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Saturday 6th March 2010
Work in progress around St Peter's Pool
A major transformation is taking place at the Wellhead
Gardens and around St Peter’s Pool in particular and come spring we will see the
fruits of the labour that has been going on here during the winter months.
Volunteers from the Bourne Green Gym have been busy clearing and planting
unsightly areas along the river and around the lake and the results are
impressive and will be even more evident as the season advances.
The Bourne Green Gym was formed in 2009 as part of a scheme run by the British
Trust of Conservation Volunteers which allows young and old alike improve their
health and the environment at the same time. Volunteers are recruited through
the Hereward Practice in Exeter Street and work under the direction of Rosemary
Blakesley, a landscape gardener, the primary objective being to help people
improve their fitness and well being and at the same time enhance some of the
neglected corners of our town.
Their work which is being carried out in conjunction with Bourne United
Charities is already evident around the Abbey Lawn and now it is the turn of the
Wellhead Gardens where the most ambitious project so far is well advanced and a
neglected area that has been the subject of much criticism in the past is now
being turned into a wildlife habitat surrounded by water, a miniature island
which will be connected to the main park by a new boardwalk and two bridges. The
volunteers are working against the clock because this habitat is already proving
to be a magnet for wildlife and they must be off site within a few weeks to
avoid disturbing the busiest time of the year for our flora and fauna, the
island being home to ducks and coots as well as an army of amphibians and small
mammals.
This is a small project in the fifty-year history of the Wellhead Gardens
but one that not only embraces the growing awareness of protecting and even
improving our environment, but one that has also tapped that bottomless well of
goodwill on which so many of our organisations thrive, the willingness of so
many people to devote time and effort without thought of reward, and the
community should be eternally grateful.
The pool is one of the country's most ancient artesian wells, a water
source going back to the earliest times around which successive peoples made
their settlements that eventually became the town of Bourne but it has not
always received the respect deserving of such antiquity. In the late 19th
century, for instance, the water became a popular place for pet owners to wash
their dogs and even a convenient spot to dispose of them when they were dead,
practices that many people found unacceptable and there were protests to the
authorities that they were likely to contaminate the water supply.
These were the days before the formation of the local councils that now run our
affairs and the Wellhead at that time was under the control of the Rural
Sanitary Authority. The Bourne Union, administered by a Board of Guardians, was
mainly responsible for all other local matters, including the workhouse, later
St Peter's Hospital and now demolished, which overlooked the Wellhead. The
master, Alfred Yates, was one of the principal objectors, and his complaint was
supported by the local correspondent of the Stamford Mercury who at that
time was Joseph Davies, headmaster of the Boys' Council or Board School, now the
Abbey Road Primary School.
On Friday 10th July 1891 he published a report in the newspaper saying:
Mr Yates is perfectly justified in
complaining of the nuisance of the owners of dogs and other animals utilising
the Wellhead as a bath for their charges. The water is the direct source of
supply for the workhouse and we are only surprised that the complaint was not
made before. We venture to say that the most enthusiastic temperance advocate
would find his principles somewhat shaken if, suffering from the thirst that
attacks most poor mortals in sultry weather, his only local options lay between
a glass of Wyles's ale [from Bourne Brewery] and a glass of Wellhead water, in
which dogs big and dogs little, dogs woolly and dogs smooth, with the dirt and
fleas upon them, had previously left these superfluous concrescences in
solution.
There are still a few liberty-loving citizens surviving who tenaciously cling to
the idea that rivers and streams are the cemeteries that nature has provided for
their ailing cats and dogs and there, with an appended brick by way of an
epitaph, they consign their remains. We would mildly suggest to these patriots,
the prejudice of their other fellow citizens to having in their cheery cup of
tea a canine or feline infusion. Seriously speaking, it appears to us a mere
matter of common sense. Whatever the law may be, the Board of Guardians will be
only doing their duty in apprising the police of the matter and effectively
preventing, by any reasonable means, the contamination of that most important of
all hygienic regulation - a supply of pure water. Probably the offenders have
erred without due thought. We believe they will quite see the force of our
appeal and scrub their dogs at home.
The Bourne Union met on July 9th to consider the various
complaints and the guardians recommended that the Rural Sanitary Authority take
the necessary action to stop the washing of dogs, precautions that included the
erection of notices around the pool warning offenders.
Vandalism has always been with us and its effects have been manifest for
centuries while the best efforts of government at all level have failed to find a
solution. It is less evident in small market towns such as Bourne than in the
inner cities where criminal damage is endemic but when it does occur the effect
is to make the problem far worse than it is.
