Bourne Diary - June 2010

Saturday 5^th June 2010

The £27 million redevelopment of Bourne town centre has finally been shelved, almost nine years after it was first mooted and without a single brick being laid. Many thought it doomed from the start yet South Kesteven District Council doggedly pursued it to the end, spending an exorbitant amount of money on the project and only now admitting that it is not feasible and conveniently making the economic recession the scapegoat for its abandonment.

But that is not the full story. The projected scheme involved the regeneration of the core designated area, that triangle of land between West Street, North Street and Burghley Street, and was first mooted in August 2001 but it now appears that too many properties and parcels of land were involved and therefore a whole series of negotiations with the owners to surmount, well over 40 and each one a potential time-consuming obstacle. Then there was the choice of a developer, a drama in its own right, but the council appeared unable to find common ground with the first which was sacked in 2006 while the second withdrew last year when the council manned panic stations by declaring that the tender process would open to companies across Europe.

Since then there have been a series of statements trying to paper over the cracks of a failed project but the end was inevitable with a public that had become totally disinterested with what was or was not happening and traders who had been holding their breath for major change now long since resigned to the status quo. Last week, council leader, Linda Neal (Bourne West) finally made a statement to the Stamford Mercury saying that the £27 million scheme had been pulled back in favour of a more modest development (Friday 28th May) but that did not fool anyone. No matter the semantics, it was the end of the end.

This leaves the council with a number of properties on its hands, prime sites purchased in the heat of battle in the vain hope that the development would materialise, most of them at the north end of Wherry’s Lane and including the former grain warehouse which has been standing empty for almost a decade and which cost them £350,000 in 2008, although by January 2010 when it was evident that the redevelopment would not be going ahead, the council offered it for rent in a desperate attempt to recoup some of its losses. There have been no takers so far.

The building carries a large sign saying that it has been acquired for a proposed new development and it would appear that there are still high hopes that this will come to fruition, although not on the same scale as that envisaged in 2001 because Councillor Neal told the newspaper that it was their intention now to concentrate on developing a series of shops, restaurants and flats in the Wherry’s Lane area at an affordable cost of £5 million. “I am hoping the community will be excited by this”, she said hopefully, “and that they will want to take part by contributing to the public consultation within the next month.”

This sounds like another dead duck for with more than 40 food outlets already trying to do business, the last thing that Bourne needs is more restaurants. Furthermore, if it is more desirable to implement “a smaller and more affordable development which can build on the natural characteristics and positive attributes of the town” - the council’s own words - then surely this should have been the way forward in the first place. Instead, millions have been spent on an abortive scheme that has gone absolutely nowhere.

The tragedy is that the enormous amount of public money wasted would have been better invested in a north-south bypass which could not only have been up and running by now but would also have solved our town centre problems at a stroke, as has already been proved at other Lincolnshire market towns such as Spalding, Stamford, Sleaford and Brigg, now all pedestrianised and free from through traffic. As with all major road projects, this would have been the province of Lincolnshire County Council, the highways authority, and the Department for Transport, but such a project would have brought untold benefits to Bourne. Instead, the town centre redevelopment will not only go down in history as a flawed scheme but also a lost opportunity that will not recur for decades to come.

Another failed initiative is the proposed skateboard park which has finally been abandoned after three years because the organisers have been unable to find a suitable site although it never had much chance of success in the first place. The project known as Dimension Park was founded in 2007 with a committee comprising members of the police and local authorities who originally hoped to use the recreation ground in Recreation Road but their application was turned down by South Kesteven District Council and appeals to developers for land elsewhere have been unsuccessful.

The scheme has managed to attract almost £16,000 in grants and fund raising which will now be returned or distributed to good causes in the town but skateboarders still have nowhere to practice. They have been using several unauthorised places such as the bus station in North Street and the car parks at the Burghley Centre and the Hereward Health Centre in Exeter Street but this has brought complaints from the owners and from traders and shoppers and it will be interesting to see if they continue.

Quentin Davies, our former Member of Parliament, or Lord Davies as he soon will be after being elevated in the Dissolution Honours List last week, is visiting Bourne next Wednesday to attend the annual garden party in the grounds of The Cedars Retirement Home in Church Walk.

This is a special occasion because it is the 20th anniversary of the opening of the home which he performed on 18th May 1990, returning on 28th July 2000 to unveil the new west wing extension. Brass plaques on the wall at The Cedars record both events which were also attended by Councillor Don Fisher (Bourne East) who has invited Mr Davies to attend the garden party and has been delighted by his acceptance.

