Stories for 27 March 2006
Leisure
PERHAPS best known today for his television role in Judge John Deed and previously for playing Doyle in The Professionals, actor Martin Shaw showed he is a real star of the stage as well. more...
ROALD Dahl's classic tale is brought to life by The Nonentities this week and is very well presented and performed. more...
THERE cannot be many better ways to get into the festive spirit than taking in the glitz, glamour and unforgettable sounds of the three kings of swing. more...
THE Grand has a tradition for top notch pantos - and this one is no exception. more...
KIDDERMINSTER and District Lions Club were responsible for organising the New Year's Day concert, and what a success it was. more...
AFTER two days of festive films and frequent dips into a jumbo-sized Dairy Box, I was desperate to get out of the house - even if it did involve being surrounded by hundreds of excited pre-schoolers. more...
BASED on the popular television series Alias, gamers control CIA Agent Sydney Bristow. more...
US band Electric Six lived up to their name when they descended on Wolverhampton and performed an energising set of old and new tracks. more...
ONCE they sang of personal and political despair. Then they became an all-purpose rock band, rocketing into the mainstream with arena gigs and number one albums. more...
SHOWDOWN is without a doubt the wrestling fan's wrestling game. more...
WHENEVER you see the magic name "Neil Simon" attached to a play, you know you are in for a treat, and the Nonentities' latest production is no exception. more...
SUMMER is upon us, so expect beach holidays, ice-creams, and many an opportunity to play tennis. more...
IMAGINE we're in the year 1964, a whole 50 years after the First World War broke out. more...
THE cast got a much-deserved standing ovation at the end of this superb show where the audience was skilfully transported back to 1950s Las Vegas. more...
"If there is a God, then why has he let me die?" Torque finds this scrawled on the wall of a cell and it serves as a general introduction to The Suffering, a game in which reality is obscured and horror is very much the flavour of the day. more...
WITH a selection of prequels on the PSONE, Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain has a lot to live up to. more...
The LMA Manager series is without a doubt the best and most successful management series to grace any video games console. more...
AFTER months of eager anticipation Resident Evil Outbreak is finally here, but it's not quite what one may have initially envisaged. more...
Dynasty Warriors has evolved an enormous amount from the original version back on the PSONE. more...
THIS year's new feature to the FIFA series is the first touch system. more...
FROM the beginning in an almost Jackass like way, violators imitating moves are warned that they will be smacked. more...
IT'S not often that a near perfect game is produced, Metal Gear Solid, Goldeneye, and Halo have all been remarkably outstanding, but Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is simply the finest game to grace any console. more...
TOCA Race Driver 2 claims to be the ultimate racing simulator. This is an enormous claim to make and would put it ahead of all other racing games. more...
IN terms of randomness and originality, Under The Skin is certainly an intriguing concept. more...
THE dancing genre was first popularised in the arcades. Gamers would venture down to their local amusement park and make an absolute fool out of themselves jumping around and dancing to an awfully cheesy pop song. more...
ARE you ready for great cars, courses, race modes and online gameplay? If so, then Gran Turismo 4 is the game for you. more...
YOU may think that after visiting the nature reserves of Wyre Forest district year in, year out, there would be very few mysteries to be solved, especially on a dull winter's day.
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WHATEVER the weather, it's nearly always worth making the effort to get outdoors, especially in relatively unspoilt parts of the county. Walking this particular route on a dismal January morning, our attention was caught by a flash of iridescent blue as a kingfisher plunged into a pool at Spindle Wood. more...
AS everybody who has ever studied basic geography at school knows, there are just three main types of rock making up the Earth's land surface - igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.
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News
THE green regime has received an overwhelming thumbs-up from residents in a corner of Kidderminster included in the first wave of the district's rubbish revolution. more...
DESPERATE to boost its maintenance fund, All Saints' Church in Bromsgrove held a Rose Fete in the grounds. Lady Vernon, from Hanbury Hall, crowned Rose Queen Christine Cox, aged 14, on a flower-decked platform in front of the west door. The event raised £100 for the repairs fund. more...
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THE ground-breaking green regime introduced to a quarter of district homes last month has proved a big hit - and Government recycling targets are now in sight. more...
AT Droitwich Town Council, a surveyor reported a new way to keep down dust and binding certain sections of the road affected by the recent dry spell. Parts of Bromsgrove Road, Worcester Road and Ombersley Street had been dressed with ground salt obtained from the Salt Union. The chairman suggested that if it proved successful it might be advantageous to issue a leaflet on it. It was also suggested that brine should be used as it was less expensive. more...
A gigantic party was held for employees and their wives to celebrate the Austin Work's golden jubilee. Pavilions and stands were erected outside the car assembly block, but surmounting everything was a 30ft high plaque of Lord Austin. The proceedings began with the firing of a maroon, a fanfare of trumpeters by the Austin and other units of Air Training Corps, the raising of flags of all nations and the unveiling of the plaque by Lord Austin's brother, Harry. The 35,000 guests included British Motor Corporation dealers and distributors from Commonwealth countries. more...
Following two deaths and a series of incidents in the past eight years, Bromsgrove's Barnsley Hall Hospital driveway was closed to the public. Hospital secretary William Tedstone said people with no interest in the hospital used the drive as a short cut between Stourbridge and Birmingham roads. Over the past eight years both a member of staff and a patient had been killed in accidents caused by drivers taking short cuts. The hospital had locked gates to be put across the driveway. more...
WYRE Forest residents are being asked to become more environmentally friendly and recycle as much household rubbish as possible to reduce the amount ending up in landfill sites. more...
THOMAS Crowther and John Priddey, two boys from The Vines in Droitwich, appeared before Spa magistrates charged with being naked while bathing in the canal in Ricketts Lane, contrary to a bye-law. Magistrate Mr Hobson appeared to side with the lads and was heard to remark the provision of a proper pool in the town was many years away. The case was dismissed. more...
DESPITE heavy overnight rain the track at Bromsgrove County High School was in good condition when 18 records were smashed during the annual spots day. The Victor Ludorum was Harvey Troth and the Victrix Tehmina Goodman. Hibbins won the house championship. more...
WYRE Forest is being given a £17,115 central government cash boost to help it recycle rubbish. more...
THE house price rise in Bromsgrove had finally begun to slow down, but last year's increase had still been 24 per cent. The average price of a house in the district was now £22,298. more...
THE `treats' season was well under way - this week it was the turn of senior Sunday school scholars from St John's Church, Bromsgove. After a brief service they marched behind a band to Mr Newbold's field at Stoke Prior where they enjoyed the usual games. However, thanks to Messrs Brazier, Drury and Goodman, who took along their motor cars, many youngsters enjoyed an unforgettable experience - their first ride in a motor-powered vehicle. more...
THE amount of rubbish being recycled across Wyre Forest has already doubled after the partial introduction of a kerbside collection scheme. more...
THE blistering heat of the last month was the best haymaking weather that many local farmers could remember. The Messenger said it hoped the sunshine would last over the forthcoming bank holiday. But warned holidaymakers to be careful not to start fires as the countryside was tinder dry. The sun was also expected to bring out the largest number of motorist ever on Britain's roads, around four million. more...
WASTE chiefs in Wyre Forest are celebrating after netting more than £200,000 of Government cash to help introduce kerbside recycling to thousands more homes later this year. more...
A PROPOSED new sports hall, earmarked to be built near the Dolphin Suite in School Drive would upset plans for a new £250,000 community centre for the Methodists, it was claimed. The site was on the corner of Stratford Road and School Drive, Bromsgrove. more...
WILLIAM Bennett, of Dodford, a market gardener, was charged with driving a horse and cart in High Street without a light. Sergeant Parry said that when he held up his hand for the defendant to stop he took no notice and would have knocked him down if he had not jumped out of the way. The defendant said he did not see the sergeant and his son was holding a candle lamp in the cart. He was fined 2s 6d (12.5p) and 7s 6d (37.5p) costs. more...
