In this edition: Co-wheels A visit to a German town Shrewsbury

Butcher Row image © richardbishopphotography.co.uk
In this edition:
What’s on
Co-wheels
Phoenix Singers
A visit to a German town
Hidden Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Indoor Market
Art in the Park
Renaissance
From the Editor: Recently, I had to make a delivery in Bridgnorth
but my wife was using the car. So I borrowed a car from Co-wheels
car club which is a not for profit company.
I had already been through the on-line registration procedure and
completed a direct debit form. Part of the verification process is to
have a three-way conference call with Co-wheels, DVLA and the
driving licence holder to ascertain the licence status of the Cowheels applicant - DVLA gave me the thumbs up.
I subsequently received a membership pack. When I needed the
car I logged on to the www.co-wheels.org.uk website and booked a
car for the following day. Up early the next morning I walked down
to St Julian’s Friars car park and right by the entrance is a reserved
space for the Co-wheels cars. I waved my smart car club card at
the Ford Focus and the car door opened. The ignition key was in
the glove compartment and away I drove. I made my delivery and
four hours later returned the car to the car park.
I must say I was impressed with the system and the car and will use
the service again soon. Interestingly once you are a member you
can borrow a car from any of the Co-wheels sites nationwide from
Dundee to Portsmouth and from Norwich to Bath and the
organisation is expanding.
It costs £25 to join and £5 per month thereafter which can be set
against monthly usage charges. Cars cost £4.50 per hour and 21p
per mile. I think that the fact you can hire by the hour makes it very
attractive for shopping etc.
The Shrewsbury Co-wheels car club is backed by Shropshire
Council and I think it makes a welcome addition to the travel
options for people living within the loop. Next decision is whether I
can really give up my car - when I look at the costs it is a no brainer
but hard to do when you have had a car for nearly 50 years.
Colin Dowse
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A short visit to a German City
We don't always get the chance to sample life abroad. Sure, we go
for a holiday for two, maybe three, weeks or if we’re a certain age
some of us may take a month in a warm climate to escape the post
Christmas gloom and winter weather. But Pauline and I did something
different. We went to the provincial city of Kaiserslautern in Germany
for three months. One of the reasons we went there was that our
daughter and her husband together with two grandsons, Adam and
David, live there. It was an opportunity to be near them but not living
with them, in a rented apartment in the Altstadt (Old Town).
The City has a population of about 100,000 and is the biggest
population centre between Saarbrucken and Mannheim in the
Rheinland Pfalz Lander – or in British terms the County. It has a
University, founded in 1971 and a football team which at one time
was high in the Bundesliga. There is the Pfalztheatre, Japanese
Garden and an art gallery. In terms of industry Pfaff sewing machines
call it home and there is a General Motors (Opel) plant, plus other
engineering factories. Ramstein a few kilometres is the largest US
and NATO base in Europe. Established after the War the many US
personnel in their inimitable way called the city 'Ktown'. Many local
people work there so making ourselves understood in English was
not difficult. But it also made us lazy and although we did practice our
hard learned German in the twice weekly Market and in many of the
shops and supermarkets, we often got a response in English.
The City of Kaiserslautern was founded in the 9th Century and is
where a Holy Roman Emperor, Barbarossa, built his Palace in a
valley surrounded by extensive forests and where the river Lauter
provided a water supply. It was occupied by Napoleon's army in the
early 19th C in his push to extend France to the Rhine and after the
last War was initially part of the French zone.
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A View of the City Centre from das Rathaus with the Pfalzerwald
(Pfalz Forest) in the background. This is the largest forested area in
Germany and probably in Europe and gives rise to Kaiserslautern's
nickname: Der Stadt im Wald “The City in the Wood”.
The Fruchthalle (above) was built in the 1840's as the central covered
Market for local farmers to sell their produce, literally the 'fruit of the
land'. Built in the style of a Florentine mansion it is one of the city's
most graceful buildings. Now used for concerts both professional and
amateur with local schools using it for musical performances. In the
background (right) can be seen the Pfalztheatre.
