Saturday 5^th July 2003

An organised collection of domestic rubbish did not begin in Bourne until the early years of the last century. Until then, people dumped their garbage in the most convenient spot they could find and that was often the Bourne Eau or at the bottom of the garden where huge piles attracted rats and other vermin.

A system of sorts was introduced by Bourne Urban District Council in 1911 but this consisted of nothing more than a horse and cart with a bell attached to the cart to alert home owners that it was in the vicinity and the dustman, as he was known, was paid one shilling an hour for his services. But it was not until 1930 that weekly door-to-door collections began with each household using a galvanised bin that was left within easy reach of the dustmen when they made their call. The various parts of the town were covered in four days of each week and the rubbish collected was taken to the brick pits off West Road and buried, the forerunner of what we now call a landfill site.

Bourne UDC ceased to function under the re-organisation of local government in 1974 and although a parish or town council was formed, most of the town's affairs, including rubbish collections, came under the control of South Kesteven District Council based at Grantham, a situation that continues until the present day although the metal bins have now given way to black plastic bags. In the past 100 years, the amount of rubbish generated by the average home has increased dramatically with the arrival of the consumer society and the refuse collection service has tried to keep pace with this development. National government is now actively seeking ways of recycling our rubbish, rather than total disposal in landfill sites as in the past, and local authorities who must implement their policy are introducing new schemes to ensure that as much waste as possible is salvaged for re-use.

Bourne councillor Linda Neal, leader of South Kesteven District Council, has this responsibility, and her article on the importance of waste recycling is added to the web site today.

I am a staunch supporter of Bourne Civic Society but often liken it to St Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. They have taken on Baldock's Mill against all odds and turned it into a Heritage Centre for the town, yet despite its historic appeal and many display attractions, there are insufficient volunteers to keep it manned other than at weekends, for two hours on Saturdays and Sundays. In fact, if there were a roll call of those who really keep the mill alive, they could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Nevertheless, there are many enthusiasts in the society who have the good of the town at heart and a committee has been formed in the hope of saving the Old Grammar School, which I revealed last April is in danger of falling down through lack of care and maintenance, and now they have taken on responsibility for the Ostler memorial fountain which languishes almost without notice in the town cemetery. But I fear that their well-intentioned aims of renovating this magnificent edifice may well founder in the slough of indifference where others who have trod this path before have ended up. In recent years there have been at least two attempts to give the fountain a greater prominence but both are long forgotten. However, I can solve one problem that appears to be a stumbling block for the society before it proceeds on its quest and that is who owns the memorial?

The answer is that it is the property of the people of Bourne because it was they who paid for it. The fountain was erected to the memory of John Lely Ostler (1811-59) at a cost of £120, which is almost £6,000 at today's values, and the money was raised by public subscription and unveiled at a ceremony in October 1860. It stood in the market place for 100 years and, when it was working, provided refreshment for townspeople, especially on market days when shoppers, farmers and stallholders would gather here to gossip and strike their bargains, although it soon became apparent that its days were numbered. By the mid-20th century, the horse had given way to the motor car and the memorial was in danger of impeding traffic flows. The original stone steps on which it rested were removed but the fountain itself was hit several times by passing vehicles and Bourne UDC decided that it had to go in the interests of road safety and so in 1960, without any prior public consultation, workmen arrived with a lorry and started to dismantle the fountain. 

The late Tom Jones, farmer and antique dealer, who lived at the Mill House in North Road, was passing when the memorial was being taken down and loaded stone by stone into a lorry and was horrified by what he saw. He asked the workmen what was going on and was told that their orders were to dismantle the fountain and take it down to the rubbish dump for disposal. Tom told them to stop work and marched into the Town Hall where he managed to persuade council officials that the memorial should be saved and so the pieces were preserved until it could be re-erected on a new site in the cemetery where it can still be seen today, a marvellous example of Victorian gothic architecture of which this town should be justly proud. 

Its survival therefore was purely a stroke of luck but if the Civic Society wishes to see it preserved indefinitely, then I suggest they do not waste too much time because it has been untouched since and is now in serious danger of crumbling away and it will take more than an occasional committee meeting to save it.

