Bourne Diary - September 2008

Saturday 6th September 2008

Several recent instances of serious crime in Bourne have provoked a discussion in the Forum over whether the town remains a safe place to live. We have certainly had a taste of what life is like in the inner cities with reports of a £75,000 cash raid on the Rainbow supermarket, £10,000 worth of equipment stolen from a snooker club and a man being badly beaten while drinking at a town centre night spot, all within a few days of each other.

But the fact the such incidents are rare sets us apart from many other parts of the country where crime is endemic. Nevertheless, coming together in such a short space of time, they do give cause for concern for law abiding citizens and although it may seem that there is a sudden eruption of wrongdoing, it is merely a manifestation of the law of averages that they have occurred within a few days of each other in the same place. The last murder in Bourne, for instance, was a long time ago and even if one occurred today it would most likely be a domestic tragedy rather than one which threatened the entire community because killings of this nature today are few and far between and only find prominence in our day to day worries because of the exposure given to them by the media.

Indeed, it is not the capital offences, the major felonies, that threaten society but the minor infringements of laws that have been passed to prevent them yet are failing abysmally with the passing of the years. The cracked pane syndrome has never been more apparent than it is today, when small breaches go unchecked either because they reduce set targets or because the police find it easier to overlook them rather than saddle themselves with a mountain of paperwork to sustain a conviction.

As our uniformed protection recedes, new forms of policing spring up with council officials being given powers to prosecute for the most insignificant and even ridiculous offences and this is at the nub of the present loss of public confidence in government because these new procedures are less designed to prevent crime than raise income through draconian fines with the bailiffs waiting in the wings for those who refuse to pay.

We do not need additional powers for a second tier of law authorities which should be more prudently occupying their time delivering public services but we do need the traditional police force to be doing and be seen to be doing the job for which it is paid and that is to protect the community and reduce the fear of crime which is just as potent as crime itself. Until we see full time officers out and about in our streets on a daily basis then we will continue to worry whether the serious offences that have been reported in recent days remain merely a matter of chance or the beginnings of a wave of lawlessness to come.

What the local newspapers are saying: The latest move to introduce car parking charges for Bourne has been scrapped. The Local reports that although it was due to be discussed by South Kesteven District Council this week, the item was withdrawn from the agenda at a meeting of the highways and planning committee on Tuesday (September 5th). Councillor Linda Neal (Bourne West), who is also leader of the council, told the newspaper that the decision was the result of hard work by all of the town’s local councillors to ensure that there was no debate and there the matter rests for the time being.

But although the topic may be dead at the moment, it will certainly not lie down because the council chairman, Mike Exton, said that car parking charges would be considered as part of the town redevelopment scheme which means at some distant time in the future. The £25 million scheme was first mooted seven years ago this month and not a brick has yet been laid and apart from cost appraisals and the purchase of the Burghley Street grain warehouse, there has been little movement to take the scheme forward with further delay likely as a result of the current downturn in the economy. This can therefore be seen as a hollow victory because the prospect of additional income will eventually become too tempting for SKDC and it can only be a matter of time before free parking does eventually come to an end in Bourne.

An article on the Car Dyke which runs through the Bourne area appears on this web site today discussing the suggestion that it was built by the Romans 2,000 years ago for transporting men and supplies to the advancing armies in the north and although it was never wide or deep enough to take sailing ships as might be envisaged for such an operation, this could have been achieved through the use of either rafts or low level barges.

The theory that dykes were used in this way is reinforced by a report in The Times revealing that mediaeval canals used by monks to carry stone to build monasteries have been discovered in the Lincolnshire fens (August 30th). The Royal Geographical Society’s annual conference was told that about 56 miles of waterways, now silted up and hidden in the flat and often isolated landscape, were identified using aerial photographs. Archaeologist Martin Redding told the meeting that the canals showed that “breathtaking engineering projects” were being undertaken in the fens 800 to 1,000 years ago but rising sea levels and the dissolution of the monasteries put an end to their use.

New discoveries are being made about our past every year and as we walk a countryside that has changed as often as the centuries have passed, it is worth speculating on what might still be there underneath our feet for future generations to find and help piece together the jigsaw of our chequered history.

Shop watch: “I can’t help thinking that we are being fleeced ever since Budgens closed. The prices seem to have gone up every time you go in.” - elderly lady shopper, overhead complaining in Sainsburys on Saturday.