Don has known Quentin Davies since he was chosen to represent the constituency in 1987 when he succeeded Kenneth Lewis. Bourne was then part of the Stamford and Spalding constituency which changed to Grantham and Stamford during the boundary changes of 1997. In fact, he even sat on the selection panel which nominated him from among four final hopefuls and they have remained in touch ever since.

“He impressed me then and I realised he would become a very good constituency M P and so it proved”, said Don. “He had a fine grasp of detail and a tremendous interest in people and he has served Bourne well. There were criticisms when he switched his political allegiance to Labour in 2007 and I found that difficult to live with but it has not affected our friendship and I am looking forward to meeting him again.”

The two last met at No 10 Downing Street in June 2009 when Don was among the invited guests to mark Armed Forces Day. He served in the Coldstream Guards for 15 years and joined a reception for veterans who met the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Quentin Davies also took him on a tour of the building before he returned home.

Propane gas guns used by farmers in an attempt to scare pigeons and other birds away from their crops have been less in evidence in recent years but even this spring there has been the occasional explosion around Bourne as a reminder that they have not entirely disappeared.

Their deployment has made those farmers responsible extremely unpopular because there are no statutory requirements over their use and public protection depends entirely on self-regulation through Codes of Practice laid down by the National Farmers’ Union and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and circulated by South Kesteven District Council’s Environmental Health Services, but these are frequently flouted, causing great distress to families living close by. The rules are quite clear and have been stated here before, specifically asking farmers not to fire gas guns more than four times in any one hour and not to use them after dark or too close to residential properties.

The nuisance persists however, and now a petition has been launched asking the government to ban these devices on the grounds that they are not only destroying the peace and tranquillity of the countryside through noise pollution but also because they are pointless and ineffective in their operation, a factor which can be proved by anyone who has observed them in action. The B-ooom Group (Bang out of order mate!) which wants to ban gas guns has also launched its own web site which contains a link to the petition and a wealth of information about these devices and may be accessed through Bourne Links on this web site.

Many people’s lives have been disrupted by these infernal devices and the uncaring attitude of the farmers who insist on using them. This web site is therefore a welcome safety valve for those who wish to have them banned with the added impetus of adding a signature on the petition to government.

A succession of famous people came to Bourne during the lifetime of Raymond Mays (1899-1980), the international motor racing driver and founder of the BRM, who was renowned for the parties and lavish entertaining at Eastgate House. Stars of stage and screen were among them but there were also many personalities from his chosen sport such as Stirling Moss, Prince Bira of Thailand and Graham Hill.

There was also a visit from the Argentinian driver Juan Manuel Fangio, one that had a particular significance for Raymond Binns, better known by his nickname “Scrim”, who worked for the Raymond Mays garage in Spalding Road for sixteen years. During that time, he was often called on to take his employer’s mother, Mrs Annie Mays, out on shopping trips. She also lived at Eastgate House, following the death of her husband, Thomas, in 1934, and acted as his hostess until she died there in 1973 at the age of 97.

Fangio, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing, made regular visits to Bourne in 1952-53 when driving for the BRM team and remained in contact during his later years. On one occasion, Scrim was asked to pick him up from the George Hotel in Stamford and bring him back to Eastgate House. He remembered later: “I was given strict instructions to ask Fangio if he wanted to drive back himself and he did and we got back to Bourne in about nine minutes. It was a bit hairy, actually. I knew the road well but it was the first time he had seen it. But he was the perfect gentleman and a super ambassador for the sport.”

Tributes to Fangio poured in from around the world when he died in 1995 after a long illness, aged 84. He had won five Formula One World Driver's Championships, a record which stood for 46 years until eventually beaten by Michael Schumacher, a feat that has not been repeated since. He was also the only Argentinian driver to have won the Argentine Grand Prix, having won it four times in his career and many still consider him to be the greatest driver of all time. During his many visits to Bourne, he also tested the BRM V16 on the old airfield at Folkingham, nine miles north of Bourne, and the late Alec Stokes, the company’s former chief draughtsman, remembered him as “a great fellow who mixed well and was liked by the mechanics”.

Scrim died in 1999, aged 64, but his wife, Mrs Pamela Binns, aged 76, of Kingsway, Bourne, has a treasured book of cuttings about his life and among them is a newspaper report of that famous nine-minute drive from Stamford to Bourne with racing star Fangio at the wheel.

