Thursday 6 October: Atcham – Trentham Gardens

I have ended the day not that far from where I started but have visited a number of places I’ve been to before and wanted to know if/how they have changed over the past couple of years.

I started in Shrewsbury (it’s a Tudor town so I guess has seen bigger economic challenges than many places). Shrewsbury is looking little changed – I wonder if the hills mean that the edge of town sheds have had less impact on the centre? It’s a sunny day and there are lots of people out and about. There are a few gaps in the shops but not many. As with most towns the gaps are more apparent at the edges of the town. I don’t know why Shrewsbury has survived the downturn apparently unscatched while so many others shows their wounds. There is an old flax mill on the edge of town and I wonder if Shrewsbury went through big changes earlier and has shrunk to a sustainable shape and size. Or perhaps it has the right balance of local money and tourist money and is close enough to be a nice day out for the comfortable middle classes from both north and south?

I decided to do a little time travel and visit The Iron Bridge – the first cast iron bridge built across the Severn and needed to link areas that were industrialising rapidly. There are now 10 museums in the areas (including Blist Hills – ‘time travel’ to the Victorian era and known to fans of the Victorian Farm) and the only sign of industry are the towers of the e.on Ironbridge (coal fired) Power Station. Now the area is full of tourists and shops selling souvenirs and pretty things that have nothing to do with the area. I was being a little sniffy about the changes but it seems that it’s always been a tourist area – the Tontine Hotel was built to accommodate the tourists who came to marvel at the new technological achievement of a cast iron bridge.

From here I went to Telford and realise I still struggle to navigate these 20th century towns. They are built in circles (mainly the roundabouts that carry the cars to the appropriate zone) and once again I circle the town before finding a way in. But eventually I find one of the coloured car parks and realise I have to enter the shopping centre paying attention because if I don’t remember where I came in I will have no idea how to get back to trusty Ka. Telford is a new town, a product of 1960s new world optimism. It has aged better than many but is showing signs of economic struggle and there are now empty shops. I am told off for taking photographs. The security man seems slightly embarrassed and relieved when I put my camera away. I had a hunch this would happen, there is something rather controlling and near fascist about these all-encompassing shopping centres. Everything is on CCTV and the security man is wearing an earpiece. I guess these are the jobs of the 21st century ideas economy – watching what people are doing and telling them off for perceived infringements. I am told that this is private property and that is why I am not allowed to take photos. Whilst the rules seem ludicrous, the people working in the shopping centre all seem to be very nice and friendly. I guess these days you just take whatever work you can get.

I am momentarily tempted to ignore the instruction to see what happens but was on my way back to the car park and out of this crazy town (there is no town other than the shopping centre – a weird enough concept and the picture I had just taken was a photo of the ‘street’ name. I stop at the lift where the rules of the shopping centre are posted. There is mention of no alcohol, being ‘properly dressed, no swearing, no violence – but no mention of no photography. I consider taking a photo of the rules but wonder if this will lead to being frogmarched to the management. I have been warned that this is what happened to the last person who ignored the instruction to stop taking photographs.

From 20th century control freakery (the downside of all that mid century modernism is that it felt increasingly controlling – a new version of ‘nanny knows best’) I escaped into the 18th century and visited the Wedgwood museum. Another trip into the early days of the Industrial Revolution. One of the challenges for Wedgwood was changing its products to meet the changing tastes of the middle classes – this is has been a 21st century challenge for the Wedgwood brand which went into administration in 2009 and is now owned by a New York private finance company (can’t remember which sort). But the first challenge of changing tastes came in the 1780s when the popularity of Wedgwood meant that the original designs were regarded as too popular and so Josiah Wedgwood developed new products and designs. So anything case of ‘all change, no change’. The middle class may be key to economic growth, but are also keen to demonstrate their status.

Then it’s on to Stoke-on-Trent which seems to be a collection of 19th century towns wrapped into a late 20th century road system and once again I am confused. I try to find the ‘centre’ and find myself in an apparently eternal loop between Hanley and Stoke Town. I find the centre of Stoke Town but Hanley is my challenge for another day.