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Saturday 2nd August 2014
Our parking woes in Bourne look set to continue for the time being, despite there being a large open space that would solve the present problem at a stroke. The word on the block is that South Kesteven District Council’s Development Control Committee has decided that there will be no change in the present arrangements until further developments in the town similar to the Wherry’s Lane refurbishment goes ahead which may be next year, the year after or perhaps even never. In the meantime, the vacant lot just a stone’s throw from the town centre that would accommodate around 100 cars, is being landscaped with grass and trees until needed at some indeterminate time in the future. This is bad news for visitors who drive in to do their shopping or keep an appointment and a poor prospect for traders because the present difficulties in finding somewhere to park is already making Spalding, Stamford, Peterborough and even Sleaford a far more attractive proposition. Rather than provide more car parking spaces the council has already removed fourteen of them from the nearby Burghley Street car park and allocated them to the private buyers of flats which have been built as part of the development even though few have been sold. As a result, an entire section of this car park is no longer available to the public who must now leave their cars where they can. The situation is likely to worsen when the seven new shops in the development are occupied and although all are still standing empty there will be an additional demand for car parking if and when they are occupied and start trading. There is a No Waiting zone outside and so they cannot park there and the walk from North Street is too far for many shoppers while spaces in the Burghley Street car park are at a premium because most are occupied all day by office and shop workers and even commuters, a situation that can only be alleviated by the introduction of restricted parking that would ensure a fairer and continuing use of the available spaces. Public opinion was summed up in a letter to The Local last week (July 25th) when Warwick Banks of Witham-on-the-Hill, near Bourne, wrote: “It means once again that the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Where are the customers of these new shops going to park? Bourne is not short of open space for recreation so why have more? If appearance is the problem then there are surfaces on which cars can park and through which greenery can be allowed to grow. Planters and shrubs would add to the screening and attractiveness. Is there an explanation for this lunacy and great expenditure of public money?” This problem appears to have been overlooked by the council when drawing up plans for the redevelopment of Wherry’s Lane, a project which has a distinctly commercial air about it, but then the authority appears to have been more intent on disposing of unwanted properties at a profit rather than providing much needed public services for the people of Bourne. Meanwhile, the town council has just published a four-page insert in the August issue of the trade magazine Discovering Bourne seeking the views of parishioners for a new Neighbourhood Plan, a locally written document that is intended to set out the main issues affecting the town and how they should be addressed now and in the future. The attached questionnaire asks readers to assess which provisions are necessary in the areas of housing, employment, leisure and shopping and which facilities they use including town centre shops, sports and social facilities, recreation areas, restaurants, education and public houses but the glaring omission is car parking which is fast becoming a major priority on which many of us depend when coming into the town centre. Councillors and planners must remember that unless there is sufficient provision for visitors to leave their cars when they arrive to take advantage of these facilities then they will not come again but go elsewhere. The objectives of the survey are quite clearly stated that the initiative for a Neighbourhood Plan must come from the community and if our representatives went out and about in Bourne and tested public reaction for themselves they would soon find how much discontent there is about this perpetual annoyance in finding somewhere to leave the car. An unusual book dealing with French fashion styles from past times including one creation inspired by Charles Worth has been handed to the Civic Society for inclusion in their gallery at the Heritage Centre in Bourne celebrating the life and times of the man who founded haute couture. The book entitled Papiers à la Mode (Paper in Fashion) was compiled by Isabelle de Borchgrave, a prominent Belgian artist and sculptor who is best known for her colourful paintings and intricately painted paper sculptures, in collaboration with the writer Rita Brown, a Canadian theatre costumier, and represents 300 years of fashion featuring life size historical dresses down the ages. Each took hours to make although when finally finished, you cannot wear them because they are made of paper. The book was published to coincide with her highly acclaimed exhibition which opened at Mulhouse, France, in 1998 and consisted of thirty life size outfits made of painted paper, the number of items on display subsequently expanding as it toured many parts of the world. The original dresses are a celebration of fashion from the 17th to the 20th centuries and the authors attempt to show the decorative appeal of clothes and textiles at the time and how garments were constructed and cut by featuring such legendary designers as Paul Poiret and Coco Chanel. One of the collection of paper dresses included is of particular appeal to the Charles Worth Gallery because it is based on the actual design of a robe du soir, a party frock or evening dress, by Worth which was created at his Paris salon in 1898, three years after his death and was therefore influenced by his designs. It is a magnificent, full length garment with a striking floral geometric pattern in black and white. The Heritage Centre was established at Baldock’s Mill in South Street in 1981 to perpetuate the history of Bourne and some of its prominent citizens and in April 2006 a new gallery was opened to reflect the life and times of Charles Worth (1825-95), son of a local solicitor who left home as a boy to pursue a career in fashion and subsequently established his salon in Paris where he achieved international acclaim. The book, in full colour, has been given to the gallery by Mrs Jean Joyce of Scottlethorpe Road, Edenham, near Bourne, who has had it in her possession for several years. “It will be of significance to many people who are interested in Charles Worth and so this is the obvious place where it should be preserved”, she said. Shop watch: Despite its popularity as our best supermarket, Sainsbury’s in Exeter Street continues to annoy customers with its poor service at the checkouts and a long wait to pay after a short shop is now becoming a regular occurrence. Wednesday midday this week was a particular irritation with only three of the dozen or more tills operating and queues forming at each which is not the best of service when you have only been in the store for a few minutes to collect one or two items. Complaining to the manager is impossible because he is either out or too busy to see you and it is unfair to berate the staff who are already grappling with a manning policy that needs a drastic change for the better. Rumours abound that Lidl may soon be opening in Bourne and if that is true then Sainsbury’s must look to its laurels to keep the customers it has because they are certain to be attracted by their much lower pricing policy and a continuing complacency over these frustrating holdups at the checkouts of the Exeter Street store will only speed their departure. From the archives – 183 years ago: The bride was due to be married at Bourne the following morning but rather than sampling the delights of matrimonial bliss, found herself in jail instead. It happened almost 200 years ago when after going to a grocery store to buy provisions, Ann Cox was arrested for stealing, or what would be known today as shop-lifting. The store in question was owned by Edward Wherry and Sons in North Street where Miss Cox filled her basket with tea and soap and while the shop assistant was out at the back, nipped behind the counter and took some cash from the till which she also tucked in her basket. Unfortunately for Miss Cox, the theft was discovered soon after she left the shop and as a result she was detained and brought before the magistrates sitting at the Town Hall where she was charged and remanded in custody to the House of Correction at Folkingham to await trial. The case was heard at the Kesteven Sessions held at the Town Hall on Tuesday 18th October 1831 when she was accused of stealing nine packets of tea, three packets of soap and 7s. 2½d. in coins [£30 at today's value]. She was found guilty and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment. “For someone anticipating the sweets of matrimony”, commented the Stamford Mercury, “it was rather an unfortunate disappointment for the bride elect.”
