Bourne Diary - February 2003

Saturday 1^st February 2003

One of the coldest assignments during my time as a reporter was to cover the ice skating championships that were held periodically near Bourne at this time of the year because this fenland sporting event could only be staged when temperatures had been well below zero for several days.

Fenland ice skating dates back to the Middle Ages and the earliest participants were almost certainly Flemish, using skates carved from wood or the shin bones of sheep strapped tightly to their boots. Skating took place whenever the frost was severe enough to prevent the land from being worked but provided the ideal conditions on waterways and meres. Farm workers would skate along the rivers and drains from pub to pub, often racing each other, and so what was once a pastime soon became a working man's sport with prizes of much needed food put up by the farmers, such as a sack of potatoes or even a leg of ham. 

The speeds that could be achieved when miles of waterway were suddenly opened up in this way were quite phenomenal and there are records of a 15-mile race from Wisbech to Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire in 1763 with a winning time of 46 minutes. But the hey day of this winter pursuit was during the 19th century after 15-inch steel blades were introduced and the popularity of the sport led to the formation of the National Skating Association in 1897. It developed and prospered and its existence becomes manifest whenever the temperatures dipped to below freezing point for a prolonged period for this was one of the only sports in the land in which participants prayed for a long, hard winter. 

The tradition continued until recent years and every winter, thirty acres of marshland at the Baston Fen nature reserve, four miles south of Bourne, were flooded to a depth of several inches and then the Lincolnshire Skating Association which organised the event waited for a sufficiently long cold spell that would provide the right conditions for skating to proceed on a suitable thickness of ice. Overnight frosts for at least a week were required for the best results because officials were perpetually aware that a wrong calculation could lead to a similar disaster to that which occurred in the early 20th century when there were so many skaters and spectators crammed on the ice that it broke under the weight and most of them got a very cold ducking. 

The association therefore employed an official ice tester, who in my time forty years ago, was Bert Slater, a big and burly haulage contractor from Crowland, who arrived when alerted to test the ice for strength with the simple and straightforward method of jumping up and down on it in his heavy boots at various vantage points, and if it held without the sign of a crack, then the signal went out for skating to commence the following day, provided the cold snap lasted. Whenever temperatures plunged below zero for any length of time, Bert's activities captured the imagination of the world's press with headlines such as "The Iceman Cometh" as he went about his duties, but once he declared the ice fit for skating, the telephones began buzzing, calling up everyone who wanted to be out on the ice, whether for pleasure or for sport, and soon Baston Fen resembled one of those old picture postcards or oil paintings of skaters thoroughly enjoying themselves.

There was also the racing when competitors from all parts of the country gathered on the ice for the events to begin, always over a distance of one mile on a triangular course, to decide the various outdoor speed skating championship titles for Lincolnshire, for Fenland and even for Britain. The tradition had become so entrenched that grand silver shields and cups were on offer for the winners, handed down through the years, from generation to generation.

Unfortunately, this age old winter pursuit ended at Baston Fen in 1993 when the Lincolnshire Skating Association which organised it were forced to abandon the periodic events because of crippling insurance charges. Pleasure skating continued for a few more years but the owners of the land, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, faced similar difficulties with their insurers over public liability and so skating for fun has now also ended although there are still some who take to the ice when the weather conditions are right but they do so at their own risk. Yet another of our traditional pleasures has fallen foul of the money men in suits.

The existence of ghosts has been the subject of debate for centuries and one that has occupied man's thoughts since he first trod this earth. Today, in these more enlightened and even sceptical times, tales of spectral occurrences are treated with great caution although there are many who still believe implicitly in the supernatural while organisations and study groups devoted to the subject abound.

Few places in England do not have a legend or two of a ghost, witch, poltergeist or other mysterious being, and they occur frequently in country areas such as Lincolnshire. Most of the more spectacular of the recorded sightings are confined to the north of the county but there are sufficient hereabouts to satisfy the curious.

The tradition of the ghostly happening has been less apparent in recent years because of a fashionable scepticism towards the subject and so many will not admit their beliefs to strangers while others are reluctant to be regarded as being superstitious. We all enjoy a good ghost story but there are few of us who would be willing to spend the night in an allegedly haunted house alone or to walk through a forest reputedly inhabited by demons without the occasional glance over our shoulders. Perhaps we fear, or are wary of, the supernatural because it is an unknown quantity, something we have not experienced, and no matter how much we doubt the existence of spirits and spooks, the best approach is to keep an open mind.

Bourne has a few legends of the supernatural including the grey lady of the Red Hall, the marching monks of Church Walk, the black dog of Stowe and the sad tale of Nanny Rut who lived in Elsea Wood. All have been included in a new section entitled Haunted Bourne that has been added to our companion CD-ROM. 