The graffiti recently sprayed over signs, post boxes and properties in South
Road is such an example and whether this one incident deserved front page
treatment by The Local newspaper (February 26th) is debatable at a time
when more important stories vied for prominence. But the headline and photograph
gave it far more significance than it deserved and tended to show Bourne as a
community dogged with social ills whereas we are no more a target than any other
town of comparable size.
When similar problems became evident at the Abbey Lawn the answer was to fence
off the grounds and impose a curfew although the problem then as now might well
have been solved by a greater police presence which sports officials repeatedly
demanded to protect their properties. The latest incident occurred on a Friday
night because this is the start of the weekend when yobs get tanked up with
strong ale and spirits and then think it a great wheeze to damage property as
they stagger home. Serious vandalism has been sporadic over the years but
practically every case has occurred during this period yet despite the trail of
broken windows, street signs and trees, the police remain noticeably absent from
our streets at a time when drunkenness and anti-social behaviour is at its most
evident.
Local authorities are continually holding public consultations over issues of
importance to the community but despite it being more pertinent than most, this
subject has never been addressed and if the people were asked to name one of the
most important improvements they would like to see for their town then the
answer would most certainly be increased police patrols and the comforting
knowledge that the bobby is back on the beat and our streets are safe. One thing
is certain, that the sight of a uniformed officer in the neighbourhood and the
prospect of a night in the cells would be quite sufficient to dampen the alcohol
induced bravado that fuels these wanton attacks on public and private property.
But in the real world, the county police precept on the council tax increases
annually while the men in blue continue to stay out of sight, thus creating a
situation which private security firms can exploit with offers of patrols to
keep our streets safe, although few would advocate such an approach when a corps
of professionals is being paid with public money to do just that. Until this
impasse is resolved, louts out on the town at weekends will continue to cause
havoc unchecked.
The Bourne Festival has become an important community event in the town’s
social calendar, providing a weekend of summer entertainment for all the family
as well as raising large amounts for good causes locally. Last year, for
instance, 8,000 people went along to the Wellhead Field during the three days it
was held in June and £10,000 was later distributed to selected organisations.
These occasions, however, come at a price and the Bourne Round Table which
organises this particular one is anxious to involve business and industry who
might wish to sponsor some of the outlay such as £7,000 for the marquee, £4,500
for a stage and lighting, £1,500 each for insurance and toilets and £1,200 for
security and fencing, all necessary expenditure for public gatherings of this
size. The Round Table spokesman, Neil Bothwell, told the The Local (March
5th) that they were seeking the support of as many traders as possible to ensure
that the event is a success. “Every single penny that is left
after costs are covered goes into our charity fund which is then distributed to
worthwhile causes”, he said. “The more we can get in sponsorship then the more
we can give to those who need it.”
Events such as this are an essential part of life today as a means of
bringing the community together and providing the opportunity to relax from the
daily round and to get out and about and meet people and although the
entertainment on offer today is very different from the festivals or feasts of
past times, the spirit of these occasions has not changed very much over the
years.
One of the great events from our history occurred in the late 19th century when
Bourne was celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. This was a double
celebration because it also marked the acquisition of the former brewery
building and house at No 63 West Street as the permanent home of the Bourne
Institute, an organisation which had been formed for the recreational and
educational improvement of its 200 members but until then was on a three-year
lease. In 1897, the committee was given the opportunity to buy the premises and
as this coincided with the royal anniversary, a bazaar and festival was arranged
for Wednesday 8th June to raise funds towards the purchase price.
A series of attractions was organised, a souvenir programme printed and the
town’s M P, William Younger, the member for Stamford, invited to speak and
everyone looked forward to the great day. Unfortunately, the weather was bad for
the official opening and plans to hold the bazaar in a large marquee in the
grounds were abandoned and the stalls were set up instead in the billiards room
and adjoining granary. All had been decorated in red, white and blue to mark the
Diamond Jubilee and during a concert in the evening, a series of tableaux were
staged to illustrate the leading events in the Queen's reign. There were also
music, songs and dancing and as the weather improved, decorated gondolas took
guests on short trips along the Bourne Eau and so the rain failed to dampen the
occasion which marked a turning point in the history of the institute which
continued in being until 1975 when it was renamed the Pyramid Club and continues
to flourish although now specialising in billiards and snooker.
Thought for the week: Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought.
Our brightest blazes are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.
- Samuel
Johnson, British lexicographer and writer (1709-84) whose Dictionary of the
English Language appeared in 1755.
Saturday 13th March 2010
The debate over micro-chips in wheelie bins is back on
the agenda after it was revealed that 2.5 million of them have already been
fitted by local authorities around the country which is seen as the first move
towards introducing yet another stealth tax.
