Bourne Diary - February 2002

Saturday 2^nd February 2002

The thought of sitting down at tables erected outside in the street where you lived, all groaning under the weight of so much food that we had not seen amassed together in one place since 1939, had an irresistible appeal for children who had never tasted a banana or an orange and would eat anything they were given. Admittedly, luxuries were still in short supply but housewives banded together to produce the best they could for this spot of urban merrymaking with tea, jelly and jam and fish paste sandwiches followed by games and a singsong round the piano that had been dragged out of someone’s front room and on to the pavement for the occasion while our usually reticent parents, whose inhibitions had been loosened by a glass or two of fortified wine that had been saved since 1939 for this very day, did silly things with fancy dress and paper hats.

The street party has become part of our national celebration and the history of Bourne is littered with such examples, particularly at coronations and jubilees, but we have moved on since those far off days and it is now doubtful whether free buns and lemonade will entice our children away from their computers, television sets and play stations, and their parents might also be reluctant to participate in such open-air jollity when they could be happily propping up the bar at the local.

Practically every street in Britain held a party to celebrate the end of the Second World War and although the number had dropped by 1977, there were an estimated 100,000 such gatherings for the Silver Jubilee but as children are a very necessary ingredient, a repetition of these numbers for the Golden Jubilee in June therefore seems to be doomed and even if there was sufficient enthusiasm among the young, the cost and difficulty in staging them is threatening to make these events extremely difficult to arrange.

Organisers are being warned of the pitfalls in holding such events because they must now obtain liability insurance and road closure licences, unlike 25 years ago when thousands took to the streets for the Silver Jubilee. Liability insurance, for instance, can cost £150 for even a modest event and is needed if organisers are to avoid possible damage claims in the event of someone suffering an injury and deciding to sue, while planning permission is also required to close roads before a street party can be held and as our local government machine moves so slowly, this can take up to three months to arrange. The result is that only a handful of community gatherings have so far been planned around the country and I have not yet heard of a single one that is scheduled for Bourne.

What a far cry from 1945 when our street parties were largely impromptu and unfettered by petty bureaucratic rules and regulations. They have in the past been the most obvious public demonstrations of rejoicing, whether it be in affection for the monarchy or relief that a war had ended, yet I fear that they may well soon be a thing of the past.

Patent medicines were a popular cure-all in past times although the outrageous claims made by their makers have been banned by successive legislation on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry. But those wishing to find a cure for an ailment or seeking better health did not just rely on a bottle of mixture or a packet of pills. The spas of pure water that could be found dotted around the country were particularly popular and extensively patronised by sufferers from a multitude of complaints, hence the phrase “taking the waters”.

The chalybeate springs in the Bourne area spawned an entire mineral water industry that made the town famous and this underground source also extended further afield, to Braceborough for instance which once had its own spa. The efficacy of such a facility can only be assessed through personal experience but the owners were in no doubt and an advertisement in the Stamford Mercury on 29th May 1740 proclaimed the benefits thus:

For the Publick Good. These are to give Notice That the Spar at Braceborough, in the County of Lincoln, has been lately repair’d by John Buswell. The Virture of the Water has cured the following Persons, viz. James Bridgeman of All Saints’ Parish in Stamford in the County of Lincoln; Alice Farrow of St John’s Parish in Stamford; the Son of Henry Essam at the Crown Inn in Stamford; Eliz. Smith of Thurlby in the said County, cured of Leprosie by only going into the said Water and taking some of it inwardly; Elizabeth Moyer of Bourn, in the said County; Wm. Wilson of Braceborough was cured of the Itch by only going into the Water; John Scotney of Carlby was cured of a Leprosie in three days; the wife of Mr Tyers of Wilsthorpe in the said County, having received great benefit from the said Water, desires it may be inserted for the Publick Good; and other persons in the Neighbourhood whose names are too tedious to mention, have receiv’d Benefit from the said Waters.

