I have never previously been to Stroud in Gloucestershire and was taken on a tour of its back streets and markets. It quickly became clear that I should have been there for the Saturday market, but I still enjoyed a town with two bookshops, so many independent shops, good historic architecture and not too much intrusive new building:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
Stroud – forever tethered to the invocation of friendly bombs. At least for someone of my generation.
That was Slough, not Stroud. Big difference ! Charles
So it was. It’s Friday. It’s late. My apologies.
I love the mix-up! The small Cotswold market town of Stroud has a history of independence and non-conformism via C17th Huguenots and C19th Jews, reformers and rioting, an artistic C20th, and C21st off-grid greenies.
Slough is ten times the size, a London satellite stuffed full of corporations in the business parks and town centre, whose post-war rebuilding could really do with Betjeman’s friendly bombs of 1937
Good summary of Stroud’s history and character, much better than mine. Charles