There was some dismay around Bourne this week when it was discovered that one of the town’s public information boards was being used to advertise private property sales. This misuse was further aggravated by the fact that the notice board does not belong to the South Kesteven District Council who erected it but was presented to the town by the Rotary Club of Bourne to celebrate the club’s silver jubilee in 1992, an event marked on the front in embossed gold lettering and the distinctive Rotary wheel. It originally stood in the market place but was replaced by a larger model when the area was redesigned in 2006 with the addition of ornamental railings and other street furniture and then disappeared but was recently discovered stored in the chapel of rest at the town cemetery in South Road. The cast iron notice board was rescued by Rotary members and restored at a cost of £222 and has now been re-sited by the council at the west end of the new Wherry’s Lane development where it is intended to be used for its original purpose, that is of displaying useful information for townspeople and visitors with a section devoted to the work of Rotary. But rather than displaying public information, the notice board was full of sale notices from the estate agents Newton Fallowell relating to the 14 flats which have recently been built as part of the £2.2 million redevelopment of Wherry’s Lane and which the council is now trying to dispose of through private treaty. To add to the confusion, all four public notice boards in the town are currently being handed over by the district council to Bourne Preservation Society to manage in the future although members have not yet received the keys of this one. By the weekend, the content of the notice board has been hastily changed and now comprises a background of pictures of the Bourne area until its long term future is decided. The society hopes to re-brand all of them and it is understood that although Rotary approves of their initiative in maintaining their own notice board, they will be insisting that the organisation’s own logo remains and that some of the display material continues to support their charitable work. Thought for the week: Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense. - Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), American writer of novels, poetry and plays and a fervent collector of Modernist art who lived in France for much of her life. Saturday 9th August 2014
The theft of sculptures sited in public places has a long history and continues to this day, one of the latest being the disappearance last year of a seven foot tall bronze by Henry Moore that had been on display at a park in Scotland and for which a reward of £500,000 was offered for its return. Metal thieves are often to blame because works of art left in accessible places attract either opportunists ready to turn a quick penny or perhaps vandals who seem anxious to destroy something just because it is there. Hooligans appear to have been responsible for the disappearance of a more modest sculpture that had been sited on the roundabout in West Road where it meets the western end of the south-west relief road which we know as Raymond Mays Way. It was one of four completed by students at Bourne Academy on the theme of Public and Private for their BTec art and design course work project last year and put on display at the suggestion of the town council to make the area more attractive in readiness for the judges when they made their annual summer visit for the East Midlands in Bloom competition. The stolen sculpture was the work of Year 13 pupil Hollie James who was inspired by keys and keyholes as her subject. The materials she used were marine plywood and sheet metal and the finished work was given a distinction in the classwork markings. It was seen, together with the other sculptures, when the judges visited during July and then much to the dismay of school and council, it disappeared from its site on the roundabout, the theory being that the sculpture had been stolen for scrap and sold for profit and a public appeal was made for its return. But after a few days, just as Hollie and school staff were planning to make a replica, a passing cyclist spotted it dumped in a ditch near the roundabout but it was undamaged and reinstated with the others in the display. The theft has, however, produced an unexpected advantage through the additional publicity for a most worthwhile project, that of giving young people a platform for their work, and perhaps this might be extended in the future. We often see delightful artwork from the primary schools on display in the nave of the Abbey Church and even in Sainsbury’s supermarket in Exeter Street but fewer examples from more mature students. Visual art needs to be seen and enjoyed which is why it is created but without an audience it survives in a vacuum and perhaps the temporary disappearance of this youthful creation might spur those who have control over vacant space around Bourne, both inside and out, to invite budding artists from our schools to put their work on show in the future and in doing so stimulate an interest not only in that which is getting a public airing but also in art itself which is often neglected in a world where materialism takes precedence. Young artists should not be dismayed by the risks involved in putting their creative works on public display. Dissenters are few and those who take direct action are not usually criticising the art form but succumbing to their own weakness for causing senseless damage and destruction and inconvenience to others. It has been suggested in the past that we erect a state to Hereward the Wake or even Raymond Mays, the Bourne international motor racing driver and designer, on the roundabout at the entrance to the town on the main A16 but the idea has come to naught, although it should not be ruled out in the future. Despite this hesitance, there have been several public works of art around the district in the past, notably in Bourne Wood where a much-heralded sculpture trail was launched in the summer of 1991 by the Forestry Commission in conjunction with local authorities and community groups, a project designed to popularise the woods and at the same time enable resident artists execute and display their work in a woodland setting. Seven artists were commissioned to produce work that would fit easily into the location, so taking art out of the gallery and into a natural surrounding, the project being funded by South Kesteven District Council, Lincolnshire County Council and the Eastern Arts Board in partnership with Forest Enterprise and Bourne Grammar School. The sculptures commissioned varied in their degree of abstraction and not all met with universal approval because some were vandalised and others totally ignored while today, signs of this worthy project are difficult to find and identify. One of the first to be erected was an impressive work called Window in the Wood by Claire Guest, a lofty creation sited on the brow of a hill beside a turn on the main track, the 30 foot high sculpture depicting woodland creatures springing between the curved sides of the arch which was intended to create a two-dimensional pattern against the sky. But it did not win the admiration of all