Marsya Lennox soaks up the atmosphere in Pershore, Worcestershire.
"There was no one about but a conscript who was saying good-bye to his love
On the windy weedy platform with the sprinkled stars above
When sudden the waiting stillness shook with the ancient spells
Of an older world than all our worlds in the sound of the Pershore bells.
They were ringing them down for Evensong in the lighted abbey near,
Sounds which had poured through apple boughs for seven centuries here."
The tourist guides tend to slip in this mention of the town, to remind that Pershore inspired that most English of poets, John Betjeman. They rarely quote the whole poem they refer to: Pershore Station, Or A Liverish Journey First Class.
The historic snapshot of a timeless scene might be spoiled, for some, by the next bit, where the poet recalls his cold treatment of a girl in Herefordshire and the "deadweight" of remorse he felt on his onward journey from lovely Pershore.
Such early 20th century trifles will not worry the serious visitor, here for the culture, the architecture and the sheer atmosphere of the place.
The fact that there is still a station will impress the 21st century settler, who can also rely on some pretty good road links, including the M50 just down the road.
And there is a discernible, special spirit to this smallish market town on a southern edge of the Midlands, unexpectedly warming and welcoming, more a village in atmosphere, despite its historic status.
Though the river runs through it, the Avon does not dominate. You might even conclude that it is just background where, when what really counts, is the type of person who wants to live here.
A privileged collection of town centre homes on Bridge Street actually have river frontage. There is some minor development that allows newer houses a glimpse of water too. But in Pershore, despite its picnic areas, waterside walks, boating leisure and special riverside events, it is the town centre and the Abbey that draw the romantic.
Any stranger to the town, visiting its Heritage Centre earlier this month, would have been greeted with an enthusiastic suggestion: "You must go to the Abbey Park, just over there, to see the live sculpture. An artist is carving into an old tree, right by the Abbey – and you might just catch him in action."
The Tewkesbury sculptor in question, Tom Harvey, was indeed working on an old purple beech, mainly felled last year but with a massive trunk still there to work on.
While he was on a tea break, an appreciative crowd was still gathered, trying to figure out the species of the tree – and guess how much more of the hooded monk might be revealed as the work progressed.
Chainsaw artistry at Pershore’s nearly ancient core, founded in 689 AD by St Oswald, is just one sign of how progress continues in this vibrant community.
While most other towns of this size either despair at – or sell their souls for chain store presence, Pershore appears able to survive with barely a whiff of "sulphur" or the usual satanic signs of infernal High Street-dom.
There is an acceptable, and even welcome, Boots. And there is a, just-about acceptable Tesco Express. But independent retailers have saved Pershore, against all odds.
Never mind the big, easily-reached centres, this place is worth looking at if you have nearly forgotten the pleasures of old-fashioned shopping where people actually care – and talk to you.
They are there because they love the town, Maureen Brewster, of A la Carte, a classy kitchenware shop on the memorable Broad Street, admits that she is an "incomer" from the South-east. After also pointing out that Emma Bridgewater china is jolly expensive, she reminds that it is pretty accident-proof – and sells some with ease.
"People here have been really welcoming. Pershore is wonderful," she says.
Locals and even new incomers rate it highly, and find it hard to disguise their natural antipathy to "rival" Evesham, dismissing it as too big, too full of chain-stores and not as upmarket.
The word is that things are "nicer" here – more intimate, a bit more refined. "That’s why we came here from Evesham," confides one couple, regular shoppers at A La Carte, met again, across the road at another of Maureen Brewster’s local businesses, Avoca, selling gifts and high class furnishings.
There is much more, almost too much to take in: hats, shoes, dresses – not to mention the twice weekly indoor market and regular farmers’ markets in this growing region, known for its doorstep-produced fruit and veg.
Clerk to Pershore Town Council Ann Dobbins would admit that she is biased, as an incomer counting 40 years acquaintance with the town and its qualities.
That is long enough to qualify her as a "local" she believes, particularly as it was her parents who liked the place enough to return after being based with the RAF at nearby Throckmorton.
It is fascinating that her children are also now rooted in the area. She has a daughter who has bought locally, commuting to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol – on a daily basis.
It is a reasonably hour’s run, apparently, not too much to tempt the commuter to opt for something closer to work.
"Pershore is a lovely place," says Ann. "People either stay here for a very short time – because they are upwardly mobile – or they stay forever."
The average age of the 8,000 plus population is perhaps a little higher than average – "because it is a nice place to be".
It has a new community hospital, a thriving theatre, run by community volunteers, the Heritage Centre, also run by dedicated volunteer enthusiasts in the summer – and a host of community events.
And the town council can dedicate itself to the promotion of the "good" in a town that is relatively free of problematic "issues".
Ann admits that in a recent town survey, the main problems flagged up were "speeding – and dogs". So what passing motorists do on the through roads, and dogs – on the pavements – is about as bad as it gets in 2007 Pershore.
Even planning problems are limited, mainly because of the topographical limitations of the immediate town area.
"We live in a dip and there’s a policy that building does not go up above the skyline so there is very little land left to build on," explains Ann Dobbins.
Like any popular town, and many rural communities, "affordable" housing always seems in short supply. But there are serious compensations for families who choose to settle here, notably the very popular schooling at all levels in the local three tier system.
And though Pershore may be a smallish town by urban standards, its busy calendar of community events, speaks volumes of the continual efforts enhancing the local quality of life.
"It’s lovely – a beautiful place to live and we are very lucky. And because Pershore is only small, we only have to walk five minutes in any direction to be in open countryside," adds Ann.