Additional charges for waste collections have already proved to be hugely
unpopular and although the scheme has been dressed up as a green initiative it
appears to be little more than another method of raising additional revenue for
a service that is already adequately financed through the council tax. In fact,
there was such a public outcry when the idea was first floated that in 2008 the
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, promised to ditch bin taxes, commonly known as
pay-as-you-throw.
South Kesteven District Council, which covers the Bourne area, is one of the 42
local authorities that have already installed micro-chips in wheelie bins that
have been issued to 55,000 homes in the district. They were fitted at a cost of
£500,000 when the rubbish collection system changed from black plastic bags in
the autumn of 2006, one in each black bin for landfill waste and another in the
silver bin for recyclable materials. The council kept this a secret and when it
leaked out, repeatedly denied that any move for home owners to pay for rubbish
disposal was being considered and insisted that the microchips, or bin bugs as
they had become known, were nothing more than identifying tags which enabled the
dustcarts weigh the rubbish collected.
Their installation angered many people and Brynley Heaven, of Aslackby, near
Bourne, extracted those from each of his two bins and returned them to the
council with the message: “Please find enclosed my two wheelie bin bugs. As
Councillor Trevor Holmes [of Bourne Town Council] says, there is an agenda here
to get us eventually to Pay by Weight of rubbish. This would be an attack on low
income families. If parliament passes the Pay by Weight legislation, I will
comply with it. Until then, here are your bugs. Enjoy! - Brynley Heaven. P S:
Enclosed: two bugs.”
Mr Heaven was subsequently threatened with a fine of £1,000 for damaging council
property but after widespread coverage of his actions by the newspapers and
television, the council told him that there would be no prosecution this time
although his bins would not be emptied in the future although this restriction
has since been rescinded.
The Daily Mail now reports a 60% increase in the fitting of electronic
bugs and one local authority, Bristol City Council, is presenting its scheme as
a reward for recyclers with cash payments for homes that leave out less rubbish
(March 5th) although the contagion of chipped bins does mark the revival of the
tax scheme that the government appeared to have abandoned. In fact, the entire
scenario that has resurfaced is undoubtedly the prelude to more taxes in areas
where we are already paying substantial amounts for the services we are supposed
to receive.
This is to be expected because whenever governments fail in their primary duty
to protect the currency it is the people who have to pick up the tab and as
those in office become more profligate with public money then additional taxes
are a frequent necessity and although the lamps burn continually in the back
rooms at Whitehall, official ingenuity is now running short of ideas to keep the
machine oiled.
Another example of clumsy taxation has surfaced as a result of the cold winter
which has played havoc with our roads, leaving a moonscape of pot holes in many
urban areas including Bourne. A survey has revealed a 60% increase in such
damage throughout the country in the past two years with an estimated repair
cost of £70 per pot hole although local authorities also face claims for damage
by motorists who have ruined wheels and tyres. North Yorkshire County Council
has now come up with a new wheeze by demanding a pot hole levy on the council
tax, increasing bills by £4.50 in band D to pay for repair costs although it has
also been revealed that road repairs in the region have been needed for many
years, even before the severe sub-normal temperatures of this winter had
arrived, and this increase is regarded by many as an underhand method of paying
the bill.
We hope it does not catch on. Until now, Bourne has been able to benefit from an
initiative introduced by Lincolnshire County Council, the highways authority,
which itemises a pot hole code on its web site reminding us that the authority
has a statutory duty to maintain adopted roads and paths and is employing Pot
Hole Patrol Gangs who, it is claimed, will temporarily repair such defects
within 24 hours. These workmen have not always been evident around the town in
the past and as a result hazardous holes in the roads have proliferated and with
the current crop of new examples, many of them highly dangerous, their work will
be cut out for many months to come.
The streets around this town are now in probably the worst state they have been
for many years with some pot holes of gargantuan proportions and drivers are
advised to drive with extreme care until the county council sees fit to put them
right.
Tax initiatives must have a plausible context and are therefore linked to
recognisable trends in society. It would be impossible, for instance, for the
government today to introduce a window tax, although this was seen as a viable
option in this country during the 17th and 18th centuries when it was decided to
impose a levy relative to the prosperity of the taxpayer, the amount payable
calculated according to the number of the windows in each property although tax
avoidance in those days meant bricking up less used windows which still can be
seen in many buildings today as evidence of this ridiculous legislation which
was eventually repealed in 1851 although still remembered as having given rise
to the phrase daylight robbery.
