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Saturday 6th November 2004
There will be celebrations in and around the town this
weekend for Guy Fawkes’ Night, an excuse to let off fireworks rather than
remember an infamous incident from our history, a Catholic conspiracy to blow up
James I and the Houses of Parliament when he attended there on 5th November
1605.
In past times, the occasion had a special significance because everyone then
thought that the Gunpowder Plot was hatched at the Red Hall, a belief that has
since been disproved by recent research, and celebrations often tended to get
out of hand. In 1876, the event fell on a Sunday but this did not prevent
demonstrations on the Saturday before and the Monday afterwards. The Stamford
Mercury reported on Friday 10th November 1876:
The Gunpowder Plot this year has been
attended with some riotous proceedings, similar to those which a few years back
gave the place a rather unfavourable notoriety in this respect. On Saturday
evening there was a considerable number of persons in the Market Place and North
Street: fireworks were discharged, lighted tar barrels were rolled about and
three fires made - one in the Market Place and two others very near. The police
force in the town was very small and no attempt was made to prevent the
discharge of fireworks or to extinguish the fires, which were continued until
after midnight. Some of the inhabitants felt necessitated to remain up until
Sunday morning to protect their property.
On Monday it became known it was intended to repeat that night the proceedings
of Saturday, and 13 or 14 policemen were moving about in couples. Shortly before
10 o'clock a tremendous fire was lighted near the centre of the Market Place.
Tar barrels were brought out and fireworks discharged in great abundance. In the
course of the evening it was clear that many amongst the crowd armed with thick
bludgeons, were bent upon mischief, and some openly expressed their intention to
get into collision with the police. The superintendent has been for a short time
from home, and on this occasion his place was taken by an inspector from
Spalding, who at an early stage of the proceedings had to take refuge in one of
the inns. Two other policemen rushed into the passage of a tradesman in the
Market Place and pushed to the door after them. Most of the other members of the
force were compelled to retreat to the police station [in North Street],
followed by a mob, who at this time broke 10 or 11 panes of glass in the police
station windows. Between 11 and 12 o'clock, after a great part of the crowd had
dispersed, the police (13 in number) came from the station in a body.
After remaining about a quarter of an hour in the middle of the road, opposite
the Angel, they moved in three rows to the causeway, by Mr Harrison's shop and
Messrs Measures' corner, striking some of the people upon the path as they
proceeded, their intention, it is said, being to clear the Market Place. They
had gone on a very few yards, however, before one of their number (P C Proudley,
formerly of Bourne), was knocked down, and he lay for some minutes completely
helpless, the police continuing their progress, and charging other persons who
came in their way. Proudley was picked up by two men who noticed him lying upon
the ground and conveyed him to the police station where the injuries inflicted
upon his head were found to be of a very serious nature. He scarcely spoke
during the night or the following day, and on Wednesday still remained in a very
critical state from concussion of the brain, occasioned by injuries upon the
back of the head; one of his teeth also being knocked out.
The police, it appears, became very much irritated, and charged right and left
all who obstructed their course, and in this way innocent as well as guilty
persons were severely injured. Mr Charles S Featherstone [a butcher of the
Market Place], who had come out of his house in his slippers to look for his
son, was knocked down and badly hurt about the head. Mr Bains, tailor, Mr
Bradley, maltster, Mr Thomas Holmes, veterinary surgeon, Mr William Todd [tailor
and draper], Church Street, and others, were also knocked down and more or less
injured. Excepting the policeman, the most severe injuries appear to have been
inflicted upon Mr Frederick G Palmer [butcher and landlord of the Mason's Arms
in South Street], who was very severely battered, there being six or seven
wounds on his head. He was found lying upon the ground near the [Ostler
Memorial] Fountain, covered with blood; on Wednesday morning he was in a very
precarious state and it will be impossible for a few days to say what may be the
result. It is time that fire, fireworks, tar barrels, &c, were put a stop to.
This did eventually happen, although there were more
disturbances and riotous behaviour until peace was brought to the streets but it
took determined action by a new police chief, Superintendent Willerton Brown,
who, with the full support of the magistrates, drafted in more officers and
warned that unruly conduct would not be tolerated. His policy of zero tolerance,
as we would call it today, paid off and from 1880 onwards, Bonfire Night
celebrations passed off relatively peacefully and although there were sporadic
outbreaks in later years, the occasions never reached the alarming levels of
previous times.
The power of the people should never be underestimated and politicians do
so at their peril. Many of the events in Bourne in recent years have been
brought about by ordinary men and women rather than those who stride the
corridors of power. The Outdoor Swimming Pool is a good example, a fine
community leisure facility threatened with closure but saved by a public
outburst of support and there have been other institutions that have survived
through similar spontaneity of effort, the Butterfield Hospital and the Post
Office among them.