Fox hunting is now likely to disappear from our countryside by the year 2005 after five hours of intense Commons debate on Monday when MPs voted by 362 to 154 to support an outright ban. The Labour Party began its campaign to limit this blood sport in 1997 but all previous attempts have been thwarted although a bruising battle is still on the cards with the House of Lords which has always opposed a hunting ban when Parliament resumes in the autumn. The result of this week's vote has been hailed as a major success by the many animal welfare activists who regard hunting with dogs as unacceptable in a modern society and that the vote has finally signalled a total end of what they regard as a barbaric activity.

Fox hunting takes place in most country areas, even around Bourne, and there have been instances of local hunts chasing foxes through Bourne Wood and into local gardens, much to the anger of home owners who happened to abhor the sport. But there appear to be more people who are not sure where they stand than those who are committed to either side of the argument and perhaps this account of an incident reported by the Stamford Mercury on Friday 18th March 1868 might help them make up their minds:

ON SATURDAY LAST, Sir John Trollope's hounds met at Manthorpe, near Bourne. After running a vixen to ground at Dole Wood, they proceeded to Thurlby Wood where they started another fox. After about three hours' chase to and from Thurlby and Northorpe, and again into the wood, reynard, shortly before 4 o'clock, approached Bourne town by the west side of the railway station into the Spring Field, thence across the river forming the back way of Mr Munton's mill [Baldock's Mill], over the trenches, along the paddocks belonging to Mr John Gibson and Mr Thomas Presgrave; and after making an unsuccessful effort to mount the wall into the back premises of Messrs Mills and Company's soda water manufactory, he finally took refuge in Mr Thomas Heaton's hen roost, the occupants of which made a precipitate retreat but in doing so, protested loudly against reynard's unceremonious visit; and doubtless he must have felt ill at ease at their noisy cackling when "he meant no harm" for it at once discovered his hiding place. A couple of dogs were put in to keep him company and the result of their short acquaintance we need not relate. He was then taken into the Market Place and his brush, head and feet cut off and his carcass thrown into the air to fall amongst the dogs which in a few moments tore it to pieces and devoured it. Besides the huntsmen, there were present a large number of persons who appeared highly to relish the sport. One gentleman, in his anxiety to be up at the death, was proceeding along the outside of some low buildings in Mr Heaton's yard when a portion of the pigsty roof gave way and the "gent was let in, up to his chin", which sustained considerable damage by coming into contact with the tiles that "kept their places". 

What the local newspapers are saying: The controversy over the dismissal of a much-loved senior teacher at the Abbey Primary School in Bourne rumbles on in the letters columns of our local newspapers. Elizabeth Robinson was the deputy headmistress who has been declared redundant after the governors decided that a reduction in staff was the only way to solve a shortfall of £67,000 in its annual budget. In other words, the balance sheet rules, no matter that the teacher in question had put in 18 years of loyal service and was highly respected in her job and in the profession. 

Many people have sprung to her defence and have attacked the system by which this should be allowed to happen, including a former head teacher, Mr Robert Wright, who ran the school from 1982 until 1999 and would therefore have first hand knowledge of her value. He even went so far as to say that Mrs Robinson had been a major influence on the education of the younger children of Bourne and the neighbouring villages and an inspiration to colleagues and had at least another five very good years ahead of her. "Here is a lady", he wrote, " who chose to stay and support her pupils, staff and school, rather than seek the ultimate promotion of which she was so well qualified and many in the profession will be saddened and shocked to see her go."

This was a damning indictment on the decision to make Mrs Robinson redundant but the only response it has drawn is a letter to both The Local and the Stamford Mercury signed "Name and address supplied" June 28th). This means that the author was known to the editors but did not wish his or her name to be used, despite the fact that Mr Wright had happily signed his in defence of Mrs Robinson.

Unsigned letters have no place in newspapers, especially on subjects as important and controversial as this. If the writer has something to say on an issue, especially as they are answering a correspondent who has willingly entered the public domain, then they should have the courage to identify themselves. The content of this letter was such that it could only have been written by someone with a working knowledge of the school's administration and I have even heard it suggested that the author was one of the governors. To seek publication of a letter without a signature appears to be a devious procedure and I am surprised that the editors of both newspapers should be a party to this subterfuge. Undeterred, Mr Wright has returned to the fray with a further letter on the subject to the Stamford Mercury this week (July 4th) and so perhaps now is the time for this anonymous critic to come out into the open.

