Ludlow

 

Shrewsbury's great and part of its greatness lies in its proximity to Ludlow, a mere 40 minutes drive away. So off we drove down the winding roads of Shropshire to what's, to my mind, one of the best market towns in England. Betjeman described it as "probably the loveliest town in England" and he had a point.

typical Ludlow street scene

With the walled town dating back to the late 11th century, Ludlow has an unconscionable number of late medieval, Tudor and Jacobean buildings, to say nothing of a castle and a remarkable church, St. Laurence, which somehow escaped much of the vandalism of the Reformation. 

Ignore useless Knave Altar, look up at Angels and note late medieval rood screen sans rood

Beautiful, but don't think for a second that the place is some kind of half-timbered tourist trap. No, it's a working market town. Viz. Ludlow, population 10,266, has 3 butchers, 3 bakers, 2 cheese shops, a fishmonger and several green grocers, to say nothing of the market itself. So here's what you do.

Stroll from your pal's house, people have lived on the site since at least the 12th century, through the last remaining gate to the town, past elegant Georgian facade hiding medieval interior town houses and into the heart of the place. And there you are, what next?

what?!? a butcher! note game birds

Go to a butcher and get the best pork pies you've ever had, buy some delicious cheese, then head to one of the bakers for the kind of bread you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere in the States. Being on a mission, you pick up some veg from an actual green grocer. Huh, they still exist, and stare in wonder at a real live fishmonger. When was the last time you saw one of those?

some kind of pub

Exhausted by the wonder of it all, patrol through an ancient alley to one of many pubs and have a pint, hey, you've earned it, and then fall back to your pal's castle for lunch. Delicious cheese, bread and pork pies that melt in your mouth. Result.

In the evening you have a choice, stay at home or make the arduous five minute walk into town for a night at the pub, we chose the latter and a good, good time was had by all. I tell you, what a beautiful town, it even has a salmon stream and I'd like to get on those fish one day. Who knows, maybe next year.

excuse me?

In the meanwhile, enormous thanks to S&K for such great hospitality, come to LSPland and I'll reciprocate.

Your Traveling Friend,

LSP

Italy

 

Go figure, everyone's in Italy, living large and escaping the beautiful strip malls and flyovers of our cultural ascendancy for something else, and who can blame them? 

I texted an old music buddy, who's set up in an Italian castle, "Maybe they need to turn that town square into a parking lot. Ffs, get onnit." He clicked between contracts and replied, "Look. Castle ceiling. Standard." Have a look:

Huh. But that's not all. Ma LSP and several sisters are in Italy, living it up on the Adriatic. I guess Texas wasn't good enough, they just had to go one better:

Feeling badly left out, I drove through Italy but didn't stop. Let the reader understand.

Italy Texas, a fine place to be. Then there's this town, where the kids are staying:

So unattractively awful, why hasn't this been torn down and turned into a strip mall? I mean to say, what's wrong with these people? As we reflect on that, here's a castle garden.

Soothing, don't you think?

LSP

This is What You Get...

When you're an elite Illuminati protege, like French President Emmanuelle Macron. That's right, h/t LL, a lavish medieval castle overlooking the Med. 

But the days of Macron hiding away at Fort Bregancon may be over following a daring raid on the presidential getaway by populist demonstrators.

Intrepid yellow vest protesters attempted to storm Macron's deluxe NWO Riviera hideout last Thursday and promised to return after police repelled them.

The raid was part of larger protests which have convulsed France, as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets demanding an end to their despised president's over-regulation, crushing tax burden, and out of touch lifestyle.

Macron, net worth $31.5 million, provoked scorn earlier this year by building a $39,000 swimming pool in his castle at taxpayer expense, despite having a private beach at the elite residence. And that's not all.

Following his election win last year, Macron revealed that he spends over $23,000 on makeup a month along with his aging wife, La Trolle Brigitte. The presidential couple also spent $60,000 on new crockery for the Elysee Palace. 

How very tres jolie,

LSP