Proposals to build houses on meadowland adjoining The Croft in North Road is the
latest illustration of this phenomenon because the issue was due to be decided
at an informal public hearing in Bourne on Tuesday. South Kesteven District
Council had already weakened with a decision to dilute its objections but the
people were resolute and when the government inspector, Chris Anstey, saw the
crowd assembled in the Corn Exchange ready to protest about the loss of this
green space, he ruled that it would be impossible to retain control of the
meeting to allow a full and frank discussion about the implications of the issue
and that a formal public inquiry would be the only solution. This will not take
place until next year but will provide a much wider platform for those who wish
to air their views.
Once again the will of the people has triumphed and proved that it is a potent
weapon. We should not detract from the very able work that is being done by some
of our councillors but they must never lose sight of the fact that they are in
office to carry out the wishes of the people and once they forget this basic
principle then they will have lost the faith of those they represent. The Latin
motto vox populi vox Dei, the voice of the people is the voice of God,
has never had a greater significance than it has today as government at all
levels becomes more distant as it recedes into isolation. Political leaders take
heed because the wishes of the people are irresistible.
What the local newspapers are saying: The abortive public hearing over
The Croft housing controversy dominates both of our main local newspapers and
coincidentally both carry the same banner headline “People power forces
inquiry”. The Stamford Mercury also uses a large photograph of the
boarded up house superimposed with a picture of our MP, Quentin Davies, who
attended (November 5th). When the decision to hold a full public inquiry was
made, he told the inspector: “There will be widespread support for this
decision. The inquiry should take place in Bourne. It is a matter of great
importance to the future of the town and it is right that as many people who
want to can take part.”
In a front page editorial, The Local summed up the widespread feeling in
the town about the housing development (November 5th). “Yet again, the people of
Bourne have shown that they won’t accept things which are either unjust or
against the community’s best interests. Apathy is not a word they recognise. The
fact that there will now be a public inquiry is testimony to the appearance of
nearly 100 people who attended the hearing to show their disapproval. The war is
far from over but winning the first battle is highly significant.”
A father and son have made a nostalgic trip to Bourne in their quest for
information about Florence Tipler, a much-loved lady who did great work for this
town forty years ago.
Martyn Welborn, aged 42, who works in the chemicals industry, and his father
Brian, aged 69, now retired as manager of a transport company, made the round
trip of almost 300 miles by car from their home at Bradford in West Yorkshire to
spend the day seeking out those who knew her. Florence was sister to Brian’s
mother and great aunt to Martyn but they had little information about her career
and wished to know more about their remarkable relative.
The trip was particularly productive for although few records exist of her
career, I have researched her life for A Portrait of Bourne, the history of this
town, and was able to help. Florence Tipler is best remembered as chairman of
Bourne Urban District Council for the year 1962-63, one of only three women to
hold the office during the 75 year history of the authority, the others being
Mrs Caroline Galletly (1930-31) and Mrs Marjorie Clark (1971-72). She considered
this a particular distinction, not having been born in the town and during her
installation ceremony at the Town Hall in May 1962, she appropriately received
the chain of office from Councillor Dr John Galletly, the retiring chairman and
son of the council's first woman chairman, Mrs Caroline Galletly.
Her enthusiasm for public work was summed up in her acceptance speech in which
she dedicated herself to the town. "This is a great honour that has been
conferred on me", she said, " and I shall continue to serve Bourne and the
council as faithfully as I have done in the past nine years."
In 1962, during her year in office, the urban council organised a civic
reception for the international racing driver Graham Hill and the BRM team in
Bourne to mark their success with the first all-British car to win the world
championship. Councillor Tipler hosted the event at the Town Hall when Graham
Hill, father of the present day Damon Hill, was presented with a silver salver
for his achievement.
Florence Evelyn Smith was born at Shipley in Yorkshire on 4th June 1905 and
after leaving school she took up nursing, moving to Bourne in 1938 to join the
staff at Bourne Isolation Hospital. In 1940, she married Eric Tipler who worked
for the council in the highways department, making and fitting road signs, and
was also active with the St John Ambulance Brigade. They lived in Queen’s Road
and then Harrington Street but there were no children and he died on 21st April
1978.
Florence was first elected to the council in 1952, losing her seat three years
later but regaining it in 1956. For many years, she served as a cadet officer
with the junior section of the Red Cross and also as a voluntary ambulance
attendant. She was a Methodist lay preacher and worked tirelessly as a sick
visitor for the Methodist Sisterhood. She also sat as a justice of the peace on
the local bench of magistrates and her other main interest was in the welfare of
ex-servicemen and their families, serving as a member of the war pensions
committee, then active in the area in the aftermath of the Second World War from
1939-45.
After retiring from public life, Mrs Tipler found it difficult to look after
herself because of illness and in 1982, moved to Digby Court where she died in
September 1986 at the age of 81. Bourne Urban Distinct Council paid tribute to
her at their next meeting when the chairman, Councillor John Wright, told
members: “She was very much for the welfare of this town. She did excellent work
and always had the interests of the people at heart.” Councillor Marjorie Clark,
who served on the council with her, added her tribute. She told members: “She
was a very able speaker and a very good and caring councillor.”