Thought for the week: You need great passion, because everything you do with great pleasure, you do well. - Juan Manuel Fangio (1911-1995), Argentinian-born international racing driver who became famous on the track during the first half of the 20th century.

Saturday 12^th June 2010

Speed bumps in Beech Avenue - see "Controversy over . . . "

Cycling on the pavement has become endemic in Bourne because there is usually no one in authority around to stop the culprits and parents appear to collude rather than take responsibility. Children are often seen pedalling in file with mum or dad, often both, totally oblivious of the law relating to their action and even flouting it when they do.

This may seem a safe practice in isolated areas when there are no pedestrians but can be dangerous when more people are about and as regular walkers around the town centre we can vouchsafe that it has become a frequent occurrence to dodge young lads flying down the pavement in North Street on mountain bikes which could make a collision disastrous, even fatal. But stop them at your peril as one contributor to the Forum has found to his cost, subsequently describing his experiences on market day last week:

Many cyclists were pedalling along the pavements and one ploughed through some pensioners who had waited for the red light at the pelican crossing outside the paper shop. He thought that the red light did not apply to him. I pointed out to him that it did and was met with abuse. I invited him to get off his bike. He did not, preferring to pedal away spitting further insults. Police presence? Nil. Which explains why nobody gives a hoot for the rules any more.

There is a widespread ignorance over the fact that cycling on the pavement is illegal while some riders are wary of vehicular traffic and so use the footpaths. Bicycles are defined in law as carriages following a legal ruling in 1879 and cycling on the pavement is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act of 1835 as amended by Local Government Act 1888. Enforcement is an operational matter for the local police force who use the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £30 which provides them with a direct means of dealing with most minor offences although they cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16. The Road Traffic Act of 1991 also defines the two most serious offences with maximum fines of £2,500 for dangerous cycling and £1,000 for careless cycling.

But it can be confusing for cyclists and pedestrians because some local authorities allow cycle access to what look like footpaths in certain areas and pedestrians do not always know exactly where they stand. The cardinal rule, however, should always be observed, which is that the roads are for traffic and pavements for pedestrians and anyone who feels unsafe on the roads, at whatever age, should not be cycling anywhere other than a safe practice area and certainly not in those places where they put other people at risk.

Members of the public also have a right to report cases of cycling on the pavement which is known to cause great concern to our most vulnerable road users such as the elderly, disabled and visually impaired. Whilst there is no exemption to this law for children, the police have always used common sense and discretion in exercising their powers over youngsters cycling on the pavement and although they take the view that the very young should not be expected to cycle on the road, it is recommended that everyone receives cycle training before they do so.

Graeme Parrott, Police Community Support Officer for Bourne and the surrounding villages, tells me that his team has a policy of being in the area at busy times when cycling on the pavement is likely to occur and the problem of last week may have been the result of children being on holiday from school. He added: “Our experience is that a good chat with the youths concerned or their parents about the dangers they create for pedestrians, especially the elderly, does seem to work as most can relate these incidents through their own grandparents. We are aware that some parents asked their children to cycle on the pavement because of the dangers of using busy roads but we would suggest that they walk with their bicycles in the town centre if they are not confident in using the highway. Overall, the majority of complaints we get are third hand and we would welcome a chat with anyone who is concerned and assure them that we are active in this respect and take their complaints very seriously.”

Controversy over the speed bumps on several roads around Bourne has broken out again after a report by Lincolnshire County Council appears to vindicate their installation last year although not everyone agrees that they are beneficial. The traffic calming measures costing £120,000 were introduced in Beech Avenue, Mill Drove and the Austerby after complaints that speeding motorists were creating a danger and that the roads were being used as short cuts, the intention being to slow down passing traffic and even deter drivers from using those routes.

Figures issued by the county council suggest that since the obstacles were installed average speeds have dropped in all three roads and the number of vehicles passing through greatly reduced with the result that traffic is now spread more widely and thinly in all three districts.

But what the report does not say is that in order to avoid the speed bumps, vehicles are now using other sensitive routes, many of which run through residential areas and are plainly unsuitable for the increased volume of traffic. In other words, the new system has merely moved the original problem from one part of town to another, thus causing inconvenience to another group of people who will have as much right to complain as those who did so originally. Residents in Saxon Way, for instance, are suffering from increased vehicle flows because it has become the new route for motorists who previously used Beech Avenue and now they too are demanding the installation of speed bumps in their road. In fact, this domino effect could continue until the entire town is one massive traffic calming system which would be sheer lunacy but then the madhouse begins with just one inmate.

The Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Pet Moisey, plainly does not like the speed bumps because she told The Local newspaper last week (Friday 4th June): “The money would have been better spent on resurfacing the roads in the area” and in view of the current crop of potholes around the town, she may have a point.

Political correctness may seem a modern trend but has been with us for many years although often masquerading under another name, sometimes prejudice and frequently hypocrisy. Broadly defined, PC is the imposition of social, political, and educational mores on others, often through coercion, especially to redress perceived injustices in various aspects of life to the exclusion of other considerations and it is this last qualification that causes such criticism today.

Two contributions to the Bourne Forum have highlighted examples of this phenomenon and although decades apart both reflect the intolerance that accompanies the enforcement of social ideas by the few that are not always totally acceptable to the many and so earn themselves a place in the expanding lexicon of political correctness.

Trevor Pool, a former resident and now a senior citizen living in Yorkshire, has been sharing his memories of the outdoor swimming pool half a century ago when the facilities were primitive and the discipline rigid. “One Sunday afternoon”, he wrote, “my wife and I and our son in a pram and six other adults went down to the pool for a swim but were told that the child could not be admitted, the reason given that all children should be in Sunday School at that time and so none of us had a swim that day.”

Another contribution comes from Brynley Heaven, who lives at Aslackby, and concerns a visit to the pool over the recent Bank Holiday weekend with his partner and her children, now wage earning adults, although it was early in the day and the only other members of the public there were well in their seventies. “But she was forced to sign a form, having committed the dreadful sin of taking a picture on her mobile, although in fairness the staff were very embarrassed and mumbled something about procedure”, he wrote.

Social change brings with it new rules and regulations which are continually intruding in our lives, highlighting the follies and dangers we might encounter, often from unexpected sources, and recommending new ways of facing up to them. In fact, there is often very little wrong with the old ways and the innovations are not always for the better and usually change our lives for the worse. The result is that there are so many examples which border on the unbelievable, even ridiculous, that they cannot be taken seriously and as a result have left the reputation of this fashionable but unpopular philosophy in tatters.

We had visitors last week who sat on the patio with cooling drinks on a hot day and both remarked how quiet it all was. One lives in London and the other in Munich and both have learned to live with everyday high noise levels, from overhead aircraft, passing traffic and people, because each place has a surfeit of all of these things which can make life unbearable for the lover of peace and tranquillity.

Yet, like many who spend much of their time in the big cities, this constant commotion has become barely noticeable until they find themselves in a backwater like Bourne where absolute quiet, even during the day, is the norm rather than the exception and they found it unsettling. We have had guests who have even commented about the noise of the birds, especially in the mornings, because in the conurbations they call home, the blackbird’s musical call and the chattering of starlings are drowned by the racket from overhead or out in the street and so much of nature’s beauty is lost on them. A visit to the shires is therefore an education as well as a break from the monotony of metropolitan life.

I was reminded of this a few mornings later when woken shortly before 4 a m by the dawn chorus, that accumulation of birdsong which heralds the day at this early hour, flooding in through a window left open during the night because of the warm weather. It is worth being awake at this time just to listen and as Bourne lies between fen and upland, we are blessed with a greater variety of species than most. Yet it remains a mystery why more birds sing for between 20-40 minutes around dawn than at any other time of day and no one has yet come up with an answer although the popular explanation is that this is a manifestation of each bird proclaiming its territorial rights by singing its heart out from a chosen song post, be it a telegraph pole, television aerial, rooftop, tree branch or bush, and learning the positions of other birds by their individual songs.

Unless you have studied birdsong, either in the wild or by close listening to recordings, most people are unable to identify which bird they are hearing but the general rule is that the lark will be the first to burst into song in spring and summer as it soars in the sky, soon to be joined by the blackbird, song thrush, robin, wood pigeon, turtle dove, wren and other smaller birds, roughly in that order. At this time of the year and into mid-summer, the dawn chorus starts before 4 am and the best is heard an hour later when most birds have joined in because this is a contagious occurrence and most birds sing from the same song post morning after morning. But they sing less in the cold, dark months of the year and when there is a heavy overcast sky at daybreak, the dawn chorus will start later.