The pleasure of this web site is that it keeps people around the world in touch with Bourne, either as their home town or as the place from where their ancestors originated. My email postbag is filled every week and it takes time to reply to everyone but somehow this always happens and the results are invariably rewarding.

Last year, I had an email from Plano, a wealthy northern suburb of Dallas in Texas, from Lezley Meggersee telling me about her mum, Mrs Sheila Bawden, a widow who lived in Meadow Close, and how they had decided that she would emigrate to the United States so that they could be together even though she was then over 70. She and Brian, her husband of thirty years, added a granny flat to their home and once everything was ready, Lezley flew over to fetch mum back to start her new life. That was eight months ago but Sheila has now settled in and although it has been a hectic time and not without its trauma, she is thoroughly enjoying her new life on the other side of the Atlantic.

“I don’t regret the move at all although I do miss the many friends I made in Bourne, especially in Meadow Close where I lived for ten years“, she tells me. “My husband, Norman, died there in 1998 and the people of Bourne helped me through this difficult time. I also miss my morning coffee with them at the Jubilee or Julie’s, lunch at the Nag’s Head or Time for Tea, and I miss the shops because they were just a short walk away.”

But Texas does have its good qualities. Shelia finds the people friendly and helpful, the shops, or stores are they are called, huge and the supermarkets massive with a choice that can be overwhelming. “Fortunately, our local supermarket has an English section and so I can buy my PG Tips, Ritz Crackers and Marmite although they are all a bit more expensive but I tell myself that at my age, I deserve the taste of home and treat myself. Eating out is also a daunting experience because there are so many restaurants serving so many national dishes from different countries that it is hard to decide which to choose although having a meal at home is just as pleasurable because my son-in-law is a great cook.”

Brian met Lezley when she went on holiday to South Africa where he was born and they married in 1979. They later went to live in America and he now works for a big computer organisation while she is manager for a training and development company. They have two daughters, Shelley, who is 26 and married, and Lorien, aged 24, who is at university. Brian and Lezley love to work on do-it-yourself projects together which is why they enjoyed transforming two of their upstairs bedrooms into the granny flat which has a lounge, bathroom and kitchen, created by demolishing a walk-in clothes closet. “It is compact and cute”, said Sheila, “fitted with a fridge, sink, microwave and toaster, and I love it and as I eat dinner every night with them, I don’t need a cooker.”

Sheila is finding that language can have its pitfalls because she finds it difficult to understand what people are saying some of the time. “They talk so fast but of course they don’t understand me very much either“, she said. “We all speak English but I sometimes wonder about that! I find myself pronouncing things the American way because it makes it so much easier for them to understand me. My family tease me about it because they have picked up the local accent too.”

Health services are extremely good as Sheila found out when she had the misfortune to be very ill recently and spent a week in hospital with three days in intensive care. “The treatment I received was wonderful and the hospital itself was quite beautiful, more like an hotel“, she said. “My daughter was allowed to stay with me 24 hours a day when I was in a general ward. Of course, it is extremely expensive and we are hoping that my insurance will pay for most of the treatment, the bed costing over $3,000 dollars a day. It is a myth that if you are ill in America and have no money that the hospital will turn you away. There are large signs in the emergency room saying that you will not be turned away if you do not have the money to pay for treatment.”

One of the highlights of her year so far has been the visit of old friends from the Bourne area and next week, one of her grand-daughters arrives from England for a three-week holiday. “I am blessed to have several letters a week from people I knew in Bourne, and many telephone calls“, she said. “This helps me stay connected. I have also been on a computer course and the family have set me up with my own PC and so I am able to keep in touch through the Bourne web site and to keep abreast of events by reading the weekly Diary online. Next year, I am planning a trip back to England for a family wedding and will certainly be visiting Bourne for a few days to catch up with old friends and chat over a cup of coffee and lunch. This is a good life but I do miss the people of Bourne who are the nicest people you could wish to meet.”

Thought for the week: England and America are two countries separated by a common language. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish-born playwright and ardent socialist who lived most of his life in England, wrote 60 plays and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Saturday 13^th September 2008

A disturbing development in our society is the way in which buildings that have always been considered to be owned by the people suddenly become the property of this or that organisation to be sold off for profit. A typical example is the village school at Rippingale, closed last year because of falling pupil numbers, and now likely to be pulled down and the site developed for housing.