It cures the King’s Evil, Leprosies, Itch and all Scortbutick Breakings of what Kind or Nature soever (under God) by only bathing in the Water; and taking it inwardly purges gently and refines the Blood, and performs the Cures so speedily, that it Strikes People into Admiration. And it is not doubted by Persons of Understanding that if its Virtues were thoroughly known, it would equal some of the best Waters in England. The said John Buswell has Conveniency for lodging and entertaining any Persons making Use of the Water at very moderate Rates and civil usage. The bathing in the Water need not be omitted at any Time or Season for in Winter, the Water is as warm as new Milk.

A bathing house was built at Braceborough in 1841 to take advantage of the springs that yielded 1½ million gallons of mineral water a day, gushing forth, according to one eye witness, at the rate of "seven hogsheads a minute" and he also noted: "The mineral water here is known for its remarkable purity and abundance of gaseous constituents, rendering it eminently suitable for drinking and dietetic purposes. It also exerts a beneficial action used externally in certain affections of the skin."

The spa prospered for many years but gradually declined, along with other British spas, because of the advent of new drugs such as the sulphonamides, in the early years of the last century. An attempt was made to revive the facility after the First World War when its waters were bottled and sold or given to drink on the premises but by 1939, it had finally closed down although the water still gushed out from the depth of its source into the River Glen as it meanders on its way to the sea. In view of this spa's recommendation for healthy living, it is perhaps fitting that the imposing and spacious Braceborough Hall has become a retirement home where the more affluent of our senior citizens can live out their final years. Few now know about Braceborough Spa although it once boasted its own railway station called Spa Halt but only the station master's house survives as a private residence and the platform with its end ramp now forms the basis of the garage and its driveway.

I am repeatedly receiving requests for information about the film Gladiator from fans who seem to think that some of the battle scenes were shot in Bourne Wood. The latest comes from a chap who collects information about locations within the United Kingdom that have been used for film making and as Bourne is mentioned in the closing credits, he assumed that it was Bourne in Lincolnshire. I have reluctantly disillusioned him.

The spear and sandals saga was made in two or three different countries but some scenes were shot at a place called The Bourne at Farnham in Surrey, a site over 100 miles to the south of us that includes an old quarry. Director Ridley Scott decided that he had no need to re-create an ancient Europe overrun by Visigoths when a computer and 300 extras in a stretch of wasteland in the Home Counties could do the job just as well. I am told that he digitally cut and pasted his cluster of raucous Romans until they became a seething mass in a largely computer-generated landscape, the kind of technology that could revolutionise the location business and even do away with it.

Bourne Wood would not have been a suitable venue anyway because it is managed for conservation and an influx of technicians and extras with their cameras, wires, vehicles and as many camp followers as a Roman army might have attracted, would not be welcome even if it were chosen as a film location. However, these woods that cover over 400 acres, do have a colourful history. The area was once part of the primeval forest of Brunswald and oak, ash, beech and elm trees have covered this site for over 800 years and possibly as far back as 117AD which is well before Marcus Aurelius became Emperor of Rome. By way of compensation however, I have told him of the legend of our Saxon hero Hereward the Wake who is reputed to have defended Bourne against William the Conqueror's invading army in the 11th century, and met his death at the hands of the Normans in these woods but I have also warned him that like much of the film Gladiator, both his life and death are more myth than fact.

There is much talk about proposals to turn Bourne into an attractive tourist town with the appointment of a new co-ordinator to raise the profile of the town. Lots of new features are promised such as heritage signs, the enhancement of shop fronts and the much-needed new block of toilets somewhere in the town centre. I particularly like the idea of the signs because they will be an obvious benefit by pointing visitors in the right direction to see some of our attractions such as Baldock’s Mill, the Red Hall, the Wellhead Gardens and the Abbey Church.

The church is our only Grade I listed building, a monument to a continuing faith in this town for more than a thousand years and a fine example of ecclesiastical architecture down the ages. It is the jewel in our crown and therefore high on the list of places to visit for anyone who passes through. Why then is it so often closed? I have called there several times during the day in recent months to find the doors locked and on one occasion, as I stood there wondering why, a couple from Hampshire arrived and were similarly disaffected.

