Walsall? Not bad for a quick visit

Advantages: Good public transport, town market
Disadvantages: Very little leisure facilities, Standard night life

...I moved to Walsall two and half years ago from a small village in Norfolk. The change in culture and life style came as quite a shock to me as you can imagine. Walsall at first to me seemed a hub of life and plenty to do, this was a novelty that soon wore off. There is very little to do here, shopping is okay but due to the recent economic down turn the town has lost quite a few shops, compared to Wolverhampton or even the shopping parks located just outside the town the shopping experience in Walsall can be rated as adequate. There are plenty of bars and pubs, nothing too grand, just your normal bog standard bars that you find in most large towns such as Wetherspoons, Yates and the Varsity. Walsall has a market that runs all week except thursday and sunday, the choice of stalls is quite good with products ranging from linen...

helena39 06.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Walsall in General

A cleaner greener Walsall

Advantages: OK if you live in the right area
Disadvantages: .......and a lot of rubbish if you don't

...OK so my son calls me a tree hugger, but I can live with that. I am celebrating the fact that Walsall Counil are finally starting to get their act together and are beginning to do a bit for the environment by encouraging residents to recycle more of their household waste. For many years now there have been a large number of sites around the borough where it has been possible to take your newspapers, glass and clothing for recycling,but until very recently Walsall Council have done very little to reduce the amount of waste taken to landfill sites by collecting recyclable materials from homes. First came the brown bin scheme - A big brown dustbin was delivered to some houses in the borough to enable their green garden waste to be collected for recycling. Surprise surprise where did the first bins go? They were delivered to the more...

baeswoman 31.07.2005 · Read review
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Review of Walsall in General

A wonderful, colourful night out

Advantages: Great illuminations
Disadvantages: Crowds

...As the facility to set up a new product on Ciao doesn't work on my computer at the moment and the powers that be steadfastly refuse to help me by answering my e mails I came to be mooching around the site for ideas and came across this blast from my not too distant past. I lived in Walsall for most of my life until I moved here to Llandudno in 2002 and have visited the illuminations many times both as an observer and as a worker so I thought I would tell you about the spectacle. The Walsall Arboretum Illuminations Where is it? Walsall is in the West Midlands and the Arboretum is on the A461 out of Walsall travelling towards Lichfield. What is it? For those of you who don't know an arboretum is basically a collection of trees and Walsall Arboretum originally stood on the southern boundary of the Cannock Forest! It is...

SusanLesley 20.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Walsall Illuminations

Banks's on our shirt, trophy room still empty

Advantages: My local club, some great memories, never a dull moment
Disadvantages: No money and a possible relegation for the 2nd time in 3 years

...Football. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the few contexts where one man is allowed to joyously embrace another in a public place without causing any stirs or strange looks. For a man, seeing his favourite team score a vital goal is perhaps as it is for a woman after she has been presented with a giant 2kg bar of Galaxy chocolate - you won't get the grin off her face for a good few hours and she'll be in a good mood with you for well ? at least well ? a few hours anyway ;). A few weeks ago, my brother and I were listening to the Walsall match away at Grimsby - a result here was vital and if we lost tit it could more or less certainly mean a return to the second division for The Bescot Boys (Ciao already have them in the 2nd division - hah! Cheap). Anyway we were 2-1 down and the drop was beckoning - as was a consolatory...

craiggy_boy 07.04.2002 · Read review
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Review of Walsall

Survival

Advantages: Well organised
Disadvantages: Lack of firepower

...Walsall haven't scored many goals this season, 22 in 20 games in fact in the league. They have won 5 out of 20 starts, a 25% success rate. The target this season must be survival and manager Ray Graydon will be aiming for 49 or 50 points to maintain First Division status. The Saddlers started this season with a really impressive victory over local rivals West Brom but their away from has let them down as has their inability to find the net. The team is well organised and has plenty of experience with the likes of Ian Brightwell ex Manchester City and England under 21 defender, Andy Tillson, Fitzroy Simpson and the much travelled striker Brett Angell. Darren Byfield has impressed many supporters this season and Jorge Leitao came off the bench to score a cracking equaliser in the last few minutes against Wimbledon on Tuesday night. Tom...