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In the Synagogue Platz is a symbolic gateway memorial to the
Synagogue and the Jewish community destroyed by the Nazis on
Kristallnacht 9 - 10th November 1938. Around the perimeter of the
Platz are viewing points with pictures of how the building looked
between its foundation in 1888 and its destruction together with all
others in Germany.
The open air market is held on Saturdays and Tuesdays in the
Stiftsplatz and here you can see that the stall holder has filled
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Pauline's Shrewsbury 'Market Hall' bag. It is a great place to meet
people, just like our own Market Hall, with local characters as well as
local produce.
Kaiserslautern, like Shrewsbury is a compact place. Nowhere in the city
is very far from anywhere else. Again, like our ancient town, it has a
rural hinterland of villages connected by bus routes so that it is a thriving
centre for cultural, sporting and church activities. Unlike Shrewsbury it is
not the 'County Town': that is Mannheim, but it does have a main line
railway with direct services to both Paris (460km) and Frankfurt-amMain (152km) by ICE & TGV and many other destinations, as well as
being on the Autobahn A6.
Its climate is Continental in that it is often colder in winter and warmer in
summer and generally less windy which makes it ideal for the growing
of grapes to provide the wine of the Pfalz.
What did Pauline and I really like? Good coffee. Excellent beer (at least
I did). Very good everyday wine at, by British standards, absurdly cheap
prices and good wine from other European countries and the New
World too. High quality bread and rolls at very reasonable prices.
Superb cakes and confectionary, but we didn't share the German love of
marzipan. Excellent choice in the market and supermarkets of fish,
meat, cheeses, eggs and every sort of fruit and vegetables. In addition
there were places to eat and drink at the open air market with one
vendor selling only horsemeat burgers, sausages, salami etc. It's
actually very nice too.
Supermarkets tend to be much smaller with only one Tesco-sized place
about 5km from the centre. Shopping is a Monday-Saturday activity
since all shops, apart from kiosks selling newspapers, cold drinks etc.
and bakeries are geschlossen on Sundays. Except that four times a
year they have special shopping Sundays. The same applies to Public
Holidays. So, if its a four day weekend when for example Christmas
might fall on the Friday then no shops open until the Monday morning.
Paradoxically public transport keeps running, albeit a limited service.
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We think that this makes for a much more relaxed environment with
an emphasis on family and social life. It is also more enjoyable to
travel on the Autobahns since HGV's are forbidden to travel between
12 noon on Saturdays and 1800 on Sundays and we don't see the
German economy in dire straits because of it.
Their recycling policies are streets ahead of us. Most, plastic and
glass bottles and cans have a deposit or pfand on them. Each
supermarket has a machine into which bottles and cans are fed. The
machine 'reads' the information and a receipt is issued showing the
sum credited which when presented at the check-out is deducted
from your shopping. This has not been achieved in five minutes or
even five years but it does involve the co-operation of bottle and can
manufacturers, supermarkets and educating the public. By and large
only wine bottles now get dumped in the bottle banks.
Dislikes in das Vaterland? It is often difficult to use a credit card.
Cash is king or maybe an EC debit card, which of course we don't
have. Banks close for lunch! Neither are they open on Saturdays.
And don't even think of a decent cup of tea. We're told that the
strong tea which most British people prefer is not to their taste.
Thank heavens we have a family there which means we take over a
lot of tea. Whilst there I had to have some dental treatment and
there is no national scheme, it is all run by insurance companies. So,
you pay in cash, of course and either through the DWP or travel
insurance apply for reimbursement.
They start work and school very early. School's begins by 07.50 but,
depending on age, finishes by mid-afternoon. Living in the Town
Centre is not recommended if you want a lie in – except on Sundays
of course. Whilst it is a good thing to have sensible speed limits in
built up areas, 50kph and 20kph the absence of such limits on
Autobahnen is frankly terrifying. There are one or two odd things as
well. For example at the church we attended, which is where our
daughter worships, the congregation stand to pray and sit to sing.