What the local papers are saying: The County News dropped through the letter box this week. It is published by Lincolnshire County Council and the latest issue (February 2003) launches its appearance on a monthly basis, financed with public money and running to 20 pages. The newspaper is presented in a popular style with lots of headlines, a large body type and a great many illustrations, but whether anyone will read it in detail is another matter. A front page banner directs us to the latest facts on council tax with a story on Page 9 indicating that we face an increase of between 9% and 10% in April. This is required reading but it is not good news, especially for those of us who no longer have a salary and are living on declining pensions because such a rise will mean that we will have to find another £80 or more a year to keep this bureaucratic juggernaut on the road.

The county treasurer Peter Moore fights a losing battle in the article trying to defend such an outrageous increase at a time when the government insists that inflation is under control at around 2.7%. Such a massive rise appears to indicate that spending by Lincolnshire County Council is totally out of control and that if the rate of increase continues at the same speed for the next ten years, our council tax will be double what it is now by the year 2012. 

The employment of staff appears to be the main preoccupation of this authority and to give you some idea of how our money is being spent, it is a worthwhile exercise to read through the three pages of jobs on offer and to think for a moment whether you understand what any of them mean because the job descriptions are quite baffling. The council is currently seeking two Operations Technicians for Highways and Planning (salary £12,885 a year), an Outdoor Education Adviser (£32,573), Social Services Practice Supervisor (£25,740), a Head of Behavioural Support Service (£44,673), Police Communication and Consultation Officer (£22,506), Engineering Technician/Assistant Highways Officer (£15,957), Keeper of Visitor and Community Services at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life (£19,776) plus Deputy Detached Youth Workers and a Worker in Charge - Detached, an Information Youth Worker in Charge, a Deputy Youth Worker and an Assistant Youth Worker, Heritage Assistants, Social Work Assistants and Traffic Survey Enumerators. The list goes on and if you need to see more, the newspaper directs us to their web site to view all current vacancies. Take a look. You will be aghast.

A large slice of the budget obviously goes on staff which numbered in excess of 12,000 at the last count, making the county council the largest employer in Lincolnshire. We are never given the actual figure spent on salaries, pensions, holiday entitlements and allowances, and so we do not know how much is left for public services. But we do know that elected councillors are also aboard the gravy train with more than £500,000 a year in allowances, a figure that is increasing annually. Suffice it to say that this council, with a spending budget of £527 million for the coming year, can afford to keep a small army of people in well paid employment yet cannot find the cash to pay for a pedestrian crossing in North Street, Bourne, to allow our children cross the town's busiest main road in safety on their way to and from lessons at the Robert Manning Technology College.

This road, the main A15, is one of two in the Bourne area that are pinpointed as being among the most dangerous in the county by a front page report in the Lincolnshire Free Press (January 28th). The Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership tells us that accident trends in recent years have been analysed to produce these findings and the 12 worst roads include the A15 and the A151, both of which run through the town centre and have been identified as so-called red routes. Roads are the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council and so their forecast of a 10% rise in council tax is relevant to this issue. But don't expect any serious spending on this problem. The report says that the roads will eventually be considered for speed cameras, safety improvement schemes and an increased police presence, although the only immediate remedies suggested are the erection of signs telling drivers where and when accidents have occurred and the issue of leaflets heightening awareness of the possible dangers, as if any driver who uses these roads did not know that already.

The campaign to save the Post Office that has been excellently spearheaded by The Local reached its climax with another salvo against the decision (January 31st). A full page report leaves no doubt about the opinion of the entire town, that the proposal to move the business from the existing purpose-built premises in West Street further down the road to the back of a liquor store is both unwise and unwelcome. The newspaper has sent off "a fistful of petitions" containing nearly 2,000 signatures to Post Office headquarters while opposition is also reported from a wide variety of people and organisations including our MP Mr Quentin Davies, the member for Grantham and Stamford, who sums up the situation by saying: "To downgrade or move the Post Office in the face of near-unanimous opposition would be to make a mockery of the Post Office's public responsibilities and of the consultation exercise."

Mr Davies has therefore identified the nub of the present problem and one that is echoed by The Citizen, reporting on the issue for the first time (January 28th) and quoting a Post Office spokesman as saying: "A decision is likely to be made in about four weeks after the consultation period is completed." It seems obvious that this decision is clear, that the Post Office remains where it is, otherwise the consultation exercise is a total sham.

The 13th century church of St Mary and All Saints at Kirkby Underwood is one of my favourite churches and I go there often, last week particularly to see a small and unusual addition that has been created by one of the villagers. Over the door in the church porch is a niche that once contained a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary but has been empty since it was destroyed during the time of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), the Puritan leader of the Parliamentary side in the Civil War who opposed all forms of iconography. 