If Bourne wishes to raise its profile as a centre for tourism then our public buildings, particularly the church, should be open every day. A locked church is an unwelcome sign to visitors who, like our Hampshire couple, are quite likely to drive on to the next town without bothering further with Bourne. It is also an indication that the townspeople cannot be trusted with their own treasures.

How well do you know Bourne? The Abbey Church is no doubt familiar and we have all seen the Red Hall but what about those other nooks and crannies that are not so obvious, small buildings tucked away almost out of sight or features on others that we see every day but never notice. I will be publishing a puzzle picture from time to time to see if you really are familiar with the town and here is the first. Please email me with your answer and there will be a copy of my new CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne for the first correct entry out of the hat when the competition closes at midnight on Friday 8th February.

Thought for the Week: To the new man I offer seven pillars of archiepiscopal wisdom: 1. Less about the Third World and human rights. 2. More about the Ten Commandments and human duties. 3. Don’t travel the world. 4. Visit English cities and villages instead. 5. Listen hard before you preach. 6. Say what you really believe, always, and say it loud and clear. 7. Pray to God morning, noon and night, for all of us, especially for yourself, that you may do the right thing, whatever the cost. – Paul Johnson, writing in The Spectator on the next choice as Archbishop of Canterbury, 26th January 2002.

Saturday 9^th February 2002

There is no doubt that a lot of courage, audacity and daring was needed and although all attempts to escape are by definition a test of character, not all are in the same mould as those depicted on the screen. Flight Lieutenant Jack Cox, for instance, a former Bourne bank clerk, made his bid for freedom on a pair of crutches and a stolen bicycle and remarkably, he made it.

John, who was known as Jack, was born in the town on 15th November 1922 and was educated at Bourne Grammar School. He began work on the staff of the Midland Bank, first in Norfolk and then for a year at their Bourne branch, until 1941 when he volunteered for the Royal Air Force. He underwent pilot training in the United States the following year and then after a spell as an instructor with the United States Air Corps, teaching American pilots for the rapidly expanding US Air Force, he returned to England in 1944 for operational duties on Lancaster bombers with No 626 Squadron at RAF Wickenby near Lincoln.

He was on his 21st operational flight on 16th March 1945 when he was shot down. Several squadrons took part in the bombing mission that night and his aircraft was one of 24 Lancasters that had taken off from the RAF Wickenby. Seven of them failed to return. When Jack's plane was hit, four of the crew were alive and able to parachute out, the remainder having been killed. Jack landed in a forest and the Germans tried to find them with the aid of trained dogs. A cannon shell splinter had entered his leg and he lay where he landed until the following morning. He then started to crawl to the edge of the forest and about mid-day contacted a party of German civilians and was able to make them understand what had happened. Men, women and children were among them and they adopted a hostile attitude and called him a "Schwein Englander" while the children spat at him.

One of the civilians fetched a soldier who searched him and put him in a cart drawn by oxen. He was then taken to a field where the body of the navigator was found as his parachute had failed to open and the cart then drove on to the nearby village with the dead crewman whose body was taken to the church for burial while he was sent to hospital where his injured limb was operated upon and where he received the best possible attention that circumstances would permit. He remained there five weeks and when the Germans attempted to evacuate the hospital he stole a cycle and despite his badly injured leg, rode off to freedom with his crutches propped on the handlebars, knowing that the advancing Allies were quite close. It was not long before the Americans came along with tanks and upon the arrival of the first ambulance he was taken to a first aid post. Later he was in 14 different hospitals in 12 days and from Northern France he was eventually flown back to England.

During this time, Jack's parents, Bernard and Grace Cox of North Road, Bourne, had been notified by his commanding officer at Wickenby that he had been reported missing as a result of the mission and that his personal possessions were being returned to them. Such an ominous telegram, always followed by a personal letter, often meant that the serviceman had been killed and families invariably feared the worst. In the event, Jack arrived back home in Bourne in time to celebrate VE-Day on 8th May 1945. I have researched the story of Jack Cox that is added today to the Bourne Focus with a most unusual postscript because years later, he met the Luftwaffe fighter ace who shot him down while the crutches that helped him make it to freedom are now on display in the Heritage Centre at Baldock’s Mill.

