Tag Archives: today’s treasures

Evolution Explored, Shrewsbury

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Evolution Explored, honours Charles Darwin

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Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury on 12th February, 1809 – if he visited his childhood town today I wonder what he would remember from his boyhood in Shrewsbury.  The river still meanders under English Bridge to the East and Welsh Bridge to the West and The Market Hall still stands in the Square, but he might be quaintly surprised that the Darwin Centre is a shopping centre and the museum is in the Music Hall – very confusing to any visitors to the town.

He might also be very interested in a unique outdoor photographic exhibition that has just arrived in Shrewsbury honouring his birthday and International Darwin Day and also commemorating the 70th anniversary of Magnum Photos – a co-operative of photographers formed in 1947. Noted for its diverse work chronicling world events and personalities, Magnum provides a living archive of people, places and discoveries reflecting our built environment, society and history that have shaped the world we live in today.

The exhibition was opened by Mike Matthews, Chairman of Shrewsbury BID with a very eloquent speech describing the range of photographs depicting a complex world of beauty, conflict, sadness, wonder, exploration, compassion and discovery and the emotions invoked by gazing at the images.

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David Hurn, one of Magnums most celebrated photographers, also spoke at the opening ceremony in St. Mary’s Church, saying how important photography is – in whatever format – and how much he hoped that the exhibition would reach out to young people and encourage their creative talents.

The photographs are displayed in two locations in the town – outside St. Mary’s Church and in The Square and are brought to Shrewsbury thanks to The Shrewsbury BID and The Hive.  Shrewsbury Business Improvement District represents over 500 businesses in the town and has been tasked with destination marketing – putting Shrewsbury on the tourist map. The Hive is a creative hub celebrating arts culture and creativity and providing funded creative projects for young people.

This exhibition is certainly unique – and definitely worth a visit – have a day out in Shrewsbury – you can get the train from Whitchurch or Wem, visit the exhibition, have lunch at one of the amazing cafes in the town, enjoy a stroll along the river and pause on Welsh bridge for a moment to think about how life has changed – and how much we have learned – since Darwin was a boy.

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Today’s Treasures – Snowdrops – Tiny Pearls of Springtime

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Today’s Treasures – Snowdrops – Tiny Pearls of Springtime

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The days are getting longer and the first flowers of the year are peeping through Autumn’s fallen leaves – snowdrops – tiny pearls of springtime, creeping towards the light; frosts may wither them but their fragile stems soon revive in the sunshine, they shake their petals free of winter and their tiny white bells tremble in the spring breeze.

Snowdrop Walks mark the start of the season for many of our historic houses and there are lots of early spring walks through snowdrop-dappled woodland.  Rode Hall, just over the North Shropshire border, has a wonderful display of snowdrops set in enchanting woodland.

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The snowdrop trail begins alongside neatly manicured lawns overlooked by a picturesque combination of unusual mature trees, through formal rose gardens, heavenly scented in summer but now lying dormant waiting for the first rays of the summer sun.

Through the gap in the hedge, a whole new vista opens out and you enter a wild woodland star spangled with snowdrops roaming unchecked, under the trees, along the brook, scrambling around the shrubs and bushes that decorate the landscape, and you can find a bench, or perch on a  stone bridge, and merge with the magic of the trees, serenaded by robins and blackbirds and soothed by the sound of the stream bubbling over stones, watched by myriads of tiny snowdrop faces, studying their reflections in the water.

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Rode Hall is open from Saturday, 4th February to Sunday 5th March (except Mondays) for snowdrop escapades for all the family (including dogs – on leads).  The tearoom is open serving light lunches and you can warm up by the logburner with a welcome pot of tea and homemade cakes.  The art exhibition in the barn is well worth a visit, showcasing creations by local artists – and not all of the paintings feature snowdrops!  www.rodehall.co.uk

In the Druid calendar Snowdrops heralded Spring and first appear at Imbolc – celebrated on 31st January and 2nd February (Candlemas Day).

There are snowdrops walks all over Shropshire, including Combermere Abbey, Attingham Park, and Dudmaston Hall.

The Snowdrop Fairy

Deep sleeps the Winter
Cold, wet, and grey;
Surely all the world is dead;
Spring is far away.
Wait! the world shall waken;
It is not dead, for lo,
The Fair Maids of February
Stand in the snow!