The funeral was held at Bourne Methodist Church on Monday 22nd September and in
her will, she left her life savings of £3,500 to Digby Court. Although she was
buried in the town cemetery, there is no headstone to mark her last resting
place.
“This was a sad discovery”, said Martyn, “But despite that, our trip was
extremely rewarding. We found the people of Bourne very friendly and helpful. My
dad spent a lot of his youth in Bourne during the school holidays when he stayed
with Florence and the last time he saw her was six months before she died.
“We really had a great day, visiting the many places she would have known and
talking to the people who remembered her with such affection. We called at the
Town Hall where everyone was so helpful and then visited Digby Court where we
had tea with residents and staff and spent an hour looking through several boxes
of old photographs although we could not find one of Florence. We are grateful
for knowing more about her and we will remember the people of Bourne and realise
why she enjoyed her time here so much.”
There was also an added bonus for Martyn and his father because earlier this
year, Bourne Town Council honoured Florence Tipler’s contribution to the
community by recommending that one of the streets on the housing estate being
built on the site of the former Bourne Hospital in South Road should be named
after her and it will be known as Tipler Court.
Thought for the week: There is no reason why this could
not have been decided locally, by locally elected democratic representatives of
the people of this town. – comment on The Croft housing controversy by town
councillor Guy Cudmore, Tuesday 2nd November 2004.
Saturday 13th November 2004
Remembrance Sunday will be observed by the nation this
weekend when our thoughts go back to those who died in conflict, particularly
the boys who lost their lives in the trenches of Flanders ninety years ago. The
Great War of 1914-18 has come to be regarded as the most futile of all wars,
costing millions of young lives on both sides for very little gain.
Among them was the poet Wilfred Owen who was killed in action only a week before
the armistice was signed on 11th November 1918. His poetry expresses a horror of
the cruelty and waste of war and even shaped the attitude of many, particularly
his verses Anthem for Doomed Youth:
What passing-bells for
these who die as cattle?
- Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,-
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
Between 200 and 400 young men from Bourne served in this war and
my recent researches into the letters they wrote home reveal a rare optimism and
strength of spirit as well as a deep love of regiment, of king and country, of
home town, school, church and family. These were feelings engendered by the
jingoism of the time and used to dramatic effect by recruiting officers drumming
up support for Kitchener’s New Army.
But attitudes began to change with the Big Push of July 1916, beginning with the
Allied offensive on the River Somme during which severe casualties were
inflicted on both sides. It was seen as Britain's first real chance to open up
the Western Front and enable French and British troops take the initiative away
from Germany. British generals planned to break through the enemy trenches and
advance to victory through German territory but the campaign brought little
advantage. The success of the artillery was overestimated and the inflexible
military strategy meant that plans could not be revised. There was poor
communication between the troops on the ground and the officers which also
contributed to the death toll of 600,000, the greatest number of casualties in
British military history while five months of fighting advanced British lines
only eight miles. It was, as historian Alan Clark so vividly described, a case
of lions being led by donkeys and the men realised for the first time that they
were not heroes but simply expendable. When dramatic film taken during the
Battle of the Somme was given a public showing at the Corn Exchange in December
1916, the audience was stunned into silence and many were moved to tears.
Letters home were perceptive and reflective such as these extracts written in
November 1915 by Lance Corporal Oliver Davies who was serving as a signaller
with the 2nd Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, part of the British
Expeditionary Force, somewhere in France. He was the son of Joseph Davies, of
North Road, Bourne, headmaster of the Boys’ Council or Board School [now the
Abbey Road Primary School], and had volunteered for the army after his mother,
Mrs Elizabeth Davies, offered to take over his teaching duties at Edenham where
he was headmaster of the village school in order to free him for military
service. He wrote poetically about their plight and compared their present
surroundings with those of his home town:
The men with whom I am working are jolly and
cheerful and are an antidote to fits of the blues. This spirit of unconquerable
cheerfulness is a great asset to the force out here. The more miserable the
conditions the better their spirits. In some places, the trenches are over the
knees in mud. Yet our men laugh over it.
If you want to imagine the kind of country we are in, take a walk down Bourne
Fen as far as Twenty. Put heaps more poplar trees there; blow down nearly all
the houses; grow crops of barbed wire instead of corn; and, above all, don't
forget the mud, mud and more mud! There you have a fairly good idea of what the
country is like. Many of the French people seem loath to leave their homes which
are within shell range.
The villages look like ghosts of a bygone age. Houses are without roofs, some
have the rafters standing, making them appear as gaunt skeletons. Of course, the
big houses and the churches suffer most from shellfire. Just picture Abbey Road
and the church in that plight. Not a house with a wall or roof standing intact;
a church without a roof or spire; just traces of walls showing where it once
was. Some of the villages round here must have been very pretty in peace time.
They are so prettily studded with trees. But now there is nothing but rain and
mud. The untilled fields, some of them with unreaped standing crops in them,
form another very melancholy setting in the countryside.
Oliver survived the war and returned to teaching. Others also
resumed their previous occupations but many were not so lucky and were forced to
trudge the streets looking for work and even begging, the medals they wore a
melancholy reminder of their past glory.
