Bourne Diary - April 2008

Saturday 5^th April 2008

The closure of a supermarket in a large city is merely a blip on the commercial radar but here in Bourne it is a major blow to our prestige at a time when we are struggling to find it financially viable to redesign the town centre. The set back created by the demise of Budgens therefore will have far reaching effects on other retail outlets in the vicinity.

This is a double blow for Bourne because the upmarket Waitrose that has been in talks to take over the premises is not coming after all. After acquiring the lease from Budgens, the company has decided not to press ahead with opening a branch on the grounds that it would not be a commercial success although efforts would be made to attract other food retailers to take over. We may therefore be faced with the prospect of substantial retail premises in a prime location standing empty for the foreseeable future.

The writing has been on the wall for Budgens for many months while high prices and inefficiency have put them off limits to many shoppers. Closure was inevitable, despite past denials, and this has now become effective from Monday and the 24 staff paid off. By mid-week, the premises had taken on a forlorn air, the signs had been removed, the windows shuttered, litter was gathering outside on the pavement, the cash machine not working and by evening, gangs of youngsters were using the frontage as a play area.

Budgens has been trading in Bourne for over 25 years, initially in antiquated surroundings at premises in West Street, now the Superdrug store. The company took over the present location soon after the Burghley Centre was opened in 1989 after a £1½ million investment by a property developer on the old cattle market site that also includes a mall with 14 retail units and a car park with 170 spaces. First signs boded well for the future with the store being well patronised and eight years ago the facility was improved with the expansion of the delicatessen and bakery as well as more staff at the checkouts. But this new look did not last and as the years went by, services were curtailed and staffing became a problem and recently it is not always a happy experience shopping there although not everyone by any means is dissatisfied and there were some who did obviously find it convenient.

Then, in August 1999, Sainsburys opened their new supermarket in Exeter Street which has been enjoying a remarkable popularity ever since, always busy and already reaping the fruits of a major expansion in October 2003 with the addition of new aisles and extra shelf space, a coffee shop and more car parking. It was inevitable that the remaining supermarkets, Rainbow, Tesco Express and McColls as well as Budgens, would feel the strain and this may be the result.

Despite what has gone before, Budgens has become part of the commercial life of Bourne and it leaves a gap that will be difficult to fill. The supermarket has been the centrepiece of a busy retail area with the market place on one side and the Burghley Centre on the other, all three interactive and never more so than on Thursday market days and on Saturdays, a busy shopping day. There is also the question of what will happen to the car park and whether it will remain open for the use of the town while the property stands empty, probably for several months.

Popular High Street stores such as Dixons, Currys and W H Smith were sounded out when the supermarket was built but decided that Bourne was not big enough for them and although the situation may now have changed, given the increase in population that has been boosted by the Elsea Park and other housing developments, it will be difficult to find a new tenant. Morrisons has already been suggested as a possibility but with a thriving store and ample parking just a thirty minute drive down the A6121 at Stamford that already attracts hundreds of customers from Bourne, this is unlikely to be an acceptable proposition for the company. In addition, it has recently taken over the Safeway chain in a £3 billion deal and has sold some of the stores in the North of England and the Midlands to Sainsburys to comply with anti-monopoly conditions set by the Competition Commission.

Aldi and Lidl have also been suggested as possible successors but both are down market and, some might think, do not fit in with the image of the Burghley Centre and would do little for the reputation of prestige shopping in a small country market town. It would almost certainly then be a case of wait and see but it is to be hoped that the premises would be occupied again sooner rather than later because the prospect of the building standing empty for a long period would not be favourable for Bourne and apart from attracting town centre blight, would be likely to send even more people scurrying to Stamford, Peterborough and Spalding to do their weekly shopping.

Ironically, Lidl could well be a blessing for Bourne at the present time. We shop regularly at their Stamford branch because the prices are up to 40% below those at Sainsburys in Bourne. This is a grossly underrated retail outlet, stocking quality food and drink but a lot of it from Europe which does not always please the English housewife even though their fresh fruit and vegetables are second to none and put other so called quality stores to shame. With the current financial situation beginning to bite, leaving most housewives with even less to spend, Lidl could at last become the champion for the shopper who can overcome the snobbery of paying more for their groceries elsewhere rather than be seen inside the place.

