Memories of extreme winters and today’s weather – your letters, plus a snapshot of the 1973 Ludlow Festival cast

Pleased for our milder winter

Looking back at previous winters makes me think we are incredibly lucky to have such low snowfalls this time.

I remember 1947, when two women died in the snow trying to walk here from Pulverbatch, and their bodies were only found two months later by the late Les Morris who was afterwards mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham.

And 1963 was a terrible winter, months of sub zero weather, and we had 10 feet of snow on April 28, 1981, my wife's birthday.

2013 saw a repeat and, on April 4 my wife had to feed the livestock with hay on a horse drawn sledge as snow was over the bonnet of the tractor.

Roll along global warming I say!

W F Kerswell, Picklescott

Bring back the bric-a-brac!

When all the charity shops start to shut down

Which, let’s face it, are the last resort for a town, 

Where do we go from there?

There are more Turkish barbers than there is hair!

No shoe shop or bookshop to be found in my own particular town,

Bare foot illiterates then, we’d seem to be

Are we de-evolutionary?

Window shopping, now there was a thing;

We’d meet up in the holidays just to look at all the things:

Toys and bric-a-brac, records and guitars

Multi coloured sweeties in big shiny jars!

Air guns, penknives, magnifying glasses,

Torches, broaches and false moustaches,

Toby jugs, shaving mugs, Beatle wigs,

Farmyard animals - plastic cows and pigs

And the window that was always last, but best

Real puppies in the window of Pimm’s For Pets!

Of course, in these more enlightened times

Keeping puppies in this way would be judged a crime

But they always looked happy enough to me

Jumping up the window excitedly!

Little excitement for today’s window shopper

Just things piled up on top of one another

No pretence of any kind of display

And they don’t seem to sell much anyway

Just bottled water and cheap knitwear

A vape shop here, a phone shop there

And they’re not shop windows like they used to be

But large, glass fronted monstrosities!

No panes to frame the curios

And by the way where did all those curios go?

Do people no longer want bric-a-brac?

Let’s bring the days of bric-a-brac back!

And shops that stand empty, becoming more and more

A familiar message taped to each door:

‘Thanks to all our customers and the friends we have made,

But as from tomorrow we are ceasing to trade’.

Alan Jones, Midlands

Can Sir Keir’s brain evolve?

We know that even in the Homo sapien group there are many differences regarding evolution.

The brain usually functions as follows: observe, absorb, analyse as to truth or lies, pros or cons. After that a decision is made or not (still a decision).

In Starmer's case, his brain has the characteristic of being able to observe, but (as has been the case with the Mandelson affair) not to absorb. There is a similar situation regarding the build up of Don's armada in the Middle East where we have assets to defend and Keir could not absorb the significance of this.

Yes, in both cases and many other, his brain could not absorb facts. On the occasions where the absorption barrier is overcome, he then has high walls built into his brain comprising of thousands of paragraphs from his legal tomes.

Sometimes, fact and interpretation of legality are at odds with each other but Keir's simple mind merely turns to page four paragraph three.

I am not sure currently whether this is a sign of advanced brain power or whether Keir is still at the Cro-Magnons man stage.

Alan M Etheridge, Midlands

Labour doesn’t understand us

Since last year's election, Labour has launched an all-out assault on green fields, shaded lanes, ancient woodlands and quiet villages that make up the British Countryside. It doesn't understand it, doesn't value it and treats people who live there as an ideological enemy to be defeated. Farmers have shown it's possible to fight back. The rest of the countryside must do the same. 

Terry Hurford, Bronllys

Menopause fuss is all nonsense

It's never ending, all the fuss and pampering that is nowadays regarding menopause. It was always said years ago it is not an illness. It is part of life. Let's put an end to all this nonsense and just get on with it.

Carol Prince, Craven Arms

Have an opinion? Want to be heard? We want to hear your voice!

Write to Readers' letters at [email protected]

Letters to the editor must include the writer’s name and address and will only be published anonymously in exceptional circumstances. The editor reserves the right to condense or amend letters.

Do you have any pictures from the past you would like to share with us? 

Do need help recognising an old street, old faces? If so, send them to [email protected] including your name, where you are from, and as much information as you can about the photo(s) and we will publish as many as we can online and in print.