The school was built in 1856 for the benefit of the community by Lord Aveland, formerly Sir Gilbert Heathcote, Lord of the Manor, who owned considerable estates in the locality which employed many village people whose children he sought to educate. Until then, classes were held in St Anne’s Chapel in the village church but his lordship decided that a permanent building would be more beneficial and his philanthropy is remembered by a plaque bearing the family crest which can still be seen on the outside wall.

The school was built to accommodate 130 pupils of all ages and the premises were enlarged in 1899 when a new classroom was added together with cloakrooms and offices, the work being paid for this time by the Earl of Ancaster. In 1876, it was listed as a public elementary school and it was to be another seventy years before the church became involved. It became a junior school in 1949 and extensions to the premises were carried out in 1956, subsequently becoming known as Rippingale Church of England Primary School. Fifty years later, attendances had begun to decline dramatically and by Easter 2007, pupil numbers had fallen to a mere 20, despite efforts by the governors to attract more from the locality. As a result, Lincolnshire County Council, the education authority, decided that it was no longer financially viable and the school was closed at the end of the summer term in July.

The parish council had hoped that the red brick building might be preserved but an application to protect it was turned down by English Heritage who decided that although there was merit in the blue slate roof, the exterior design had suffered damaging alterations and therefore did not merit a Grade II listing.

We are now told that the school is owned by the Diocese of Lincoln and the playing field by Lincolnshire County Council. Agents for both are currently in talks with developers to decide what will be done with the site but as the building in its present state is unlikely to attract such a high sale figure as the land it stands on, housing development is the most likely option with the proceeds being pocketed by the church and the county council. The explanation for this bureaucratic sleight of hand is no doubt buried away in a pile of dusty documents but it must prove a deterrent to anyone planning to leave large sums of money for the benefit of the community knowing that at some time in the future it will end up paying the salaries and pensions of a small army of jobsworths.

Car parking is becoming a major problem throughout the country, a cause of stress and an instigator of road rage in the daily search for a space in our town centres. The problem was exacerbated with the passing of the years yet many of our local authorities have done nothing to address the issue other than paper over an existing system that has proved to be wanting.

The solution has been obvious from the start, that of confining vehicles to out of town locations within walking distance or providing a park and ride bus service for those further away to take drivers and their passengers to the shops and elsewhere. But the will to make this happen over the years has eluded most local authorities which have chosen the easy option to open car parks on land that should have been kept as open spaces and so allowed our busy streets to become choked with traffic and contaminated by exhaust fumes.

Parking is not a recent problem in this county because it was first noticed in 1930 when the Lincolnshire Automobile Club observed that in certain towns such as Bourne, particularly on market days, places to leave cars were becoming more and more restricted. The warning was loud and clear yet was ignored. The volume of traffic increased annually and as each council came and went, nothing was ever done to tackle the problem that was building up. Instead, more car parks within easy reach of the shops were opened and as spare land became scarce, that dreaded modern phenomenon known as the multi-storey car park was born to blight our town centres, although such an ill-advised project envisaged for Bourne in February 2005 was thankfully scotched after the developers who devised it were sacked.

This town has a population of around 15,000 people with 500 public car parking spaces (yes, I have counted them), all within the town centre area, either in designated parks or at the kerbside. This was ample until recent years but there are now indications that the number is insufficient, especially if and when the proposed redevelopment of the town centre goes ahead.

Previous plans for this project included car parking spaces, although some did not, and we await the latest scheme with interest but this might be the time to move the cars off the streets and into a more convenient space away from the main shopping area. It has been done in other Lincolnshire towns, notably in Spalding, Stamford, Sleaford and Brigg, and a similar scheme would bring enormous benefits to Bourne and its environment. Only time will tell whether our district council planners are up to the challenge or whether, as in the past, they will merely reassemble what we have to the detriment of those who come after by putting cars in places where they should not be.

What the local newspapers are saying: It will now become apparent to all of those who have received a leaflet through their letter box in the past few weeks outlining the aims of the British National Party because the Stamford Mercury reveals in a front page report (September 12th) that they are to fight the forthcoming by-election for the Bourne Abbey division of Lincolnshire County Council, a seat vacated in August by barrister Mark Horn, their candidate being one of seven nominations.