What the local newspapers are saying: The fate of the Budgens supermarket site occupies many column inches in both of our main local newspapers and the disappointment of the Mayor, Councillor Jane Kingman Pauley, is evident. “I thought if Waitrose came, other shops would follow”, she told The Local (April 4th). “Leaving the building empty is making the town centre look scruffy and does not give visitors the right image. It will attract graffiti and probably have its windows smashed. Something has got to be done.” The town centre manager, Ivan Fuller, also gave the newspaper a gloomy forecast. “I do not think it will create the right impression for the town. Any unlet premises are unattractive.” The town’s shopkeepers are equally upset by the announcement. Jane Good, chairman of the Bourne Chamber of Trade, told the Stamford Mercury that it would now be a struggle to attract major stores to the town centre (April 4th). “I do not think we will get really big retailers here because of the size of our population”, she added.

The voluntary effort that can be found in Bourne is mustered to many causes, not least to keep the ancient Abbey Church in good order after nine centuries as the centre of the town’s spiritual life. But money is always needed to maintain the fabric of this Grade I listed building and last year’s appeal raised a large part of the £100,000 required for the latest phases of restoration and modernisation.

Donations came from many people, rich and poor, and Arthur Lightfoot, churchwarden and chairman of the appeal, tells a delightful story in the latest issue of the parish magazine illustrating these varied sources. He and fellow organisers were feeling rather anxious when fund raising got underway in December 2006 but they were soon cheered up by a telephone call from a member of the Len Pick Trust pledging £10,000, the biggest donation of the entire campaign. “It was”, writes Arthur, “the blessing we desired because it kick started our work and generated the spark which was needed to invigorate our efforts.”

The second donation, although far less grand, also had a major impact but for a very different reason. “A kind lady of mature years”, writes Arthur, “came into the office one day with a plastic bag containing one and two pence coins which she had saved up as her contribution and she happily handed over the money wishing us every success with our work which she firmly believed in and strongly supported. This lady had saved what little she had to help us and I wonder what she had gone without in order to save those coins. The term pennies from heaven comes to mind because her gesture speaks volumes about what the Abbey Church means to the people of Bourne and her generous act contributed to raising our morale.”

One of the abiding passions of the curious is to see into other people’s homes and have a glimpse of how they live. Net curtains thwart the prying eyes of passers-by while blinds shut out all signs of life and retain the mystery within. Many selling houses in years past can tell stories of the nosey parkers whose weekend hobby was going round inspecting properties on the market just to give them the opportunity to take a look without any intention of buying.

Today, these domestic voyeurs have the chance to see inside many houses in the vicinity without leaving home if they have access to the Internet because the property pages advertising homes for sale in their locality reveal a wealth of detail about how other people live. Not only can they find out exactly how much the neighbours are asking for their three bedroom semi but they can also have a guided tour through the property which is revealed in all of its good or bad taste. Simply log on to Property Scene and type in the details of the home you are seeking. You may glimpse a pink sitting room, rustic kitchen, a lounge with the main wall filled with a cinema size plasma television screen and a bathroom with a corner shower resembling a beam-me-up cubicle from Star Trek while outside in the garden, the aspirations of weekend gardeners are revealed in all of their laborious detail. As the old News of the World used to say, all human life is here.

There was a time when details of properties for sale released by estate agents were skimpy in the extreme but now, apart from the printed prospectus available on demand from the office, you can see photographs of every room, hallway, bathroom and kitchen as well as the garden and garage. It is all part of the service. The Internet property pages have therefore become a happy hunting ground for the pathologically nosey and as there is a house or bungalow near you being offered for sale, you have every opportunity to snoop on the neighbours, and I am told that the more inquisitive among us find it more entertaining than television. Ah well, it takes all sorts!

From the archives: George and Charlotte Parker were summoned at the petty sessions at Bourne Town Hall on May 13th for neglecting their four children in Bourne South Fen during the previous three months. Dr John Gilpin stated that on May 3rd he visited the defendants' house and found the woman and the children in a filthy condition and their clothing in rags. One child, about five years of age, was suffering from capillary bronchitis and should have been adequately clothed. Inspector Lock of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children told the court that the defendant asked him how he could get good clothing for his family and keep them on 15 shillings a week (75p in today's decimal currency). The male defendant told the bench that his wages were 15 shillings a week and out of that he paid eight shillings for bread, his master stopped one shilling for coal and the balance was not sufficient to provide for his family. The bench adjourned the case for a fortnight and directed defendant to have his house properly cleaned in the meantime. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 21st May 1915.

