In a characteristic game of one-upmanship with my oldest brother, I sparred with John this morning on how best to use the air fryer. The subject came up as I fancied a cooked breakfast, and we both had opposing ideas about how to cook everything. He had been doing research and was convinced his technique for cooking food was better. I, on the other hand, brought experience to the table. We have two in our kitchen and have been using them already for a couple of years. As this is my blog, and I’m writing it without John’s input or oversight, I will declare myself the winner…so there. John, of course, still thinks he won the debate, which I was happy to allow him to believe. Being somewhat magnanimous in that victory, he made some off-hand comment about how proud he was of me for remembering to put the butter away…finally. Mind you, putting the butter away here essentially means moving the tub thirty centimetres to the left. Everything here has its place.
Anyway, I had a small handful of things to achieve today in Shrewsbury. First and foremost, I planned to collect some new pyjamas for Joey that Sandy and I had decided to buy for him from ASDA (George) online for collection. I did the same for myself when I was in Stevenage last week. George has a decent range of products in the right size, so we are taking advantage while I’m here. They do ship most things, but they apparently don’t ship pyjamas to the Netherlands. Lisa also asked if I could collect some undies for her, which she had picked out from Primark’s website. Lastly, there was the simple experience of visiting Shrewsbury itself and whatever it had to offer.
The drive up to Shrewsbury took me an hour. I noted that the Welsh countryside and general scenery are definitely better in the other direction. I had programmed the satnav to direct me to Primark, which it did. Fortunately, there was a multi-storey car park adjoining the shopping centre building. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the most expensive car park anywhere in Shrewsbury, so I resolved not to stay longer than necessary.
While in Primark, I walked up to one of the uniformed young ladies and confidently asked: “Can I see your knickers?” I suspect she’d heard that one before, as she simply gestured to where I needed to be and went back to folding things with an expressionless face. When I found the ladies’ underwear section, I video-called Lisa, and she pointed out the packs of briefs she wanted. Holding two packs out in front of me and studying them approvingly, I then looked over to the nice young lady again and asked: “Where are the changing rooms?” Several other women shoppers heard that quip, but none batted an eyelid. I guess that’s a measure of how times have changed recently. It’s a brave new world we’re all adapting to. I took my knickers to the checkout, where a flamboyantly dressed trans woman directed me to the next available self-checkout till. As I say, it’s a brave new world.
I spotted an Entertainer toy shop just down the corridor from Primark. There’s one of these in Lakeside, and we sometimes find older Beyblades and Bakugan there, which are some of Joey’s special interest toys. I popped in to see what they had. With Sandy’s permission (I dare not act independently in such situations), I bought a few cheap Transformers and Bakugan. That will please Joey no end, so it was a quick and easy win.
My brief (see what I did there?) interlude with a modern shopping centre reminded me…just how much I hate being in modern shopping centres, and indeed shopping in general. I decided not to linger any more than was strictly necessary, so I took my Transformers and knickers, and left.
Not wanting to get stung with a huge car parking bill at the end of the day, I exited the car park. That was an ordeal, as the narrow lanes and the position of the machine at the exit barrier are clearly not designed for left-hand drive cars, like mine. Getting out of the complex turned out to be quite challenging, but I got there in the end with the help of a staff member. As if to rub salt into the penance-for-straying-too-close-to-a-shopping-centre-vortex wound, I had no mobile phone reception until well after exiting. That meant that the simple task of following a few simple directions to the ASDA superstore turned out to be more stressful than it should have been. The satnav did kick in eventually, and it recalculated accordingly. Naturally, the complex series of one-way streets around Shrewsbury meant I had to practically exit the city before coming back in to find my destination before that recalculation happened, which turned out to be literally a few hundred metres from where I started. Had I turned right instead of left out of the garage, I would have landed where I needed to be practically immediately. Did I mention how much I hate going to shopping centres?