This presents Bourne with one of its most interesting elections in recent years because all of the main parties, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats, will be fielding strong contenders when polling takes place on Thursday 2nd October, as well as the Green Party and UK Independence Party. An independent candidate will also be standing, local councillor Helen Powell who has made a brave decision to do so because she is a comparative newcomer to the council chamber, having been a member for only 18 months after being returned unopposed for the Bourne West Ward on the town council in May 2007. She also stood for a seat on South Kesteven District Council, an unsuccessful bid although polling a creditable 608 votes.

Her record as a hands on town councillor since then however, has been outstanding and eclipses that of many others who have dropped out of sight and out of mind which is not a good image for anyone who is supposed to represent the people. It was she who first revealed secret plans to build houses on a section of Bourne Wood and her untiring efforts which resulted in the project being shelved and she is currently making a tremendous effort to persuade a new supermarket company take over the empty premises vacated by Budgens last year and so bring new life to an area of the town which is in danger of becoming blighted. Her work in many other spheres is untiring and dedicated and a town like Bourne could not wish for a better representative who would look after the interests of the people. She also displays a disarming honesty and sincerity that will win her many votes as it has done friends. “I am standing”, she says, “because I feel I have to try and do a little more for Bourne and for Lincolnshire.”

Fighting the seat as an independent will also mean a great deal of work, far more than the feather-bedded candidates who can call upon the mighty political party machines for support, but she can take heart from the knowledge that Bourne Abbey was held for 16 years by John Kirkman, a dedicated independent who confounded both Conservative and Labour by repeatedly topping the polls at every election until retiring in 2005. One of the reasons for his success was his work at the hustings, insisting on tramping the streets and knocking on every door in the ward to show his face, answer questions and seek support for another term, a tiring and time consuming task but one that he completed at every election. Councillor Powell plans similar tactics. “I hope that during my canvassing I will visit everyone”, she said. We anticipate that she may well top the poll and deservedly so.

From the archives: Handley, one of the Bourne police constables, accomplished a good feat on Saturday last. He had observed a youth lurking about and for some time watched him, suspecting him to be a pickpocket. Shortly afterwards, Mr Bannister, clerk to Mr Wilders, attorney, discovered that he had had his pocket picked of a handkerchief. Handley immediately pursued the suspect to a house of a certain character, when after searching the thief, he felt almost foiled, but fortunately opened a warming pan hanging up in the room, in which the missing handkerchief had been deposited. The man was committed for trial at the sessions on Monday, was then convicted, and is now picking his way on the tread wheel at Folkingham [the House of Correction]. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 12th April 1850.

Blackberries can be found all around Bourne at this time of the year, in the woods and hedgerows, along the roadside verges, on waste ground, around the edges of the playing fields and even on housing estates. While out walking in recent weeks, we have found huge bushes of brambles alongside many of the paths and alleyways around the town, all full of luscious large berries just waiting to be picked yet they remain untouched for several days.

Yet this seasonal bounty from our countryside no longer attracts the pickers of yesteryear. In my boyhood, we would be off most days with the family shopping basket and assorted containers and a walking stick if possible to reach those high branches, seeking out the secluded places that had the best berries and keeping the location a secret from our friends lest they should go there too and take our fruit. After a few hours, we would return home laden, often a stone or more, our hands black with juice and our mouths stained from repeated tastings.

Blackberries were not only a succulent, delicious fruit but they were also free and a boon to a working class family. We ate blackberry pie, blackberry crumble and plain blackberries with milk, cream being far too expensive, but the bulk of them were turned into jam by my mother, jars and jars of them which were stored in the pantry to keep us fed at breakfast and tea during the winter months.

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

Thought for the week: One cannot fix one's eyes on the commonest natural production without finding food for a rambling fancy. - Jane Austen (1775-1817), English novelist who has become one of the most widely read and best loved writers in English literature.

Saturday 20^th September 2008

Budgens in better days - see "What the local newspapers are saying . . . "

With seven candidates contesting the forthcoming by-election for the Bourne Abbey division of Lincolnshire County Council, electors who live in that area have started receiving their various manifestos and they should be read with care and caution before making a decision as to who will get their vote. Election time is notorious for the empty promises it produces from political parties and so every declaration must be scrutinised for its validity and whether what appears to be offered is actually deliverable.