A WORCESTERSHIRE-wide vision for waste management over the next 30 years has been drawn up with input from Wyre Forest District Council. more...
A MARCH through Bromsgrove intended to drum up support for the Territorial Army affords us an interesting glimpse of the town as it was at the start of the Great War in 1914. The picture was taken looking up High Street from a window in the old Town Hall at the junction of St John and Worcester Street. The marchers are about to pass what was affectionately known as the Hallelujah Lamp beneath which the Salvation Army used to gather. more...
HAROLD Laugher, aged 15, from Staple Hill, appeared at Bromsgrove police court charged with hitting Lilly Perks, a girl of the same age, on the head causing her nose to bleed. However, a witness told magistrates her nose bled whenever the schoolmaster caned her. Fining the youth 2/6 (12.5p) the chairman of the bench remarked such trivial cases involving childrens' squabbles were a waste of their time. more...
LAST week, just before the half-term break, House of Commons business ended tamely with a smaller rebellion from Labour backbenchers than expected over the Terrorism Bill and a disappointing debate on Tackling Health Inequalities.
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THE Midland `Red's' modern new 44-seater single deck busses would soon be seen on roads in Bromsgrove and Droitwich. The lighweight vehicles with plastic body panels, all rubber suspension and automatic transmission were being added to the company's fleet at the rate of two per week. more...
THE owner of a large industrial estate at Lisle Avenue, Kidderminster pleaded guilty at the town's magistrates court to six charges of permitting the illegal keeping and disposal of waste on its land. more...
VISITORS were flocking to the Jinney Ring Craft Centre at Hanbury which had recently opened in a renovated 200-year old barn. Most of the work had been carried out by former Herefordshire farmers, Richard and Jenny Greatwood. more...
FINSTALL near Bromsgrove held its first ever flower show in the village hall and it was pleasing to see so many entries of produce. There were honorary exhibits from Mr Brookes, of Finstall Park, who submitted plants and fruit, while Mr Suffield entered displays of honey, both comb and in jars. more...
A LEADING campaigner who helped get the notorious Kidderminster incinerator bid kicked out has warned the district could be "picked on" with a new waste plan. more...
A FUND had been launched in Rubery for relatives of the five local Territorials who died when two runaway tanks ploughed into their tents while they slept when they were taking part in exercises on Salisbury Plain. An inquest had been inconclusive. The Messenger noted it had been the second consecutive August bank holiday that tragedy had affected local people. Last year two people had died and ten were injured when a coach party from Catshill was involved in a road accident in Switzerland. more...
A-LEVEL results at North Bromsgrove High School were the best ever. But the good news was tempered by the fact that, due to proposed cuts in the county's education budget, the sixth forms at both high schools in the town may in future be switched to North Worcestershire College of Education. more...
ASSURANCES have been given that a reduction in waste collected from Wyre Forest's wheelie bins does not mean the surplus refuse is all ending up at household waste sites instead. more...
AT Droitwich Borough Police Court, John Rollins, of Winnetts Lane, Droitwich, was charged with being drunk. He pleaded guilty to the offence. Witness Elizabeth Harris said the defendant was using strong language to some women and when he spotted her he ran through her house and out of the front door. He was fined 1s (5p) and 5s 6d (27.5p) costs. more...
Recycling bid wins support from council more...
THE annual summer show of Hanbury Horticultural Society was held at the recreation ground. Categories in the contest included flowers, vegetables and a children's section. In the miscellaneous section classes ranged from a miniature garden on a tray to bottled fruit and boiled potatoes. more...
PUBS in Bromsgrove were left high and dry this week. The Navigation Inn, in Stoke Prior, was just one of the pubs to be beerless. Davenport pubs, affected by the three-week strike by brewery workers, had completely run out of all draught and bottled beers. Cider, spirits or soft drinks was all that was left to quench thirst. Worried licensee Clifford Jackson, of The Crown, Catshill, said he was loosing £2,500 a week and the Swan Inn, Wychbold, said it was a desperate time. The Park Gate, in Kidderminster Road, had restricted its staff of 12 to just one evening shift a week. more...
HOUSEHOLDERS in Wyre Forest are recycling around a quarter of their waste - a record that outstrips the district's statutory obligation. more...
A SERIOUS trap accident occurred when boy Thomas Barley was driving a pony and a fishmonger's cart down New Road when the animals shied at a steamroller that was at work on the road. The pony bolted down the hill towards High Street. In its course it collided with a handcart and was thrown down and the boy pitched out. Recovering itself the pony galloped into town and crossed High Street and ran into Mr Johnston's draper's shop where it collided with a doorframe. The pony was without any injuries, but the boy sustained a compound fracture to his leg. more...
THE appearance of toadstools and mushrooms was often unexpected and a photo in The Messenger illustrated this point. A fine specimen had emerged from the wooden anvil block in John Martin's smithy in Churchfields, Bromsgrove. The fungus was typical in its orange and sulphur colouring and it had appeared in just a few days. more...
BROMSGROVE was given a top priority rating for a five figure Sports Council grant towards the new community sports centre under consideration. District councillors were expected to be told that a 50 per cent grant would be available for the building, expected to cost more than £100,000. Neville Lewis, senior regional officer for the Sports Council, told the amenities committee that Bromsgrove was in need of sport facilities. The idea of the sports hall was that the public could use it without having to join a club or become a member of an organisation. A typical sports hall could include a tennis court, five badminton courts and various other facilities with eight staff to man it. Mr Lewis said the wages of the eight staff would come to at least £25,000 a year. more...
REFUSE chiefs celebrated one year of recycling waste from 35,000 Wyre Forest homes and pledged to exceed Government targets even further in 2005. more...
THE motor car was here to stay, The Messenger prophesied in an editorial touching on the problems associated with the new form of travel. The paper said it was the rules which wanted tightening and drivers should shoulder some of the costs of maintaining roads, especially to combat the dust problem to residents. Claiming the present 20mph limit was adequate, the paper went on to say there had been those people a generation before who would have liked to see cycles banned from the roads. more...
FUTURE chairmen of Bromsgrove Urban District Council would have good cause to thank the town's Rotary Club for their gift of a new chain of office. The 42 inch long chain, comprising 26 links, was a gift to mark the authority's 60th anniversary and the Rotary's golden jubilee. more...
WYRE Forest's kerbside recycling box scheme is to be scrapped and homeowners given another wheelie bin, leading to accusations that the controversial scheme was a "criminal waste of money". more...
AVONCROFT Museum at Stoke Heath in Bromsgrove had acquired the latest addition to its unique collection of buildings right on its doorstep. Work was progressing to dismantle an 18th century cart shed at Hanbury Hall in readiness for it to be re-erected during the winter. The National Trust, which was poised to take over the hall, had said it had no use for the shed. more...
BROMSGROVE and towns adjacent to their country seat at Hewell Grange, were busily drawing up plans to celebrate the coming of age of the Hon Other Robert Windsor-Clive, son of Lord Windsor, whose birthday was next month. When his father was 21, Bromsgrove had publicly collected the huge sum of £100 with which to buy gifts. Then, in addition to many other celebrations, two oxen had been roasted and distributed to 1,000 people in the town. more...
HOUSEHOLDERS are being offered the chance to clear dead winter leaves from their gardens with cut price compost bins on offer from Wyre Forest District Council. more...
EDWARD Griffin, aged 25, whose parents lived in Mayfield House, Catshill, died in hospital shortly after being injured in a scrum while playing rugby for Kings Heath at the weekend. Mr Griffin had been a last minute replacement for a teammate who had dropped out. An inquest decided his death had been accidental. more...
A FURNITURE and electrical items recycling project in Kidderminster has given offenders good practical community service experience, according to a report on West Mercia Probation Area. more...