visitors because it was vandalised on several occasions and parts were replaced but in the summer of 2001, the damage became so extensive that it was dismantled altogether. Then in 1997, Clare Wilks, who was described as “an artist with a growing international reputation”, created a living willow sculpture called Helter Shelter at the junction of two forest tracks, the passageway of open woven willow fence spiralling the visitor in towards the small opening of a central, densely woven shelter. Since the whole sculpture was living and growing, the structure was intended to respond to the changes of the seasons, putting forth new growth in spring or shedding leaves in autumn. But that too was badly damaged by vandals lighting a fire inside the shelter which subsequently became overgrown and neglected and although restored in the spring of 2003 by a basket weaving group from King's Cliffe, near Stamford, who also offered to maintain it annually, this enthusiasm failed to preserve it for posterity. There were more works completed as part of the sculpture trail and signs of some can still be seen here and there, notably an odd representation by John Fortnum of Robert de Brunne, better known as Robert Manning, the monk who lived and worked at Bourne Abbey during the 14th century. The statue was approached by a gravelled path from the main track, at the beginning of which a giant footprint gave a first intimation of the sculpture's presence and the path then wound through dark pines, emerging at the rear of this gigantic piece, a vertical cone of pine logs soaring 30 feet, broken only by the cast concrete head which gazed with remarkable presence across an open area with ponds, over the trees beyond towards Sempringham Abbey, the home of Robert's order of Gilbertine monks where he had lived before moving to Bourne. This timber tower with an internal ladder and viewing platform was believed at the time to be the largest work completed by a British sculptor working alone. It was also the most controversial of all the sculptures, provoking considerable argument about its artistic merit, and one dark night it was even set on fire although it was never actually determined whether the culprits were art critics or vandals. Although the original sculpture trail is no more, the remains of several creations can still be seen by vigilant walkers, such as The Woodsman by Simon Todd, a figure carved from a tree trunk by the car park in the centre of the wood where he lies in an open space at the junction of several paths, an axe beside him, open hand beneath his chin, like an ancient spirit of the woods inviting us to explore the more secluded ways. Todd skilfully carved the figure so that it retained the qualities of the section of fallen ash from which it is fashioned but today it resembles little more than gnarled chunk of unwanted timber. Most of the others had an appearance that seemed to invite the attention of the destructive and a fragility unlikely to survive the years while those who remember them will recall the debate over whether they were art in the true sense, that is the creation of beauty through the expression of skill and imagination, or mere flights of fancy with no chance of permanence. But then, after seeing Tracey Emin’s unmade bed or Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde sheep it is obvious that the boundaries of this diverse range of human activity were pushed back long ago and so no one should shrink from giving expression to their own imagination in this type of art form. From the archives - 141 years ago: On Wednesday of last week, William Richards, of Oxford, walked 50 miles in 12 hours, starting from the Market Place in Bourne between 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning, walking 6¼ miles on the Deeping road and back, repeating the journey four times. Ten miles out of the 50 were walked backwards and the whole distance was completed about a quarter before eight in the evening. Richards is about 30 years of age and his weight is about nine stones. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 22nd August 1873. A small crop of strange plants which appeared in a garden at Dyke, near Bourne, almost 200 years ago caused great consternation in the farming world because of their size and the amount they produced. These were the first examples of a variety known as Cobbett's Indian Corn which we know today as maize. The seed had been brought to this country by William Cobbett (1763-1835), a farmer and journalist, who established a plant nursery at Kensington where he developed a strain of maize that he had found growing in a cottage garden in France. To help sell this variety, he published a book called A Treatise on Cobbett’s Corn (1828) and soon it was being planted throughout the country. The variety had originated in North America where it was known as corn, Indian being added because it was being grown mainly by native Americans although the word corn at that time was applied in England to any grain that required grinding such as wheat, barley, oats or rye. Cobbett had first-hand knowledge of maize when he served with the army at New Brunswick, an English colony 500 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, and his treatise traced the history of corn from biblical times when it was cultivated as the principal crop in many countries to its regular use in the New World. “When I came to ride through the corn fields of America”, he wrote, “ I understood how Jesus and his disciples might have gone through the corn in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem and when I came to eat the ears of corn and to find them so delightful, all the mystery was explained.” He later became a political journalist in London advocating a reform of Parliament and the abolition of the rotten boroughs which he thought would help to end the poverty of farm labourers and he was also against the Corn Laws, a tax on imported grain designed to protect cereal producers in this country against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846 but in doing so kept corn prices at home at a very high level at a time when the working classes depended on bread as their staple diet. Cobbett’s Indian Corn soon became very popular and newspaper accounts of its success established it as a regular and profitable crop. On Friday 7th August 1829, the Stamford Mercury reported that John Beasley had started growing a number of specimen plants in his garden at Dyke, near Bourne, which was causing some amazement in the neighbourhood. The report went on: “The small crop is much admired by those who have seen it. It consists of seven healthy plants. The seeds were planted promiscuously on about half a yard of land. The following dimensions were taken on the 26th July: from the ground to the top of the bloom, 4 feet 10 inches; from the ground to the top of the highest leaf, 7 feet 1 inch; the leaves average about 4 inches in breadth; and the stems measure, one with another, about 4½ inches in the thickest parts.” Today, maize is widely cultivated throughout the world with over 159 million hectares (390 million acres) being planted annually and producing a greater weight than any other grain. Thought for the week: Large streams from little fountains flow, tall oaks from little acorns grow. - David Everett (1769-1813), American writer, newspaper editor, poet and philanthropist. Saturday 16th August 2014
