Saturday 6^th September 2003

Visitors to the Wellhead Gardens this week found that some of the missing public benches have been reinstalled. This column pointed out in May that three of the original eight seats alongside the main paths had gone, leaving only metal supports protruding from the concrete bases, and I was reliably informed that they had been removed permanently because youngsters were congregating there in the evenings and their presence was deemed by some to be a nuisance.

Two are now back in their original positions but the seat nearest the South Street entrance is still missing and it is to be hoped that this too will eventually be reinstated. If there is a problem of impropriety in the Wellhead Gardens, then the police should be notified for it is their job to deal with cases of disorderly conduct in public places and we should not retreat at every sign of anti-social behaviour. The trustees of Bourne United Charities who administer the park have done well to rescind such action that is so blatantly against the public interest.

Drains are also being fitted at two points along the main path through the gardens that have been prone to flooding in wet weather and it should not become impassable this winter as it has been in the past. However, there is still the problem of St Peter's Pool where the recent dry spell has left water levels at their lowest for many years, exposing large areas of mud littered with bottles, cans and other debris that until now was largely hidden from view, and it is now possible to walk around the area on what was some weeks ago the bottom of the pool. The Wellhead and the Bourne Eau which runs from it have become an eyesore this year, resembling more a wasteland than a public park, and this would be an excellent opportunity to clean up this mess and put this ancient site back into some sort of order worthy of its antiquity.

Blackberries can be found all around Bourne at this time of the year, in the woods and hedgerows, along the roadside verges, on waste ground, around the edges of the playing fields and even on housing estates. While out walking this week, we found a huge bush of brambles overhanging the alleyway off Lonsdale Grove full of luscious large berries just waiting to be picked yet they have remained untouched for several days.

This seasonal bounty from our countryside no longer attracts the pickers of yesteryear. In my boyhood, we would be off most days with the family shopping basket and assorted containers and a walking stick if possible to reach those high branches, seeking out the secluded places that had the best berries and keeping the location a secret from our friends lest they should go there too and take our fruit. After a few hours, we would return home laden, often a stone or more, our hands black with juice and our mouths stained from repeated tastings. Blackberries were not only a succulent, delicious fruit but they were also free and a boon to a working class family. We ate blackberry pie, blackberry crumble and plain blackberries with milk, cream being far too expensive, but the bulk of them were turned into jam by my mother, jars and jars of it which were stored in the pantry to keep us fed at breakfast and tea during the winter months.

Blackberrying appears to be a minority interest these days. What was once a common source of food now seems to be a dying tradition. We rarely see anyone out picking and while the fruit rots on the stem, supermarkets sell them for high prices. Perhaps people are too lazy to venture out and pick their own or maybe they are unaware that blackberries are edible. Whatever the reason, they are missing an autumnal treat and once tried, will never again be missed.

What the local newspapers are saying: For the past two weeks, The Local has been running a picture feature on Bourne's allotments to coincide with the town council's Best Kept Allotment Competition for 2003 and the second part appears this week (September 5th). This is a delightful look at a hobby for gardening enthusiasts who like to disappear to their little plots of land out in the fen for several hours each week and produce food for the table. The articles reflect all that is best in local journalism, full of detail and many interesting interviews with those whose enjoyment of growing things shines through every paragraph. The features are typical of the standard set by this newspaper and are well laid out and interspersed with colour photographs and attractive type. Who would have thought that such a mundane subject as allotments could turn out to be such a good read?

The pending move of the town's Post Office from its purpose built headquarters in West Street also occupies a lot of space in The Local but this time there is a new twist in that Chris Lees, who keeps the pet shop next door, has been out with his camera to record the long queues that appear at busy times, especially on Monday mornings. He also suggests that the new premises at the back of a liquor store fifty yards further down the street will be unable to cope when it opens for business later in the year. The result is likely to be chaos within the premises that also house a supermarket and that it will be a struggle for the new location to keep pace with the demand. This is well known to everyone in Bourne, townspeople and councillors alike, and yet the Post Office management are proceeding with their plans regardless of public opinion.

A case of the blind leading the blind is reported by the Stamford Mercury highlighting the dangers in the town centre as experienced by one of our best known residents, Reg Harris, who is often to be seen around the streets with his guide dog Thomas. Strangely, he seems to know the place better than the highways department at Lincolnshire County Council because he told the newspaper (September 5th) that crossing the road is like playing Russian roulette with the traffic. Reg has also been doing his homework because he recalled that Allison Homes, developers of the Elsea Park estate, promised £10,000 towards improvements but only when 200 of their new homes are built and occupied. "I think it is shameful that the safety of the people of Bourne should be in the hands of a firm of building contractors", said Reg, and of course he is right. But then several improvements in recent years that should have been paid for by the local authorities have been financed from  commercial sources, including the pedestrian crossing in Burghley Street to assist shoppers reach Sainsburys, yet one that is badly needed to ensure that children can cross North Street safely on their way to and from the Robert Manning Technology College will not be installed in the foreseeable future because the county council appears to be blind to such priorities.