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Many people in thinking of Continental Europe tend to disregard
Germany, yet it has much to offer. Germans are certainly not as
chauvinistic as our Gallic cousins and if you try to have a few
phrases it will pay dividends. Travelling in Germany is quite easy.
Roads are well maintained with good signage. The extensive
Autobahn system is toll free with speed limits only at the
approaches to junctions. Otherwise it's go as fast as you like and
the common British habit of hogging the middle lane at 65 mph is
asking for trouble.
Public transport is good with all cities having an extensive bus
service and many also a tram or Strassenbahn network and a few
larger places with a Metro or Unterbahn. Bus and tram stops are
indicated by the letter H, Haltestelle. We think of German Railways
DB (which incidentally own our Arriva, Cross Country and Chiltern
services) as being reputedly better than ours. Our travelling
experiences, particularly on a Sunday or a public holiday, shows
that it isn't. Rolling stock is more spacious due to a wider and
higher loading gauge and it's fun to travel upstairs on a double
deck train or cruise along at 250kph (156mph) but our services
compare well.
Above all, things work and towns and villages are incredibly tidy.
Accommodation is quite reasonably priced due to hotels and
restaurants only having a VAT rate of 7% so depending on the
exchange rate holidaying there is good value and like Britain it is a
land steeped in both history and beauty.
Terence Hyde
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Shrewsbury indoor market by Janet & Peter Heighway
We have traded in Shrewsbury Market for 43 years. We have always
found it to be a very friendly environment, both for traders and
customers. There is probably a publicly held impression of what a
market trader is, as well as categorizing the sort of person that uses
markets for their shopping. Whatever that is, Shrewsbury doesn’t
comply. Over the years, our experience has been that traders are
helpful and knowledgeable. We have made some good friends
amongst them. In addition, we’ve felt very privileged to have
developed such a loyal and appreciative collection of regular
customers. They are mainly of one mind – namely to get a quality
product at a fair price. They also like to know that the source of the
product is reliable, that it has no unnecessary packaging and involves
the minimum number of food miles. There is no stereotype of people
with these principles. In fact, it has become increasingly apparent to
us over the years what a wide diversity of people come to shop in
Shrewsbury Market.
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Our Beginnings
We spent our early married years in the Borough of Harrow, North
London. We enjoyed our small garden and grew our own fruit and
vegetables, developing a keen interest in acquiring more
knowledge. For a few years we attended courses in horticulture
and both passed the RHS examination. We also joined the local
Horticultural Society, and soon Peter was urged to be on the
committee, helping to arrange lectures by specialists and to
organize four produce shows a year. We even entered classes
ourselves – and won some, much to our surprise and the dismay of
some of the old-stagers!
After five years of living and working in London, we had an urge to
move to a more rural setting, nearer to Peter’s roots and to his
recently widowed mother. It was very exciting, although the
realization of what we had taken on was quite challenging. We both
had ‘proper jobs’, but in our spare time we tried to develop our
newly acquired house and land, both of which were in a parlous
state and required a lot of reclamation and reconstruction.
To our delight, we had inherited a large number of fruit trees, mostly
old ones, but we had no idea what some of the varieties were. We
arranged a visit from an adviser of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries & Food, and he managed to identify most of them. In
addition to the apples and pears we had about a dozen damson
trees that were very productive in those early years, and we were
determined to pick as many as we could reach. We ended up with
boxes of them, but we found that nearly everyone in the locality had
similar quantities and we didn’t know what to do with them. As
Peter’s work was in Birmingham, he decided to go in early taking
the damsons, and he then toured the greengrocers’ shops in
Harborne and Selly Oak. Although at first there was a show of
disinterest, it was obvious that they were desperate to have them,
but they wanted to give the impression of ‘doing us a favour’. The
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price we got for a 12lb box was four shillings [twenty pence in
today’s currency], equivalent to less than 2p per pound, which
didn’t reward us for all the picking, but it was better than allowing
them to go to waste.