Thought for the Week: The level of indifference over environmental issues in Bourne can be judged by the amount of chewing gum spat out in public places. Pavements, car parks and other outdoor areas are covered with the telltale white patches that create a health hazard and even a danger to pedestrians who are likely to slip on them but they also identify an uncaring population. By all means give the green boxes a chance but don't forget the old proverb that you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. - contribution to the Bourne Forum by George Williams, Thursday 30th January 2003.

Saturday 8^th February 2003

A chance to have your name recorded for posterity is to become part of the restoration of the mill wheels at the early 19th century Baldock's Mill in South Street, Bourne, the biggest single project since the building was taken over by the Civic Society in 1983.

The £12,000 scheme will involve replacing replicas of the two wheels that were removed when the mill stopped grinding corn in the 1920s. The smaller wheel made of steel has already been made and assembled and there is sufficient space on the struts and supports for a limited number of names to be inscribed before it is fitted into position over the mill race.

Over 40 members of the Civic Society have already submitted their names for inclusion and now members of the general public are being invited to join the scheme in return for a donation of £10. Society chairman Mrs Brenda Jones said: "This is a marvellous idea and what better way for anyone who wishes their name to be preserved for posterity than to have it turning permanently inside the mill and at the same time, help one of our town's good causes? These names will be there for all to see in years to come and so they will become part of this town's heritage."

The mill wheel restoration project was the brainchild of Brenda's husband Jim Jones, a qualified engineer and member of the society since 1976. He undertook the work after an appraisal of other schemes elsewhere in the country, specifically at Totnes, in Devon, where Jim and Brenda visited a water mill in which the wheel had been rebuilt by a local joiner and wheelwright, and the specifications were similar to that which was envisaged at Baldock's Mill. They took particular note of the materials used, such as seasoned timbers, mild steel and others, which fitted perfectly with the scheme in hand.

The project at Baldock's Mill is being funded mainly through grants, with £3,500 already being handed over by Lincolnshire County Council with a further advance recently agreed.

During its working life, the main mill wheel was 15 feet in diameter by 3 feet wide and the smaller flywheel measured 5 feet by 12 inches. It is these two wheels that are to be replaced. Jim drew up working diagrams last summer, using his past experience as an engineering draughtsman, showing a large wheel made of hardwood, 10 feet in diameter by 35 inches in width, smaller than the original, although this will be largely decorative, and a second wheel made of steel to the original size of 5 feet in diameter and 12 inches wide. The large wheel will be 5 feet smaller than the original because extensive repairs took place at the mill 20 years ago to strengthen the building and make it suitable for public use and these specifications cannot be changed. This wheel will turn slowly to simulate the original action of past years.

The small wheel will drive a generator to produce electricity which will supply four storage heaters in the building and help reduce the mill's quarterly electricity bill and so this will be a "green" bonus for the project. Viewing windows already in situ will enable visitors see the wheels in action and identify their names in the process.

Vandals continue to cause problems in and around Bourne and our nature reserves do not escape their unwanted attentions. They are some of the prettiest spots in this locality, small havens of wildlife that are a delight to visit, and yet the unruly element in our society continues to cause damage whenever they get the chance. 

Dole Wood, three miles south of the town, is the most delightful spot I have ever seen, a small area of ancient woodland covering less than seven acres and surviving amid a large tract of farmland, consisting mainly of oak and hazel coppice, although you will also find ash, field maple, wych elm and hawthorn. There is an abundance of bluebells in the spring as well as wood anemone and stitchwort, wood sorrel, wood sage, false brome, enchanter's nightshade, bugle, yellow archangel and sweet woodruff. Over 120 species of moth have also been identified within the reserve and the birds to be found here include the lesser and great spotted woodpeckers, treecreeper, whitethroat, blackcap, willow warbler and spotted flycatcher.

An idyllic place that you would expect to be free of wanton damage but that is not so. Volunteers from the Bourne area group of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust that administers Dole Wood regularly find trees vandalised and other damage when they arrive for their weekend work on keeping the woodland in trim. "Vandalism is a constant irritation on most of our local nature reserves", says the group's January newsletter to members. "School holidays and weekends seem to be when most of the vandalism takes place."

What a sad commentary this is on the times in which we live that those slowly disappearing areas of natural beauty in this country must be constantly monitored to protect them for future generations. 

The big green boxes were collected from homes in Bourne for the first time this week and the response appears to be encouraging. This new £250,000 initiative by South Kesteven District Council is intended to save more household waste for recycling, such as plastic, paper, tin and fabric, and the first to be collected were on Monday from homes on the western side of town. As I drove down Beech Avenue soon after 9 am, the street was dotted on either side with green boxes filled to the brim and I estimated that 80% of households had responded. The following day was the turn of the eastern side and the picture was similar along Stephenson Way. Collections by the big green cart bearing the Recycling Rodney logo were done quickly, quietly and efficiently, and so the operation for the first week in Bourne appears to have gone very smoothly indeed.

