POETRY
Bloom Town
It's varied rural landscapes are wrapped around small towns with long histories.
Each poem features a Shropshire location that you can seek out and experience.
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Daniel's Mill, shown above, sits beside a small brook flowing into the river Severn a short way from the Town of Bridgnorth.
The brick viaduct carries the Severn Valley Railway and its evocative collection of classic locomotives.
The cover design was inspired by the pre-raphaelite tiles on the floor of St Mary's Church in Shrewsbury.
It features campanula rapunculus, also known as the rapunzel flower,
referencing the well known fairy tale character mentioned in my other Bridgnorth poem, 'Funicular'.
Bloom Town is also available from the Raven Book Shop in Shrewsbury market hall and from Shrewsbury Library.
The stone tower at the western end of Wenlock Edge was commissioned by Benjamin Flounders in 1838.
The views from it's battlement take in Wenlock Edge and the Wrekin Hill, the Stretton hills and the vale of Ludlow.
The small town of Dawley within the urban sprawl of modern Telford is only a couple of miles from Ironbridge.
The people of Dawley played their part in this hive of innovation and industry, and my friend Jack was one of them.
The village of Badger is on the Eastern side of Shropshire and hides a long hollow known as Badger Dingle.
In the late 1700s it was enhanced as a decorative landscape adjoining Badger Hall which was demolished in the 1950s.
In recent years the site has seen some restoration and an increase in footfall,
but it remains an oasis for wildlife among thatched cottages and large cornfields.
Cormorant illustration from the poem, 'A Tale of Leaves'
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