In Shrewsbury: crisis management

August 8, 2022

I’m ambivalent about Premier Inns, which I think of more or less as England’s equivalent to Ibis. Short on character but long on functionality and accessibility - if one’s in town, you can usually book a room when nowhere else is available. In our current situation though it’s perfect. By chance it’s a three minute walk from the train station, which was a blessing last night; and it’s a five minute walk to my dentist’s office which will be handy later this afternoon; and it’s a reasonable eleven minute walk to the Trek store, which is where I head this morning as soon as they open at nine.

I’m not there long. The mechanic flips the bike up on the rack, looks it over, tweaks the chain, and says it’s fine. He spins it through all the gears, confirms it’s OK. He says it’s a bit out of adjustment, something I’d become aware of in the last few days, and he adjusts it gratis and hands the bike with a smile. I feel like a dope, but a very happy one.

The dental appointment isn’t until 3:25, so there’s time to be used up somehow. I don’t think I should be doing anything too energetic until I’ve learned my fate from the dentist and definitely don’t want to risk missing my appointment somehow so I just stay in town for the day while Rachael takes a walk. She’s returns later disappointed in the walk, which she found pretty uninteresting - but then she’s still under the glow of hiking in beautiful Snowdonia.

I on the other hand have a quite nice relaxed walk along the river and through the old town stopping at whatever I find interesting, which is quite a lot. I like Shrewsbury, actually. Its interesting, walkable, has a nice promenade along the river and many beautiful half timbered houses. I’m don’t know if I’ll be able to eat this evening so I stop in a cafe for a hot pastrami sandwich and a beer, sitting outside in the shade and enjoying the street life.

Some pics from the day:

The Frankwell Suspension Bridge across the River Severn.

Looking along the River Severn. The city is on the left, the university center on the right.

A curious sculpture on the opposite bank. We’ll have to go over later for a closer look.

The Quarry, a large riverside park being set up for the Shrewsbury Flower Festival. Behind is Saint Chad’s Church.

The interior of Saint Chad’s Church. Built in the late 1700’s, it’s the first church in the round I can remember seeing.

My view at lunch: Saint Mary’s Church, renowned for its stained glass windows. Another place I should make time for before we leave town.

Like Ulverston, Shrewsbury has its own favorite son. Maybe not as famous as Stan Laurel, but you might recognize the name.

Three o’clock comes and I leave for the appointment. The office staffand Dr Adams are all great. The good doctor looks at my mouth, pronounces it not at all the disaster I’d feared, takes an X-ray, confirms that a filling will do the trick and should last me until I get home in the winter when he thinks I might want to look into getting a crown; but he sees no reason it needs to interrupt plans for the rest of our tour. I’m out of the office an hour later with a slightly numb mouth, a new filling in it, and a modest 175£ charge against our account.

Yay!!!! So, to sum up - three crises, all of which turn out to be big nothing burgers. Or as the Germans say (thanks, Suzanne), Alle guten Sachen sind drei. The only real cost is that we missed riding from Conwy to here and seeing Chester. Maybe some day.

I return to the hotel, share the news with Rachael, and then we just hang out until my anesthetic has worn off enough for us to go out for dinner. Do you have any idea how good it feels to go out for Italian and a glass of wine when I’ve been imagining several days of sitting around nursing a swollen jaw and living on pain killers, applesauce and bananas? It feels great.

Quantum Leap, installed in 2009 to honor Charles Darwin’s birth.

“ The sculpture consists of 59 segments measuring 12 metres (40 feet) in height, 17.5 metres (57 feet) in length, and weighs more than 113 tonnes, excluding foundations and piles. The work is abstract, and due to its Darwinian theme is commonly interpreted as representing dinosaur bones, DNA, or a backbone. In addition to Darwin himself, it celebrates Shropshire's geological diversity due to the county containing 10 of the 12 geological periods. Darwin interested himself in geology during his Shropshire childhood.”

Another view of Darwin’s Gate. “ Three columns with axe-like heads. When viewed from certain angles the three tops form a domed Saxon helmet reminiscent of window at the local St Marys Church that Darwin attended. Each of the columns light up with white light at night.”

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Keith AdamsIt's great to see what is effectively an oh for three on potential tour disrupting events!

Tour on, Team Anderson!
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2 years ago

Lucy Martin🎉
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2 years ago

Gregory GarceauI'm glad the tooth problem was an easy fix for now. And good move in waiting for the anesthetic to wear off before having dinner. From experience, I know it's no fun to chew your cheeks and to have liquids dribble out of the corners of your mouth, even when you can't feel it happening.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezYou should sleep well tonight. All is well!
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2 years ago

Kathleen Jones👏 👏 👏 👏
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2 years ago

Graham FinchI guess 175 quid is a lot cheaper than having a filling (private) in the States. I'm just glad things worked out.

You do get weird, power-mad rail staff, but the trains I caught while in the UK (quite a few) were all hassle-free. You were just unlucky.

Shewsbury and Chester and quite similar, so there's no great loss there.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Kathleen JonesThree would have been enough, but thanks! I’ll save the fourth for another non-crisis.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Graham FinchYes, 175 was a bargain. I thought of you when the bill came.

Our limited experience with train staff has been otherwise very positive also. It didn’t help I’m sure that we were traveling on a peak time, Sunday after a fair weekend when everyone else is on the move as well. Ordinarily we wouldn’t book ourselves into a slot like that.
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2 years ago

Suzanne GibsonThat is such good news!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonYup. Pretty wonderful day. I think we’re both ready to step off the emotional roller coaster for awhile and just go ride some normal hills.
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2 years ago

Jen RahnHooray for Averted Adversity!!

So glad you were able to celebrate with an enjoyable meal .. and that reflection on how it could have been applesauce!
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2 years ago

Bruce LellmanWhew!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Bruce LellmanYup. Better to be lucky than smart, I always say.
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2 years ago

Bob DistelbergGreat news! So the adventure continues…
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2 years ago

Rich FrasierSo glad everything and everyone is back in one piece! Ride on!!
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2 years ago

Jacquie GaudetShrewsbury is on my UK list because of the Cadfael books...
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetI had forgotten Cadfael’s abbey was here. Steve Grampy reminded me of that also. It’s too bad. If I’d remembered I woiuld have found the time to make it over there.
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2 years ago