The problem will be to maintain the interest of homeowners by encouraging them to put the box out every fortnight. The difficulty of finding space for it between collections can be overcome, even in the smallest of homes, and although I recycle all of my waste at the Pinfold Lane depot and originally intended to keep mine in the shed as a storage unit, my resolve weakened when I saw the response in Beech Avenue on Monday and I returned home and filled it up with old plastic bottles and put it outside for collection next morning along with the rest. The scheme is by no means perfect but everyone with a care for the environment wants it to succeed and it will provided all participate. Unfortunately, there are those who would not go out of their way to give a tin can for recycling but perhaps they can be converted by example and so it is up to the rest of us to maintain this initial impetus. 

What the local papers are saying: The new recycling scheme was launched with a fanfare of publicity by SKDC but it does not have the approval of all local councillors. The Lincolnshire Free Press reports (February 4th) that one of the main opponents is Deeping St James parish councillor Philip Dilks who has condemned it as a waste of public money. He told a meeting last week that the village had a perfectly good privately run recycling scheme that had been halted two years ago because of a problem with the licence but this had now been resolved and the district would have been better served if the owner had been asked to resume collections. "The service was cheap and collected everything in large volumes and unlike the district council, there were no items that were not accepted," he added. "The new scheme appears to be a very good way of throwing away a quarter of a million pounds."

There are also many complaints in both The Local and the Stamford Mercury that although 26 tons of recyclable waste was collected in Bourne during two days this week, there were many instances of boxes losing part of their contents in high winds while waiting to be collected, with paper and plastic being blown about causing a danger to motorists and leaving many streets in a mess. Ian Yates, head of business management at SKDC, told The Local (February 7th): "We had a few teething problems but are hoping that people will listen to our advice about packing the boxes properly. This is a new scheme but it is the best system around. We have had lots of positive feedback and it is going to go well."

Bourne may soon get a new youth centre, according to the Herald and Post (February 6th). A front page report says that the present wooden huts dating back to 1948 on land near to the Robert Manning Technology College in Queen's Road are in a poor condition and are to be replaced with new premises including a main activity area, lounge, quiet room, toilets and administration offices. Lincolnshire County Council plans to built the new youth centre close by while keeping the present car parking area, tennis courts, roads and paths, and the present youth club will continue to operate during the construction period. College principal Geoff Greatwood is delighted with the proposals and he told the newspaper: "Anything that provides extra facilities for the youth of Bourne is more than welcome. I hope that the new centre will offer a far better environment for our youngsters." 

This is not the first time in recent years that attempts have been made to upgrade the present 60-year-old youth centre premises. An appeal was launched in November 1998 to raise £1.2 million to finance a new multi-purpose community centre on the site, an ambitious scheme that would have provided a main hall for drama production facilities, wine bar, coffee shop, two meeting rooms, an information technology centre and a sound studio. It was intended that the new centre would mark the millennium with a complex designed for the community but with the emphasis on youth and providing a wide range of facilities for use well into the 21st century but the project foundered the following year through lack of financial support and was abandoned. The latest proposal appears to have a better chance of success. County councillor John Kirkman is quoted as saying that it will be ideal for the youth of Bourne adding: "It is something we have been fighting for and will be an immense benefit to the town. There are no drawbacks whatsoever to this proposal. I am sure it will go through and we are looking forward to work starting as soon as possible."

In fact, it is all good news for Bourne this week. The Stamford Mercury reports (February 7th) that new toilets are to be built in the town centre after all. South Kesteven District Council has two sites to choose from but the lavatories will have all the latest amenities such as disabled access, a baby changing area and an attendant to ensure that there is not a recurrence of the vandalism that was blamed for shutting the South Street loos last year. But when will all this happen? Not yet, I'm afraid. Council leader Linda Neal told The Local (February 7th): "The toilet facility will complement any core centre redevelopment. It will be a high quality provision and will be built as soon as it is feasibly possible." And you cannot be more indeterminate than that.

The final go ahead has also been given to complete the relief road for the A15 south west of Bourne. The Stamford Mercury says (February 7th) that South Kesteven District Council has finally approved a ten-year £700,000 loan to Allison Homes who are building the Elsea Park development. The road is already partly built but the money will cover interest charges on the capital needed to finish the job and when complete, the road should drastically reduce the flow of vehicles through the town centre.

Let us hope that the Post Office campaign conducted so vigorously by The Local ends on the same satisfactory note. The decision on whether the main office should move from its present purpose built location in West Street further down the road to space at the back of a liquor store, now rests with head office. The newspaper's bundle of petitions and protest coupons has been delivered and receipt acknowledged by an official but as the newspaper reports (February 7th): "We hope that the man responsible will see the contents and not just be made aware of them."