Big Macs have finally arrived in Bourne as McDonald’s continues its unstoppable drive for domination of the fast food market. Love them or leave them, their burgers have become an icon of modern life and the distinctive yellow and red logo of the world's largest chain of restaurants has become a familiar sight serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries and now even this rural backwater has become part of their empire. No matter what opposition they face when opening a new outlet they quietly go about their business with very little fuss and within months their restaurants have become part of the community. So it is here in Bourne where their latest outlet opened in South Road last week with a queue of people waiting to sample their burgers and fries and it was immediately obvious that despite many protests they are here to stay. Companies such as McDonald’s have become a formidable force in the market place by first latching on to a product that appeals to the public and then providing it with a first class service, all backed up by the latest marketing techniques to ensure that they keep up with changing trends. The company already has 1,200 restaurants in the UK attracting three million customers every day and employing around 87,500 people while the names of many of their specialities have passed into the language and now their latest outlet is already doing brisk business and providing new jobs with a promise to employ 65 people, 35 full time and the rest part time. Although the vacancies will be McJobs as they have become known, current slang for the tedious, low paying, low prestige, dead end jobs that require few skills, most of them are likely to be recruited locally where new employment is badly needed. In addition, the company policy is to be part of the community by supporting a range of activities from litter picking to charity events and local football matches. The South Road location just off the Elsea Park roundabout was chosen by the company for the 98-seat restaurant and drive-thru because it is well placed to serve residents, commuters and passing traffic on the main A15 Lincoln to Peterborough road. “The proposals seek to achieve a high quality development which will make a positive visual contribution to the local area”, said the company in its submission with the planning application. “The restaurant design is considered to be appropriate to the function of the development and the site context.” Unfortunately, the blurb does not live up to expectations because the restaurant site is tucked away behind the Texaco garage and Budgen’s mini-market as though tagged on as an afterthought to fill a piece of leftover land with the result that it looks and feels cramped and unfriendly and resembling a traffic island, while access from the A15 is confusing for motorists. There have already been protests to the development, mainly at the planning stage when 31 people lodged objections with South Kesteven District Council about the possible problems of litter from fast food packaging, the smell of cooking and the extra traffic likely to be generated. There was also concern that the new outlet would take custom from existing town centre businesses and that is perhaps, the crux of the matter. The arrival of McDonald’s in Bourne did not therefore pass without incident, one that was dramatically labelled by The Local newspaper as “Burger Wars” yet consisted merely of a dozen staff from a local takeaway picketing the opening dressed in fish-and-chip mascot outfits and carrying placards advertising reduced prices in an attempt to persuade people to avoid the big food provider chains and support their local chippies. Their employer, George Georgio, who runs George’s Fish Bar in Cherryholt Road, said that the demonstration was not a protest against McDonald’s but an indication that his and other similar businesses could complete with the international outlets. “We have been here for 13 years supporting the people of Bourne”, he said. “We want people to know that we are here as well and that we can compete.” The fact is that Bourne already has too many fast food outlets for the available business and a new restaurant can only take customers away from them. It will therefore be a matter of the survival of the fittest with those outlets providing the best food, service and prices succeeding while the others will struggle and even fail. This is known as competition, a method by which the public in a free society benefits by being given a choice and there can be no reason to complain about such a system. The opening of McDonald’s in Bourne reflects the changing trends in fast food over the years. Fish and chips once reigned supreme but this has slowly changed with the arrival of ethnic groups and signs of their influence can be found on the frontage of every takeaway in town advertising kebabs, pizzas, curries and burgers. The number of outlets has also increased dramatically and so each must ensure that they have quality food and service to survive in what has become a highly competitive industry. What a far cry from the chip shops of yesteryear. Anyone who has eaten fish and chips for the best part of eighty years and still finds them a satisfying dish must be a connoisseur. Each time I pass a fish and chip shop the familiar smell wafts past bringing with it memories from my boyhood when we were forever cadging for pennies to buy a portion of chips, especially in the early summer evenings when we would hang about outside watching the comings and goings and savouring the smell of frying. We knew every fish and chip shop in the district each identified by its owner's name and usually run by a husband and wife team, she peeling the potatoes and operating a primitive hand chipper while he tended the coal-fired cooking range which was constantly in need of more fuel, and between them they served a constant flow of customers. Each had its own distinctive brand which could be recognised by the young regulars such as ourselves by the look and the taste of the batter in which it had been fried. No portion of fish and chips was complete without a scoopful of the small brown fragments left in the pan and all of the shops kept them on one side to serve free of charge to small boys ordering their chips who invariably asked: "Can I have some scraps please?" On those days when we had fish and chips for our dinner and we were sent to fetch them, my mother would specify which shop we were to patronise and the moment they were unwrapped she would know if we had been elsewhere. Weekends were the busiest times and long queues would form and often we had to wait for an hour or more to be served but it was never boring because the owners knew most of their customers and their shop was a constant buzz of conversation with the swapping of local gossip. At lunchtime every Friday, which was pay day, workers at local factories would send out the apprentices for fish and chips and they would arrive at the front of the queue with huge baskets to be filled with the various orders listed on a piece of notepaper that had been delivered earlier, each portion liberally garnished with salt and