitting the road and sharing his stories.

Full tour details are available at www. officialaledjones.com/

PAGE 76, FROM TOP: Aled singing with Russell Watson; on his Daybreak show with Kate Garraway and as a 12-year-old.

ABOVE: Aled relaxing at home with his photographs from his career.

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ANTIQUES COMMERCIAL FEATURE

LOCAL LINKS SEE CHINA SALES SOAR

H

alls Fine Art Auctioneers had a bumper end to 2023 with the Fine Art, Antiques & Jewellery sale, totalling over £250,000 on December 6.

A component of this sale was part two of the Ivor Southorn Collection of Coalport, which generated much local and overseas interest. Here in Shropshire, we are fortunate to be blessed with a rich production history and a wide range of factories which produced items locally, of which Coalport was just one example.

The first identifiable porcelain factory, Caughley or the ‘Salopian’ Manufactory, was set up by Thomas Turner in around 1775. Turner’s training in Worcester and apprenticeships under the likes of master engraver Robert Hancock meant that he learnt how to engrave designs on copper plates and transfer them to porcelain.

These transfer-printed wares formed much of the factory’s output, which saw much success.

A ‘Salopian China Warehouse’ was set up in London in 1783 as a retail output for the goods they produced, and by 1793, the factory had around a hundred workers.

By 1799, Turner’s health had deteriorated, and the factory’s lease and stock were sold to John Rose, Richard Rose and Edward Blakeway (former mayor of Shrewsbury).

John Rose was no stranger to the porcelain work and had previously opened a porcelain factory on the banks of the River Severn at Coalport around 1796-7.

There is evidence of him using prints and moulds from the Caughley factory, and he continued to run both sites until around 1815 when he moved all of his production to the Coalport site.

This factory was deliberately situated so that coal for its kilns could be delivered by tub-boat canal, and the much-needed supply of china clay could come from Cornwall by the river. He was by no means the first to capitalise on this beneficial location, for there is evidence of ceramic production in and around the Ironbridge dating back to Roman times.

After the introduction of tobacco

by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late sixteenth century, pipe smoking became fashionable, and the small town of Broseley became famous for clay pipe manufacturing.

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An important Coalport dessert centre dish, from the Nicholas I Service, circa 1845 – sold for £3,800

A Coalport ornamental jardiniere, circa 1855-60 – sold for £550

A rare Caughley polychrome mug, circa 1785-90 – sold for £750

Nevertheless, John Rose’s careful planning and business acumen meant that Coalport quickly benefited from becoming one of the most prestigious manufacturers alongside Worcester and Wedgwood. This site was so successful that it was used until the factory moved to Stoke-on-Trent in 1926. The employment of noted artists, such as William Billingsley, as chief painter, supported his success.

By 1820, John Rose received the Society of Arts gold medal for his ‘feldspar’ porcelain with an improved lead-free glaze. By the 1850s, employment at the factory had risen to 500 workers.

In 1853, the Coalbrookdale Literary and Scientific Institute was set up, followed in 1856 by the Coalbrookdale School of Art. Many of the school’s students successfully gained employment within the region’s china and tilemaking industries. The Coalport factory employed artists from the school to

paint individual pieces or create original designs. Notable successes for the factory from the mid-19th century include a specially commissioned dessert service

by Queen Victoria as a gift for Nicholas I and successful showings at various World Exhibitions.

This enduring fascination has not diminished, and there is still much interest in Coalport today, particularly in those pieces produced before their move to Stoke-on-Trent.

Looking forward to 2024, Halls would love to see more items with a local connection, whether Jackfield art pottery, Maw & Co tiles or chargers, Coalbrookdale ironworks or another substantial collection of Coalport porcelain; our auction records show that demand is high.

To get in touch or discuss consigning items for future sales, please get in touch with Caroline Dennard at 01743 450 750 or carolined@hallsgb.com FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

DISCOVER THE TRUE VALUE OF YOUR POSSESSIONS IN 2024 Forthcoming Specialist Valuation Events at our Shrewsbury Salerooms: 29th Jan - Jewellery, Silver & Watches 1st Feb - Stamps 5th Feb - Books, Manuscripts & Autographs 9th Feb - Ceramics & Glassware 19th Feb - Asian Art

To book your appointment:

01743 450 700 #$%,.-(+,!!)"0&/*'

SOLD £11,000

Namikawa Yasuyuki: A Japanese cloisonne vase, Meiji era, 17cm high

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We’d love for you to feel at home in our home: Call: 01952 743 159 Visit: Roden, Telford, TF6 6BH WWW.RODENHALL .CARE

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Clockwise, from the top: An oak food hutch with heart motif; a pair of silver frames with heart motif; a sampler; a heart-shaped diamond brooch; a heartshaped brooch pendant; a silver tankard with heart motif; a marriage spoon with heart.

HEART AND SOUL CHRISTINA TREVANION, MANAGING PARTNER AND FOUNDER, TREVANION AUCTIONEERS AND VALUERS, WRITES ABOUT THE ENDURING APPEAL OF LOVE…

T

he use of a heart-shaped motif is something that we frequently see in the antiques industry whether carved into the back of a chair, as a diamond-set brooch or engraved on a silver box, and it feels that February is a very opportune time to discuss this is often used symbol.

Love hearts have been part of our cultural and emotional language since the 14th century at least, a subtle symbol of love often associated with courting rituals, marriage or anniversary gifts, and a physical reminder of the love between two individuals.

An 18th century oak food cupboard might not seem like the most romantic of gifts, and yet we were delighted to see a plethora (I would like to think the collective noun for hearts is a pound or a throb?) of hearts carved into an example we sold recently at Trevanion Auctioneers and Valuers. The doors were carved with the most intricate arrangement of heart panels, which almost resembled a row of love spoons lined up together. Our amorous bidders certainly agreed and it quickly soared above its pre-sale estimate 80

before selling to a collector for £3,800.

Hearts are often associated with jewellery and are eternally popular in the saleroom, we see them regularly in broches, rings, necklaces and earrings and they always command a premium purely for their romantic connotations.

Late last year a beautiful Victorian diamond-set heart pendant sold for £2,800 and was destined to become a Valentine’s gift for a lucky lady, as happens with many other examples of Victorian sentimental jewellery.

We often see silver tankards from the 18th century with heart-shaped terminals, which were given as marriage gifts, often with a pair of engraved initials and crests to commemorate a particular union.

We saw a particularly lovely example dated to 1791 by renowned silversmith Peter and Ann Bateman sell for £850 at a recent auction with hearts on both the base of the handle and the thumbpiece.

Hearts don’t have to symbolise romantic love, one of the most noticeable places to finds hearts is on a sampler symbolising familial love. Often worked by young girls to practise the needlework

techniques necessary to decorate clothing, tapestries, fire screens and bed linens that they would need in the future to adorn their home, these samplers are a wonderful insight into the lives and loves of the people that created them.

Scattered across trinket boxes, porcelain and furniture, embraced by the arts and crafts artisans of the early 20th century, woven into fabrics, silver ware and pewter to symbolise purity and simplicity, the heart motif has an enduring appeal that you simply cannot ignore – hearts are as loved and as meaningful now as they were back in the 14th century.

Whether it be a symbol of friendship, devotion or affection we find that love never dies in the saleroom – it is one of the most powerful, instantly recognisable and significant symbols and will continue its enduring appeal to our bidders for long into the future.

Trevanion Auctioneers & Valuers next Fine Art & Antique auction will be held on Wednesday, February 14. Public viewing for this auction will be held on Monday, February 12 and Tuesday, February 13, from 9.30am to 5pm.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

EDUCATION

SCHOOL MARKING A LANDMARK YEAR

A

n ambitious new series of events is to be launched in Shropshire this year to celebrate and empower women as part of a landmark anniversary at one of the county’s leading independent schools.

High-profile speakers, social events, business panels, career workshops and networking sessions will all be included in a packed calendar of events planned for a year-long initiative honouring the Women of Wrekin.

The project is to be officially launched on March 7, in time for International Women’s Day, as Shropshire’s Wrekin College kicks off the countdown to 50 years of girls at Wrekin in 2025.

Events will be open to the wider community while the scheme also hopes to bring back the largest number of Wrekin female alumnae to have ever gathered together at the school.

The Wrekin Foundation, a charity connected to the school, will lead the venture as it looks to create a lasting legacy from 50 years of being fully coeducational. The first female pupils to join Wrekin in 1975 were dubbed the ‘magnificent seven’ and that number has grown over the years to the full coeducation the school enjoys today.