It is only in recent years that our shops started closing early in the evenings. Before the Second World War of 1935-49, I can remember them remaining open until as late as 8 pm and 9 pm and it has only been the influence of the off-licences and later the supermarkets that prompted small retailers to extend their hours, although many still resist and continue with a nine to five regime with an early closing day mid-week.

In the 19th century, shops opened as many hours as they could while the weekly markets in Bourne often continued until midnight, bringing complaints about the noise from people who lived in the vicinity, and shops were similarly ready for business until late into the night. 

The movement for reducing the working hours and conditions of shop assistants was inaugurated in 1842 when a weekly half-holiday was introduced although many shop owners still exploited their employees. Shops were open longer in summer than winter, those that catered for the middle and working classes were open longer than those catering for the upper classes while those shops in busy streets kept longer hours than those in quieter streets. It was usual for a shop assistant to start at 7 am to prepare the premises for the day's trading followed by a 7.30 am or 8 am opening and with only five or ten minute breaks for breakfast and tea, with dinner being snatched whenever possible, they remained on duty until 8 pm and 9 pm in winter and an hour later in summer although there was usually more time needed for clearing up after that. Assistants were not usually allowed to sit down, even if trade was slack, and their health often suffered from the confined atmosphere, long hours of standing and working in gas or oil lighting.

In 1872, closing time in Bourne was 8 pm but because of complaints from their staff about long hours and low wages, the leading tradesmen of the town conceded that opening hours would have to be reduced and the Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 21st June:

A movement is now afoot to close the shops at 7 o'clock in the evening, Saturdays excepted, throughout the year, several of the leading tradesmen having expressed their readiness to fall in with it. This will be a great boon to a large number of assistants who are confined longer than is consistent with health and vigour. In a matter of this sort, everything rests with the public, who, by making their purchases early, would set at liberty an hour sooner a deserving class of public servants.

Other shopkeepers agreed with the new closing hours that were subsequently introduced on July 15th that year. This was a local decision by traders and did not affect the rest of the country, and shop owners continued to dictate wages and hours. It was another half century before further reforms were introduced to improve the conditions of shop workers when the provisions of the Shops (Early Closing) Act of 1920-21, which were permanently adopted in 1928, restricted the previous policy of "open all hours". Shops could then only remain open until 9 pm on one day in each week and on those other evenings they had to close at 8 pm, although customers inside the doors before closing time, or anyone requiring some article urgently in case of illness, could be served. There were, of course, exemptions for special events being held in the vicinity and for seasons such as Christmas, while special provisions were also made for holiday and seaside resorts. 

It is also interesting to note that these regulations were strictly observed and a shop owner breaking them was liable to a maximum fine of £5 for a first offence and £20 for any subsequent contravention and that the President of the Early Closing Association that brought about these reforms was Mr Winston Churchill.

However, long opening hours continued and were only reduced during the Second World War of 1939-45 to save fuel, restrictions that continued until the arrival of the supermarket began to change our habits. All night opening is now a reality in several parts of the country while Internet shopping is a growth business. It cannot be long before all shops that wish to survive will have to make a drastic revision of their antiquated opening hours.

My mother used to catch the bus into town every Saturday afternoon to shop for the family and all of her purchases were dispensed by hand and she brought them home in her shopping basket and paper carrier bags after a wearisome trek around the shops lasting several hours. The developments we are experiencing today would be totally alien to her but they are governed by consumer demand, otherwise they would fail, and so we can see the entire conception of shopping undergoing yet another metamorphosis in the next decade. It can only be a matter of time before the opening hours that attracted so much discussion in 1872 will disappear altogether. 

The motor car has had a dramatic effect on the urban landscape, changing the appearance of towns and cities forever. The larger conurbations have become the citadels where they dwell while our once green and open countryside is criss-crossed with the motorways along which they move about. In short, our lives are governed in no small measure by the use of the car and were we to lose this freedom of movement, as we were during petrol shortages of recent times, we would feel deprived.

This love affair with the internal combustion engine has cost us dearly because there are signs of it everywhere, even in small country towns such as Bourne, and in the surrounding villages, where road signs, crossings, white and yellow lines and other manifestations of the motor car, are now an integral part of the street scene. Those like myself who were alive when there were few cars on the road remember those days with a wistful nostalgia because we cannot turn back the clock. But we can still glimpse the way it was through old pictures and photographs and I have amassed a small collection, taken a century or more ago, showing Bourne as it was during those early years. 

In the next few months, I plan to reproduce some of them on the web site, together with a view of the identical spot in order that you may judge for yourself how the street scene has changed and whether it is for the better and my first view is of West Street in 1911. If any reader has similar photographs in their possession, I would be most grateful if I could be allowed to copy them to add them to the archive for future generations.

This town has an interesting history and I have been delving into it for the past five years, adding to the knowledge previously accrued by the researches of J J Davies, J T Swift and J D Birkbeck, the previous chroniclers of Bourne. Modern techniques have given me an advantage over all of them in that I can inspect microfilm records in the various archives and a greater assembly of books than those at their disposal and the information gathered in this way can be more speedily processed by the personal computer than pen and paper or even the typewriter and I also have the added facility of colour photography and digital images to illustrate my work.