vinegar and then wrapped in old newspapers, while the rest of us waited patiently for our turn. In late summer, when the harvest began, the fish and chip shops would start making their chips from new potatoes and word would flash down the street that they had arrived and we would rush to buy our first pennyworth, smaller portions than before because the early crop was more expensive to buy wholesale, but the chips were sweeter and more succulent than we had been eating in the previous months. The smell of this ubiquitous meal remains so evocative that I cannot pass a shop today without being tempted to buy a portion and it is a frequent dish when I eat out but, as in the past, it should always be cod and chips because that was the tradition over the years. But times are changing and as our cod stocks have been seriously depleted, alternatives are being offered, haddock and pollock being the favourites, although more exotic species from faraway places are now appearing and so it is always best to ask the variety when ordering fish and chips otherwise you might end up eating something you would rather not know about. The best advice is to stick to cod and chips whenever possible and if anyone else has a similar partiality for this traditional English dish, then I can thoroughly recommend the award-winning Linford’s restaurant and take-away shop in the town centre at Market Deeping and if you do not mind a short drive, then you will find that they currently serve the best on offer in this area. Such was the outrage at criminal acts in past times that the people were only too ready to help catch the culprits and their willingness to assist in law enforcement was amply demonstrated during the summer of 1849 in the case of the mystery gunman who ambushed and shot a travelling salesman who was about his business in the countryside near Bourne. Peter Dickson, a tea dealer, of St Leonard’s Street, Stamford, was journeying from Morton to Edenham along a footpath leading through a wood when the attack occurred and the events that followed were reported by the Stamford Mercury on Friday 22nd June: “He was deliberately shot at by some miscreant secreted in a dyke behind a hedge, close to which the footway runs. Five of the shots lodged in his face, the bulk of the charge taking away the tye [knot] of his neck-cloth and shattering the stick on which he carried his pack where it ultimately lodged. “From the position in which the rascal was placed, it was evident that Mr Dickson was not more than four yards from the gun. The shock stunned him and he fell and although not seriously hurt he remained senseless sufficiently long to allow the miscreant to escape. “Immediately reason resumed its sway, Mr Dickson went to Edenham where a posse of twenty persons aided by Rouse, the constable, commenced an active search, but without avail. Mr Dickson then hurried to Bourne for medical assistance whence active constables were immediately despatched. Mr George Munton, surgeon, of West Street, extracted five shots from the face and the wounded man was afterwards conveyed home to Stamford. “It is difficult to conjecture the object of the assassin. Mr Dickson knows of no one who has enmity against him, and it seems almost impossible to believe that, in England, in broad daylight, on a public path, any one would, for the sake of a little plunder, run such a dreadful risk. The first impression was that it could not be designed but must be the result of an accident from a poacher lurking for game. The season, however, seems to belie this conclusion; as also does the direction of the gun, and the absconding of the parties. The marks of feet were visible in the ditch, and the fellow was tracked by Handley, one of the constables, for a considerable distance, until lost in a broad riding in the wood. “A young man, a traveller with drapery, who met Mr Dickson shortly before the diabolical attempt and who proved to be on very friendly terms with him, was detained at Bourne that evening to give information and explanation to the magistrates the next morning: nothing, however, was elucidated. The young man, whose name is Wilson, was discharged by the magistrates who expressed regret at the necessity of his detention, and assured him that no reflection could rest upon him.” Meanwhile, despite the hue and cry by the posse of villagers who had scoured the surrounding countryside, the mystery gunman remained at large and the reason for his attack was never explained. Thought for the week: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke (1729-97), Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who is often regarded as the father of modern conservatism. Saturday 23rd August 2014
A warning note has been sounded over garish shop fronts appearing in the main streets of Bourne, especially within the Conservation Area, that part of town which is defined by the planning regulations as an area of special architectural or historic interest with a character or appearance that is desirable to preserve or enhance. An article by Anthony Jennings of the Bourne Preservation Society that appeared in The Local newspaper last week (August 15th) expressed concern that negative elements which detract from the street scene are likely to creep in through the use of inappropriate styles and materials, particularly plastic, in major features such as windows, doors, porches and shop fronts, which can make or mar a property and he suggests that repair, restoration or redecoration is carried out with care to ensure that traditional materials of appropriate character are used. “Work done with the best of intentions can be highly detrimental unless the rules are followed”, he writes, warning against the use of the wrong materials or of the wrong character or design for the period or the property. “The major detractors are shop fronts”, he writes, “fascias and signage that pay little respect to the character of the building.” These are commendable objectives for a small market town where our Conservation Area was designated in July 1977 and extended in January 2013 but the question is who will ensure that they are achieved? South Kesteven District Council is the planning authority and is therefore empowered, even required, to ensure that our buildings retain their original character yet changes do creep through which are incongruous and often totally out of keeping with the rest of the street scene. Leaflets are being issued explaining the Conservation Area and a guide to shop front design but we wonder whether anyone is actually taking any notice. The problem is that SKDC does not appear to be setting a good example because no sooner was the ink dry on Mr Jennings’ article than the subject was being discussed on Twitter with one contributor rightly pointing out that one of the worst properties in the town centre was Wake House in North Street that has been allowed to deteriorate into its present condition with the façade looking run down and dilapidated yet this is one of our 71 listed buildings in the very heart of the Conservation Area, the owners being the council itself. “In response to the shop fronts article, surely Wake House should be sorted first, not the shops”, tweeted Daniel Wand adding a photograph of a very sorry looking Wake House, a contribution that