Letter to Abbey Lines magazine

A letter to Abbey Lines, the magazine of the Shrewsbury Railway Heritage Trust.
Spring 2014.

I always thoroughly enjoy the Abbey Lines magazine which, I feel sure, will come to be highly valued (when viewed as a complete body of work) as a magnificent archive of railway memories and of projects and endeavours not chronicled elsewhere.

However, I especially wanted to say how much I enjoyed Dave Giddins' article in the Spring 2014 edition.

He neatly sums up how much times have changed when he writes about his trainspotting days at places like Shrewsbury locomotive sheds. Youngsters wandering around such 'a dangerous environment' is not something which would be tolerated these days, that's for sure.

Dave writes: "We had no mobile phone or even a phone at home. My mum and dad knew where I was going and I did have a little lecture to tell me what to do in an emergency. I would have my rucksack with some corn beef sandwiches and a bottle of Tizer, and sometimes my little portable radio would accompany me to listen to the favourite pop hits of the mid-60s, like The Troggs' Wild Thing, Helen Shapiro and the latest Beatle hits. These were great times."

Evocative stuff, Dave.

My own trainspotting days came about half a decade later at the dawn of the seventies. Myself and my mate would hang around the sheds in Coleham, but they were clearly, by then, in serious decline; rat-infested, the roof and walls battered and half-falling-down.

And the place by that time had long since seen the end of steam. Instead, diesel locomotives which we knew as Brushes and Bo-Bos and Warships populated the place. The magic was fading fast.

Okay. It's been a while. Quite a while.

Yes indeed.
Other commitments.......... you know, family, full-time job, life in general............... have kinda got in the way of blogging for a while.
And, as I was just explaining to my younger brother earlier today, I have ended up using UNDERNEATH THE SIDEBOARD IN THE FRONT ROOM as a sort of archive for my weekly Shrewsbury Chronicle column, SHREWSBURY MATTERS, rather than as an outlet for other writing projects.

But, there again, the fact that Shrewsbury Matters is readily available on the Shropshire Star website in some ways makes it pretty pointless sticking them on UNDERNEATH THE SIDEBOARD IN THE FRONT ROOM as well.

Nevertheless, just for my own amusement (if nothing else), I will try to post a few of my more recent columns on here in the near future.

Mmmmmmmm.

I hope that clears things up a bit.
Cheers for now,
Phil.

Great letter about The Stew

Phil,

I have just read your piece in this week’s Chronicle and wish to say ‘thank you’ for supporting this building and this part of the Shrewsbury Conservation Area. If Members agree to this proposal I don’t see much point in having a conservation area. The conservation area protection is there for exactly this type of building ie one which is of architectural and historical interest locally but remains unlisted. Some ‘old’ buildings are worthy candidates to allow new buildings to continue the evolution of the character of an area. Atlas Foundry may have been one of them but here a real opportunity was missed for a landmark modern building of real quality for the 21^st century and beyond. Instead what did they select as their inspiration – The Stew and its ilk. What do some people want to do now? Knock down the Stew. Then the only connection we will have of the previous use of the area as a river port will be the pastiche that is the old Guildhall.  How can that make sense?

I have been involved with this building since surveying it together with The Maltings for Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council in 2006. We found then that the building is very sound, robustly built even and the roof structure is something to marvel at. It would be akin to a crime to lose the opportunity to repair; reinstate and re-use this building for another 300 years. In those next 300 years, townspeople and visitors alike will thank us for the efforts we made now to save this building. They will hopefully cherish it as we do dozens of other more cuddly and friendly buildings like Abbots’ House or Rowley’s Mansion. They are residential buildings but there are few if any industrial buildings left in the town to indicate that at one time work and residence were side by side. There is an old workshop at the back of Abbots’ House which gives a hint of the work that would have gone on once upon a time within the town itself but that is a rare survival.

