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Saturday 5th December 2009
A project is underway to revitalise St Peter’s Pool, one of the town’s areas
of natural beauty. The state of the lake has been well chronicled over the years
yet it has been allowed to deteriorate, the surface often covered with algae and
litter while 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 mass of green slime.
There is much to be done to bring this beauty spot back to the standard it
enjoyed in past times and one only has to inspect photographs of the pool from a
century ago to realise that this was indeed the place to see and be seen,
especially at weekends when young couples donned their Sunday best for an
afternoon stroll to take in the view and enjoy the sunshine.
The circular, clay-lined and embanked pool has been the centre of this town
since time immemorial. It is reputedly fed by seven springs and would have
provided an abundant supply of water for the early settlers. It now forms part
of the Wellhead Gardens administered by Bourne United Charities since 1945 and
it is the spring, or the stream that flows from it, that gives Bourne its name,
from the Old English word burna which was common in the early Anglo-Saxon period
and is found in its modern form, particularly in Scotland, as burn meaning
stream or spring. Many other English place names have a similar derivation with
burn, borne or bourne as an ending to denote a river or stream in the vicinity.
It is possibly one of the most ancient sites of artesian water supply in the
country, figuring prominently in the development of the town and it is
inevitable that remarkable traditions have gathered around it. One of these was
still current in the mid-19th century and asserted that the Bourne Eau flowed
underground from Stoke Rochford, sixteen miles away, and that a white duck which
was immersed at Stoke, was later seen to rise at the Wellhead. Another slice of
local folklore suggests that the pool is bottomless and that swimming there or
even trying to clean it out might end in tragedy because those who venture into
the water are likely to be swallowed up and never seen again but both tales owe
more to the imagination than actuality.
The footpath that follows the stream past the site of the former workhouse,
later St Peter's Hospital which was demolished in 2001, originally skirted
another large pond known as the horse pool, so called because it sloped gently
at one end to allow horse and cart to enter together to be washed in the clear
spring water and this indentation in the land can still be seen today.
Unfortunately, the area has not been well maintained in recent years and there
have been many complaints about its continuing unsightly appearance, especially
from visitors. But help is at hand from the Bourne Green Gym, a voluntary
organisation formed at the Hereward clinic last March to provide patients with
the opportunity of working outdoors on community projects to improve our green
spaces and at the same time benefit from the healthy exercise and social
contacts. Valuable work has already been done at the Abbey Lawn where the
gardens have been revitalised and now, thanks to the impetus of the group
manager, Rosemary Blakesley, they plan to tackle St Peter’s Pool and the
surrounding area.
Bourne United Charities is co-operating with them and Anglian Water to transform
the lake and the wildlife that lives within the park for the betterment of the
town. One of the main areas of attention will be a fallen willow which had been
standing near the Bourne Eau for half a century until rent asunder in January
2001 by a southerly gale which also damaged thirteen others. This was a
particular loss because it was the largest to be seen on the skyline by visitors
entering the park from South Street and was planted soon after the Second World
War. Some of the timber was subsequently sawn into logs by park staff and given
away as firewood but the trunk and main branches remained and soon became a play
attraction for children but has also become a haven for plants and animals that
have colonised this spot over the past eight years.
It is envisaged that this area will be improved by planting to create new
habitats to attract even more species of wildlife while work will also be
undertaken to clear the Bourne Eau which runs from the pool but has been blocked
by weeds and debris such as broken branches and rubbish and is badly silted in
some places, so creating stretches of stagnant water. There will also be another
attempt to get rid of the algae which regularly covers St Peter’s Pool although
this will be a harder long-term task because several remedies that have been
tried in the past have not been entirely successful.
This work is likely to begin in the New Year in a skill sharing project between
manpower from Anglian Water and members of the Bourne Green Gym which augers
well for a positive outcome in readiness for the coming summer, an excellent
conservation project that will not only transform an area of past neglect but
also turn this hidden oasis into a haven of natural beauty. Once again, it has
been proved that when something needs doing we only need to look to volunteers
to complete the job and from whichever quarter they come, this town would be the
poorer without them.
