Chatbox

The posts about Billy Gibbons and the Morris Ballroom hve sparked a few good memories for me as I was born and brought up in Shrewsbury. The Ballroom is named for the Morris family, long established in business in Shrewsbury and with its present HQ at Welsh Bridge. The company then had interests in wholesale Grocery and food distribution sector and now has interests in property, care homes and its also ( I think) connected to the Morris Oil business near Shrewsbury railway Station. The Ballroom was on the first floor of a 1920s building in Bellstone , which is near the old bus station and opposite the Market Hall. It is still there. Dances and parties of all sorts were catered for and entry was via a flight of steps into the ground floor grocery ( all screened off for evening events),and up stairs to a spacious and well- lit hall with a stage. I dont remember alcohol being served in the hall , but the pub next door "Royal Exchange" was the preferred watering hole of those like me who liked to meet up with the mates and have a jar before going to the dance. Happy Days!
As a matter of interest, the YFC vice-chairman named on the ticket (J E Downes) was a School contemporary of my two brothers and I am still in touch with his son who farms at Longden on the A49 south of Shrewsbury. Other well-known farming families are also among the committee names.

In reply to Mr Gribbins response he may wish to know that I am one of those devoted Classic Car owners and I have never run away from a bucket in my life. He may also wish to know that as a committee member of a Classic Car Club for the past eleven years we, as a Club, have raised in excess of thirty thousand pounds for charity by exhibiting our cars at Shows such as Audlem Festival of Transport and organising fund raising events throughout the years. All of the money we have raised has gone to such charities as Air Ambulance, Blood Bikers and Donna Louise Hospice for Children with terminal illness. I do not think this can be classed as running away from a bucket. In my experience I have never known a Classic car owner refuse to make a charity contribution to enter their car in a show. In fact they are only too pleased to do so.

You are a tease Peter! The Lane I live on is clearly signposted. It's Green Lane. It say's it on the signpost at the top of Green Lane. Well, it did in 1969 when I moved down here. I know the sign went missing but when I spoke to a gentleman from the Highway's department a couple of years ago about replacing it, he said they would. You mean to tell me someone has pinched THAT one as well!!!! Or.........wait a minute......maybe the gentleman from the Highway's department said they'll replace it and they haven't! Nah, I'm not having that.....they wouldn't say they'll do something and not do it ...would they? Either way; I live on the A529 and, many thanks. ;-)

And to Sue Davies, yes, Jan's family have an organic farm just north of Church Stretton and she went to school in Shrewsbury. Am I right in thinking that the Morris Ballroom was at the top of Pride Hill and close to the Raven Hotel?

The ticket is yours Billy; now, if only I could remember which lane you live on. Is it signposted?

Whether the flag should be 'flag' or 'Jack' is interesting but the church is The Church of England and if one wished to be truly pedantic, I can be I know, the English flag, I fear to name it as I will be incorrect, is the one to be flown.
I like the flag as it easily tells me if I can open the front bedroom window, if too strong the wind damages the blinds in time, and I am a supporter of the Union and the EU.
I love the UK but am beginning to really dislike those in power, whether by wealth or politics using peoples' allegiance to their country to stir up hate.

Hi Claire – I've just seen your message on chatbox, and it sounds like you might be describing our dog, although I wouldn't say she was especially big. She is allowed to roam in our garden, but we have done our best to 'dog proof' it. It may be the case that she has found a hole in our defences that we are unaware of.

You mention a previous dog being killed – We haven't had a dog at this house before, but I know our neighbours have lost a dog to the fast traffic on our stretch of road, which is a terrible shame. Not helped by the 60 mph limit (the only stretch between here and Market Drayton, incidentally).

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will keep a close eye on things.

Please, Is the 'Union Flag' , not the 'Union Jack'. If my memory serves, a 'Union Jack' Is the name given to the flag flown from a 'Jack Staff' on a British Naval Vessel. Unfortunately , if some have their way it will be greatly diminished, but perhaps it will allow the Welsh dragon to re appear as it was part of the flag before the union

Why should the car owners pay. They go to a lot of work and expense to appear for the enjoyment of the general public. A very small charge to people who like to see these beautiful and interesting machines , not only cars, would be more in keeping.. I'm sure that the existing arrangement of a bucket collection must bring in much more than a car entrance fee would. I hope Mr Faulkner is not one of the people who runs the other way when they see a bucket. Ok I know the owners enjoy the day and I am sure they help fill the bucket along with everyone else, as they appreciate the enjoyment of the day . Maybe the treasurer could tell us the breakdown of bucket collection values compared with a possible entrance fee.
I must add what a wonderful job the VOLUNTEER , Organisers, Marshall's, and BUCKET COLLECTORS do . THANK YOU EVERYONE.

