Stories from Toby Neal | Express & Star

Toby Neal

Feature Writer

A journalist in Shropshire for 40 years, mainly writes features and columns, especially about aspects of Shropshire history. Lives in Telford.

May 28, 2025

'He was such a gentle soul, a gentleman' - Tributes pour in for former newspaper editor John Griffiths who has died at his Telford home

Plus

News|May 28

May 17, 2025

Toby Neal on shutting down Reform, Keir Starmer becoming unpredictable and miserable children

Plus

Toby Neal|May 17

May 15, 2025

'It was basic and short of creature comforts - but I loved it' - Memories of Shropshire's 19th century terraced rows demolished in 1960s

Plus

Features|May 15

May 10, 2025

Toby Neal on VE Day spent abroad, national pride and what a flag can mean

Plus

Toby Neal|May 10

May 8, 2025

VE Day brought first ever tot of naval-issue rum for Shropshire Wrens

Features|May 8

VE Day 2025: A family's fascinating link with a Shropshire airbase has inspired generations

Features|May 8

May 2, 2025

'Time will tell if I did the right thing' - Shropshire author took a sometimes rocky road to achieve his mill home dream

Features|May 2

April 25, 2025

'Stop the Wolverhampton express!' - How quick thinking spared Wolverhampton from a major rail disaster

Plus

Features|Apr 25

April 19, 2025

Sir Keir’s Steel Revival: Strategic for industry or just a symbolic gesture?

Plus

Toby Neal|Apr 19

April 13, 2025

Remembering the Easter sun dance over the Wrekin which drew the crowds

Plus

Features|Apr 13

April 12, 2025

Make the UK Great Again: A modest proposal for tariffs, teenagers, and the 'War on Americanisms'

Plus

News|Apr 12

March 29, 2025

Growth and change for Albrighton and beyond - but you can't please everyone

Plus

News|Mar 29

March 22, 2025

Belfast’s Wallet Experiment: A lesson in community and honesty - but could residents in Telford or Wolverhampton say the same?

Plus

Wolverhampton|Mar 22

March 21, 2025

Things are looking up for a 21st century airship revival in Bridgnorth - but this new dawn has beckoned before

Plus

Features|Mar 21

March 15, 2025

'The greatest threat to is the climate politicians spouting nonsense' - Toby Neal talks pylon plans in the countryside

Plus

Toby Neal|Mar 15

March 8, 2025

'We should take Donald Trump literally and seriously' - Toby Neal warns

Plus

News|Mar 8

March 1, 2025

'If Sir Keir was a backslapper he could give himself a good congratulatory backslapping' - Toby Neal's assessment of that meeting

Plus

News|Mar 1

February 22, 2025

Brexit, StarmerForce, and the UK's Role in Ukraine: A peacekeeper's dilemma

Plus

Toby Neal|Feb 22

Wolverhampton-born author explains what should happen to 'forgotten Scots' artefact 'Book of Deer'

Plus

Features|Feb 22

February 16, 2025

'George Edalji - guilty or innocent?' - New research uncovers clues to unsolved mystery hanging over Cannock since 1888

Plus

Features|Feb 16

February 15, 2025

'The younger generation have advancements we could only dream of - but I don't envy them at all'

Toby Neal|Feb 15

February 8, 2025

'The Mogs are misunderstood - they're unlike the previous older generation' - Toby Neal says

Plus

News|Feb 8

February 2, 2025

How RAF Cosford nursed sick and battle-scarred prisoners back to health as they returned home

Plus

Features|Feb 2

February 1, 2025

Toby Neal's take on the 'Rachel from accounts' misogny debate, council tax and Bonnie Blue's record-breaking OnlyFans career

Plus

Toby Neal|Feb 1

January 23, 2025

A £70 plane to beat the traffic? What could go wrong? - Toby Neal looks back on the fatally flawed 'people's plane'

Plus

Features|Jan 23

January 18, 2025

Starmer may want us to embrace AI - but where does that leave us? - Toby Neal asks

Plus

News|Jan 18

January 11, 2025

'Child Abuse Bill may have opposite effect - and cancelling at Elon Musk and Donald Trump's criticism won't move us forward' - star columnist Toby Neal warns