The window tax demonstrates the desperation of government which has plunged
itself into a deep hole such as that dug by the current Labour government and
rather than take the advice offered by experience, continues to keep digging.
Whitehall has learned to its cost to keep its hands off the double glazing,
especially as so many homes now have garden extensions and conservatories which
would have been so lucrative in past times.
But we must not overlook the possibility of similarly unacceptable schemes that
might be introduced to squeeze the electorate, the latest being the imposition
of VAT on food, always sacrosanct since it was introduced in 1973 but now
considered to be fair game to help pay off our national debt which has in recent
months reached record proportions, and there will be others for in times of
hardship that has been inflicted from on high, it is always the people who have
to pay.
From the archives: Traffic is a sufficient problem to cause delays on the
roads of Bourne today but in past times animals could be equally hazardous, a
situation highlighted by a news report in the Stamford Mercury over a
century ago describing an incident involving a stampede of black cattle which
were being moved by rail on Sunday 29th November 1896. About 4 o'clock in the
morning, a railway worker heard a great commotion from one of the cattle trucks
in the freight yard near the station and found five steers trampling another
beast underfoot. The report went on:
Proceeding to liberate the endangered
animal, the other five escaped in all directions, careering up the lines, and
one madly rushed out on to the road and into a fen drain from which it was, with
some difficulty, pulled out later in the day. Two beasts headed towards Thurlby
and after some chasing were recaptured. One galloped to Morton and in the
afternoon was brought back with comparatively little trouble. Another located
itself near the gatehouse in Mill Drove and caused a great deal of trouble but
was eventually captured and driven back along the railway line to Bourne but
with a mad rush, escaped again and it was not until it had caused a great deal
of alarm to pedestrians in the town that towards evening, it was recaptured,
securely fastened and taken back to the station in a butcher's cart. The cattle
were eventually sent on their way to King's Lynn.
Spring is just a few days away although it has been
suggested in the national press that it has already begun on March 1st, which is
incorrect. Historically, the official date is the day of the vernal equinox
which usually occurs on the night of March 20th-21st, vernal coming originally
from the Latin word for bloom and refers to the fact that in the northern
hemisphere this time marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
Those who keep an eye on the seasons will know that the birds tell us when
spring is imminent because by early March as it starts to get light earlier in
the mornings, many are already chirruping merrily away outside the window as
anyone who is awake at that hour can confirm.
This is also the time of year when our thoughts turn to the flowers of
May and the annual effort to make our town attractive for those who live here
and, more importantly, to visitors. The annual task of drumming up volunteers to
help enhance the appearance of our streets and parks is therefore underway
because 2010 could well be the year that Bourne wins a gold medal in the East
Midlands in Bloom competition.
The annual event is community based and designed to encourage cleaner, smarter
and more attractive town centres in the region. There are several sections and
Bourne falls into Category B Towns, those with a population of between 6,000 and
12,000, based on the last electoral register. The judges usually give a month’s
notice of their arrival and tour the town looking out for floral displays,
attractive and colourful gardens and parks and so it is important for everyone
to give special attention to those places under their control whether it is
merely the lawn and herbaceous borders or a public open space. Pupils from local
schools, the scouts and police cadets all help in keeping the streets and public
places clear of litter.
An indication of what is needed was given by one of the judges, Doug Stacey,
when he spoke to the town council in 2009. “The competition originated in France
and has been running for 45 years”, he said. “It leads to cleaner communities
and encourages people to work together and take pride in their town.”
The competition carries with it an involvement of the people and the chance to
make our streets attractive throughout the summer months, not just for the
judges but also for the many visitors who arrive here with Bourne either as a
destination or merely passing through. The work carried out in successive years
is the perfect example of how a small market town should look at this time of
the year and we should remember that if people like what they see then they will
come again.
In the past we have collected a silver award in 2006 and 2007 and silver gilt
awards in 2008 and 2009 but the town is still aiming for gold which will need a
total of 170-200 points and is classed as outstanding. Last year, the judges
said that this was achievable if bigger and better floral displays were on show
with herbaceous plants and shrubs added to provide more impact and to make the
displays more sustainable.
“We are still a long way from this but we keep improving and hope to do better
in the future”, said Mrs Nelly Jacobs, clerk to the town council. “But we do
need as many people as possible to help out and give up time to help with the
planting and general tidying up of the town centre.”
Thought for the week: With the coming of spring, I am calm again.
-
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Austrian composer best known during his own lifetime
as one of the leading orchestral and operatic conductors of the day.
Saturday 20th March 2010
Although not of important architectural merit, No 40 North Road
does have a place in our history because it was the home of our most famous
family doctor who became a legend in his own lifetime. Once a town house and a
landmark in the district, recent renovation and now a large addition which is
being built at the rear has institutionalised the property out of all
recognition to fulfil its new role as a modern medical clinic.