Two have arrived so far, one from the British National Party which is full of rhetoric about England, the preservation of our nationality and curbing the numbers of migrant workers in Lincolnshire but little of relevance to the local affairs with which our county authority is concerned such as roads, schools, libraries, the police and the fire brigade. The other comes from the Conservative Party candidate, Ms Sue Woolley, whose contribution appears to be more a publicity blast for the existing Tory administration rather than a personal appeal for support at the hustings even though Lincolnshire County Council‘s rating with the Audit Commission in recent years has been less than impressive.

She paints a broad canvas, promising no car parking charges for Bourne which are not the province of the county council but of South Kesteven District Council which has already settled this issue for the time being by putting it on the back burner until the town centre redevelopment goes ahead at some undefined time in the future while a similar promise over opposing traveller sites in Bourne has also passed into history. There are other points of contention but I am particularly bothered about this statement: “I want to protect the strong community spirit which is evident in the area and enhance local open spaces such as the Wellhead, the Abbey Lawn and Bourne Wood.”

Firstly, Bourne Wood is controlled by the Forestry Commission and the county council has no control whatsoever over its activities. Secondly, the Wellhead gardens and the Abbey Lawn are administered by Bourne United Charities, a registered charity and similarly independent of local government, all decisions being taken by the 15 trustees, an organisation that has been criticised in the past for its secrecy and lack of public consultation. Perhaps Sue Woolley can tell us how, if elected, she intends to “enhance these open spaces” in the current climate. We await her explanation with interest.

What the local newspapers are saying: A campaign to persuade the cut price supermarket company Lidl to open in Bourne is still very much alive despite a decision by the company not to take over the premises vacated earlier this year by Budgens. The Local reports in its correspondence column that town councillor Helen Powell, who has been in close touch with Lidl over the proposal in an attempt to revitalise this area of the town, has been told that they were deterred by issues relating to parking although they are still looking for a suitable site to establish a branch in the town (September 19th).

The Budgens premises have now been empty for almost six months and Councillor Powell, whose initiative also included the circulation of petition forms to rally support for Lidl, is concerned that unless a new tenant is found soon, the vacant premises could blight this area of the town centre at a time when existing traders need all of the support they can get. But she remains optimistic. “I will try other stores in the hope that we can find a new tenant as soon as possible”, she said. “Lidl were very impressed with the petition and have told me that they want to come and trade in Bourne as soon as possible and so if anyone has any ideas for a suitable site, please let me know.”

Bureaucratic delays continue to thwart the best intentions of the Bourne Preservation Society, formed earlier this year to save the Victorian chapel in the town cemetery from further neglect. Members have been making valiant efforts for the past four months to speed up the process which would enable them take over the building and start work but progress is slow and with the winter approaching, hopes that the roof might be secured to withstand the weather and prevent further deterioration are almost lost.

The town council which has been responsible for the chapel since 1974 has agreed to lease the building to the society but the necessary documents have still not been signed and are unlikely to be before October. In the meantime, yet another stumbling block over the preparation of an historical survey of the town has become apparent, this time involving another local authority, South Kesteven District Council, which is currently reviewing all of the conservations areas under its jurisdiction and this needs to be completed before the society’s own appraisal can go ahead. Unfortunately, this is also a slow process, Bourne being fourteenth on their list and as only four have been completed so far, there is still some time to go before this impasse is overcome.

The entire episode reflects much that is wrong with officialdom at all levels, lumbering, laborious and largely inefficient, and worst of all, acting as a deterrent to voluntary effort by throwing a wet blanket over any new initiative that does not come within its orbit and control. Those who are prepared to give their time and energy in working for the community deserve better.

The word higgler has now fallen into disuse but was familiar in past times to describe a trader, a buyer and seller of goods, originating from the verb to haggle. During the 19th century, it referred to an itinerant dealer or pedlar, especially a carrier or huckster, usually with a horse and cart, who travelled the countryside purchasing poultry and other dairy products such as eggs and cheese, seeds and corn, and supplying minor but useful goods for household use that he had purchased in nearby towns in exchange.