Last November, I reported that hundreds of Christian pilgrims had been making their way to a church in Bangalore, India, to see a chapati, a loaf of unleavened bread, that appeared to have the image of the face of Jesus Christ burned into it during baking. It had been mounted in a glass display case and the priest, Father Jacob George, was convinced that a miracle had occurred. Now we have our own saintly likeness appearing in a mundane object here in Bourne because The Local reports that orange wax from a candle has melted to form the shape of Buddha kneeling in prayer (June 4th). Joe Hepple, a religious studies teacher at the Robert Manning Technology College, said that after lighting the candle, the meltdown occurred quickly and mysteriously and he immediately took it as being significant. "The atmosphere in the room helped", he said. "An incense stick was burning and spiritual music playing. The Dalai Lama is very ill at the moment and I see this as a signal but I just hope it means that he won't die." Perhaps Mr Hepple will now instruct the college carpentry workshops to build a glass case for his wax Buddha in readiness for the pilgrims who will soon be wending their way to the Queen's Road school once the word gets around.

The age of celebrity will be demonstrated by the number of people who turn up to watch a cricket match at the Abbey Lawn on Sunday 20th July. The game does not attract a large following of spectators locally but on this occasion, the Stamford Mercury reports (July 4th) that Bourne Cricket Club is celebrating its 200th anniversary by playing the Lord's Taverners team captained by Chris Tarrant, host of the popular ITV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Earlier this year, the auction salerooms in Spalding Road were unusually packed, not because of the antiques on offer, but because the BBC programme Bargain Hunt was being filmed there and as this was a magnet for rubbernecks, there was not a spare seat to be had.

The Lord's Taverners is a club of cricketing enthusiasts formed in 1950 and describing itself as "the charity with a sporting profile". The Duke of Edinburgh became its patron and twelfth man and the actor Sir John Mills was its first president while members are drawn from leading personalities in the professions including sport, the stage and show business. The cricket match is therefore in a good cause because the club only turns out for charity and their minimum fee is £10,000 which in this case is being met by 30 local individuals and businesses as sponsors. The money raised by the club is spent on one of its three main objectives: to enable the young keep physically fit and mentally alert through the playing of team games, especially cricket, to build and run adventure playgrounds for underprivileged children and to provide minibuses for handicapped children to enable them escape from the confines of home and hospital. Let us hope that the Abbey Lawn is full of spectators for this most worthy occasion and if you are reluctant to go alone, then phone a friend.

The Local reports that Bourne Town Council has appointed a working party of three councillors to check the content of the new town guide and filter out mistakes before it is reprinted (July 4th). This is a task to be applauded because the present one, which first appeared in November 1999 to celebrate the millennium, contains many inaccuracies that have not been corrected despite a reissue last year. Some attention should also be paid to the grammar which is not English at its best and most GCSE students could have done better. The three councillors have no doubt been chosen for their expertise in this field and their knowledge of local history but it should be remembered that the original editorial input came mainly from a town councillor and so it is worth asking who will monitor the work of the new working party? Watch this space.

Thought for the Week: Judges are being driven around Delhi in vans equipped with desk and chairs to administer instant justice to people who drop litter and spit in the street. The fines are up to £6.50, nearly four times the average daily wage. - news report from the Sunday Telegraph, 29th June 2003.

Saturday 19^th July 2003

Changes to this web site last week were restricted to the minimum because of major problems with my computer. On the Richter scale of one to eight, I reckon that the measurement of my seismic disturbance was well over six and upping seven and did not subside for three days.

Those of you with even an inkling of such technical matters will know how serious this all was when I tell you that the hard drive gave up, expired, died, or whatever the euphemism is for this particular component. It stopped working. As dead as Old Marley, and he was as dead as a door-nail, as Dickens so aptly put it. The hard drive has that potent ring about it that brings a sharp intake of breath from the repair man, similar to that in years past when the big end went on the car or the tube in the telly gave up, because he knew, and the customer anticipated, that it would need big bucks to put right.

Ever the optimist and always ready to save a penny, I decided that D-I-Y would be cheaper and after diagnosing the problem, I bought a new 60GB hard drive, which, surprisingly, I managed to obtain in Bourne, and installed it myself, then carried out the formatting and reinstallation of my Windows programme. It all went very well and by the evening of the same day that I had crashed, I was again up and running and by Sunday, all of my additional programmes had been installed and I was reunited with the Bourne web site.

I mention these matters because most of us regard our computers with some trepidation, wondering each time we switch them on whether they will work or perhaps die on us in the middle of that important letter. These wonderful but infernal machines are a mixed blessing but most would agree that the benefits they provide far outweigh the downside of using them and they are getting better and more efficient as the years go by. The moral is then, get to know the PC and how it works and the next time it has a fit, remedial work will be far less daunting.