Once safely in the ASDA car park, I went in to collect my online order. Alas, it wasn’t yet ready for collection. Since the supermarket seemed eminently walking distance to the town centre, I figured I’d just leave the car here and set off on foot. I had to come back to pick up my order anyway, so I figured that would be morally acceptable, as it made me a valid supermarket customer.
It was literally just a few hundred metres to the town centre, but the walk made my aching calves and back really pay for it. I seem to be struggling more and more with simply walking nowadays. On the way into the town centre, I stopped at the Shrewsbury Abbey to snap a few photos. The magnificent building, complete with gorgeous stained glass windows and an impressive organ, is 943 years old this year. It was a Benedictine monastery for 450 years, though what stands there today is just the nave of a larger original structure. There’s stonework inside which dates all the way back to the Normans in the 1080s. We really know how to do history here in the UK.
Just as I was gawking at the Abbey’s architecture, I got a message from Lisa. She received a notification that my order was ready (I had to use a UK number, and Lisa volunteered). The timing was a little off, as I was there not ten minutes ago, but it would still be when I returned after finishing my wander through town.
Shrewsbury is a photographer’s dream come true—particularly if old buildings, characterful alleys, and architecture are your thing. There’s an eclectic mixture of Tudor and Elizabethan timber-framed buildings lining both sides of narrow winding streets. The upper floors, or jetties, on some structures protrude over the streets. Back in the day, that was a way to gain floor space, thus showing off wealth. The timber beams were expensive back then, too, so using them was again a way to demonstrate how well-off the building owner was. Mixed in with these Tudor and Elizabethan era buildings were Georgian-style constructions, dating roughly to the 1700s. The streets look like they grew organically over a long period of time—unlike modern town centres, which are all erected together and with a matching, uniform style. Despite their looks, some of the timber-framed buildings (the black-and-white ones) are later Victorian imitations—an attempt to dress up and match their elders. The straight lines and perfect patterning give that away. Unlike in Cardigan, where the building facades hid their underlying structure, these wear their framing as decoration.
The streets of Shrewsbury bustled. The warm weather had brought people into the city. I spent a good hour or more wandering up and down the streets, weaving through some alleys barely wide enough for a single person, dipping in and out of ancient churches here and there. It was a physical chore because of how steep some of the streets were, but a veritable visual treat. Every few paces revealed another perfect photo opportunity.
When fatigue overtook my sense of awe and wonder, I found my way to one of the many pub-restaurants with tables and chairs outside and settled in for some lunch. My buffalo wings and bacon chips went down a treat.
Having rested my weary bones long enough to rejuvenate me a little, I carried on with my on-foot sightseeing. By around 4:30, the heat was starting to taper off a little, so I made the arduous trek back to the car. My online order was now indeed waiting for me, so I could safely tick off my last objective of the day. It was time to head back to Llanwnog.
An hour later, I pulled in and closed the car windows. It was still warm enough to drive with both sides fully open. I found John sitting at his laptop watching a movie with his earbuds in, and Lisa pottering around outside. With plenty of summer warmth in the air, I took the opportunity to write up my blog notes in the garden. As I wrote, more and more sheep made their way into the adjoining field. Eventually, a couple of dozen full-grown sheep were munching blissfully away within about twenty metres of me. I put the laptop away for a bit so we could all enjoy another impromptu round of LIJONG, and then we sat and chatted for a while. The subject somehow made its way around to things that annoy us, or Lisa in particular. John and I broke into fits of laughter when we jested that Lisa could not only write a book about what annoys her, but that she’d still only have made it through to volume 11, subjects beginning with A and B, so far.
Shrewsbury turned out to be another big success. I really enjoyed it there today—even if my body was less capable of enjoying it as much as my mind was. The curious thing is that I wouldn’t ordinarily have considered spending a day out to places like Cardigan or Shrewsbury. What has made it work is that I’m here, these places are on my doorstep, and I have nothing more pressing to do. I have another few days to go, so we’ll see what other day trips I can still squeeze in.