More than ten million lives were lost on both sides and twice that number were
wounded. Those that came home were determined to change the old order and indeed
England was never to be the same again yet 21 years later, we were again
embroiled in another world war. Soon all of this will be consigned to the dusty
pages of history but while there are still those alive who lived through it and
remember their experiences as though it were yesterday, we should remember
another war poet, Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), whose lines have gained
immortality with their touching simplicity:
They shall not grow old,
as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
What the local newspapers are saying: Boarded up premises
that have been an eyesore in North Street for so many years are now likely to be
pulled down. The Stamford Mercury says that plans to regenerate this part
of the town centre were approved by Bourne Town Council on Tuesday although a
final decision will rest with South Kesteven District Council (November 12th).
New shop units are planned for the site of the old buildings that have been
empty for so long that they have become derelict and in urgent need of extensive
repairs with floors secured by scaffolding poles and part of the roof open to
the elements.
The former tenant, Bourne Jewellers, moved out in 1997 when the windows were
boarded up, attracting graffiti and fly-posting, and a mural of multi-coloured
patterns was used in an attempt to alleviate its unsightly appearance but, as
one resident commented, the painting was “hideously unattractive” and the
experiment failed leaving the shop a blot on the street scene. Development will
therefore be an asset to the appearance of our main street. Councillor Shirley
Cliffe told the meeting in what must be the understatement of the year: “After
all this time I think the whole town will be delighted. It is in an appalling
state and I really think we should welcome its demolition.” It is built of red brick and
is therefore part of Bourne’s history but even the most dedicated conservationist must
agree with that and it is to be hoped that the developers will find a
sympathetic replacement.
The familiar red telephone kiosks of the 20th century were so popular and useful
that they soon became one of the instantly recognisable symbols of Britain but
in the past 25 years most have been replaced by plain Perspex payphone booths
and now these too are fast disappearing. Most have already gone from the streets
of Bourne with only one remaining and that is in the town centre on the west
side of North Street but The Local reports that this too is to be removed
because it is no longer financially viable (November 12th). British Telecom
blames its lack of use on the rise in ownership of mobile phones, claiming that
most households in Britain now have at least one.
Ironically, one or two of the red telephone kiosks of yesteryear, designed by
the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King
George V in May 1935, can still be seen around Bourne having been bought by
private individuals as garden ornaments when they were phased out. In addition,
15,000 of them, perhaps more, remain in use at heritage sites and elsewhere
while a further 1,000 kiosks were identified as being of special architectural
and historical interest, mainly because they were near existing listed buildings
or in attractive town and country locations. British Telecom has pledged to
maintain them for as long as possible but for the later plastic varieties, it is
almost certainly the end of the line which is bad news for vandals who have
devoted so much time to them in Bourne in recent years.
The latest production by the Bourne Players has drawn unqualified praise
and even comparisons with professional companies. They presented David
Tristram’s hilarious comedy Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime at the Corn
Exchange over three nights last month and letters of appreciation have appeared
in our local newspapers.
The author was Derek Harrison of Elton Close, Stamford, who I happen to know has
a long association with the theatre and therefore his appraisal is worthy of
attention. “It was an outstanding production by a talented cast and made for a
much more enjoyable evening than staying at home to watch television”, he wrote.
“The amateur company achieved a professional standard equal to any play I have
seen in the West End. It was a laugh a minute. Bourne residents are fortunate to
have such a talented company in their midst, able to offer such a high standard
of local entertainment and I am looking forward to their next production in
February.”
This is praise of a high order and speaks volumes for the appreciation of a good
audience without which a production will founder. But it was not always so
because there was a time when Bourne was a bleak prospect for thespians, usually
travelling companies that called here once or twice a year. The Stamford
Mercury reported on Friday 29th August 1890:
Bourne affords scanty encouragement to
dramatic companies on tour. A company in the early spring departed as depressed
in spirit as they were low in purse. A few weeks ago, another company was so
absorbed in histrionic studies that it left a memento of its visit in a few
forgotten accounts. And on Friday evening, a third company, with an attractive
programme and excellently recommended, opened their doors to admit an audience
of one. The performance on the following evening was poorly patronised.
Those days now seem long gone for Bourne enjoys its own locally
produced drama from not one but two talented companies that present regular
productions and long may they continue to do so.
Message from abroad: It is mighty cold up here. We had 10.3 inches of
snow on Wednesday last and then the temperature plunged to two below zero F. It
has gone up some today and more snow is forecast. - email from Winnie Nowak,
Anchorage, Alaska, USA, Monday 8th November 2004.
Thought for the week: If any question why we died, tell them, because our
fathers lied. – from Epitaphs of the War 1914-18 by Rudyard Kipling, English
writer and Nobel Prize winner (1865-1936).
Saturday 20th November 2004
The existence of a golf club in Bourne in past times has
been the subject of some speculation in the town although until now there has
been little evidence for it. But in a letter to The Local last week, Dick
Salmon of Gladstone Street gave the first clue that it may have been reality.
