Shrewsbury

I love Shrewsbury. It's where good old rural Shropshire meets the posh and sophisticated! I was once at the Comedy Club in the Shrewsbury Music Hall and the comedian said he wasn't sure whether the town's name was pronounced "Shroozebury" or "West Telford" and you could hear gasps of anguish before the laughter :-).

I'm not sure what the town planners were drinking in the 1960's, but there's a peculiar mixture of fine half timbered buildings next door to concrete monstrosities.

If you're interested in food it's a great place to go, and I will feature several places in blogs of their own, because they deserve it.

Also visit http://www.eatshrewsbury.co.uk for more information about where you can buy good and unusual food.

Liverpool and Manchester have good shops selling Chinese food, so Shrewsbury (always being a little different) has a Japanese shop http://www.setonaikai.co.uk selling ingredients from Japan and the Far East.

Appleyards are well worth a visit, as my blog cannot properly convey the sights and smells when you go into this shop. They've now got some competition as Ludlow's Deli in the Square now have a branch in Shrewsbury. And yes, Ludlow will soon be featuring in a blog of it's own.

Tanners wine merchants have been going since 1842 and a writer in the Telegraph said "I'm going to have to emigrate to France or move up to Shrewsbury"!

Shrewsbury's market hall is worth a visit, where they even have a Champagne bar (you don't get anything stronger than tea in Nantwich market). Shrewsbury has a Farmers' Market on the first Friday of the month.