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Saturday 4th December 2004
Gated communities are part of everyday life in South Africa which has the
world’s highest crime rate and many are also springing up in the United States
which is not far behind.
I have some knowledge of this because my sister-in-law lives in such a community
near Johannesburg where intruders are common place and burglary, rape and murder
are everyday occurrences by those who have little regard for property and life
and so those who can afford it surround themselves with security guards and live
in a fortress accessed only by smart cards and electronic passwords.
We have not yet reached this situation in Britain although the fear of crime,
generated by the media rather than personal experience, is often greater than
the crime itself and so more home owners are retreating behind the barricades.
The Local reports this week that the first such private residential
estate is now planned for Bourne where 23 bungalows on the Elsea Park
development will have modest precautions, surrounded by a fence and accessed
only by a gate (December 3rd). A recent study by the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors claims that rising crime in urban areas has become a factor
in the demand for gated estates but reporter Tony Todd suggests that it is
questionable whether Bourne conforms to the inner city stereotype of violence,
fear and a growing need to shut small communities off from the outside world.
The Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Pet Moisey is also sceptical about the idea
because when the scheme came before the town council’s highways and planning
committee on Tuesday, she said: “It seems that this proposal will create its own
little zone within the estate. This could set a bad precedent for future
developments.” Councillor Guy Cudmore was more philosophical when he told
members: “It is not for us to say whether anyone should or should not shut
themselves off. It is people who create social polarisation, not gates.”
Gated communities have their appeal for those that can afford to live within
them but the growing state of unrest in the world suggests that they will soon
proliferate. Unfortunately, residence will be confined to the privileged few,
those with money, because not everyone can afford the luxury of selective
accommodation and the cost of continual security. The answer is to bring
lawlessness, and therefore our perception of the crime threat to the community,
under control but in the present climate of rising costs and a receding police
force, this is unlikely to happen. Barbed wire, iron rails, window grilles and
spiked fencing are already in evidence around many public and commercial
properties in Bourne. The proposed gated community for Elsea Park may well be a
vision of the future.
What the local newspapers are also saying: More vandalism on the Abbey
Lawn preoccupies both of our main local newspapers with accounts of intruders
who got in during the night and planted 327 beer bottles neck down along the
white lines around the football pitch. They were found on Sunday morning,
pictured by The Local on its front page, lined up like soldiers on parade
(December 3rd), and although it may have been intended as a joke by youngsters
after a night out on the town, club officials did not find it a laughing matter.
Chairman Terry Bates, who has been outspoken about continuing acts of criminal
damage at the ground in recent years, told the Stamford Mercury: “There
comes a time when patience is exhausted. There are many, me included, who would
like to take the law into their own hands to stop it.”
A strategy to fight residential development at The Croft is being drawn up by
the town council but, as predicted by this column six months ago, their
opposition may well be scuppered by new government guidelines. Councillor Linda
Neal, who sits on both the town and district councils, is quoted by The Local
warning that meadowland adjoining the house in North Road would now be
considered as a brownfield site and therefore a government priority for house
building (December 3rd). The new planning regulations were introduced by the
deputy prime minister John Prescott earlier this year and fully reported in this
Diary on June 5th although this is the first mention of it we have had in the
local press. The change of policy comes as council authorities struggle to meet
Mr Prescott’s plans for building 200,000 extra homes in the Midlands and South
East by 2016. Several cases similar to The Croft are already causing some
controversy in various parts of the Home Counties where large gardens around
Victorian and Edwardian houses will be replaced with high-density developments
and the promise of “affordable homes”, despite lively opposition from local
residents and various action groups, as is the case here in Bourne.
Councils now admit that government targets for new housing in certain areas is
putting them under increasing pressure when considering planning applications
and some see themselves as sitting ducks for appeals from developers who are
likely to quote central government policy to planning inspectors who are all too
aware of the spectre of Mr Prescott’s guidelines looming over them with his
office having the final say. Opposition to housing development at The Croft will
no doubt continue but in view of these latest revelations, it would appear
to be all but lost. The voice of the people has been raised against this
development but it may be to no avail because we are beginning to realise that
the electorate is powerless to act against the juggernaut of local authorities
that are mainly rubber-stamping wider policies formulated in Whitehall.
