I was delighted to meet the Hall family from the USA and show them round The Lion Hotel this week.
A few days earlier Barbara Hall from West Milford, New Jersey, had emailed me to say that she was accompanying their school band who are performing tonight (Thursday, April 12) at 7.30pm at St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury.
She had looked up the historic inn online and came across my book, Four Centuries at The Lion Hotel.
Barbara emailed me to say: “I am eagerly looking forward to my visit to this historic hotel and to reading your account of its history.
“I am a retired librarian and a long-time fan of British literature on many levels and would like to buy six signed copies of my book.”
I didn’t realise until I met Barbara that she had come over with her family.
Grandmother Barbara, pictured below with her son, Kevin, and daughter-in-law Mary were all in Shrewsbury to see their son and Barbara’s grandson, Sean, play the bagpipes in the West Milford High School symphonic band, known as The Highlanders.
Sean, like all the other musicians, was staying with families all over Shrewsbury.
For 76-year-old Barbara and Kevin, a physician, it was their first trip to England.
The group of 98 pupils and 31 adults had flown in on Sunday and had already given a concert to the Chelsea Pensioners on Wednesday morning as well as fitting in some sightseeing round London plus a trip to Stonehenge.
Then tomorrow (Friday) it is on to Edinburgh where the band will perform in the Scottish capital before flying back home on Sunday from Glasgow Airport.
Barbara said she had always wanted to visit England after writing to a pen friend during the war years from when she was 10 years old to 13.
“All I remember was the English friend kept writing to say ‘please send more jelly and stockings’.”
She said she really enjoyed seeing all the historical sights while son Kevin said he was amazed how helpful people were and how friendly English pubs were.
Barbara, Kevin and Mary, who had only been to London on her previous visit to England, were all impressed with Shrewsbury’s beautiful buildings.
They were fascinated by The Lion Hotel as I showed them the bedroom where Charles Dickens had stayed, the ballroom where Niccolo Paganini had played and where Charles Darwin had left on the stagecoach for the first part of his epic round-the-world journey.
Mary, who is a housewife and a volunteer helper with the band, said the school came every four years to Shrewsbury but added the all the members of the Hall family would like to visit Shrewsbury again.
I was delighted that as well as buying six copies of my book, Four Centuries at The Lion Hotel, they also bought a signed copy of my other recent on, God’s Secret Listener, published by Lion/Hudson/Monarch of Oxford.
If you are coming to The Lion Hotel and would like to meet me so I can give you a tour of the building email John@jbutterworth.plus.com
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