THIS WEEK IN 1990:

COUNTY education chiefs are imposing a total smoking ban on all school buses throughout Hereford and Worcester including those operated as partly public routes. The blanket ban comes into effect immediately with a letter sent out this week to all bus firms and public transport operators.

This sharp action will be greatly welcomed by many county parents who have complained about their children having to endure a smoky atmosphere on school buses due to other youngsters smoking. One group of 84 county parents recently sent a protest petition to their local bus company but without effect.

THIS WEEK IN 1980:

FROM Berrow’s Journal Jottings: It’s appalling how confidence tricksters are preying on householders in this county, particularly the elderly. They seem to be able to gain access to houses by a variety of ruses. Some of their excuses are: They are looking for a lost pet. A man claims he is a meter reader. A caller wants to change a bank note. A ‘dealer’ offers spot cash for junk and ‘workmen’ claim that your roof is in urgent need of repair and they will do it for you at a very modest price.

The advice to all vulnerable folk is clear. It pays to be hyper-suspicious these days and to instil this instinct in elderly relatives and friends, as one would instil a fear of strangers offering lifts in the minds of children.

THIS WEEK IN 1970:

ALL the men at the annual reunion of the Queen’s Own Worcestershire Hussars, the Worcestershire Yeomanry, were more than 70 yearsold.

In fact, many were more than 80, and two were Boer War veterans, one aged 90 and the other 93. For the first time in a reunion, an NCO, ex-Squadron Sergeant- Major WP James, presided because of the death of the Worcestershire Yeomanry’s last officer, Major JT Kenrick, in January this year. He reminded those at the reunion at the Diglis Hotel, Worcester, that in past times the Yeomanry had paraded from the Shirehall forecourt to attend cathedral services. He also recalled how in 1916 the bicycle had replaced the horse as the Yeomanry’s mode of transport.

At the end of the evening it was decided to continue holding the reunions but that next year’s event should be at lunch time so that people would not have to drive home in the dark.

THIS WEEK IN 1960:

FROM the Jottings column of Berrow’s Worcester Journal: “In spite of the commendable work of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, our countryside landscape is undoubtedly suffering from scientific advancement and nothing can stop it. Traffic now penetrates to the remotest village, particularly at weekends and the ploughman, homeward plodding his weary way, has to keep his wits about him if he doesn’t want to get run over.

“Screaming jets drown out the lowing of the cattle, and the music of the birds too often goes unnoticed when villagers are trying to Spot the Tune.However, cars and planes may pass but TV aerials are permanent disfigurements of the rural landscape, and many Cotswold villages, for instance, are being spoiled by them.

“The CPRE believes that in these days of scientific advancement it should be possible instead to have effective indoor aerials. All the bits of bedsteads on our roofs should come down.”