A NEW lunchtime system came into operation at Catshill Middle School. There would be no more Monday morning dinner money collections as pupils in future would pay for the meals they chose on the day. The menu consisted of six main dishes and four puddings. But, to encourage healthy eating, chips would not be served on their own. And at the village's first school, children had started to pay for their mid-morning milk which had stopped being supplied free at Easter. It cost 6p a bottle. more...
AS usual at this time of year the number of pupils in classrooms in schools in Bromsgrove were greatly reduced due to the annual hop-picking season. Figures showed that 36 were absent from Stourbridge Road schools, 23 from Catshill, seven from Dodford and 60 from the National school in Crown Close. School managers had come up with the idea of staggering the long summer break to coincide with seasonal harvests. However, it was thought teachers might object to their holiday being fragmented. more...
THOUSANDS more homes are to get kerbside recycling boxes in the latest phase to extend the scheme. more...
WORRIED residents in the Bromsgrove village of Finstall cabled hurricane struck Barbados for news of their former vicar, the Rev Fry, who had taken up residence there a year ago. Their fears were allayed however, when the present vicar, the Rev Dicker, received a telegram to say he was safe and well. more...
LEADING orthopaedic consultant at Hill Top Hospital in Bromsgrove, Mr Olaf da Costa, spoke of his anguish when having to tell patients crippled with pain they would have to wait four years for treatment on the cash-strapped NHS. The hospital's £160,000 operating theatre, one of the top three in the country, was only being used at half its capacity because of savage cut backs in funding. more...
A GIANT Bramley Seedling cooking apple had been grown by Mr Elks from Aston Fields in Bromsgrove. It measured 15 inches in circumference and weighed 1lb 3oz. He had picked a total of 36 apples from the tree with a combined weigh of 36lbs. more...
THOUSANDS more homes in Wyre Forest have been asked to waste not want not - by recycling their rubbish. more...
THERE had been a generous response from residents in the Rubery area to the appeal on behalf of the five local Territorial soldiers who had been killed when two tanks ran into their tents while they slept while in camp on Salisbury Plain. So far more than £400 had been raised for the families. more...
STIFF competition from the new Fine Fare in Bromsgrove and Tesco in Redditch proved too much for Pricerite Supermarket in Bromsgrove, which was to close after trading for less than a year. It had been rebranded from an International store of which Pricerite was part. Freezer store Bejam was to take over the premise. more...
A KIDDERMINSTER resident fears householders in Wyre Forest are not getting value for money through the new kerbside recycling service.
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ONE of the few pleasures left in lives of pauper inmates at Bromsgrove workhouse was a smoke, but that too was soon to be denied them. The ruling Guardians at their monthly meeting voted 11 to seven to ban smoking at the Birmingham Road premises. An amendment to allow them to light up after tea at 6pm was rejected. more...
ONE of Britain's top pathologists, Professor James Webster from Beacon Hill, Rubery, had been forced to retire on medical grounds. He had also been involved with the Home Office Forensic Science Laboratory since it had been established in Birmingham and had assisted in countless criminal investigations. Among these had been the Lickey End murder in October 1944 and the wartime discovery of a skeleton in Hagley wood. more...
COMMUNITY groups in Bromsgrove, led by the recently reformed Bromsgrove Society, decided to bring back the town's carnival. They favoured it being part of the Court Leet's Midsummer Fair activities, but the district council favoured it becoming a major part of the failing Sport for all Day in Sanders Park. The council said the town could not sustain two such events and it was not prepared to abandon its big day. more...
DROITWICH Spa's town crier Samuel Crowther, who also happened to be England's oldest bellman, had died. He was born in 1815 before Waterloo and had lived through the reign of five sovereigns. Samuel had rung his bell in the Spa for the last time in June. He and his wife Sarah, who celebrated their diamond wedding in 1879, had 11 children, 20 grandchildren and 53 great grandchildren. As a boy he was employed by farmers as a bird scarer and later worked for a tailor manufacturing the black cloths used to cover corpses on the `dead carts' during the dreadful cholera epidemic of 1832. more...
BROMSGROVE library celebrated its 25th anniversary. Originally it had opened in the old Institute building in New Road and had two reading rooms, one for general use the other for women only. In the first five months 23,674 books had been issued - 106,622 are issued today. more...
JOAN Breakwell's 30 year dream came true when radio star `cheeky' Charlie Chester, through his column in the Daily Star newspaper, reunited her with her brother who she had last seen way back in 1951. The siblings had lost track of each other after being evacuated from their home in London during the war. It transpired that Joan, from Flavell Road, Charford, lived only 30 miles from her brother, who had made his home in Ledbury, Herefordshire. more...
A FOUNDER member of the national WI organisation in 1917, Edith Wilson, from Banks Green Cottage, Bentley, died in Bromsgrove Cottage Hospital aged 98. The Countess of Plymouth, from Hewell Grange, was its chairman for some years. more...
BROMSGROVE Court Leet's annual dinner, hosted by Bailiff Howard Wood, was held at the Golden Cross Hotel. more...
THE swallows were unusually late departing for warmer climes, correspondent E Humphreys, from Rock House, Bromsgrove, observed. He wrote to the Messenger to say he had seen several near his house only last week. It raised the question, he said, of whether the birds actually hibernated in England during the winter during the cold months. more...
THE ninth annual sale following the Worcestershire show of shire horses, promoted by Messrs Cotton and Chappell, auctioneers of Bromsgrove, took place on the meadow near the Greet Western Hotel, Droitwich. The auction started at 11.30am with working horses in number one ring and foals at 12.30pm in number two ring. There was a large entry that required the two auctioneers selling at the same time to get through it in daylight. The last horse was sold at 5pm. The number of buyers was very large, there being representatives from most towns in England. more...
TRIBUTES to stalwarts who in the closing years of the last century founded the Bromsgrove And District Farmers Club and those who had strengthened it featured in speeches at the annual dinner of the club at the Raven Hotel, Droitwich. The value of the organisation, both in its contribution to greater efficiency of the local agriculture and as a means of bringing farmers together socially, was generally stressed. more...
A COMPROMISE solution was hammered out for the building of Bromsgrove Methodists' £250,000 community centre project. The town's policy-making committee was told the working party had come up with an alternative site to the School Drive site acceptable to the church's steering committee. It was said the group could produce a viable scheme, which would not encroach on the existing car park in School Drive. The proposed alternative was situated in Stratford Road and would mean the demolition of the former old almhouses. more...
AT North Bromsgrove Urban District Council the sanitary committee heard there had been 15 births and ten deaths registered in the district in October, compared with 11 births and 13 deaths the year before. Mortality had been very high, but this had been due to general causes alone, and had almost been entirely among the aged suffering from chronic disease. Six of the deaths were in people over 65 and one death was due to suicidal poisoning. more...
IN Bromsgrove and the surrounding district, in spite of heavy rain which fell much of the day, Remembrance Day services were well attended. In Catshill the service was held in Christ Church. It had been intended that the congregation should proceed to the war memorial at Meadow Road corner for the ceremony of laying of wreaths and reading of the names of the fallen from the Book of Remembrance. But it was pouring with rain so hard that the reading of the names, Last Post and Reveille were carried out in the church. The service concluded with the National Anthem. Representatives, including the Royal British Legion, then walked with the vicar to the war memorial and placed the wreaths. more...
A START could be made early next year on the new £50,000 headquarters for the Bromsgrove branch of the Royal British Legion. The branch had been homeless since the site of its previous HQ had been taken over by Bromsgrove Squash, Rackets and Social Club eight years ago. It had been offered a half an acre site in Factory Lane at a cost of £10,000 - a figure fixed by the district valuer. more...