The inclement weather appears to have been the dominant topic of casual conversation in recent weeks as high winds and heavy rain have made outdoor activities extremely unpleasant at times except for the very hardy. Fortunately, there have been sufficient bright spells to make life bearable but even so, we should not be too critical because it could be far worse.

Among the extreme weather to hit Bourne in recent years was a mid-week downpour in 1960 when three inches of rain fell in ninety minutes. The violent thunderstorm occurred on Wednesday 5th October and although it was early closing day, shopkeepers had to return to their premises to mop up. Traffic was brought to a standstill as roads quickly turned into lakes, cars were stranded, shops and houses flooded and daily life totally disrupted by the downpour. The fire brigade worked non-stop in an attempt to keep the floodwater at bay but were powerless to stem the inundation.

Most streets in the town were under water but Manning Road, South Street, Abbey Road and Coggles Causeway were among the worst hit where cars were left stranded at the kerbside, mainly because they were slightly below the level of the other streets in the town. Bourne Grammar School was holding its annual Speech Day at the Corn Exchange and as guests left to go home, they found floodwater swirling around the entrance. Senior pupils volunteered to wade through it and carry some of the elderly people to dry ground while hundreds more waited inside for the water to subside.

The printing firm Warners Midlands plc had to sweep the floodwater from their premises in West Street and the Crown Inn was also badly affected. Messrs Rubery Owen’s machine and tool shop in the Abbey Road workshops was also badly affected and night shift employees were unable to start work until the premises had been dried out. Mr H W Pick, baker and confectioner of West Street, said that it was among the worst storms that he could remember.

Lightning struck Bourne Hospital in South Road during the storm, cutting off the supply and causing serious damage to the electrical installations. Subsequent repairs involved rewiring the entire hospital at a cost of £5,000 (£70,000 at today’s values).

Ironically, the first phase of a new drainage system to separate storm water from foul sewage had just been completed at a cost of £90,000 and so more serious flooding was averted, particularly in North Street. Councillor Dr George Holloway told a meeting of Bourne Urban District Council the following week: “If ever a town had cause to congratulate itself on the work of re-sewerage, then Bourne was that town. We cannot even think what the position would have been if we had experienced such an abnormal rainfall in the old days when the foul sewers were carrying the storm water overflow. No town could hope to deal with such a situation.”

A year ago, I wrote that Wherry’s Lane had become one of the less attractive parts of Bourne because it was usually littered with rubbish and unmentionable debris, while the fencing is falling down and a huge warehouse at the western end has been vandalised with smashed windows. This forbidding alleyway is used by hundreds of pedestrians every day and by many people leaving their vehicles in the car park behind the Post Office and then walking into town but it appears to have become a place that time has forgotten, dark, dirty and a disgrace to the town.

In the 12 months that have intervened since I posted pictures of this eyesore on the web site, nothing has been done. It has not got better; in fact is has got a lot worse and the graffiti proliferates. This is the perfect example of the broken window syndrome that if such damage is left unattended, it will spread further. The walls outside the Hereward Lodge of Freemasons are a particular target and yet many of the town’s leading citizens belong to this organisation. It is also one that is noted for its philanthropy and community spirit but I wonder if they have considered an obvious solution to this unsightly mess on their own doorstep? If they all set to with scrubbing brushes and hot water for an hour before their lodge meeting one Friday evening, they would be doing themselves and the town a big favour.

The new CD-ROM recounting the history of Bourne continues to grow in size and is now into a second edition that is available from this month, February 2002. Since it was first published in December last year, the content has increased dramatically and I have just added the 1,000th photograph while the text grows commensurately in volume. The disc now contains many old pictures showing Bourne from past times, including views of the main streets as they once were and buildings that have long since disappeared together with a stunning aerial view of the town taken in 1973.

This has become the most comprehensive pictorial account of this town and its people from the earliest times to the present day and in print terms is the size of two or three coffee table books and so I consider it a bargain at £20. If you find that too expensive for your taste, then copies can be viewed free of charge at Bourne public library where computers are available for the community although there is a modest charge for their use but if you do wish to order your own copy of A Portrait of Bourne, please use the form on the front page of the web site.
 