In Frankwell, in a very prominent position so it cannot be missed, sits one of the few industrial style buildings still within the town centre (albeit Frankwell wasn’t always regarded as being part of the centre but it is now) – as the Italians say part of the ‘centro storico’ the historic centre.  If it can be seen in that context, part of the fabric that makes up a historic core to a modern town or city, why would anyone wish to demolish a solidly constructed building so full of character and suggestive of past times? Profit. That is what is at the heart of this. Certainly not philanthropy. A desire to build a hotel, restaurant and spa close to the town centre and this happened to be on the market.

Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council had a part to play in this. They sold the property for ‘best value’ but was it? They were marketing the property not as a demolition site but for repair and re-use for a variety of alternative uses. However, they knew that the buyer’s intention was to demolish this building.  The also knew that a sum of £450,000 had been offered which they must have known was far more than the building could possibly be worth for repair and reuse.

In Officer’s report to Cabinet on 25^th October 2004.

The property has been marketed as a repairable building. It has never been marketed as a site for redevelopment. The planning department have stressed that should the building be demolished it would only be after conclusive evidence has been provided that demonstrates that the refurbishment of the existing structure was economically unviable. They have also stressed that any building built replacing the existing would be required to be of a similar "warehouse" style and a similar mass to the old building. Mr Leese is likely to pursue a planning application that involves the demolition of the building, but it has not yet been established that the building is beyond economic repair.

They also pointed at to Cabinet that:

The purchasers are taking all the rIsk that their proposed design for the “boutique hotel" will be successful with its planning application,

Well, why should Members now be put under pressure to allow demolition simply because the Applicant bought the site at risk and since then has neglected it’s condition and so now they see demolition as the only way to tidy up this site?

Regards,

 Peter Napier BA(Hons) FRICS IHBC

RICS Building Conservation Accredited

Chartered Building Surveyor

Shrewsbury Station Just After Six

Available now: Phil Gillam's new novel, Shrewsbury Station Just After Six. Check it out on amazon.

Sundays - When Pride Hill Was Silent

Back in the days before retail parks, before giant garden centres, in fact before Sundaytrading, the weekend had a very different feel.

The youngsters of today will doubtless have some trouble imagining a world (or a Shrewsbury at least) in which Sundays could be quite eerily quiet – and pretty much the only thing you could purchase on the Lord’s Day would have been an ice cream from the Sidoli’s van parked outside the gates of The Quarry.

Mind you, Sidoli’s ice cream was absolutely delicious!

My mates and I, when we were 12 or 13 or 14, would often, on a Sunday, wander aimlessly around Shrewsbury town centre, just to, as they say, kill time.

Not a single shop would be open. Pride Hill would be silent.

But we quite enjoyed the odd atmosphere of the almost empty shopping streets.

We just talked and walked, had a moan about school, dreamt of fanciful futures involving flying cars and holiday cruises to the moon. You know. All that sort of thing.

I suppose you might say: we were at a loose end.

Legendary comedian Tony Hancock once featured in a classic sketch about Sundays, perfectly expressing the boredom felt by many back then when there seemed so little to do.

Not only were all the shops closed, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s it wasn’t so easy to travel. This was an era before the motor car became the dominant form of transport.

Millions of citizens still relied on buses, coaches and trains, and they could be prohibitively expensive.

Certainly, our mum and dad didn’t have a car for great chunks of our childhood.

Well, there was a half-broken-down Hillman Minx, I recall, which – during its couple of years with the Gillam family – spent most of its time parked in West Street, round the corner from our house in North Street.

The reason it spent most of its time parked and idle, I imagine, was because (a) it was notoriously unreliable, and (b) we couldn’t afford the petrol.

So there were Sundays (and again this is possibly a measure of just how bored we were) when my little brother and I asked Dad for the keys to the Hillman Minx and then just went and sat in it for an hour or so, pretending to go on a trip to the seaside.

Blimey. How sad is that?

Other Sundays, my little brother and I would go for very long walks with our big sister, Jan. These very long walks (or was it just that, at that time, we had very short legs?) would give us an appreciation of our home town.

Not only would we get to understand the geography, but we would get a feel for its rich history too and its fine architecture.