Thought for the week: There are too many takeaways and estate agents in the town and not enough shops. - statement from the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Jane Kingman Pauley, quoted by The Local newspaper on Friday 4th April 2008.

Saturday 12^th April 2008

The emotive term act of god has been beloved of insurance companies down the ages as a convenient excuse for not paying out on claims for damage, whether to property or the person, although it has for a long time been questionable as to whether it has any real meaning.

It is generally applied to describe events outside human control, usually natural disasters such as earthquake, wind, fire and flood for which no one can be held responsible, although today it is possible to protect yourself from the financial consequences by paying additional premiums rather than saying your prayers. In fact, god does not come into the equation as recent events at the village of Haconby, near Bourne, have proved.

A crack has appeared in the slim and elegant spire of St Andrew’s church and the earthquake which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday 27th February this year has been blamed. It was the biggest tremor in Lincolnshire for a quarter of a century, registering a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale, and certainly caused a great deal of alarm and distress in this area. The seismic shock damaged houses and collapsed chimneys elsewhere in the county but it can hardly be termed an act of god for this is indeed his house and no deity in their right mind would wish ill of the temples erected in their name.

Scaffolding has been erected because there is a serious risk that the 14th century steeple might collapse and so the top section of masonry has been shored up with wooden battens and the weathercock removed until repair work can start later in the year. The church and graveyard have been closed to the public and the fortnightly Sunday service is being held in local houses for the time being. The occurrence is a disaster for the village and one that will prove to be expensive because repairs have been estimated at £25,000 for although god inspires, he does not provide and so parishioners will have to foot the bill.

The controversy over the proposed road through Bourne Wood has done little for the reputation of Larkfleet Homes, the house building company with large offices in South Road and a high profile presence in the town. The criticism of the scheme has been widespread with not a single voice raised in defence and the letters column in The Local newspaper last week (April 4th) was a damning indictment of the declared policies for the utilisation of land hereabouts. One would have thought that companies of this stature would employ public relations consultants to advise on how to present such unpopular projects but instead, secrecy appears to have been the accepted boardroom tactics although, as always happens sooner or later, truth will out because there is no such thing as a secret if it is shared between more than two people.

The public concern generated by the prospect of our ancient and precious woodland being desecrated by urban development cannot be underestimated and it is to be hoped that the directors of Larkfleet Homes benefit from this experience. Their first task will be to accept the invitation of county and town councillor Mark Horn who has written to all of the directors citing the alarm created by their late and reluctant disclosure that a large slice of this woodland amenity could be swallowed up by a bypass and subsidiary housing.

Councillor Horn says that he has been baffled by events and despite his official status admits to having difficulties in determining the exact facts about what is going on and states, quite categorically, that he, and therefore the public, have been misinformed, particularly by Lincolnshire County Council and South Kesteven District Council, who told him that there were no proposals in regard to any bypass on the Bourne Wood side of town. His letter to the company  is unequivocal because he says: "I would appreciate it if you could now provide me with a statement setting out the full facts. As this issue is causing a great deal of consternation, you may consider explaining your intentions in regard to Bourne Wood directly to the people of Bourne. I would be happy to organise a public meeting to enable you to clarify your intentions."

Larkfleet Homes has a big investment in Bourne and therefore needs public goodwill to succeed. The ball is now clearly in their court and it is to be hoped that the directors make an early move in an attempt to allay the growing disquiet in this town about their proposals.

Among the many controversial housing developments for Bourne in recent years has been the old railway station site in South Road alongside the Red Hall, now earmarked for new houses to be built by Stamford Homes. Permission for them to build on this land was long and protracted with fierce opposition from the town council which rightly objected to the density of properties originally proposed but now reduced to a more acceptable level.

Although this is par for the course in all big housing applications, it is now water under the bridge and building work is getting underway and as development companies lose no time in trying to sell their wares, Stamford Homes has launched an advertising drive for what it calls “a stylish range of high specification new homes close to the town centre, with prices to suit all, set in a pleasant cul-de-sac arrangement and providing a perfect opportunity to live in this bustling market town” and advertised under the name Red Hall Gardens.

