THIS WEEK IN 1961:

INFLUENZA is on the increase in Worcestershire and has reached epidemic proportions in places including Malvern and Worcester. Doctors, already hard pressed caring for patients suffering from the normal winter ills, have had their task greatly increased by the epidemic.

Sickness benefit claims reaching the Whittington Road office of the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance have increased by 300 per cent in the past few days.

Almost 1,000 county people are thought to have contracted flu since the end of the Christmas holidays.

The rate has now increased to 700 cases a week. Many more people have had a mild attack of the disease but have carried on working. This is the first flu epidemic of any size in Worcester for two years. Influenza in Malvern has also officially reached epidemic proportions.

Worcester Royal Infirmary is advising relatives and friends not to visit patients if they have symptoms of ‘flu or a severe cold.

Parents visiting the children’s wards are similarly advised to limit themselves to one parent and to leave any other children at home.

THIS WEEK IN 1971:

BAN smoking in cinemas.

Following the publication of the shock report on the dangers of smoking from the Royal College of Physicians, Worcester’s medical officer of health, Dr Godfrey O’Donnell is advocating a ban on smoking in cinemas and other public places. He says the latest report merely underlines once again the truth that even the most ardent smoker realises cigarette smoking is a grave health hazard. He said: “As a nation we have to do everything possible to try to persuade smokers to drop the habit either permanently or intermittently. One effective way of weaning smokers off cigarettes would be to ban smoking in cinemas and other public places. By putting up more ‘No Smoking’ notices we shall not only make things more pleasant for the non-smoker but will also be doing smokers a great service.”

THIS WEEK IN 1981:

JOB vacancies for young people in the county have hit rock bottom. A total of 1,873 school-leavers and other young people are out of work in the county – and there are just 24 job vacancies. The figures underline “the hand-tomouth vacancy situation”

hitting the County Careers Service. Prospects for the future are bleak unless the promised expansion of the Government’s Youth Opportunities Programme comes through.

􀁥 Worcestershire’s unemployed are turning into bookworms to beat the dole queue blues. As short time working bites and redundancies increase, the county’s libraries are finding more and more people turning to books to get away from it all. County librarian Ann Barnes says a survey has shown more men using libraries when local firms go on to short time.

THIS WEEK IN 1991:

WORCESTER City Council’s controlling Labour group has voted unanimously to “promote” deputy Mayor, Councillor Ray Turner and his wife Joy to the top civic positions until May. The pair are also to be funded privately out of Labour councillors’ pockets and will be supported in their civic duties as Mayor and Mayoress by former Labour mayors, who will act as their “deputies.” The decisions were taken at a private meeting in the wake of the crisis brought about by the shock decision of the Labour Mayor, Councillor Peter Elkins and his Mayoress Annah Kontic to resign over a mayoral expenses row.