There will be many in Bourne who have never heard the dawn chorus, perhaps because they are heavy sleepers, have little interest in nature or maybe they have moved here from one of the inner cities or a densely populated urban area where early morning birdsong is less evident than here in the countryside. This spell of fine late spring weather is therefore the perfect opportunity to catch up with such a magical experience by leaving the window open and, if you have difficulty waking, set the alarm for 3.45 a m. Some people I know even make it to Bourne Wood at that hour where the sound is overwhelming. Whichever method you choose, it is an experience you will never forget.

Thought for the week: Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art. - Izaak Walton (1593-1683), English writer and biographer best known as the author of The Compleat Angler.

Saturday 19^th June 2010

The parlous state of the Raymond Mays garage on the Spalding Road, now deteriorating and crumbling through disuse, is a sad reminder of its past glory as a flagship stop for the motoring public at a time when car ownership was beginning to expand.

The premises were built as an investment by the international racing car driver and designer Raymond Mays soon after the end of the 1939-45 war when he started selling top of the range cars such as Rolls Royce and Bentley. He later acquired a Ford dealership which became the mainstay of the business while "Raymond Mays Converted" Ford models competed in the early saloon car races. The company was known as Raymond Mays and Partners Ltd, specialising in high speed tuning, car and motor cycle sales and repairs, and a main showroom with workshops at the rear was built in Spalding Road, opposite the BRM workshops.

The garage was opened in the summer of 1952, the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, with Henry Coy as manager, and a week long open house was staged from June 15th until June 20th as part of the town's celebrations with many attractions including an exhibition of the BRM, competitions and driving tests, displays and demonstrations, film shows and a full range of Ford vehicles on show. The event was held under the title "Ford of Dagenham comes to Bourne" and was officially opened by characters from the popular BBC Radio series The Archers (Mr Archer and Walter Gabriel) and attended by directors and officials from the Ford factory at Dagenham in Essex. Raymond was on hand to talk to visitors and the event was a successful social and business occasion.

The garage flourished and Henry Coy was appointed managing director in August 1974, remaining a devoted friend to his employer and in his closing years, visited Mays every evening at his home at Eastgate House until he died there in January 1980. After his death, the garage was sold and continued in private ownership until the autumn of 2005 when it was forced to close down because of pressure from other outlets and so after 50 years in business, the last commercial link with the name Raymond Mays was severed. Since then, the garage premises have stood empty and derelict as part of a complex land deal and with an uncertain future.

The owners, Anglia Regional Co-operative Society, included the land in a massive housing development coupled with its own Rainbow supermarket site in nearby Manning Road and intending to move to a new purpose built store in South Road. But this site was sold in December 2009 to the international chain Tesco who have been given planning permission for a new 24-hour store which will create 300 new jobs and under existing food retailing regulations, Rainbow will need to close and the society is looking elsewhere for new premises, notably the former Budgens supermarket premises near the town centre although no decision has yet been made.

Today, the Raymond Mays garage has become derelict and enclosed by wire fencing. Outline planning permission has already been given for 105 dwellings on the 5.2 acre site although there are fears locally that this will be too high a density for the area involved. Unfortunately, progress on the scheme was held up by the economic recession with the result that although the Rainbow supermarket remains open and the garage premises in Spalding Road closed, the months of disuse have turned it into an eyesore on one of the main approach roads into Bourne.

There appears to be a plethora of appeals from government at all levels, both national and local, asking the public to come forward with suggestions on how to help the economy and advise on spending cuts. Many will presume this to be an act of desperation because of a dearth of ideas in the corridors of power while others will see it as engaging the people in the democratic process and so should not be dismissed lightly.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, for instance, who has pledged a fundamental reassessment of the government’s role, has outlined his plans to involve the people in making economies by seeking the best in their fields to become involved in a wider public engagement exercise over the summer. “We want the brightest and best brains across Whitehall and the public sector”, he said, “the voluntary groups, think tanks, trade unions and members of the public to become engaged in the debate.”

Lincolnshire County Council which is expecting to have its budget cut by £100 million is also holding public consultations later this year before the difficult decisions are taken over losing jobs, cutting services and even selling off property while South Kesteven District Council is following suit in an attempt to find ways of saving £1 million. In this case, the authority is holding a series of workshops and interviews with residents over the next two months and the results will then be assessed before a decision is made. It all sounds fine and democratic but then we are told that the very consultation programme is costing up to £20,000 which does seem a case of throwing good money after bad.