Developers are at liberty to choose names for the new estates they build but the actual authority to implement them rests with the town council with ratification by South Kesteven District Council, the local planning authority, although their choice is usually accepted as being both wise and suitable. Yet the name Red Hall Gardens has not been endorsed by councillors who favoured something with a railway flavour to reflect the past use of the land and it has not received much support either from Bourne United Charities which owns the Red Hall. Why then do Stamford Homes think they can not only adopt the name but begin to use it in their advertising campaign to attract buyers?

There is a feeling in the town, much debated in the Bourne Forum, that housing developers are now doing much as they please in Bourne and perhaps a shot across their bows is needed to demonstrate the displeasure of the community at this laissez faire attitude.

What the local newspapers are saying: Discontent at the standard of policing in Bourne rumbles on with an angry letter to the Stamford Mercury describing the plight of an old age pensioner who became the victim of a road rage incident (April 11th). Mr A L Stubbs, of Saxon Way, Bourne, writes to complain about the way in which an elderly friend was treated after being attacked for remonstrating with a young man whose driving he considered was dangerous and inconsiderate. The facial injury he received needed medical attention but the culprit drove off at high speed and on reporting this to the police he was told that they would pursue the offence most vigorously. Mr Stubbs takes up this sorry tale:

After some time, the police reported that the car had been hired from a London company but the offender’s name could not be released because of data protection regulations and necessitated the Metropolitan Police filling in copious forms to obtain it. Eventually, a local police officer reported back that they had obtained the miscreant’s name. He was local and had been duly interviewed. However, as he proved to be a very pleasant young man who had been rather stressed on that day, they would not be taking the matter any further. Presumably this is the new Lincolnshire policing policy. Feeling stressed, go out and thump an old age pensioner that will make you feel better. Perhaps the local policeman will hold your coat while you are about it.

Mr Stubbs is particularly annoyed because of the improvement in policing promised by Lincolnshire Police Authority as part of an attempt to increase its council tax precept which will cost homeowners an additional £200 a year. Fortunately, this totally unjustified demand is being challenged by the government and will be chucked out if good sense prevails.

It was Margaret Thatcher who predicted the rise of service industries as our manufacturing base declined in the face of world competition and they are now a dominant force in everyday life. This gave rise to the phenomenon known as white van man or WVM but unfortunately, although their number has risen considerably, it is difficult to get a job done and even then the cost is usually exorbitant.

Trying to find someone to repair a leaking tap or fix a shelf is well nigh impossible because they want only those jobs that command high fees, estimates accompanied by a sharp intake of breath which indicates that you are about to be ripped off. The newspapers and trade magazines may be full of advertisements offering to go anywhere and do anything, or in the common parlance, no job too small, the telephone number usually turns out to be an answering machine or an unobtainable mobile and if you do manage to get through, there is no chance that they can do anything this week, next week or in the foreseeable future unless you are looking for a complete kitchen or bathroom refit. In other words, the odd jobs which were the bread and butter of WVM in the past are now no longer acceptable for he is looking at a week’s work at least with commensurate remuneration and so cherry picks from an expanding market.

Perhaps the worst area for this is the burgeoning computer industry and with 80% of homes now with access to at least one desktop or laptop there is a healthy demand for repairs to hardware and adjustments to software but finding an engineer at a reasonable price is well nigh impossible and one of the biggest firms in the Bourne area charges a breathtaking £100 per call out and an hour’s work which is usury in anyone’s language. Electrical repairs are a little better because we do have two or three old established companies which give very good service but other household tasks, particularly carpentry and plumbing, require the patience of Job to secure suitable labour and the wealth of Croesus to pay for it. The only advice we can offer is to try and do it yourself or find a willing neighbour. Otherwise pay up and shut up.

From the archives: A somewhat out of the ordinary case of begging was heard before magistrates at Bourne against Gustave Henderson, aged 17, a native of Brunswick, USA. The court was told that after failing to get a ship at the London docks, he was making his way to Hull but on his journey north, was found begging in the streets of Bourne. The chairman, Colonel William Parker, told the accused that he ought to have known that begging was not allowed and he should have sought refuge at the union [workhouse]. He had been in jail for a week but would be allowed to go free and warned not to beg any more otherwise he would most certainly be apprehended again. At this point, a gentleman stepped forward and addressed the court: "I am a minister and if I might be allowed to speak on behalf of the foreigner, I would be glad to subscribe half-a-crown towards paying the lad's fare to Hull." He then handed round his hat to the people in the courtroom and very quickly collected a further 5s. and the accused left the court with his new friend. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 31st October 1884.