SAMUEL James, a labourer from Catshill, was charged with deserting his wife. Bromsgrove Petty Session heard he had joined the militia and absconded and had often neglected his wife and children. The prisoner stated he left the district because he had no work. He was committed to Worcester Goal for a months' hard labour. more...
THE winter show of Bromsgrove Chrysanthemum Society was held at the Parish Church Hall. There were 372 blooms to show from 19 growers. The display included 114 vases of blooms, whereas at a previous event there had only been 78. more...
BROMSGROVE'S Poppy Appeal broke all records this year - Saturday's collection totalled £585. Almost a fifth of the total was collected by 76-year-old pensioner Beryl Pottier, of Milton Road, Catshill. She started at 9.15am in the High Street and carried on until 4.30pm and only stopped for a cup of tea and biscuit. more...
THE tenth annual festival of Bromsgrove Wesley Guild was held over two days. On one day a public tea preceded a gathering where about 80 members and friends attended. Tables were decorated with plants and flowers and they were presided over by ladies from the guild. more...
NEWLY elected leaders of Bromsgrove Court Leet carried out their first duties when they attended a service at Alcester Baptist Church. Bromsgrove's bailiff, John Horton, was the fourth member of his family to hold the office. The family record stretched back over 145 years. Other well known Court Leet families were the Braziers, four bailiffs since 1924,and the Weavers, three since 1921. more...
A POULTRY slaughterhouse in Rubery shut its doors to business after being given the chop by the district council. When the council discovered the Beacon Hill chicken farm was operating a slaughter factory without permission an enforcement notice was served. Deputy district council secretary Mr R Lewis said the farm was owned by the Halal Meat Company and was originally used for rearing chickens. But it had started buying chickens from other premises and killing them for retail. more...
AT the request of Captain Lambert, of the privately-funded Hewell estate fire brigade, a party of firefighters from Bromsgrove visited them to watch them perform a series of drills. The Hewell brigade had been formed just over two years ago to protect the Grange and other properties on the huge country estate which made up the Earl of Plymouth's country seat. more...
SIXTY members of Bromsgrove Conservative Women's' Luncheon Club enjoyed a trip to the Houses of Parliament as guests of town MP James Dance. After touring both chambers they went on a sight seeing trip around the capital and were thrilled to spot the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in Whitehall. Later the party returned to Westminster for tea and a stroll on the riverside terrace before boarding the coaches for home. more...
Picture special from the Bromsgrove Advertiser... more...
PRINCESS Grace of Monaco, the former film star Grace Kelly, paid a visit to Hagley Hall - home of Viscount Cobham to take part in a charity poetry recital. The money would benefit Newland Hurst, a charity for mentally handicapped youngsters in Droitwich Spa. more...
GEORGE Rutter, a workman employed by Mrs Bridgman of the Talbot Hotel, Belbroughton, suffered serious injuries when a rope snapped as he attempted to secure a loaded wagon. He was pitched from it onto the ground breaking several bones and causing severe internal injuries. more...
BROMSGROVE'S Christmas Fatstock Sale and show attracted a good entry of 91 cattle, 100 sheep and 450 pigs. District council chairman, Councillor Henry Webley, presented the cup, given by the authority, to farmer Jack Gibbs of Little Intall Fields, Stoke Prior, for the best beast. more...
BROMSGROVE'S planners had been dubbed spoilsports by a Birmingham model car club. Members had applied to use the new car park at Churchfields on Sundays to try out their vehicles, but had been refused. Councillors said the noise, which was likened to a chainsaw, would upset nearby residents and suggested the club inflict the nuisance on folk in their own locality. more...
DROITWICH town councillors would soon be conspicuous by their regalia when undertaking duties outside of the council chamber. Despite the misgivings of some members, the council decided to buy robes for their personal use when appearing in public. Councillor Gabb however, declared he had become a councillor to run the town, not to deck himself out in robes. The garments ranged from £4/18/6 (£4.92.5) for an alderman's robe to 55/- (£2.75) the cheapest for an ordinary member. more...
SIX hundred youngsters enjoyed a party hosted by Garringtons. The canteen at the firm's plant at Aston Fields was lavishly decorated for the occasion, which included a visit from Santa and a magic show. more...
RESIDENTS in Harwood Park, Bromsgrove, were upset at the prospect of a huge estate being built near their homes. An action group had been set up to fight a plan to build 650 houses in the green belt on top grade agricultural land bordered by their estate, the Lickey incline and Stratford Road. Residents reasoned that with Garringtons having to shed staff and the jobs market generally in the doldrums no-one would want to buy the new homes. more...
THE Guardians at Bromsgrove workhouse narrowly voted not to give paupers seeking outdoor relief an extra 6d (2.5p) at Christmas, even though it would have cost less than £10. At present the union had 700 poor on its books, 232 of whom regularly received an average of 2/4 (11.5p) per week from the Bromsgrove institution. Many were forced to seek help from the parish through no fault of their own, but the guardians were ever mindful of having to keep the rates down. Sixpence would buy half a hundredweight of coal. more...
GENEROUS Sid Rickerby, licensee of the Vernon Arms at Hanbury, invited the 80 or so villagers aged 65 and over to call in and pick up a free Christmas parcel. They contained a selection of groceries, a four pound joint of meat and a 10/- (50p) note. He had raised the £100 to pay for the treat by collecting cash from customers and from sporting friends in Birmingham. more...
INTERNATIONAL stars could soon been seen on stage at Bromsgrove's newly re-branded night spot, The Whitehouse, formerly Stars. It was owned by five Whitehouse brothers from Birmingham who planned to open the High Street club every night and bring the top stars to the town. The annual membership fee was £8. more...
AN alarming accident involving a pony and trap which veered off the road at the Whetty on a dark foggy night throwing the occupants to the ground, left the driver Charles Gibbins with a fractured skull and several broken bones. His wife, ten-year-old boy and a baby were found to be unscathed when the trap was lifted off them. An unconscious Mr Gibbins was taken to the nearby Plough Inn where he was attended to by Dr May from Barnt Green. The family remained at the pub overnight before setting off for home the next morning. more...
CHRISTMAS at Bromsgrove's various hospitals was made more bearable by staff who, as usual, did a sterling job to bring cheer to the wards. The General with its 200 in-patients saw its busiest Christmas yet. The wards were decorated using different themes and scenes from popular pantos. The Post Office in Bromsgrove, which had taken on 75 high school students as part-time posties, had a record Yule handling 430,000 items of mail. This was 15,000 up on last year. On Christmas morning it had delivered 21 telegrams, 13 of which contained greetings messages. more...
DESPITE the general economic gloom shopkeepers in Bromsgrove had reported having a good Christmas. Woolworths enjoyed record toy sales, while Tesco and Fine Fare had also done brisk business. more...
WORCESTERSHIRE Hounds met in front of Hewell Hall, by special request from the Earl and Countess of Plymouth. A large field was entertained with refreshments before taking cover. In the evening a servants ball was held, concluding a week of festivities at the Hewell estate to mark the coming of age of Viscount Windsor. more...
FORMER Bromsgrove police sergeant, Detective Superintendent TN Williams, was awarded the MBE in the New Years Honours List for his service as head of Worcestershire Constabulary's Criminal Investigation Department. He received 30 commendations from the Courts and the Chief Constable, including seven special ones for work in connection with the arrest of criminals. more...
THE national steel strike over a 17 per cent wage demand was labelled a `national disaster' by the managing director of Bromsgrove's biggest employer. Dr Don Reilly, from Garringtons, feared the strike would damage the company's trade and reputation, as it would be difficult to get hold of the type of steel they used. more...
A MEETING was organised by the Eastern Division of Bromsgrove Polling District in support of Unionist parliamentary candidate the right honourable Austen Chamberlain. Sir Thomas Chavasse chaired the meeting, which took place at the Drill Hall in Bromsgrove. more...