As I have been incommunicado over the past few days, perhaps anyone who emailed me will resend their message, particularly if they wanted to be included in our Friends of Bourne or Family History features and their names have not appeared. I know there is one man in New York, Luke Fellows, who had submitted an entry but that has disappeared into cyberspace together with his email address and so perhaps he will contact me again.

What the local newspapers are saying: Being otherwise engaged last week, I had no time to review the local newspapers and so I shall return to them now because The Local contained some topics of great importance (July 11th). The letters page in any publication is an indication of not only how widely it is read but also of those stories from the town that are bubbling away under the surface and a good example of this is the decision by two of our head teachers to invite the police with sniffer dogs into their schools in order to catch pupils in possession of drugs. The actual press reporting of this issue over the past two weeks seems to indicate that everyone is in favour when of course we know that they are not because there are very real fears that civil rights may be infringed and that boys and girls are being subjected to the stop and search policy that has created such an outcry in the inner cities. One of the most outspoken critics has been Guy Cudmore, a town councillor, who has been reported as saying that the scheme is totally misguided and that he has advised his two sons who attend one of the schools to walk out if such a search takes place. This is not only a most valid opinion but also an example of a parent exercising his democratic rights.

Yet this has prompted a most curious attack on him by a fellow town councillor, Trevor Holmes, that heads the letters page, in which he says vehemently: "To incite impressionable teenagers to deliberately obstruct the police and to advocate that pupils should avoid assisting their school to rid itself of this scourge by walking off the premises is way beyond the pale. Grow up Councillor Cudmore. You have done a great disservice to our educational establishments. Please seek to make amends by unequivocally withdrawing your outrageous statements." I read this letter with some disbelief because Councillor Holmes is this year's Mayor of Bourne, yet the holders of this office are, by tradition, supposed to avoid politics and public controversy.

Fortunately, Councillor Cudmore needs no support from me and is quite able to look after himself. As well as being one of the most intelligent and best-educated of our current crop of 15 town councillors (he has a degree in politics and economics), he is also a polemicist of some standing and, perhaps scenting the whiff of battle, contributed his own letter on the subject in the same issue in which he provided a well reasoned and thoughtful argument against the sniffer dog policy. This appraisal of the situation is presented without rant or rancour or trying to heap ridicule on the heads of those who may hold different opinions and should be required reading for all who aspire to public debate.

The most poignant story in this week's newspapers appears in The Local and tells us that their Rose Award has gone to Mrs Elizabeth Robinson, deputy head teacher at the Bourne Abbey Primary School who is leaving at the end of this term (July 18th). The accolade is handed out periodically to those who have distinguished themselves in the community and she was nominated by parents and children in recognition of her 18 years of devoted service to education in the town and for her work as a talented and inspirational teacher with a rare love for and dedication to the school. This story should be required reading for each one of the school governors who last month found Mrs Robinson redundant and she was sacked because of a £67,000 shortfall in the budget.

The decision has caused outrage in Bourne yet in interviews with the Stamford Mercury, both Mark Gray, the head teacher, and Councillor John Kirkman, chairman of the governors, insist that they have received only one complaint (July 18th), a disingenuous reaction because condemnation of the sacking of a much loved and highly respected teacher has filled many column inches in our local newspapers. Councillor Kirkman also said in his interview: "This business is unfortunate and if it continues to drag on, it could have an effect on the good quality of staff. We need to get it over and done with." 

The story about the Rose Award, accompanied by a photograph of Mrs Robinson surrounded by her adoring pupils, says it all: the governors have made a mistake. What we are seeing is a public reaction to a most unpopular decision and those who serve in this capacity should have been sufficiently experienced to know what would happen once it became common knowledge. One governor has already resigned over the issue and another is contemplating a similar protest. In the meantime, rather than admit their mistake, the others seek to end the opprobrium that has been heaped upon them by burying their heads in the sand.

Another familiar story covered by the Stamford Mercury is that of the public lavatories in South Street, closed by South Kesteven District Council last October on the grounds that they were being continually vandalised and had become a meeting place of paedophiles (July 18th). This column reported in November that although the toilets were shut, the lights were still on and at Bourne Town Council's open forum on Tuesday, local resident, Ted Kelby, said that the loos were still automatically flushing yet no one could get in to use them. To add to this mystery, Councillor Shirley Cliffe, told the meeting: "People who have keys are using the toilets. They must be in a fairly fit state if they are being used."

