THIS WEEK IN 1990:

COUNTY weatherman Paul Damari will be taking to his heels and going round in circles from next Monday – all in aid of the Children in Need Appeal. Mr Damari of Northwick Walk, Worcester, is setting off on a 100-mile circular walk taking in Worcester, Malvern, Ledbury, Hereford, Ross-on-Wye, Upton-upon-Severn and back to this city. Averaging 20 miles a day, he plans to be back in Worcester at teatime on Friday with buckets full of cash.

THIS WEEK IN 1980:

DRIVING rain failed to dampen the spirits of TV star John Noakes who braved the elements 150 feet up the Morganite Crucible chimney at Whittington.

Noakes and expert steeplejack John Fielding of Rafferty Brothers, Stoke-on- Trent, were filming the climb for the Go With Noakes BBC television series. Although the rain made the wooden ladder very slippery, John Noakes did not disappoint the crowd of onlookers gathered at the bottom of the chimney, and filming carried on as normal. The programme, due to be screened at Christmas, shows Noakes accompanying the steeplejack on a routine inspection of the chimney.

THIS YEAR IN 1970:

A SEARCHING appraisal of the City of Worcester Show and its future was conducted by the city council during an hour-long debate on Tuesday. This close look at the two-day show has become an annual feature in the council’s discussion calendar, and once again they decided it should go ahead for another year despite the misgivings of several members, particularly in the wake of a £2,880 loss on this year’s event. Alderman Fred Lewis said the show brought a lot of enjoyment to thousands of people and might stop making losses if it was held on a Saturday and Sunday rather than Friday and Saturday. Alderman William Bird felt too much money was dissipated on “small diversions” at the show when bigger main attractions could prove crowd-pullers.

THIS WEEK IN 1960:

NOW passing through the Mediterranean on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Bombay and Karachi is the cargo liner, the new City of Worcester.

On board this vessel of the Ellerman Line is a painting by the Scottish artist Ian Eadie that has a very close link with Worcester. It is an imaginary reconstruction of the occasion when Queen Elizabeth I visited the city in 1575. It is the practice of the Ellerman Line to have a painting in the lounge of each of their ‘City’ ships depicting an event in the history of the city it is named after. Mr Eadie visited Worcester some months ago to gather background for his painting.

In particular, he saw Queen Elizabeth House in the Trinity, from the balcony of which the Queen is said to have addressed citizens. The City of Worcester is the second liner of the Ellerman Line bearing this name. The first was built in 1927 and only went out of commission five years ago.