THE Catshill Church Companions, an organisation which comprised the youth of the church, undertook the task of entertaining the old age pensioners of Catshill. They carried it through with just one solitary hitch. Invitations had been sent out through Catshill Post Office, and although 27 women took up the opportunity of an afternoon out, only one man turned up. The group gave a performance of The Bathroom Door, and pass the parcel. more...
PARTS of Bromsgrove was plunged into darkness when an electrical fault cut the power supply to 250 homes. Power was restored after half an hour, and the fault was traced to a damaged transformer. more...
THE down and outs and poor of the district of Bromsgrove enjoyed a very welcome bonus as a result of Lord Windsor's belated coming of age celebrations. An impressive 138 adults, who were in receipt of outdoor relief from the town's workhouse, were each given a half crown, (12.5p) and 22 children were presented with a shilling (5p) to mark the occasion. The cash was a gift from a committee formed to organise the celebrations. An idea to stage a dinner had not been proceeded with and a planned fireworks display in the Mount Field in College Road was abandoned due to bad weather. more...
DODFORD'S 112 pensioners each received a Christmas box courtesy of a village scheme set up to help its older residents. The cost amounted to £21/4/0 (£21.20) which left a balance of £7/8/6 (£7.42.5p) in the bank towards buying gifts and comforts next Yuletide. more...
THOUSANDS of local families faced holiday headaches caused by a clash of classroom and shop floor summer break dates. A big employer of local labour at Longbridge, British Leyland's summer holidays broke into the last two weeks of the schools' summer term. George Foster, head of Catshill Middle School, calculated a quarter of his pupils would be absent. more...
PAUPER inmates at Droitwich Workhouse enjoyed their traditional if belated festivities around the Christmas tree followed by a concert. In addition they sat down in the gaily decorated dining room to a capital tea of sandwiches, tarts, jellies and other tasty treats organised by the Master and Matron, Mr and Mrs Close. After an enjoyable concert Lady Georgina Vernon, from Hanbury Hall, distributed gifts donated by generous, wealthy donors. more...
STOKE Prior Parish Council discussed a mixed bag of issues when it met for its monthly meeting in the village school. Topics included housing, letter-boxes, the weather, the state of local industry and the H-bomb. However, it was Bromsgrove Rural District Council's decision to increase council house rents by 5/- (25p) per week which prompted most discussion. more...
WORLD flyweight karate champion Howard Brown was to visit Catshill Middle School every Wednesday to coach youngsters in the martial art. He had won his crown in 1979. more...
MEMBERS of the Bromsgrove Male Choir entertained the lads of Stoke Farm Reformatory to a musical treat. Under the leadership of Mr Chantry, they performed a selection of glees, humorous songs and dialogues, which were greeted with hearty applause and demands for an encore. more...
THE women's section of Lickey British Legion held its annual dinner. A total of 50 attended and for the first time, husbands and friends, including many representatives of the men's branch, were invited to join the party. Messrs John and Wallace Russell sang a selection of duets accompanied by Mrs Colley on the piano. Monty Banks also entertained with his conjuring. more...
A CENTURY of Bromsgrove history fell to the bulldozers as the 19th century almshouses in Stratford Road were demolished. The homes fell to the contractor's hammer after nearly a year's controversy. The almshouses were built in 1883 by the trustees of Bromsgrove Consolidated Charities and funded by the sale of The Poors Farm in Blackwell. more...
AT the police court, Henry Newman, of Aston Fields, was bought before Mr T White, Major Baldwin and Mr Howard Lloyd on a charge of stealing five sacks of Indian corn belonging to the Midland Railway. The case was not gone into, and the prisoner was released on bail. more...
BROMSGROVE Olympique cycling group's touring section rode out to Bidford-on-Avon through Broadway. After dinner they took a route home through Evesham and Pershore. more...
A BROMSGROVE bride was smuggled out of the Middle East to Spain, and then flown 700 miles to England just in time to wed her Canadian sweetheart. In a daring operation, Lynn Bos, of Sidemoor, was whisked 4,000 miles from Abu Dhabi, where she was a nursing sister. All leave for military personnel had been cancelled when hostilities broke out in the Persian Gulf and she found herself trapped only days before the wedding. With the help of friends, she was smuggled back with just enough time to make last minute arrangements, before marrying Captain David Lockhart, of Ontario, at Bromsgrove Parish Church. more...
THOMAS Clements, of South Road, Aston Fields, was charged with using indecent language at the rear of his own house. Police Constable Mansell stated the facts, adding that when he told the defendant he should report him the latter said: "I hope you will, it is your duty to do so." The defendant admitted the offence, expressed his sorrow and said he was annoyed. He was fined £2 2s 6d, as well as 6d costs.
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THE annual meeting of Belbroughton Women's Conservative Association was held in the church hall. Mrs BH Bate presided over a large audience, while the guest speaker was Mrs JCG Dance, wife of MP James Dance. She said that the attitude of some Conservatives towards the present measures introduced by the Government to check inflation was to be deplored.
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VERY few people avoid suffering from at least one serious illness in their lives and the chances are that a hospital visit will be required. One thing that can be guaranteed - even if a parking space can't - is the standard of care from the medical team.
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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.
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SIR - Surprisingly, in view of its embarrassing nature, two of your regular correspondents A Reece (March 13) and L Spiteri (March 14) have combined together to resurrect the Mike Foster winter holiday story.
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TODAY the Shuttle Times and News is appealing to readers to help us raise £80,000 to rebuild a Scout centre torched by vandals. more...
SIR - I find John Hinton's remarks about Chrissies (Letters, March 9) strange.
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SIR - Jenny Rogers writes, under the headline "Independents who support the Tories" (Letters, March 15) "I was surprised at the lack of apparent independence in the way that Independent councillors cast their votes, with a block vote for Conservative policy, and an occasional abstention.
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FOR more than half a century, Rhydd Covert has been a thriving base of youth activity and a spiritual home to generations of Wyre Forest youngsters. more...
SIR - How many people have a shower or bath every day? Millions I expect. Do they really need a bath or shower everyday to keep clean? The answer is no.
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THE fire drama at Rhydd Covert began at about 3.50pm on Sunday, October 10. more...
SIR - Well done Bob Churchill for objecting to faith schools - and how sadly predictable of Rowan Williams to overlook the damage these biased institutions do to young impressionable minds.
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A ROCK pub is to celebrate the launch of Operation Covert with a bang on Guy Fawkes night. more...
SIR - Severn Trent have been caught out overcharging customers.
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A TOTAL of £400 has been pledged to Operation Covert by kind Wyre Forest residents since its launch seven days ago. more...
FOR Pete Ashcroft, the destruction of the centre at Rhydd Covert was all the more upsetting, as he was one of the determined volunteers who erected the building in 1971. more...
THE Shuttle/Times and News's £80,000 appeal to rebuild a torched Bewdley Scout centre at Rhydd Covert campsite has gathered steam since its launch last week. more...
Family back appeal to help fill void after tragedy more...
OUR appeal has cruised passed the £1,000 mark as more and more Shuttle/Times & News readers reach into their pockets to help Wyre Forest's Scouts. About £1,400 has been pledged to Operation Covert in the two weeks since the appeal was launched. more...
THE centre at Rhydd Covert is at the heart of the Scout movement in Wyre Forest, a movement that helps about 700 district young people develop crucial values of responsibility and citizenship. more...
A BONFIRE and firework display at a Rock pub raised more than £300 towards Operation Covert - and the money is still coming in. more...
OUR appeal has passed the £3,000 mark just three weeks after being launched. more...
POLITICIANS have elected to back Operation Covert with cash donations towards the Shuttle/Times and News appeal. more...
FOND memories of childhoods spent at Rhydd Covert spurred a Masonic lodge into donating £250 towards Operation Covert. more...
SCHOOLS have begun to rally behind Operation Covert. more...
SPECIAL badges and stickers bearing the message "I'm Supporting Operation Covert" are on sale now. more...