Thought for the Week: The allocation of offices at Westminster and the granting of large monetary allowances to four Sinn Fein MPs who have no intention ever of taking their seats on behalf of their constituents is a victory for terrorists and terrorism everywhere. At a single cowardly stroke, Mr Blair, by countenancing this outrage, has more than undone his reputation as an enemy of terrorism. He has proved that in certain circumstances at least, terrorism can achieve ends beyond its wildest dreams. Mr Blair has given heart and succour to every terrorist and would-be terrorist in the world. - editorial in The Spectator, 26th January 2002.

Saturday 16^th February 2002

Fishing rights along the Bourne Eau were in past centuries under the jurisdiction of the Manor of Bourne Abbots and are frequently mentioned in old documents. In 1753, for instance, the fisheries in the locality, including both the rivers Eau and the Glen, are defined in the will of Edward Presgrave as “ . . . the water from St Peter's Pool to Eastcoate to the Cross of Goodroom Coate and the water of Eastcoate or Glen to the Great Stone on the bank at the south east end of the South Fen of Bourne”.

During the 19th century, they were acquired by the Bourne Fishing Club but this folded in 1887 because of a declining membership and the waters were handed over to the Spalding Fishing Association. In 1896, these ancient fishing rights were bought by Mr Thomas Moore Baxter of Mills & Baxter, the aerated water business in West Street, and the Bourne Angling Association was formed. Fishing along the river was popular during the early part of the 20th century and the angling association flourished.

The club leased those stretches of the River Glen and the Bourne Eau from Mr Baxter who became their president and the waters were well stocked with pike, perch, roach and dace that provided excellent sport for club members. After he died in 1920 they remained in the possession of his descendants until recent times. The association was still in existence in 1965 when there were 270 members although the death knell had already sounded for the Bourne Eau as a coarse fishing river.

Early in 1960, pollution wiped out the fish population. The entire length of the waterway between the town and Tongue End was affected by the poison that is believed to have seeped in from one of the industrial plants with premises along the bank side. The alarm was raised during the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 23rd-24th January when 600 dead fish were found along a fifty-yard stretch near the town centre. Roach up to 2lb.in weight, pike and bream up to 8lb., were found floating on the surface and fisheries and pollution officers from the Welland River Board responsible for the river were called in and the sluice gates at Tongue End were closed to prevent the pollution from spreading into the River Glen. They decided that it was impossible to give an exact estimate of the numbers involved in the fish mortality caused by the pollution but using their spot check as a guide, and establishing that the whole of the Bourne Eau was affected, they estimated the figure at almost 85,000 fish of all species that had been killed within a matter of hours.

This was a devastating assessment for a waterway that had been popular for many years with anglers from all parts of Lincolnshire and the Midlands and the river never recovered. Samples of the affected water were taken and sent for analysis and although untreated industrial effluent was thought to be the cause, its source was never established. Ironically, heavy rain on the Sunday resulted in floodwater flowing down the waterway that might have diluted the contamination sufficiently to make it less dangerous but it came too late to save the situation. After lengthy investigations, the Welland River Board traced the source of the pollution but decided not to pursue a police prosecution and to seek damages through the county court instead.

Prior to this incident, the Bourne Eau was teeming with fish, as were the many streams that fed it, some of them running underground in places. One of them ran from the woods towards Christopher’s Lane and was then piped underneath North Street, down Meadowgate and Harrington Street and out into the fen. There was an inspection cover in North Street outside what is now the Esso garage and around 1960, a council worker was filmed by a BBC Television crew for the popular evening news magazine programme Tonight lifting the manhole cover and leaving a baited line for eels which he caught there on a regular basis. I know that fishing stories have a reputation for being exaggerated but I am assured that this one is true.

Peter Sharpe, a Bourne man who remembers those times when fish were plentiful in our waterways, has been reminiscing about his boyhood days, chasing them and regularly getting into mischief, and the delightful tale of his exploits around Queen’s Bridge in Eastgate and his encounters with sticklebacks, loach and eels is added today to the feature Memories of Times Past.

