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Shrewsbury Civic Society is proud to announce the start of “Bear Steps Guided Tours”, commencing Tuesday 29 May 2012. These will last approximately 30 minutes looking at the buildings and history immediately adjacent to our Bear Steps galleries, and will stay within a 100 radius of the Bear Steps. Tours are FREE and will leave at 10.30, 11.30 and 1pm. The guide will be JOHN BROWN, who is renown for his tours around Ironbridge Museum – as well as The Abbey and St Marys in Shrewsbury: he is especially knowledgeable about the medieval town centre with its pubs & ale houses.
The next tour day will be Tuesday 12 June, and thereafter each Tuesday during the summer season. Photograph to follow.
 On the evening of Thursday 5 July 2012, Halls Fine Art Auctioneers will hold a Valuation Event in the medieval hall of the Bear Steps Art Gallery, St Alkmund’s Place. The proceedings will start at 5.30pm, and are along the lines of “Mini Antiques Roadshow” – but without the cameras.
To ensure that no-one goes hungry or thirsty, the Bear Steps Coffee Shop will stay open later to meet demand!
Please watch local press and this website page for further details.
 Owner English Heritage has now been awarded more than £450,000 to develop more detailed regeneration plans. The Grade-I listed mill in north Shrewsbury has received initial support in a bid to secure £12.1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). BBC Story
Ditherington Flax Mill, built in 1797, is the world’s first iron-framed building and regarded as the forerunner to the skyscraper.
Reyahn King, Head of HLF West Midlands, described the building as of “international importance, reflecting a time when Britain led the way in engineering innovation”.
“The Heritage Lottery Fund is pleased to be giving its initial support for phase one of wider plans which have the potential to transform the site into a centre for learning, leisure and social enterprise,” she said.
The winner of the mosaic [created by Jackie Coyle] is TOM SUPPLE of Shrewsbury.
 Concentration to find winning ticket This charity piece raised £195 for the Olivia Rae Foundation, and the winning ticket was drawn with great impartiallity [note the tightly closed eyes!] by Jackie’s nephew, ELIAS.
 Pheasant Mosaic
 ... & the winner is TOM SUPPLE!
 Reminder for all Civic Society members:-
The Annual General Meeting will take has taken place on Thursday 26 April 2012, at 7.30pm in the Bear Steps Main Hall. As with all AGMs this is was open to paid-up, current members only. There will be has been an election for all places on the Council of Management – including present incumbents. Post the formal side, there will be was a break when members can see saw over the Civic Society offices – before sitting down again for an open discussion session.
Any last minutes enquiries, please email:- info(at)shrewsburycivicsociety.co.uk replacing (at) with @ in the “To” on your email address line.
 A Shrewsbury man who underwent a hypnotherapy session to unleash his creative talent has just gone public with his first art exhibition at the Bear Steps Gallery. Dave Lupine from Harlescott has over 20 gothic cartoon style acrylic paintings on show and he admits he never used to be very good at painting. He said: “When I was at school I used to like drawing but I couldn’t paint. Two years ago a friend encouraged me to try a hypnotherapy session which was supposed to open up one’s creative side. It was amazing. I listened to a CD while reading a short story and drifted off into a slight trance. Even since that day I keep getting ideas in my head and want to put brush to canvas.”
David’s work will be on display for two weeks along with two other artists, Michelle Walkled (abstract prints and painting), and Jackie Coyle (mosaics and painting).
A massive street party to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is being planned for Shrewsbury.
Local businessman Ian Tay, who runs wine shop 2 Bear Steps, is hoping to put on the event in Fish Street on June 5. He is now on the lookout for other traders and local residents to help him put on the party.
Mr Tay said: “It has been suggested that we may have a party in the centre of Shrewsbury to celebrate the Queen’s 60th anniversary and Fish Street has been put forward as a suitable location for enjoyment and minimal disruption to other residents.”
He said he had provisionally approached the relevant authorities, but said that if anybody had any strong objections could they get in touch as soon as possible.
Mr Tay is also on the lookout for volunteers to act as stewards, as well as donations of raffle prizes. For more details about the party, contact Mr Tay on (01743) 440701 or email him on ian@lovechampagne.co.uk
We the undersigned urge the Chancellor to reconsider the extension of the standard rate of VAT (currently zero rated) to alternations to listed places of worship. This will have the effect of penalising the Church of England’s 12,500 listed cathedral and church buildings, almost entirely maintained by volunteers and voluntary giving, who are currently altering their buildings to make them suitable for use by the wider community. The extra cost this will impose will seriously threaten the continuation of such works. Extending the remit of the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme, with no additional funding, will go no way to mitigating this. It merely means a shrinking pot will be stretched even further.
Sign petition here
 One of the oldest known maps of Shrewsbury created by John Speed and dated 1611
A rare collection of maps of Shropshire – with some dating back to 1607 – is to go on display next month.
Noted map maker Simon Vernon will unveil the exhibition at Aardvark Books in Brampton Bryan, near Bucknell, on May 5.
Organisers say more than 40 original maps of Shropshire from 1607 to 1904 will be on display – constituting the most comprehensive exhibition of the county’s maps gathered in one place for decades.
The exhibition came about as a result of Aardvark Books’ recent purchase of the map collection.
 A Shropshire map by Robert Morden dated 1708
Co-owner Edward Tobin, said: “Whilst we have bought and sold many maps since we started the company in 2004, it is unusual to be able to purchase more than a handful from a particular county.”
“Recently we were able to purchase a large group of maps of Shropshire all in very good condition. By coincidence we had also been talking to another collector who had a large group of Shropshire maps including some true rarities.
We decided that this was a great opportunity to allow people to see them all together, and we have been able to mount possibly the first ever truly comprehensive exhibition of Shropshire maps.”
Aardvark bosses say all the maps are for sale starting from £50. For further information on the exhibition call (01547) 530888.
 A Thomas Conder map of the county from 1784
 Mosaic under construction. 12 " x 24" Starting on Sunday 22 April there will be a very special event in the Bear Steps Art Gallery.
Over the following two weeks, a very special mosiac piece will be on display: at the end of the exhibition it will be raffled – this is a fundraiser for the Olivia Rae Foundation, an organisation established to honour the memory and spirit of Olivia Rae Clee-Barnett who died in 2011 aged just 17. Through its fundraising and grant making, the foundation aims to support young people in achieving their aspirations through education and the arts. www.oliviaraefoundation.com
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