What on earth does this all mean? The picture that emerges is that these lavatories have been closed to the public for the past ten months yet some have privileged access. Perhaps Councillor Peter Martin-Mayhew, the SKDC Cabinet member who is responsible for these matters, might like to explain to the people of Bourne what exactly is going on.

Approved schools existed in Britain during the early part of the 20th century for the training and rehabilitation of young offenders found guilty of serious crimes by the local courts or deemed to be beyond parental control. Children who were in need of care and protection or had persistently played truant from school were also liable to be committed. They were sometimes known as Home Office schools, industrial schools, instructional centres or even reformatories and almost 100 existed in 1939 and were either under voluntary management or administered by the local authorities. These schools provided training in engineering, agriculture, gardening and other trades, with domestic instruction for girls, in the hope that the youngsters would find suitable employment and lead an honest and blameless life once they had been discharged. 

The Hereward Approved School catered for senior boys aged from 15 to 18. It took over the old labour camp which consisted of an oval complex containing around twenty huts on the very edge of Bourne Wood, twelve of them for accommodation and the others used as a dining room, library and recreation room, clinic, offices and staff quarters, all connected by footpaths while the field to the north of the camp, now in the vicinity of Poplar Crescent, was used as a sports ground and the complex was known simply as the Hereward School. The minutes of the Bourne United Charities contain references in connection with arrangements for the boys to use the open-air swimming pool which had by that time come into their possession. 

Some of the boys also played football for the Morton Army Cadet team in the immediate post-war years and several were also selected for the village soccer side. One of the part time staff during this period was Charles Sharpe, a local man who had won the Victoria Cross during the First World War. He taught gardening and physical training and by example, he also acted as an inspiration for many of the youngsters who had come from broken homes and who regarded him as a role model. Several boys who had reached the age of 17 also joined the Home Guard in Bourne during the Second World War of 1939-45 and a special HQ Platoon was formed to take them. The school continued to operate throughout the war when a Luftwaffe aircraft dropped a bomb in its direction, presumably mistaking the huts for a military camp, and although little damage was done, Charles Sharpe was injured by a splinter from the explosion. 

The establishment finally closed during the 1960s and most of the buildings on the site were dismantled by a local firm, Green's of Kirkby Underwood, and the materials used for various office and storage buildings at other locations in the area owned by the Forestry Commission. The yard that still exists off Beech Avenue was the forestry depot of the time and the original living quarters used by staff at the school were preserved and are now the white, privately owned houses that can be seen at the entrance to the woods. Much of the land was subsequently swallowed up for residential development during the population boom in Bourne from the mid-1970s onwards. The camp itself was on the site of the houses in Forest Avenue and Woodland Avenue and on the green between them, which has been retained as an open space. The avenue of Lombardy poplars, which can be seen today, was the entrance road to the site and some surviving brickwork from the foundations can still be found in the grass. 

One of the boys who was sent here during that time was Walter Unsworth who spent three years at the camp and experienced a regime of strict discipline that he remembers to this day. But it did him more good than harm because he is certain that it laid the foundations for a successful career in the army. Walter has now retired and lives in Lincoln but has been remembering those formative years and his article has been added to the web site today.

Message from abroad: I read with interest about your recycling programme in Bourne which is well underway here. We have two roll-away bins with lids, one for recycling and the other for the usual garbage which still has to be bagged in plastic bags. We move them to the kerb once a week when they are collected by two different trucks. Some people don't have the hang of it yet. They fill the re-cycling bin to overflowing and if the lid does not shut, the containers are not picked up by the trucks. Some stupid people try putting raw garbage in and of course this does not work either. It takes awhile for people to read the instructions and some just do not care one way or another. I think it will be a success after a period of time. It reduces the garbage sent to landfill sites by 30 to 40 per cent. The biggest complaint is having two large containers on the side of your house, garage, or wherever you can put them. They are somewhat distractive. - email from John Hughes, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, Monday 14th July 2003. 