A new Internet web site for Bourne was launched this week and it is one that I can thoroughly recommend for the breadth of current affairs coverage that it plans for the future. It makes its bow under the title of Bourne On line and is part of the government’s Pathfinder Project to bring electronic service delivery to the population over the next five years.

Bourne is one of eleven market town portals chosen for the East Midlands to provide improved access to information from the public, private, voluntary and community sectors, including business and local government, and will provide details of planning applications and even opportunities for the electronic payment of suitable services.

The web site is attractive and easy to navigate and has already started to develop its various topics such as tourism, youth and community services and a number of discussion forums where you can have your say. Bourne On Line is expected to become an important part of the information highway for our part of the world and you may access it via our own front page.

I have commented before on the standard of coverage being given to Bourne by our local newspapers and there is still room for improvement in some quarters. There is no excuse for sloppy editorial practices by a publication that draws extensively on advertising revenue from the area it purports to cover yet gives the community less than it promises.

Last week for instance, on February 8th, the Stamford Mercury carried a headline about the launch of Bourne On Line saying TOWN TO HAVE ITS OWN INTERNET SITE without acknowledging the fact that the town has had its own web site for the past four years that currently attracts 500 visitors a week and has not only won several Internet awards but is also read throughout the world. There is also a second Bourne community web site that contains a wealth of business and commercial information about the town but no mention was made of that either.

These facts were excluded by ignorance or design but either way the omission is unforgivable for a publication that parades its credentials as Britain’s oldest newspaper, first published in 1695, yet fails to live up to the reputation it claims for the old fashioned ideals of fair, accurate and unbiased reporting. There are other areas of criticism concerning this newspaper which have become apparent recently that many of its past editors, some of whom influenced my own career, would have found quite deplorable.

Last week for instance, we were presented with a story about a school’s music department opening its own recording studio as part of a £1.1 million extension, a report and photograph that covered most of Page 2, and yet nowhere did it give us the name of the school or where it was located, Bourne, Stamford, Market Deeping, Corby Glen or wherever and, furthermore, the omission was not remedied the following week. The Stamford Mercury tells us often that it is the biggest local newspaper to circulate in Bourne and at 100 pages, no one can quarrel with that, but then quantity does not always mean quality.

If this newspaper wishes to be taken seriously, as it has been over the past 300 years, then more attention must be given to its editorial content and not merely use stories selected haphazardly to fill up the spaces between the advertisements. Paying lip service to a town within its circulation area with inadequate and inaccurate reporting merely to milk off its advertising will soon become untenable and rightly so. Readers wanting to know what really goes on in Bourne will buy a newspaper that tells them such things while those who pay for space to promote their goods and services will vote with their cheque books and go elsewhere.

The exploits of Flight Lieutenant Jack Cox, the Royal Air Force bomber pilot who escaped from the Germans after being shot down over Nuremberg in 1945, are to be featured in a new book. I told the story of the former pupil from Bourne Grammar School in my diary last week, how he baled out of his stricken Lancaster with an injured leg and was picked up by the enemy but after a spell in hospital, he fled to freedom on a stolen bicycle with his crutches propped on the handlebars.

The item was spotted by Oliver Clutton-Brock of Devizes in Wiltshire who is currently working on a book about RAF Bomber Command pilots who became prisoners of war in 1939-45 and he has asked permission to use the material. There have been several inquiries about this fascinating tale and to those others who wanted to know, I can tell you that after retiring from a successful post war career in banking, Jack Cox is still alive and well at the age of 81 and living at Limpsfield near Oxted in Surrey.
 

Thought for the Week: Most of what your read in the papers is lies. And I should know, because a lot of the lies you see in the papers are mine. – Publicist Max Clifford, quoted by BBC Ceefax, Tuesday 12th February 2002.

Saturday 23^rd February 2002

The best time therefore is when there are no cars about, in the evenings and at weekends, but the noise they make has upset many people who are demanding a ban on skateboarding in unauthorised areas. This is the gist of the current discussion that has been underway on the Bourne Forum for several days and which has produced varying views of this controversial sport. There is a lot of plain speaking but it is not always considered to be politically correct and one message on the subject may well fall into this category but, nevertheless, it does represent the opinions of many people who have been inconvenienced by the skateboarders.