Some fifty years ago, he dropped in at the Angel Hotel for a pint one evening
and found himself in the company of Edgar Judge, the pharmacist with premises in
North Street, and they got chatting about old times. Dick, aged 79, a former
mechanic with BRM, told me this week that the conversation turned to sport and
to golf in particular. “He spoke of a golf club that was situated somewhere in
the area of the Wellhead fields and he mentioned that he or members of his
family had played on the course. I don’t think it was anything grand but
certainly sufficient to attract golf enthusiasts from the district.”
Until now, I have not come across any mention of a golf club during my
researches and the local newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries do not
appear to carry a single report of the club’s activities. But Dick Salmon’s
reminiscences prompted further inquiries and at last, the mystery is solved.
Bourne Golf Club was instituted in 1899, a modest venture with a nine-hole
course that was laid out on what was then known as the Castle Meadows and
adjoining fields, close to the station which was situated at the Red Hall. It
was little more than a grassy surface with a few undulations but sufficient for
golfing enthusiasts to pursue the ancient game. There is no mention either of a
clubhouse and members most likely used one of the nearby hostelries as their
10th hole. This information comes from the archives of The Golfing Annual
for 1899-1900 and the last mention was in 1909 when the publication closed
although the golf club probably did not survive after the Great War of 1914-18
when many in England closed down through lack of money and support.
However, the plaques that have recently been featured by the newspaper remain a
mystery. They carry details of a bylaw purporting to come from Bourne Golf Club
but this is doubtful. Firstly, they are dated 1874, twenty-five years before the
club was formed, and secondly, so many of them have survived that it is unlikely
they were ever used as a formal notice on an established golf course. They were
also most certainly mass produced because they are by no means rare and several
are currently on sale for a few pounds each on the ebay market place web site on
the Internet, some from overseas including Germany, and I know that many exist
in America.
In addition, the bylaw quoted is unlikely to have been given prominence in any
public place in Victorian England because it is obviously meant to be a humorous
item with dubious connotations:
Bourne Golf Club. Byelaw No 16, April 1,
1874. Gentlemen with large handicaps are requested to play long holes from the
ladies tee. N.B.: All members must observe this rule.
It would therefore seem most probable that the plaques were
intended for sale to golf aficionados as an April Fool’s Day joke, probably at
the seaside or some other entertainment venue, or even for an all male smoking
concert which were fashionable in years past, and have no positive connection
either with golf or this town . . . although there may be someone out there who
can prove otherwise.
The two medical centres in Bourne are to withdraw emergency clinics on
Saturday mornings from the beginning of December. Anyone needing assistance
during that time will in future have to use the telephone help line that is
staffed by nursing paramedics.
Sickness does not observe office hours but the general practitioners in our town
will because their working life has been officially set at 9 am to 5 pm five
days a week, putting them on a par with the many others in the community who
decline to work evenings and weekends.
The government recently ruled that despite the introduction of the emergency
help line, patients still have a right to see a doctor when they need to and
although the clinics have promised to draw up a duty roster for evenings and
weekends, the system has yet to be thoroughly tested. But put simply, the
patient has been disadvantaged by distance and anyone who has become desperate
when trying to make sense out the complicated system of contacting call centres
for other public and commercial institutions will know the pitfalls that lie
ahead and the frustrations and hazards they experience will be exacerbated by
the knowledge that they or a loved one needs urgent medical help.
The Lincolnshire South West Primary Care Trust which runs the Hereward and
Galletly practices in Bourne appears to put more emphasis on business efficiency
than on patient care. The services they offer are excellent but their deployment
of human resources owes more to the boardroom than the consulting room. This is
at the very heart of the malaise currently affecting the National Health Service
that has a preponderance of smart suits and clipboards rather than white coats
and stethoscopes. Medical care at the cutting edge is being stifled by a
managerial urgency to reach targets, cut costs and save cash. Doctors working
out of hours, for instance, even if they wanted to, will cost them another
£6,000 a year for each of them and a telephone help line for all of their
clinics in South Lincolnshire is therefore a cheaper option.
A regime of office hours will do little to reduce the waiting time to see the
doctor, currently 10 to 14 days in Bourne, and as the population increases, with
no immediate prospect of a third proposed clinic ever being opened at Elsea
Park, the situation can only deteriorate further.
Last week, the Stamford Mercury asked the trust for an explanation as to
why the Saturday clinics are being axed (November 13th) and Martin Whittle,
director of quality replied: “The aim is to ensure that working conditions for
GPs are good enough to attract doctors into the profession and one of the issues
raised by them was working on a Saturday.”
So there we have it. We can say goodbye to the image of Dr Finlay, the family
doctor dedicated to attending to the needs of the sick whenever illness or
injury strikes, because he has gone for good along with your friendly
neighbourhood policeman. Being a doctor is no longer a vocation but a job. From
now on, it will be a perilous happenstance if you are struck down out of hours
because advice and treatment will come from where and when you can get it.