One of the earliest references may be found in The Surgeon’s Daughter by Sir Walter Scott (1827) who writes of “The labours of a higgler, who travels scores of miles to barter pins, ribbons, snuff and tobacco, against the housewife’s private stock of eggs, skins, and tallow”. A delightful short story by A E Coppard (1878-1957) called The Higgler, written in 1930, contains a more colourful description of Harvey Witlow, dealer in poultry, who travels the countryside in a two-wheeled cart pulled by a horse of mean appearance and notorious ancestry. The story enjoyed widespread success when it was filmed for television in 1972 in a series called Country Matters and is still available today in book form with a collection of the author’s short stories.

Higglers were part of the community in the Bourne area during the middle years of the 19th century and the records show that many lived in the town. One of the best known was William Elston, of Eastgate, who came to an untimely end when he killed himself on 11th April 1884. An inquest at the Butcher's Arms the following day was told that he had been a teetotaller for five months but in consequence of losing his horse, he got into financial troubles and started drinking heavily. This affected his mind to such an extent that he got up early on Good Friday morning and hanged himself from a roof beam in the stable were his body was found by a neighbour and as a result of the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of suicide while in a state of temporary insanity.

The earliest recorded higgler in Bourne was William Steel, of Eastgate, who is listed in Kelly’s Street Directory for 1876 and by 1882 we have George Grummitt, also of Eastgate, and the ill-fated William Elston, followed in 1885 by William Brinkley, South Street, John Hercock (no address given) and a woman, Mrs Fanny Steel, of Eastgate. But by the end of the century, the higglers had gone, perhaps changing the nature of their occupation to carters, contractors and general dealers, leading a more settled existence from permanent premises, a transition influenced by the changing times while the old way of life is remembered today only in fiction.

Few shoppers look closely at the shape of the apples and pears they buy from the shops to decide whether they conform to the illustrations we see in picture books or on the labels of tins but then does anyone really care? Not much, I would imagine, yet it does matter to the supermarkets who sell them because now we discover that they have been consistently weeding out misshapen fruit and vegetables rather than allow them ruin their displays and perhaps deter the more meticulous of their customers.

It has taken the current economic downturn to reverse this trend because Sainsburys has announced that from now on, produce that would not pass their rigorous standards in the past will be added to the shelves at their store in Exeter Street, Bourne. The company says that visually imperfect items that have been rejected for cosmetic reasons will in future be on sale to help shoppers save money and prevent waste. Wonky food will cost less because it will be included in the supermarket’s popular basics range which is aimed at the budget shopper although anyone who buys these items will agree that the quality is just as good as anything that comes in bright packets or passes the test for standardisation. From now on therefore, you may expect to see oddly shaped apples and oranges, pears and grapes, as well as peppers and potatoes and the more exotic items such as aubergines and avocadoes.

This is really a matter of common sense because nature has always produced oddly shaped fruit and conformity of size and shape is merely a whim of modern marketing. What is more important is the taste and as the supermarket has given an assurance that the malformed items are just as good then we wonder why they were banished in the first place.

Message from abroad: Congratulations on the East Midlands Silver Gilt Award. The flowers look beautiful. - Winnie Nowak, Anchorage, Alaska, USA.

Modern life has made us wary because we are constantly being preyed upon for money. It has become the new religion. You need not even leave your home without someone seeking to deprive you of your cash, whether over the telephone with suspect, even bogus, claims while the demands for payments are forever in the post which drop through the letter box with alarming regularity.

How can we resist these intrusions? Stop answering the telephone and burn all junk mail might help but is not the solution. What is needed is official intervention to prevent cold calling and the sending of unsolicited letters. In other words, we should be able to opt in rather than opt out. Postal addresses are sold by the local authorities from the electoral rolls while email addresses and telephone numbers are passed around by commercial organisations and the intention is always to persuade us to spend more.

The circularisation of these personal details is an incursion into our private lives by companies intent on increasing profits by any means. Most people have had enough of it and it is high time that the government made such practices unlawful. In the meantime, we should unite to baulk the efforts of those responsible by refusing to give this information except in very necessary circumstances and if we find it has been misused, then the company responsible should be boycotted in the future and the word spread to make others aware. A loss of business would soon straighten their minds.

Thought for the week: Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you. - Ogden Nash (1902-1971), American poet best known for writing pithy and humorous light verse.

Saturday 27^th September 2008

The popular Henry's cafe - see "There is no accounting . . . "

Summer ended with the autumnal equinox on Sunday (September 21st) and soon we will be into mid-winter. I mourn the passing of the seasons because in advancing age they fly by at an alarming rate and there is no guarantee that you will ever see another. This year has reinforced my belief that the pattern of nature is being changed, not by such passing fads as global warming or climate change, but by man’s destructive nature with intensive farming practices decimating our bird population.

