Shrewsbury, A Miscellany

Compiled by Julia Skinner (Francis Frith, £5.99) Francis Frith founded a photographic company which set out to photograph every town and village in Britain, a project which left an impressive archive of images of Shrewsbury, some of which are used to good effect in this book.

It is a collection of snippets of various aspects of “gosh-I-never-knew-that” information about the county town and its features, much of it historical, but also venturing into territory such as the correct pronunciation of “Shrewsbury” and a recipe for Shrewsbury Biscuits.

Among the local words and phrases highlighted are “pithering about” (meaning messing about, wasting time); “mawkin’” (a scarecrow); “ow bist?” (how are you?); “nesh” (cold, as in cold weather); and “I’m neshed” (I’m really cold).

Timed for the Christmas market, this little book is available exclusively from Waterstone’s in High Street, Shrewsbury.

In a linkup with Francis Frith, we have three copies of “Shrewsbury, A Miscellany” to give away as prizes in a competition. Simply answer the following question: Which street name in Shrewsbury is thought to mean “the devil’s boundary”?

Send your answers to: Book Page Quiz, Shropshire Star, Ketley, Telford, TF1 5HU, and the first three correct answers drawn from a hat on Thursday, November 23, 2006, will win a book. (Shropshire Star employees and near relatives are not eligible to enter).