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The ‘Magnificent Seven’ at Wrekin College

Andy Nicoll, Wrekin Foundation Director, said the school was very proud of its continued commitment to empowering girls and nurturing the role models of tomorrow.

“Over the last five decades the school has not only embraced being co-ed but has made significant investments and key strategic changes to be a positive and forward-thinking environment for girls.

“Sport for girls has evolved to be recognised on both the regional and national stage with Wrekin now a designated pathway school for playing netball at a national level while our Business School has welcomed some

of UK’s most successful female leaders as guest speakers and mentors in other employability initiatives held at the school.

“Investments included the Business School alongside a new Music School, Astroturf and dance studio to broaden the opportunities for all pupils across various disciplines.

“It was important for us to pay tribute to all that has been achieved but also to make that 50 years count by using it as a platform to create something that would support and encourage more girls and women in the wider community to feel both ambitious and confident in their choices and to maximise the career and other opportunities available to them.

“This series of events will provide support, inspiration, skills, advice, industry connections and the opportunity to just get together with others to celebrate the amazing women in our community and beyond.”

Those interested are being encouraged to Save the Date for a lavish evening event on March 7 with further details to be released shortly.

To find out more visit the website at www.wrekinconnect.co.uk/events or call the Development Office on 01952 265609.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Make Herefordshire, Ludlow & North Shropshire College (HLNSC) your next step.

With five colleges across the region, and over 300 courses to choose from, including A Levels, vocational courses, apprenticeships and higher education, we’ve got something for everyone!

Ludlow Sixth Form College boasts a 98.9% pass rate and many of our students go on to achieve outstanding results at the country’s best universities.

Or you might find what you need at one of our other colleges: Herefordshire College

North Shropshire College

Land-Based Colleges: Holme Lacy and Walford

Easily commutable from Ludlow, Herefordshire College is close to the town centre and transport links. It offers a wide range of education and training options, from foundation studies through to degree level courses, apprenticeships, work-based training and more.

Our Oswestry-based college has a great choice of vocational courses delivered in professional environments with top-of-therange facilities including a professional teaching restaurant, hair and beauty salons and more. We’ll be opening new plumbing and electrical workshops, beauty salons and a science lab later this year.

Interested in a career in agriculture? Forestry?

Blacksmithing? Horse riding or eventing? Animal care? Our two land-based campuses, Holme Lacy College near Hereford, and Walford College in North Shropshire, boast large arable, dairy, beef and sheep training farms, alongside equestrian centres and collections of domestic and exotic animals and more.

Browse our courses and apprenticeships on our website hlnsc.ac.uk

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Enjoy a tour of our school, hear from staff and pupils, and ask any questions you may have about the admissions process.

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SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Wellington, Shropshire TF1 3BH Registered Charity No. 528417

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Sarah Davies and Simon Whitehouse, with staff and students, at the opening of the new £430,000 Clinical Skills Centre at Telford College campus

COLLEGE TEES UP NHS PARTNERSHIP TELFORD COLLEGE IS BEING HELD UP AS A NATIONAL EXAMPLE OF HOW NEW T LEVEL QUALIFICATIONS CAN HELP TO PLUG SKILLS GAPS IN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SECTOR. CARL JONES DISCOVERED MORE ABOUT THE NEW EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE.

W

hen the Government first announced plans to launch T Levels as a vocational alternative to A-levels, Telford College wasted no time swinging into action – and the NHS was its first port of call.

The college had first-hand experience of the recruitment challenges across the health and social care sector, thanks to key members of staff with working experience in the NHS. The team could see how T Levels had the potential to help plug some serious skills shortage in hospitals and social care services – but they also knew that bringing the two together would present huge bureaucratic obstacles.

They were right. It took two years to set up a system for securing T Level placements in the local NHS. But now, thanks to those many months of groundwork and tireless planning, Telford College is reaping 84

the rewards and being held up as an ‘absolutely fantastic’ example of collaborative working at its best.

The college’s senior leadership team, led by deputy chief executive Janet Stephens, worked closely with senior executives at the NHS and Integrated Care System (ICS) to create ownership and support their workforce planning.

The college’s NHS partnership is now spearheaded by director of health and science Sarah Davies, a former NHS midwife.

She says: “For me, T Levels have opened an exciting opportunity for collaboration with NHS colleagues.

“Having worked in further education for 13 years, I have been a big advocate for vocational qualifications, especially within health and social care, with many students progressing into higher education and employment as intended.

“During my time as a midwife, I saw the gaps that existed, so when T Levels

were introduced, I could immediately appreciate the benefits.

“At the age of 16, how can a young person possibly know about the range of careers that exist within health and social care? After all, there are 350 different jobs within the NHS alone. The best way to find out what these careers offer is to try them, and T Levels provides that opportunity.”

That’s the positive side. But Sarah admits that making the link between T Level placements and NHS providers also filled her with dread.

“I initially contacted the local trusts using my existing contacts and found that no-one had even heard of T Levels. It took many months of persistence before eventually speaking to the right people.”

Those people were the team at the Integrated Care System (ICS) for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, which covers four local NHS trusts. Hooking up with them proved to be a real turning FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Telford College’s health T-Level cohort in the Clinical Skills Centre, preparing for their first week of work placement.

Clinical Educator: Stewart Riddle, Paul Bainbridge and Nigel Pugh from SWG Construction and students Paige Williams and Erin Steventon, both 17.

The new virtual reality training software at the college has won several awards

Sarah Davies (Director of Health and Science) and Paul Bainbridge and Nigel Pugh from SWG Construction

point. Sarah says: “A steering group was set up involving representatives from all four trusts.”

Members quickly started to agree on the benefits of having T Level students on placement with the NHS, and plans for the first cohort began to be developed.

The college and NHS staff jointly visited other education providers to observe best practice, and held parent meetings to ensure that students’ families were kept fully informed and involved.

Funding was secured to create a dedicated Health Care Support Worker Academy at Telford College’s campus in Wellington where new recruits now complete two weeks of mandatory training and begin the care certificate before going on to the wards or into the community.

Virtual and augmented reality equipment was purchased to aid learning, including the creation of bespoke simulation software, and clinically trained teaching staff were added to the team.

The software has already won several awards.

A £430,000 Clinical Skills Centre

retain young people, as far too often students leave after level three studies and move out of area to study at university.

My hope is that T Levels will change this, as young people will feel part of the team; they will buy into the Trust values as they will be on work placement for two years.”

The process has already started.

Telford College T Level health students now have smart new uniforms for use during their placements; they have been carefully selected in partnership with the NHS, working in collaboration with other partner colleges to standardise the design.

Ruth Field, T Level industry placement co-ordinator for health at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, says: “Having the students in an industry placement allows them to see first-hand how the theory they have been taught in college is used in practice to ensure patient safety and quality of care.”

The next step for Telford College is to partner with local universities to encourage these highly skilled and experienced T Level students to stay locally – whether that be university, degree apprenticeships or employment.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

has also been created at the Telford College campus to give T Level students experience of a realistic clinical environment. It includes two ‘skills rooms’ – a four-bed hospital ward, and a two-bed maternity environment.

All T Level students must complete this practical training before they go into placemente.

This makes a real difference to the NHS, because it means that T Level students can be employed by the trusts in year two, alongside their studies.

Simon Whitehouse, chief executive of NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, performed the official opening of the Clinical Skills Centre.

He says: “The work that the college leadership team are doing here is absolutely fantastic when we think about how we develop a workforce which is going to be deliverers of care going forward.”

So, reflecting now on the events of the past few years, how does Sarah Davies view the progress of the T Level collaboration with the NHS so far?

“My vision was always to train and

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Register now for your Lent Term Tour 2024:

. Lower School (ages 7-13) Feb 19th - 23rd . Middle School (ages 13-16) Feb 26th - 1st March . Sixth Form (ages 16-18) March 4th - 8th . Sixth Form Information Evening Wed 7th Feb 6pm

Education with a broader perspective .

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.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

JOYFUL

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

INTERNATIONAL

KIND

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SOCIAL SCENE

Kate Hartshorne, Caroline Lincoln, Jacqui Williams, Karen Miller, Mandy Armstrong and Catherine Gray.

BEERS AND BANGERS NIGHT FOR NSPCC Morris Hall, Shrewsbury

Cormac Kelly and Anna Kelly.

Tony Whitehouse and John Parker.

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A Beer and Bangers night organised by Shropshire supporters of the NSPCC was a great success, raising £2,997.48 for the charity’s vital work.

The event, organised under the joint leadership of Jacqui Williams and Karen Miller, took place at The Morris Hall in Shrewsbury.