It is therefore worth speculating on why our politicians should suddenly think that the ordinary people have anything to contribute to policy or whether this is a case of any port in a storm. After all, when consulting a doctor you do not expect him to ask you what treatment to recommend and we have a similar assumption about those we elect to run our affairs especially when they are supported by large bureaucracies with even local authorities employing vast numbers such as Lincolnshire County Council (12,000) and South Kesteven District Council (750) yet still need additional input to make decisions. Nevertheless, tapping all sources of wisdom is a welcome innovation provided those who do the asking actually do listen to what is offered.

We have sailed into uncharted waters following the Conservative coalition with the Liberal-Democrats forming a government dedicated to national unity and if this brings with it a new political thinking for the future with a closer involvement of the people then so much the better. A similar policy by our local authorities is also to be welcomed but it would be a tragedy if the exercise turns out to be mere window dressing as has been the case with so many public consultations that have emanated from Lincoln and Grantham in the past.

Recent heavy rain again caused serious problems throughout England with severe weather warnings in many areas accompanied by the inherent danger to lives and property. It is at times such as this that we realise how defenceless we are against the full force of nature and even a few inches of flood water can devastate homes and businesses and even cost lives.

These adverse conditions occur suddenly and often without warning and can be tragic if you are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Such an event overtook John Dring, a baker from Toft, near Bourne, who was out on his rounds with his horse and cart in the autumn of 1880 during a period of torrential rain. The downpour had already caused severe flooding in many places and as Mr Dring was returning home in the evening, he was about to pass over the bridge crossing a tributary of the River Glen which passes through Toft. But the night was dark and instead of going over the bridge he inadvertently drove by the side of it and into the river where the horse, cart and driver were carried away by the violence of the flood.

The horse and cart were recovered the next day but efforts to find the baker’s body proved unsuccessful until a fortnight later when the corpse was discovered partially embedded in the sand more than a mile from the bridge where they had been washed away. An inquest was held at the Butcher's Arms in Toft (now a private house) on Monday 25th October 1880 before the coroner, Henry Beaumont, who was told that Dring was a journeyman baker who was 60 years old. When he left his last customer at Witham-on-the-Hill at seven o'clock on 5th October, he said: "I am late tonight. It is very dark and cold." She also said that he was sober. Dring’s body was eventually found on Saturday morning, October 23rd, 300 yards below Manthorpe Bridge and about 1½ miles from where he had driven into the river. The deceased had £18 6s. 2½d. on him, including a £5 note, and a pocket book. The jury returned a verdict of accidental drowning.

The loudest engine noise around Bourne over the weekend was undoubtedly created by two planes from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which flew over to thrill hundreds of visitors attending the annual classic car and bike show held at the Wellhead Field. These aircraft have become a familiar sight around the country during the spring and summer dropping in on a variety of events as an added attraction to visitors yet not everyone knows of their origins.

The BBMF has become a national institution and few cannot fail to be impressed when they see the familiar Spitfire and Hurricane fighters dropping by, often accompanied by a Lancaster bomber, all aircraft that played a vital part in winning the Second World War of 1939-45. These planes were the mainstay of the Royal Air Force during the conflict and for many years afterwards but with the coming of the jet age they were withdrawn from service and those that remained were treated as museum pieces.

But there was a strong belief among many servicemen that they should be commemorated in a worthy fashion and the best way was to keep these legendary planes in the air but without public funding, the manpower would have to be voluntary. Three Spitfires formed the original Historic Aircraft Flight based at Biggin Hill in Kent in 1957 and was officially renamed the Battle of Britain Flight the following year. The unit changed location several times in the coming years, taking part in the famous film Battle of Britain in 1969, and in March 1976 moved to its present base at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, having acquired several more vintage aircraft on the way.

For many years after its formation, the flight kept around 50-60 engagements per season but by 1992 participation was up to 150 displays, growing to 200 in 1995 and exceeding 500 in 1996. Since 2003 the flight has made over 700 individual aircraft appearances during each year’s display season and this is now considered the norm and the demand shows no sign of decline.

In 2008, for instance, there were 944 displays at 529 separate events, including 127 air displays and 402 flypasts ranging from the Queen’s Birthday Flypast over London through commemorative flypasts for veterans such as the 65th Anniversary of the Dams Raid and the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift to small village fetes such as those at Kirkby Underwood and Castle Bytham. That year, the aircraft appeared live in front of an estimated total audience of seven million people not to mention those that saw them in transit and through the media.