My own CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne, the story of this Lincolnshire market town, has joined those previous distinguished volumes in the public libraries and county archives, but I wonder how many people actually seek them out and read them through to acquaint themselves with the history of this place. How much does the average person who lives here know about Bourne?

One way of finding out is to ask them and so I have introduced a Bourne web site quiz which starts this week and will appear occasionally, perhaps once a fortnight if there is sufficient interest. The questions will be fairly simple and are not designed to stretch the intellect to Mastermind level but should find a ready response from those who do know something of this town while the answers might stimulate those who do not. I have also chosen the system of providing a choice of answers rather than giving no guidance whatsoever to participants, and so the task will be simpler for those who wish to take part. I am offering a copy of A Portrait of Bourne to the winner and this should add to their knowledge of the town because it currently contains more than 1,800 photographs and around half a million words of text, enough to keep anyone busy for a few weeks to come. If you are interested in this town, or whether you just like quizzes, your entry will be welcome.

Thought for the week: Despite being buttressed by a whopping parliamentary majority, the Labour government still cannot muster the strength to face the public on any issue of importance. The trust has gone and its support is swiftly ebbing away, as poll after poll demonstrates. The fact that the opposition appears torpid and ineffectual only underlines the gravity of the diagnosis. - Rod Liddle, writing in the Spectator, 30th August 2003.

Saturday 13^th September 2003

The culmination of a year of dedicated voluntary work will be celebrated today when the restored wheels at the early 19th century Baldock's Mill in South Street, Bourne, are officially unveiled.

Since last autumn, Jim Jones of the Civic Society has worked long hours in designing, building and fitting the two wheels which are now turning again for the first time in 80 years. It is an achievement of some merit because he has completed the task almost single-handed for the benefit of the community and to enhance the Heritage Centre that has been based in the building since the summer of 1999.

There has been a water mill on this spot alongside the Bourne Eau since the earliest times and one is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the great land survey ordered by William the Conqueror. The present building dates from 1800 but it stopped grinding corn in 1924 when the water wheel collapsed and was not repaired and the mill subsequently fell into disuse. It was scheduled as a Grade II listed building in 1973 when restoration work on the fabric began but the Civic Society became custodians in 1983 and this gave a fresh impetus to the task and the re-installation of the wheels is the biggest single project since that time.

The official opening ceremony was due to be performed this afternoon by Councillor Peter Bray, chairman of Lincolnshire County Council which has provided generous grants to finance the work, but this town is indebted to one man, Jim Jones, for his outstanding effort in turning a dream into reality. During the restoration project, Jim Jones realised that there was space on the struts of the smaller steel wheel that could be filled with the names of people who supported the scheme and so they were invited to contribute a small sum for this purpose. A total of 149 names were submitted, some from abroad, and they have been added and a list of them has been framed and is on display in the mill. This particular aspect of the scheme has been given coverage by that excellent magazine The Countryman in their September issue together with a photograph of the wheel showing some of the engravings.

If you wish to see the wheels in action or inspect the list of names, then the mill is open most weekends and in the meantime, you can read about the project that I have photographed and chronicled since its inception in the autumn of 2002 by accessing the appropriate page on the web site.

The proposed names for the new streets on the residential development now underway at the old hospital site in South Road have been chosen by the town council and all seven have medical connections, including family doctors and nurses who served the town during the past century. They were chosen after the council asked for suggestions and there were many of them from other spheres of life, particularly sport, but these have been discarded for the time being.

Among them was the name of Inspector Withers, a police officer who was stationed in Bourne, but I must admit that he is totally unknown to me and appears to have been picked out of the air, perhaps by a relative, but the suggestion may not be in keeping with the spirit of street naming. The usual criteria is that the person should have been dead for some time but is still remembered for their contribution to the life of the community or for some particular deed which distinguished their career. Inspector Withers seems to fit only one of these categories in that he is no longer with is.

Streets should not be named after people who merely did their jobs or served with little distinction on public bodies such as the local authorities, and so any councillor who is so nominated should be closely investigated in an attempt to establish exactly what their work achieved for the town, if anything. After all, the objective is to place their name permanently before the public gaze on a street sign and in years to come, as with Stanton Close, Worth Court, Raymond Mays Way and Sharpe's Close, it can be explained to those who ask the reason why, that it has been perpetuated as a gesture of respect for someone who made their mark in life.

Such a man who should be remembered is Superintendent Willerton Brown who gave his life in the cause of law and order in this town. He was in charge of the police station in North Street, Bourne, for twenty years during the latter part of the 19th century, an important position in those days when police strength in the town was one superintendent, an inspector, two sergeants and 15 constables. Bourne had been notorious for bonfires in the streets and rioting every Guy Fawkes' Day on November 5th and on becoming the town's chief of police, he at once directed his endeavours to stopping such practices, in which he succeeded. He retired from the police force in 1896, four years earlier than expected, after sustaining internal injuries in a scuffle with poachers, and was presented with a cheque for £100 collected by magistrates, police colleagues and tradesmen, in recognition of his work for the town. But his health continued to decline until he died on Tuesday 26th September 1905. He went out walking in the afternoon and was later found lying face down on the ground near his home in North Road. He left a widow and several sons and daughters. If anyone from the police force should be remembered with a new street name, then it should be Superintendent Willerton Brown.