Plus

News|Jan 11

January 10, 2025

Wolverhampton's "white elephant" civic hall can trumpet decades of success

Plus

Features|Jan 10

January 6, 2025

Mid tournament snow failed to checkmate Shropshire's premier chess event which set a new record for entries

Plus

News|Jan 6

January 4, 2025

Need a New Year's resolution? Hug a rightwinger and live life outside your phone camera

Plus

News|Jan 4

December 31, 2024

Shropshire's premier chess tournament has hit a new record for the number of entries amid a surge in interest in the game.

News|Dec 31, 2024

December 22, 2024

'Stan's the man' - Toby Neal looks back on Wolves glory days with a new manager in place

Plus

Nostalgia|Dec 22, 2024

December 15, 2024

In the weeks before Christmas, refugees arrived - and Midlanders welcomed them

Plus

News|Dec 15, 2024

December 14, 2024

'Get it in quick so they blame the Tories' - Toby Neal on the Prime Minister's plans for pensioners this winter

Plus

News|Dec 14, 2024

December 7, 2024

'Tis the season to update your Christmas songs - Toby Neal's 2024 take on traditional tunes

Toby Neal|Dec 7, 2024

December 5, 2024

World Champion body builder from Shrewsbury 'Mr Universe' dies aged 72

News|Dec 5, 2024

November 30, 2024

The vandalism of Scrooge's gravestone could be a hate crime, says columnist Toby Neal

Plus

Toby Neal|Nov 30, 2024

November 23, 2024

Comment: 'Countryside Clobberer' Kier Starmer's inheritence tax plan means hard working people with pay the price for the public purse

Plus

Voices|Nov 23, 2024

November 13, 2024

Toby Neal talks the 1960s and the birth of budget air travel in the West Midlands

Plus

Nostalgia|Nov 13, 2024

November 11, 2024

Toby Neal on politics: American election inquest and how Rachel Reeves' 'working people' get by

Plus

Toby Neal|Nov 11, 2024

November 6, 2024

Clay subsoil spelt doom for Percy Thrower's magnificent Magnolias

Features|Nov 6, 2024

November 2, 2024

Comment: Rachel Reeves is "othering" non-workers believing they're modern-day graft dodgers

Plus

Opinions|Nov 2, 2024

October 19, 2024

Why I'm literally furious at our use of the English language – Toby Neal

Plus

Toby Neal|Oct 19, 2024

October 18, 2024

The amazing day 60s superstar Cliff Richard took to the pulpit to preach at Black Country church

Nostalgia|Oct 18, 2024

October 5, 2024

'I see a Tory Party delighted to be in a state of chaos' - Toby Neal column

Plus

Politics|Oct 5, 2024

September 27, 2024

Double disaster at West Midlands manor house which robbed the nation

Plus

Features|Sep 27, 2024

September 21, 2024

How Keir Starmer is bringing winds of change to Number 10 – Toby Neal

Plus

Politics|Sep 21, 2024

September 16, 2024

Memories of Spaghetti Junction's lost pub - the site today has a much more mundane use

Plus

Features|Sep 16, 2024

September 15, 2024

Remembering the Wolverhampton pub which once honoured WW2 heroes before being razed to the ground

Plus

Nostalgia|Sep 15, 2024

September 14, 2024

'Wish you were here' – expect a media frenzy on winter fuel cut as soon as cold snap arrives

Plus

Toby Neal|Sep 14, 2024

Toby Neal

'He was such a gentle soul, a gentleman' - Tributes pour in for former newspaper editor John Griffiths who has died at his Telford home

Toby Neal on shutting down Reform, Keir Starmer becoming unpredictable and miserable children

'It was basic and short of creature comforts - but I loved it' - Memories of Shropshire's 19th century terraced rows demolished in 1960s

Toby Neal on VE Day spent abroad, national pride and what a flag can mean

VE Day brought first ever tot of naval-issue rum for Shropshire Wrens

VE Day 2025: A family's fascinating link with a Shropshire airbase has inspired generations

'Time will tell if I did the right thing' - Shropshire author took a sometimes rocky road to achieve his mill home dream

'Stop the Wolverhampton express!' - How quick thinking spared Wolverhampton from a major rail disaster

Sir Keir’s Steel Revival: Strategic for industry or just a symbolic gesture?