A doom and gloom scenario for the Christmas holiday is drawn by Councillor Ian
Croft, leader of Lincolnshire City Council and the member for Bourne Castle, in
the latest issue of County News which dropped through the letter box this
week. There is the increased risk of house fires due to unattended candles,
people drinking more than usual and turkeys catching light in the oven, he tells
us in his regular column View from the Top, while other likely hazards include
snow and ice on the roads, fallen trees, flooding and traffic accidents. But
never mind. “Here at the county council, fire and rescue staff and 500 social
services employees are gearing up for a hectic holiday period to ensure that
essential services are maintained across the county during the festive season”,
he says. So that’s alright then.
The exact height of the church tower is unknown. None of the histories
that survive give a measurement and few people connected with the building can
provide an answer but I can testify that it is an arduous task to climb it.
David Tabor, a former churchwarden (2001-04), gives an indication and he
suggests that it rises to 100 feet above ground. He bases this assumption on
personal experience, his family having been associated with the building for 150
years. He told me: "There are indications at the foot of the north west pinnacle
of a bench mark for 100. I was led to believe by Fred French, who was verger
from some time from the end of the Second World War in 1945, that this showed it
was 100 feet above ground level."
The tower is accessed from inside the church by a small door in the north wall
and beyond lies a narrow and tortuous spiral staircase of stone steps. It is
dusty, cobwebbed and hazardous for the unwary but may be climbed slowly and with
care, passing the belfry on the way up. On reaching the top, the only exit on to
the roof of the tower is by way of a small door, little more than a trapdoor,
but even this can be negotiated with care on hands and knees and then you will
find yourself on the low lying battlements, the highest point in Bourne,
overlooking the rooftops of this small market town and from where, on a clear
day, you can spend an enjoyable few moments picking out some of the landmark
buildings that define its character.
I have just climbed the tower with Jim Jones of the Civic Society who is also an
active church member, and it was a rewarding experience. The staircase steps are
in the shape of a right-angled triangle, the base to the wall, and each about 10
inches high, and as there were about 120 of them, David Tabor's assumption that
the tower rises to 100 feet would appear to be correct. We paused now and then
to rest and ponder on those who had trod this way before, monks and church
officials, usually to raise the flag on ceremonial or public occasions, or like
me, motivated purely by curiosity to see the view from the top. It was most
impressive.
On the skyline to the north you could see the long line of terraced houses known
as Woodview, built in 1898 and still providing useful accommodation, while other
prominent buildings were also familiar, the vicarage and church hall, the
Methodist Church in Abbey Road, the Mason's Arms, the Corn Exchange, the Cedars
retirement home and many more.
During the Second World War of 1939-45, this was a vantage point used by the
home defence organisations to keep a watch over the town, the wardens and fire
watchers who climbed these steps nightly with their binoculars to scan the night
sky for signs of enemy planes and there is a story that a stirrup pump, a piece
of fire-fighting equipment issued during these times, could still be found here,
having been abandoned when the war ended, but this has never been proven and no
one has ever admitted to having seen it.
The view from the tower encompasses modern Bourne, a town that is slowly
spreading outwards, and although you may see its furthest edges today, the time
when they have moved out of sight is not too far distant.
Pictures of weeds growing around the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday
have appeared on this web site for the past two weeks in the expectation that
Bourne United Charities who are supposed to care for it might explain the lack
of maintenance on this most important day of the year. The offending weeds have
since been cleared away and therefore we are entitled to ask why this was not
done before the solemn service on November 14th but there has been no response
from the trustees and so their silence on this issue must be taken as an
indication of their lack of concern for public opinion and the way they conduct
their affairs. One would have imagined that from among the 15 men and women who
represent us on this important public body, at least one would have thought it
necessary to speak out but such an assumption is obviously erroneous. Since this
item appeared, I have been asked who the trustees are and in the absence of any
public listing, such as those for our town councillors that appears on the
notice board outside the Town Hall and in the town council’s regular newsletter,
their names have been added to the Bourne United Charities entry on this web
site.
From the archives: Late swallows: During the past week, two swallows (Hirundo
rustica) have been seen flitting about the Wellhead at Bourne, trying to pick up
a scanty meal. The cold has proved fatal to one which was picked up dead. The
other was seen in the Market Place on Tuesday by John Evans, the naturalist, of
West Street, who says this is the only instance of his having seen one in
December and he has seen only two on any previous occasion in the month of
November. – news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 5th December 1873.