The house was originally owned by Dr John Galletly who came to Bourne from
Scotland in the late 19th century by way of Cumberland and Rippingale and in
1906 he bought four acres of land for £4,000 from one of his patients, farmer
William Sewards, and although this was more than he needed or could afford, he
embarked on building a family home with room for him to carry on his profession
as a general practitioner.
He called it The Gables and apart from the very spacious living quarters, the
section containing the medical practice consisted of a waiting room, lobby,
surgery with teak shelving, hot and cold water, a deep basin and a beautiful
large teak desk with deep drawers underneath. The house and garden only occupied
two of the four acres but fortunately he was able to sell off the surplus land
some years later for more than he gave for the lot, thus enabling him to pay off
a large part of his mortgage.
His son, also John, who had been studying medicine in London, returned home in
1927 and continued living in the house and running the practice which he did for
the next 70 years. During that time, the house was practically unchanged, a
large forbidding property hidden behind a fence and dense shrubbery, the surgery
remaining much the same as it had been in his father’s time with a side door for
patients, a Bunsen burner attached to the wall and a sink with hot and cold taps
fitted into his workbench. On the shelves were bottles of acids and other
chemicals, all neatly labelled in Latin and it was these ingredients that he
used in mixing his own medicines, often using a pestle and mortar.
Dr Galletly retired in 1969, having been working in Bourne for 41 years, and the
practice was moved to the new clinic in St Gilbert's Road but ironically, the
house was sold and refurbished for use as the Galletly Group Practice after his
death although some of the old medical instruments that he and his father had
used were preserved in a small museum. His interests in medicine, people and the
community continued until the end of his life and he maintained a wide circle of
loyal friends until his death on 4th April 1993 at the age of 94.
He was a man who disliked change and it is doubtful if he would have approved of
what is happening to his old home, certainly not the loss of his beloved rose
garden where he spent many hours and which he delighted in showing visitors but
now swept away as part of the current £400,000 extension scheme to make room for
more consulting rooms, an extra waiting room and a training suite, thus enabling
the practice treat more patients.
In his retirement years, Dr Galletly admitted that he missed what he called, the
old days, and discussed the role of the doctor in today's modern practices.
Shortly before his death, he wrote:
The burden of the general practitioner has
been lightened very much but is he still as much a member of the community as he
used to be? Does he still have to wonder what is meant by 'the vapours' or
dissuade a patient from the use of bread as a poultice or even goose grease? And
will he find a nice cup of tea and a piece of cake for him after attending a
confinement?
What the local newspapers are saying: The future of the
supermarket premises vacated by Budgens in April 2008 has been the subject of
reports in our local newspapers with tenuous suggestions that it may be taken
over by the Anglia Regional Co-operative Society which currently runs the
Rainbow store in Manning Road although the reasoning behind this is difficult to
follow.
Firstly, if the Co-op wanted a retail presence in Bourne it would not have sold
out its present premises for housing development and secondly the Burghley
Street premises are totally unsuitable for a similar town centre outlet, given
the restrictions in size and car parking. But then the newspaper reports are
purely speculative and based on little more than rumour and hopeful anticipation
by existing traders in and around the nearby shopping precinct where custom has
been affected by the closure of Budgens. A report in The Local for
instance quoted a non-committal reaction from the Co-op because when this was
put to him, retail executive Andy Simpson merely said: “We are looking at
suitable alternative locations as we always have done in Bourne” (May 5th).
The problem is that the empty premises under discussion are too small to attract
one of the big High Street grocery chains, hence the decision by Waitrose and
Lidl not to come here, while other products such as computers, stationery and
clothing would have an insufficient market potential from the immediate locality
and would also face increased competition from the Internet and from nearby
shopping centres such as Peterborough, Lincoln, Nottingham, Spalding and
Stamford. In a nutshell, Bourne is suffering from the very ills that makes it an
attractive place to live, that of being a small market town and therefore
outside the consideration of major commercial retail expansion yet still subject
to the high operating costs experienced by others in larger centres of
population. Furthermore, any prospective tenant will not be moving in merely to
stimulate trade at nearby shops but to make a success of its own operation and
please the shareholders and unless this likelihood is written in stone then the
premises will remain empty.
When considering the possibilities for Bourne, whether it be prospective tenants
for empty premises or indeed the provision of an entirely new shopping centre,
the potential for investors is of paramount importance for without a good return
they will go elsewhere. This will inevitably create retail backwaters where
everything we want is not always available but that is the way of the world
today, a world of our own making because those outlets that have closed, as with
Budgens, have done so through lack of custom and that means you and me, and few
companies are prepared to challenge this experience, especially during the
current economic climate which shows no sign of changing for some time to come.