This is therefore an appropriate moment to mention one of our most dedicated
voluntary workers, Dr Michael Macgregor, whose coffee morning at the Corn
Exchange has been an annual event for almost 30 years during which time it has
become the biggest charity occasion of its kind in the town, raising in excess
of £70,000 for the Leukaemia Research Fund.
Michael and his wife Margaret stage the event each year with the help of sixty
or more volunteers who are recruited to run the stalls and serve coffee and
mince pies to visitors who crowd in looking for bargains in aid of this very
worthy cause. It all began in 1985 when their youngest son, John, died at the
age of 21 after contracting leukaemia while studying at Southampton University
and this year their dedicated work was acknowledged when the couple were
honoured by the society with the presentation of a special certificate and
badge, their highest award for fund-raising.
But this is only one of their many involvements with voluntary work in this town
and there is a long list of activities with which they are associated yet
Michael does not originate in Bourne but in Yorkshire, a typical example of the
outsider moving in and embracing the community as his own. There are many more
people in the town whose only connection is that they moved here to live, liked
it and stayed, and now wish to give something back and without their unstinting
care and help, many of our local organisations and charities would find it
difficult to survive.
The programme of house building currently underway in Bourne is stretching our
public facilities to the limit, particularly schools and medical clinics, yet it
continues apace and slowed only by the current economic climate. On the premise
that we learn nothing from past mistakes, it is almost certain that once our
financial restraints have eased, there will be another flight into the fantasy
of house ownership without sufficient collateral, resulting in negative equity
for some and misery for many.
The development companies are already limbering up for the next phase in Bourne
where the old laundry site on the corner of Manning Road and Recreation Road has
already been cleared in readiness for 47 new homes while the old Raymond Mays
garage site in Spalding Road has been given outline planning permission to build
105 houses. There are many more such projects in the pipeline yet our public
services can hardly cope with the population we already have.
The most worrying aspect of this expansion is the proliferation of this new
accommodation for retired people, flats and maisonettes purpose built for the
seriously old, often frail and unable to cope without the care which is offered
as part of the sales package, yet this can only be a token service which will
rely heavily on the National Health Service. There are already major
developments of this nature in Manning Road and South Road and now we learn that
the massive 68-bungalow complex at The Croft in North Road will also be going
ahead.
The evidence is that the majority of people buying their way into residential
care come from outside the area and were they young, middle class and salaried,
such as those who choose Elsea Park, often Dinkies (double income no kids), then
their dependence on state medical facilities would be less acute but incomers
above the retirement age have by definition the need for regular access to a
doctor and clinical advice.
One contributor to the Forum where this issue is being debated has suggested
that they can go to Peterborough 17 miles away using their free bus pass and
make it a day out but that suggestion is not only facetious and offensive to old
people with a serious illness but also one that dodges the truth of the matter.
Anyone who secures an appointment at the Edith Cavell Hospital must first go
through the accepted procedure of diagnosis and referral by their general
practitioner and as the wait for an appointment can be up to two weeks it does
not need a degree in logistics to understand that more elderly people moving
into Bourne will increase the pressure on our clinics.
The construction of block after block of retirement homes therefore, no matter
what care they profess to provide, will create an increasing demand on our
medical facilities. There were once four hospitals in this town but all have
been closed down because of financial restraints on the public purse despite the
tax liability to the individual rising year after year until it has reached the
present phenomenal level. We are, in fact, getting less for more, and as the
pressure increases from other public service providers to make inroads into our
income, without a hint of government intervention to prevent these excesses, we
may assume that the future is bleak indeed.
The pity is that those who run services at a local level, that is our nominated
or elected councillors, know the score in their own communities yet blithely
follow the party or the official line to the detriment of the people they are
supposed to serve. The number of retirement homes in Bourne will therefore
continue to increase because developers have discovered that this is a new and
profitable way to tap the resources of the few remaining people in this country
who actually have some cash at their disposal and that is the elderly who
already own their own homes and, more particularly, those in this age group who
fear for their future because of the onset of debilitating conditions which will
put them at the mercy of others and are prepared to pay a high price to secure
what they think will be a safe haven for their remaining years.