Within a year or so, we planted a lot more fruit trees, including
plums, together with lots of gooseberry bushes and raspberries.
Many of the original trees have either died or blown down, as we
have had some terrific gales. On one occasion we returned home
to find that a huge twenty-five foot damson tree had been lifted
over the hedge without touching it, landing in the neighbouring
field. We have continued to replace trees, but at our time of life
it’s not worth investing in more new ones.
Our Introduction to the Market
In September 1970, we thought we would try taking fruit to
market. Peter’s mother was still living at the family home in
Madeley, so Shrewsbury seemed the obvious place to go,
particularly as Peter had memories of visiting the market as a
child. In those days the market was really thriving and every stall
was rented out for at least part of the day, but we managed to hire
one yard of bench for a Wednesday afternoon, after the previous
occupant had gone home.
We found this so satisfying that we continued doing it more
regularly, but it was only possible to take the occasional day’s
leave from work. Then after a while we were allocated a
permanent place on a Saturday with two yards of bench, so we
started coming weekly, and have continued ever since.
There will be many of our customers and fellow traders who
remember the way the market was organized in those days. The
man that collected the tolls and kept everyone in order was Bill
Cooper – a very amiable gentleman with lots of experience, and
he seemed to be quite fair and rigorous. Everyone remembers
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how the market benches were arranged prior to the year 2003. In
the Pannier Market, there were rows and rows of benches, each
marked in yards along its length so that every stallholder knew the
boundaries of their pitch. For many years we had two yards in the
middle of a bench, and next to us on the one end was Mrs Morris
who occupied one yard with her pannier in which she brought the
fruit, vegetables and flowers from her cottage garden. On the other
end of the bench was Mrs Duddleston with her eggs.
Between the rows of benches was a very sturdy rail, which
stallholders could lean against, obviously back to back with the
people on the bench behind – so, being in such proximity, you soon
got to know each other. Behind our neighbour Mrs Morris there was
Mrs Morgan, also with a single yard for her pannier. Both of them
left during the morning to catch their respective country bus back
home, and at different times Peter was called upon to carry their
baskets to the bus station on Barker Street. This was not too
inconvenient for us because our stall was not as busy as it often is
these days. Also backing onto us were Mr and Mrs Griffiths from
Ford with a selection of items from their extensive garden, and they
too became good friends.
In those days, the Saturday market was exclusively produce
[including flowers and plants], plus poultry and eggs – except for the
four corners, which had other people such as Midda’s clothes, Dave
with his carpets and Angela Butler with cakes and biscuits. The
competition from all the large stalls with fruit and vegetables must
have been immense, but everyone seemed busy as there were
more customers then, before the supermarkets started to draw them
away.
Becoming More Established
Eventually Mrs Morris and Mrs Duddleston gave up due to age and
infirmity, so we were able to expand from two yards to four. We
kept in touch with Mrs Morris and joined her to celebrate her 90th
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birthday in June 1992, but sadly she died the following year and
we went to her funeral at Alberbury Church in December 1993.
Across the aisle from us we had Mr and Mrs Crowther from
Nesscliffe and, some years later when they finished, we also took
over their few yards of bench. This was particularly useful
because by that time we were selling small bay trees, of which we
had over a thousand, as well as a variety of other pots of herbs
that we grew both from seed and cuttings. These proved very
popular, but eventually we decided to scale it down rather than
compete with other plant stalls, for which it was their main
occupation.
That part of our bench backed on to Paul and Roger Amess from
Hemford, with whom we have always had a very happy
association. In the other direction, close to us was Ken Walters
from Ford, who will be remembered by many who are trading
today. A characteristic of his still was that he usually had one or
more of his many children helping out, and we were privileged to
be invited to the wedding ceremonies of some of them. His poultry
and vegetables were much sought after, and he always seemed to
be busy. Sadly he died soon after giving up the market and we
attended his funeral in January 2008.
