A beautiful day was forecast.The KHT had already begun her half-term holiday,
so we decided to head off to visit the British Ironworks Centre near Oswestry.
Last time we visited was during the monsoon season,
so we thought it would be good to see the place on a somewhat drier day.
We pootled off up the motorway,
through the 30mph roadworks
on the Oldbury Viaduct
and onwards, through the sunkissed Shropshire countryside,
admiring the fresh greenness of the fields,
the different hues of the skeletal structures of trees
whilst observing with wonder the diminutive dimensions of the lambs,
who raced around their kingdoms
with no thought of tomorrow.
Finally, we turned off the A5
onto the access road to the Ironworks Centre.
If you like weird and wonderful, then this is a place you must visit,
where you can pose beneath massive spider sculptures
and admire everything metal.
Unfortunately, some of the sculptures were out of bounds due to the state of the ground,
so we admired them from a behind the temporary barrier.
I must admit that I find the place vaguely disturbing.
It's not just the oversized sculptures,
slightly bizarre as they are.
It is the piped music unsettles me,
making me feel as if I am trapped in some strangely spooky social experiment.
Maybe we were!
We had to escape some way into the grounds
in order to retreat beyond the strains of the strange songs that serenaded us.
R - I can hear birds.
KHT - I can hear the lambs!
Me - I can hear the A5...
Even in the middle of the countryside
silence eluded us,
whilst the weird and wonderful continued to surprise us -
like this gorilla,
painted in a most unnatural hue.
Surely this is not a Shropshire Blue - cheesy as that would be!
R - Look at the hatch on its stomach.
KHT - Oooh yes!
Me - That is where the babies come out...
Certain of the other animals were definitely male so it could be a convenient location for a biology field trip, with cafe and toilets close by...
If you have small children you could probably while away several hours admiring the wacky wonders of the shop,
exploring the sculpture-strewn grounds,
and excavating the sandpit.
As we were unencumbered by small people
(other than the KHT),
we resisted the tempting charms of the sand,
in case we got ejected!
We moved on to the nearby market town of Oswestry - a place I have wanted to visit for some time.
It did not disappoint and we could happily have lingered longer,
meandering along sunny streets and narrow alleyways,
with names that betrayed the close proximity of the Welsh border,
whilst admiring architecture - both ancient and modern.
There were some glorious half-timbered buildings, a grand town hall and modern marketplace.
A cafe-deli was awarded our custom, as we figured that a deli would serve good food.
We were directed through to the very back of the shop and one of the last available tables, which were crammed quite close together. However, shortly after we arrived, most of our fellow diners finished eating and departed, as by now it was after 1pm.
The only window was high up, but we were there to eat, not admire the view.
Our explorations were limited by time constraints and we could easily have lingered longer.
There were many shops we didn't visit, but we did enjoy exploring the narrow alleyways and admiring the weird sculptures that festooned the frontages of some establishments.
We climbed Castle Mount to get a better idea of the topography, the low sun dazzles our eyes, as we feasted our eyes on the rolling landscape that embraced the town.
After the Afternoon Tea Service yesterday I was keen to visit some charity shops in search of additional tea sets.
We try and seat six around a table, so I was on the lookout for sets with six cups, saucers and tea plates per design. Sugar bowls, milk jugs, and large plates are a bonus,
but not essential.
I have acquired some crock teapots,
but leaving them on tables would require risk assessments and health and safety warnings.
Instead, the team take around teapots, filling up cups as required.
It seems to work.
One shop had four place settings for under £5 - my sort of prices, but not a sufficient for a table,
so I resisted.
Another shop had a set that would have matched some of our existing tableware, but came with a coffee pot and was more than I was looking to pay. Again, I resisted temptation.
However, the next shop had a set with six place settings.
I was a bit dubious, as one cup had quite a bit of red pen marking on it.
We tested with a tissue and it looked as if it would come off.
At £4.50 it seemed a good enough bargain.
The assistant gathered up the items and took them away to wrap them.
Then one of them came back to us.
"Did you realise that the tea set is £44.50?"
"Erm, no! At that price, we won't be using THAT for serving afternoon tea!"
"Why is it so expensive?"
"Its Royal Doulton"
"It's a good job you hadn't wrapped it all up before we found out!" I observed.
The staff admitted the pricing was not clear. If you can make a 44.50 look like £4.50 maybe you should consider printing your prices.
We were just amazed that an item of such value was languishing on an open shelf, where anyone could have taken, or accidentally broken, part of the set, thus significantly reducing its value.