Thought for the Week: The Rev George Carter [Rector of Folkingham], chairman of the magistrates at Bourne, told a sitting of the bench on Thursday 27th September that 11 out of the 16 police cases that had been heard were directly due to drink and that if it were not for that, the justices of the town would have very little or nothing to do. We may add that during the past three years, drunkenness has decreased by about 50 per cent, as the following figures show: convictions for drunkenness in 1885 - 223, 1886 - 159, 1887 - 127. We have reason to believe, notwithstanding last week's heavy list, that a still more marked improvement will be observable in this year's returns. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 5th October 1888.

Saturday 15^th February 2003

Our homes are increasingly under siege from opportunist sales persons anxious to make a killing by selling us something that we do not want, usually plastic products like double glazing doors and windows, soffits and fascias, which are today's big rip off, while so called tree specialists driving white unmarked vans lurk forever round the corner ready to lop and trim the leylandi for a couple of hundred quid cash in hand and no VAT charged.

The doorbell rings two or three times a week as the eager lads and lasses armed with clipboards and colourful sales leaflets make the rounds, apparently oblivious of the fact that the streets in this part of Bourne are well trodden ground and that we know enough about them to resist impulse buying on the doorstep. The system they operate is known in the trade as cold calling and although sales resistance is high, the rewards are great because one sale clinched is worth a week's wages.

The catalogues that drop through the letter box are a similar nuisance, bulky publications containing pictures and descriptions of a thousand and one items that no one wants, consigned to the cupboard as dust gatherers if you ever do decide to buy them, and Sharon or Jason asks that you leave it outside with your order when they call back, and so they put the onus on you to deliver. This is an audacious sales technique to command our attention and such uninvited catalogues should be treated as junk mail.

We have long ago stopped answering the door to anyone and I usually have a notice posted above the letterbox saying that callers and catalogues are not welcome, otherwise they arrive expecting to make a sale and feeling indignant if they do not. One day, caught out on the front drive, an impertinent salesman just would not take no for an answer and even started criticising my property when I said I was not interested in his products and so they make themselves objectionable as well as unwelcome in pursuance of a sale.

Telephone calls from direct sales companies are similarly disagreeable especially when you are busy with other matters. One week, I have received half a dozen, even though my number is ex-directory, and the callers usually do not even know who they are calling because they invariably ask for the home owner, a warning shot that they are seeking to sell something because who else should they talk to but the person whose property it is. One evening, after telling the caller that I was not in the least interested in what he was offering, he rang back three times before I eventually took the phone off the hook to be rid of him.

Both the callers on the doorstep and on the phone are blatant examples of intrusion into our privacy and should be prevented from doing so by law. Most of us can deal with them in our own way but old people living alone are at their mercy and there are many cases of money being taken from them by extortionate means as advance payment for goods and services which they had absolutely no intention or need of buying.

There will be no safeguards for us from this relentless drive to sell us something until we have legislation against unwanted callers but that is most unlikely in the foreseeable future. The answer therefore is in your own hands and here is my four-point plant to thwart this growing band of itinerant sales people. Firstly, put a notice on the front door saying "No catalogues, no callers" and stick it above the letterbox behind a strip of Sellotape to make it weatherproof. Secondly, throw away all catalogues that arrive which you are legally entitled to do because their delivery was unsolicited. Thirdly, never give your telephone number to anyone, especially in the blank spaces next to your signature at the bottom of those forms that you have to fill in when buying this or that by mail order because it will most certainly join a list that is passed around among various firms specialising in these types of hard sell techniques. And lastly, never answer the door unless you are expecting someone. Pull up the drawbridge and no matter how much your curiosity is tested when the doorbell rings, don't answer it. You will most certainly save yourself an awful lot of hassle and most probably a large amount of money.

The loss of public facilities through vandalism and the reluctance of the police to pursue the culprits is not a new phenomenon in Bourne. This has cost us the public lavatories in South Street that were closed by South Kesteven District Council last year because of continuing damage and there seems little likelihood of those responsible being caught and prosecuted.

A similar incident occurred in the town during the 19th century involving the Ostler fountain, a magnificent example of Victorian Gothic architecture erected in the market square by public subscription to the memory of John Lely Ostler (1811-59), a local landowner and philanthropist, and unveiled at a public ceremony in October 1860. The working of the fountain however, was sporadic, despite repeated attempts at maintenance, and by 1888, it had ceased to function altogether and the Stamford Mercury commented on 17th August that it should either be removed or utilised for its original purpose, even for the watering of cattle. The following week, the newspaper reported:

We are informed by one of the directors of the Water Company that, when erected by public subscription some years since, the fountain was furnished with simple provision for the purpose we suggested. The watering troughs for animals were however, rendered completely useless by downright wanton mischief. The police authorities who (our informant tells us) were frequently appealed to, treated the affair with indifference and took no steps whatever to protect the property. The fleur-de-lis which ornamented the angles of the drinking fountain were mutilated. The pipes were filled with stones and dirt so that the water ran over into the Market Square and became a nuisance. Naturally, under such circumstances, the Water Company discontinued the supply. These occurrences are to be regretted. As the structure still stands, we would repeat our suggestion that the fountain be utilised for drinking purposes and for watering cattle. We have confidence that if the company would once more make the experiment, it would meet with hearty public approval and the police authorities would be more energetic in preventing wanton destruction of public property than apparently were their predecessors.

