Riverside Gardens, a wing walk at 94 - Issue #009
This week in Shrewsbury: a town getting a few things back — a corner it had quietly given up on, a 94-year-old who went up on the wing of a biplane, and the first feature we have run at length. Welcome to The Bridge.
Thanks for reading The Bridge — it is put together here in the town, and it stays free for anyone who wants it.
— This week’s feature —
Inside Riverside Gardens: what Shrewsbury got for £18.7m — and what it did not
Riverside Gardens in July 2026. Image: Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council says the park between the River Severn and the Darwin Centre opens in December. It is the first phase of the Smithfield Riverside plan, and the subject of the first long piece we have run: what the money bought, and what it did not.
→ Read the full feature (subscribers-only)
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— The Town This Week —
The Three Fishes reopens, nearly two years after the lorry
The pub on the A49 at Bayston Hill is open again, nearly two years after a lorry took out its side in November 2024. Black Country Ales had bought The Three Fishes about five hours before the crash, as the Shropshire Star reported.
Part of the building was taken down to make it safe. The rebuild adds a bigger bar and cellar, rooms upstairs and a new sign. New landlords are in, and the doors opened on Thursday 1 October.
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At 94, Donald Harrison rode the wing of a biplane at Sleap
A Boeing Stearman, the aircraft used for wing walks at Sleap Airfield, with a wingwalker on the top wing. Image: contributed
Donald Harrison, a retired army major, was strapped to the top wing of a Boeing Stearman at Sleap Airfield near Wem on 28 September. Reports put him at about 120mph and 1,500 feet.
He did it for Bushell House, the care home in Preston where he lives. His appeal had passed £1,000 when we went to press, and it is still open at his GoFundMe page.
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— Town Wins —
Belton Farm’s Fox cheese is now in more than 270 stores
Belton Farm's Fox cheese. Image: Belton Farm
The cheesemaker at Whitchurch has won another supermarket deal. The farm says its Fox range is now on the shelves in more than 270 stores across the country.
Shropshire’s Gwen Klu has won her first World Tennis Tour junior titles
Gwen Klu took her first junior titles on the World Tennis Tour at a tournament in Ghana.
The friends group that saved Cleobury Mortimer’s leisure centre has been honoured
The group raised more than £40,000 to keep the centre open, and was Highly Commended at BBC Radio Shropshire’s Make a Difference Awards.
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— Someone Worth Knowing —
Gaynor Jones, more than forty years behind a Shrewsbury counter
For twelve years Gaynor Jones ran Vinterior on Wyle Cop. She has moved to Beeches Lane, at the foot of the Town Walls, as SY Trophies, in a shop twice the size. She is 61, and has worked in the town’s shops since a weekend job at 15.
When the Shropshire Trophy & Bowling Centre closed in 2025 after 42 years, she bought its engraving kit and was trained by the owners on it. Medals, trophies and tankards now lead the business.
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— What People Are Talking About —
Repair it, do not replace it, says the town council
The town council has formally adopted a Repair First policy. It has committed to putting repair ahead of replacement in its own operations, and it wants residents to do the same before they throw a broken thing away.
Shrewsbury Repair Café has been doing this for nine years. The café says its 56 volunteers and repairers fix 89 per cent of what they are handed, and that 80 repairs were booked in August alone. It meets on the third Saturday of the month at the United Reformed Church, which makes the next one Saturday 17 October.
“We try to get people to think, ‘That’s broken, but could it be repaired?’” said Liz Evans, who founded the café. “We’re not just a repair café — we’re a community movement trying to change mindsets as well as habits.”
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— Holding It Together —
The Lockside Cafe is still there, and could use the custom. The canal breach last Christmas cut the passing trade at Grindley Brook, and the family say they have been told the canal could stay shut until April 2027. The Burtonwood family’s appeal has raised nearly £1,500; a coffee on the way past is the other way to help. → Read on
The Movement Centre wants 30 children through therapy by Christmas. The Shropshire children’s charity marks thirty years with a £45,000 appeal, funding specialist physiotherapy for thirty children on its waiting list before the holidays. → Read on
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— What’s On —
Joe Calzaghe on a life undefeated
At Theatre Severn, tonight, Tuesday 6 October · 7.45pm
Theatre Severn bills him as the longest-reigning super-middleweight champion in boxing history; he retired in 2009 with 46 wins and no defeats. He is in town to talk through those years.
Tickets start at £41.25; a £77 VIP meet-and-greet adds a front-row seat and a photograph on the night.
Flo & Joan bring their new show, With Feeling
At Theatre Severn, on Wednesday 7 October · 7.30pm
The musical-comedy duo return with a new show built around another band’s setlist. Deadpan, sharp, and close to a proper gig.
As seen on Live at the Apollo. Age guidance 16 and over; tickets £30.80.
The Shrewsbury Ghost Cruise sets off through October
On the Sabrina Boat on the River Severn, through October · evening departures
The ghost cruise runs 45 minutes down the river after dark, the town’s darker stories told by an actor. Tickets from £9, under-3s free.
The stories carry adult themes, so it suits older children better than toddlers.
A champion tonight, a comedy band tomorrow, and the river after dark all month.
Every event in town, one message away.
What’s on in Shrewsbury whenever you ask — tonight, the weekend, something for the kids. For anyone, and free.
1. Start the chat — One tap — the first message is already written for you.
2. Add your interests — Music, walks, the kids, the theatre — and how often you want to hear.
3. Ask, get answers that fit — What’s on tonight? Anything this weekend? It answers for you.
Nothing to install.
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— Babies & Toddler —
Catch all 30 in the Pikachu Art Adventure
At Attingham Park in Atcham, until 1 November · 11am–3.30pm
Thirty Pikachu cards, each drawn by a different illustrator, are hidden around the estate, the stables and the mansion, with facts to collect and a blank card to design your own. No booking needed, and nothing extra to pay beyond normal admission.
Museum Babies is a Tuesday for the not-yet-walking
At Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, on Tuesdays in term time · 10am–12pm
→ See details · + Add to calendar
A drop-in sensory play session for babies who are not walking yet, with time built in for parents and carers to sit and talk. It is £3 on the door, there is no need to book, and you come and go across the two hours.
Coffee and Chat Stay and Play is a Wednesday drop-in
At Sunflower House, on Wednesday 7 October · 9.30am–11.30am
→ See details · + Add to calendar
A weekly drop-in, every Wednesday, where babies and toddlers play while parents get help with anything from money worries to housing. No booking, just turn up.
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Patrons & Sponsors
The Bridge is made possible by the readers and local businesses below:
Franci Capo — passionate lover of pizza at Shrewsbury Market
Cheers,
Albert