Thought for the week: A friend in need is a friend indeed. - old English proverb, first recorded in 1489.

Saturday 19^th April 2008

The West Road almshouses in 1932 - see "The policy of secrecy . . . "

In an ideal world, Bourne Wood would have been a Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI and all talk of cutting a road through it irrelevant. Such designation is given to selected wildlife habitats by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, thus providing a means of protection with compulsory measures where necessary.

Any planning application affecting such a site would automatically be called in for the Secretary of State to determine and this, coupled with the public outcry that we are currently experiencing, would make such a proposal unlikely because the department’s guidance on this issue says that any development likely to damage SSSIs will normally be refused.

Fortunately, there is another obstacle that may be insurmountable for the developers and that is bats. There are 17 species in this country, all of which are protected by law and Bourne Wood has at least seven of them, including the pipistrelle, noctule, brown long eared, whiskered, Natterer's, Daubenton's, and the rare Leisler's bat which was first discovered in 1991, the only place in Lincolnshire where it can be found, and is now being closely monitored by the Forestry Commission in conjunction with English Nature after bat boxes were placed on selected trees, often three around a trunk, to enable bats move around to avoid full sun.

Under the current legislation, it is an offence to either kill or capture a bat and, more importantly, to recklessly damage, destroy or obstruct its habitat, that is any place which it uses to roost or for shelter or protection, with fines of £5,000 and even imprisonment for offenders. These facts should be taken on board by any company wishing to interfere with this ancient woodland.

In the meantime, the objectives of the Forestry Commission to reduce public access and thus alienate visitors becomes clearer by the day because notices have gone up in Bourne Wood announcing that the facilities we have taken for granted in past times are coming to an end. The toilet block is to be closed this summer and the future of the picnic tables, waymarking posts and information signs remains uncertain while the memorial benches that have been erected to remember those who walked these paths in time past will not be maintained and removed when they become unfit for their purpose.

All of which has been blamed on a shortage of cash and a statement from the commission says: “Further capital investment in our visitor facilities is largely dependent upon securing external funding. There will be a review of the provision of facilities at Bourne Wood in a year’s time which will include the possibility of introducing car parking charges.”

The hidden agenda that we feared is slowly becoming apparent and, as with so many organisations, official and commercial, money is seen to be the cause. The secrecy surrounding these decisions is unsettling and, as is usual in such circumstances, those immediately affected, namely the people, are always the last to know. The road project that has been causing such anger in Bourne may well be a fait accompli, a done deal between the Forestry Commission and the developers, and as its much vaunted community consultation is now seen to be a myth, public protest is the only weapon left to those who deplore the loss of this woodland amenity and as facilities disappear, alarm bells start to ring because public access that has been enjoyed in this woodland for centuries may well be the next casualty.

The policy of secrecy by Bourne United Charities is to continue, despite attempts by some members of the town council to find out more about its activities and decisions.

Bourne United Charities is a publicly registered charity with a declared range of interests that include many facets of public life such as the relief of poverty, accommodation and housing, the environment, conservation and heritage, and with a particular interest in the elderly, the public at large and mankind in general, through making grants to individuals and organisations and providing buildings, facilities and open spaces, a far wider remit than is claimed.

In fact the only almshouses currently administered by BUC are the complex of twelve in West Road which are comparatively new, built as recently as 1932 and financed through the sale of a house in Leytonstone, London, for a road widening scheme, part of the bequest of Robert Harrington (1589-1654) which provides the basis for the present affluence of the organisation which has assets worth in excess of £10 million. The value of these 38 remaining residential and commercial properties has soared in recent years to around £6 million, pushing up the annual income from £350,000 to more than £500,000, yet we are not told how this money is spent.

We do know that almost £100,000 is distributed at the rate of £10 a week to 190 people in Bourne who are deemed to be in need, a handout known affectionately as “The Essex” after the county in which Leytonstone was once situated, but many believe that this is now an unnecessary luxury at a time when the state benefits system is sufficient to provide for even the most deprived members of society and the money might be better used in other areas of need for the town as a whole. Indeed, Harrington left his estate for the benefit of the town and not, as is widely believed, to provide succour for the poor and it would be a worthwhile exercise to find out how many of those who collect this handout own their own home, run a motor car, take foreign holidays, play bingo or buy lottery tickets, all of which would invalidate their entitlement to receive such largesse.

