A Day of Self-Indulgence

You know you must be getting on a bit when you daren't stop on a busy high street in case some do-gooder wants to help you across the road.

Okay, I know I'm not quite at that stage yet, but there are times when I realise I'm not as young as I used to be, and there are days when I want to shout out (to anyone who'll listen): "Stop the world. I wanna get off!"

It's at times such as these that there really isn't anything else for it but a day of therapeutic self-indulgence – and, for me at least, this almost always involves a large helping of Shrewsbury.

And so it came to pass that I treated myself to just such a day last week, a day packed full of the things I love.

Oh, before you ask, by the way, my wife and my mother-in-law (always listed among the things I love, needless to say) had taken themselves off to the Shrewsbury Flower Show for some quality mother-and-daughter time, and our sons were out and about doing other things. So, yeah, I had the whole day to myself.

The delicious ingredients of my special day were beginning to arrange themselves into an irresistible soufflé.

So let me see now. There was my aforementioned large helping of Shrewsbury, there was chocolate, The Beatles, beans on toast, the library, a long chat with a dear friend, sunshine, coffee, Castlefields, a riverside walk, and a Neil Gaiman novel.

It was a day that ticked a lot of boxes.

In brilliant sunshine I walked over the Castle Walk and the Castle Bridge (a stretch that, as a boy, I walked twice a day, first on my way to school, then on my way home). And then I was in Castlefields and the life-enhancing streets of my childhood, streets packed with history and happy memories. This always does my heart good.

Strolling along the riverside on such a beautiful day, my cares began evaporating. And then it was on to the splendid Shrewsbury Library for peace and contemplation within its elegant rooms. There can be few other libraries in this kingdom quite as lovely.

Upon my return home it was time for a revitalising spot of lunch: good old lovable beans on toast. And music – The Beatles debut album, Please Please Me. Now, contrary to popular belief, I do listen to groups other than The Beatles. Hundreds of bands and artists feature in my extensive collection, and I certainly do not confine myself to a particular era or genre, but we are talking here about a day of total self-indulgence, and although I 'like' plenty of other bands, I actually love The Beatles. On such a day, it had to be them.

A good cup of coffee and a chocolate bar and your humble columnist was now at the gates of Paradise.

Unexpectedly, there was a knock at the door. It was my dearest old friend (and, yes, I'm going to name him) – Steve Parry. (This will embarrass him, but what the heck!)

Steve and I go back a long way . . . to when we were about eleven, in fact. And it was great to see him on this day of reconnection and pampering of the soul.

He and I went to Belvidere School together, and we went to Tech together. We went to the same dreadful discos together in the seventies, and wore the same appalling fashions – rust-coloured eight-inch flares and shirts with rounded collars and stupid motifs (I remember especially a monocled gentleman in a bright green top hat repeated dozens of times, turning a humble shirt into a ridiculous work of art).

We've been great friends for 45 years and if I can't let him into my day of therapeutic self-indulgence, who can I let in? Anyway, a cup of tea and a long chat with him, and he was on his way.

Then, an hour or so of reading the Neil Gaiman novel I am so enjoying at the moment (Neverwhere), a book of pure escapism, a book that somehow draws upon Dr Who, Star Wars, Monty Python and traditional fairy tales, while maintaining grit, horror, and plenty of humour too, and it was time to go and pick up the girls from the Flower Show.

I've got to say. I feel a lot better now. (Thanks for asking).

The Flax Mill and the Canal Tavern

Apart from hitting my head against an iron beam (which was my own stupid fault for not looking where I was going), my visit to the Flax Mill earlier this year was enjoyable. Yes, yes. Since you ask – I was wearing a hard hat (thank goodness) but it still hurt.

The visit was also educational and enlightening. For one thing it taught me to look ahead and not down at my feet.

The tour also succeeded in illustrating just what an extraordinary structure we have over there in Ditherington. It also reminded me of how many schemes, projects, proposals, suggestions (call them what you will) relating to the Flax Mill have come and gone over the years.

Over the past few decades we've heard at various times that it's going to be turned into luxury flats, high-quality offices, an art gallery, specialist shops, an exhibition area, cafes and restaurants which may or may not spill out onto a revitalised canalside yard. The list goes on.

Currently, bosses behind the latest plans to regenerate the Flax Mill are preparing to stage a number of extra tours around the historic site in response to increasing public demand.

This comes after more than 1,600 visitors flocked to the building in May just days after the revamp plans received an initial £12.1 million in support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Tours are planned for July 28, August 11 and August 25.

So if you get the chance, do pop along and see what all the fuss is about.

If you didn't already know it, the Flax Mill is, as the world's first iron-framed building, world-renowned as the great grand-daddy of New York's skyscrapers. Funnily enough, we, as children in the 1960s, thought of the place as just a terrible wreck, rat-infested and falling to bits. We called it The Maltings because that is what it was for many years after ceasing to be a flax mill. If the regeneration finally does go ahead, this once half-forgotten and largely ignored place could become a fascinating attraction for locals and tourists alike; another jewel in Shrewsbury's already generously jewel-encrusted crown.

“Some 1,600 attended our open days in May but we are still receiving many requests for visits,” explained Stephen Crosland, co-ordinator for the Friends of Flaxmill Maltings. “We can offer tours for organised groups, but this offer provides opportunities for anyone to come along whether they be local residents or occasional visitors.”

The 90-minute tours will start at 2pm, and interactive activities will also be held to keep youngsters busy.

In case you've lost track (and who could blame you?) of what the latest scheme is all about, it's something like this: The Friends group is busily campaigning to restore the old mill buildings, creating a mixture of businesses, art groups, bars, restaurants and homes. All this, it is hoped, will start in 2014. Funding of more than £460,000 has already been pumped into the project.

Alan Mosley, chairman of the Friends, said: “There is great interest in the site, particularly after the success of the Flaxmill Maltings Partnership in receiving initial support for the £12.1 million Heritage Lottery Fund bid.”

It seems to me that it's been a very long time coming, but, finally, regeneration of the old girl is starting to look like a reality.

So, yeah, do go along on one of these tours – but please don't bang your head.

And talking of old canalside buildings in Shrewsbury, a word now about the Canal Tavern in New Park Road, Castlefields. 

Being an old Castlefields boy myself (and a pupil at the Lancasterian School just a stone's throw from this lovely old pub), I have a real soft spot for the Canal Tavern, and very fond memories of meeting my dad there (when I was old enough to do so) for a pint or two. I can recall a piano in the corner of the bar and a cosy little snug. I also remember a sheep which grazed in a small grassed area in front of the pub.

The Tavern dates from around 1820 and was near the old canal terminus at The Buttermarket. Originally it drew its customers from the passing barges, as well as attracting people working on the wharf, and of course railwaymen from the nearby station. It had stabling for five horses and its entertainment included the game of bagatelle. Needless to say, all that was somewhat before my time!

Anyway.

I hear that the canal preservation people would very much like to incorporate this pub into its own highly ambitious projects. How wonderful it would be if the currently-closed and rather sad-looking Canal Tavern could live again as perhaps both a pub and a museum.