SEVERN Water Products in Kidderminster is the latest company to pledge its support for Operation Covert. more...
ROTARIANS have pledged £1,000 to Operation Covert, the single biggest donation received by the appeal so far. more...
THE decision about whether to return to work after having a child can be a straightforward one for a lot of people - but for very different reasons.
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SEVERN Water Products in Kidderminster is the latest company to pledge its support for Operation Covert. more...
BADGES and stickers made for people to show their support for Operation Covert are selling fast. more...
A TEENAGE DJ is to host a night of classic tunes in aid of Operation Covert. more...
If you wish to make a donation to Operation Covert, you can: more...
GENEROUS residents helped raise £500 for Operation Covert with a raffle and whip-round at a Rock pub. more...
A FITNESS instructor rallied his students to raise £240 with a raffle at a Christmas get together. more...
ACTIVE pupils at Franche First School in Kidderminster raised £450 towards Operation Covert with a day of activities honouring the Scout movement's spirit of adventure. more...
ANOTHER business has come forward with a major donation for Operation Covert. more...
MORE than £3,000 has been pledged to the Shuttle/Times and News Scout appeal in memory of a Wyre Forest woman who died in a road accident. more...
AN enterprising Scout president raised more than £100 for our appeal by selling special Operation Covert badges to UK collectors. more...
FOR the owners of certain breeds of working dog, there could be a sting in the tail of the Animal Welfare Bill currently lurching its way through Parliament. more...
Bargain hunters are being invited to a table top fair in aid of Operation Covert on Saturday. more...
SUCKLEY Post Office and Village Stores, tucked away in the pretty hamlet of Longley Green, probably has few claims to fame. But did you know it's better than being in Australia? more...
Young footballers have been getting a kick out of backing Operation Covert. Kidderminster Lions FC, who play in the Stourport and District League, have donated £50 to our appeal. The money was raised by the club's committee. more...
IT was in at the deep end for the newly-elected club officers of Worcestershire's Young Farmers Clubs on a training weekend in Dorset. more...
Worcestershire'S Young Farmers are as busy as ever, with a host of competitions held at The Hundred House, Great Witley. more...
A 61-year-old who last year had a heart by-pass has climbed the highest mountain in England and Wales to raise more than £500 for Operation Covert. more...
BUSINESS more...
A PROFESSIONAL women's organisation has pledged more than £200 to help rebuild the "important facility" at Rhydd Covert for district youngsters, taking the total to £10,821. more...
HOUSEHOLDERS in a Worcester road joined forces to organise a jumble sale and raise more than £1,000 for the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
THE YMCA in St John's, Worcester, will host a coffee morning as part of a national fund-raising event for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. more...
SHOPPERS will be able to show their support for Operation Covert at the weekend as enterprising students take their products to the public. more...
4 INTREPID walkers braved the snow-capped Malvern Hills on Sunday to raise more than £7,000 for the tsunami appeal. more...
MUSICIANS of all ages from across the county will be drumming up cash for victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
GENEROUS parents showed they were no Scrooges by pledging cash to Operation Covert at a school's retelling of the classic Christmas tale. more...
RONKSWOOD Junior School has raised a total of £321.80 for the disaster appeal through a charity event. more...
THE sheer devastation of the Asian tsunami disaster and the immense suffering is what inspired four of Worcester's biggest organisations to support the Evening News' Wishband Appeal. more...
THE importance of helping young people achieve their potential has stayed with a former Kidderminster Scout who has made a contribution to our appeal. more...
HALLOW Primary is the latest school to raise money for the tsunami appeal. more...
A FORMER employee of the Worcester Evening News who is helping to rebuild the Sri Lankan village where she has lived for the past year is appealing for people to buy a Wishband to help the relief effort. more...
MEMBERS of staff from Worcestershire Royal Hospital are staging a talent show to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. more...
EXCLUDED pupils brushed up their culinary skills by making cakes for a table top sale in aid of our appeal. more...
BROADHEATH Primary School staged a non-uniform day to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
IT was "full house" in Stourport as two Brownie packs turned to bingo to help raise cash for Operation Covert. more...
THE Wishband message is stretching far and wide as enquiries and reservations come in from all over the country. more...
Politicians have also been spotted wearing the Evening News Wishbands. more...
BUSINESSES more...
THE community has rallied round a Worcester school that was burgled last week to help pupils raise hundreds of pounds for victims of the tsunami. more...
VILLAGERS in Rushwick, near Worcester, are hoping to attract support from outside the village for a coffee morning in aid of the Tsunami Relief Fund. more...
WEB surfers are just a click away from all the latest Operation Covert news with the launch of an internet site dedicated to our appeal. more...
WHO Wants to be a Millionaire host Chris Tarrant has pledged his support to the Evening News Wishband Appeal. more...
Hallow Primary is the latest school to raise money for the tsunami appeal. more...
A WHIP-ROUND at a meeting of Wyre Forest District Council brought in more than £70 for Operation Covert. more...
ASPIRING Kylies or Robbies have been strutting their stuff at a Worcester school to raise money for the Asian Tsunami appeal. more...
A GROUP of brave teachers at a Worcester school had a hair-raising experience this week - as they took part in a sponsored leg-wax for the tsunami disaster appeal. more...
THREE lorry loads of supplies are being shipped to a tsunami-hit area of Sri Lanka thanks to a "fabulous" aid effort from Worcestershire people. more...
PENSIONER, Joyce Edwards, knows the importance of counting her pennies after donating a massive £50 in coppers to Operation Covert. more...
THE Asian Tsunami Disaster has resulted in a longer waiting list for prostate cancer sufferers in Worcestershire. more...
SCOUTS teamed up with Rotarians to raise a record £507 at a street collection in Stourport on Saturday. more...
A SRI Lankan family living in St John's, Worcester, have been using their business to assist the clear-up operation in their home country following the Asian tsunami disaster. more...
The couple claiming tsunami Baby 81 were arrested today after they stormed into the Sri Lankan hospital where the baby is being treated. more...
KIDDERMINSTER Scouts have said a big thank you to Shuttle/Times and News readers for raising a massive £13,550 for our Operation Covert appeal in little more than two months. more...
Aid for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka has reached only 30 per cent of the almost one million people affected by the disaster because of bureaucratic bungling, a top government official said. more...
Former US President Bill Clinton became the UN point man for post-tsunami reconstruction as Australia's leader headed today to Indonesia's battered region of Aceh for a first-hand glimpse of the disaster. more...
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MEMBERS of a Scottish country dancing club celebrated Hogmanay with a donation to Operation Covert. more...
WORCESTERSHIRE'S Big Brother star Nush Nowak is vowing to wear her wishband to support the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
BUCKETLOADS of cash were donated by workers at Sun Valley Foods as they raised £1,277 for the British Red Cross tsunami appeal. more...
REFURBISHMENT work is proceeding apace to prepare the hospice's new base to receive patients. more...
DISTRICT Conservatives have continued to show their support for our appeal. more...
THE new manager at Worcester City Football Club will be stepping on to the pitch in style sporting an Evening News Wishband. more...
A GRANDMOTHER who lost more than five stones in weight last year has stepped up her exercise routine by walking 16 miles with a friend for charity. more...
KEMP patient, John Lacy, said that if it were not for the care and support he and his family received from the hospice he would not be alive today. more...
A GROUP of pool players went potty at the weekend in a 12-hour marathon in aid of the tsunami disaster appeal. more...
THE Government could improve the relationship between farmers and their bank managers by a simple adjustment of the Single Payment system, according to a business consultant. more...
SUPERMARKET staff not only raised cash for Operation Covert but also answered the age old question: how many steps do seven Sainsbury's employees take during a days work on Christmas Eve? more...