Thought for the week: Royal Mail customers should use second instead of
first class postage this Christmas because it is more reliable, says the user
watchdog Postwatch. “A first class stamp does not mean a first class service at
this time of the year”, said the chairman Peter Carr. – news item from BBC
Online, Monday 29th November 2004.
Saturday 11th December 2004
A glimpse of Bourne in future times has been on show at a public exhibition
this weekend detailing proposals to
rejuvenate the town centre. Three schemes have been submitted to the Bourne Town
Centre Management Partnership (TCMP) for the triangle
of land between North Street, West Street and Burghley Street, and all
concentrate their designs on a central public square with a mix of new retail
units, town houses and apartments, public facilities and additional car parking
space.
The exhibition opened on Thursday with colourful and imaginative displays of the
three proposals, each with its own
style and offering something different for the development area and the town
centre manager, Ivan Fuller, has been on hand to explain and answer questions.
It has already been attracting great interest among townspeople and it will
continue at the Corn Exchange until 4 pm Monday afternoon. The three proposals
on show are:
1 Henry Davidson Developments
of Nottingham: The scheme extends and diversifies the town centre with
retail-led development, emphasises existing routes across the site; promotes
links to existing retail areas and links to public transport; provides public
spaces; enhances pedestrian and cyclist access; retains existing buildings of
architectural quality; enhances community safety; new buildings will reflect
qualities and features of existing buildings; materials used will complement
those found in the Bourne town centre locality and the scale of buildings to be
in keeping with Bourne town centre and progressive town centre development.
2 S Harrison Group
of Malton, North Yorkshire: The scheme will create a new shopping area,
an additional 75,000 sq ft, which will enhance the vibrancy of the town; attract
new, quality retailers; create a new centrepiece, a public square; create a new
car park with 125 spaces; provide new public conveniences; improve pedestrian,
cycle and road links to the existing town centre. As well as including
attractive public spaces, it will also provide 40 new homes. The existing mill
in Burghley Street will be converted into apartments. The proposal has been
designed in sympathy with the attractive surroundings of Bourne. It will
complement, not compete with, what Bourne already has to offer.
3 Dencora of Norwich, Norfolk: The scheme is
sympathetic in both scale and style to the historic town centre. It takes into
account the conservation area within which this part of the town lies. The
layout full integrates into the current town centre with links north, south,
east and west. The development is of a mixed use, incorporating approximately
70,000 sq ft of retail space with a number of residential units. Car parking of
approximately 140 spaces is included. The residential units will create an
appropriate streetscape around the new public square and add interest to the
perimeter of the scheme through small courtyard developments. The scheme will
promote traffic management and servicing proposals to help alleviate congestion
on North Street. The proposal provides for around £20 million of investment in the town
and will create a regenerated town centre and be a catalyst for further
investment in the future.
All of the proposals have merit and the choice will be a difficult one although
no one doubts that this area of Bourne is in need of redevelopment. The public
have been invited to fill out questionnaires indicating which proposal they
prefer and giving their comments and their views will be taken into account by
the TCMP which will select the preferred
developer. An announcement is expected early next month and it is imperative
that they get it right because those who come after will have to live with it if
they make a wrong decision. Provided the planning process is completed
successfully, work on site could start within three years.
The pity is that the new retailers who will be attracted
here are likely to be down market as demonstrated by one of the developers who
pin their plans on an anchor retail outlet such as Wilco which is not exactly
top of the range. This may be inevitable because Bourne is not of sufficient
size to attract the prestige High Street names such as W H Smith, John Lewis,
Waitrose or Currys. This revelation is therefore unfortunate, coming hard on the
heels of the announcement from South Kesteven District Council that a new
commercial complex planned for the south of the town will include a restaurant
and hotel, a family pub and petrol filling station, all of which are expected to
create a substantial number of jobs.
But what sort of jobs are these? Will they provide employment for the products
of a flagship educational establishment like Bourne Grammar School from where
dozens of bright and eager youngsters leave each year, stepping on the first
rung of their career ladder only to realise that they must depart their home
town to make the grade or end up as supermarket checkout fodder? At a time when
the town is expanding at a faster rate than ever before in its history, we
cannot afford a brain drain of the younger generation and instead of spending so
much time on providing more and more service jobs, the local authorities should
be concentrating on attracting prestige firms to move in and set a new trend in
employment opportunities, a challenge that has already been met by many other
towns in the country that are now reaping the benefits.