It featured beer supplied by Salopian Brewery and sausages kindly donated by Wenlock Edge Sausages. The committee expressed their gratitude to everyone who attended and contributed to the event’s success, adding: “We are overwhelmed by the incredible support we received from the Shrewsbury community. The funds raised will go a long way in helping the NSPCC protect vulnerable children and provide them with the support they need. We would like to also say a huge thank you to all the local companies who donated raffle prizes.”

For more information about the NSPCC and upcoming events, email shrewsburynspcc@gmail.com Photos: Jamie Ricketts

Richard Coggins and Sarah Coggins.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Katy Galliers, Rona Konstanczak, Claire Holyoake and Jan Evans.

Sally Herbert and Nick Herbert.

Kelly Wallace-Tarry, Kate Hartshorne and Richard Wallace-Tarry.

Rachel Tarlton, Sally McLoughlin and Fiona McLoughlin.

Mark Baines and Libby Baines.

Dave Lewis, Sam Lewis, Dan Carpenter, Jamie Young and Katie Young.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

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Fiona Carr, Gary Fulcher, Sara Short and John Short.

Mary Latto, Sue Rowley, Karen Rowley and Jane Bright.

CHARITY QUIZ NIGHT Radbrook, Shrewsbury Moira Jones, Marjie Miles and John Miles.

Nineteen teams put their general knowledge to the test at a quiz night organised by the The League of Friends of Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The annual event, held at Radbrook Community Centre, Shrewsbury, was once again a great success, raising £1,500.

The money will go towards items of equipment for the mobile Breast Screening Unit in the county.

League of Friends organising secretary, Sue Hurdiss, said: “The event could not have taken place without quiz master Lucy Goff kindly agreeing to both set up and ask the questions and we are very grateful to Lucy for her unique contribution.”

Photos: Jamie Ricketts

Jacque Powell and Cheryl O’Neill.

Liz Trotman, Geoff Thomas, Mike Thomas and Teresa Thomas.

Volunteers of The League of Friends Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

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Paul Gerard, Fiona Gerard, Karen Stringer and Julian Stringer.

Moira Jones, Maria McCall, Trish Wells and Lynn Howarth.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

At Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s carol service with Anna Turner and chief fire officer Simon Hardiman.

Attending the premiere of ‘Women’ at the Old Market Hall with the Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire Anna Turner, Mayor of Shrewsbury Becky Wall and film producer Lora Arkhypenko.

HIGH SHERIFF’S DIARY Mandy Thorn MBE DL

Supporting Shropshire Mental Health Support with their wreath-making event.

Meeting Sandie and Nicky from the Albrighton Trust.

At The Interfaith Centre in Telford preparing Christmas Day lunch.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Christmas seems an age ago now, writes Mandy Thorn. A#er attending many wonderful carol services across the county, it was fantastic to celebrate Christmas Day at the Interfaith Council in Telford, where Mark and I were privileged to work alongside their amazing volunteers plating up over 160 meals which were then distributed by more volunteers across the borough.

The start of the year was also a time to celebrate local people named in the New Year’s Honours list, and I was pleased to see teachers, charity campaigners, sporting leaders and a magician amongst the people recognised for their achievements in the county.

I was also delighted to attend the unveiling of a new red plaque at Shrewsbury’s Abbey Station. The plaque, given by the Transport Heritage programme, commemorates Britain’s rich and globally important legacy in the development of transport. This accolade was only made possible by the hard work of volunteers, who have rebuilt the station which 20 years ago lay in ruins.

Celebrating volunteers in the county has been the theme of my year, and the past few weeks has shown that by joining together we can achieve great things and make Shropshire an even more wonderful place to live.

Pictures supplied

Unveiling of a red plaque at Abbey Station, Shrewsbury.

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The Shrewsbury Committee Lingen Davies Christmas Flower Demonstration by Florist Jane Pugh of Jane’s Petals & Gi#s.

FLORAL ART FUNDRAISER Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, Shrewsbury

Florist Jane Pugh of Jane’s Petals & Gi#s.

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A flower-themed fundraiser generated around £1,900 for Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.

Supporters gathered to watch a floral art demonstration by Jane Pugh of Jane’s Petals & Gi#s, Bishop’s Castle.

The event, organised by the Shrewsbury Committee, took place at Bayston Hill Memorial Hall in Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, and guests were treated to mulled wine, tea, coffee, mince pies and shortbread.

The money raised will help the charity’s work supporting people impacted by cancer in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, and Mid Wales.

Photos: Supplied

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Emma Hayward, Caroline Francis, Fiona Braithwaite, Sarah Lloyd and JennieBrisbourne.

Breege Kelly, Caroline Francis, Imelda McEvoy.

Caroline Francis, Margaret Francis, Ruth Griffiths.

Tracy Johnson.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

Philippa Bason and Angela Hill.

Elaine Higgins, Jennifer Potter, Jennie Higgins and Clare Millington.

Raffle ticket sales in full swing.

A full house and a captivated audience.

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TRAVEL

GARDENS OF THE WORLD IN FOCUS PLANNING A HOLIDAY? HANNAH STEPHENSON SUGGESTS YOU CONSIDER SEEING SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST GORGEOUS GARDENS WHILE YOU’RE AWAY

I

f you’re planning a holiday and would like to see some stunning gardens as part of your trip, certain destinations offer some of the most beautiful horticultural havens.

“With the ever-increasing fast pace of daily life, visiting the calmness and tranquillity of, for example, a Japanese garden or that of a French chateau, is a must,” says Rob Debenham, show manager at Destinations – The Holiday & Travel Show.

“The best way to find beautiful gardens to visit is by checking out a country’s tourist board websites. Often the most stunning will be set against the backdrop of a historical building or monument.”

Standout gardens include:

Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, Morocco “Marrakech is a wonderful place to visit if you’re interested in gardens, particularly the Jardin Majorelle, which

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was owned by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé,” says Kirsty Fergusson, gardens expert at Kirker Holidays.

“Not only is this the most spectacular combination of colour and form, with striking foliage against the backdrop of their brightly-painted villa, but it remains a serious horticultural experience as well.

With the addition of the fascinating new museum dedicated to the fashion designer himself, this makes for a highlight of the itinerary for many guests.”

Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, a staggering seven million flower bulbs were planted by hand over three months from October to December, which will come to fruition at the park, which is open from March 21 to May 12. Started in 1949, as an initiative by 10 flower bulb growers who wanted to showcase the flower bulb trade, it has since become an iconic landmark awash FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

with swathes of colourful tulips and other bulbs, water gardens and, of course, the obligatory windmills.

Kew Gardens

While these spectacular gardens have riches throughout the year, Kew’s new winter garden brings to life a forgotten corner of the garden on an elevated site, offering visitors a brilliant vantage point to view the surrounding landscape when the trees are bare.

A winding gravel trail takes visitors to multi-sensory hardy plantings with bold colours, interesting textures and rich fragrance, featuring sweet-smelling winter perfumes of chimonanthus, daphne, edgeworthia, winter-flowering cherry, sarcococca, viburnum and colourful stems of the cornus species.

Visit in June and you’ll find a rich palette of colours from peonies, laburnum and roses, as visitors enjoy Kew’s hugely impressive Great Broad Walk Borders.

Gardens By The Bay, Singapore

You may think gardens are just for daytime, but this state-of-the-art compound comes alive at night thanks to SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

its huge canopies of ‘Supertrees’, tree-like vertical gardens that generate solar energy and offer a Garden Rhapsody light show every night. You’ll need at least half a day to explore everything else in the 250-acre space, including the Flower Dome, the world’s largest glass greenhouse.

Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

The 16th-century Italian gardens are described as the ‘green lung’ of Florence and essentially an open-air museum, the 111-acre garden features ancient oak trees and green architecture with its branch archways, and plenty of shade from the summer sun. Highlights include the amphitheatre, the Viottolone, the Garden of the Cavaliere and the Grotta Grande.

architects in French history. With the gardens and the Palaces of Trianon, the park spreads over around 2,000 acres.

Tresco Abbey Garden, Isles of Scilly Thanks to the Isles of Scilly’s temperate oceanic climate this 17-acre garden, dubbed ‘Kew without the glass’ and protected by salt-tolerant evergreen trees, houses some 2,000 specimens from all over the world, from Brazil to New Zealand, Myanmar to South Africa.

Visitors will find all manner of exotic plants, including huge palms, giant red flame trees, king protea and lobster claw, as well as swathes of blue echium.

Gardens of Versailles, France

If you look through the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles you can see these hugely grand 17th-century gardens in all their glory, their elegant parterres and elaborate fountains, manicured lawns and magnificent sculptures, in a classic French formal garden style designed by André Le Nôtre, among the most influential landscape

PAGE 94: Gardens By The Bay, Singapore; Tresco Abbey Garden, Tresco Island, Isles of Scilly; Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland.