A bizarre tale was related in the pages of the Daily Mail on Tuesday about a cargo of 29,000 rubber ducks and other plastic toys lost at sea when the containers they were in were washed off the deck of a cargo ship during a heavy storm in the Pacific Ocean while voyaging from Hong Kong to the United States, breaking open and disgorging their colourful contents to the mercy of the waves. That was in January 1992 and the owners have since been indemnified by their insurers and the incident forgotten until residents of Sitka, Alaska, found many of these plastic creatures being washed up on the beach in large numbers. An oceanographer specialising in tracking oil spills and sewage movements at sea told the newspaper that the ducks were also likely to come ashore in many other parts of the world and so holidaymakers in Britain, from Cornwall to the Outer Hebrides, should start looking out for survivors of this maritime accident. 

A great story but it does bear the hallmark of the urban myth, similar to the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, cat stealing and dozens more similar tales that surface during the silly season, those dull days of summer when hard news is often at a premium. Bourne, of course, has its own duck tale that was most probably also dreamed up by a journalist of yesteryear looking to fill a space in one of the local newspapers, or it may even be older and was simply invented to entertain the customers over their ale in the local tavern yet it survives to this day in many historical references to the locality.

It concerns the chalybeate springs which emanate in the limestone belt to the west of Bourne that have given the town one of the most ancient sites of artesian water supply in the country. This unending flow has figured prominently in our history and traditions and in the mid-19th century, it was asserted that a subterranean waterway flowed into Bourne from Stoke Rochford, sixteen miles away, and that a white duck which was immersed at Stoke, was later seen to rise at the Wellhead. There are many white ducks to be seen today on St Peter's Pool and is it possible that they are by any chance related?

Thought for the Week: I wonder if we could contrive some magnificent myth that would in itself carry conviction to our whole community. - Plato, Greek philosopher, 428-347 BC.

Saturday 26th July 2003

The unsatisfactory state of the Bourne Eau that is currently the subject of continuing debate is not a new phenomenon and in the late 19th century, there was great concern that the river had become not only impossible to navigate, but also a serious health risk. As with today, no one would admit responsibility for its upkeep and it was left to one of the local newspapers, the Stamford Mercury, to campaign for something to be done but it took many months to achieve.

The Bourne Eau begins at the Wellhead and then runs through the town to Mays Sluice in Cherryholt Road and out into the fen as far as Tongue End where it joins the River Glen, a total length of 3½ miles. In past times, the waterway was navigable and large boats came up to the quayside behind Eastgate loaded with coal and other commodities and returned with cargoes of grain and hides. But when the boating traffic ceased, the waterway fell into disuse and became neglected and a dumping place for rubbish, despite frequent demands for it to be better maintained.

On Friday 26th February 1892, the newspaper reported: "The river near the Mason's Arms in South Street is in a very disgraceful condition. The sanitary authorities should at once take steps to have it cleared out." 

This was sufficient for action to be taken and a month later, on Friday 25th March, the newspaper said: "The nuisance of which we complained recently, arising from the neglected condition of the South Street section of the Bourne Eau, is to be speedily remedied. The sanitary authorities have decided to deepen the river bed eighteen inches, to thoroughly cleanse the channel and to insert a grating in the upper part of the stream to prevent the passage of obstructive matter. At the same time, prosecutions will be instituted in the event of wilful pollution or obstruction of the river."

By May 27th, the work was underway and the newspaper felt justified in making its original complaint: "The depth of the ancient fever-breeding mud now being dug out of the bed of the town section of the Bourne Eau will convince the most sceptical that our reiterated advice as to the necessity of cleaning out the river bed was not an alarmist cry but had its foundation in solid fact."

But there was still concern that the river further downstream was also in need of urgent attention because the report went on: "It cannot, however, be too emphatically insisted upon, that the hygienic work must be continued beyond the Granary Bridge [now Mays Sluice]. Here the town section ends and is administered by less responsible authority. If both the river bed and the Weir Dyke beyond this point are not properly cleaned out, the neglect will amount to a public danger and a scandal. We believe, however, that it will be done and at an early opportunity."

The poor state of the river at this point had already been highlighted by the newspaper on February 12th when it reported: "Attention has been called to the condition of the Bourne Eau between the Eastgate Quay and Tongue End. It is stated that Kesteven County Council are the responsible authority for this waterway. Whether it be the county council or the Black Sluice Commissioners, its present condition is a disgrace and whoever takes up the question seriously will be rendering a public service. What was once an important navigable stream is fast becoming a meandering dribble of muddy pollution."