The small print has become a euphemism for underhand conduct which the unwary
will encounter when entering into a contract or agreement, meaning that there
are parts which contain reservations and qualifications that may not be noticed,
usually reproduced in a much smaller text which upon close inspection contain
rules or information that will disadvantage the person signing.
Hence the caveat not to enter into a contract without reading the fine print, a
vigilance most careful people observe, but there are signs that companies are
becoming even more artful in their methods of pursuing sales and profit,
especially through their advertising on television and on the radio. These
announcements, often promoting Broadband, financial services, television and
mobile telephones, and the sale of new cars, may seem to be just the ticket,
offering something better than anything you already have, but invariably end
with the small print which in this case is read at breakneck speed by an actor,
so fast that it is impossible to take it in which is exactly what the company
intends, corporate chicanery confusing the listener to such an extent that the
content is ignored and we should boycott all of these products until the
companies involved mend their ways.
Unfortunately we are living in a grasping society where money has become a major
motivation for living and must be acquired at all costs, thus spawning sales
techniques that are intended to deceive that are little short of criminal. There
are many other injustices which the ordinary citizen faces every day which are
often voiced but never addressed by central government on behalf of the consumer
because we are stuck with politicians who are more intent on fictionalising
their expenses than looking after the people they represent although and as a
result, a
mountain of resentment is building up against those who run our affairs.
Daffodils have begun appearing around the town, a welcome sign that
spring is almost with us. These beautiful golden yellow trumpeted flowers grow
wild in most European countries and are familiar in moist woods and country
gardens and you are also likely to come across them in the most unexpected
places.
They can be seen growing along the grass verges of country roads around Bourne
in springtime, a sight that often puzzles visitors who ask why they should be
there because, unlike the Lake District, this is not a locality that is known
for the wild variety. The answer however, is a simple one, because these are
what a gardener would call self-setters, bulbs that have been dropped during
loading and left to take root. Small colonies have thus become established in
the most unlikely places, around the farm gate and in small sections of
carriageway that have become isolated lay-bys, created when road improvements
have been made.
Wild daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus), also known as Lent lilies,
have decreased considerably since the 16th century. John Gerard (1545-1607), the
gardener and apothecary who supervised Lord Burghley’s gardens at Stamford,
described them in 1597, as “growing everywhere through England” but they were
eventually overtaken by the cultivated varieties that now grace our homes and
the chance plantings at our roadside are not of recent years but occurred when
the agricultural land in this locality was used for bulb production, sometimes
tulips but more often daffodils.
Now, for economic reasons, it is mainly devoted to intensive cereal production
because this land has become part of the Lincolnshire corn belt. Bulb and flower
production continues in the fens where the rich, black soil makes it one of the
most fertile spots on earth but the industry is now confined to the area around
Spalding, thirteen miles to the east along the main A151, where tulips,
daffodils, narcissi and hyacinths bloom each spring in a vast carpet of
breath-taking colour that attracts visitors from all over the world.
As with most of our wild plants, daffodils have medicinal properties, much
prized and widely used in the days before Boots became the universal dispenser
of pills and potions and was the basis of an ancient ointment known as
narcissimum. Nicholas Culpepper (1616-54), the physician and botanist, whose
herbal remedies were used in the treatment of disease for many generations, also
recommended boiling the roots to make a posset drink which would cause vomiting
and could be used successfully against the onset of tertian ague [shaking fits]
which was frequently caught in springtime while a plaster made from the roots
with parched barley meal added dissolved hard swellings and imposthumes
[abscesses or cysts]. Juice from the root was excellent for the discolouring of
the skin while the juice from the flower mingled with honey, frankincense, wine
and myrrh, was good against “the corrupt and running matter in the ears”.
These ancient remedies have long since fallen into disuse and daffodils today
are grown solely for ornamental purposes, their increasing popularity in recent
years replacing tulips as the most popular flower from this part of South
Lincolnshire where they are grown not only for the home sales but also for
markets overseas, in Europe and even further afield, and are exported by air
overnight to destinations around the world.
The bunch my wife bought for £1 at the Thursday market this week will be exactly
the same as that gracing a penthouse flat in Manhattan although the prices will
be considerably more in New York. The flowers look beautiful when they appear
and give delight to all who see them, but their time span is short. The hardy
daffodils that flower in the waste places where they fell around Bourne in years
past will last much longer and are a cautionary reminder that what is new is not
always enduring.