If we proceed along the path now being laid, Bourne will lose its identity as a
typical market town and become instead a place where you can stop for petrol and
fast food and buy egg whisks and oven gloves at cheap retail stores before
driving on. The quality of employment therefore will not be high and the bright
youngsters who were born and educated here will be forced to move on to satisfy
their expectations while those without ability and ambition will stay to sweep
the floors, stack the shelves and punch the tills.
It is at this time in Bourne’s history that those who run our affairs need to
think carefully about what the town will offer in the future rather than just
how it will look. A public square with new retail outlets, flats and
maisonettes, might have a certain appeal on the drawing board, and I am sure it
will serve the town well in the future, but unless our councillors also plan to
attract new businesses offering quality employment for a younger generation
anxious to succeed, then the best will go elsewhere and the rest will be left to
languish in a backwater.
Late night shopping and the switching on of the Christmas lights
attracted several hundred people to the town centre on Friday evening and
everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely, including at least five
police men and women, a rare sight in Bourne these days but then this was not a
riot or a public disturbance which they would probably have given a wide berth
but a good natured social occasion without a sign of trouble.
The shops appeared to be doing brisk business and even the banks and estate
agents rolled out the barrel and offered visitors a glass or two of festive
cheer. North Street was closed off for the evening by barriers at each end which
in effect was turned into a pedestrianised area, a glimpse perhaps of what we
might get at some time in the future when the A15 has finally been bypassed.
However, the charity stalls that have added to the jollity of the occasion in
past years had been moved to the paved market area behind the Town Hall and the
event was the poorer for it.
This meant that the space created by the absence of traffic in North Street
remained virtually empty apart from a couple of fairground slides and
roundabouts and so the very area which was trying to attract customers into the
shops was virtually empty while the market place where the stalls were located
was so crowded that we found it extremely difficult to pass from one side to the
other.
Late night shopping and the switching on of the Christmas lights have become
traditional events but this is the first time they have
been combined. Town councillor Guy Cudmore explains why:
This was a transitional year. In the past,
the lights were turned on on Saturday afternoon with the late night shopping on
the following Friday. But the Chamber of Trade felt that this format was
becoming a little stale and did not maximise the potential of the occasion.
Their proposal is that the lights are turned on on Sunday with the shopping
following immediately after. This year it would have been difficult. The matter
came up for discussion quite late on in the year. The traditional Salvation Army
concert, which is a popular, much looked forward to event, takes place on the
first Sunday in December. It is booked into the Corn Exchange, and they rehearse
during the day, which would divide the loyalties of those taking part. They had
the prior claim on December 5th. The churches have indicated their willingness
to take a full part in a Sunday event in future years.
The organisation for next year will start as soon as this Christmas is over. The
Chamber of Trade and the Bourne Lions organisation which put in a great deal of
effort towards making this a successful occasion, will wish everyone to have an
enjoyable event and further it as the major showcase for the town of Bourne in
the wintertime.
The organisers might also like to consider seeking permission to close the town
centre to traffic completely for the short time the switching on ceremony is
taking place. This is a small inconvenience for drivers but from my experience
on Friday evening, one that is absolutely necessary because it would stop
vehicles passing through very close to the crowds gathered around the Town Hall
and open up that area in the road to give them more space until the ceremony is
over.
We should remember that the town centre was once the market place, the focal
point of the community in times past. The annual fairs were held here and
proclamations of important local and national events were made from this spot.
It was also the place where villagers gathered to meet and to talk and discuss
the momentous events that affected their lives because they realised, as we do
today, that there is a security in being with your neighbours in times of crisis
and an unspoken fellowship when there is cause for celebration. A few minutes
without the noise of passing traffic would be a nostalgic reminder of those
times and enable the crowd enjoy the occasion in comfort.
What the local newspapers are saying:
An angry letter in the correspondence columns of the Stamford Mercury
accuses the police of doing nothing over the repeated attacks by intruders at
the Abbey Lawn (December 10th). “The various sports facilities have been subject
to vandalism with monotonous regularity”, writes Mr A L Stubbs, of Saxon Way,
Bourne. “It has been going on for years. It has brought upset, irritation and
despair and has cost large sums of money and time to repair and refurbish.” But,
says Mr Stubbs, there has never been an arrest or court appearance. The police
no longer investigate crime and although it is called a police service, they
appear to be a branch of the social services. “What exactly is the role of the
police force these days?” he asks.