So – looking back now – our Sundays were not all about Bob Monkhouse presenting the Golden Shot and the radio adding to our boredom with Sing Something Simple. What’s more, our Sundays would seem positively exciting when compared to the Sundays of Victorian times.

The world of the 1860s was far more austere.

I had to smile when I read in last week’s Shrewsbury Chronicle an item referring to a publican who had had the audacity to serve beer on a Sunday back in 1863.

Sundays then were clearly held in even higher regard by the authorities than a century later, in 1973, the period to which I was referring earlier.

Fans of the other regular column which appears each week on this page (Memory Corner, compiled by the charming Dave Jones) – and I count myself among its admirers – will recognise the following.

Just get a load of this:

Friday, July 10 1863

THE Case of Richard Rowlands, Bell Inn, Abbey Foregate – On Wednesday evening last, a meeting of persons friendly to and sympathising with the landlord of this hostelry, took place, when very strong dissatisfaction was expressed with the recent decision of our borough magistrates, who had inflicted a fine upon Mr. Rowlands under the belief that he had drawn and sold ale on Sunday during church hours. The amount of fine and costs was subscribed and presented to Mr. Rowlands, who acknowledged with gratitude the kindness of his friends.

You see what I mean?

At least you can go down the pub on a Sunday nowadays without the serving of beer being considered an offence!

A war poet, a town crier and a river goddess

A war poet, a town crier and a river goddess. No, I'm not talking about this year's finalists in Britain's Got Talent.

These are the three life-size two-dimensional statues (cut from sheet steel) now adorning a funny little area between Smithfield Road and the river.

The pavement widens for a few yards opposite the new Premier Inn and here we find representations of the brilliant World War I poet Wilfred Owen who lived in the Monkmoor area of the town before going off to the hell of the trenches; our current-day flamboyant town crier Martin Wood; and the mythical Sabrina, goddess of the River Severn.

You have to admit, they make a most peculiar trio. 

It's a bit like the BBC choosing three characters to represent the breadth of their broadcasting output and coming up with William Shakespeare, Bruce Forsyth and Robin Hood.

There we have it: a figure from history, a present-day joy-bringer and a character who almost certainly never existed.

So from that point of view, I suppose Wilfred, Martin and Sabrina represent Shrewsbury rather well.

I love Martin, by the way. He's an old pal of mine from childhood days. We used to go back to his house after school and play with his train set. And, no question about it, he is a magnificent ambassador for Shrewsbury.

Just an odd little trio, that's all I'm saying.

The background to all of this is that 15,000 votes were cast in an online poll with the public selecting Wilfred and Sabrina from a list of nine nominees. Then Martin, our town crier since 1986, was chosen by pupils at the town's primary schools.

All very democratic.

The 'Portrait Bench' - as it is being called - cost £5,000 and has been funded by the charity Sustrans. Formed in 1977 and with its HQ in Bristol, Sustrans' job is to promote sustainable transport, encouraging people to walk, cycle and use public transport.

Oh. And if you are still not sure where these new statues are, we're talking about that stretch of walkway between Severn Terrace and the boxing gym.

The area has been improved over the past few years as part of a Connect2 project. Connect2 is a scheme run by Sustrans to develop new walking and cycle routes in 79 communities around the UK.

The area now has wide, shared-use pavements and new crossings to the Raven Meadows bus station.

The idea is that members of the public will be able to sit and be photographed  around the famous figures.

Helen Ball, town clerk, said: “We are delighted to have been able to work with Cycle Shrewsbury on this project which will honour Shrewsbury's favourite local heroes.”

............

I really need to say something this week about the fabulous Shrewsbury Food Festival which was staged at the weekend.

It was another one of those events which brought new life to Shrewsbury with colourful morris dancers doing their thing at Mardol Head, loads of food-related stuff going on in the Market Hall, and a real buzz across the whole of the town centre.

Of course the main action was in the Quarry with a dizzying array of stalls, a fantastic atmosphere, countless temptations for the tastebuds, and live music.