There were many unique individuals in the market – as perhaps
there always will be – and there are too many to mention, even if
we could remember them all. We do clearly recall the legendary
Nora Lee because she happened to be near us, and she had a
fairly large stall consisting mainly of produce she had bought in
from a variety of suppliers. Her stall was somewhat untidy, and
she never appeared to be unduly busy, so she could often be seen
trimming vegetables and fruit that were past their best, to make
them look more appetizing.
In the permanent stall near us, now devoted to Gluten Free Living,
we have had a variety of tenants. But for very many years it was
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the Pet Stall run by Gwen Parkes, and following her sudden death
it was continued by her daughter, Annette, whose memories of the
market go back a long way. Fortunately we still see her, as her
involvement now continues when she serves at Corbett’s near us.
As we all know, the appearance of the market changed markedly in
2003 when the management was temporarily taken over by the
company LSD, with Tony Davis as the local manager in charge. All
the old style benches were discarded together with the solid rails
that separated them, and traces of these are still visible in the floor.
The present canopied stalls were introduced and we all had to
apply for a place. The change and upheaval was very controversial
at the time, and we were fearful of the effect it would have on us
because we discovered we had been allocated less than half the
length of bench that we had previously. However, on the day of the
changeover we came in to be told that we could have some extra
space after all, and this was a great relief.
Everyone in the market will recall many ups and downs in their
fortunes, and many landmark changes. One such occasion was in
2004 with the introduction of the Saturday Street Market occupying
most of Claremont Street, Mardol and Roushill. Many of the
existing traders viewed it as an unwelcome threat with more
competition, whereas others embraced it along the lines of ‘if you
can’t beat them, join them’. The disruption to traffic was another
unwelcome consequence of that scheme, with those streets being
closed off from the early hours. Making those streets
pedestrianised had been tried many years earlier, disrupting
traders loading and unloading, but neither of these schemes
proved to be successful, and soon was abandoned.
Impressions
Unfortunately we are unable to remember the names or faces of all
the traders that we have seen over the years, and in any case it’s
impossible to mention them all. Therefore our recollections are very
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sketchy and incomplete, and there are many other people in the
market who have more detailed memories. After all these years,
however, it is the friendliness and sense of family that stands out.
Many of our customers already know each other, or have become
friends through regularly seeing each other at the same stalls week
after week. Many come expecting to meet family and friends, and it’s
always pleasing to see how much time people will be prepared to
spend enjoying the atmosphere and the wide variety of things on
offer.
Having occupied our stall for over forty-two years, the decision to
retire does not come lightly. We hate the thought of disappointing
loyal customers, who are also our friends. We will miss seeing you all
on a regular basis, but intend to continue visiting Shrewsbury, so
hopefully we will be able to keep in touch. Thank you for your
unswerving support and for being such good and faithful friends.'
With thanks to Pauline Fisk—originally published on
http://mytonightfromshrewsbury.blogspot.co.uk
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Renaissance restaurant - blink and you may miss it
Walking down Princess Street opposite the penny arcade and
sandwiched between Curios and Awards is a doorway with a bright
green awning signed Renaissance - the restaurant which for the last
13 years has been run by Stephen & Julie Lake.
Stephen, born in Palmerston New Zealand, trained to be a chef.
Aged 19 he set off for London for 3/4 years as all chefs needed
overseas experience - 30 years later he is still here. His first job in
the UK was at the Athenaeum Hotel, Piccadilly where he was a
commis chef in the sauce section.
He then worked at the Waldorf Hotel where he met Julie who worked
on the pastry section. Together they then managed a string of
restaurants and pubs until Stephen gave it all up for 14 years in
financial services and Julie took up contract catering! In 2000 they
purchased Renaissance and have been there ever since.
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Lucky for us as they now concentrate on locally sourced in-season
food and a modern British cuisine based on a solid classic French
base.
They have 30 covers at a pinch - limited only by the numbers of
chairs. Stephen concentrates on the savoury courses while Julie is in
charge of desserts including own made ice cream, sorbet, jam and
pickle. They only employ a washer-up and extra waitress staff when
needed. They are open for coffee and lunch Tuesday - Saturday and
for a surprise six course dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The Tanners wine list is short but you can bring your own wine corkage is £5 (£6 for Champagne) per bottle.