Despite the controversy, the monument remained in the market place, sometimes working sometimes not, until 1960 when its interference with the increasing flow of vehicles through the town centre necessitated its removal. It was then taken to a place of safety in Bourne Cemetery where it can be seen today while the name of the man who inspired it has been perpetuated in Ostler Drive, one of the town's residential streets. 

What the local papers are saying: The continuing controversy over the proposed Post Office move in Bourne from the purpose-built premises in West Street to the back of a liquor store further down the street is covered by the Lincolnshire Free Press whose reporter Rob Jerram sought a reaction from Post Office headquarters (February 11th). He then quotes an anonymous spokesman who said: "It seems strange that this is causing so much attention." This would appear to bear out my own theory that the Post Office is totally out of touch with its customers in Bourne and the so-called consultation period that has just ended was a total sham. In view of their ostrich-like attitude, it also seems apparent that the move will go ahead against the will of the people.

Missing cats have occupied many inches of column space in The Local so far this year and their front page this week is devoted to a detailed run down of the current situation (February 14th) under the headline "Catnapped!" The report tells us that many pets have mysteriously disappeared from villages bordering the main A15 which runs through the district and that the police, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Neighbourhood Watch groups have all been alerted. This all sounds very familiar to someone who has spent half a century in journalism. There are an estimated seven million cats in this country and the sad fact is that many do go walkabout and some do not return but the disappearance of half a dozen in the Bourne area in two years does not rate highly in the scheme of things. Whenever cats go missing, their owners invariably suspect a conspiracy and it is my experience that although tales of cat thieves have surfaced every few years with predictable regularity, nothing has ever been proved and so these stories have taken their place among our urban folklore, along with the Loch Ness monster and sightings of bigfoot and black panthers. If the impetus over the current outbreak of missing moggies continues, it will not be long before the story progresses to the next stage which in the past has claimed that the animals are being targeted by rogue vets running an organised ring to steal them under cover of darkness using unmarked vans and their furs are then shipped out to eastern European countries where they are made into coats and handbags and sent back to Britain for sale in street markets. You just can't keep a good story down no matter how ridiculous it may sound.

The proposed new youth centre for Bourne occupies the front page of the Stamford Mercury with a run down of the costs involved (February 14th). It has been estimated that up to £400,000 will be needed to replace the existing huts in Queen's Road, rather than refurbishment that would cost £130,000. The huts were built in 1948 and are now in an extremely poor condition and no longer fit for their present purpose. The money will come from Lincolnshire County Council's education and culture budget and work could start as early as July. Local councillors have welcomed the development which will benefit the community as a whole but the police warn that a new youth centre will not solve the current problems of those youngsters who still gather in groups around the town at night and do not want to be supervised. 

The deputy mayor, Councillor Trevor Holmes, has vowed to fight for additional health facilities in the town after the announcement last month that the Bourne Hospital site is to be sold off for residential development. Planning permission has been granted for the four acres of land which is expected to fetch in excess of £1.2 million. Councillor Holmes is reported in The Local (February 14th) as having made representations to health chiefs and has been promised discussions on the viability of a 20-bed cottage hospital but has also been told that he should not raise his hopes too high. The land is now owned by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and in a rather nice turn of phrase, Councillor Holmes has put the matter in a nutshell: "By gaining planning permission, they turned an old tin box into a golden casket and intend to use funds from the sale of the site to pay for services elsewhere. Bourne won't benefit from a penny of it." We welcome his enthusiasm because a hospital is the most important facility needed by Bourne at the present time but it is a pity that those who ran our affairs in past years allowed the three hospitals we have had to close in the first place.

The debate over the introduction of Broadband in Bourne does not abate because local computer users feel that they are being badly let down by British Telecom when the facility is already operative in Stamford and even Market Deeping. The new system will provide a faster and more efficient access to the Internet without affecting incoming and outgoing telephone calls and overall, the performance rating is way above that which we have now. There is a lot of misunderstanding about Broadband and so I have invited one of the main supporters of it to explain what it is, how we will benefit and what we should do to get it. These matters are addressed in an article by John Gardner, Community Portal Co-ordinator for Bourne Online, that is added today to this web site.