PAGE 95, clockwise: Kew Garden, London; Gardens of Versailles, France; Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech; Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy.

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BIG CATS KINGS OF A WILDLIFE HAVEN SARAH MARSHALL DISCOVERS HOW RICHARD BRANSON’S KENYAN HIDEAWAY MAHALI MZURI HAS IMPROVED THE LIVES OF ENDANGERED SPECIES AND WILDLIFE-LOVING GUESTS

K

ids, cubs, kittens or calves – no matter the species, small creatures love splashing through puddles.

Jumping energetically between pools of rainwater, tiny lions from the Hamerkop pride have turned the Masai Mara’s soggy grasslands into an aquapark.

Close by, their sleepy-eyed mothers lie in a huddle, only stirring when a majestic male strides over and drenches everyone with a shake of his mane.

After several years of worrying drought, Kenya has been hit by a deluge of heavy rains, a consequence of last year’s El Niño phenomenon. A challenge for drivers navigating the black cotton soil roads, which turn into a sticky goo when wet, it’s transformed the landscape into a Pantone palette of olive, emerald and avocado greens. The lions are having a fantastic time, proving rain doesn’t always stop play.

Although numbers of the big cats have fallen dramatically by an alarming 90% SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

in the last century, prides in the Masai Mara’s conservancies are booming.

“We’ve seen a huge growth in lion populations,” explains John Kaleo, head guide at the Mahali Mzuri camp in the Olare Motorogi conservancy, one of several community-owned conservation areas neighbouring the Masai Mara National Reserve. One theory for the explosion in numbers is improved protection and a preservation of wilderness areas. It’s also a result of human encroachment, pushing animals into a smaller space.

Whatever the explanation, it’s clear the conservancies have played an important role in protecting the endangered species.

Launched in 2005, the conservancy idea evolved when Maasai landowners banded together to lease their land to tourism partners, providing a more intimate and exclusive experience for guests, while simultaneously directly benefitting communities financially.

The concept gained global 97

mainstream attention in 2013 when Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson built his futuristic, ultra-modern camp Mahali Mzuri (meaning ‘beautiful place’ in Swahili) on the slopes of a granitestrewn valley in Olare Motorogi (named after the area’s abundance of salty water and Egyptian geese). He was drawn to the project after visiting Nairobi in 2007 and hearing about the importance of the area as an important migration route for wildebeest moving between Tanzania’s Serengeti and the Mara.

A decade on, I’ve come to see what’s changed in the area and take a look at the impact the camp has made.

From the very beginning, Branson wanted to employ local staff and many of the original team – including John – still work at the luxurious camp that forms part of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio. During our drive back to camp, John entertains us with tales of Branson’s escapades.

“He loves lions,” says the accomplished guide, swerving along muddy roads as clouds in the sky part like curtains to reveal patches of silky blue.

“No matter what time of day, he wants to jump in a vehicle and look for them.”

Known for his sense of fun, the entrepreneur is also prone to playing tricks.

“He’d tickle me with a piece of grass while I was driving,” laughs John.

“Another time, he pointed to a piece of rubbish. But when I got out to pick it up, he jumped in the front and started to drive away.”

Equally famous for his generosity, Branson also gained a reputation amongst staff for performing extravagant acts on a whim. John recalls the time he arranged for a hot air balloon to collect guests directly from the camp and then decided to pay for everyone staying that night to go for a ride.

Back at the camp, it’s easy to understand why Branson fell in love with the location. Twelve vaulted canvas suites reminiscent of Bedouin marquees horseshoe along the ridge of a deep valley spliced by a stream and covered in a cascade of hippos, wildebeest and (as I discover a few days later) buffalo-hunting lions.

“I’ve seen leopards and lions lounging around with their cubs, elephants stroll into the sunset, wildebeest on the run and giraffes plucking leaves from the trees,” Branson later tells me over the phone.

“The camp has a front-row view of the wild and roaming game of the Great Migration – it’s such a spectacle. You wake up to wildlife wandering past your tent and you have the same view for lunch. It’s such a privilege to be surrounded by such unspoilt nature and natural habitats.”

Next year, the Mahali Mzuri will be 98

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Page 99: A lion parading above the Mahali Mzuri camp; a lion cub playing in the Olare Motorogi conservancy. Page 100: The pool at Mahali Mzuri; a family tent at Mahali Mzuri; a sunset game drive at Mahali Mzuri. This page: Maasai dancers performing in a manyatta on the fringes of the Mara’s Olare Motorogi conservancy. Below: Sarah planting a tree in the grounds of a school supported by Mahali Mzuri

renovated with additions including hot tubs on private decks and an interior redesign. The completion of a solar farm will provide 100% of the camp’s energy, while a larger garden aims to supply the kitchen with fresh vegetables and herbs.

Aside from the view, the spa and infinity pool, it’s the hospitality of the staff that’s responsible for so many repeat bookings. Head waiter Bob Miinta has been with the company since the very beginning, starting as an askari (night security guard).

“This place has been really good for us – it’s given the community employment and salaries,” he says, when I join him for a coffee in the camp’s brightly coloured lounge area, decorated with Maasai beadwork.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

“We’ve all been given training – how to tell apart the different pieces of cutlery, which is the soup spoon, even on things like how to flush the toilet! We didn’t have flushing toilets in the village.”

Shyness was another obstacle. But he says the opportunity to grow and the camaraderie of staff is what’s kept him loyal to the company. It’s a similar story for Betty Maite, one of the first female guides in the Mara. When she started, few other women were on the plains and she admits dealing with the prejudice of other male guides was both challenging and at times disheartening.

“I used to get furious. Sometimes I’d cry, but then I’d gain courage and tell myself that one day I’ll be better than them,” says the 38-year-old mother of two young children. Having mastered driving – one of the biggest challenges in this difficult terrain where off-roading is allowed, she is looking forward to walking safaris, which will be introduced to Mahali Mzuri next year.

“I love the flowers, looking at footsteps, telling guests about the different types of poo!” she smirks.

Beyond the camp, the wider community has also benefitted. At the Maa Trust, which Mahali financially supports, we learn about projects to introduce family planning, provide better healthcare for pregnant women and get

more girls into education. On a visit to a local manyatta (Maasai homestead) on the fringes of Olare Motorogi, I meet Soloman, a cattle herder and student studying wildlife management at the Mara’s new Pardamat College, and an example of a new generation of Maasai with a passion for conservation.

We also participate in a tree planting project – part of Kenya’s promise to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years. It’s a grand ambition, but a lot can be achieved in a decade. Mahali Mzuri’s own success is testimony to that very fact.

FACTFILE Elegant Resorts (elegantresorts.co.uk; 01244 897271) offers a seven-night stay from £6,648 per person (two sharing), including all meals, drinks, flights, transfers, and lounge access.

You can also book directly through Virgin Limited Edition. Fully inclusive rates are based on double occupancy and include accommodation, all meals, drinks, twicedaily game drives and transfers. Call +254 2051 00090 or visit mahalimzuri. virgin.com.

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MOTORING

SLICK OPERATOR ON THE ROUGH STUFF SPAWNED IN THE IMAGE OF THE ORIGINAL DEFENDER, THE NO-NONSENSE RUGGED GRENADIER COULD PROVE TO BE THE IDEAL WORKHORSE, BUT IS IT? JACK EVANS PUT IT TO THE TEST

W

hen Land Rover took the original Defender out of production, it left quite a gap.

Fortunately, Jim Ratcliffe – billionaire CEO of chemicals firm Ineos – decided that this space couldn’t be left unplugged and set to work creating an off-roader that would deliver the same kind of roughand-ready experience as the original Defender, but with a few more creature comforts and fewer rough edges. The result? The Grenadier.

WHAT’S NEW?

The Grenadier is a heady mix of old and new. Underneath, we’ve got a traditional ladder chassis to help with rigidity and outright assuredness offroad, while optional lockable differentials should ensure that it can drag itself out of the stickiest of situations. Sitting on top is a boxy body with a rough exterior that is designed to be fixed easily and quickly if things get damaged. Built in 100

Hambach, France, using largely German components, it’s been co-developed

by Austrian specialists Magna Steyr which counts the legendary Mercedes G-Class among its list of car-building accomplishments.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET?

Ineos hasn’t wasted time developing its own engines for the Grenadier, instead turning to BMW for two of its trusted powerplants. While a petrol version is available, we’ve been driving the diesel which, for many drivers, will be the go-to option thanks to its plentiful 550Nm of torque. You’ve got 248bhp, too, sent to all four wheels via a smooth-shifting ZF eight-speed gearbox – again, a trusted choice in the market.