The confidence trick is a crime whose origins date back to the earliest times when the doctrine of caveat emptor, or buyer beware, prevailed and is the name given to a swindle involving money or possessions in which the victim's trust is won by the perpetrator. Such crimes thrived particularly in the United States where they were less often brought to light because those caught out, the suckers in American parlance, were often ashamed to admit that they had been a party to such larcenous intent.

The confidence trickster needs to be a plausible person who can wave under his victim's nose the chance of easy or quick profits, or to obtain services or money by fraudulent means, without giving away the true nature of his character. These people thrive today at all levels of society, in the world of business and industry, in politics and the professions, and where we are most likely to encounter them is in the shops, hotels and public houses of our towns and cities. One of the most successful during the 19th century was a man called James Partridge who travelled England without a penny to his name yet living a comfortable life at the expense of others.

On Tuesday 21st November 1865, he booked into a lodging house in West Street, Bourne, run by William Taylor, and agreed to pay one guinea a week (over £50 at today's values) for board and lodging, plus extras. He said he was a professional man from the Crystal Palace who had come into the country for two months for the good of his health and that he was not without means, receiving 18 shillings a week from an association in London and in addition, a gentlemen from Bedford, a brewer known as Mr T, had married his daughter and allowed him three guineas a month. He also said that the gentleman referred to would remit by post office order, one guinea a week to Mr Taylor during the time he was staying there.

James Partridge fared sumptuously every day at the lodging house for the next week and this situation continued until the afternoon of Monday 27th November when Mr Taylor, returning home about 4 pm, discovered that his guest had gone out for a walk and an examination of his room upstairs soon gave rise to the suspicion that all was not right, two shillings having been borrowed from Mrs Taylor on his departure.

William Taylor realised that his guest had left without notice and without paying his bill and went off in pursuit, overtaking him halfway between Bourne and Stamford, and brought him back forcibly to his house where he kept him in custody until he wrote a letter to the gentleman at Bedford, to whom he had referred, and had received a reply. But the midday post on Wednesday brought the following letter, addressed to Mr Taylor, saying:

Sir: The person you name in your letter received this morning has no claim whatsoever upon me and he is quite aware that I should not remit him any money. This is not the first time that he has had the impudence to send people to me. If you take my advice, you will confine all your transactions with him in cash. - Yours etc Mr T.

Partridge then admitted that he had no means of paying his bill and left Bourne in the direction of Stamford. He was described as being over 60 years old, about 5 feet 8 or 9 inches tall, stooping a little, and had rather a clerical cut, a shuffling gait, and dressed in a suit of shabby black with a white necktie, and carrying a bag which had something of the appearance of having once belonged to a lawyer.

The following week, a similar occurrence was reported in Stamford, but by then, James Partridge had moved on yet again to the next town.

Imagine applying for a job today only to find out that five other people also wanted it and the successful applicant would be chosen by public ballot. Such a situation occurred in Bourne during the late 19th century when the office of assistant overseer and rate collector fell vacant and there were six applicants. 

A public vestry meeting, forerunner of our present local council system, was convened at the Town Hall on Friday 4th September 1891 to make the appointment and so great was the interest that the room was crowded and many ratepayers who were allowed to attend were turned away due to lack of space. Alderman William Wherry, who presided, explained the object of the meeting and during his speech, gave a eulogy on the work of the retiring officer, Mr William Bray, whose appointment dated from 1858. The job carried a salary of £130 per annum (about £8,000 at today's values).

The six candidates were then nominated but rather than leave a decision to the meeting, they demanded a poll of the parish and this was arranged for the following Wednesday between 4 pm and 10 pm. The turnout was not great as many farm workers were prevented from taking part because the harvest was underway but the result, declared at 10.30 pm, was decisive with the job going to Thomas Edward Sewell who polled 307 votes. The other candidates were P Glendening (120), J J Crane (84), F J Green (65), Charles Eldret junior (7) and W R Garner (0).

What the local papers are saying: The current shortage of dentists in Bourne is highlighted by the Stamford Mercury with interviews by local practitioners who freely admit that only more money from the National Health Service will persuade them to take on additional patients at the expense of the state (September 12). The current situation in the profession is such that most dentists now dictate their own terms if you wish to remain on their list and if you want to join, then be prepared for a wait of up to a year. The report says that the average Lincolnshire dentist has 3,000 patients, usually a mix of private and NHS, but anyone who has been for treatment lately will know that the accent is on paying for what you get irrespective of status and unless you keep your six-monthly appointment for a check-up, you are likely to find yourself struck off. This is a sign that the dentists are becoming increasingly independent yet they still cling to the income they get from the government and even want more. Dr John Ogden, a partner in the Bourne Dental Practice in West Street, which has 16,500 patients, is quoted as saying: "I do not think the situation will improve unless the government puts more money into the NHS. Only then could we reverse the trend of dentists going private."