I purchased a more modestly priced necklace and we headed back to the car.
There will be other sets in other towns that will be perfect for what we want, at less than 'Royal Doulton' prices!
Our Shropshire shenanigans complete - for today anyway, we returned along a much slower moving Oldbury Viaduct, admiring the ever-changing hues and silhouettes of an urban sunset.
Unfortunately, some of the sculptures were out of bounds due to the state of the ground,
so we admired them from a behind the temporary barrier.
I must admit that I find the place vaguely disturbing.
It's not just the oversized sculptures,
slightly bizarre as they are.
It is the piped music unsettles me,
making me feel as if I am trapped in some strangely spooky social experiment.
Maybe we were!
We had to escape some way into the grounds
in order to retreat beyond the strains of the strange songs that serenaded us.
R - I can hear birds.
KHT - I can hear the lambs!
Me - I can hear the A5...
Even in the middle of the countrysidesilence eluded us,
whilst the weird and wonderful continued to surprise us -
like this gorilla,
painted in a most unnatural hue.
Surely this is not a Shropshire Blue - cheesy as that would be!
R - Look at the hatch on its stomach.
KHT - Oooh yes!
Me - That is where the babies come out...
Certain of the other animals were definitely male so it could be a convenient location for a biology field trip, with cafe and toilets close by...
If you have small children you could probably while away several hours admiring the wacky wonders of the shop,
exploring the sculpture-strewn grounds,
and excavating the sandpit.
As we were unencumbered by small people
(other than the KHT),
we resisted the tempting charms of the sand,
in case we got ejected!
We moved on to the nearby market town of Oswestry - a place I have wanted to visit for some time.
It did not disappoint and we could happily have lingered longer,
meandering along sunny streets and narrow alleyways,
with names that betrayed the close proximity of the Welsh border,
whilst admiring architecture - both ancient and modern.
There were some glorious half-timbered buildings, a grand town hall and modern marketplace.
A cafe-deli was awarded our custom, as we figured that a deli would serve good food.
We were directed through to the very back of the shop and one of the last available tables, which were crammed quite close together. However, shortly after we arrived, most of our fellow diners finished eating and departed, as by now it was after 1pm.
The only window was high up, but we were there to eat, not admire the view.
Our explorations were limited by time constraints and we could easily have lingered longer.There were many shops we didn't visit, but we did enjoy exploring the narrow alleyways and admiring the weird sculptures that festooned the frontages of some establishments.
We climbed Castle Mount to get a better idea of the topography, the low sun dazzles our eyes, as we feasted our eyes on the rolling landscape that embraced the town.
After the Afternoon Tea Service yesterday I was keen to visit some charity shops in search of additional tea sets.
We try and seat six around a table, so I was on the lookout for sets with six cups, saucers and tea plates per design. Sugar bowls, milk jugs, and large plates are a bonus,
but not essential.
I have acquired some crock teapots,
but leaving them on tables would require risk assessments and health and safety warnings.
Instead, the team take around teapots, filling up cups as required.
It seems to work.
One shop had four place settings for under £5 - my sort of prices, but not a sufficient for a table,
so I resisted.
Another shop had a set that would have matched some of our existing tableware, but came with a coffee pot and was more than I was looking to pay. Again, I resisted temptation.
However, the next shop had a set with six place settings.
I was a bit dubious, as one cup had quite a bit of red pen marking on it.
We tested with a tissue and it looked as if it would come off.
At £4.50 it seemed a good enough bargain.
The assistant gathered up the items and took them away to wrap them.
Then one of them came back to us.
"Did you realise that the tea set is £44.50?"
"Erm, no! At that price, we won't be using THAT for serving afternoon tea!"
"Why is it so expensive?"
"Its Royal Doulton"
"It's a good job you hadn't wrapped it all up before we found out!" I observed.
The staff admitted the pricing was not clear. If you can make a 44.50 look like £4.50 maybe you should consider printing your prices.
We were just amazed that an item of such value was languishing on an open shelf, where anyone could have taken, or accidentally broken, part of the set, thus significantly reducing its value.
I purchased a more modestly priced necklace and we headed back to the car.
There will be other sets in other towns that will be perfect for what we want, at less than 'Royal Doulton' prices!
Our Shropshire shenanigans complete - for today anyway, we returned along a much slower moving Oldbury Viaduct, admiring the ever-changing hues and silhouettes of an urban sunset.
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