obviously struck a chord with many people because it was re- tweeted several times during the day. The only occasion we can remember when SKDC has acted over improper frontages in Bourne was in December 2001 when the then owners of the Angel Hotel decided to repaint the exterior woodwork in the window frames and surrounds with green and cream but there was such a public outcry about the gaudy appearance of the Grade II listed building in the heart of the Conservation Area that the council was forced to intervene and ordered the original black and white livery to be restored which was done in the spring of 2003. Bourne Preservation Trust now appears to be the public voice on these matters and its members are already actively seeking to take over two of our other Grade II listed buildings to save them from dereliction in the hands of their present owners, the Victorian chapel in the South Road cemetery and the Old Grammar School in the churchyard which is particularly at risk at the present time having been totally obscured by undergrowth and the low branches of nearby trees. We understand that the district council is co-operating with the society on various conservation matters yet their duty of care for Wake House appears to be sadly lacking and this is hardly the right message for shopkeepers who are being advised to pay particular attention to work and materials when carrying out alterations to their own properties. Yet, as Mr Jennings points out, if the Conservation Area is properly maintained for the benefit of the community as a whole then it will attract more visitors and pay great dividends for the future of Bourne. A combined and concerted effort is therefore required to realise this objective through the dedication of property owners, the vigilance of conservationists and the power of the local authority but a half-hearted policy that is reluctantly enforced will achieve very little. Everyone who likes a bar of fruit and nut might be surprised to learn that Turkey is the world’s biggest producers of hazel nuts, a necessary ingredient in this traditional confectionery. The bad news is that the weather has devastated crops this year and there may be a global shortage with the result that the cost has risen by 60% to a ten-year high and chocolate makers fear that this may create a shortage of their most popular brands, particularly Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut and, of course, Ferrero Rocher and Nutella. Hazel (Corylus avellana) is widely distributed in Europe and can be found in woods, thickets and hedgerows, growing to around 30 feet although often shorter and usually a broad bush, sometimes with a short trunk. The bark is a smooth and shiny grey-brown and the female flowers begin as small brown buds with protruding crimson stigmas, developing into clusters of one to four nuts, each partly enclosed in a toothed green husk, and changing from whitish green in mid-summer to pale pink brown and finally brown by the autumn when they are ready for picking. There was a time when our hazel nuts were home grown and although the crop from Bourne Wood was never a commercial proposition, they grew there in sufficient quantities to attract hundreds of visitors every year carrying baskets and bags to collect this annual autumnal bounty. The invasion of pickers at one time was so great that the Marquess of Exeter who owned the woods banned them and on Friday 21st August 1829 posted a notice in a local newspaper warning that the practice was prohibited because of damage caused to the woodland. "The woodsmen have directions to give information of all persons trespassing after this notice that they may be prosecuted as the law directs", he said. In later years, however, he relented and the public were suitably grateful for the concession that allowed them collect nuts in Bourne Wood which became an annual outing for many people from the town and surrounding villages anxious to participate in this autumnal Victorian pastime. The Grantham Journal, for instance, reported on Saturday 11th September 1875: “The abundance of nuts in Bourne woods has drawn several picnic parties, and nut-gatherers constantly return heavily laden. The beautiful weather and lovely foliage of the trees at this time make these woods a welcome retreat for the inhabitants of Bourne.” And again on Saturday 29th September 1877: “During the past fortnight, picnics have been a frequent occurrence in Bourne Wood, the large crop of hazel nuts having been a great attraction. Parties have come from the neighbouring villages and towns almost daily, and often numbering several scores, the largest parties being from Billingborough and Spalding.” The crop of hazel nuts is less prolific today but still well worth a visit for those who know where to find them because they are not easy to see and it takes a trained eye to spot them while anyone who thinks they might collect a basketful, perhaps to keep for the Christmas festivities, will have to be quick because once they are ready to pick, they disappear literally overnight, such is their popularity. October is the best month, a time of wayside nibbling and sampling, because hazel nuts are then at their prime and if you wish to have a go but find that someone has been there first, try searching inside the foliage where the nuts may have been sheltered from sight, from the wind or from squirrels who pick and store them as their winter food. It will be a simpler task to go to Sainsbury’s or Tesco and buy a packet but paying for them at the checkout will not give you the same pleasure as seeking them out in the wild and of course, they will taste that much better. Until now, we have assumed that Charles Sharpe (1889-1963) was the only holder of the Victoria Cross from the Bourne area having been honoured for his bravery during the First World War but research has now revealed that we have another war hero, son of a local estate owner, who received the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to our forces. He was Henry Hugh Clifford, third son of Hugh Charles Clifford, the 7th Baron Clifford, who was born at Irnham Hall, near Bourne, on 12 September 1826 and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on 7th August 1846. Clifford served in South Africa against the Boers , returning in 1852 on the outbreak of another Kaffir war, remaining there until November 1853. During the Crimean War, he was appointed aide-de-camp (ADC) to Sir George Brown, commanding the light division, being present at Alma and Inkerman, and it was during this battle that he was honoured for his gallantry for which he later received the Victoria Cross after a charge on 5th November 1854, killing one of the enemy with his sword, disabling another and saving the life of a soldier. The Victoria Cross had not then been officially constituted at that time but when the order was eventually made by Queen Victoria in 1856 it was backdated to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War and this included Henry Clifford. In May 1855, he was appointed deputy assistant quartermaster-general, and remained in the Crimea until the conclusion of the war when he was promoted to the rank of brevet major, and received the medal and clasps for Alma, Inkerman, and Sebastopol, and from foreign governments