Our Trialmaster-specification car rides on chunky BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres as standard, too, while differential locks front, middle and rear are equipped from the off on Grenadier, too. In terms of

efficiency, Ineos claims 23.3mpg for the Grenadier while CO2 emissions of 310g/ km are pretty high.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

If you’re stepping out from a modern, road-focused SUV – or any other modern car, for that matter – then it’s quite the adjustment process driving the Grenadier.

It uses a classic recirculating ballhydraulic steering system which, at low speeds, is wayward and pretty loose.

Even turning into a junction or navigating a roundabout takes more concentration than you’d expect.

But off-road, it all makes sense.

This loose steering inspires a bit more confidence on the rough stuff – it has less tendency to ‘snap’ around like other modern power steering systems – while the short overhangs mean you’re never scared about clanging the front or rear when climbing or descending.

We put the Grenadier through some FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

pretty tough Welsh routes and it never faltered and, though we did lock the diffs on occasions to help out, it felt as though it could handle all of it without anything being engaged.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

We think it’s pretty easy to see where the Grenadier’s design inspiration has come from. It has similar proportions and chunky dimensions to the original Defender and that means today it really stands out in the new car market. You can get it in a variety of specifications which slightly tweak it, too, but all versions get the same flat-panel appearance which did get the nod from various drivers of ‘original’ Defenders during our time with the Grenadier.

The one thing we would say is that this is a tall car, so entering or exiting it can be a bit of a task.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

There’s plenty of space to be afforded those inside the cabin of the Grenadier.

Those sitting up front have a nice wide view of the road ahead, though the placement of the pedal box for the driver is slightly off-set with a large hump to the left meaning that there’s not an awful lot of room for your feet. However, unlike a classic Defender, there is plenty of room for your right arm, so there’s no need SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

to drive with the window down for the whole time.

The fit and finish is good, though, and everything feels ruggedly put together.

The slightly bewildering number of buttons does take some getting used to initially, as does the lack of any kind of speedo ahead of you as a drive – it’s on the right-hand side of the main screen instead. We’d much rather have the speed ahead of us, really.

the business on board, so all of this car’s fundamentals are sound. The engines, gearbox and off-road-handling are all topnotch, as is the car’s sense of character.

It would’ve been good to have slightly better on-road manners in the Grenadier, particularly when it comes its wayward steering. But if you’re after a car to rely upon – and have some great adventures with – then the Grenadier could well be the car for you.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

Much of the Grenadier’s specification is there to make it as capable as possible off-road. There are extra ‘packs’ to add, too, with our test car’s Rough and Smooth packs adding the locking front and rear differentials, chunky off-road tyres and parking sensors, alongside puddle lamps and extra charging points for devices inside.

But what about price? If you just want a load-carrying vehicle then the twoseater version will do the job, priced from £64,500. The Station Wagon, like our test vehicle, kicks off from £76,000. Add some packs and extras and you could easily go past the £80,000 mark.

VERDICT

It’s quite tricky to nail down the Grenadier. For one, you can’t fault the approach by Ineos to bring the best in

FACTFILE Ineos Grenadier Price as tested: £78,729 Powertrain: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged diesel Power: 248bhp Torque: 550Nm 0-60 mph: 9.7 seconds Max speed: 99mph MDG: 23.2 Emissions: 310/km

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HISTORY

THE MYSTERIES OF THE IRON BRIDGE TOBY NEAL DELVES INTO A BOOK THAT CHRONICLES THE STORY OF IRONBRIDGE GORGE, ITS ARCHAEOLOGY AND ITS ROLE AS A DRIVING ENGINE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

T

he Ironbridge Gorge boasts an industrial heritage going back centuries – but even today history detectives are digging up new information and insights into its illustrious past.

A startling example is that icon of the Industrial Revolution, the Iron Bridge itself, which in recent times has been given a new paint job which experts discovered more accurately reflects how previous generations saw it.

“The conservation and reinterpretation of the Iron Bridge in the 21st century demonstrates the way in which archaeological analysis of such a well-known industrial heritage structure continues to evolve,” says Dr Michael Nevell, the Industrial Heritage Support Officer for England.

Work by English Heritage from 2016 to 2018 saw the blasting of the entire iron structure before it was repainted in a 102

project that took several months.

The erection of scaffolding around the bridge, he says, allowed further

archaeological work to augment drawings made during the last time the bridge was scaffolded.

He said: “The most dramatic element of the restoration work was the decision to repaint the bridge in red-brown rather than black. This was based upon evidence for this being the primary paint used on the cast iron beams.”

Dr Nevell, who is based at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and is an industrial and landscape archaeologist, has now written a book which highlights the impact of such investigations on modern understanding of the buildings, structures, and sites in the cradle of the Industrial Revolution.

The Archaeology of Ironbridge Gorge in 20 Digs explores a range of sites in the district and material evidence excavated from the 1970s to the 2010s.

“Some are well known and familiar to the thousands of visitors to the Gorge, FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The original bridge, in a 1780 oil painting by artist William Williams; The landmark under scaffolding in 2017, when more was discovered of its long history; The Iron Bridge stands strong over the swollen Severn; The bridge being repainted during restoration, back to its original colour; Michael Nevell’s book

which is a designated World Heritage Site, such as the Hay Inclined Plane and the Coalport China Works.

“Others do not have such a profile on the tourist trail, and are perhaps unfamiliar even to locals, such as The Old Wynd, a canal basin and transhipment point on the Shropshire Canal at Brierley Hill, which is above Coalbrookdale.

“The site was first explored by archaeologists between 1983 and 1985, but it was not until 2014 that there was a formal excavation which at last revealed its ‘secrets’,” he added.

The Archaeology of Ironbridge Gorge in 20 Digs is supported by the museums’ trust and draws on images from the trust’s archives.

n The book is published by Amberley and costs £15.99.

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

103

NOSTALGIA

A Mr Veale was inspecting some of the smashed panes in a greenhouse in February 1969. The accompanying story read: ‘Vandals who have smashed over 30 panes of glass in a greenhouse near the drive to Albrighton’s new children’s play area have been condemned by Mr K. Worthington, chairman of the parish council.’

Shrewsbury Town FC v Colchester at the Gay Meadow in February 1957.

The caption reads: ‘Look at this picture carefully, for it laid the foundation for Colchester’s victory at Shrewsbury – the first time the Shropshire club had lost a home match for well over 12 months. The picture shows a scramble in front of the Shrewsbury goal.’ Photo by John Rea.

LOOKING OUT FOR SIGNS OF SPRING HEATHER LARGE LOOKS BACK AT THE FEBRUARY EVENTS KEEPING SHROPSHIRE RESIDENTS BUSY ACROSS THE DECADES

O This pancake race was organised by Ludlow Ladies’ Circle in aid of Shropshire Voluntary Helping Hand Association in February 1968.

nce the month of February rolls around, we know that spring will be just around the corner.

The nights are getting lighter and although it still can be quite cold, the end of winter is in sight.

Soon, snowdrops will be popping up in woodlands and along countryside paths across the country. And we know that the daffodils will not be too far behind them.

It’s the time of year when we celebrate Valentine’s Day with those we love and

One Romeo in Shrewsbury in 1983 made sure his lady love got the message. This large Valentine appeared on an empty billboard in Abbey Foregate, making sure not only Isabel got the point.

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have a go at flipping pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. In 1983, a Romeo in Shrewsbury made sure his lady love got the message by displaying a sign on an empty billboard in Abbey Foregate.

Pancake races have been held regularly over the years such as one in 1968, which was organised by Ludlow Ladies’ Circle and took place in the town in aid of Shropshire Voluntary Helping Hand Association.

Settle down in your seat and enjoy our February picture selection...

A giant mammoth tusk on loan from the British Museum which arrived in Shrewsbury back in 1988. The caption went on: ‘The tusk will form part of the display of the Shropshire mammoth found at a sand and gravel pit near Shrewsbury. Seen with the tusk are, from left, Colin Shuttleworth, Hilary Hymes, exhibition co-ordinator, and Derek James, display artist.’

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

Wellington Rural District Council handed over a new Meals on Wheels van to the (Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) in February 1965.

It was a busy day for TUC general secretary Len Murray as he visited the hospital being built at Copthorne, Shrewsbury in 1976. Seen above, from left: Dr Ernest Rees, Mr Murray, Mrs Heather Murray, Mrs Pat Gwynne, Councillor Miss Zillah Hughes, Mayor of Shrewsbury; Mr Frank Leath, area health authority chairman, and Mayoress Mrs Marie Link.

