Bishop’s Castle charter celebrations 1973

In 1573 Bishop's Castle was made a borough by a charter granted by Elizabeth I. This film shows the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the charter in 1973.

This charter, and a later on granted by James I, were kept in a locked box at a local bank. For many years, as BBC News reported in 2011, they could not be consulted as the key to the box had been lost:

Town Clerk Diane Malley said: "In the 1970s we did have access to the charters because for a short time they were on display in the town hall, and sometime after that they were locked in the bank and the keys mislaid." 

Mrs Malley found an envelope marked "unknown keys" in a cupboard and decided to see if one of them would unlock the charter box.

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A bird's-eye view of Ludlow and the Teme

Thanks to the Shropshire Star for leading me to this video.

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The Orthodox Monastery in the shadow of the Stiperstones

I thought I knew a lot about the Stiperstones, but thanks to a tweet from Wild About Walking I made a new discovery today.

There is an Orthodox monastery in the Eastern shadow of these hills.

The website of the Monastery of St Antony and St Cuthbert says:

There is no access to the Monastery by car. The farm track is long and rough. The nearest Car Park is at the Stiperstones Car Park at the Knolls, which is a 45 minute walk along the hill below the Stiperstones.

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Mike Storey to visit Church Stretton and Bishop's Castle

A good write up for the Liberal Democrat peer in the Shropshire Star:

Lord Mike Storey is the Lib Dem spokesman on education in the House of Lords and will be visiting two south Shropshire towns whose leisure centres both receive funding via schools, and face a shortfall of tens of thousands of pounds due to cuts. 

Lord Storey, who was a headteacher and also leader of Liverpool City Council, is expected to visit Church Stretton on January 22, where the future of the town’s swimming pool is being reviewed. 

He will then visit Norbury Primary School, near Bishop’s Castle area, and the SpArC Centre in Bishop’s Castle, which is also threatened by cuts.

The report also quotes Charlotte Barnes, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Bishop's Castle:

"Our leisure centres contribute to the well-being of our residents, they help to keep people healthy and happy. 

"They must save the care budgets a fortune and of course they are one of the few places to offer young people activities in our more isolated areas."

The scale of the cuts being inflicted on council spending represents an area of vulnerability for the Tories. David Cameron, for one, has not grasped what George Osborne is doing to local services.

I hope the Lib Dems will take up this issue in the way that Mike Storey and Charlotte Barnes are in Shropshire. Such a campaign will mean more to our traditional voters than a call for further tax cuts.

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Paddy Ashdown, Malcolm Saville and eating hedgehogs

Today in someone's review of the year I came across an interview Nick Clegg gave to the Evening Standard on the eve of the general election:

Looking back at the campaign, it is the comic moments he remembers. For instance, his first visit was to a hedgehog sanctuary, with Paddy Ashdown. Ashdown muttered under his breath to Clegg: “When I was in the Special Boat Service we used to eat hedgehogs.”

Talk of eating hedgehogs inevitably reminds those of us who grew up on Malcolm Saville of his second Lone Pine story Seven White Gates.

At the beginning of the book Peter (Petronella) Sterling is cycling to her mysterious uncle' farm under the Stiperstones.

On the way she comes across a Gypsy caravan whose horse is running away with the little girl driving it (Fenella) after being frightened by a tank (the book was published in 1944). Peter risks her life to bring the horse under control.

Later she eats with the Gypsy family:

Peter stood by and watched the other gipsies rake away the hot embers of their wood fire, until two cylinders of baked clay were exposed. Fenella ran for a dish from the Reubens' van and one of the glowing cylinders was poked on to it. Then, with mutual expressions of good will, the cooks and the Reubens with their guest parted. 

Round their own fire, Peter watched how the baked clay was cracked and peeled off, bringing with it the spines of the hedgehog and leaving him bare but beautifully cooked. From the pot came a stew of gravy and vegetables, a generous helping of which was piled on to the plate of the guest of honour.

She didn't see how Reuben divided up the hedgehog, but her share was certainly tasty - something between rabbit and chicken - and she was so hungry that she finished her plateful almost as soon as Fenella.

I don't know if that is how they cooked hedgehog in the SAS. And, though this method would deal neatly with the spines, Saville does not mention what has happened to the giblets.

As to the taste of hedgehog I am reminded of Jonathan Meades' comment:

People say frogs' legs taste of chicken. They are wrong. They taste of frog.

Read more on Malcolm Saville and Gypsies.

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The latest on "troubled Lucy Allan" from the Shropshire Star

Is being troubled worse than being embattled or beleagured?

Anyway, my favourite newspaper is the place to turn for the latest news on the Conservative MP for Telford.

The latest Shropshire Star story on her begins:

Troubled Lucy Allan has been asked to apologise for her comments about “bully boy” Labour councillors in the town – or face a lawsuit. 

The Telford MP launched a Facebook rant against “a small group of bully boy councillors, thugs and henchmen” who she claimed had hounded her for two years, before going on to name them. 

Members of the executive committee of the Telford Labour Party today published an open letter to Ms Allan in which they claim the comments made by the MP are “defamatory and untrue”.

And this morning the Telford Labour Party sent this tweet:

We can also confirm that one of our members has instructed Solicitors to act on his behalf.

— Telford Labour Party (@Telfordlabour) December 19, 2015

Elsewhere on the Star's website you can read the claims of Arianne Plumbly, who worked for Lucy Allan in her Telford office.

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Jealous tree surgeon forced his way into cousin's house and attacked him in rage

Our Headline of the Day comes from the Shropshire Star.

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The Shropshire schoolmaster who said "Ni!"

Is it any wonder that the Shropshire Star is my favourite newspaper?

You would't get this in the Guardian, the Financial Times or City AM:

An 87-year-old former schoolmaster from Shropshire has a unique claim to fame – he is the inspiration for the famous Monty Python "The Knights Who Say Ni" sketch. 

Laurence Le Quesne had a habit when at Shrewsbury School of exclaiming “ni” as he scoured the library for books. 

The quirky trait amused his pupils, who happened to include a certain Michael Palin. 

He used it as a basis for the famous scene in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I also realise that I once owned a book by him on Thomas Carlyle.

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Tory leader of Shropshire resigns from the council

The Shropshire Star reports:

Keith Barrow today resigned as both leader of Shropshire Council and as a councillor. 

Mr Barrow said he was stepping down as both council leader and councillor for Oswestry South "with immediate effect". 

In a statement, he said he was aware that "the people of Shropshire and my constituents are not getting all they can from me in terms of leadership of the council".

But the truth seems to be that Shropshire has been getting rather too much of Mr Barrow.

Andy Boddington, a Liberal Democrat councillor and blogger from Ludlow, tells us:

Complaints have been made and upheld through the council’s standards procedure. More have been submitted in the last few days. At least one complaint has been sent to West Mercia police for investigation. 

There has also been growing dissatisfaction over Keith Barrow’s leadership style, which has concentrated power with himself and a few lieutenants.

Do read the whole post. It is a good account of the damage that has been done by the 'modernisation' of local government in Shropshire and beyond.

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Listening to the Long Mynd and Stiperstones shuttle

The Long Mynd and Stiperstones shuttle bus will start running again on Saturday 30 April 2016, running every weekend and bank holiday Mondays until the end of September.

While we wait for spring, we can enjoy the audio commentaries on the website devoted to this service. If you know these hills you need only close your eyes to see them.

There is even one that mentions Malcolm Saville.

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