The good old days: Sarah Jane Halford, aged 12, appeared before the
police court sitting at the Town Hall, Bourne, on Tuesday, summoned for stealing
a pair of boots, value 4s., during the month of August, and James Birch was
charged with receiving the same knowing them to have been stolen. Evidence was
given by Susan Rodgers who missed the boots from her house and identified those
produced in court as her property. The witness also stated that Halford had been
in the habit of coming to her house to play with the children. Eliza Halford,
sister of the accused who was called as a witness, denied any knowledge of the
boots except what had subsequently been told her by her sister. Police Constable
Henfrey said in evidence that he had received information about the loss and
interviewed both defendants. Birch at first denied all knowledge but
subsequently admitted having taken the boots away and burying them. He took the
constable to a dyke in Meadow Drove and there showed him where the boots were
and handed them over. Both defendants pleaded guilty. The girl was bound over
under the First Offenders Act to come up for judgment within three months if
called for and Birch was committed to jail for 14 days' hard labour. Eliza
Halford was cautioned respecting the serious consequences of perjury. – news
report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 7th September 1900.
Thought for the week: Oh no, not the golden arches! I was perturbed to
see a sign on land by the roundabout south of Bourne announcing planning
permission for a garage, hotel and restaurant. Please, please don't let them put
up a McDonald’s. It will not be a very nice welcome for people coming into the
town. - contribution to the Bourne Forum from Yve Erin, Saturday 4th December
2004.
Saturday 18th December 2004
The role of the police in Bourne has come in for much
criticism in the past year, particularly because of their inactivity over
repeated vandalism to the sporting facilities at the Abbey Lawn, although most
people will be able to relate their own tale of woe. It is therefore welcome
news that reinforcements are on the way and although we have been allocated only
one Community Support Officer, we must be thankful for small mercies.
Until now, Bourne has shared two CSOs based at Stamford and so we see them
rarely but Lincolnshire Police plan to recruit 22 more in the immediate future.
The urgency for a presence in some of our towns is recognised because they will
be propelled through police training college in order to have them on the
streets as quickly as possible and one has been allocated to this town on a
permanent basis.
Their main role will be to provide high visibility reassurance to the public, to
deal with anti-social behaviour and low-level crime and to glean intelligence
and information for officers in the regular force. They are also able to deal
with traffic and parking violations but have no powers to detain suspects
although they can issue fixed penalty notices and confiscate alcohol and tobacco
from young people.
Unfortunately, CSOs are not fully-fledged policemen. They are only allowed to
work between 8 am and 10 pm and so would not be on the streets when needed most,
those hours when the public houses have turned out and the young Turks of this
town, usually fuelled by strong drink at one of the local watering holes, are
scattering litter, spewing up in public places, challenging anyone who they
encounter and generally creating mayhem. It was envisaged that having the new
breed of officer on duty during the day would enable the real policemen to be
about their business after dark when things are happening but as this has not
been the case in the past it is doubtful if it will in the future.
It should also be remembered that although Lincolnshire Police are enrolling
CROs who are funded by the Home Office, they are not recruiting new constables
for whose wages they would be responsible. The additional strength therefore
comes at no cost to the annual budget and this is worthy of scrutiny. In
1987-88, the figure was £30 million and already rising by almost £1 million a
year, due mainly to pay increases and pension entitlements. By 2004, the figure
had reached £90 million with salaries and pensions accounting for more than 75%
of the budget for a force of uniformed officers and civilian support staff
numbering in excess of 2,000. To simplify the equation, it costs each of us in
Bourne, as in the rest of Lincolnshire, 38p per day to provide policing.
Remember that next time the sports facilities at the Abbey Lawn are vandalised
and the law is conspicuously absent.
The Croft in North Road remains empty and boarded up pending a decision
over whether houses should be built on adjoining meadowland and there are fears
that it may never again be occupied. If the forthcoming public inquiry favours
residential development, as many people think it will, then there is a
possibility that the house may subsequently be demolished to make way for even
more new homes.
This is what is called progress and there is little we can do as the juggernaut
of bureaucracy moves on but at least it might be possible to save a little bit
of our heritage. The house was built in 1922 and the last owner was Mr Andrew
Cooke, a local businessman and landowner, who considerably enhanced the property
during his forty-year tenure. One of the more interesting features he introduced
was the erection of three Victorian cast iron gas lamps along the main drive,
rescued from the railway station at Bourne when it was demolished in 1964 and
converted to electricity to light the way for visitors on dark evenings.