Remembering the Easter sun dance over the Wrekin which drew the crowds

Make the UK Great Again: A modest proposal for tariffs, teenagers, and the 'War on Americanisms'

Growth and change for Albrighton and beyond - but you can't please everyone

Belfast’s Wallet Experiment: A lesson in community and honesty - but could residents in Telford or Wolverhampton say the same?

Things are looking up for a 21st century airship revival in Bridgnorth - but this new dawn has beckoned before

'The greatest threat to is the climate politicians spouting nonsense' - Toby Neal talks pylon plans in the countryside

'We should take Donald Trump literally and seriously' - Toby Neal warns

'If Sir Keir was a backslapper he could give himself a good congratulatory backslapping' - Toby Neal's assessment of that meeting

Brexit, StarmerForce, and the UK's Role in Ukraine: A peacekeeper's dilemma

Wolverhampton-born author explains what should happen to 'forgotten Scots' artefact 'Book of Deer'

'George Edalji - guilty or innocent?' - New research uncovers clues to unsolved mystery hanging over Cannock since 1888

'The younger generation have advancements we could only dream of - but I don't envy them at all'

'The Mogs are misunderstood - they're unlike the previous older generation' - Toby Neal says

How RAF Cosford nursed sick and battle-scarred prisoners back to health as they returned home

Toby Neal's take on the 'Rachel from accounts' misogny debate, council tax and Bonnie Blue's record-breaking OnlyFans career

A £70 plane to beat the traffic? What could go wrong? - Toby Neal looks back on the fatally flawed 'people's plane'

Starmer may want us to embrace AI - but where does that leave us? - Toby Neal asks

'Child Abuse Bill may have opposite effect - and cancelling at Elon Musk and Donald Trump's criticism won't move us forward' - star columnist Toby Neal warns

Wolverhampton's "white elephant" civic hall can trumpet decades of success

Mid tournament snow failed to checkmate Shropshire's premier chess event which set a new record for entries

Need a New Year's resolution? Hug a rightwinger and live life outside your phone camera

Shropshire's premier chess tournament has hit a new record for the number of entries amid a surge in interest in the game.

'Stan's the man' - Toby Neal looks back on Wolves glory days with a new manager in place

In the weeks before Christmas, refugees arrived ­- and Midlanders welcomed them

'Get it in quick so they blame the Tories' - Toby Neal on the Prime Minister's plans for pensioners this winter

'Tis the season to update your Christmas songs - Toby Neal's 2024 take on traditional tunes

World Champion body builder from Shrewsbury 'Mr Universe' dies aged 72

The vandalism of Scrooge's gravestone could be a hate crime, says columnist Toby Neal

Comment: 'Countryside Clobberer' Kier Starmer's inheritence tax plan means hard working people with pay the price for the public purse

Toby Neal talks the 1960s and the birth of budget air travel in the West Midlands

Toby Neal on politics: American election inquest and how Rachel Reeves' 'working people' get by

Clay subsoil spelt doom for Percy Thrower's magnificent Magnolias

Comment: Rachel Reeves is "othering" non-workers believing they're modern-day graft dodgers

Why I'm literally furious at our use of the English language – Toby Neal

The amazing day 60s superstar Cliff Richard took to the pulpit to preach at Black Country church

'I see a Tory Party delighted to be in a state of chaos' - Toby Neal column

Double disaster at West Midlands manor house which robbed the nation

How Keir Starmer is bringing winds of change to Number 10 – Toby Neal

Memories of Spaghetti Junction's lost pub - the site today has a much more mundane use

Remembering the Wolverhampton pub which once honoured WW2 heroes before being razed to the ground

'Wish you were here' – expect a media frenzy on winter fuel cut as soon as cold snap arrives

In the weeks before Christmas, refugees arrived - and Midlanders welcomed them