Cicely Mary Barker

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Today’s Treasures – Whittington Castle

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Today’s Treasures

WHITTINGTON CASTLE – a relic of ancient battles

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January is such a dismal month – although the days are getting longer it doesn’t feel like it and, after the expense and excitement of Christmas, with summer a distant memory, we need to cheer ourselves up, so it’s really important to focus on the good things in life and make the most of them.  My mum was always one for counting her blessings and it certainly helps on dark January days to remember that the evenings are getting lighter and spring is just around the corner.  There are some beautiful sunsets on dark winter days and when the sun does come out there’s some lovely places in Shropshire to go and feed the ducks.

Whittington Castle is just one of them.  There is free public access to the castle all year round and the ducks always give you a warm welcome, especially if you have some bread or corn with you!

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The Tea Room and the book shop are open November to February -Thursday to Sunday 10.00 am – 4.00 pm.

We spent a lovely time wandering around the castle and reading about its history.  The site was chosen in the time of King Offa because of the protection provided by the treacherous marshlands surrounding Whittington.  The original wooden castle was replaced by a Norman motte and bailey and the castle is steeped in folklore, inhabited by the ghostly spirits of ancient warriors and victims of treachery suffered within its walls.

The castle is now owned and run by the local community who organise many events during the year, the largest being a Medieval 3 day event on the May Bank Holiday weekend www.whittingtoncastle.co.uk

After exploring the castle and successfully avoiding being harassed by ghosts, we escaped to the bookshop and spent a very entertaining hour discovering several interesting fiction and non-fiction books which we perused in the tea shop over a very welcome cup of tea (and cakes!)  A very pleasant afternoon out.

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Today’s Treasures – A Day at the Beach

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Today’s Treasures

A DAY AT THE BEACH

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Sometimes, our very British weather can be very surprising.  We had planned a day at the beach for ages but for one reason or another it kept being delayed until finally, it was on Halowe’en that we set off for the coast.

It was a beautiful drive through Llangollen – the sun reflecting all the autumn colours, russet reds, green, gold and amber; we stopped for a cup of coffee at Lake Bala and went a walk along the edge of the lake enjoying all the colours reflected in the water.  The sun was shining and there was hardly a breath of wind to ripple the surface of the lake.  Then we drove on through the rolling hills and watery dales of Snowdonia to Barmouth – and found the toilets!  Barmouth was unreal, the sun was so warm it felt like a hot summer’s day but, as it was nearly winter, Barmouth was pretty deserted.  The few people that were about were sitting outside café’s sipping tea and basking in the warm sunshine.

After lunch, we meandered along the beach, picking up pebbles and paddling at the edge of the waves.  Two cups of tea later, we were on our way again heading for Shell Island.  We found the car park and wandered over the sand dunes to the beach.

Last time we came here the wind was howling a gale and we had our coats zipped up to our noses.  Today, there wasn’t a breath of wind and we stripped down to T-shirts, bare arms soaking up the sun.  It was almost warm enough to sunbathe.  The waves lapped onto the beach, seagulls soared lazily above us, and the sand glistened in the sunshine.

Shoes off, we paddled through the waves, a restful, tranquil way to unwind, feeling the sand between our toes and the waves lapping around our feet.

By this time, the sun was going down and we could feel the Autumn chill creep into the air, so donning jumpers and coats again, we set off back down the beach and across the sand dunes to the welcoming warmth of the car and tea and biscuits.

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Glorious Autumn

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Glorious Autumn

What a surprise!  One damp and dreary early Autumn morning I stumbled out to feed the chickens and was suddenly stunned wide awake by this beautiful bright blue flower positively glowing – Morning Glory!  It’s supposed to be really easy to grow but I nurtured tiny seedlings that struggled to survive and, when I finally planted them out they just sat there and refused to climb up the bamboo wigwam – until I got bored waiting and forgot all about them – until this morning!  Every morning since there have been new flowers – they love the early mornings and close up later in the day – hence the name.  It’s a type of convolvulus – our native white version can be a troublesome weed as it chokes other plants – hence its common name – bindweed.  All of the plant is poisonous as it contains tropane alkaloids – especially the seeds – but this flower certainly brightened up my morning.

Sunflowers

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Sunflowers

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I always grow some sunflowers as the birds love the seeds.  I tried to get some ordinary size sunflower seeds but must have ended up with giant ones – either that or the rabbit manure has worked wonders as these sunflowers are over a foot across – and one of the plants is over 12 feet tall!  It’s a wonder it’s still standing – my time spent staking the plants in the spring has paid off.

I used to spend ages collecting the sunflower seeds but it takes ages scraping them all out and the earwigs seem to like hiding in them too – so now I just dry the whole heads in the barn then put them out for the birds in the winter – they don’t mind the earwigs!