During the present season there will be a similar number of opportunities to see these historic aircraft, demonstrating the continued importance that the RAF places upon maintaining them in perfect flying condition, the desire to keep a tangible link with our roots and our heritage and above all, to remember the debt this country owes to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during those dark days of war.

Thought for the week: Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) in a speech to the nation made as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 20th August 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain.

Saturday 26^th June 2010

The Royal Oak in better times - see "The public house . . . "

The decision to disallow modernisation work at the Abbey Church is disappointing for all those who have worked so hard to raise the money to fund the project and for those members of the congregation who would benefit by it. It is also regrettable that the Diocesan Advisory Committee which adjudicated in this matter did not take into account the changing times in which we live and the need to bring the building up to a standard worthy of the 21st century.

The history of this Grade I building has been one of constant change and evidence of the alterations made through the centuries can be seen in various places, not always for the better. Recent generations have proved to be more responsible guardians of the fabric than their predecessors, notably the Victorians who made such drastic alterations to the west front without due regard to its historic value. There are many other examples of work which has not always been carried out for the better and those who run the church today are well aware of their responsibilities in this matter.

The latest scheme, due to be funded by a public appeal for £100,000 launched in 2007, included the installation of a kitchen and new toilets to replace those currently outside at the back of the church. The vicar, the Rev Christopher Atkinson, told the Stamford Mercury that the present arrangement was most unsatisfactory and that a replacement was badly needed (June 18th). “It is vital because we cannot provide adequate facilities for the elderly and the very young by asking them to go outside in the depths of a deep mid-winter”, he said.

This appeared to be a simple though necessary improvement but would involve opening up a mediaeval archway to create an internal entrance and this has been the stumbling block and after several years of negotiations, the committee has now rejected the scheme because of concerns over possible damage to the building during construction work. The Archdeacon of Lincoln, the Venerable Tim Barker, told the newspaper that the diocese needed to take extreme care when making decisions about historically important buildings such as the Abbey Church. “We want to support the parish as best we can that will allow such a superb building to really serve the needs of the people”, he said.

Anyone inspecting the proposed location of the toilets and the implications of the necessary alterations is unlikely to share the concerns of diocesan officials about noticeable damage and a change of heart is therefore called for to enable these improvements go ahead to ensure maximum and convenient use in this modern age.

The parochial church council is now faced with the choice of either amending the original plans or appealing to a consistory court which rules on such matters but either course of action will mean that the project which was first envisaged in 2006 is now on hold for the foreseeable future which seems to be an unfair situation. The church serves Bourne and is run entirely voluntarily by the people of Bourne. It is they who know the needs of the parish and what is best for the building and provided they have followed expert advice, which they have, then the decision should be left to them.

The public house has been an English institution since the earliest times, as much a part of community life as the church and the town hall, once the social hub of its locality and a place to meet, swap gossip, have a drink and play darts and dominoes. But in recent years, the role has dramatically changed and the convivial landlord of old, earning a comfortable living with restricted opening hours, has now been replaced by a manager precariously balancing the books while faced with increased overheads and a necessity to provide food and entertainment to keep customers happy almost round the clock.

The result is that fierce competition for trade has driven many to the wall and the old fashioned pub of yesteryear has practically disappeared, either changed out of all recognition or closed altogether while those that remain have become restaurants in all but name. Supermarket sales of alcohol at much lower prices have made it a more attractive proposition to drink at home and they now survive almost solely through their provision of food with lunchtime trade supplemented by business lunches in town centre areas and cut price pensioners’ meals in the villages.

Bourne has been fortunate because in recent years most of its public houses have not only survived but new ones have opened, mainly through the entrepreneurial risk of the few, although there are now signs that this climate may be changing here too. The Royal Oak has served the North Street neighbourhood for the past two centuries but has been facing an uncertain future for several years and may now disappear altogether because plans are in hand to convert the site for residential use by demolishing part of the existing building to create four town houses.

A planning application for change of use was rejected by the development control committee of South Kesteven District Council on Tuesday but the owners may well submit an amended application and so the issue is by no means settled yet. Permanent closure, however, would be a blow to Bourne because the Royal Oak is among our oldest hostelries, mentioned in our records as early as 1826, but then it is a commercial enterprise and must be competitive to survive.

Not all of the other twelve public houses in Bourne are doing good business either, as recent changes in managership have shown with some vacancies unfilled for several months while at least one other is up for sale, and so more closures may soon become a possibility, as with the Royal Oak, thus dramatically changing the familiar Bourne townscape.