From the archives: As some bricklayers were removing the thatch from an old
farmhouse in the parish of Pickworth, near Bourne, a few days ago, they
discovered an old coat in a very dilapidated condition which it is believed,
belonged to a man named Wells, who about 60 years ago concealed himself in the
roof of the house, he being wanted on a charge of issuing forged notes. The
constables, however, succeeded in discovering Wells’ hiding place and he was
afterwards removed to Lincoln, tried and executed. - news report from the
Stamford Mercury, Friday 17th September 1869.
Thought for the week: One volunteer is worth ten pressed men
- Old English
proverb.
Saturday 12th December 2009
The end of an era - see "The Bourne workshops . . . "
Most of our churches
and chapels have been out of date for
decades, extensive open spaces largely unused except on Sundays, yet the upkeep
remains a phenomenal drain on the parish purse. Many have addressed the problem
by encouraging increased community use through the installation of kitchens and
lavatories and have found the transition a perfectly acceptable way forward
without detracting from the religious purpose of the building.
There has been opposition from the traditionalists in some towns and villages
which is largely unjustified because in times past these sacred places had a far
more ubiquitous role in local life, often used for markets, rowdy village
entertainments and other revelries, and it was only in Victorian times that the
solemnity of the religious ritual became sacrosanct, thus turning our churches
into sombre spaces, the silence broken only by hushed voices and hymn singing.
Ironically, the turning point came during the latter half of the last century
when financial expediency started to take precedence over ritual and slowly our
churches began to take on new roles, the redundant buildings being sold off for
conversion into private homes and even shops and offices, while those that
remained in parish use extended their scope with the addition of modern
facilities to cater for larger crowds at more frequent and varied public events.
Nothing has been lost in the process because today, secular requirements sit
comfortably with religious observance and in the process, our churches have been
preserved for yet another century. For this reason, the trustees of the
Methodist Chapel in Abbey Road have announced ambitious plans to make drastic
alterations to the interior to meet the challenge of a modern society and
although the scheme will cost around £500,000, it will ensure the future of this
Grade II listed building as a centre of non-conformist worship well into the
21st century.
Methodism came to Bourne two hundred years ago when the first meeting for just a
handful of members was held in 1809 at a cottage in Star Lane, now Abbey Road.
But support quickly spread and the first chapel was opened in 1812 followed by
the present building which was erected in 1841, a distinctive building with an
impressive façade of huge Doric pilasters, the work of Thomas Pilkington
(1809-99), a Scotsman who settled here and is buried in the town cemetery. A
gallery was added in 1867, thus increasing the seating capacity, followed by
major improvements which were carried out in 1891, and there has been a
continuous programme of improvement ever since with the church hall being added
in 1965.
The building was listed Grade II in 1977 but ten years later its future came
under threat when a survey revealed it to be unsafe. The classical frontage was
sound but closer inspection revealed that it had a tilt of six inches and the
movement had affected the roof which, surprisingly, was made of corrugated
asbestos, and a report from consultant structural engineers in 1988 declared it
to be in a potentially dangerous condition and remedial costs were estimated at
£100,000. The report alarmed the church trustees who immediately applied to
South Kesteven District Council for permission to pull it down and build a new
one elsewhere but the application was refused. The council ruled that all listed
buildings should be preserved and that the answer to the chapel’s predicament
was one of repair rather than demolition. The case went to appeal but the
council's decision was upheld by the Department of the Environment and the
building was subsequently repaired and refurbished at a cost of £300,000 and
remains in use.
The new and ambitious scheme will involve moving the area of worship to the
first floor of the building and incorporate stairs and a spacious lift, thus
providing a link with the nearby church hall to create one large ground floor
space for community use. The planning procedures are expected to take eight
months and construction work 38 weeks but it is hoped to finish in time for the
chapel’s 200th anniversary celebrations which are to begin in October 2011.
The Bourne workshops where the world championship BRM racing car was built have
been earmarked for demolition to make way for new housing. The building in
Spalding Road has been used as an auction saleroom since 1984 but the owners are
seeking permission from South Kesteven District Council to use the site for
residential development.
