TO the traditional skirl of the bagpipes, the haggis was piped in to open the Bromsgrove Burns' Night celebration dinner. Over 200 people flocked to the Dolphin Suite for Bromsgrove's celebration of the Scottish poet's birthday. Money raised from the tickets and a raffle went to Bromsgrove General Hospital.

LOCAL rock group Last Stand were heading for the big time with the release of their debut single Just A Number. The group consisted of former South Bromsgrove pupils Paul Hutchings (bass and vocals), Jon Nash (guitar and vocals), and Mark Matthews (drums), who grew up together on the Charford estate, and keyboard player Phil Davis, from Barnt Green. The single was recorded at Fairdeal Studios in Middlesex.

TERRY Simons launched a one-man bid to revive local interest in the artistry of Bromsgrove Guild ornaments and statues, to give back to the town its lost heritage. From his firm, Bromsgrove Concrete Products in Worcester Road, he scoured the area searching for original statues and garden ornaments, with his overall ambition being to complete a collection of the lost moulds used by local craftsmen when Bromsgrove designs were the envy of the world.