Leominster

Today we drove over to Leominster for a mooch around the many antique shops there. As I've mentioned before, my Southall family has ties to Leominster as well as Bishop's Frome, with a possible connection to the large Quaker presence in the area going back some two or three centuries: Leominster is a major meeting place, and the Southall name is writ large in Quaker records concerning Herefordshire families. I've yet to confirm the connection, but it seems to me from records I've seen that it is likely there. We bought an excellent sandwich from a little deli in the centre of town, and sat in the square in the sun to eat it, before walking down to look at the Priory, not far from the square [interior, pictured]. From there we picked up the car and drove to Leintwardine for a drink at The Lion, a place we've eaten at several time before [recommended].

As we were leaving, I realised that I'd left my day-sack on the bench where we'd eaten lunch, which contained my wallet, diary & notebooks, along with an old cigar case containing my fountain pens. The wallet was not my first concern as all the cards in it can be blocked from my phone: even my driving licence and membership cards can easily be replaced; the fountain pens and particularly my diary less so. So back to Leominster we drove, to find, as expected, a vacant public bench. After a pointer to the Tourist Information Centre by a woman in an adjacent antique emporium, the rucksack was duly recovered, having been handed in a while earlier. Kind of restores one's faith in people, methinks: grateful thanks to the anonymous person who rescued my stuff...