Phil Gillam: A place where an awful lot of good is done

Is that bland 1950s office block that looks like the back of a cinema in actual fact an MI6 training school for secret agents?

Is that house with the empty honey jars on the doorstep Winnie-the-Pooh's latest residence?

Is that mysterious cottage at the end of the lane actually a "safe house" for Piers Morgan?

One place that was a source of puzzlement for me for a while was Louise House on Roman Road, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury.

Why a source of puzzlement?

Well, because I couldn't quite figure out what went on there.

It turns out an awful lot goes on there – including meals and snacks being served at a cracking little cafe which is open to the public – but more of that later.

I was thrilled to get an invitation recently from Louise House's Ann Wyatt. This gave me the chance to find out just what a hive of activity Louise House truly is.

Ann told me the building – which comes under the control of Shropshire Council – provides a base for a wide range of organisations, but is managed by A4U (Action, Advice, Advocacy), a disability advice service.

"A4U oversees it all on behalf of the council," said Ann. "But the NHS has clinics here, the respiratory team is based here, the falls team is based here, Ignition – the Shropshire-based community arts and theatre company – operate here. Then the University of the Third Age (U3A), and the MS Society meet here…"

Louise House also provides a home for the Shropshire Autism Hub, Men In Sheds (Shropshire), the Ashfield Craft Group, Autonomy Shropshire, and Law and Mediation Works, Age UK and Bethpage.

There's even a hairdressers on the premises.

And then there's a healthcare exercise consultant, there's the sensory impairment team, and Positive Steps Shropshire which provides care services for people with dementia, people with eating disorders, people with learning disabilities, those with mental health conditions, those with sensory impairments … the list goes on.

Oh and A4U itself (in case you were wondering) provides free, confidential and impartial information, advice and advocacy on all aspects of disability, to people with disabilities, their families and carers as well as health and social care professionals.

Okay. I promised to tell you about the cafe.

Cafe Manager Wayne Hinton runs what has to be one of Shrewsbury's best-kept secrets.

Whether you fancy sausage, egg and chips or a tuna, cucumber and mayo salad, whether you're more in the mood for battered fish or perhaps beef chilli and rice, the Louise House Cafe is happy to provide it.

The cafe is brilliant on so many levels. Yes, the baked potatoes are good – as is the soup of the day – but another superb aspect of this is that the cafe supports people facing barriers to employment by providing a friendly and inclusive workplace in which to learn and develop.

You know what? Harry Potter novelist J K Rowling has said: "The idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for awhile is just bliss."

Well, quite. If you like scribbling in a notebook (or even if you don't), give the Louise Cafe a try.

It's open from 9.30am through to 2.30pm (and open from 10am on a Friday), and it's housed in a place where an awful lot of good is done.