Raymond Mays (1899-1980) began his career in the world of motor racing by
founding ERA in workshops on the orchard behind his lifetime home at Eastgate
House in 1934 but by 1945, his ambition to break the foreign domination of Grand
Prix racing with an all-British car led to the formation of British Racing
Motors, or BRM as it came to be known, and the construction of new workshops on
the old gasworks site nearby which were opened in 1960. There were many failures
and some successes. New engines and cars were designed and in 1962, the BRM
became the first all-British car to win the world championship and the company's
Number One driver Graham Hill, father of the present day Damon, became world
champion at the same time. This accolade from world motor racing was marked by a
civic reception at the Corn Exchange in March 1963 organised by the old Bourne
Urban District Council when Hill was presented with a silver salver for his
achievement. Mays himself was to be honoured in 1978 with a CBE for his services
to motor racing.
After his death, the BRM cars produced in Bourne were put on display to the
public at the workshops for the last time on 11th October 1981 before they were
offered for sale by auction at Christie's salerooms in London. Hundreds turned
up to see them and the queue stretched down Eastgate. The workshops were
eventually sold in 1984 and converted for use as an auction saleroom for
antiques, domestic chattels, plant and machinery, office equipment and
commercial goods, but the owners have now decided that the site had become
unsuitable for its present use and have submitted a planning application to
South Kesteven District Council to build a mix of small houses and flats on the
land, a development that will mark the end of an era.
What the local newspapers are saying: The annual charade of asking the public to
fix the rate of council tax has begun with South Kesteven District Council
launching another consultation over its spending plans for the coming financial
year. The Stamford Mercury reports (December 4th) that the current
options on offer are a zero per cent increase with service cuts, a 2.5% increase
to maintain services or a rise of 3.5% with the promise of more investment in
facilities, in other words agree to pay more or face the consequences, which is
much the same as last year.
Perhaps the public has forgotten what happened in 2008 when the economic squeeze
was just beginning to bite yet the council increased the council tax by 3.5%
after a similar consultation which on investigation proved to be wanting. It
appeared to consist of two public forums held in the Bourne area attended by 40
people of whom only 21 voted for a tax increase. SKDC administers an area with a
population of 130,000 and we were not told how many of them voted for an
increase and, more importantly, how many did not.
The 3.5% was subsequently imposed with the same promise that cuts in public
services would be avoided yet the waste re-cycling banks sited at seventy
locations across the district were phased out in the autumn to save £70,000, a
decision taken by yet another public consultation which was allegedly in favour
although a scrutiny of the figures reveals that this valuable community amenity
was ditched after a mere 26 replies from residents to the authority’s
questionnaire and only 30% of them supported a withdrawal of the service.
The truth of the matter is that despite the window dressing of public
consultation, nothing really changes decisions already made at Grantham and
council tax increases continue solely to fund rising salary and pension
entitlements for a burgeoning workforce which is currently nudging 750. On this
occasion, residents are being asked to vote by post or online but because of
past events, there is little faith that it will change anything and it is a sure
bet that we will get a 3.5% increase this year no matter how many people give
their views, if indeed those views will even be read, let alone considered.
Society has progressed in such a way that we now depend on our supermarkets for
survival. They have become the lifeblood of the nation and their owners more
powerful than politicians for although we can do without our M Ps and their
profligate ways, we do have a need for those who supply our groceries, no matter
how greedy they become.
If this continual supply of food and drink and other consumables suddenly dried
up, if the great companies that supply them began to falter like the banks and
close like Woolies, then the shortages that would ensue could be compared to
those which nations experienced in the aftermath of war and would undoubtedly
lead to rioting in the streets and increased crime through the black market. The
fact is that the supermarkets have become part of the fabric of our society,
making the supply of everyday necessities a commonplace occurrence and one that
we take for granted and therein lies the problem because our very dependency on
this source increases their control over us.