the Legion of Honour and the 5th class of the Medjidie. On the outbreak of hostilities in China, Henry Clifford joined the British forces as assistant quartermaster-general and was present at the operations between December 1857 and January 1858 which resulted in the capture of Canton. For his services he received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel, with the China medal and Canton clasp. Returning to England, he began a long term of service on the staff, being appointed assistant quartermaster-general at Aldershot 1860-4 and then held a similar appointment at headquarters 1865-1868. He was also ADC to the commander-in-chief 1870-3 and assistant adjutant-general at headquarters 1873-5. During the Anglo-Zulu war in 1879, Clifford was sent to South Africa to take charge of communications for Lord Chelmsford between Durban and the forces in the field. His task was no light one because great confusion prevailed at Durban, the port of disembarkation; but by his past experience in staff duties, his knowledge of the requirements of the supply of an army, and, above all, by his familiarity with Kaffir warfare and his indefatigable nature, he very soon reduced everything to order and his labours were fully acknowledged by Sir Garnet Wolseley. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1869 and knighted in 1879, eventually serving as major-general of the eastern district of England from April to September 1882. Sir Henry died at Ugbrooke, near Chudleigh in Devon on 12th April 1883, aged 72, and was buried in the chapel at Ugbrooke House. In 1857, he had married Josephine Elizabeth, only child of Joseph Anstice of Madeley Wood, Shropshire, professor at King's College London, and their son became Sir Hugh Clifford. His military record now joins the Bourne archive and we are honoured to have two holders of the Victoria Cross. Thought for the week: Behind every award of a Victoria Cross is a remarkable story involving all those qualities that we British hold most dear: loyalty, duty, sacrifice, care for others, a great good humour and a deep humility. - HRH The Prince of Wales in a forward to the booklet Victoria Cross Heroes published in conjunction with a TV docudrama celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross in 2006. Saturday 30th August 2014
The town is to have its first new school in almost forty years with the opening of the Elsea Park Primary Academy next week. This is a landmark development in the history of Bourne and despite past promises by developers and local authorities it has only come to fruition through the pressure of the people who have repeatedly pointed out that the two existing primaries have been unable to cope with increasing numbers of children coming into an expanding community. The catalyst has been the building of the Elsea Park estate which is in effect a new small township welded on to the southern edge of this historic market town, peopled mainly by newcomers and their families who have brought tremendous pressure on our infrastructure, a situation apparent to everyone who lives here yet one that our local authorities have been reluctant to accept when it comes to spending money. The controversial housing estate was first projected in March 1999, the biggest single residential development in the history of Bourne with 2,000 new homes that will eventually bring an estimated 6,000 newcomers to the town and although a primary school for local children was promised as part of the planning gain, it has been a long time coming with many stops and starts along the way. Now it has actually been built and next week it will be open with a reception class and a mixed class for Year 1/Year 2 pupils with an eventual roll of 210. The good thing about any new school is that the lessons of the past have been learned and so it starts with a clean slate and every chance of success, particularly so in this case because it will be run by the Bourne Abbey Primary Academy which has already established a formidable record for performance under the guidance of headteacher, Mrs Cherry Edwards who was recently awarded the OBE for her services to education. “This is a fabulous new school”, she told The Local newspaper (August 22nd) “and so we have the opportunity to make it a truly welcoming and vibrant place for our new pupils to learn and develop.” What a far cry from the first state school to open in Bourne almost 200 years ago. Until the Education Act of 1870, the building of elementary schools was left entirely to voluntary bodies such as the church and an Anglican organisation known as the National Society for Education was responsible for building the National School on a site in North Street in 1830, one of the principal organisers being the Rev Joseph Dodsworth, curate and later vicar of the Abbey Church. The land for the building was given to the town by the Marquess of Exeter, Lord of the Manor of Bourne, and the construction costs were met by a series of fund-raising activities, notably a grand ball at the Town Hall which became an annual event to ensure a continual flow of money for the next twenty years. The stone laying was held on the afternoon of Monday 5th October 1829 when the church bells rang out as wine was ceremonially spilled over the foundation stone and distributed to everyone present before the company adjourned to the Bull Hotel in the market place [now the Burghley Arms] where guests sat down to a celebration dinner. Mr Dodsworth delivered a prayer and the company gave three cheers for the success of the undertaking to be joined by workmen engaged on building the school who were being entertained elsewhere in the Bull. "This was a day not soon to be erased from the pleasing recollection of all concerned", reported the Stamford Mercury. "It was spent with that cheerfulness and conviviality and we may add with the self-satisfaction which only minds bent on benevolence and Christian charity can conceive." Building work was completed early in the New Year and a public dinner was held at the Angel Inn [now Hotel] on Wednesday 20th January 1830 to mark the occasion when it was announced that the first children would be admitted the following month. The school was soon running efficiently and parents were encouraged to take an interest in the progress of pupils and in May 1832, for instance, they were invited to be present when they underwent an examination to demonstrate the effectiveness of the teaching they were receiving. The school was run by a board of trustees and continued in existence for almost fifty years, closing in the summer of 1877 when it was replaced by the board or council school in what was then Star Lane, now Bourne Abbey Primary Academy in Abbey Road. Since then, the building has had a chequered history, being used for various activities both educational and social, but was never properly maintained and was eventually sold by the trustees with ownership passing to the Grantham and Stamford Conservative Association in March 1987 and it remains in use today as their constituency headquarters. The stark 19th century building in North Street where strict discipline was imposed through rigid rules and frequent use of the cane bears no resemblance today to the modern schools that are now being built such as that at Elsea Park which