Wondering around there on Saturday I noticed, by the way, that two fellow Shrewsbury Chronicle columnists were in attendance: cheeky Dave Burrows and our Shrewsbury-loving mayor Jon Tandy.

My wife and I enjoyed a lunch consisting of a falafel wrap from Vegetarian Heaven and a glass of cider from Ralphs Cider & Perry. All very nice.

As Dave Burrows wrote in this newspaper last week, Shrewsbury, these days,  really is ticking all the right boxes.

Shrewsbury Food Festival. Wonder if they do sauce on a plate.

No-one could ever have accused our dear old mum of being a great cook. Pretty much everything she produced in the kitchen came out of a tin or a packet.
We grew up on a diet of beans on toast, supermarket shepherd's pie, faggots in gravy, braised beef, chicken pies, and (still one of my favourites) egg and chips.
The likes of Jamie Oliver would not have been impressed, but, as they say, it never did us any harm.
When I tell folks that our six o'clock tea time would feature nothing more exotic than jam sandwiches, they either stare at me in disbelief or else declare in a Monty Pythonesque Lancashire accent: "Jam sandwiches! You were lucky! We used to dream of jam sandwiches!"
Well. We did occasionally have tinned sardines, but I was never very keen.
What I really did love, however, was sauce on a plate.
"What?" I hear you ask.
You heard. Sauce on a plate. Quite literally HP sauce on a plate which you would then mop up with bread and butter. And, for afters, mashed banana with milk and sugar. Yummy!
It is against this background that this week your humble columnist turns his attention to the forthcoming Shrewsbury Food Festival.
What on earth is a food philistine such as I to make of a glorious celebration of all that's excellent when it comes to tickling the taste buds?
Well. At this point perhaps I should confess to two things. Firstly, my tastes and indeed the food I have been enjoying in adulthood have both moved on in the 30 years or so since our mum's cooking was the only food on offer. Secondly, I have been vegetarian for the last three decades so I'm afraid any tasty morsels involving in their production cows, sheep, pigs and suchlike leave me cold.
Having set out my stall, let's have a look at this food festival, shall we?

It's taking place this coming weekend in our beautiful Quarry park and around the town. The brochure and the website look fabulous (check outwww.shrewsburyfoodfestival.co.uk) and you can even follow the festival on Twitter (look for @shrewsfoodfest).

Amongst more than 80 exhibitors will be: Appleby's Cheese, Barnabys Ice Cream, the Battlefield 1403 Farmshop, Miranda's Preserves Ltd, Monkhide Wines, Ludlow Vineyard, Foxgloves Liqueurs, Doodle Bakes with their hand-made iced biscuits and sweets, Coopers Sausage Rolls, Fish In A Box, The Peach Tree Restaurant, Vintage Thyme pop-up tea room, The Fresh Lemonade Company, Native Breeds (hand-made hotdogs served with local relishes in artisan rolls), Polly's Parlour and Severn Valley Roasts.

Also represented will by Shrewsbury Mini Donuts, Shropshire Chocolates by Toots Sweets, Gwatkin Cider, the Green Fields Farm Shop, French Flavour Ltd, the Ludlow Food Centre, and many, many more.

Oh, and have you heard about the Restaurant Safari?

"The idea of our Restaurant Safari is simple," explains the brochure. "We've joined forces with a number of the town's finest, many of which have created special menus - with dishes for as little as £3 so that you can taste their take on local produce without breaking the bank. And if you like what you taste, you can stick around and order the full-sized versions. For full details of what's on offer, visit the festival website."

The festival is also providing a feast of films - movies about food. Having teamed up with Shrewsbury Film Society, those clever festival people invite you to take in a tasty movie at The Hive in Belmont.

There's lots to enjoy! And - like the Shrewsbury Folk Festival and the Shrewsbury Steam Rally - this event will surely grow and develop into one of the town's major annual attractions.

Mmmmmmm. I wonder if they'll do sauce on a plate?