The Black Sluice Commissioners were due to meet on February 19th and the newspaper advised: "It will be an excellent opportunity for them to take up the Bourne Eau question and, if the responsibility for the state of its channel depends upon them, to take steps to remove what has become a menace to health, a probable source of destruction to property and an abominable eyesore. If, however, the onus of the work does no devolve upon them, it would be well that they should bring the matter before the authorities who are responsible. For one thing is absolutely certain. Something must be done and that too, without delay."

The commissioners however, decided that they were not to blame and the Stamford Mercury looked elsewhere for the culprit, returning to the attack on Friday 15th April: "It is to be hoped that Kesteven County Council will at an early date take cognisance of the deplorable condition of the Bourne Eau from the Eastgate granary to the outfall at Tongue End. The channel has not been cleaned out since 1860 and then only in a perfunctory manner. Its condition may therefore be easily imagined. If the duty of carrying out this long needed work of maintenance does not belong to the council, it is probable that it rests with them to set the law in motion in the interests of public health against the persons responsible for the nuisance."

The state of the river was now a major talking point in the town and the Black Sluice Commissioners set up a nine-member committee which made an on the spot investigation on Saturday 16th April and examined the entire length of the river from Eastgate to Tongue End and although their findings were not made public, the newspaper had obviously been given some inside information because their correspondent subsequently reported: "It is devoutly to be wished that the outcome of the visit marks the first step in the direction of the long needed sanitary work of cleaning out the Bourne Eau. The initiative in all probability does not lie with the commissioners but the work is imperative and although they have a primary duty to preserve the right bank, it is clearly a case of united action with the owners of the left bank, namely the Marquess of Exeter, Lord Willoughby de Eresby and Mr William A Pochin [Lord of the Manor of Bourne Abbots]. I do not for one moment believe that, were they approached on the question, they would refuse to immediately give their sanction to the commencement of the work."

Several weeks went by without a sign that the work would be undertaken and on Friday 10th June, the newspaper printed a reminder to those responsible: "No intimation has yet been given as to the action to be taken with respect to cleaning out the lower section of the Bourne Eau and Weir Dyke. The work must be done and it is to be hoped that it will not be delayed, particularly in view of the hot summer which we are likely to have, or a grave responsibility will be incurred in certain quarters."

By the following month, the work was in hand and for the first time in many years, the Bourne Eau soon became an attractive waterway, so pleasant in fact, that when the town celebrated Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in the summer of 1897, decorated gondolas took guests on trips along the river. Today, it has returned to the state it was in the late 19th century and once again, no one appears to be accountable. Anglian Water is now the overall authority for rivers and drainage but riparian owners also have a responsibility in these matters and so who should agree to undertake the work? We would also require a press campaign to draw their attention to the need for such a project but our local newspapers no longer seem to have the heart or the expertise for such an undertaking.

The first Women's Land Army was formed in Britain during the Great War in 1917 when 18,000 women and girls were enrolled and undertook all kinds of agricultural work. It was disbanded after the armistice in 1918 but in May 1939, as the Second World War loomed, WLA committees were appointed for England and Wales by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the organisation again came into being when the war started on September 3rd that year.

The objective was to provide labour for the land at a time when many men employed as farm workers had either been called up or volunteered for military service and the organisation was responsible for recruitment, training, the placing of land girls in jobs, their welfare and accommodation, and for the provision of their uniform. Volunteers were originally enrolled for the duration of the war and undertook every kind of agricultural and horticultural work, including forestry. The peak strength of the WLA was 80,000 members in August 1943.

Among them was a Yorkshire lass, 18-year-old Winifred Jones, who had enlisted at Bradford and was subsequently posted to Braceborough and then to Bourne where she worked as a dairymaid for the rest of the war. During this period, she met a local boy, Trevor Pool, and they married in 1946, moving to Halifax in 1953 where they still live. Winifred has written a delightful article about her days with the Women's Land Army in Bourne that has been added to the web site today.

What the local newspapers are saying: The Lord's Taverners were in town last weekend to play Bourne Cricket Club on the occasion of its bicentenary and The Local devotes several pages to this event, including a colour picture special in the centre pages (July 25th). The newspaper always proves its worth with such features and on this occasion they have managed to cram in 14 photographs full of the people who were there under the heading "Golden day at the Abbey lawn", no doubt remembering the old newspaper adage that every face and name is a potential buyer as well as reader. Their coverage was justified because over 5,000 people turned up to watch the match which raised £12,750 for good causes and the town's generosity was saluted by the visiting skipper Chris Tarrant, presenter of the ITV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Just for the record, Bourne won the match by five runs.