The biggest player in this field is undoubtedly Tesco plc, the UK-based
international grocery and general merchandising retail chain which has become
the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share,
with profits exceeding £3 billion. It is currently the third largest global
retailer based on revenue, behind Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour, but second
largest based on profit, ahead of Carrefour. Founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 when
he began by selling surplus groceries from a stall in London's East End, it
originally specialised in food and drink but has diversified into many other areas such as
clothing, financial services, telecoms and insurance. The company now runs more than 2,300 stores in
this country, some of which are so huge that they must be seen to be believed,
and often operating round the clock while its overseas holdings include outlets
in countries such as China, Thailand, Turkey, the United States and South Korea
where it has an astounding 347 stores.
The Stamford Mercury now informs us that Bourne is about to enter the
fold and that planning permission is being sought to build a Tesco store in
South Road (December 11th). The site to be developed on the corner of Cherryholt
Road, originally occupied by Opico Limited, the agricultural machinery
distributors, but owned by Anglia Regional Co-operative Society since they moved
out in 2007 and who have now shelved plans to build a new superstore by selling
out. The development will cover 40,000 square feet, have parking space for 318
cars and employ 300 staff and it is therefore doubtful if the company’s current
express garage outlet in North Road which was opened in 2002 will survive. The
planning application will be considered by South Kesteven District Council in
January and building work is likely to start in the summer.
Although nothing has been finalised and some councillors are reluctant to
support it while the former Budgens supermarket premises are still standing
empty in the town centre, this development appears unstoppable and will probably
be very good for Bourne if only to increase our outlets and break the
stranglehold that Sainsburys currently have on prices. It will also be a success
because consumerism has become the new creed that has supplanted religious faith
with the supermarkets as our temples. While shopping continues to absorb our
waking hours, the companies that run them will continue to thrive.
Thought for the week: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be
useful or believe to be beautiful. - William Morris (1834-96), English
architect, designer, artist, writer and socialist associated with the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement.
Saturday 19th December 2009
Christmas meat outside Richard Stevenson's shop in West Street
Charles Dickens
appears to have given us our traditional
Christmas for it is the word pictures which he painted in his novels during the
19th century that epitomise this festival today. The turkey, the tree, the
conviviality of mulled wine, coaching inns, plum pudding and giving presents,
were all part of this period, a Victorian family ideal that has imposed itself
on our sub-conscious as the true meaning of Christmas while few give a thought
to the real reason behind the celebration.
There are those who will say that this is a purely Christian festival to mark
the birth of Jesus and of course, that does have a significance for those who
believe, but we should remember that this time of the year has been a
celebration for thousands of years, long before the myth of Bethlehem, the
manger and the Magi, took popular hold, and was no doubt influenced by the Roman
festival of the winter solstice, celebrated on December 25th as the turning
point of the year when all things seemed to prepare for a fresh period of life
and activity, although Celtic and Germanic tribes and the Norsemen had venerated
this season from the earliest times and for their own reasons.
Many other ancient beliefs and customs about this period have been handed down
to us and have crept into Christian usage. The lighting of the Yule log, for
instance, celebrated today on confectionery and cakes, is an inheritance from
Lithuanian mythology while the practice of decorating churches is pagan in its
origin. The mistletoe so widely used for that purpose was the sacred plant of
the druids and the custom of giving gifts to family and friends dates back to
the time of the ancient Romans. The Christmas tree has its origins in the Roman
saturnalia and was introduced into England from Germany during the reign of
Queen Victoria while the story that Father Christmas or Santa Claus comes down
the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings suspended by the fireplace
has a parallel in practically every European country.
But the Christmas past described by Dickens, particularly in his novels The
Pickwick Papers (1836-37) and A Christmas Carol (1843), are those that are
closest to our hearts for they give us the warm glow of family and friends and
fireside and even for those who do not believe, the carol service or midnight
mass on Christmas Eve is still an enjoyable experience because it conveys a
potent feeling that this festival is a special one in the depths of winter and
that apart from the merry-making, it is also a season of peace and goodwill.
