Shropshire 33 - Shrewsbury/a trip to meet Alfie and Woolly Mammoth /a long walk along the riverbank /brunch at Ginger and Co and finally the car has stopped telling me it will kill me

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Well since the last trip out to the Ironworks to meet up with Woolly Mammoth, Alfie and carer Jo I have heard nothing but complaints from the sheep. " Well you did forget me last time and I cannot forgive you for that " True I could not deny it . I had indeed left Sion at home whilst I set off to Oswestry to catch up with Jo. I suppose I was never going to be forgiven despite offers of copious pistachio nuts , nut chocolate or visits to the seaside . It was never going to be good enough ." No bribery won't work . You forgot me and that is all I am going to say" The problem was that he was never going to give up and I had not heard the last of it . There was only thing to do and that was hastily arrange a trip out that would keep him happy . That involved Woolly Mammoth .

Trying to organise it was never going to be easy. We had a plan . A Roman day in Chester . Sadly the Castle had a strict no dogs allowed rule and the park and ride might or might not let Alfie on board . In the end the answer came to us but it was more about Ziggy the car than anything else . For some months - in fact since last November the on board computer had been telling me that I had to replace my rear brake pads in 1500 miles . Given that Ziggy does not go out much it was going to take months before the clock counted down to zero . Indeed it was only last week that it arrived at that point when all the orange warning lights turned from advisory to red - must be replaced now . Ring up the Mini dealer and book me in said the on board computer . The garage kept pestering me . The sat nag changed from directions on the routes to travel to the instruction to take me in and get me sorted . All in large blue writing . I will kill you if you keep driving me . Drive moderately So the day out was well and truly sorted . Garage booked and Chester changed to Shrewsbury. I was sure that the boys would be disappointed with nothing Roman but Jo and I worked out we might find something in Shrewsbury to keep them occupied whilst Ziggy had her new brake pads checked out and new ones fitted .

" Are we there yet ? Sion was up at the crack of dawn . Hat and scarf already on he was urging me to get a move on . It started to snow. Heavy flakes fell. "I was starting to get worried seeing all that snow " Yes me too. Luckily the snow was very wet and melted almost as soon as it hit the ground . Sion was extremely impatient and found his way into my bag ready for the drive to Shrewsbury . He had filled the bag with sweets to keep him busy on the journey . In between munching he piped up now and again asking if I was indeed ready to set off .

Jo and I had firmed up our arrangements . I would drop the car off at 8.30 at the garage , book it in and have a coffee whilst I passed a bit of time away before heading for the bus into Shrewsbury . Jo was arriving at Frankwell car park for 10. So I had plenty of time to take my time driving in. The problem of course was the sheep . "Have we got there yet ? He bleated . No we were still on the road and would not be arriving for at least another ten minutes depending on traffic. The weather changed from snow to a thick fog . That even disappeared by the time we approached Harlescott and were just round the corner from the garage .

"Come on get your coat on, how long does it take to get your bag, you hat and a scarf ?" The sheep was getting impatient and to be fair it was taking a long time to tog up with warm clothing to keep out the cold of the March day. Inside I was met and greeted and pointed in the direction of the staff who would book me in. Sitting down I patiently explained the problem . Yes they knew . The car had told them of a problem . Was I waiting ? I explained I was having a day out with friends and the staff issued me with my free ticket for the park and ride. Are you stopping for a coffee first they asked . "No she is not !!!!" I could feel the fidgeting in my bag and the grunts of disgust coming from Sion . I made him wait as I made an excellent double espresso in the machine provided . For once it is fair to say the coffee machine actually made a good cup of espresso . Strong , short and black . Just the way I like it .

" Finally , yes finally Jen set off on the walk to the bus station " Arriving I could see the bus parked up. However, true to fashion I had mistimed it and as I walked closer the doors closed and the driver drove off. I had another 20 minutes to wait for the next one . That was not a problem as we still had plenty of time until we met up with Jo ,Alfie and Woolly. Unfortunately Sion thought otherwise and you would swear he was waiting a week for the next bus to turn up. Eventually it did . It was fairly empty apart from us and a handful of other passengers . We got off on Castle Gates . Not the usual bus stop but the one nearest to Blowers Repository entrance which would prove a short cut to Frankwell car park .

As we walked Sion gave me the usual guided tour ."Going past the town hall . Nice building . Nice statue of Darwin out front . Good for the blog " So of course I had to stop and take some photographs of the famous Shrewsbury son who pioneered the concept of evolution and the survival of the fittest . Down Blowers passage . The archives were closed . They no longer opened on a Tuesday . Was that because of Covid ? Or was it because the world and his dog these days can do family history research on the internet ? Down the steps , across the bus station and over the river. And then there were our friends waiting for us .