It is of some regret to discover that animals get a better deal than humans
because vets are required to attend emergencies no matter what hour of the day
or night and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons frowns upon the use of the
telephone as an alternative. Their code of conduct states that problems arise
when attempting a telephone diagnosis where such an exercise would not be
contemplated during normal working hours and from making a clinical judgement
without seeing the animal or being familiar with its medical history. The code
adds: “It should always be borne in mind that it is inherently dangerous to
attempt to make a diagnosis over the telephone and if there are any misgivings
about the seriousness of the situation, the animal should be seen.” What is good
for Rover and Tiddles should surely be good for us.
What the local newspapers are saying: The proposed establishment of a
waste incinerator at Colsterworth, near Bourne, continues to occupy column
inches in both of our main local newspapers which covered a protest meeting at
South Witham this week after worried residents living in the vicinity formed an
action committee to fight the scheme. The Stamford Mercury says that possible air pollution from highly toxic ash could cause
breathing difficulties (November 19th) although these fears were dismissed by
the Environment Agency as being unfounded. The incinerator is expected to be
sited just 12 miles from Bourne but The Local suggests that the town would
still be at risk because toxic emissions could travel as far as 15 miles. Their
report says that the government’s proximity principle is for incinerators to be
located near to where most of the waste is produced. In this case, the proposed
site would serve Bourne, Stamford, Grantham and possibly the Deepings although
these areas do not generate sufficient to meet the planned target of 60,000 tonnes a
year and so additional waste would be brought in from other parts of the
country. The issue is also discussed this week by our M P Quentin Davies:
We have heard it before and will no doubt hear it again that the
Butterfield Centre is facing a cash crisis. This much-loved and well-used
community care facility for the elderly is again under threat and the
Stamford Mercury reports that it faces a budget deficit of £8,000-£10,000 in
the present financial year (November 19th). Local authority grants are
insufficient and the centre repeatedly has to fall back on fund-raising,
collecting a staggering £17,000 when a similar situation arose last year.
Closure is unthinkable and there is sufficient confidence in the committee to
know that the centre will survive but once again the next few months will be a
testing time. What is needed is a fairy godmother to put the centre on a sound
financial footing and with no likelihood of such a generous gesture from our
local councils, we must look to the charity organisations that exist for the good of the
community to come up with a solution.
A headline in The Local captures the mood of the town as it observed
Remembrance Sunday last weekend: “In dignified silence, Bourne pays tribute to
the fallen” and their feature on the service at the War Memorial in South Street
carries moving colour photographs of the ceremony (November 19th). For the first
time in many years, reports the newspaper, all local organisations paraded
together rather than at separate times as in the past and this unity attracted
more people than ever before and is expected to do so in the future. Tim Bladon,
chairman of the Bourne branch of the Royal British Legion, welcomed the accord
afforded this solemn occasion when he said: “The message of Remembrance Sunday
is still relevant today.” It is therefore unfortunate that those who care for
the War Memorial did not see fit to keep it clean and tidy for this poignant
annual gathering to remember our war dead.
The shooters were back in the sugar beet field outside my
study window on Saturday afternoon but this time their stay way a brief one.
Angry residents in Stephenson Way strode out and interrupted their sport to
remonstrate with them, alleging that shots had been fired towards their houses
along the southern edge and after an animated consultation, the party left
without wasting another cartridge.
Shooting in pursuit of game is as old as the gun itself and in times past, those
wealthy enough to own a firearm also owned the land and so they were a law unto
themselves. Today, the situation is vastly different and small groups who have
no connection with farming may now rent or are given shooting rights over
agricultural land, as in this case whereby the gunmen are allowed access four
times a year.
This is an anomaly that needs to be corrected because this particular sixty-acre
field is on the very edge of a residential area where the slightest
miscalculation could have serious results. Indeed, the residents who complained
claimed that the guns were within range of the houses and although the shot from
a 12-bore may well have dissipated by the time it reached them, anyone in the
back gardens would have been at risk.
I last wrote about a shooting party on this field between the north of Bourne
and Dyke village three weeks ago (Diary, October 30th) when the members spent
two hours fanning out across the sugar beet crop but did not pot a single
pheasant, mainly because there are few available here except for a breeding pair
that had the good sense to make themselves scarce. On Saturday, their curtailed
visit lasted only a few minutes and again they bagged nothing although soon
after they had left, the birds reappeared and resumed their feeding. Let us hope
that in the future, they may continue to do so in peace.
Message from abroad: I would like to thank you for your web pages
concerning Bourne. My husband and I will be working in Britain from next week
and intend to pay a visit. I was a little afraid of visiting a new country but
one day I found your pages and it seemed such a pleasant place. Your site has
made the town much closer. Thank you again and good luck in your further work.
– email from Monika Kieres, Lublin, Poland, Monday 15th November 2004.