Thought for the week: Fair daffodils, we weep to see you haste away so
soon. - Robert Herrick (1591-1674), son of a Leicester ironmonger who became
a clergyman and is now remembered as one of England's leading poets.
Saturday 27th March 2010
One of the great eyesores of Bourne in recent years has
been the former glue factory at the Slipe in the South Fen, a monument to past
industry that became a victim of changing times and the buildings left to
moulder and deteriorate as the years passed them by. A local property company
has now applied for planning permission to redevelop the site as an industrial
estate with six factory units within the existing buildings and a further 13 in
a new landscaped extension.
This is a most welcome initiative which will improve an unsightly area that has
blighted the town for many years and at the same time create opportunities for
those small businesses on which we depend to keep our local economy alive. The
premises were previously occupied by an animal waste processing plant, also
known as the solvent extraction or glue factory, which closed 30 years ago with
a sigh of relief for those who lived here during the 20th century because during
that time the industrial odours it produced were a constant problem, a nuisance
which became known as “the terrible pong” that emanated regularly from the
premises.
The business was owned by T W Mays and Sons Ltd, a company with diverse
agricultural interests, particularly fallen stock which was collected and
processed at a slaughterhouse and skin yard on the banks of the Bourne Eau
behind Eastgate and the meat and offal dealt with in a by-products factory while
the manufacture of fertiliser was a major boost to its business. Carcasses of
livestock such as horses, cattle and sheep were brought in by cart and it was
the firm's proud boast in a tradesmen's catalogue of 1909 that "every atom of
the carcasses reaching these works would be turned to some commercial account".
The Slipe factory was run by a subsidiary company, Mays (By-Products) Limited,
and was used to turn hooves, horns and bones into glue, a malodorous process and
one that plagued the town, particularly during hot weather when the stink became
so pungent that it wafted in from the fen whenever an east wind was blowing and
penetrated shops, houses and schools and as a result, the premises soon became
known as "the Bovril factory".
For twenty years, townspeople put up with the smell and the company spent large
sums on special equipment designed to reduce the nuisance and monitor its
effects but to no avail. In February 1975, a local factory owner, Mr Colin
Walker, protested to South Kesteven District Council that the smell was
sickening and the stench from processing waste running into a dyke near to his
premises so nauseating that his men were unable to continue with their work and
several had threatened to give notice unless there was an improvement. But by
the time his complaints was heard by the appropriate committee, the company had
given assurances that the nuisance had ended and a representative was also sent
to see Mr Walker to give assurances that it would not return. Mr A E Gooch,
manager of Mays (By-Products) Limited, said: "We have assured Mr Walker that we
will not let this happen again and we are co-operating to the fullest with the
local authorities."
But within a few months, the pong had returned and by the summer of 1978, Bourne
decided that enough was enough and so many complained to South Kesteven District
Council that firm action became unavoidable. A report on the problem was drawn
up by the Chief Environmental Health officer, Geoffrey Fox, and the
environmental health committee met in July to consider it and decide whether the
firm should be ordered to either curtail the nuisance or face an abatement
notice which could have forced them to end production.
The company fought back, saying that steps were being taken to reduce the smell
and that they were monitoring the results but their new equipment was not yet
fully operational and in the meantime, anything that was done to hamper
production at the factory could jeopardise the future of the firm and the jobs
of thirty workers employed there. But committee members were on fighting form
and Councillor Douglas Reeson was unequivocal in his condemnation of the
annoyance and even health hazard it was causing because he told the committee in
an eloquent address:
Perhaps the firm has tried to do something
about it but that does not help the people living in Bourne who have to put up
with this stink. I live a mile and a half from the factory and can clearly
detect it when the wind is in the right direction. The smell is quite appalling.
One cannot explain just how abominable it is. I would like to be able to bring a
sample of it here in a can in order that members can experience it for
themselves. We should warn this company that unless this stench is contained, we
will be taking further action against them. The people of Bourne cannot live
with it whether there are thirty jobs at stake or not. This is a nuisance that
has been dragging on for years and the horrible aroma has been coming from this
factory ever since I started attending council meetings when they were held at
the Corn Exchange. I do not think that anyone should be asked to live with this
sort of unpleasant odour. I feel very strongly about the possibility of people
being put out of work but there are thousands of others living in this town who
might reasonably expect some relief from this awful nuisance.
There was a further complaint at the meeting that many also
found the company’s practice of transporting animal remains through the town
centre in open lorries totally objectionable and this was considered by
councillors to aggravate what had become an unacceptable annoyance. The
committee voted unanimously that the situation could not continue and agreed to
give the company one last chance to end the nuisance and it was obvious that the
writing was on the wall to ensure that the smell disappeared completely.