A meeting of Albrighton Parish Council was held in a loft in February 1973.

The caption pasted on the back reads: ‘Albrighton parish councillors went aloft last night... to escape a choir’s rehearsals. The singing at the Old School in Station Road used to spoil their concentration, so they moved into the loft of Councillor Keith Worthington’s home in High Street.’

Dinner ladies in aprons and wellington boots at the William Reynolds Junior School at Woodside, Telford, backed the tree campaign by planting their trees in February 1983. Here they are lining up the trees ready to dig.

Storm damage in Shrewsbury in February 1990. The caption on the back reads: ‘One Shrewsbury garden looked as though it had been struck by an earthquake. Two garden sheds at the home of Mrs Pat Milsom, of Stonehurst Drive, were upended when a 90 foot Scots Pine was uprooted.’

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

105

BOOKS

KAMMY IS FINALLY FINDING HIS VOICE

F

ootball pundit Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara, whose enthusiastic commentary, legendary gaffes and riotous laughter has endeared him to millions, is reflecting on how his life has changed since developing apraxia of speech, a rare neurological disorder that slows down his speech and thought processes.

Today, the affable commentator and former professional footballer and manager, who left Soccer Saturday in 2022 after 24 years with Sky Sports, speaks slowly, working to find the words that once came so naturally.

“In the beginning I hardly slept, I was so worried about my speech. Tomorrow, would I be able to talk, would I be able to have some quick wit, off the top of my head?”

He admits he was in denial for 18 months before his diagnosis two years ago, even though he was clearly having problems at work, and his family – wife Anne and sons Ben and Jack – had noticed a change.

“I was stupidly ashamed of my condition,” he says candidly. “So I would like to apologise to every single person who has a speech problem, or neurological problem. These things happen randomly and I didn’t handle it well in the first place. But now I want to put the record straight and raise as much awareness as I can.”

Last year he made a documentary, Lost For Words, exploring the condition, and has now written his memoir, Kammy, charting the speech deterioration that he felt sounded the death knell to the life he loved, and left him with dark thoughts.

He tried a number of treatments – hypnotherapy, exercises, diet change. “I felt so

BOOKCASE

The Future by Naomi Alderman, published by Fourth Estate, priced £20.

It’s the not-too-distant future and the end of the world is looming. Technology is god and civilisation is now at the mercy of three corporations who control consumerism, social media and even the weather.

What makes The Future an incredible page-turner though, is being witness to a group of women in the tech industry, and a survival expert, essentially bite the hand that has kept them safe for so long.

106

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly, published by Orion, priced £22.

This time, retired LAPD homicide detective Bosch is tasked with helping his half-brother Mickey Haller to secure the freedom of a young mother locked up for the fatal shooting of her husband, a sheriff’s deputy. The case is fraught with danger and there is more than a whiff of corruption in the air. It may be a slightly formulaic genre, but this is nevertheless yet another slick blockbuster of a legal-detective thriller from a master of his craft.

good in myself, but it didn’t improve my voice in any way, shape or form.”

However, he learned about an experimental treatment in Mexico. With nothing to lose, Kamara and Anne flew to the NeuroCytonix clinic in Monterrey, Mexico, where he had treatment for over a month in what he calls the ‘wonder’ machine – similar to an MRI scanner, but without the noise – which transmits radio frequency and magnetic fields into the body, to halt and even reverse the condition.

“It’s been great. It’s three months since I’ve been there and now the thought process goes straight through to the mouth. It’s incredible. The speed of my voice isn’t up to scratch at the moment, but it’s getting there.”

This is some progress, given that prior to the treatment, on a bad day, he would hardly be able to converse at all, he remembers.

Kamara, 65, says he wouldn’t return to Soccer Saturday, but hopes to get back to reporting on football this year and has continued to present programmes and podcasts including Ninja Warrior UK and Cash In The Attic.

“The more confidence I get, the better I get, I think, ‘I’d love to do that again’.”

The treatment in Mexico has made him more positive about the future.

“I’ve got so much to look forward to. Now, I realise what an idiot I was in the first place for being ashamed of my condition.”

His family – he lives with Anne on a smallholding in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and his two sons live nearby – have been amazing, he adds. “I couldn’t have done it without them.” n Kammy: My Unbelievable Life by Chris Kamara is published by Macmillan, priced £22.

The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton, published by Orion, priced £20 .

The Fake Wife by Sharon Bolton is an edge-of-your-seat psychological suspense novel that draws you in and constantly surprises you.

We’re introduced to Olive, who is dining alone at a restaurant, and a stranger, who sits down at Olive’s table and pretends to be her wife.

The game turns dangerous, with secrets and lies unfolding. A good read with great characters, that will shock and keep you turning the pages.

Taking Back My Power by Georgia Harrison, published by Renegade Books, priced £18.99.

In her debut book, former Love Island and The Only Way is Essex star Georgia Harrison speaks to the younger generation, inspiring hope for change and earnestly warning of the dangers of social media. The 28-year-old does not shy away from her struggles, or the impact of navigating a legal system that currently requires a proof of intent to cause distress in revenge porn cases.

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

PUZZLES

SUDOKU 1

2

5 9

4 2

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

8 5 9

FOUR WS 1

WHO… wrote Mrs Dalloway and The Years?

WHAT… elements are present in a cyanide compound?

WHERE… would you find the volcano Hekla?

WHEN… did the Boston Tea Party take place?

2

WHO… directed the 1997 film Titanic?

WHAT… kind of creature is an ibex?

WHERE… in Europe did the Black Death of 1348 begin?

WHEN… was Rudyard Kipling born?

3 7 6 1

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

1

1. The Forsyte Saga was first shown on TV 2. Jeremy Thorpe became Liberal Party leader 3. Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest in bare feet 4. The first human heart transplant was carried out

3

WHO… played Lucy Honeychurch in the 1985 film A Room With A View?

WHAT… was the name of the ancient British race of whom Boudica was queen?

WHERE… was the Bounty heading for when the famous mutiny occurred?

WHEN… did the National Minimum Wage take effect?

4

WHO… painted The Guitar Player in 1910?

WHAT… is an Ignis Fatuus, seen over marshy ground, more commonly known as?

WHERE… would you find the colleges of Selwyn, Trinity and Wolfson?

WHEN… did the Hundred Years’ War end?

5

WHO… collided with Damon Hill in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix?

WHAT… sort of car is Herbie?

WHERE… was the NASA space probe Magellan headed for?

WHEN… was the so-called Profumo affair?

2

6

3

WORDWISE

1. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated 2. The Birmingham Six were freed from jail 3. Operation Desert Storm took place 4. A coup in Moscow precipitated the dissolution of the Soviet Union 1. Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 2. Look Back In Anger opened at the Royal Court Theatre 3. The Red Army crushed the Hungarian Revolution 4. Rocky Marciano retired undefeated

4

1. Czechoslovakia officially became two independent states 2. Frank Zappa and Conway Twitty died 3. Monica Seles was stabbed by a crazed Steffi Graf fan 4. Kim Campbell became Canada’s first female PM

5

1. James Callaghan resigned as leader of the Labour Party 2. Earthquakes devastated the Algerian city of El Asnam 3. Tito and Steve McQueen died 4. In Poland, Lech Walesa launched the new Solidarity Union

6

1. Algeria gained independence 2. Prince Charles started school at Gordonstoun 3. The Liberals won the Orpington by-election 4. That Was The Week That Was was broadcast for the first time

WHO… invented the pneumatic bicycle tyre?

WHAT… sport is featured in the film Kingpin?

WHERE… is the island on which 48 people are Lost in the popular TV series?

WHEN… did Richard Nixon resign from office?