Aslackby, just off the main A15 seven miles north of Bourne, is not a place that I regard as having a problem of dirty streets but the Stamford Mercury tells us that the parish council is anxious to keep it tidy nevertheless and in pursuance of this aim, they are planning to recruit a litter collector (September 12th). The post, which is being advertised on the village notice board, will be part time and is open to anyone over the age of sixteen. Their task will be to walk round the village for a couple of hours each week picking up the rubbish that other people have dropped, a most worthy occupation in a community which is proud of its environment. This is one of several villages in the locality taking advantage of funding from South Kesteven District Council to employ someone on a casual basis to collect litter from around the parish and The Local reports that a similar vacancy now exists at Morton, three miles North of Bourne. As this money is being made available to parish councils, I wonder if Bourne is also included for although the authority here is known as a town council, it only has parish status. More than one litter picker would be needed here but perhaps the council can fund the additional expenditure themselves. After all, if it can spend £40,000 on Christmas lights, it is worth a few more pounds to clear up some of the disgraceful eyesores identified by the Stamford Mercury three weeks ago about which absolutely nothing has been done.

Bourne Wood has just had its first wedding, according to The Local. Sally Ann Inkel and Martin Livingston, both aged 29, decided on a spiritual occasion rather than the traditional church marriage, and after tying the knot at the registry office in Lincoln the previous day, they celebrated in a less orthodox fashion when friends and family formed a circle amid the trees and joined hands with the happy couple standing in the middle for a pagan hand-fasting ceremony (September 12th). The usual reception was not forgotten and a marquee had been erected for the wedding buffet with a harpist to provide the music. "I have loved Bourne Wood for many years and used to play here as a child", said Sally. "It was always my dream to have this ceremony and it turned out to be a magical day." The occasion needed special permission from the Forestry Commission who were pleased to co-operate. Forester John Wilcockson said it was a first for the woods that provided a great setting for a great idea.

Thought for the Week: Britons are taking on record levels of debt because they are greedy and want to copy the lifestyles of the super rich. Despite having relatively high incomes, 60% of Britons believe they cannot afford everything they really need. The desire to emulate the rich has led to booming sales of trophy homes, luxury cars and cosmetic surgery and this has led people to racking up heavy debts. - Dr Clive Hamilton, visiting scholar at Cambridge University, quoted in BBC Finance Online, Saturday 6th September 2003.

Saturday 20^th September 2003

Vandals are busy in Bourne most weekends and their active period appears to be when the pubs close and they stagger home full of strong ale and lager. One of their most frequent targets is North Road where the town's Rotary Club has been planting trees along roadside verges to enhance the street scene but many have been snapped in two and even uprooted. Street signs are another favourite and few remain intact or have not been replaced. 

The telephone kiosk also seems to be an attraction for those bent on causing criminal damage and half a dozen have been smashed in the past few months. On Saturday night, yet another was destroyed for the second time within a year and passers-by on Sunday morning saw the results of their work next to the lay-by outside the Galletly Medical Practice. The glass had been shattered with a heavy traffic cone that must have been carried some distance for the purpose and that too lay nearby. This kiosk was previously destroyed in a similar fashion in August last year when an estate agent's sign, complete with supporting pole, was used as a battering ram and the culprits ran off leaving it protruding from the wrecked frame.

Those responsible had most likely bought fast food in town after their Saturday night binge and sat eating it on the seat outside the Butterfield Centre because this area was strewn with what they had discarded, cartons, packets and cigarette ends, while there were more signs of wanton behaviour round the corner in Queen's Road where the rubbish bins had been thrown across the road, spilling their contents along both sides of the white line.

A trip into town along North Road on Sunday mornings always reveals more damage that has been done the previous evening and it may be that the same people are to blame. The cost of repairing the wrecked telephone kiosks will eventually be passed on to customers through higher prices while local authorities pick up the bill for damaged street signs and clearing up litter, all of which will mean an increased council tax in the coming years. A little more law enforcement would help prevent this continuing vandalism, especially as it is known when and where the culprits are likely to strike. Such action by the police against known targets would also be far more beneficial to the community than standing about in West Street with radar guns two and three times a week trying to catch speeding motorists.

Watercress growers in Britain are at loggerheads with the government over plans to introduce a new law that could kill off their £40 million industry. Legislation currently going through Parliament will give the Environment Agency the power to ban the use of river water that has traditionally irrigated watercress beds and instead, they would be forced to use purified water pumped from the mains supply which, they say, would be less nutritious, alter the flavour and push up costs dramatically.

This is a story that has a resonance with Bourne which in years past was one of the biggest centres in the country for the production of watercress, using water from the Bourne Eau, but the beds have been closed now for almost thirty years. Yet the industry still employs 1,000 people, mainly at a 20-acre farm spread alongside the banks of the Bourne at Bourne St Mary, near Whitchurch in Hampshire. Watercress grows naturally in chalky river water and is cultivated here in gravel beds washed with six inches of relatively warm, mineral-rich spring water and absorbs nutrients through embedded and aerial roots that sprout from the stem.

Watercress beds are usually situated next to rivers fed by natural springs so that the water can be pumped on to the plants and then back into the river, the same system that was employed here in Bourne where the industry was established by Edwin Nathaniel Moody in 1896 on land adjoining St Peter's Pool. Production soon became so prolific that wholesale supplies were regularly sent by rail to markets in London and Leicester. By 1911, production was at its peak and further plantations were established at the rear of Harrington Street, land that is now Baldwin Grove, and at Kate's Bridge. The cress beds were eventually taken over by Spalding Urban District Council in 1955 who kept them going until 1969 when they were bought by the South Lincolnshire Water Board who continued to run them until April 1974 when they were closed down and filled in and so an important industry was lost to Bourne.