The contributor wrote that skateboarding was merely a passing phase and we should not pander to it with the hard-earned money we provide through our council tax. He went on:

If our local authorities spend public funds on building such a facility for our young people, then it will undoubtedly end up neglected and unused as did the BMX tracks that suffered a similar fate in years past. The other aspect of this argument is one of responsibility, a concept totally alien to skateboarders who have caused so much trouble in Bourne by staging their so-called sport in restricted areas without the slightest consideration for other people. In fact, skateboarding has become synonymous with selfishness. The two go hand in hand. Anyone owning one of these silly machines thinks that they have a right to use it anywhere they wish irrespective of the trouble they cause, even in the town centre where pedestrians, particularly the elderly, are at risk as they whiz down the pavements. There is a section of our youth who continually say ‘Give us all we ask’ yet do nothing to justify such munificence. If the gung-ho lads who want to skateboard showed more responsibility to the community in which they live, then perhaps their case for a permanent venue might receive some sympathy but while they continue to make life pretty awful for those around them, they will stay way down the pecking order of public handouts.

Far from producing outraged replies, this message received a lot of sympathy from those who have been inconvenienced by the skateboarders and the consensus was that this issue needs to be addressed. The general mood was ably summed up by Guy Cudmore, a member of Bourne Town Council, who saw it as a wider problem that is very much the responsibility of both the community and the local authorities. He wrote:

Yes, the skateboarders in Bourne can be a bloody nuisance. I have every sympathy with those who live close to the areas where they congregate. They should not have to put up with it. I hope that the forthcoming public discussions will prioritise finding somewhere for the boarders to go temporarily which will cause less nuisance, before the evenings start to get warmer and lighter. Councillors are primarily motivated by a wish to serve the local community. We have come to realise that perhaps we have not done as much as we could for the youth of the town. The Town Council does not have the resources to provide a skateboard park, and I agree that it would not be appropriate expenditure if we did have. It would be expensive, and I remain unconvinced by the arguments advanced by those who claim it is more than a short-term fad. I said as much at the meeting when it was first raised, and my reported comments have made me Bourne Town Council's dinosaur of the month. We are though unanimous in the view that if there is the demand for such a facility then we should do as much as we possibly can to help to bring it about. Councillor John Smith outlined an eminently sensible way to proceed, which all of the councillors endorse. It does not really matter whether or not it is just a fad, and the fact that the boarders will have to work hard to bring it about will make it more likely that it is well used and less likely to be abused, vandalised and neglected. It is not expediency or enlightened self-interest on our part, but a genuine belief that it would be good for the whole town.

The young people, skateboarders included, are part of the community. We as a council exist to serve the community. If we take the attitude that youngsters do not matter sufficiently to bother about this issue, then how could we possibly expect young people to take a positive interest in the community, and what hope would we have for the future? It is not as simple as the kids taking all that they can grab and take advantage of for no returns, it is a matter of recognising their needs, encouraging them to participate in the community and channelling their not inconsiderable energy into productive outlets. The needs of young people have to be balanced fairly with the right of their elders to peace and quiet. If the young people are ignored, then I think that you will find that the only viable alternative for them will be drinking and drug taking on the Abbey Lawn and igniting the football stand. This is not just about a skateboard park. It is more important than that, and it concerns the whole future of representative democratic institutions in Bourne.

The Jubilee Committee here in Bourne is beavering away to make the Queen’s 50th anniversary on the throne in June a memorable event for the town. There was certainly no lack of ideas when her Silver Jubilee was celebrated in 1977 as I discovered this week while searching through the archives of the Stamford Mercury. Here is a report of how the town planned to enjoy itself:

Jubilee day will be carnival day at Bourne when holidaymakers take over the town with floats, lorries, cycles and prams. The procession, on Tuesday June 7th starts from Wherry’s Yard at 1.45 p m. In the parade will be the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Ronald Alexander, riding in a 1926 Ford. Carnival Queen Christine Hurst will appear in a horse-drawn karrozzin carriage, believed to be one of only three left in the country and joining the 27 floats will be an antique fire engine and shire horses pulling a trolley. The High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, Sir Simon Benton Jones, will present prizes for the best-decorated vehicle. The carnival will be led by local bands and 1st Bourne Scouts will collect towards the cost of the festivities. During the morning, two shows of magic, music and Punch and Judy will be held for the under-11s at the Corn Exchange. Admission is free. And in the evening there will be old time dancing at the Darby and Joan Club from 8 p m until midnight, and a buffet dance at the Corn Exchange from 9 p m until 1 a m.