Some of Bourne's less attractive places are featured in the Stamford Mercury (July 25th) and among them is Wherry's Lane, just off North Street and only a few steps from the town centre, and yet it is one of those places that is regularly littered with dog dirt, cigarette ends and fast food wrappers. The issue is currently under discussion by the town council but the newspaper rightly comes to the conclusion that this is a civic rather than a council matter and if anyone is to blame, it is us. They quote a letter from Mr David Manwearing of Morton who says: "The sole solution rests almost entirely with residents, whatever their age, being responsible by taking their litter home or putting it in a bin. The long term answer clearly lies in education and if the problem continues after that, then one can only come to the conclusion that people enjoy living in a filthy grot spot."

Ironically, the newspaper also carries a report on the progress of our new waste recycling programme that was introduced earlier this year when each home was issued with a big green box in which to put plastic, cardboard and other specified materials, which is then picked up once a fortnight. The scheme has become so successful that the box is not big enough for some householders who are using plastic bags for the surplus but the system does not cater for this excess as bags need to be checked for content and so they are being asked to use open boxes instead. This is, of course, a sign that the scheme is going to be a success and as the crews have already collected 1,000 tonnes of materials for recycling since February, it can only get better as the system is fine tuned.

Both of our main local newspapers carry a story that staff at the Abbey Primary School are united in their support for head teacher Mark Gray who has been under fire over the redundancy of his deputy Elizabeth Robinson who has lost her job because of a budget shortfall of £67,000. They also claim to support the governors who took the decision that has caused such an outcry in the town because during her 18 years at the school, Mrs Robinson had become a much loved and highly respected member of the staff. However, according to a revealing letter in the Stamford Mercury from Mrs C Gardner of Dyke, near Bourne, this is not the whole picture and many parents are still unhappy with the situation and she makes several interesting points about the case. She has exercised her rights to see the minutes of the governors' meetings and has discovered that the school was overspent by £27,000 at the end of the last financial year yet still proceeded with the building of an AstroTurf sports pitch at a cost of £62,000. Although some of this money was provided by grants, Mrs Gardner says in her letter that the school could have provided the new pitch at another time, during a period of greater financial stability, and she adds: "I have never heard any parent or child complain about the outside facilities at the school and certainly not heard anyone say that we need an AstroTurf pitch." 

These and other points she makes, are food for thought. Perhaps this is the time for the governors to make a full and frank public statement about the school's finances and the events leading up to the redundancy decision because only then will this matter be put to rest.

There is no doubt that the letters pages reflect the real concerns of the people and this week, the Stamford Mercury carries 12 letters and The Local 13 letters which is a healthy postbag on both counts. But there is a difference and whereas the Stamford Mercury letters are all signed by the authors, five of those used by The Local are anonymous. The use of unsigned letters is a decision for the editor but it is one that should not be taken lightly. My own experience, and that of most newspapers today, is that anyone who thinks they have an opinion or an idea worth expressing and wishes to use their columns, then they should have the courage to add their names. A letter from an unknown source lacks credibility because it could have been written by anyone. 

From the archives: An alarming incident occurred on Tuesday morning when a portion of a house on Bedehouse Bank in Bourne collapsed and fell into the river adjoining. The building was occupied by Mrs Starkey Parker and in the portion which collapsed, her son was sleeping. He was awakened in the early morning by the cracking of the walls and just managed to get from his bedroom to the one adjoining when the portion he had left collapsed. Among the debris were some of the bed clothes which Mr Parker had thrown off when he escaped, together with a quantity of personal belongings, but money and other property was not recovered although the river was partially dredged. The house is one of a number erected many years ago on what was then waste land and still retains the name of Bedehouse Bank, but the property has now passed to the Marquess of Exeter, as Lord of the Manor. The portion which fell was an annexe to the original building. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 5th September 1924.

Thought for the week: Shame is an unfashionable virtue in the 21st century. We are still in a hangover era from the age of psycho-analysis, an age which taught that guilt disfigures and shame defiles. We were taught that self-respect and self-confidence are the marks of a healthy human psyche, that children should not be demeaned or made to feel unworthy, and that a troubled spirit is a kind of affliction. We have tried to banish shame. - Matthew Parris, columnist, writing in The Times, Saturday 19th July 2003.

Return to Monthly entries