Production is now centred in Hampshire and Dorset where watercress has been grown for more than 300 years and the Vitacress company at St Mary Bourne has become the biggest source in Europe. The new rules on irrigation, drawn up at the instigation of the European Union, will control river levels and will enable the government to revoke water abstraction licenses at a moment's notice, and there are fears that such restrictions might drive the industry abroad.

This is a pity because watercress is enjoying a new reputation as one of the healthiest foods you can possibly eat, rich in vitamins and other nutrients, and is therefore a welcome addition to our diet. Sales have risen in recent years and discerning consumers now buy it regularly in ready-to-eat bags from supermarkets mixed with rocket and baby spinach. The growers fear that the new legislation might soon result in those little bags carrying a notice saying that the watercress they contain was produced abroad.

What the local newspapers are saying: Yet more new houses are on the way for Bourne. The Stamford Mercury (September 19th) reports that the latest will be built alongside the main A15 south of the town, opposite the Elsea Park development and next to the old hospital site. Conditional planning permission has been granted by South Kesteven District Council for the 15 acres of land to be used for a new business park with a mix of offices, workshops and start-up businesses, but there will also be 80 residential properties, a public space and a lagoon. The commercial side of the development is expected to create up to 300 new jobs. This site has had a chequered history because in October 1999, it was earmarked for a £10 million development with a hotel, restaurant, petrol station and fast food outlet, but the scheme was abandoned in May 2001 because there was insufficient commercial interest. The new project with houses included was put forward last May and has now received the council's tacit approval. Unfortunately, it does not address the growing problem of where new workers will live because current house prices are unaffordable by average wage earners and the situation is unlikely to ease in the foreseeable future. There is also the question of who wants to live next to a business park where so many other attractive locations are available and so it seems a more likely proposition that the entire site will eventually end up as new houses.

Bourne Wood is one of our major attractions and the Forestry Commission who administer the 400 acres of ancient woodland have appointed two wardens to look after it. They are both retired people with a deep attachment to our most popular beauty spot, Libby Norton, a former teacher, and George Salmon, an engineer. The Local (September 19th) says that their job will be to open the wood in the mornings, keep down litter, check the gates and paths and answer questions from visitors. Both approach their task with admirable enthusiasm that will be familiar to all who have walked these woodland ways. "Just being in the wood is thrilling and enthralling", said Mrs Norton. "I am looking forward to the task immensely."

Apart from its extensive news and unequalled sports coverage from the Bourne area, there is also a very good reason why you should buy The Local this week because you have the chance to win a copy of the CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne. See Page 8 for details.

A fear of being robbed on the road was widely prevalent in years past when there were no street lamps in country areas and a journey outside town after dark was a dangerous undertaking. Thieves abounded, footpads and highwaymen, and anyone carrying money or valuables was at risk.

The highwayman has aroused much romantic interest and as a few were of good family and education, avoided physical harm to their victims and were renowned for their courtesy and chivalry, they have even enjoyed a reputation as gentlemen of the road although the best remembered of them, Claude Duval and particularly Dick Turpin, who may have operated in this area, were little more than ill-mannered ruffians.

The perils of travelling a lonely road at night were very much in the mind of Mr V Stapleton, a solicitor who lived at Thurlby, while on his way to Bourne by horse and gig to attend a property sale at the Bull Inn [now the Burghley Arms] on the evening of Thursday 15th December 1864. As he passed Elsea Wood, a man suddenly darted out and attempted to stop the horse but Mr Stapleton urged the animal forward and as it went, he felt the wheel of his gig pass over something which he thought to be the person who had attempted to stop him. On arrival at Bourne, he reported the incident to the police and a constable was sent to the scene to investigate. He found the spot described by Mr Stapleton and there were signs that a man had been lying on the ground but there was no one about. 

The matter remained a mystery for several days and rumours that a highwayman or footpad was preying on travellers abounded in Bourne. But the case was subsequently solved when a gentleman on horseback who had also been on the road at that time was subsequently interviewed by the police. He said that he had overtaken a man who claimed that he had been run down by a horse and gig but it turned out that he was not a criminal but a drunken tailor trying to find his way home to Braceborough after a day out at Bourne market but amazingly, he was not seriously hurt.

The web site quiz that was introduced two weeks ago attracted only a handful of entries and has therefore been abandoned. Either the questions were too hard or there is little interest in the history of our town. The answers to the three questions asked are (1) The Red Hall was built in 1605; (2) Charles Worth was born at Wake House; and (3) Robert Mason Mills was famous for his aerated mineral water business. The first correct entry out of the hat was Richard Woodward of Eaton Socon, Cambridgeshire, and a copy of the CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne is on the way. 