We have now been in this house on the very edge of the fen for more than a quarter of a century and the decline in the many species that once visited our garden is so marked that the amount of seed and nuts that I purchase for the bird table and feeders each year has halved while the large numbers of starlings, sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds that once gave such delight are no more and individual sightings are a cause for rejoicing.

The cuckoo which sang early and late when we moved in during the spring of 1983 has not been heard at all this year from out there over the fen and we have not sighted a single thrush since last May and although we have spotted a bullfinch or two, a few wrens and the odd robin, these rare appearances have only accentuated the loss of the others.

The halcyon days of my boyhood when the fields and hedgerows thronged with wildlife are fast becoming a mere memory. Yet the warnings of what has been happening in recent years have been loud and clear, notably from the American naturalist and scientist Rachel Carson (1907-1964) who published her best-selling book Silent Spring as long ago as 1962 in which she directed public concern to the problems caused by synthetic pesticides and their effect on the food chains and forecast an earth slowly becoming unfit for life. The increased use of pesticides and herbicides, particularly powerful selective weed killers, have turned land that was once meadow and field into highly efficient monocultures whilst miles of hedges that once surrounded them and provided safe havens for a wide variety of flora and fauna have been uprooted.

But as with the current banking crisis, the warnings have been consistently ignored by politicians and others in power and so the indiscriminate spread of noxious chemicals and the erosion of wildlife habitats has continued unabated and we will wake up one morning to find that the English countryside has changed forever.

What the local newspapers are saying: There is finally some movement from the developers over providing more facilities for Elsea Park, the massive housing development which caused so much controversy when it was first proposed in March 1999. Many amenities were promised in return for planning permission to build 2,000 new homes, including a relief road, primary school, community hall, doctor’s surgery, sports pitches, cycle and pedestrian links and a shuttle bus route, but they have been slow in materialising.

Tenants have therefore become dissatisfied with paying the required annual community charge of £236 and some have even withheld it in protest but The Local reports (September 19th) that a planning application is being prepared to provide a community centre, four retail units and 43 sheltered accommodation units for people aged over 55. No timescale has been announced by Twigden Homes, the company responsible for the estate, but it is expected to be some time before the first bricks are laid because of the current downturn in the economy.

Since Elsea Park was first mooted, there have been major changes in the commercial and business life in Bourne and the provision of new shops at Elsea Park may have been overtaken by events because they will be competing with a major development just across the way on the corner of South Road and Cherryholt Road where the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society will soon be starting work on a supermarket, DIY store and associated outlets with parking for over 350 cars and the magnitude and proximity of this facility are sure to make it difficult to find tenants for traditional shops on the estate.

Nevertheless, a community centre will be welcomed by residents because a central place to hold events is as essential on a large estate as it is in a village although why it has been coupled with yet another development for old people is a matter for conjecture and we may be forgiven for thinking that perhaps the building of one may be dependent on the building of the other. It is therefore hoped that South Kesteven District Council will make it a condition of planning permission that the community centre is completed first before work begins on anything else, particularly additional housing for old people which the town does not need at the present time.

Past events have a bearing on this issue in that the Leeds based company One Medical which sought planning permission in August 2006 for a new medical centre with doctor, dentist and other facilities in South Road and the prospect of 200 new jobs, also wanted to build a block of flats for elderly people but despite this column urging that a similar proviso should be made in respect of the first, it never materialised. We therefore have the apartment block already completed with no sign of work beginning on the promised multi-purpose clinic which, we were told, would meet the shortfall in medical services for the town following the closure of Bourne Hospital in 1998.

The appearance of St Peter’s Pool continues to deteriorate and another summer has passed without the maintenance work so badly needed being carried out. Visitors are dismayed with what is happening to this beauty spot and townspeople are visibly angry over the inactivity of those responsible for its upkeep.

The surface is covered with algae and litter while the banks are choked with weeds and the black swans, moorhens and other waterfowl that live here are confined to a small area of clear water because the rest of the pool has been made impenetrable by the mess of green slime. During a visit to the Wellhead Gardens on Saturday, we spoke to many who had been here in better days and some remembered it as an attractive place for Sunday afternoon walks while one gentlemen recalled happy hours sailing his radio-controlled boat in the company of like minded companions, a pastime impossible to pursue today.