Mikew79 22.11.2001 · Read review
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Review of Walsall

A comprehensive guide

Advantages: Will always give 100% effort
Disadvantages: Home form shakey recently

...The omens didn't bode well for Walsall at the start of the 1998/99 season. The Saddlers had just narrowly avoided the drop during the previous campaign, lost their top scorer Roger Boli to Dundee United for a measly sum, and replaced former Ajax star Jan Sorensen as manager with the unknown and untried Ray Graydon, a first-team coach at Port Vale with no managerial experience. But it turned out to be the most glorious season in Walsall's recent history. "Sir" Ray, as he's called by the Bescot faithful, quickly imposed his disciplinarian known on the club. Fining players for swearing and not wearing a tie might have seemed dictatorial at first and likely to run into a players' revolt, but in fact instilled a peerless work ethic into previously ordinary players to turn them into a formidable team. Spending just £35,000 on striker Andy...

mert0723 17.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Walsall

Sun, sea and Walsall

Advantages: Places to go people to see
Disadvantages: Holidays have to end

...These are in no particular order and I have started closest to home. WALSALL Where? I can hear you saying now. Or if you know Walsall, this lady is completely barmy. The busiest motorway junctions imaginable, the worst ring road in England and Goscote too. In Walsall there is an amazing art gallery which houses the Garman Ryan Collection which includes loads of bronzes by Epstein. The exterior is a bit wierd but the wood pannelling inside is a special. If you are lucky you will often see dedicated fundraisers absailing down the outside of the building. Brave mad souls. Then there is also the leather museum which has a variety of exhibits connected to the leather trade on some days you can get to make things for yourself. Just down the road is the Arboretum which is as it says a place for trees. Lakes thet have been made from...

baeswoman 16.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Top 10 Vacation Spots

I was wrong - it's beautiful!

Advantages: Lovely building changed to meet the requirements of the present day
Disadvantages: I now live so far away!

...The Crossing at St Paul's is situated in Walsall in the West Midlands which was my home town until six years ago when I moved to Llandudno. St Paul's is next to the main bus station right in the centre of the town. There has been a place of worship on the site ever since the mid 1800's when it was just a chapel linked to the local Queen Mary's School. The church building in its present form was consecrated on 28th September 1893 when the area around the building was mainly residential. It remained as a church until 1994/95 when the inside of the building was redeveloped into The Crossing at St Paul's to reflect the fact that the surrounding area had become mainly commercial. I know the church because it is the church where my parents got married in 1948 - and no, I wasn't there! It is also the church where my younger sister was...

SusanLesley 10.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Crossing at St Paul's Walsall, England

Ray Graydon?s battling army

Advantages: Their manager Ray Graydon
Disadvantages: None

...There won?t be many teams this season that will cause Walsall to many problems in the league. A team that is filled with fighting spirit and passion that will spear them back into the first division. Ray Graydon has done a wonderful job for Walsall over the past few years gaining them promotion and unfortunately getting relegated back into division two. There is no money at the club so Walsall have to do with what they have got this is why it would be an achievement to get promoted. Walsall are a very attractive team to watch, they play the best they can full of determination to get that taste back for success in this division...

paulloney 25.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Walsall

Varsity Quite Good But Whats That Odour?

Advantages: Looks Cosy, Good Selection Of Drinks And Food
Disadvantages: Has A Terrible Odour Sometimes

...The Varsity Bar in Walsall is situated by the main post office and Council building. It has a good central location and easy to identify. On entering the premises it looks quite cosy with leather seating, large sofas, a large bar area and big screen telly on the wall. The lighting is quite dark giving it a sultry moody feel. Staff are pleasant, there is a good selection of drinks and special offers. During the day there are few customers despite the bar now serving food, i cannot comment on the quality of food as i have not tried it, the menu is good, quite a large selection of products but i have been told by friends that the food is quite poor quality, i can only assume that there is some truth in this statement due to the few customers i have seen eating here. I have visited the bar on a thursday, friday and saturday...

helena39 06.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Varsity Bar, Walsall