Unfortunately, the public input to the debate over the distribution of funds is absent because unlike in the past when all meetings of Bourne United Charities were open to all, these matters are now decided in private in the boardroom at the Red Hall and no press statements are issued afterwards and so the public remains in ignorance of what is going on yet other organisations of comparable size and worth issue regular bulletins about their activities and have web sites devoted to their work. Bourne United Charities ought to follow suit but not all of the trustees have yet embraced the digital age.

Transparency in affairs of public interest, from central government downwards, is essential today if they are to retain their credibility and perhaps the time has come for a change in these procedures in order that the people of Bourne can be kept fully informed in the same way as other organisations that exist for community benefit. A fresh policy of openness by the trustees is badly needed if they are to retain public confidence in this old established organisation.

What the local newspapers are saying: There will be many worried mums scanning the front page of The Local this week because it carries photographs of several young people caught in the act of dropping litter (April 18) and you can almost hear their anguished cries: “It wasn’t my Jason!” The newspaper has joined forces with South Kesteven District Council in an attempt to catch the culprits by publishing pictures taken on closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) positioned at vantage points around the town. The images are grainy and blurred but sufficiently clear to make an identification and five people with little or no regard for clean streets will be sleeping uneasily in their beds for the next few days.

They were photographed in recent weeks in the Market Place, outside the Burghley Centre and in North Street and anyone who recognises them is asked to telephone a special number in confidence. If they can be identified, the litter louts face a £75 fine with the threat of a court appearance if they refuse to pay. There will be objections to this method of apprehending wrongdoers but stigmatisation as a deterrent has a proven track record, especially in many eastern countries such as Singapore, China and Japan. The newspaper has no qualms about naming and shaming, pointing out that the objective is to stop it happening and anyone who saw the state of the town centre on Thursday and Friday afternoon with waste paper, plastic and other detritus blowing around our main streets can hardly complain about any method designed to prevent it.

The new medical centre planned for the Southfields Business Park in South Road is still a long way off although, surprise surprise, the Stamford Mercury reports that the accompanying housing scheme is well advanced (April 18th). The Leeds-based company One Medical applied for planning permission for the entire project back in the summer of 2006 and this column said then that permission should include the provision that the clinic be built first, a suggestion endorsed by the town council. Unfortunately, this was not supported by South Kesteven District Council and although the building of a large block of retirement flats is now well advanced and due to be completed by November, there is no sign of the much needed medical facility or any indication of when it will be built.

Just to remind everyone of what was originally promised, the scheme submitted offered a wide range of services from general practitioner appointments and dentistry to home care for the elderly and mentally ill which would help meet the shortfall in medical services for the town following the closure of Bourne Hospital in 1998. We were also told that the new facility would create 200 new jobs.

In view of the newspaper’s report, this might be an opportune time for SKDC to explain what has happened to the doctor’s surgery planned for the 2,000-home Elsea Park which was also part of the original planning package in 1999 along with a new primary school, multi-purpose community hall and sports pitches. Perhaps history is repeating itself. When extensions to the Beech Avenue estate were approved in 1975, there were promises of a new shopping centre and recreational facilities but you will look in vain for either today.

There is no doubt about the most popular topic of conversation in Bourne this week and that is the current cold spell that has been making life miserable for many, particularly old people who tend to stand and gossip in the streets and among the stalls on the Thursday market. Eavesdropping on their conversations reveals a thorough discontent with the state of the weather which has superseded the health and medical matters that usually predominate.

This is the time when we should be out and about in the garden, planning the plants and the patio for the coming summer, but it can be an uncomfortable experience pottering about among the herbaceous borders with the temperature teetering around freezing point, a biting wind and a constant threat of snow. This is usually the busiest time of the year for the garden centres but no one wants to immerse themselves in honeysuckle and hanging baskets on a chilly day when the afternoon film on television offers a more comfortable alternative.

Coincidentally, scientists have just pointed out that global warming may after all be a doubtful premise and that the next few years will see a lowering rather than an increase in temperatures while the current unseasonable April is merely a manifestation of climate fluctuation that has always been with us. Sanity therefore reigns however cold it may be outside.

Thought for the week: The attempts of environmentalists to bolster the myth of human induced global warming by the cynical, nay gleeful, exploitation of non equilibrium climatic events is downright immoral. - Philip Stott, professor emeritus of biogeography, University of London and a former editor (1987-2004) of the Journal of Biogeography.