YOUNG musical maestros are planning to be in tune for the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
MEMORIES of a Worcestershire world of long ago have come flooding back with the death of Rita Wilson, a member of the Philips farming dynasty of Claines, near Worcester. more...
ONE of the five-strong team of nurses caring for Kemp's patients describes the work as "a privilege". more...
100 Years Ago October 7 1905 more...
ANYONE who ate too much over the holiday period is being urged to get trim for the New Year with a sponsored slim in aid of Operation Covert. more...
THOUSANDS of Evening News Wishbands have made their way to schools across the county with pupils snapping them up. more...
THE final lorry load of supplies collected by the Worcester Circuit of Methodist Churches is due to leave for a tsunami-hit area of Sri Lanka today. more...
100 Years Ago October 21, 1905 more...
PEOPLE giving freely of their time is vital to the running of the hospice. more...
BUSINESSES more...
MUSICAL maestros performed in front of their classmates to raise more than £1,000 for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster. more...
CHEERS could be heard from a Worcester school as it received its batch of Evening News wishbands. more...
IF someone at Kemp needs a listening ear there is usually one to be found in the form of a member of the hospice's chaplaincy team. more...
GREEN-FINGERED members of Kidderminster Horticultural Society also got their fingers sticky thanks to home-made jam which helped raise more than £150 for Operation Covert. more...
FRIENDS and family of a popular couple who went missing in the tsunami disaster are set to pay their last respects at a memorial service this week. more...
THE eagerly-anticipated arrival of the final batch of tsunami Wishbands is due to arrive soon and will be going on sale across Worcestershire. more...
A NEW era in care for patients with life-limiting illnesses is moving closer with the imminent move of Kidderminster-based Kemp Hospice to new premises. more...
VINTAGE car enthusiasts have helped put Operation Covert on the road to success with a generous donation towards our appeal. more...
CREATIVE residents and staff at a Worcester nursing home have raised £500 for the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
A 60th birthday party raised £250 for the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
SUPERMARKET workers from Kidderminster will soon be tackling the highest peaks in Britain to help a charity providing day care for people with life-limiting illnesses. more...
THE Wishbands have arrived, so start looking out for them in a shop near you! more...
COMIC Jo Brand has made a serious plea to the people of Worcestershire to support the Evening News' Wishband Appeal. more...
A miniature train will be steaming around a garden centre in Crossway Green this weekend to raise cash for a Kidderminster charity helping to care for people with life-limiting illnesses. more...
MENTAL health patients, staff and visitors at a Worcester centre have raised more than £210 for the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
A WORCESTERSHIRE pub is hosting a "real horse racing" night in aid of Acorns Children's Hospice Appeal and a Tsunami Fishermen Appeal. more...
THREE Stourport residents are set to embark on a cross-Channel road trip to raise money for charity. more...
BLUE bands will be shining out from a pitch of white as Worcestershire cricketers step out at New Road sporting their tsunami Wishbands. more...
A BUCKETLOAD of cash has been donated to The Mayor's Appeal to help the victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
A WOMAN who shed eight stone to achieve her ambition of completing a half-marathon realised her dream and has handed over the resulting sponsorship cash to Kidderminster's Kemp Hospice. more...
YOUNG and old are showing their support for the tsunami victims by snapping up their Evening News Wishbands. more...
A NON-uniform day and staff donations helped a Worcester school raise more than £2,000 for victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
A FRIENDLY bunch of Kemp supporters battle to keep the rallying cry for funds alive. more...
THE Friends of Callow End School, with the help of the Village Hall Committee, held a disco to raise money for victims of the Asian tsunami. more...
A FORMER Pershore man is urging residents to bid for a special poster and football from Manchester United's clash with Danish team Vejle in 1987 to aid the tsunami disaster. more...
IT costs more than £500,000 a year to run Kemp Hospice - and the vast majority of that comes from the generous people of Wyre Forest. more...
EVENING News Wishbands are becoming rarer to find as they rapidly sell out in shops and schools. more...
THE Shuttle/Times and News joined forces with advertisers to give a cash boost to the appeal. more...
A CHILDREN'S entertainer went back to school to raise money for the Asian Tsunami appeal. more...
KEMP is set to open its fourth charity shop, 12 years after first launching itself into the market place. more...
Cadspec more...
WHEN the full extent of the Boxing Day tsunami's destruction and the accompanying loss of life became clear local Rotary clubs moved swiftly into action. more...
THE Christian ethos of Kemp can be traced to its beginnings and the chaplaincy team is an integral part of the hospice's work. more...
SCOUT badges made especially for our appeal are back on sale after the first run sold out. more...
STEERING the development of the hospice is a board of seven trustees with former nurse and hospital manager, Isobel Dale, at the helm since 2004 when she became chairman. more...
OUR appeal has cruised past the £15,000 mark in just three months. more...
THE district's Macmillan Nurses are to be based at the new hospice enabling them to work closely with the health care professionals within Kemp. more...
A PLANT and tool hire company has continued to show its support for the Covert appeal with a cash donation. more...
WHEN Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the General Election would be on May 5, he signalled the start of a huge logistical operation. more...
100 Years Ago more...
KEMP'S work extends beyond the hospice walls, with a range of home care services provided to patients. more...
FOLLOWING Jamie Oliver's national campaign for healthier school dinners, Nicola Phipps, a nutritionist from Kersoe, is keen to turn the spotlight on lunchboxes, more...
MEMBERS of a judo club are fighting to raise cash for our appeal with a special tournament. more...
FRIDAY, April 15, 1605 was a very special day for the Borough of Evesham, for it was on this day 400 years ago that the town was granted its Royal Charter. more...
A SPECIALIST service is offered to cancer patients who suffer from lymphoedema. more...
NEXT Thursday thousands of first-time voters will be off to the polls for vote for their candidate in the General Election. To find out what concerns are top of the agenda for 18-year-olds, reporter Claire Charles visited Prince Henry's High School, Evesham. more...
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TAKE a squire, fool, foreman and bagman, add musicians and a team of men in white, waving handkerchiefs as they dance, and you have Morris Men, something as traditional as you can possibly get in the English countryside. more...
THE founder of the modern hospice movement, Dame Cicely Saunders, died just a few weeks ago in the London hospice she set up in the 1960s. more...
A FRIENDSHIP group based in Kidderminster held coffee mornings and bring and buy sales to raise cash for our appeal. more...
THE aftermath of Chernobyl's nuclear disaster almost two decades ago lingers on, but one Evesham group is offering survivors a ray of hope. more...
CROPTHRONE Walkabout celebrated its 30th birthday with a two-day event that attracted thousands of people to the Vale of Evesham village. more...
THE idea of a hospice is said to have been born out of an ecumenical prayer meeting at Wolverley Church towards the end of the 1960s. more...
CARNIVAL organisers in Kidderminster have chosen our appeal as the principal benefactor for this year's fun-packed event. more...
EVESHAM'S new mayor Frances Smith already has some idea of the demands of the role having served as mayoress alongside her husband. more...
CHILDHOOD obesity is increasing in Britain with a large number of children suffering from the disease. The latest tool used to fight against the battle of the bulge is exercise. more...
STAFF and volunteers are committed to caring for the whole person when they come to need the services provided by the hospice. more...
BIG-voiced singers have also shown their big hearts after making a generous donation to our appeal. more...
VALE residents who for one reason or another have fallen through the education net, can be assured that help is on the doorstep. more...
A ROW has been raging in the Vale of Evesham over plans by a major employer to expand. It came to a head when Wychavon District Council backed plans by Kanes Foods to increase the 20-acre salad production and distribution site by another six acres. more...
THE fulfilment of a dream to create a state-of-the-art day hospice providing top quality care and support to Wyre Forest people with life-threatening illnesses and their families, will be celebrated on Saturday. more...
ST KENELM'S Way is a new long distance more...
