10:53am Tuesday 24th March 2009
By Michael Grundy
THIS WEEK IN 1989:
WORCESTER people were dazzled this week by a display of colourful lights in the sky as the aurora borealis made a rare visit south. The lights, caused by exploding sunspots being drawn to the magnetic poles, are often seen in Scotland but very rarely any further down the country.
On Monday, between 8.30pm and midnight, many people here and to the south as far as Southampton enjoyed a red fan-shaped display of lights weaving over their heads.
● A proposal to site a focal point ornamental fountain in the Cornmarket at Worcester has been backed by the county engineer Vivian Jones who is recommending county councillors to approve the plan.
● Youngsters who have raised cash towards their new youth club premises will be on site on Monday as the first brick is laid for the Perdiswell Young People’s Club HQ.
THIS WEEK IN 1979:
COUNTY councillors have been told that more than 150 of the 950 pianos in Hereford- Worcester schools and colleges are “beyond economic repair due to a general lack of attention some years ago.”
As a result, councillors are being recommended to set up a small workshop and to appoint a qualified repair technician to ensure a longer and more economic for school pianos. It is estimated the workshop could repair about 20 pianos a year at an outlay of £6,000 including wages – half as much as the cost of buying 20 new pianos.
● A £1½ million scheme for Worcester Sewage Works in Bromwich Road has been unveiled by the Severn Trent Water Authority. The first stage of the operation, costing £500,000, will begin next month and take 18 months to complete. The extensions will produce a consistently high quality effluent and will reduce pollution in the river Severn, claims the water authority. It is hoped the Worcester scheme will cope with expected sewage flows to the end of the century “at minimum cost”.
THIS WEEK IN 1969:
FROM Berrow’s Journal Guide to an Ideal Home: If there is a popularity trend with new homes in Worcester and the county, it is towards bungalows rather than conventional two-storey houses. Five years ago, too, central heating was a luxury but today it is an important selling point for both old and new property. A splendid example of the popularity of the bungalow is demonstrated by those on the new Chacewater Estate at Northwick, Worcester. Threebedroom bungalows with a study, lounge, dining room and kitchen are selling readily at over the £6,000 mark, and similar twobedroom units are going just as quickly. Further bungalows are being built at Penhill Crescent on Worcester’s Westside. Here, two-bedroom detached bungalows with central heating and car ports are being offered at prices from £4,195. And at Callow End, semi-detached chalet bungalows are being built at a basic price of £3,700.
THIS WEEK IN 1959:
WORCESTERSHIRE County Cricket Club leaned heavily on its Supporters’ Association during the past 12 months. In spite of a much improved playing season in which gates were up by 1,200, the club found it necessary to call on the Supporters’ Association for £4,816. In addition, the club had to appropriate £4,000 from its Test Match reserve fund. By these means the club has been able to report a net deficit on the year of only £339, otherwise the loss would have been £9,155.
● There is no truth in the suggestion that George Ward, the Conservative MP for Worcester and Secretary of State for Air, is to give up politics, according to an official statement from him today.
In a national newspaper on Sunday, it was reported that Mr Ward was one of five Government ministers who would not be seeking reelection at the next general election. But Mr Ward said: “I have every intention of contesting the seat at Worcester at the next general election. It is preposterous to suggest that I am retiring from politics.” (In fact, he did not contest the Worcester seat again. It was taken over by Peter Walker two years later).
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