THE WORD MAY SOUND FAMILIAR, WHAT DOES IT MEAN? 1. CHALCOGRAPHY A Engraving on copper or brass B Writing in which characters lean backwards C Writing on ceramics 2. DEONTOLOGY A Science of duty or ethics B Study of tree rings C Study of teeth 3. ENCOMIUM A Enclosed in wood B High commendation C Worn on the breas 4. FOIST A To pass off B Steal C Lift up 5. GRAVID A Rock-like B Pregnant C Liquid measurement 6.DISEMBOGUE A Emerge or pour out B Remove power from C Stifle energy or enthusiasm

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

107

CROSSWORD QUICK CLUES Across 1. Syntactical (11) 9. In general (7) 10. The same (5) 11. Rate (5) 12. The most (7) 13. Prey (6) 15. Gap (6) 18. Increase (7) 20. Cringe (5) 22. Healed (5) 23. Sustenance (7) 24. For sure (11) Down 2. Thread (5) 3. Wind (7) 4. Self-confidence (6) 5. Contents list (5) 6. Try (7) 7. Result (11) 8. Sympathise (11) 14. Wing flap (7) 16. Slope (7) 17. Smear (6) 19. Wireless (5) 21. Roll (5) CRYPTIC CLUES Across 1. With a gift the members make a uniform greeting (7,4) 9. Sightseer to stir out, maybe (7) 10. Material made explosively hazardous on return (5) 11. Make an annexe for present-day lecturer (3,2) 12. Wield a stick to produce behaviour (7) 13. Henry and Edward went no further (6) 15. Miserable type upsets nearly all the crew (6) 18. The stronghold of a different dialect (7) 20. A piece of research in ancient country (5)

22. This will give one a leg up (5) 23. Concentrated at home, in need of relaxation (7) 24. Do another put-up job (11) Down 2. Part of a fight produces a recurring strain (5) 3. It involves experimenting with the chorusleader in Scene 1! (7) 4. Public announcement to deter the intending skater? (6) 5. Dramatic setting that comes from the Bard enchantingly (5)

1

WHAT’S MY NAME?

2

Stand Up. I wrote the 1992 play The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice for the actress Jane Horrocks.

A singer, I was born in Lancashire in 1969. I have a large collection of sports cars, and have dated Winona Ryder and Denise van Outen. I am the front man of the band Jamiroquai.

An actress, I was born in County Durham in 1934. I made my film debut in the 1957 crime drama The Secret Place. I was the star of the 1970s TV sitcoms …And Mother Makes Three and Butterflies.

3 108

A playwright, I was born in Lancashire in 1958. My most recent play is the dark comedy Stand Up

4

A novelist, I was born in Cambridgeshire in 1920. My first publication, in 1955, was entitled Minnow On The Say. I have won the Carnegie Medal, and my books for children include The Way To Sattin Shore and Tom’s Midnight Garden.

6. An individual pursuit carried out by force, maybe (7) 7. Could it contain a lawsuit involving one of the embassy staff? (7-4) 8. Void as far as capital is concerned – that’s stupid (5-6) 14. Tactile variety of network (7) 16. Petroleum and bitumen found beneath the crag (4-3) 17. They fight with each other, but the sorties lack a leader (6) 19. In the end it totalled the same (5) 21. One strange coin of Greek origin (5)

5

An actor, I was born in Missouri in 1949. I have been married to the actress Melanie Griffith twice. My film appearances have included Django Unchained and Knives Out, but I am best known for playing James ‘Sonny’ Crockett in the 1980s TV series Miami Vice.

6

A singer, I was born in Virginia in 1960. I was a member of the 1980s new wave band ’Til Tuesday. I contributed eight songs to the soundtrack of the 1999 film Magnolia, and my solo albums include Whatever and The Forgotten Arm.

FEBRUARY 2024 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

1. Far down 2. Shove 3. Wolf-life cry 4. Area of cut grass 5. Undiluted 6. Skinny 7. Informer or spy 8. Tangle 9.

Stumble 10. Bucket 11. Speech defect 12. Rain heavily 13. Spool 14. Bloomer, say 15. Just, unbiased 16. Rip Key word clue: Surname

IMPOSSIPUZZLES

1

“We’re going to have a new maths teacher,” said Brian.

“Miss Cribbins told us today. She said she’s going to retire.”

Hannah shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear it, as I know you like her.”

“That’s right, she makes it fun,” the boy declared. “She told us her age is seven times its last digit plus three times its first.”

Well?

2

2 “A 6-figure number, eh?” Steve commented. “Not as easy to remember as five figures.”

Andy smiled. “I suppose you’re right, but I never thought of that. What I did notice was that you get the number again if you add the square of its last three digits to seven times the square of the first three.”

What was that number?

3

3 “I’ll pay a quarter of the bill, and also 25p,” said Toby.

“More than my share, but I’m rich today.”

“Lucky Toby. I’m broke,” commented Siobhan. “But I’ll pay a quarter of the balance, and also 25p.”

Mariana accepted the bill from the waiter. “Well, I’ve got exactly 98p, and that will just cover the rest.”

What was the total amount?

4

Sansa emptied her bag on to the table. “It’s crazy,” she exclaimed. “I was broke before I cashed that tax refund cheque today. Then I only spent £5.89 on my way home, but now I’ve got precisely double what I should have left.”

“It must have been the cheque. Tellers do make mistakes.”

Bran chuckled. “She probably gave you pounds for pennies and pennies for pounds in it.”

He was right, so what was the amount of that tax refund?

2

1. Vestibule 2. Minus 3. Celestial body 4. Harvest 5. Fruit type 6. Facial disguise 7. Brown seaweed 8.

Pigmeat 9. New Zealand bird 10. Lazy 11. School test 12. Untidy state 13. Rotisserie 14. Ballet skirt 15. Unfasten 16. Lubricates Key word clue: Alcoholic drink

3

1. Wealthy 2. Long-eared mammal 3. Engrave 4. Short swinging punch 5. Sort, type 6. Slimming plan 7.

Drawn matches 8. To bridge 9. Require 10. Flat circular plate 11. Stylish 12. Tented area 13. Trodden track 14. Pile 15.

Young salmon 16. Space Key word clue: Body part

ANSWERS ON PAGE 112 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

109

WHAT’S ON

Will Farmer, will give his talk entitled ‘From Rostrum to Roadshow’ at 7.30pm on February 9, in Bridgnorth.

FEBRUARY

1&2

Ross Noble – Jibber Jabber Jamboree is on at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury.

Fans can join Ross for an evening of the sort of inspired nonsense that has cemented his place as the supreme master of stream of freewheeling stand-up.

This is your chance to see Noble live on stage in his natural habitat. What’s it about? What will we learn? How will it change the world? Are all pointless questions to ask when Noble is off on one of his tangents. Grab a ticket and go along and enjoy the ride.

For details visit www.theatresevern. co.uk/shows/whatson/ross-noble/

6

Booka Bookshop will host an Afternoon with S.J. Bennett as she talks about her new novel A Death in Diamonds, a charming, warm and witty whodunit starring HM The Queen as an amateur sleuth.

It will be held at 72 High Street, Bridgnorth, WV16 4DX from 2pm. Visit www.bookabookshop.co.uk for more details.

9

An Antiques Roadshow expert is to give a talk in Bridgnorth as part of a group’s fundraising drive.

Will Farmer will give his talk entitled ‘From Rostrum to Roadshow’ at 7.30pm on February 9, at Castle Hall in West

110

Castle Street. The event has been organised by the Bridgnorth Lions.

A spokesman for the fundraising group said: “Will Farmer, BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow presenter and auctioneer with a passion for 20th century ceramics and glass, joins us in Bridgnorth for an evening’s entertainment.”

Tickets cost £12.50 and can be booked at bridgnorthlions.org.uk.

9

P****d Up Panto® has been causing hilarious havoc around the UK since 2021 with their productions of Cinderella & Aladdin – now they’re back with a brand-new show for 2024.

Selling out theatres up and down the country, P****d Up Panto® has developed the perfect adult panto formula, causing tears of laughter in the audience.

It’s full of innuendo, hilarious comedy routines, parodies of well-known songs and audience participation, creating a performance that’s hilarious, cheeky, saucy and sometimes just a little bit naughty...okay...very naughty...

Starring a whole host of experienced, professional pantomime performers, and one or two professional drinkers, alongside a dazzling ensemble cast, stunning scenery, great music and sidesplitting comedy routines, this is a night that audiences will remember for the rest of their lives.

Tickets for the show taking place on February 9 at Oakengates Theatre cost £26.

For more details visit www. telfordtheatre.com/whats-on/all-shows

9

Enjoy Tapestry: An Evening in Laurel Canyon at Ludlow Assembly Rooms this February. This event sends us back to California in the 1960s and 1970s as the hippies took over the Sunset Strip.

With the house prices too costly in the centre of town, a creative hub emerged in Laurel Canyon; an area overlooking Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills. Just some of those who took advantage of this cheaper living space included members of The Byrds and The Doors as well as Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Carole King…

In the first half, you will hear music from the artists listed above as well as many others by the Laurel Canyon residents during this time.

In the second half, the band will perform in its entirety Carole King’s masterpiece Tapestry. Of all the albums released at this time in the Laurel Canyon community, Tapestry, arguably, sums up this counterculture best. It is a statement of togetherness, love in all its forms, feminism, and endless hope for the future.