Saturday 26^th April 2008

The formation of the Bourne Preservation Society is an encouraging development in the protection of our heritage which continually faces the threat from local authorities whose motto appears to be “If it’s old, pull it down". The restoration of the Victorian chapel in the town cemetery is their declared aim although once this has been achieved I gather that other protected buildings and even the conservation area itself will come under scrutiny with the object of formulating improvements.

The work ahead will be difficult and frustrating but its members can take heart from the Civic Society which thrives today after similar humble beginnings, formed in 1977 in an attempt to save a rare mediaeval mud and stud thatched cottage in Bedehouse Bank from demolition but unfortunately the forces of officialdom at that time were rallied against them and the cottage was eventually pulled down. Members lacked the expertise to fight the bureaucratic machine but at least it inspired them to take a fresh look at our heritage and they vowed to protect it in the future with the result that the Civic Society was born and has gone from strength to strength, currently playing an active role in environmental issues as well as establishing the Heritage Centre, the town’s only museum.

Other buildings that have been saved from either being closed or demolished because of poor judgment by those in charge are the Red Hall (1962), Baldock’s Mill (1981), the Butterfield Hospital (1985), the outdoor swimming pool (1990) and Wake House (2000), thus proving that seemingly impossible situations can be resolved through dedicated effort by those who think differently.

These small victories demonstrate that things have therefore changed in the past three decades and the willing hands who flock to the conservation cause now bring with them skills and knowledge that can provide a formidable opposition to those who sit on councils and committees yet do not always appear to have the good of the town at heart. As with the ancient cottage, the cemetery chapel has provided yet another marker in our history and when future generations see it still standing in a useful role, despite that death knell sounded by the Jeremiahs on the town council, they will realise that the ordinary folk who went before cared enough about this town to want to preserve it.

What the local newspapers are saying: The newly formed Bourne Preservation Society has submitted proposals to save the cemetery chapel to the town council within weeks of its formation. A report in The Local says that the document was handed over this week detailing restoration and future management of the Victorian building (April 25th) and an appeal has also been launched to fund the repairs which could begin next year. The first thing the organisation needs to do is to challenge the estimate produced by the town council which suggests a figure of £396,000 but anyone who has been through the document in detail will realise that this is an extreme and discouraging calculation and one that has been itemised in thousands with not a single hundred or ten pounds in sight and so it can most likely be trimmed to more modest proportions. Other quotations should now be sought, three at least as is usual in local government, with a time scale for the completion of the work, perhaps over a set period of years.

At the same time, perhaps the credibility of the suggestions made in several quarters that the chapel is in such a dire state and on shaky foundations that it has become unsafe ought to be reassessed because despite the direst of warnings it stands perfectly soundly today even though the February earthquake has damaged other historic buildings in the locality such as the village church at Haconby and the Red Hall in Bourne. The Stamford Mercury persists with this calumny in its account of handing over the dossier which describes the chapel as "crumbling" which it most certainly is not and one wonders whether the reporter who wrote it has ever seen the building.

The ancient customs of our country are still alive and well although not all are celebrated with an overwhelming enthusiasm. On Monday evening, a tradition will be observed beside the Queen's Bridge at the end of Eastgate, one that began in the mid-18th when William Clay, a gentleman of the town, bequeathed land to provide an annual rental that would pay for white bread to be distributed among the poor.

The curious conditions laid down for the letting of this land stipulate that the grazing rights for the coming year are auctioned while two boys run a 200-yard road race and that the highest bidder as the race ends holds the pasture land for the coming year. In past times, the race was followed by a feast of bread, cheese, spring onions and beer and until 1890, this was held at one of the six pubs in the Eastgate area, the Boat, the Woolpack, the Butcher's Arms, the New Inn, the Anchor and the Marquis of Granby, but only the last two remain and the event alternates between them. In 1941, no cheese was available owing to wartime rationing and in May that year, a German bomber crashed on the Butcher’s Arms and destroyed the usual convivial venue while the Boat and the Woolpack have been demolished and the New Inn converted for use as a private house.

The white bread was distributed to the people of Eastgate from the back of a cart but there is no longer a need for such sustenance and the people who live here prefer their sliced loaves from the Sainsburys or Rainbow supermarkets and so the money goes to local charities but in 1968, one of the last times that white bread was actually bought and distributed, between 300 and 400 loaves were handed out from the proceeds which then amounted to £13.