Mr Cooke left Bourne in 2004 to live in Norfolk and the house is currently
standing empty, a forlorn reminder of its previous grand existence and there is
concern in the town that the old lamp standards should be saved. The Town
Council has inquired about them and now the Civic Society has come up with an
admirable scheme to secure their future.
Writing in the December issue of the society’s newsletter, secretary Robert
Kitchener has offered three suggestions. One is that they should be re-sited
around the Red Hall and a second that they be included as part of a new
residential development somewhere in the town. But his third suggestion has
particular merit, that they be used to light the main path through the Wellhead
Gardens, a byway that he delightfully calls Cherry Avenue, a reminder of the
pink and white blossom from the ornamental cherry trees that bloom here each
spring.
Lighting this path is an amenity that has long been needed. The walk is among
the most popular in Bourne, frequented by townspeople and visitors alike, but
they can only enjoy it in the daytime because it is impossible to find your way
through on dark nights. The idea is not a new one and was mentioned in the
Bourne Forum four years ago when suggestions were invited to celebrate the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. Bob Currell wrote: “I would like
to see a permanent commemoration, a scheme to provide attractive lighting along
the paths in the Wellhead Gardens, thus prolonging the times at which this
facility can be enjoyed.”
The suggestion now has the backing of the Civic Society and Robert Kitchener
says: “Our favoured idea is to move the lamp posts and place them along Cherry
Avenue which runs through the Wellhead Gardens. This has been proposed, with
police support, as a safety measure in this poorly lit common public
thoroughfare.”
The original idea is always the most difficult part of any enterprise but as
this has been put forward, all that is left in this case is its execution and
that requires two ingredients. Firstly, Mr Cooke needs to donate the lamp
standards to the town, a public-spirited gesture that would be appreciated by
everyone, no matter what they think about the current controversy over housing
development at The Croft. Secondly, Bourne United Charities that administers the
Wellhead Gardens would need to foot the bill for their removal and installation
but the good news is that the trustees have sufficient funds at their disposal
to finance this much-needed amenity for the town.
We hope therefore that each party will agree that this small Christmas gift
would be of enormous public benefit and we look forward with anticipation to the
generosity and support of both during this season of goodwill.
What the local newspapers are saying: The aftermath of last week’s public
exhibition showing the three proposals for the redesign of Bourne town centre
occupies many column inches in both of our main local newspapers (December 17th)
with appraisals of the merits of each scheme and, in The Local, a
selection of street interviews as a sample of public opinion and most appear to
be in favour. The Stamford Mercury reports that Bourne Town Council has
already made its choice at a meeting on Tuesday when members voted to support
the scheme submitted by Henry Davidson Developments of Nottingham (see Diary for
December 11th). Councillor Jane Kingman-Pauley told the meeting: “I like the
layout with the big market square which would be handy for maypole dancing and
for the visiting of Father Christmas” although I suspect that the adoption of a
multi-million pound development that will change the face of this town forever
will depend on more serious considerations. A final decision now rests with the
Town Centre Management Partnership (TCMP) which will give its preference on
January 5th prior to a meeting at South Kesteven District Council when their
choice is expected to be ratified.
Criticism of the entire town centre project, however, rumbles on and Richard
Simpson, a partner in Jessie Bellamy, the long established firm of outfitters in
North Street, wonders what effect the development will have on existing
businesses. In a letter to the Stamford Mercury he suggests that the
public are not aware that many shops such as his will either have to close or
relocate which will be costly and involve higher rents and although he welcomes
change, he deplores the prospect that Bourne might lose its identity as a town
of small shops. “These independent businesses”, he writes, “are the only ones
which offer personal services to its customers and shops of a multiple nature
are less likely to do so. There are many places within the proposed development
area that are desperate for improvement but let us not tidy up our town at the
expense of existing traders.”