Message from abroad: I have been in hospital for surgery for the past three weeks and fretting at being unable to get to read your weekly Diary. The nurse who was treating me happened to be the daughter of a friend and she kindly arranged for me to sneak down to the office at 0200 hrs most nights when I felt OK where I could get online with the computer there and catch up with events from time to time. - email from Dennis Staff, Ottawa, Canada, who was evacuated to Bourne from Hull during the Second World War of 1939-45.

Thought for the Week: It is an indictment on our society that formal codes of conduct have broken down and children no longer take notice of authority. - Inspector Tony Smith of Lincolnshire Police, quoted by The Local newspaper in their front page story about children being banned from travelling on the school bus after hurling missiles from the top deck on to cars passing below, Friday 19th September 2003.

Saturday 27^th September 2003

The autumnal equinox on Tuesday marked the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and by sheer coincidence, the weather changed and, despite the sunshine, there was that tell tale chill in the air to remind us of dark days to come. Soon, the holiday tans will disappear and our light clothing will be discarded in favour of warm jumpers and jackets and in a few weeks, summer will be nothing more than a memory. Many people would prefer all year round sun and sand but I consider myself lucky to live in a temperate climate where our lives are regulated by the seasons which remind us of the changing years and of the passage of time.

The late Ralph Wightman, a countryman to his fingertips, wrote in his book The Seasons (1954): "Autumn is the time of fulfilment, of repletion, of a pause between the toil and excitement of replenishing the earth and the long struggle to survive those barren days. Yet in the natural world, here is the fact that next year's life is assured long before the death of winter and in the farming world, autumn is almost as important for seed time and for harvest."

Here in rural England, we see these changes at first hand. In these ripe and mellow autumn days, we watch the plough and the harrow preparing to plant new crops of wheat and barley, and soon the frost and the snow will turn our countryside into a winter wonderland overnight, and then comes spring, bursting with new life when the green shoots push through the earth and as the weeks pass they grow taller and soon those golden mid-summer days are here again and the combines will be cutting a swathe through the swaying corn and the farming year begins again. And so the changing seasons act as a marker for our life span and constantly remind us that the years are passing and we must enjoy each day to the full.

There has been some suggestion in the Forum this week that the Bourne web site might devote some time to specific youth activities and even launch an additional facility for this purpose. Perhaps then this is the time to re-state our aims. I began this project in August 1998 with the sole object of spreading the word about the town's history and heritage. This is not a newspaper and not a place where young or old might find references to current events in the sporting and leisure fields such as those suggested, skateboarding, computer games, school gossip, live music and night clubs. Instead, you will find much that you need to know about the history of this town, past events, and the people who went before, and if this information is not on site, then you will find it on our companion CD-ROM A Portrait of Bourne. If you wish to find out about youth activities or participate in discussions intended solely for them, then you must go elsewhere.

The Bourne web site is a voluntary project and has no commercial support or advertising, financed entirely by myself, an old age pensioner living on a fixed income, and in view of our success, it demonstrates what can be achieved with will and determination by someone who was 73 years old this month. One of the basic lessons to be learned in life is that you get nothing for nothing. If the younger generation cannot find what they want here or at Bourne OnLine, which is subsidised with a great deal of public money, and require a web site devoted entirely to their needs, then I suggest that they start their own and if they do, then I would soon become one of their regular visitors.

Many young people do find this site of interest because I am often emailed by pupils engaged on school projects or examinations relating to Bourne's social history and I try to assist wherever possible. The information I have already provided, or at least pointed the inquirers in the right direction, must be the stuff of many papers submitted at all of our local schools. This is a willing service but the Bourne web site will never devote any part entirely to one age group or section of the community. There is only one essential for visitors to observe: that they have an interest in Bourne, in what went before and what may come after. Take it or leave it.

The confidence trickster was just as active in years past as he is today, as I mentioned a fortnight ago when relating the case of James Partridge, a gentleman who lived the good life at the expense of others by persuading them that he was dependable for credit when in fact he was a penniless fraud. But there were other equally unscrupulous tricksters at large, ready to dupe the unsuspecting, especially those who thought they were likely to make a quick profit from the schemes they were being offered. Partridge specialised in swindling lodging houses but others preyed on tradesmen and in 1866, such a proposition was presented to various shopkeepers in Bourne in what became known as "The Screw Trick".

Wood screws were first made commercially in this country at Birmingham in 1854 and were therefore still a novelty twelve years later when a man professing to be from the ironmongery trade and specialising in screws, arrived in Bourne and began making calls soliciting wholesale orders and he presented a card upon which was printed: "Richardson and Sons, patent screw manufacturers, Broad Street, Birmingham." He then produced a sample of his wares and the prices he quoted were very reasonable. Then, having obtained an order, his plan was to deliver the screws in a few days by horse and trap, stating that the terms of sale were cash on delivery for the first journey and four months' credit thereafter. One of the tradesmen who took up the offer received a bill with his first bag of screws saying: "Broad Street, Birmingham: Mr ------, bought of Richardson & Sons, Patent Screw Manufacturers: 1 bag of patent screws, 120 gross, ¾ to 3 inch, Nos 7 to 16, at 6d., £3 paid, May 18, 1866, William Richardson." Shortly afterwards, the buyer discovered that the bag contained only 45 gross instead of 120. Another tradesman who purchased 60 gross, obtained only 45. The quality and price therefore were enticing but the trick was to supply a short quantity.