The boys who ran the race were rewarded with a shilling apiece for their exertions, the equivalent of 5p in our present decimal currency, and even though they now get £1, there are fewer takers today, especially if the weather is inclement. In my boyhood, when having pocket money was almost unknown, I would have run ten miles and back again in a snowstorm for the reward of a shilling and then queued up for the chance to do it again the next year. Were they really the good old days?

Cuckoo Day has come and gone and we still have not heard this harbinger of spring. The accepted date is April 14th or 15th although here in Bourne its familiar voice usually wafts towards us a week or ten days later from a song post on one of the scattered trees out there over the fen.

No sound is more eagerly awaited than the loud, ringing, repeated song because it signals the arrival of spring and although many people have heard the cuckoo, few have ever seen one. They are quite large birds, well over twelve inches long, and they have a bad reputation because they do not build nests for themselves but lay their eggs in those of other birds and leave them to hatch them out and bring up the young. But despite this wayward conduct, they remain one of the best loved of our summer visitors.

In recent times, however, it has become a less frequent occurrence and last year we heard it on one day only, probably a single bird whereas in times past there were dozens of them. When we moved here 25 years ago, the song of the cuckoo sounded at this time of the year morning and late, staying with us until June by which time the female will have produced its offspring and flown back whence it came.

The cuckoo migrates here from warmer climes in tropical Africa and is first heard in the south of the country, moving north as the days go by, although their numbers have fallen dramatically in the last quarter of a century. A reduction of 20% has been recorded in farming areas with a 60% drop in woodlands and although several causes have been blamed, such as unpredictable weather and fluctuating food supplies, there is little doubt that intensive agricultural practices and the resulting loss of wildlife habitats have had a major contributory effect. Numbers are also being seriously reduced because of the shootists on the Mediterranean islands, particularly Malta, in Spain and in France, as it wings its way north on its annual flight to England.

Their decline is yet another example of man's uncaring attitude to the world around him and that if we continue on this destructive path, poisoning and killing all that was here before us, then nature will have its revenge because of the imbalance we have caused in pursuit of profit, greed and so-called sport.

The plastic bag offer by Sainsburys at the weekend appears to be a cynical attempt to cash in on the adverse publicity surrounding them because a moment’s thought would reveal exactly how ridiculous it was. Firstly, the company has fallen for the myth that they are a threat to the environment when a little investigation would reveal that this argument is based on flawed research and secondly it ignores the fact that most people who take their purchases home in one recycle them for household waste and other purposes.

Just to recap, the supermarket asked customers to take an old bag with them when they shopped on Saturday, offering a free fridge magnet and a car sticker in return, an operation which added to the waste which emanates from our retail outlets. We did not actually realise the futility of it all until we reached the checkout with an old plastic bag ready to hand over when my wife said that she did not want either of the gifts on offer because they were totally useless while the plastic bag was not. She preferred to keep it because it has innumerable uses around the house and so we took it home again together with a couple more and we were in good company because many others did the same.

We then considered that the manufacture of thousands of fridge magnets and window stickers would far outweigh the damage done by plastic bags on that day and so the balance was tipped in favour of total waste implemented in pursuit of publicity. The other point is that if plastic bags are no longer issued at the checkout then many housewives will buy a roll of bin liners for the disposal of their kitchen waste and no doubt sales of these will soar accordingly and so Sainsburys cannot lose. It is also doubtful whether the scheme was a success because when we left the store soon after midday, there were boxes full of the free gifts left unattended near the exit which will no doubt have been dumped if not given away by the end of the day.

I am totally in favour of preventing waste wherever possible but the prohibition or restriction in the use of plastic bags is not one of them and the supermarkets know this but will jump on to any band wagon to enhance their public profile. It would have been far better if the money spent on producing these worthless gewgaws had been given instead to a worthy cause in Bourne, and there are many of them. Sainsburys needs to think again.

Thought for the week: Attacking plastic bags makes people feel good but it doesn’t achieve anything. The government is irresponsible to jump on a bandwagon that has no base in scientific evidence. This is one of many examples where you get bad science leading to bad decisions which are counter productive. - Lord [Dick] Taverne, former M P and now a Liberal Democrat peer in the House of Lords and chairman of the Association of Sense about Science.

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