SNOOKER cues signed by some of the world's top players are up for grabs at a major tournament to be held in Kidderminster next week - and it is all for Operation Covert. more...
CONTROVERSIAL plans for compulsory ID cards are back on the political agenda after being conveniently side-stepped during the General Election. more...
THE Wyre Forest community came together to celebrate a "special day" when the new Kemp Hospice was officially opened on Saturday. more...
Yvonne Seward's passion for nativity scenes has led her to amass more than 60 of them from all around the world. more...
SCOUTS are to be mobilised for a massive bag-packing operation on Saturday, which, it is hoped, will raise more than £2,000 for Operation Covert. more...
A SOCIETY that works for the future of Evesham and its surroundings is hoping to attract younger members - to make sure that it too is in good shape for years to come. more...
WE are almost a quarter of the way to our £80,000 target after edging towards the £18,000 mark. more...
PASSING Smiths Industries at Bishops Cleeve, which has provided employment for the Vale and North Cotswolds for more than 60 years, memories came flooding back for Michael J Barnard. He has been talking to reporter Gerry Barnett about them and an unusual connection with RAF Defford. more...
NOW the weather is hotting up thousands of caravan owners throughout the Vale and the Cotswold will be making for their favourite holiday spots either in this country or abroad. more...
GIRLS have continued to get behind Operation Covert with a donation from a Kidderminster Rainbow and Brownie pack. more...
IF the mother of Howard Hughes, reclusive millionaire, movie maker and flight pioneer, had used disposable nappies on her son, they would only just have degraded. more...
DISGRACED former Evesham United goalkeeper Darren Steadman, currently serving four-and-a-half years in jail for fraud, has been ordered to pay back £450,000. more...
THREE Stourport cross-Channel travellers have completed a unique 1,100 mile journey that helped boost funds for a Kidderminster charity. more...
A JUDO tournament raised £300 for Operation Covert. more...
A VILLAGE club that bucks the trend of the throw-away society has been discovered to be twice as old as its members suspected. more...
EVESHAM people believe it's time there was entertainment for both old and young people in the town. more...
THE chief executive of Kemp Hospice in Kidderminster has quit unexpectedly - just two months after it officially opened its new building. more...
EVESHAM'S Abbey Gates were as large and stately as any in the kingdom and historian Michael J Barnard has been researching what the gates really looked like all those years ago, the area around which is known today as Abbey House. He talked to Gerry Barnett about it. more...
SHOPPERS and snooker fans helped to send our Operation Covert total soaring past the £20,000 mark this week. more...
MEDIEVAL wall paintings uncovered during restoration work at St Michael's Church, Buckland, near Broadway, have been restored as part of a £48,000 scheme. more...
HEARTLESS thieves broke into a charity shop shed and stole bundles of second-hand CDs, DVDs and videos which were in temporary storage while refurbishment work was being carried out. more...
November 24, 2005 will be a SAD day - and that's official. more...
READERS of the Shuttle/Times and News are being offered another fantastic sports prize that will be raffled in aid of Operation Covert. more...
Journal news editor TONY DONNELLY takes a walk around Pershore and finds, thank to some expert local knowledge, quite a few surprises... more...
AN amateur theatrical group will be staging a popular pantomime to raise money for Kemp Hospice. more...
A TEENAGE DJ raised more than £100 for our appeal with a night of top tunes at a Kidderminster pub. more...
AN Evesham man marches into history as a soldier when re-enacting Second World War battles. more...
PUPILS at Bredon Hill more...
TABLES, lamps and mirrors are among items being auctioned to raise money for Kemp Hospice. more...
NOT one but two evenings of top musical entertainment are coming to Wyre Forest in aid of Operation Covert. more...
A stunning series of original photographs depicting the scuttling of the Graf Spee following the Battle of the River Plate has been loaned to the Journal by an Evesham man who was handed them by the photographer at the end of the Second World War. more...
If you wish to make a donation to Operation Covert, you can: more...
THERE is a small corner of more...
A TESCO manager is gearing up for a long-distance walk to raise hundreds of pounds for cancer research and Kemp Hospice - without even leaving the store. more...
MOURNERS donated more than £150 to Operation Covert in memory of a beloved grandfather. more...
WHEN Ann Swift, of Old Leys Farm, Hinton-on-the-Green, attended the European Conference of the more...
A RECENT survey conducted by the Music Industries Association has shown that over 15 million people in Britain would like to be able to play a musical instrument. more...
BIG-hearted Harriers fans have donated £5,000 to Kemp Hospice from the proceeds of a grand summer ball. more...
ITS origins stretch back to before the outbreak of the Great War and it grew to become the dominant force in a region which included the Vale of Evesham and the Cotswolds. more...
THIS is the first glimpse of the new state-of-the-art Scout centre that the Shuttle/Times & News is aiming to build through our Operation Covert appeal. more...
TOO many mums-to-be want it all - career, kids and an eye-catching figure. more...
FESTIVE greetings in support of Kemp Hospice have trebled this year with the soaring popularity of its Christmas cards. more...
THE team that has spent the last two-and-a-half decades supplying audio tapes of the Journal and admag to visually impaired people in the Vale is celebrating its anniversary this month. more...
OUR appeal has been given a major boost from Rhydd Covert neighbours, West Midland Safari Park. more...
TODAY is Battle of Britain Day when the memory of those who gave their all to save Britain from the Nazi threat is more...
BIDDERS at a furniture auction have helped to raise £7,758 for a Kidderminster charity. more...
ANOTHER band is to rock Wyre Forest in aid of our appeal. more...
LUPUS affects people all over the World where the immune system becomes overactive. Antibodies are produced and almost all organs of the body can be involved meaning the immune system starts to attack one another. more...
THE residents and businesses which brought Evesham success in the Heart of England in Bloom contest received their own reward with the presentation of the annual Evesham in Bloom awards. more...
A NEW face has been welcomed at Kidderminster-based Kemp Hospice to help provide spiritual support to patients and their families. more...
GREEN-fingered Kidderminster residents are hoping to raise more than £2,000 for Operation Covert by inviting keen horticulturists into their gardens. more...
THE old saying `February fill dyke' had not lived up to its name in 1904. The wettest month had been May when 4.01 inches had fallen. The month had also seen the wettest day of the year when 2.20inches had fallen on the 27th. October had been the driest month and November the coldest when for 17 days the temperature had fallen below freezing. more...
OCTOBER sees the launch of Breast Cancer awareness month for 2005 and one Pershore sufferer is doing her best to highlight the importance of more...
THE emergency call was routed direct to Evesham fire station. Three sheep had strayed off course and tumbled into the River Avon. more...
FUND-raisers in Wyre Forest have been praised for their contribution of more than £130,000 to Kemp Hospice. more...
HUNDREDS of youngsters flocked to Rhydd Covert recently for its first major event since the fire which kickstarted Operation Covert. more...
THE notion held by many that last year had been the wettest in living memory was incorrect. There had been a total of 30.8 inches of rain, three less than average. This had been nowhere near the record of 41.54 inches in 1924 and the `deluge' year of 1912 when 44.40 inches were recorded in the district. more...
ANYONE who has driven through the centre of Evesham during rush hour will be aware of the horrendous build-up of traffic which can lead to considerable delay in even a short journey. more...
WONDERFUL wartime memories such as I'll Be Seeing You, Look for the Silver Lining and Pedro the Fisherman... Tunes to whistle and the memories of whistling them on his way to school are often recalled these days by local historian Michael J Barnard, of Badsey, on his now regular visits to Evesham by car. more...
HARD up Bromsgrove Rovers were appealing to townsfolk to become agents to sell weekly lottery tickets. Clubs and pubs in the district were to be targeted. more...
IF you witness a crime, please report it - that's the message from the Criminal Justice System in Worcestershire this week as it marks Inside Justice Week. more...
OUR bid to build a Scout centre for district childr