Christmas past
here in Bourne was invariably a time of great celebration
although less protracted than today because holidays were shorter, people had
less money to spend and the credit we have now was totally unknown. But the
enjoyment that people had from the festival during the 19th century is evident,
although the anticipation did not start quite so early and lasted no more than a
few days and as this was the age of temperance, there was always someone ready
to warn against the perils of drink with exhortations to sign the pledge
promising to abstain from alcohol.
Here is a sample of the way it was from the pages of the Stamford Mercury
more than 100 years ago. The newspaper reported on Friday 23rd December 1887:
There is abundant energy being manifested in
the seasonable decorations of the various business establishments at Bourne. The
butchers have quite a fine show. Mr Mays [George Mays, butcher, Eastgate] has
killed 300 sheep (two of which have been lately exhibited at the Smithfield
Show, one weighing 211lb., the other 187lb.) and 9 beasts. Mr Williamson [Joseph
Williamson, butcher, North Street] has on view one of the prize beasts at the
Bourne show. Mr Mansfield [William Mansfield, butcher, Church Street] had a
splendid show of fat stock on Tuesday, including Mr J Grummitt's [John Grummitt,
farmer, North Fen] prize beast at Bourne show. The grocers' windows are
tastefully adorned with appetising wares; and the milliners' and drapers'
establishments also present an artistic appearance.
At the National Schoolroom in North Street,
the vicar and churchwardens and members of various local charities made their
annual distribution among the deserving poor, the gifts including 700 yards of
flannel, 50 blankets, 700 yards of calico and 170 tons of coal.
Postal: On Monday (Bank Holiday) [Boxing Day having fallen on a Sunday], the
money order and savings bank business will close at noon. There will be no
morning despatch of letters and no delivery after the first at 7 am. The letter
box will be closed on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve for all parts at 10.40
am; special mail letters and parcels for all parts at 6 pm; general despatch at
7.10 pm; for Sleaford and Folkingham at 8 pm.
On Monday and Tuesday, Mr Thomas Rosbottom, the celebrated Lancashire lecturer,
addressed crowded meetings in the Victoria Hall, Bourne, in advocacy of
temperance. The lectures were a great success, the audience being apparently
entirely in sympathy with the lecturer, who interspersed anecdotes, humorous and
pathetic, with his moving exhortations, in a manner quite irresistible. He
claims that during his career as a lecturer he has induced thousands to sign the
pledge.
The Christmas celebrations continued in the town for the next
few days and the Mercury reported on December 30th:
Bourne Abbey was throughout adorned with
seasonable decorations for Christmas. Though not so elaborately ornamental as in
some previous years, the general effect was exceedingly pleasing. Over the
communion table in white letters on a scarlet ground was the text "Emmanuel, God
with us". The centre was occupied with a beautiful white cross. The miniature
arches were filled with a pretty arrangement of evergreens interspersed with
flowers. The reading desk was decorated with ivy and holly, the panels in front
being ornamented with chrysanthemum crosses, the centre one of the St Cuthbert
type. The pedestal of the lectern was gay with a choice selection of flowers and
evergreens, a fine bunch of pampas grass being especially noticeable.
Holly berries and ivy embellished the handsome pulpit. The sills of the windows
in the north and south aisles were beatified with texts worked in white on a
scarlet ground, and encircled with wreaths and evergreens. The font was
decorated with exquisite taste; the cover was surmounted with a fine cross and
chrysanthemums; the pedestal was encircled with ivy and a variety of evergreens
prettily frosted. Great praise is due to the ladies who so admirably executed
the decorations. The services were well attended. The sermons, morning and
evening, were preached by the Rev H M Mansfield, Vicar, his texts being Isaiah
ix.6, and the words Thy holy child Jesus. The musical portion of the service was
executed with precision and taste, reflecting great credit on both organist and
choir.
The services were as follows:- At 8.30 am, full choral communion service,
Agutter in G. During the administration of the Holy Communion the hymn The
heavenly word proceeding forth was sung very softly by the choir. This formed a
new and beautiful feature of the service. The morning service was fully choral,
the hymn, Christians awake being sung as a processional. The anthem Let us now
go even unto Bethlehem, concluding with a chorale, This is he whom seers in old
time, which was finely rendered. The evening service was also fully choral. The
processional hymn was Hark, the herald angels sing, the anthem was Behold I
bring you glad tidings and the carols were The manager throne and All my heart
once more rejoices. The Hallelujah chorus from The Messiah formed an appropriate
conclusion to the day's services.