Tickets cost £16. For more details or to book visit www.ludlowassemblyrooms. co.uk/events/list/

FEBRUARY 2024 SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE

An exhibition of 1970s science fiction art is going on display in Bishop’s Castle.

10

The Upbeat Beatles are performing at Oakengates Theatre, Telford, on February 10.

Performing to sell-out venues for over 20 years, The Upbeat Beatles have more than earned their reputation as the finest tribute to the music of the Beatles.

Paying homage to the greatest band in history, The Upbeat Beatles take you through the whole of the Beatles’ career; from the early days of Beatlemania (She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand) across the Atlantic to conquer the USA (Help!, Ticket To Ride), through the Summer of Love and Psychedelia (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Strawberry Fields Forever) then finally down the Long and Winding Road to the end of the 1960s, for the Beatles’ final live performance as a group (Get Back, Come Together).

With authentic instruments, costume changes, multimedia, and featuring an ensemble cast of professional musicians with West End experience, this is a twohour spectacular show not to be missed, for Beatles fans new and old.

Tickets cost £23.50. For more details and to book visit www.telfordtheatre.com/ whats-on

10

Fascinating Aida is on at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, on February 10. Celebrating 40 years on the road in 2023, Dillie, Liza and Adèle, Britain’s

SHROPSHIRE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024

raciest and sassiest musical cabaret trio, are bringing their brand-new show to Theatre Severn.

Fascinating Aïda have racked up millions of internet followers, performed in the world’s most prestigious venues and been showered with awards and plaudits since they sashayed onto the scene back in 1983.

Uniquely charming, with diamondsharp satire, filthy, hilarious, belligerent, political, poignant and outrageous, this indomitable trio are still the mistresses of their craft. Marking this astonishing milestone, the show will feature muchloved favourites and some wickedly hilarious new songs. If you’ve been delighted by Dogging, sung-along to Cheap Flights or shared their rudest-ever Christmas song, don’t miss the chance to celebrate with these unstoppable performers in their glorious prime.

For tickets visit www.theatresevern. co.uk/shows/whatson/fascinating-aidaextra-date/

16-18

An exhibition of 1970s science fiction art is going on display in Bishop’s Castle.

A collection of work by artist Bob Fowke will go on display at the Barn at Writer’s Lodge, in Union Street, in February.

In the 1970s, the Shropshire artist was an internationally recognised science

fiction illustrator, producing some of the most extraordinary and imaginative images of that period.

Working in oils, acrylic and gouache, he painted book covers for many wellknown writers, among them Angela Carter, Philip K Dick, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.P. Lovecraft. He also created artwork for record sleeves, including for Rick Wakeman, and the little dinosaur cards in Kellogs cereal packets collected by an entire generation of children.

The exhibition will run from 10am to 4pm on February 16 to 18.

17

Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery will host Charles Darwin’s Shrewsbury – A Guided Town Tour from 2-3.30pm.

Shrewsbury boasts many buildings and locations that were the backdrop to many pivotal moments in Charles Darwin’s early life. His story is written on the town’s walls and cobbled streets.

Come and join a tour of Shrewsbury town centre to discover these fascinating places led by one of the experienced town guides.

19

An Evening with Bryony Gordon will be staged at The Holroyd Community Theatre, Oswestry.

Join the author, journalist and mental

111

Oswestry Antique & Collectors Fair will be held on February 24 and 25; Charles Darwin’s Shrewsbury - A Guided Town Tour is on February 17.

health campaigner as she talks about her new book Mad Woman in the event hosted by Booka.

Visit www.bookabookshop.co.uk

23

The Joe Stilgoe Trio will perform at Shrewsbury School from 7.30pm.

Joe Stilgoe is an internationally acclaimed singer, pianist and songwriter whose live shows are a mixture of virtuosic musicianship and breathtaking theatricality He has created a fresh sound for jazz in the 21st century, known for writing songs that feel like they’ve been around for years and adapting classics that sound as though they were just written.

The evening will include covers from the likes of Tom Lehrer, Chuck Berry and Joni Mitchell as well as Stilgoe’s own

compositions. His latest album topped the UK jazz chart; the resulting show picked up 200,000 viewers around the world.

Visit www.shropshiremusictrust. co.uk/tickets

24-25

Discover Hidden Treasures at Oswestry Antique and Collector Fair.

Situated in the heart of Shropshire at the expansive Oswestry Showground, this fair is a treasure trove waiting to be explored. Conveniently located on the A495, spanning 36 acres and featuring three large exhibition halls, this fair is not to be missed.

25

BBC’s Bob Harris and author/ music journalist Colin Hall set out upon an intimate speaking tour based

around their mutual love and appreciation of The Beatles, including rare archive from Bob Harris’ collection of interviews with Lennon & McCartney. By 1963 the pair had written so many songs they simply couldn’t all be accommodated on just their own Beatles releases, so it made artistic and economic good sense to be offered to other artists for recording and the Merseybeat boom of 1963 & 1964 gave them a tailor-made outlet in artists such as Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer and Tommy Quickly.

This is the story behind those songs, the hits, the misses and the demos that the group never released: The Songs The Beatles Gave Away.

Tickets for the show at the Walker Theatre, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury are £20. For more details visit www. theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/bobharris-colin-hall/

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON PAGES 107-109 REMEMBER WHEN: 1. 1967. 2. 1991. 3. 1956. 4.

1993.

5. 1980. 6. 1962 FOUR Ws: 1: Virginia Woolf; Carbon and nitrogen; Iceland; 1773. 2. James Cameron; Goat; Italy; 1865.

3. Answers: Helena Bonham Carter; Iceni; West Indies; April 1999. 4. Pablo Picasso; Will-o’-the-wisp; Cambridge University; 1453. 5. Michael Schumacher; VW Beetle; Venus; 1963. 6. John Boyd Dunlop; Tenpin bowling; In the South Pacific; 1974.

WORDWISE: 1. A 2. A 3. B 4. A 5. B 6. A CROSSWORD: QUICK SOLUTIONS: Across: 1 Grammatical; 9 Overall; 10 Ditto; 11 Speed; 12 Maximum; 13 Quarry; 15 Hiatus; 18 Enlarge; 20 Cower; 22 Cured; 23 Aliment; 24 Undoubtedly.

Down: 2 Reeve; 3 Meander; 4 Aplomb; 5 Index; 6 Attempt; 7 Consequence; 8 Commiserate; 14 Aileron; 16 Incline; 17 Bedaub; 19 Radio; 21 Wheel.

CRYPTIC SOLUTIONS: Across: 1 Present arms; 9 Tourist; 10 Denim; 11 Add on; 12 Conduct; 13 Halted; 15 Wretch; 18 Citadel; 20 China; 22 Stilt; 23 Intense;

112

24 Reconstruct.

Down: 2 Round; 3 Science; 4 Notice; 5 Arden; 6 Manhunt; 7 Attache-case; 8 Empty-headed; 14 Lattice; 16 Rock-tar; 17 Allies; 19 Ditto; 21 Ionic.

WHAT’S MY NAME?:1. Jay Kay 2. Wendy Craig. 3.

Jim Cartwright.4. Philippa Pearce. 5. Don Johnson. 6.

Aimee Mann.

WORDSPIRAL 1: 1. Deep 2. Push 3. Howl 4. Lawn 5. Neat 6. Thin 7. Nark 8. Knot 9. Trip 10. Pail 11. Lisp 12. Pour 13. Reel 14. Loaf 15. Fair 16. Rend Key word solution: Kendall WORDSPIRAL 2: 1. Hall 2. Less 3. Star 4. Reap 5.

Plum 6. Mask 7. Kelp 8. Pork 9. Kiwi 10. Idle 11. Exam 12. Mess 13. Spit 14. Tutu 15. Undo 16. Oils Key word solution: Pilsner WORDSPIRAL 3: 1. Rich 2. Hare 3. Etch 4. Hook 5.

Kind 6. Diet 7. Ties 8. Span 9. Need 10. Disc 11. Chic 12. Camp 13. Path 14. Heap 15. Parr 16. Room Key word solution: Stomach

1 6 4 5 3 2 9 7 8

8 5 3 7 9 6 4 1 2

2 7 9 1 4 8 5 6 3

6 9 1 3 8 4 7 2 5

7 3 2 6 1 5 8 4 9

5 4 8 2 7 9 1 3 6

9 2 7 8 6 1 3 5 4

4 1 5 9 2 3 6 8 7

3 8 6 4 5 7 2 9 1

IMPOSSIPUZZLES: 1. Age 67 years. 2. The number was 138069. 3. The bill was £2.52. 4. Tax refund £33.61.

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