Thought for the week: I have frequent need to contact councillors and
rely heavily on e-mail for communication. Very seldom do I get a reply yet all
councillors on South Kesteven District Council have been given free laptops with
the offer of training. Few use them. That's about £50K of kit paid for by local
residents lying idle. - Roy Dennis, editor of Deepings News in a message to
the Bourne Forum, Saturday 13th November 2004.
Saturday 27th November 2004
Anyone who has visited Irnham will know it to be one of
the most attractive villages in England and it has now has been adjudged by the
magazine Country Life in a survey during the summer of this year as being
a top favourite.
Sir Roy Strong, the author and art historian, was asked to select a candidate
from the Midlands and he unequivocally chose Irnham which went into the finals
alongside Cerne Abbas in Dorset, Kingham in Oxfordshire, Aldbury in
Hertfordshire and Romaldkirk in County Durham. The result has just been
announced and although Irnham narrowly missed winning the coveted title, it was
named as runner up to Cerne Abbas.
His eulogy to this beautiful village, six miles north west of Bourne, pointed
out that although it is devoid of village hall, shop, school and post office,
all desirable assets in what is defined as a thriving rural community, it was
still a village of a kind to dream about, a picturesque vision of a world
seemingly gone, yet, in this instance, added to with impeccable taste and
revivified in terms of community sprit.
He went on: “Until seven years ago, Irnham remained an estate village with
houses and almshouses in grey stone spreading out from the manor house gateway
towards the church. Real change came only seven years ago when 20 new houses
were built, three of them barn conversions, in natural Lincolnshire limestone on
land sold off from the estate. But this was not a sell-out to ruthless
developers but an essay in the architectural vernacular of remarkable coherence
and sensitivity sited round a new village green. As no corners were cut, the
result is an enlarged and enhanced village-scape instead of the usual ruined
one. But to achieve that all the properties had to be at the upper end of the
market.
“This is an example of how villages in the future will prosper and survive, for
they are a social and architectural formation for a structure of society which
has gone. Like the country house, the village has to adapt itself. In this
quest, Irnham deserves a medal.”
Charles Leggatt, Irnham resident and churchwarden, was delighted with the
outcome. "Irnham is a wonderful village", he said. "What I really love about
being here is living in a mediaeval village that has evolved and kept pace with
the times without becoming vulgar. The strong community spirit that exists here
is also a key to our success and one outstanding example is our recent church
restoration project. The appeal acted as a catalyst for a real reinvigoration of
the community spirit. Bell ringing had been dormant in the village for around 30
years and during the course of the restoration programme, one of our newcomers
became interested in it and since then, the ancient art has been revived."
The redevelopment of derelict shop properties in North
Street that was mentioned in the Diary two weeks ago (November 13th) has
provoked a discussion in the Forum. I suggested that the developers ought to
remember that this is a red brick town and that they find a sympathetic
replacement for this gap in the street scene but one contributor thought that
the type of tenant was a far more important consideration.
“Whether or not the new building will match the red brick of the original or not
is secondary to the use which it will be put”, wrote John Morfee. “I just hope
that we will not have yet another estate agent, hairdresser, jeweller or fast
food outlet as we have more than enough of those already.”
My own concern is that appearance is more important than usage because tenants
change whereas buildings remain. In July, I surveyed the fast food outlets in
Bourne and found more than most people expected. This week, I have checked on
estate agents after noting that yet another has opened in Abbey Road this week.
John Morfee therefore does have a point because the overloading of one
particular service is a bleak prospect for a small market town by keeping others
out and so we are denied the variety of shops that are so valuable for the
community. There are in fact eight estate agents serving a population of 15,000
and as has been demonstrated, some think that is is far too many.
What the local newspapers are saying: All systems go for
a new hotel, says the front page of The Local over a report that three
acres of land with outline planning permission has been put on the market by
South Kesteven District Council (November 26th). The site just off the main A15
to the south of Bourne is almost opposite Elsea Park and has been earmarked for
roadside services including a petrol station, hotel, a drive-through restaurant
and a family pub and the estate agents handling the sale report that inquiries
have already started coming in from developers. The land has an interesting
history having been bought by the council in 1991 for industrial development but
increased house building in the vicinity has turned it into an attractive
potential for commercial use although a priority will be the building of a new
road through the services area that might well be utilised in the future as part
of a relief road to divert eastbound traffic away from the town and on to the
Spalding Road which would be a most welcome benefit for Bourne.
The weekly open-air market is to be improved, according to the Stamford
Mercury which reports that its success is crucial to the future of the town
by attracting more visitors (November 26th). No one will argue with that but the
newspaper does not give precise details of how this traditional event can be
bettered other than telling us that “steps are to be taken to boost its appeal
even further by promoting it more and providing more seating”. Councillor John
Smith, who sits for Bourne West on South Kesteven District Council and is also
the economic cabinet member, said that “a vibrant market is crucial to Bourne’s
success” yet the only improvement he mentions is to provide a temporary banner
at the main access to the market site telling the public where the market is and
on which days it operates as if anyone did not already know. This is all
extremely worthy but it is doubtful that such minor innovations will attract the
thousands of visitors the newspaper suggests even though it has taken the
council’s specially appointed three-member all party sub-committee almost four
months to come up with them.
