Market Drayton Revisited.

I visited my mother in the Midlands (Shrewsbury)recently. A trip to Market Drayton on Wednesdays is mandatory (my stipulation) each time I travel from my home in Essex where I have resided for many years now. Although I recognise very few of the contemporary inhabitants of Market Drayton, there are places which are special and revisiting them has a sort of theraputical effect on me. First thoughts are just how big the town appeared when I lived there - now, the roads of my youth look so small. A lot of the original town is no more, but I did manage to have a brief conversation with thge owner of the house at the bottom of Pheonix Bank and he told me some interesting facts about the cottages (above the old tanyard), now sadly, demolished. My good friend Alan Bennett used to live there with his mum, dad and sister. The 'rec'(recreation ground) in Little Drayton has changed little except it now has a childrens' playground within. I spent my early years in Buntingsdale Road and regularly attended Christ Church which, after a scare in more recent times about its very survival, now, thankfully, seems secure for another period of time. I feel the town centre has lost much of its character - in line with many places, these days - but perhaps I am seeing those long far off days with 'rose coloured spectacles'? 'The Buttermarket' remains the same as it has always been -somewhere is a line drawing that my mother made of it when she was a pupil at the Grammar School. St Mary's church - ah,was it here that we used to be involved in 'church parade' - I cannot remember clearly? All these lovely memories floating around my head - then, on the way back to Shrewsbury the 'must visit' trip to Morton Corbett (Shawbury) - this place is magical - I don't know if I was here in a 'past life' (was I a humble serving wench, or perhaps, more grander, the Squire?!) - I don't know, but it is certainly a challenging thought. There is definately something there which draws me like 'iron to a magnet' - a veritable 'bee to a honeypot'. Shropshire is a most fascinating place with bags of history and a host of memories for me.