But the complaints persisted and although the intensity of the smell was reduced
it was never completely eradicated and eventually the problem was overtaken by
events because the firm's prosperity was not to last and the factory ceased
production on 2nd March 1980 with the closure of the T W Mays company's
operations in Bourne. The building was used in recent years as a practice
location for the local fire brigade but soon became badly neglected and
dilapidated and awaiting a buyer while the tall chimney remained a landmark on
the skyline for a few more years, a reminder of its once prominent place in the
commercial life of the town until it was demolished in 2005. It was the end of
an era and farewell to the terrible pong.
When the waste recycling centres were phased out around Bourne last year
we were informed by South Kesteven District Council that the new wheelie bin
kerbside service was capable of coping with the capacity generated by
households. Now six months later, we are told that it is not and that anyone who
has more rubbish than the containers can take will have to buy an additional
silver bin for £26. In other words, not only has the authority cut a much needed
public facility but has now decided that we must pay for a replacement service.
The metal waste recycling banks were sited at various locations around the
district such as car parks, village halls, schools and retail outlets and the
decision to end this valuable community amenity came after a most unsatisfactory
public consultation exercise in which there were a mere 26 replies from
residents to the authority’s questionnaire and only 30% of them supported a
withdrawal of the service. But the council argued that since wheelie bins had
been introduced, more than 25,000 tonnes of waste has been redirected from
landfill to recycling and composting and this has had a dramatic affect on the
amount collected from our recycling banks. “We therefore think this is the right
time to ask residents if this service still offers value for money, considering
it costs between £60,000 and £70,000 a year to provide”, said a spokesman (Stamford
Mercury, 25th September 2009).
Since then, circumstances appear to have dramatically changed because Councillor
John Smith (Bourne West), portfolio holder for healthy environment, has admitted
that the silver bins which are only emptied once a fortnight are not big enough
for some households because he told the newspaper (March 19th): "If you have a
large family you may not be able to get everything in one recycling bin so a
second one will be a great help."
Not everyone can afford another £26 in these straightened times and in any case
home owners should not be required to pay additional fees for a public service
already covered by their council tax bill which, incidentally, has just gone up
yet again. Some will pay up and others will not and the consequences are not
difficult to imagine because we are already seeing a proliferation of abandoned
rubbish on roadside verges and field gate entrances which often lingers for
weeks before finally being cleared away by exasperated farmers.
The council does not have a good record of gauging public opinion and
this was amply demonstrated in January 2003 when the first waste recycling
scheme for householders was launched with the issue of green plastic boxes at a
cost of £250,000 at a time when our weekly rubbish was being left out in black
plastic bags. The accompanying literature gave details of the fortnightly
collection dates and urged us to get into the habit by filling it with those
unwanted items of household waste that could be recycled.
The instructions were quite specific, that they would accept cans and tins,
plastic bottles, newspapers and magazines, junk mail, holiday brochures,
cardboard, textiles and shoes. There is an equally lengthy list of what must not
be put into it, knives and hypodermic needles being on the banned list as well
as being an indication of the lifestyle the council anticipates at some
households, while margarine tubs, yoghurt pots, waxed milk cartons, polystyrene
food trays, egg boxes, cling film, aluminium foil, are also out. Oh, and no
glass either. Please use the bottle banks, we were told.
There was also the matter of logistics because many families had nowhere to keep
the boxes, either under the stairs, in the garage or in the shed, and the
protests which emanated from the initiative were a sure sign that it would be
short lived and so it proved. There were many complaints that the scheme was
unworkable but the council’s response was to spend yet another £250,000 on
issuing a second plastic box to homeowners, this time blue in colour and
intended only for bottles and other glass items. But the writing was on the wall
and by 2005 it was evident that the scheme was doomed and the glass recycling
scheme failed and was withdrawn after only 18 months while the green boxes
lasted only another year until they too were phased out with the arrival of the
wheelie bins the following year.
The council never did ask for them back and ignored requests to collect them and
so most ended up as spare containers, in the shed or the loft or taken to the
new waste recycling centre in Pinfold Road where one of the household skips was
full of them when I dumped mine there some months later. As wheelie bins have by
no means solved the ongoing problem of recycling we cannot help wondering if
they will eventually suffer the same fate when yet another system which appears
to have a catch-all solution at an exorbitant cost has been introduced.
Thought for the week: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- generally attributed to Samuel Johnson, British lexicographer and writer
(1709-84) whose Dictionary of the English Language appeared in 1755.
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