There are always vegetarian options which are not also-rans
but well thought out courses. They make everything themselves so
they know exactly what is in their food and can advise on allergies.
renaissancerestaurant.co.uk - 29a Princess Street - 01743 354289
Choir will perform as part of Food Festival Weekend
The Phoenix Singers conducted by their Guest Conductor - Ros
Crouch, will be performing at 7.30pm on Saturday 29th June in St.
Alkmund’s Church, Shrewsbury with a ‘food & drink themed evening
of entertainment.
The 40-strong choir will be singing a variety of tunes ranging from
Molly Malone, Tequila Samba and Sing a Song of Sixpence to The
Handsome Butcher (by Matyas Seiber) and Bring us in Good Ale by
Holst. The choir will be accompanied by pianists Pam Pickford and
Alan Clarke, who are also both members of the choir.
Hidden Shrewsbury
The videos titled ‘Hidden Shrewsbury’ made by STCRA members and
produced last year as part of the LJC funded tourism project are now
available at www.visitshrewsburymap.co.uk – just tick the box called
‘In the know’ and they all appear on the map.
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This interactive map of Shrewsbury Town Centre provides a visitor
guide and useful information for both holidaymakers and local
residents.
The map highlights a variety of visitor attractions including
museums, places of interest, historic sites and town tours, as well
as information on the Park and Ride routes, car parking and
amenities.
Art in the Park
The Town Council has launched its annual Quarry art exhibition,
which now runs each Sunday from 2.30pm until 5.30pm until
September 1st only subject to weather conditions but excluding
event days on June 23rd, July 7th and August 11th. Paintings will
be displayed around the perimeter of the Dingle which is an ideal
backdrop for an art gallery. For further information, or for a permit,
contact Mike Cox at Shrewsbury Town Council on 01743 257659
or email mike.cox-stc@shropshire.gov.uk
Upcoming STCRA events
STCRA Garden Party July - further details will be available shortly
and distributed by flyer but check the website for latest details
www.stcra.org.uk
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Town events
Quarry Bandstand
Salopian Brass 2nd June
Telford Dixieland Band 9th June
Shrewsbury Brass Band 16th June
Wem Jubilee Band 21st July
City of Chester Band 25th August
Quarry events
Daimler Car Rally 9th June
Shrewsbury Carnival & Show 15th June
Shrewsbury Schools Mini Marathon 21st June
Shrewsbury Marathon 23rd June
Shrewsbury Food Festival 29th - 30th June
Shrewsbury Flower Show 9th - 10th August
Battle of Britain Service 15th September
Severn Bridges Road Race 22nd September
River events
Shrewsbury River Festival 9th June
Dragon Boat Race 30th June
Square events
Shrewsbury Brass Band 16th June
Percussion Unlimited 16th June
Live music to support marathon 23rd June
Samaritans 60th birthday celebration 27th July
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The Shrewsbury Town Centre Residents' Association
Committee
Chairs: Sheila Sager (Communities) &
Alison Bukhari (Business)
Secretary: Angela Wainwright
Treasurer: Moya McLoughlin
Membership Secretary: Jan Duck
Ruth Anderson (Environment & Events)
Patrick Anderson (Young at Heart)
Colin Dowse (Communications)
Mike McCabe - (Police Liaison & Licensing)
Terence Hyde (Tourism)
Amanda Jones (Big Event)
Be Whitaker (Planning)
Unfilled portfolios: Traffic, Families & Youth the Committee welcomes volunteer recruits for these portfolios.
In the Loop is produced by the communications portfolio holder.
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the
views of the STCRA.
Published by:
STCRA, 8 Shoplatch, Shrewsbury SY1 1HF
email: info@stcra.org.uk
website: www.stcra.org.uk
Facebook: ShrewsburyTownCentreResidentsAssociation
twitter: @STCRA
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