The standard of services provided by Lincolnshire County Council (formed in
1974) continues at a low ebb, according to The Local. A report on the new
ratings for county councils published by the Audit Commission, the local
government watchdog, gives them only a “fair” rating from the four categories of
excellent, good, fair and poor (December 17th). This is the same rating as last
year and so despite increased income from the council tax and additional staff
through recruiting, making the council the biggest employer in the county,
standards have not moved upwards. But hope springs eternal and in the words of
the interim chief executive, Jan Didrichsen: “We have a clear aim of becoming an
excellent authority by the end of 2007.” By which time, staffing levels will
have increased even further and our council tax will no doubt have gone up by
another 30%.
A message to the Forum this week provides a reminder of a little known
industry that once thrived in Bourne, that of basket making, but is now no more.
Dennis Staff, of Ottawa, Canada, who was evacuated here as a lad during the
Second World War of 1939-45, recalled his many part time jobs to earn some
pocket money and they included cutting willow branches, or osiers, to provide
the raw materials.
The basket works was at No 22 Burghley Street in the wooden hut that is now the
clubroom of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, or Buffs as they are
popularly known. The business was established around 1910 by George Stafford and
produced hand-woven baskets of all shapes and sizes, for shopping, picnics,
potato picking and a variety of other uses. The raw materials came from a
plantation of osier beds along Meadow Drove, towards Dyke village, and were cut
seasonally by occasional labour, usual women and small boys anxious to earn a
few pennies.
The flexible branches were peeled and dried and delivered to the works where
they were stacked ready for use, either in their raw state for general products
or boiled to give them a greater strength and more attractive appearance for
quality items. They were then woven into baskets of all shapes and sizes and
anyone who was interested in the craft was invited to attend lessons once a week
from the men and women who were employed to cut and fashion the willow.
In later years, the bulk of the firm’s trade was to provide baskets for cycles
built and sold by Currys Ltd, then the country’s biggest manufacturers and
suppliers at a time when bicycling was enjoying a tremendous popularity.
Hundreds of baskets left the works each week and were sent by freight train from
Bourne railway station to the company’s works in the Midlands where they were
fitted to cycles before being sold at their various retail outlets, including
one in Bourne which then existed in the Market Place, shop premises now occupied
by Connells, the estate agents, although their logo could still be found in mosaic
on the floor of the entrance doorway until it was covered with rubber matting.
But changing fashions put paid to this cottage industry. Wire began to replace
willow and cycle manufacturers preferred its durability and so the wholesale
orders that had kept Stafford’s works in production slowly petered out and the
business was forced to close around 1950. The building stood empty until 1956
when it was taken over by the Buffs whose members continue in occupation today.
Thought for the week: He who appreciates nature learns to unburden his
mind of trivial thoughts. – Frank Smythe, mountaineer, explorer, writer and
photographer (1900-49).
Saturday 25th December 2004
Christmas is for the children, an excuse we have given
ourselves for this annual profligacy ever since the first Yule log was lighted.
Eager young faces around the tree or perhaps persuaded to go to bed early to
await a visit from Santa, will be shining with pleasure and delight when their
presents are eventually opened. In my working class boyhood, our stockings were
filled with a new penny, a pencil, an orange, a few walnuts and perhaps a sugar
mouse, and we felt blessed. But life has moved on.
The standard of living today is at its highest point in our history and the
humble offerings gathered together by my mother to ensure that her children had
a happy Christmas 70 years ago have been replaced by state of the art gew-gaws
and dust gatherers that will keep the credit cards of their parents in the red
until well into the New Year. Money has never been so easily obtained and so
wilfully spent. Once it was pennies, when there were 240 to
the £ and each one carefully accounted for, but now it is the pounds that are frittered away annually on this
orgy of festive spending.
The giving of Christmas presents to children is a comparatively recent custom
which began in the late 19th century but was given impetus with the introduction
of Santa Claus by Macy’s to their flagship department store in New York City
where he takes over an entire floor during the festive season. This began the
commercialisation of Christmas that has continued to this day and shows no sign
of abating.
This year, consumers are expected to spend £614 each on gifts, food, drink and
socialising and one in five will be using a credit card. Youngsters can expect
such expensive presents as books, CDs, DVDs, videos, toys and computer games,
sound and vision equipment, video and still cameras, computers and software and
a survey has revealed that at least 60% of parents are likely to get carried
away. It will cost the majority (43%) between £100 and £200 per
child on Christmas gifts while 24% will spend £200-£500 and the luckiest 4% will
receive gifts worth over £500. One third of parents questioned admitted that
they indulged their children too much and would prefer to put some of the money
towards savings for their future, but somehow never get around to it.
