‘Quite where the Flower Show goes next, I don’t know’
The Shrewsbury Flower Show should have been taking place this weekend.
But it isn’t.
Shropshire Horticultural Society announced back in the spring that this year’s show wouldn’t be going ahead, owing to rising costs and challenging commercial circumstances. The news came as quite a shock, because the Flower Show has been a fixture in the Shropshire calendar for a century and a half.
What’s the real story here?
Aubrey Kirkham has recently stepped back from his various roles with Shrewsbury Flower Show and Shropshire Horticultural Society, ending a forty-nine-year association with them both. So if anyone’s well placed to give us a glimpse behind the curtain at the workings of both show and Society, it’s Aubrey.
‘Similar, but different’
In this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast, Aubrey and I talk about the reasons there’s no Flower Show this year, what future shows might look like, and what it’ll take to bring Shrewsbury Flower Show back to prominence.
‘The Haughty Cultural Society’?
Also: What’s a reasonable price for twelve hours’ entertainment? Would you pay £50 if you felt you were getting your money’s worth?
Why is Shropshire Horticultural Society involved in the wrangle over the provision of a footpath from the Dana towards Shrewsbury town centre, and why has this argument now been going on for a quarter of a century?
And: Do you feel connected to the Flower Show and its parent body’s activities, or does it seem to you like ‘The Haughty Cultural Society’?
Join in the conversation in the comments, or just make an observation on the colossal style gulf between Aubrey, the World’s Most Dapper Man, and the total shed pictured next to him …
What would your friends say …
… about Shrewsbury Flower Show perhaps being a one-day event in the future? What would they say was a reasonable ticket price for twelve hours’ entertainment?
Share this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast with them:
… and invite them to comment on it?
Also, please mention this to your friends, family and colleagues? Drop into conversation that you’ve been listening, or post the link on your busiest WhatsApp chat group?
By the way … this is what I do
If this is your first episode of Hello You, welcome! Thank you so much for becoming a member of the Hello You family. Why not send me a message to say hello, and tell me what you think of Hello You?
Hello You the Shropshire podcast is local public-service audio journalism. Intelligent, informed, curious, progressive and sometimes quirky conversation, for and about Shropshire and the wider world. If that sounds like your sort of thing, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any episodes in the future
And now you’re here, why not explore other episodes that you might find of interest?
Thank you for being there
It means a lot that you take an interest in what I do. There are a whole bunch of really interesting episodes coming up over the next couple of weeks, so make sure you don’t miss them?
Take care of yourself. Take care of the people around you, and I hope the people around you are taking care of you, too.
Hello You - the Shropshire podcast from Jim Hawkins is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