There have been around 36 public houses in Bourne over the years with varying life spans. There were also 30 beerhouses, that is premises which sold ale but were not licensed, a situation which existed until the passing of the Wine and Beerhouse Act in 1869 which regulated sales and owners were taxed on the amount sold. Continuous taxation on beer made the running of a beer house a less attractive business proposition, so their numbers declined and by the turn of the century they had almost disappeared completely while by 1900, the number of public houses had dropped to fourteen

Most of them have interesting histories and some had very colourful landlords, none more so than Joseph Edward Dallywater who kept the Red Lion in South Street and also ran a bill posting business as well as being employed as town crier and as a chimney sweep. He also achieved short fame in September 1899 by entering the lion's cage of a Spanish travelling menagerie that was visiting Bourne, facing the lion and remaining inside with the door locked for several minutes while he calmly smoked a cigarette, after which he emerged unscathed amid the cheers of a crowded audience. He lived to tell the tale and to serve more pints and post more bills but only for a short while because he died prematurely in September 1901, aged only 36.

From the archives: An inquest at the Nag's Head Inn before Mr William Edwards, coroner, on Monday 3rd September, on the body of Mr John Morris, aged 46, a wheelwright, of West Street, Bourne, was told that he was in his usual health on Saturday evening and at the Windmill Inn in North Street [now demolished], partook of some glasses of spirits after which, at about half past 10, he went to the Nag's Head where he drank more liquors, and at 11 o'clock, he fell out of his chair. Mr Octavius Munton, surgeon, who was sent for, promptly attended and attempted to bleed deceased but life was extinct. Verdict: apoplexy which it appeared from the medical testimony, the unfortunate man was liable to from any exciting cause. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 7th September 1855.

Further security precautions to protect property are being introduced in the town, thus reinforcing the perception that we are fast approaching a Fortress Bourne mentality in our attitude towards the prevention of vandalism and criminal damage.

The latest restrictions are being enforced at one of the four playground areas on the Elsea Park housing estate which has already been closed for six months after intruders damaged the equipment and defaced surfaces by spraying graffiti. Repairs are almost complete and a six foot high fence has been installed ready for the reopening but the community trust which administers the facility will be locking the playground each night.

The chairman, Tony Prior, has also warned that if the vandalism continues then the playground will be closed yet again. He told The Local newspaper (June 18th): "The message is clear. The playground should be open all the time but it appears that some teenagers cannot behave themselves at night. Last summer there were complaints of kids being there at 2 am, screaming and shouting at the top of their voices, six or seven of them on the big swing. If they cannot look after these facilities then they will be locked."

Stringent security precautions have already been taken at the various sports premises at the Abbey Lawn, particularly the headquarters of Bourne Town Football Club which have been badly damaged several times while the windows of Bourne Cricket Club’s headquarters nearby are also boarded up. The clubhouse at the Bourne Bowls Club on the other side of the grounds has protective iron bars while barbed wire surrounds the adjoining outdoor swimming pool to deter intruders and last year, the entire Abbey Lawn was enclosed by a 9 ft high metal fence and a dawn to dusk curfew imposed in an attempt to deter intruders.

There are also signs around the town of similar security precautions as vandalism continues, notably at shops and business premises, many of which are now protected when closed by iron grilles, high metal gates and padlocks. The Post Office in West Street has been fitted with spiked metal rails along its perimeter wall to stop anyone getting in and Anglian Water has installed what looks like razor wire around its pumping station depot in Manning Road. Few public access buildings do not have similar protection while the installation of intruder alarms at domestic properties proliferates.

The erection of the Abbey Lawn fencing has already been described by the town council as “a sad day for Bourne” and with the other defences that can be seen around the town this is a gloomy commentary on society today. Popular opinion has been repeatedly in favour of policemen back on the beat, as we had in past times, to combat both vandalism and anti-social behaviour but a uniformed presence is currently a rare sight in Bourne except for a patrol car passing through on the way to somewhere else.

Many also believe that the culprits, when apprehended, are treated too lightly and most people would like to see tougher sentences for those who damage and destroy public property. But all of these criticisms have been made before and little is done and so Fortress Bourne becomes more of a reality with each passing day.

Thought for the week: Permanent police strength in Bourne based at the county police station in North Street is one superintendent (Herbert Bailey), one inspector, two sergeants and 17 constables. - entry from Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire, 1913, when the last population count for Bourne (1911) was 4,343 including six officials and 85 inmates of the workhouse.

Return to Monthly entries