Names continue to arrive for inclusion on one of the mill wheels that are being restored at the early 19th century Baldock's Mill, home of the Heritage Centre here in Bourne. Civic Society member Jim Jones is working daily to engrave them on the metal supports and the result will be a record of those who are interested in our history whose names will be turning for posterity once the wheel is installed over the mill race later this year. Fifty names have already been added but there is space for more if you send in your name with the appropriate donation.

I am always on the lookout for old photographs of Bourne and the surrounding district, particularly vintage postcards. There must be hundreds of them lying around and I would be grateful if I could borrow them and give them a place in the town's history by including them in our companion CD-ROM. This will mean scanning them, a process taking only a few seconds without causing any harm whatsoever to the original, before returning them intact. If you have any such material relating to old Bourne, I would be most grateful if you would let me know.

Thought for the Week: The United States is the best and fairest and most decent nation on the face of the earth. - George Bush, senior, the American president (1988-92) during a speech in May 1988.

Saturday 22^nd February 2003

One of the most prominent of our village inns is the Waggon and Horses at Langtoft because it stands on the main A15, five miles south of Bourne. There has been a hostelry here for centuries, established as a suitable stopping place for the wagon delivery services of years past, when goods were picked up and dropped off, hence its name, and it is therefore no coincidence that the present day bus stop is nearby.

The inn is sturdily built of stone and gives an appearance that it has been there for centuries but it was in fact rebuilt after a serious and fatal fire that destroyed the premises more than a century ago when Thomas Woodward was the landlord. 

Soon after two o'clock on the morning of Friday 12th October 1888, smoke was seen coming from the inn by the vicar, the Rev Charles Ferrall, and Mr George Towell who lived opposite. They also heard shouts for help and soon the entire village had turned out and by the time the fire was at its height, several hundred people thronged the road outside. The inn was then thatched and the blaze broke out at the rear of the premises and is believed to have been started when faggots were being burned on the fire and set light to an overhead beam near the hearth. There was only one occupant at the time, Mr James Jarratt, who was staying at the inn, and who managed to escape through the front bedroom window with the flames quickly spreading throughout the building. Villagers used rakes to pull away the thatch in an attempt to prevent the flames from spreading but to no avail.

A messenger was despatched to Market Deeping, two miles distant, to fetch the fire brigade which eventually arrived with a manual pump engine but their efforts were hampered by difficulties in finding an adequate supply of water. They eventually tapped into a number of nearby cisterns but by this time, the fire had been raging for an hour and the roof of the inn collapsed. Several people had congregated in the yard at the back to watch the proceedings and one of then, Samuel Deakin, climbed a ladder to reach sections of burning thatch with a rake but the chimney stack that had been left standing on its own after the roof collapsed, fell and knocked him to the ground, burying him in bricks and causing him severe injuries. 

The landlord's brother, Charles Woodward, aged 30, an agricultural labourer who lived in the village, took the full force of the falling debris and was pulled from the wreckage by the police and other helpers and laid on a board but his head and body were badly mutilated and he died shortly afterwards. Mr H T Benson, a surgeon, who had been called to the scene, carried out an examination and established that his skull was fractured in several places. He had also broken his right thigh and left leg in several places and sustained a deep wound on the front of his head about four inches long and down to the bone.

A village feast had been held at the inn the previous day and James Jarrett had been helping to clear up in the room where the fire had originated, packing away various articles ready for storage. Several boxes of goods were destroyed together with a pewter pot full of coppers and some gold in a box, the takings from the previous day. Also burned were the deeds and documents of the Langtoft Friendship and Unity Club which held its meetings at the inn, together with a quantity of their cash. 

An inquest was held the following day at the Royal Oak public house in Langtoft when the coroner, Mr J G Calthrop, heard evidence from the police, witnesses at the scene of the fire and the doctors who attended, and decided that Woodward had died from injuries to the head and recorded a verdict that he was accidentally killed.

The Stamford Mercury reported the following week: "Much sympathy is felt for Woodward's widow who is left with one child and whose confinement is daily expected."

Among the names submitted for engraving on one of the new wheels which is being installed at Baldock's Mill in South Street is that of Dr George Holloway (1905-1967).

Brook Lodge was built as the vicarage for Bourne in 1776 by the Rev Humphrey Hyde who was the incumbent at the Abbey Church from 1763 until 1807, and stands at the end of Church Walk but the frontage is on a bend in South Street. It was replaced by a new vicarage in 1879 and subsequently became a doctor's surgery where Dr John Gilpin worked and later Dr Holloway who remained there until his death in January 1967. There was a tiny lean-to at the back of the house that was used as a waiting room and the surgery times were posted by the door over the message box where medicines and prescriptions were put out for collection. When Dr Holloway died, the practice was taken over by Dr Michael McGregor and it later moved to the new health clinic when it opened in St Gilbert's Road in 1971 and thence on to the Hereward clinic in 1998 while the house is now converted into flats.

