No end to the name game

Shropshire Star columnist Emma Suddaby throws her hat into the ring: Should we say Shroosbury, or Shrowsbury?

Now this may not seem a hot potato of an issue, considering the worries and woes of the world today, but to the people of Shrewsbury it's virtually life and death.

• Give your view in our online poll below

The age-old debate on the proper way to pronounce Shropshire's county town is currently enjoying a bit of a revival, with thousands of people showing just how much it matters to them by taking part in a Facebook site set up to argue the point.

I'm not originally from Shrewsbury but I've lived here for about 12 years now, and from the moment I arrived until the present day I've listened to the ongoing arguments for and against the two major contenders for the proper way to say it.

The question is this: Are you living in Shroosbury, or are you living in Shrowsbury?

I've known folk to get quite worked up about it, on both sides of the fence.

The thing is, what we all know but don't really want to admit is that it's quite clearly a class thing. Or perhaps it's just that a portion of townsfolk believe it's a class thing, and want to be on the right side of that divide!

On the whole, in my experience, most pronounce it Shroosbury, with a smattering of the more genteel amongst us sticking firmly to their Shrowsbury convictions. So far, the Facebook voting statistics bear that out.

I'm afraid I have no loyalty at all to either one way or the other. I am the floozy of pronunciation.

On the whole, I tend to go for the Shroosbury option but if I happen to be speaking to someone from the Shrowsbury side of the fence (or river, perhaps) then I have to admit I have no qualms at all in immediately swapping camps!

So I apologise now to all the proud Salopians whose blood will be boiling to hear of my fickle loyalties. But you know what? - a name is just a name and all the things I love about Shrewsbury and that make it the brilliant, beautiful, friendly, historical, thriving place that's seen me make it my home, are no different whether I call it Shroosbury, Shrowsbury . . . or even the third option which some local people throw into the mix, Shewsbury.

Twelve years later, I'm still here and that's testament to the town and its people, not its name.

So go and have your own vote on the Great Name Debate in shropshirestar.com's online poll, but whatever the outcome, I have a feeling this is one squabble that will never quite be over.