The police were called in by the victims and they were soon in contact with the authorities in Birmingham where it was found that no such firm of patent screw manufacturers existed but similar inquiries had been received from several other parts of the country which revealed that the swindle was widespread. A warning was issued to all shopkeepers and tradesmen in the Bourne area to be on their guard when offered similar products purporting to come from the same firm and a description of William Richardson was circulated and printed by the local newspapers. He was described as being about 30 to 35 years of age, 5 ft. 7 or 8 inches tall, rather stout, a dark complexion, little (if any) whiskers but a slight moustache and wearing a black coat, a hat with narrow brinks and an Albert guard [watch chain]. But by then, the enterprising Mr Richardson was busy with his endeavours in another town.

The likes of Mr Partridge and Mr Richardson are among us today and will continue to thrive when there are those about who are only too ready to make money or snap up a bargain but the lesson then is still clear now: caveat emptor.

What the local newspapers are saying: Town councillors at Bourne have paid a touching tribute to one of their stalwart colleagues who has served the authority for 34 years. The Local (September 26th) reports that Ray Cliffe has been presented with a glass paperweight engraved with the council's coat of arms in recognition of his outstanding record in public life. Ray, who is 78, is one of the best known of our local councillors, having been elected in 1969 and serving as mayor twice, from 1975-76 and 1991-92, and he would have completed his hat trick in 2002-03 but for ill health which also prompted his decision not to stand for re-election last May. During his time on the council, he has been chairman of every committee, serving with distinction on highways and planning, and it was he and his wife Shirley, who is still a town councillor, who were responsible for introducing the Christmas lights in the town centre which have since become a popular feature of the festive season each year. Also honoured was Alan Jones, who is 81, and who stood down at the last local elections after 12 years on the town council. He is a retired civil servant who moved to the town in 1987 when his interest in local affairs began, being elected in 1991 and serving as mayor twice, the first time in 1995-96 and again in 2001-02. He has also been a governor of Bourne Grammar School since 1992.

The Rat of the Year award must go to the thieves who broke into the Butterfield Centre last week and stole £1,000 from the safe. The Local reports (September 26th) that the money included the pay packets for staff at the day centre for the elderly which operates from the building as well as money earmarked for trips out. The centre is a valuable community service that is struggling to stay afloat and the gravity of the theft was echoed by management committee chairman, the Rev Derek Baines, who said: "This has affected our cash flow which was critical anyway. It has also affected morale but we did what we could to ensure that the old people will not suffer and it has given us a renewed determination to carry on with our work." Perhaps the culprits will think about this as they spend their ill-gotten gains on cigarettes and strong lager.

The future of the ancient Sheep Fair at Corby Glen, near Bourne, is in doubt after developers were given outline planning permission to build new homes on the site in July, according to the Stamford Mercury (September 26th). This is the oldest sheep fair in Britain having been held since 1238 under a charter granted by King Henry III and although the 765th year event will go ahead as usual on October 4th-5th, the search is on for a new site in order that the tradition can continue next year. It would be a pity if the fair were allowed to lapse because it has become much more than a sheep auction and is now a popular community event, bringing together families who have been split when sons and daughters left the village to pursue marriage and careers elsewhere and is therefore a catalyst for reunions as well as attracting hundreds of visitors for a weekend of attractions in aid of charity.

The postcard view of West Street which I reproduced on the web site three weeks ago has created a great deal of interest because of the transformation that has taken place in the street scene. The internal combustion engine has had a dramatic effect on the urban landscape, changing the appearance of towns and cities forever, even country towns such as Bourne where road signs, crossings, white and yellow lines and other manifestations of the motor car, are now an integral part of the street scene. These pictures from the past provide a nostalgic glimpse at the way things were and this week I am reproducing a card showing North Street in 1906 and a comparative view of the same scene today.

You may access these pictures from the front page under the title "North Street - then and now" and if any reader has similar photographs in their possession, I would be most grateful if I could be allowed to copy them to add them to this archive for future generations.

Message from abroad: The monster hurricane that the weather people said would dump tons of water on Southern Ontario passed without a whimper. It did rain, but not really much more than a summer shower. We actually needed a good heavy downpour because the ground is like a desert. There has been lots of rain this past summer but it has just disappeared into the ground. I am very concerned about our water which is vanishing at an astounding rate. The water bottlers are taking millions of gallons out of the aquifers every month and the water levels are continuing to drop in the lakes because they are trying to replenish the aquifers. The government considers the tax on water a great source of revenue so it must be a good thing. - email from Glen Foster, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, Saturday 20th September 2003.

Thought for the Week: Britain has become the litter capital of Europe. At every turn, at every lay-by, in every parking area, picnic place and viewpoint, there is litter, newspapers, fag ends, beer cans, empty burger containers and worse. Then of course there are dumped fridges, fly-tipped garden and building waste, and burned out cars. Where lorries spend the night, there are mounds of rubbish where ashtrays have been emptied. Would any policeman care to tell me when they last prosecuted somebody for a litter or fly tipping offence? - Robin Page, writing in The Countryman, September 2003.

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