I wonder if this is the same dog! I was driving toward market Drayton on the a529 on green lane just out of Audlem and a big golden dog ran out of the big house on the left with the black iron gates nearly straight under my car! It seems it is left to roam freely! I have to say I was really upset as I nearly killed it and being a larger dog it could easily have come through my windscreen injuring me or my 4 year old daughter or 6 month old baby in the back. I'd also be horrified to have run over such a lovely dog. Luckily there were no other cars around as I would have had a horrible accident crossing into the other lane to avoid the poor thing. I'm going to report it to the police because of the danger it poses. These people have had a dog killed here before, his name was Max I believe, a lovely dog hit by a car in an avoidable accident. Why don't they learn and why it is ok to put others and the dog at risk!

Well done Billy for brightening up our days! You always manage to raise a smile!

Re Festival of Transport, Coronaviris lockdowns permitting the Turnpike Field would be the perfect place as social distancing would not be such a concern. The number of entries could be limited for this year which would also help with social distancing taking Hankelow into consideration.There are many Classic Car owners out there who would love the opportunity to dust their cars off and support this popular summer car show. I have often thought that it could be a fund raising event for local charities with a small donation from each owner as is usual with most car shows (£2 or £3 per car?)easily collected at the entrance gate.

The dance ticket brought back so many happy, youthful memories of Saturday night dances at Morris's ballroom in Shrewsbury. Also of the large, bustling restaurant on the 2nd floor – the place to be seen on a Saturday morning! Those were the days..... Does Jan happen to come from Shrewsbury? I recognise the names of some of the sponsors of the dance.

Many thanks to Peter and Jan for posting a picture of the BG Band ticket. I had to look twice because, as good as my memory is for things from years ago, I couldn't remember playing at that venue. Then I thought, has the Time Machine I invented a few months ago actually worked! Then I realised I'd dreampt it so forget that.
When the picture was posted I bet some people were worried I've started another band. Don't worry. I haven't...........yet.

If at all possible, I'd love a photo copy of the ticket for my Billy Gibbons (the original one, not me) Memoribillia folder I haven't yet started but I will as soon as I get a photo copy of one of his tickets. ;-)

Greetings ASET

What's the feeling towards this years FOT folks? Have you started to take entries yet?

Great to see Peter Kay out and about enjoying a walk in the beautiful sunshine after such a horrible accident.

Hi. I posted a link about a dog ramp for sale. I received an email from a lady who was interested, but as I went to open the email, I lost it. Yes the dog ramp is still available. Please get in touch with me 07368908384

Hi there i am just wondering if the music festival is on this year please as i always look forward to this weekend

The fungus pictured is called Hoof Fungus (Fomes fomentarius) it grows on beech, oak, sycamore and Birch (as in the picture). The fruit bodies can be seen at at times of the year and live for many years. Sorry it is inedible!

Hi, we own Willow Wood Cottage which is advertised in the 'tourism places to stay' section of Audlem online. Feel free to get in touch if you think we can help. Rachel 07786516961.

Hello, we are a couple mid 60's and require furnished rental accommodation from around 20 March for 2/4 months.
2 Bedrooms, parking, wifi, washer etc.
I have contacted several of the people advertising in the business section, but unfortunately had no response.
If you can help please get in touch
Thank you :-)

Mat asks if AoL would be 'kind enough to post' his arrival in Audlem every Thursday. I want to say a big thank you to Mat for turning up and providing us with a much-appreciated service.

I owned a narrowboat, mooring at Overwater Marina for some years. Sadly, we no longer have the boat. I do however remember many walks along the towpath from Overwater into Audlem village and as a dog owner who ALWAYS clears up after our dogs, was sickened by the sheer volume of 'dog bombs' that weren't picked up and removed. Shared responsibility I think between dog owners and as Joe suggests, CRT who are very happy to take sizeable sums in license fees and really ought to provide bins for poo bags at regular intervals along every accessible stretch of towpath.

Re poo along the towpath, four bins are provided, which are emptied by the Parish Council's lengthsman. There's one at Audlem Wharf, two above the main road bridge, and one near lock 14. It's not Canal & River Trust's responsibility to make provision. The responsibility is on the dog owner to take the bag to a bin. The canal towpath through Audlem happens to be a public footpath (most canal towpaths in Britain are not, and are used by the public under licence), and public footpaths come under Cheshire East Council, so you could ask them to provide more bins – but who will empty them?

I totally agree with Christine, but why don't CRT put poo bins along the towpath? Walking with a bag of poo for some time must be unpleasant. Boat owners pay enough to CRT in licences to keep the canal and towpath in order, so should they not be approached to do something, they must know its happening