The programme of town festivities is: Tuesday, May 31: Whist drive, Digby Court, 7.30 p m. Saturday, June 4: Exhibition of Jubilee art by schoolchildren, Darby and Joan Club, 10 am to 3 p m. Jubilee Junior disco, Darby and Joan Club, 7.30 p m to 11 p m. Sunday, June 5: Civic Sunday, Abbey Church service, 6.30 p m. Monday June 6: Bourne Cricket Club march versus Uffington, Abbey Lawn, 2.30 p m. Swimming pool opened (subject to approval of district council). Food to be distributed to local people. Bonfire, Stamford Hill, 10.30 p m, procession from Wellhead, 10 p m. Buffet, games and dancing for Twenty villagers only, Village Hall, from 4 pm. Wednesday, June 8: Disco, Abbey Church Hall, 8 p m to 11 p m. Friday, June 10: Modern sequence dance, Bourne Secondary School, 8 pm to midnight. Saturday, June 11: Coffee morning, St Peter’s Hospital, 10.30 a m to noon. Tuesday, June 28: Draw for £50 of Premium Bonds prize at the Bourne Town Council meeting.

Bourne Chamber of Trade is organising a competition from June 4 for one week. People will be asked to spot unusual articles in shop windows and money prizes will be presented to the winners. The Rotary Club hopes to provide a bus shelter in South Road, near Bourne Hospital, as its contribution to the jubilee.

I gather that all went well because when it was all over, Councillor Mike Taylor, chairman Bourne Festivities Committee wrote to the newspaper saying:

I would like to thank the committee and the people of Bourne for putting on the greatest show that Bourne has possibly ever seen this Jubilee weekend. To name all the individuals who contributed towards the tremendous success of the Jubilee celebrations would take up a whole page, such was the magnificent support of the trade’s people, the organisations and individuals of the town and villages. The people responded by decorating their houses, holding street parties, attending dances and turning up in their thousands for the torch-lit procession to the bonfire and to the carnival which went in procession along a three-mile route through the town, to be greeted enthusiastically by the people of Bourne along the whole route. The 31 floats made a magnificent spectacle. In Dyke and Twenty, their well-organised programme of festivities were enthusiastically supported by the village people. To everyone who helped in any way at all, sincere and grateful thanks.

The feature entitled Memories of Times Past was introduced last year in the hope that some of you would wish to share the nostalgia of years gone by and we now have a number of articles telling us what life was like in those far off days. But there is still room for more and I am sure that there must be many people out there with an interesting tale to relate. If you are one of them, please email me and we can discuss it.

Appeal for help: If Ben Sketcher is still out there, please email me.

Thought for the Week (1): A US city has introduced an initiative to force parents to vaccinate their children with the controversial MMR vaccine or go to jail. Children in Washington DC who have not been vaccinated, are barred from attending school while their parents face a fine or a short jail sentence. The get-tough policy has led to very high uptake levels of the vaccine which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. – BBC News, 14th February 2002.

Thought for the Week (2): F*** you and the entire anti-Semitic EU. I’m not going there or buying from there. No French wines, no French perfume for my girl friend and instead of a BMW I’ve just bought a Chrysler Sebring convertible. I won’t buy German, French, Spanish or anything EU. You are getting gutless. You are now quasi-fascist with that gang in Brussels whom nobody can dance to but the Hapsburgs. You hate Jews. The French burn synagogues. Kiss my American ass. My great grand parents left Europe for damn good reasons and we are just getting around to seeing what those reasons were. - letter from Howard Veit, Philadelphia, USA, to The Spectator, 16th February 2002.

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