The Mercury also says that the market will be at the heart of plans to
revamp the town centre although the area earmarked for regeneration is that
triangle of land between West Street, North Street and Burghley Street which is
some distance away. Nevertheless, as Councillor Smith says, these are exciting
times for Bourne and if development did not take place, the town would become
increasingly run down. The proposed redevelopment of the town centre is to be
the subject of a local area assembly meeting and a public exhibition next month
and you will find details of these events on our Notice Board.
The odd cigarette was a dubious pleasure of my schooldays
mainly because it was a forbidden habit denied the young by cost and custom.
Even before the fatal consequences of nicotine had become so widely known, it
was taboo to smoke before the age of 16 and even then Woodbines sold in packets
of five for a few pence were the only ones we could afford. Today the price has
rocketed to astronomical and even ridiculous proportions, a packet of twenty
costing £5 in some cases, and so it is a wonder how adults, even if they are
prepared to risk the consequent ill effects on their body, manage to finance
their inclination especially if they have a chronic addiction.
This is supposed to be a more enlightened age, yet nothing has really changed.
Walking in the Wellhead Gardens in the late afternoon this week, we passed a
knot of giggling girls behind a tree, all of school age, and the hubbub of small
talk guiltily subsided as we passed and caught a whiff of the unmistakable smell
of burning tobacco. None of them was more than fifteen yet all were puffing away
as though they enjoyed it although the odd glance suggested that their
participation was the result of peer pressure. How many of them will continue
the habit into their late teens is a matter for conjecture but at the moment, an
indulgence in cigarettes is a costly business and where does the money come from
for girls of this age?
Pocket money has risen dramatically since the days of my Saturday penny, when
there were 240 pennies in the pound, but even then, had I been discovered
squandering that penny on such a wasteful habit I am sure that it would have
been discontinued. Today, children get an allowance, often as much as £5 and £10
a week, in some cases more, and this money is part of the salaries of their
mothers and fathers who have worked long hours all week, and who most likely to
do not smoke themselves, yet here was part of their earnings being spent on an
unsocial and unhealthy habit and one that, if continued, will most certainly
shorten their lives.
There is no answer to this. The young have inquiring minds and are anxious to
sample all of life’s pleasures, all experiences, in spite of warnings from their
superiors as to what is right and what is wrong. They must tread the same road
that we have done and find out for themselves. If they are to be influenced,
then it is up to the adults, parents, teachers and politicians, to show them the
alternative path and in most cases, we are failing abysmally, as we always have
done.
Sex for sale during World War Two: Her name was Ginger. She was said to
be from Nottingham. Her profession was the world’s oldest. She lived at Aslackby,
near Bourne, during the Second World War from 1939-45, renting a room at the
Robin Hood public house. There were of course, many young men a long way from
home stationed at the military bases in the vicinity. Mrs Mitchell, who had
taken her in as a tenant, showed some understanding, but her father-in-law said:
“Get that women out!” Mrs Smith, who ran the village shop, bolted the door and
ran off whenever Ginger approached. At a dance in Rippingale, she was seen
leaving with one serviceman after another and the organiser shouted out: “Keep
your trollops in Aslackby.” - written by an anonymous contributor to
the latest edition of the village newsletter, Perfectly Aslackby.
From the archives: On Wednesday of last week, William Richards, of
Oxford, walked 50 miles in 12 hours, starting from the Market Place in Bourne
between 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning, walking 6¼ miles on the Deeping road and
back, repeating the journey four times. Ten miles out of the 50 were walked
backwards and the whole distance was completed about a quarter before eight in
the evening. Richards is 30 years of age and his weight is nine stones. -
news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 22nd August 1873.
We celebrate a small landmark today because this is the 300th Diary I
have written since the feature began on 28th November 1998. It started as a
modest undertaking, just a few hundred words each week about what was happening
in Bourne, but by the following year it had developed into its present format of
comment and reflection on issues of the day, particularly those concerning this
town and its people and is rarely less than 2,000 words, often more.
I am continually surprised at the number and variety of readers we have,
evidence that surfaces in emails, messages to the Forum and chance meetings in
the street, and so the responsibility for fairness and sound judgment is ever
present. There are many good things to say about the town but a lot that needs
attention and I strive each week to reflect what is being talked about and what
concerns the individual but it does not please everyone because there are those
who regard differing opinions as a criticism of themselves. Shining a torch into
dark places is also regarded as unacceptable by some but the alternative is to
cover up and accept what we are given without question which is a negation of
democracy and anathema to progress.
The Diary now comprises an archive of local affairs covering the past six years,
a total of more than 600,000 words, and is printed out and preserved in hardback
as well as on CD-ROM and I therefore anticipate that it will survive as a
testimony of the way things were during those years when Bourne was facing the
most dramatic changes in its history.
Thought for the Week: Life would be tolerable, were it not for its
amusements. – Sir George Cornewall Lewis, British statesman and writer
(1806-63).
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