Dr Holloway's name has been submitted by his daughter, Mrs Barbara Higglesden of Kingsway, Bourne, who tells me: "There is nothing in the town to remind people of his work other than the memories of those who knew him and still talk about him 36 years after his death. The wheel is also not far from his old home on the corner in South Road that was nicknamed Holloway's Corner after him."

This is an excellent way to remember loved ones, relatives and friends, who were connected with this town. The restoration project is in the hands of the Civic Society who run the early 19th century Baldock's Mill as a Heritage Centre. Member Jim Jones is working daily to engrave the names on the metal supports and the result will be a record of those who are interested in our history whose names will be turning for posterity once the wheel is installed over the mill race later this year. Fifty names have already been added but there is space for more and if you wish to be included, or would like to add the name of a relative or friend, then click here and print out the form before submitting it with the appropriate donation: 

What the local papers are saying: The decision to close the public toilets in South Street, Bourne, last October on the pretext that they had become a target for vandals and paedophiles also affected Market Deeping because South Kesteven District Council decided that their loos were a similar liability and they have been shut ever since. However, help is at hand because the Lincolnshire Free Press reports (February 18th) that the town council has arranged to take over the responsibility of running them and they are due to reopen in April. In the intervening period, councillors have been busy negotiating the new arrangement with the district council which has offered them £13,250 a year to maintain the facility, although this may be increased as a result of current discussions, and work has been going ahead on refurbishment. Councillor Bob Broughton, chairman of the town council's amenities committee, said: "It is a lot of work and a big responsibility for us to take them on but we want what is best for the town." This means that a much-needed public amenity will soon be restored and in view of such spirited enthusiasm on behalf of the people, it is tempting to ask if our town council has given a thought to making similar arrangements for the re-opening of our lavatories in South Street.

The silly season has apparently come early to Bourne. This is traditionally the time during high summer when good stories are scarce and so anything that might make a few column inches is given prominence, a situation that gave rise to the Loch Ness monster sighting in 1936 and many other similar stories since. Last week, The Local devoted its front page to missing cats that had presumably been stolen from the district and this week the Stamford Mercury features the tale of a black panther nicknamed the Beast of Bourne which is loose in the Dyke area (February 21st). Their report has sufficient ingredients to maintain interest and there is talk of huge paw prints in the mud, a savaged dead fox, chickens missing and of course, several sightings. My scepticism is the result of half a century in journalism during which time these stories have surfaced time and again without a shred of evidence other than the excitement and genuine belief generated by those who claim to have first hand knowledge that invariably does not bear scrutiny. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the story and the newspaper's presentation was rather good.

One of Bourne's biggest eyesores is likely to disappear at last following the sale of Nos 30 and 32 North Street for redevelopment (The Local, February 21st). These shops have been a blight on the town centre for almost 20 years and the subject of continual complaints, both from residents and visitors, that their unsightliness is bad for the image of the town and for trade. The urban decay became so bad in the autumn of 1999 that the Stamford Mercury carried a front page story and pictures proclaiming "Boarded up Bourne" and although most of the other properties involved in this unsightly scenario have been sold and restored, the two shops have remained derelict. They have a long and distinguished record in the business life of the town centre, having been used as shops for two centuries or more, but their present appearance belies their past prosperity. This dilapidation however, may soon be at an end because businessman Michael Thurlby has bought them and intends to bring them back into the commercial life of the town. His past efforts have already breathed new life into old buildings across the street where he successfully turned Smiths of Bourne from a grocer's shop into a public house with a sympathetic restoration that enhances the street scene and we hope that his new venture will be equally successful.

Advertising is not included on the web site because this is a voluntary project and all costs are met privately. This allows us an unfettered editorial freedom that is not enjoyed by newspapers, particularly the local press. I am not suggesting that we are in competition with those newspapers that circulate in Bourne because this would be ridiculous as they are commercial undertakings that require advertising to survive and publications such as The Local provide a much-needed and excellent service in printing the minutiae of everyday life which their readers want and which has been the lifeblood of local newspapers for more than four centuries.

But the Internet is changing the traditional methods of communication and although we do not intend to suddenly start using advertising, links to those commercial web sites run by visitors will be added in the future. A new section called Services has therefore been added to the Bourne Links page and if anyone has a business venture in which they have an interest and will be useful to our visitors, then please submit it for inclusion provided that it does deal with a service available to the people of Bourne.

Thought for the Week: In consequence of the inclemency of the weather last week, a subscription was started in Bourne for the purpose of opening a soup kitchen. The first distribution took place on Tuesday last when a large quantity of excellent soup was dispensed at one penny per quart. The next distribution will take place today. - news item from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 11th January 1867.

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