This largesse was unknown in years past and for children from families who had
absolutely nothing it was not even the stuff of dreams. At the very bottom of
the social pile were those who lived in the workhouse where they were totally
dependent on charity and the goodwill of others. It is not for nothing that
these conditions have been immortalised in verse and song. For a taste of what
life was like for those who lived in such abject poverty here in Bourne see
Christmas Day in the workhouse.
By contrast, life at the big house was very different at
Christmas because the festive season was also the time when the landed
gentry remembered their servants and those who worked on their estates. It has
been a tradition in England since the earliest times to relax the disciplines
needed to administer the mansions and country houses and to allow a little
merrymaking among those who kept them running and in good order.
In 1866, for instance, there were festivities at Bulby Hall, near Bourne, as
reported by the Stamford Mercury:
The Hon Gilbert Heathcote MP, with his usual
liberality, gave his servants and their friends a ball. Nearly 100 enjoyed
themselves, the strains of Mr Wells' band and the refreshments being much
appreciated.
At nearby Grimsthorpe Castle, as befitted a grander house, the
celebrations were far more elaborate when their party was held on New Year's Day
in 1867:
A ball was given by Lord Willoughby de
Eresby to the servants and employees on the estate. Nearly 200 assembled about
nine o'clock in the great hall which had been magnificently decorated by Mr
McVicar, the head gardener. Amongst the decorations worthy of notice were a
single branch of mistletoe seven feet high and twenty feet in circumference
(this is a very uncommon size), the flags of the Lincolnshire Volunteers of the
olden time when they were commanded by the Duke of Ancaster; and the ensigns and
flag belonging to his Lordship's yacht. The band of Mr Wells, of Stamford,
attended. After a few preliminary dances, the guests adjourned to an excellent
supper. His Lordship's health was drunk with an enthusiasm well worthy of the
place and the occasion. After supper, the dancing, interspersed with one or two
well-sung songs, was kept up till six o'clock, the visitors at the Castle
entering into the evening's festivities.
Some of the gentry were also aware of the impoverishment that
existed in the countryside as this report from the Stamford Mercury on
Christmas Eve, Friday 24th December 1880, illustrates:
The Rev Henry Prior, Vicar of Baston, has
received £5 from Lady Willoughby de Eresby to be expended in coals for the poor
of Baston. Miss Bothamley, of Pelham House, Kingston-on-Thames, has also sent
the vicar £1 10s. for the same object.
The Bourne web site
has been enjoying a surge in
popularity this past year with the number of visitors increasing, particularly
in the last six months. During 2004, we have had almost 50,000 and we
are now averaging 130 a day which is a remarkable achievement for such a small
undertaking, especially as they log on from many countries around the world.
We are not only able to monitor from where our visitors originate but the time
they logged on, the servers they use, the frequency of their visits,
the operating systems they are using and even the resolution of their computer
screens. This information indicates that although Windows XP is the favourite,
around 40% are still using Windows 98 with a screen resolution of 800 X 600
pixels, the size at which the web site is designed and will therefore provide
the best viewing.
The majority of our visitors are from the English speaking countries, the United
Kingdom accounting for between 60-70% with North America and Australasia 15%,
and other countries making up the balance. We have regular visitors in many
faraway places such as Hyderabad in India, Bankok in Thailand, Shanghai and Hong
Kong in China, Cairo in Egypt, and others in Turkey, Brazil, Sweden, Singapore
and even Iceland and Lapland. You may check on the full list of locations by
clicking on the link below while the graph will illustrate the surge in interest
that began during the summer months and we hope that this success will continue
and even increase in the coming year.
Graphics from StatCounter.com
Thought for the week:
We had a happy Christmas here and
enjoyed ourselves merrily singing songs and carols. The music of the voices
really sounded beautiful on the still night air. We sang some of our old songs
that I learnt at our old school. We will make up for lost time when we all get
home together after this is finished. - Private Percy Lunn of the 1st
Battalion, the Northamptonshire Regiment, writing home to his father, Edward
Lunn, of Woodview, Bourne, from the trenches in Flanders during the Great War,
December 1915.
We are taking a break but will be back in the New Year although the web
site will continue to appear over the holiday and if you have something to say,
the Bourne Forum remains open for contributions. We wish you all a merry
Christmas and good health and prosperity in the coming year when we hope you
find it worthwhile to keep logging on.
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