Bartimaeus

Having arrived at The Queens Head pub we had made use of its pub straight away and indulge in an excellent meal. We also availed ourselves of the WiFi there, as we were getting precious little connection to the outside world at our mooring.

The next day we had a plan to do a day trip to the market town of Shrewsbury. The bus stop was even nearer than the pub. The bus was on time and fairly full, by the time we got to Shrewsbury it was at seating capacity. One woman had put her daughter on her knee to let someone sit and still someone else got on so he was standing. 

Shrewsbury had been recommended and it was no surprise that it was full of black and white timbered buildings, but someone was going to great lengths, or heights, to get a picture. He was getting an interesting view of the opticians with the longest selfie stick ever, or a view somewhere else.

We didn't take long to find a cafe which had enormous cranberry teacakes which we had to try. We also tried to use the WiFi but to no avail. A staff member helped a woman at the next table get connected but no joy for us, apart from the teacakes and drinks. The cafe was all about helping though as it was a not for profit organisation and the money made went to helping various local charities.

We went for a walk in the park and there too was a very fine half timbered house. It had once been the home of Percy Thrower when he was the Park Ranger. 

The park map made mention of The Dingle, which had at one time been a quarry but was now a beautiful garden nestled in the hollow left behind. It made it quiet and a natural spot for a small lake and was liberally supplied with benches and spring flowers.

We had already been at the Severn River, the bus had come over on the way in, but we found a statue of Sabrina and remembered that she had been thrown in the Severn. This time the statue was less violent and she seemed serene. I was amused at the description of her "knitting" her hair, not that it meant she made clothes out of her hair, just the act of twisting it together.

Although the garden was already well planted and blooming beautifully, there was an additional statue of flowers there, placed within the beds.

Passing through the Tudor streets looking for lunch we found a shop advertising Edwardian beds, which seemed a few hundred years too late for the architecture and unlikely for the present. The shop next door didn't seem to believe it either.

We passed through the old centre with the grand market hall and many cafes. It took us a while to choose lunch. We doubled back and found a fine place. Again WiFi was advertised but not forthcoming. But we could hear the staff were also affected this time and in order to process card payments they were hotspotting off someone's phone and I heard someone say a mast was down. 

We had a look around the museum and I enjoyed the section on clothing and shopping. I don't know if they were meaning to be risqué but beside the top hat and men's evening dress were a sewing pattern with models in late evening wear, lingerie and pyjamas, plus a sign for a Hat Shop called Cocks.

Out in the daylight again we did some more old town exploring. The river swings round in a loop which almost encircles the centre, keeping it compact and there are plenty of narrow side alleys. Grope Lane was particularly pokey.

Before long we were thinking we should have another refreshment before the bus home. We found somewhere that seemed very appealing but surprisingly empty. They were closing in 10 minutes. We thought we would manage and they might not be too strict about throwing us out, since I had seen them getting a cake ready for the oven.  I took half my cake away home rather than bolting it. 

We had time on the streets rather than in the cafe and I got closer to a detail on the building that had the selfie stick at it in the morning. There was an upsides down dragon. Looking a bit like the painting on Bartimaeus, but squat and black, rather than gold, I don't know if being flipped makes him more or less threatening.

Our timing for getting our bus got messed up with an early departure from the cafe, filling time then finding Shane had misremembered the bus time (they are every 45 minutes which makes it harder to keep track of) and arrived when it had just left. As we were looking at the timetable, someone else arrived to the same discovery that they had just missed it. Still there was a statue by the river we hadn't seen yet and now had time to go and see, rather than just waiting there.

Back at Queens Head (the name of the village as well as the pub) we had still not got internet access. Shane found that he could use their WiFi by walking along the road near the pub car park, effectively the bridge over the canal but it doesn't look like it.  It wasn't a great place to stand about but I have made a few trips to get or send a message. In the morning my friend Peter had replied to my message explaining my trips to the bridge and said that he thought the internet trolls went to bridges for their wifi. I trip trapped to the bridge a couple of times, but have escaped the trolls so far.