Our walk started off along one of the banks of the Severn . A walk I had never taken before and was new to me. We were heading for the Dingle . The site of the Shrewsbury Flower show and the bandstand . Along the way we come across a lovely suspension bridge . One of many that cross the river . Making it easy to get from one side to the other . The boys of course were in full flight . Alfie was enjoying the water , stopping to have a drink now and again . Stopping to sniff and greet other dogs and their owners . Jo and I discussed Turkey, travel and the latest earthquake .

I knew the Dingle side of the river and we wandered in the small garden that was full of Spring daffodils , yellow wallflowers and a new glass sculpture of what I presume was a bunch of forget me nots . " They were not there last time we came " Sion said as we stopped to take more photographs . It was a very different garden to last time which was the end of October /beginning of November . The light though was still the same and not conducive to taking good photographs . We walked past the bandstand still deep in conversation . The boys and us putting the world to rights. The round church was open . Again I had visited it last time in Shrewsbury but when inside it was still interesting to see other things I had missed previously .

Time though for coffee and some breakfast . I had found a number of dog friendly cafes . As we walked I explained to Jo that I had not realised how hard it was to find places to go when you have a dog . The castle out of bounds . The regimental museum closed for dogs . The town museum a no go . But I had managed to find a few cafes that would let us in . " Thank good ness for that . I am getting hungry " bleated Sion . Ginger and Co was down on the square . I had never been in before as I had got a bit confused with the cafes on the square . I had been to the Italian one a bit further down so Ginger and Co was a new vegan restaurant for me . The staff made such a fuss about Alfie offering him dog treats . He sat under the table . Only moving when someone came and made a fuss of him . "Shame they never made a fuss of us " exclaimed Sion . Both Sion and Woolly though enjoyed the warmth and the chocolate and banana pancake Jo ordered . My croissant paled into insignificance compared to the pancake . I earmarked one for next time I came to Shrewsbury . We fell into conversation with a lady who sat next to us . I am sure that she was very confused at a Sheep and a mammoth deep in conversation about life in general and when to meet up next . Yes we will meet up but Jo has to work over the summer so it is likely to be the Autumn again Sion . I know he was not satisfied with that but had the good grace not to complain too much .

Outside I realised that I had my phone had rung and I had not heard it . I had a message and could see it was the garage . The car needs new brake pads . Here is the price . Do you want them done now ? We can do them in a few hours and have the car back to you fixed . You know what it is like when you are put on the spot . In the end I thought the cost fair and it would save me worrying about the job needing doing . Go on do it . We can wander round Shrewsbury for another hour or so before Alfies little legs get the better of him . We headed up past the St Julian church and centre . Always closed . Called in at the Christmas shop . Lots of nice things but we did not purchase anything . And finally a trip to the Italian shop where I had planned to buy some Panforte . " Yes guess what ? Closed for the day . Exceptional circumstances . Something come up and we are open tomorrrow " I don't know who was most disappointed , me ,Sion or the other lady reading the closed sign who explained she had come in specially to buy something from the shop .

We headed for the river again and this time walked along another part of the riverbank . Conversation turned to work . How the summer would pan out ? Where we would be visiting over the summer and how much we missed or did not miss work . We both agreed that work was good but at times we wondered how we ever put up with it day in day out . Along the back of the prison now closed and a visitor attraction and round the castle again . By the time another hour had passed Jo checked her phone . We had been walking 4 hours . It had flown . We had taken over 11,000 steps . I added a few more for walking from the garage to the bus and then down to Frankwell . We arrived at the car park after looking at the strange modern sculpture placed on the river bank . We had seen it from the other side and it reminded us of a backbone of a dinosaur . Close up it was a bit like a strand of DNA, the bones of some long gone creature and was made of concrete . It was imposing we both agreed but were not sure what to make of its title Quantum Leap . There was an information board which told the story of evolution and how Shropshire itself was made up of 12 out of 15 prehistoric periods . All of which sort of went over my head . I liked it for its shape but its meaning was a bit complicated . It seems Shrewsbury residents have mixed feelings about it . The plinths it stands on are not what they should have been due to tree roots in the way . The grey concrete was proposed to be painted white but it never happened . It went miles over budget and cost millions . Did it tell the story of evolution ? I really don't know . But what I did think was that it made more sense than the modern street art of three figures in front of the town hall in Chester .

Our day had come to an end . It was time to leave our friends with the promise we would keep in touch and meet up again . Next time Chester . Car parking and arrangements already semi sorted . Just the date to firm up . I walked back to the museum and popped in to see the Moon exhibition . It was one room filled with pictures of the moon landings on the wall. Models of space craft and some items linked with space travel . In the middle was a three dimensional Moon . Similar to Gaia but not as impressive . Time to get the bus back and pick the car up which was washed and cleaned . The messages all gone . Front discs requiring replacing in July . But at least for now it won't keep telling me it will kill me . And Sion of course was a happy sheep and would not stop talking about his trip out and day with his best friend . That is what best friends are for .

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