Christmas was ushered in at Bourne with merry peals of the bells of the old
Abbey Church and the musical strains of the Bourne Brass Band who played carols
and other appropriate pieces in an exceedingly creditable manner.
The Guardians of Bourne Union gave their annual treat to the inmates of the
union-house [the workhouse] on Boxing Day. The seasonable additions to the usual
plain fare were apparently highly appreciated. A thoroughly enjoyable day was
suitably concluded with a merry evening entertainment.
A grand fancy fair [similar to our modern pantomimes] was held in the Corn
Exchange on December 27th and 28th in aid of the funds of the Congregational
Church. The room was fitted up as a street of nations or grand international
bazaar. The scene was laid in Canton. The peculiar conglomeration of Oriental
and European architecture was depicted with realistic effect. Proceeding down
the left side of the street, the enterprising traveller passed in succession a
Persian residence, an Indian cottage, a Chinese house, a delightful Japanese
village, a Tyrolese chalet, a snug mountain home covered with snow and having
icicles pendent from the roof, a magnificent Buddhist temple having its
elaborate exterior embellished with representatives of the Oriental deity and
dragons; the Japanese villa, "the Golden Lily"; a pretty view on the Yang-tse-Kiang.
The last abode in the curious street was an Australian log hut.
The entire series of buildings presented a charming appearance, and attested the
well-known skill of Mr A Stubley [Alfred Stubley, painter, paperhanger,
sign-writer and art decorator of 28 West Street]. The articles exhibited on the
various stalls were both useful and ornamental. Various entertainments were
given in the evenings. Vocal and instrumental music was performed at intervals.
Amongst the amusements were The House that Jack Built and Æsop's fables
personified, which were very popular. The promoters of the enterprise are to be
congratulated on the success which has deservedly crowned their efforts.
As winter approaches, we are aware of the conditions that may
be in store and although snowfalls in recent years have not been particularly
heavy, they are a reminder of the extreme conditions that are forever threatened
by our unpredictable and fluctuating climate. I have just come across a
newspaper cutting in my archive that illustrates the severe weather that can
disrupt our daily lives and also the way in which our family doctors reacted.
This letter was written to the Stamford Mercury by Dr John Galletly
(1899-1993) who practised in this town for over 40 years, retiring in 1969 but
always ready to remind us of the way things were and this was his contribution
to the newspaper in 1985 which reveals not only the inclement conditions of the
time but also a rare dedication to duty, a far cry from what we might expect
today:
In the winter of 1947, the countryside was
wrapped in snow. There were only two doctors in the area then, the late Dr
George Holloway and myself. I had to visit a patient at Witham-on-the-Hill but
then had to make my way to Thurlby and thought that to avoid Toft hill, it would
be easier to go by Wilsthorpe but was told wrongly and my car finally gave up at
Manthorpe level crossing. I walked to the water board house and telephoned from
there for a taxi to meet me at the late Mr Fred Wade’s house in Thurlby. I
walked along the railway line as far as Thurlby station and then down the
village high street. When I got to Mr Wade’s house, Burchnell’s taxi was there.
Mrs Wade opened the door. She did not say “Would you like a drink?”, she had one
ready for me! A kindness I never forgot. The present snow reminds me of the
practice of those days.
What a perfect thought from past times for us to ponder on at
this season of peace and goodwill.
We are taking a break over the Christmas period and this diary will not be
appearing next week although the web site will continue while the Bourne Forum
will also be available for those who wish to share their thoughts and opinions.
It has been a busy year and we have expanded our readership throughout the
world, a most rewarding experience when we receive emails of gratitude and even
praise from faraway places for continuing to spread the word about our town. It
is an enjoyable experience and long may it continue and in the meantime, my
wife, Elke, and myself wish all of our readers a happy Christmas and a healthy
and prosperous New Year.
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