All wish to see St Peter’s Pool cleaned up and restored as the focal point of this town, the ancient spring around which Bourne began centuries ago yet in recent years has become an eyesore and one excluded from the route the judges took in the recent East Midlands in Bloom competition because it would surely have cost this town its coveted Silver Gilt Award for 2008. Let us hope that something is done before they visit next year when Bourne bids for gold.

Election literature from the various candidates continues to arrive in readiness for the contest for the Bourne Abbey seat on Lincolnshire County Council next week and all should be read with care and caution. I mentioned last week that the Conservative candidate, Ms Sue Woolley, had promised to “enhance the Wellhead Gardens and Abbey Lawn” even though both are administered by Bourne United Charities, and now we have the Liberal Democrat candidate, Peter Morris, promising action over the redevelopment scheme for the town centre.

“Plans have been around for many years but council bosses dither”, he said, and yes they do, but it is not within the remit of the county council but South Kesteven District Council and the Town Centre Management Partnership. He then tells us that one supermarket has closed in the Burghley Centre (Budgens) and that North Street has been allowed to decline, showing a large photograph of the gap at No 32 which is currently being developed. Neither of these two issues has anything to do with the county council and so why they should be given such prominence in leaflets from a candidate in this election can only be put down to sensationalism. Let the electors judge as surely they will.

There are seven candidates seeking election on Thursday (October 2nd) and it promises to be one of the most interesting contests for a council seat in Bourne in recent years. This column is unequivocal in its choice because town councillor Helen Powell has demonstrated her ability to work for the good of this town while the fact that she is standing as an independent unfettered by political bias is a mark in her favour. Council elections are notorious for their poor turnout which is usually around 30%, often lower, and favours those with affiliations to the main parties which gather votes irrespective of the ability on offer. This will give those electors in the Bourne Abbey ward the opportunity to forget the empty promises that have little relevance in the work of our local authorities and to strike a blow for vigorous independent thought and action on behalf of the people.

There is no accounting for taste but there are many people out there who have a soft spot for Henry's, the snack bar and takeaway that once occupied No 36 North Street but now closed and the premises occupied by Firkin Ale since 2006.

Mik Haynes has opened a group on the Facebook web site, the Internet social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them, where those who remember it may pay homage to the food provided and the two very friendly people, Hetty and Harry, who ran it. He has called his page "Henry's was Great" and he says in the introduction: "It had a chip shop menu but was pub food-esque and it was a great place to go for a good English meal at a good price. I bet everyone has a particular memory about Henry's whether it be their steakwich or just their ketchup which seemed to be better than everyone else's. If you loved Henry's join the group and let everyone know your usual order."

Although I have been able to provide a photograph of the restaurant from my archives to illustrate the Facebook eulogy, I only knew the place as Greasy Henry's, a description coined by my son who seems to have eaten many meals there in his student days, but unbelievably, there are others who remember the food with real affection because the replies are flooding in and here are a few examples:

(1) Their pizzas were top notch, always friendly whatever the time of day, bring it back! (2) Oohh! Cheeseburger and chips! Always had that on a Friday lunch time when we popped into town for half a woodpecker in the Nags! There was something about the relish they used. Never had a burger as good anywhere else! (3) Full English breakfast was tops for me, yum yum. (4) Sausage and mash with onion gravy was two quid back in 1996. (5) The double steakwich was the Number 1 top draw of all time in Bourne's culinary history. It was about the only thing I would buy other than the Saturday morning hangover breakfast which was as much of an event amongst the boys as the night on the town previous but well worth it. (6) These lovely people supplied my school dinners, large chips swimming in vinegar. Happy days. (7) The best ever quarter-pounder with cheese! I have never ever had a better burger since. (8) Half-pounder and chips washed down with a dandelion and burdock.

These are testimonials from the heart and living proof that although we all know the benefits of healthy eating, fresh fruit, vegetables, muesli and suchlike, you can’t beat a good fry up. If you remember Henry’s with the same affection and subscribe to Facebook, then Mik would be pleased to record your memories of his favourite eatery for posterity.

Thought for the week: There is no love sincerer than the love of food. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish-born playwright and ardent socialist who lived most of his life in England, wrote 60 plays and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

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