also provides a timely reminder of how education has progressed during the past two centuries from bleak and austere schoolrooms with chalks and slates as the main teaching aids to the comfortable classrooms, state of art equipment and the caring staff we have today that enable our children learn and achieve their best in a happy, friendly and relaxed environment. Schooldays may not have been the best days in past times but they certainly are today. Few people have newspapers delivered any longer mainly because they usually arrive late, even around midday when you have already read the latest news on the Internet, heard it on the radio or watched it on television, and in any case the newsagent’s delivery charges are so expensive for oldies that it is much more economical to buy a copy of your favourite daily when calling at the garage or supermarket. The boys and girls who deliver them in what is supposed to be the early morning have also found a way to take the drudgery out of the job which we experienced seventy years ago and that is to recruit the help of mum and dad. Twice in recent weeks I have spotted these youngsters about their business in our street with a car kerb crawling close behind and driven by one of their parents which in view of the price of petrol rather misses the point of having a newspaper round to earn some pocket money. This newspaper delivery modern style evoked memories of what it was like in the early 1940s when money was short in working class families and the most popular part time work for boys to earn some ready cash was a newspaper round but these regular and by our standards, well-paid jobs were, despite the early morning start, coveted and consequently every newsagent in the vicinity had a long waiting list of names from which he could take his pick and with so many boys from the numerous large families living in the neighbourhood opportunities were few. Nevertheless, vacancies did occur occasionally but the work was exacting for small boys with little regard for time because every newspaper had to be delivered well before school started. In fact, if a customer did not have their newspaper by eight o’clock there was likely to be a complaint and you could lose your job. We were required to be at the shop at 6 am by which time the proprietor and his wife had already been hard at work for the previous two hours sorting the newspapers ready for delivery, those for each street neatly piled up in sequence with the name and house number of the recipient pencilled across the top of the front page. Few of the lads were lucky enough to have bikes and so it was off on foot to make the round in all weather, sunshine, rain, blow or snow, a massive canvas bag containing the newspapers and although wartime austerity restricted them to only a few pages, a large number of copies weighed heavily over our shoulders and the only relief was that once we reached the appropriate street it got lighter with each delivery although we often had to return to the shop for a refill. The newspapers had to be neatly folded and pushed through the letter box without tearing, a routine that was carried out each weekday although we dreaded Fridays when most children’s comics such as Film Fun, the Dandy and Beano, as well as several women’s magazines, were published and Sundays when the newspapers were more popular and bigger, while the likelihood of a heavy shower turning the Daily Express or News Chronicle into a soggy mess between bag and door and the prospect of fending off angry dogs were ever present but despite these daily hazards, we always finished the job. Each delivery round consisted of a street or two within the vicinity of the shop and it usually took about an hour at a time when the neighbourhood had a strange early morning stillness broken only by the whistling of the newspaper boys, the occasional clatter of bottles from the milkman and the clip-clop of his horse as his float passed by. There was always a small panic at the shop whenever any of the lads was away ill but on those occasions we split the round between us, the rule being that every customer had to have their morning paper at all costs. But not everyone was suited to doing a newspaper round no matter how much they wanted the money and whenever we got fed up, all of us frequently threatened to “do a Malcolm”, a reference to the lad who notoriously disappeared after half a dozen calls on his first morning, deciding that enough was enough and dumping his bag behind a privet hedge in a front garden before running off home, his undelivered newspapers only being retrieved by the newsagent later that day after his mother hurried to the shop to apologise for her son’s errant conduct claiming that he had suffered a bilious attack during the night, a catch all excuse of the time to explain juvenile shortcomings. Most days all of the lads were in good humour, swapping jokes, often challenging each other with half-penny bets to finish their round first or everyone taking a furtive drag from a stolen fag filched from a father’s packet of Woodbines, and once the job was done it was a race back home for a quick wash and a breakfast of Shredded Wheat or a doorstep slice of bread and dripping gulped down with a mug of hot tea before getting ready for school. Come Saturday, all the dash and discomfort seemed worthwhile when we collected our pay, half a crown for a week’s work [12½ pence in today’s money] and we were grateful for it. There were days when I could hardly drag myself out of bed and get to the newsagent’s shop half a mile away, especially in wet weather or on those dark mornings during the winter months when the street lighting had been switched off because of the war and I carried my mother’s blackout torch to light the numbers on the houses, but the thought of asking my father for help never entered my head, a fruitless request anyway because we had no car and he needed the only bicycle in the family to get to and from work. On those occasions that I did grumble, my mother always tried to console me with the old biblical quotation that the labourer is worthy of his hire (Luke 10:7) although I found more solace in the weekly half-crown which, for a small boy in those far off days, was a small fortune and the difference between having pocket money like my pals or none at all. We are taking a short break and so there will be no new Diary next week although all of the other features will remain on site. This is not so much a holiday as a necessity because my study is being decorated and a new carpet laid and although that may sound a simple task, it is in fact a daunting operation needing detailed co-ordination and the utilisation of additional space elsewhere in the house to accommodate the masses of books, files, documents and computer equipment that have built up over the years and so the moving out and moving back in will take the best part of a day each time. But, as Arnie said, I’ll be back. Thought for the week: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. - Cyril Northcote Parkinson (1909-93), British naval historian and author of some 60 books including the best-seller Parkinson's Law which dealt with public administration and management. Return to Monthly entries |
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