Worcestershire | Archive | 2003 | March

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Stories for 31 March 2003

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YOUNG PEOPLE

Air Cadets, Boys Brigade, Guides, Scouts, Sea Cadets, Youth Groups, Youth Information   more...

SUPPORT SERVICES

Adoption, Advocacy, Age Concern, Bereavement, Blind, Carers, Cerebral Palsy, Citizen's Advice, Coronary Support Group, Counselling, Deaf, Dial-a-ride, Disability, Dyslexia, Family Planning, Gamblin, Homestart, Hospice, Marriage Guidance, Mental Health, NSPCC, Parenting, Probation and After Care, Samaritans, Sheltered Housing, Shopmobility, Step Out Drop In, Victim Support, Volunteers & Widows   more...

PUBLIC/PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Bus and Coach Services, Careers, Community Centres, Courts, District Auditors, District Valuers, Information Centres, Marriage Venues (Civil), Post Offices (Main), DSS, Electricity, Employment, Gas, Libaries, Rail Services, Registrars, Social Services, Trading Standards & Water   more...

HEALTH

Alcoholism, Arthritis, Cancer, Chemists, Chiropodists, Clinics, Community Health Council, Dental Surgeons, Diabetes, Disabled, Doctors, Drugs, Heart, Hospitals, Parkinsons's Disease & Physiotherapists   more...

EDUCATION

College, Nursery Schools, Day Nurseries/Playgroups, First Schools, Middle Schools, Secondary Schools, Before/After-School Club & Holiday Club   more...

CHARITIES

Charities and Charity Shops   more...

ANIMAL CARE

Animal clubs/societies & Animal Welfare   more...

AMBULANCE, FIRE, POLICE, ELECTRICITY, GAS AND WATER

Who to contact in an emergency...   more...

MPs

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Political

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County Council Services

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County Services - Worcester area

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County Services - Droitwich Area

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County Councillors - Worcester Area

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County Councillors - Malvern Hills Area

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County Councillors - Wychavon Area

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County Councillors - Wyre Forest

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Malvern Hills District Council

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Hospitals

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Health Centres & Clinics

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Dentists - Droitwich Area

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St John Ambulance

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Community Midwives

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Health Care and Support Groups

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Ambulance Services

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Chiropodists

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Doctors - Droitwich area

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Registered pre-school playgroups - Worcester area

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Registered pre-school playgroups - Droitwich area

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Creches - Worcester area

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Creches - Droitwich area - full day care

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Schools - Independent

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Colleges

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Schools - Special

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Young Farmers

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Animal Societies, vets and RSPCA

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Arts and Crafts

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Flower Clubs

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Round Table

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Lions Clubs

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Inner Wheel

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Rotary Clubs

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Women's Institutes

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Women's Groups

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TWG

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Scouts

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Tourist Information Centres

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Places to visit

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Restaurants

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Chinese Restaurants

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Greek Restaurants

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Indian Restaurants

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Italian Restaurants

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Mediterranean Restaurants

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Mexican Restaurants

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Thai Restaurants

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Takeaways/ Delivery Service

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Department Store Cafes/ Restaurants

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Hotels

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Café Bars

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Public Houses

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Nightclubs

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Regular Army

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Territorial Army

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Army Cadets

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Air Cadets

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Sea Cadets

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Ex-Service Groups

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Government Offices

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Police Stations and Courts

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Registrar

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Fire Services

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Careers and Job Centres

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Transport

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Advice Bureaux

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Community Council

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Post Offices

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Weather

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Churches - Ecumenical

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Churches - Baptist

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Methodist Circuit Ministers

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Supernumary Ministers

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Churches - United Reformed

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Churches - Other Denominations

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Salvation Army

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Religious Groups

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Useful sources of advice

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Funeral Directors

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Car dealers

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Sports Facilities

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Angling Clubs

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Archery Clubs

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Athletics Clubs

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Badminton Clubs

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Basketball Clubs

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Billiards & Snooker Clubs

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Bowls Clubs

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Bridge Clubs

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Boxing Clubs

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Canoeing Clubs

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Chess Clubs

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Cricket Clubs

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Cycling Clubs

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Dragon Boat Clubs

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Football Clubs

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Golf Clubs

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Hockey Clubs

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Martial Arts Clubs

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Motoring Clubs

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Mountainering Clubs

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Netball Clubs

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Racing Clubs

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Rowing Clubs

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Rugby Clubs

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Sailing Clubs

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Skittles Clubs

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Squash Clubs

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Swimming Clubs

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Table Tennis Clubs

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Tai Chi Clubs

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Tennis Clubs

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News

Chancellor faces backlash on NI increase

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown faced a backlash today from business leaders angry at the imminent impact of higher National Insurance contributions.   more...

Rise in e-mail bullies

MORE workers are being bullied by e-mail, often being insulted or harassed by managers and colleagues, a new report revealed today.   more...

Spearheading machinery industry

AN agricultural machinery firm is proving so successful that leading members of the international farming industry paid a visit recently to discover its trade secrets.   more...

Bid to boost rural economy

WAYS of securing a healthier economic future for rural areas in the West Midlands will be discussed at a Hereford conference.   more...

A grim Saturday

FOOTBALL results apart, last Saturday was not the finest day of Mike Foster's life.   more...

War has impact on high street spending

THE Iraq war is a significant reason for the slowdown of consumer spending on the high street, according to Worcester Chamber of Commerce.   more...

Scandal and exile ends the glittering career of an earl

MEMBERS of the Worcestershire nobility were very much in the news in Berrow's Journal this week exactly a century ago.   more...

Fined for falling asleep in charge of a horse and trap

BEFORE the City Magistrates Court in 1901 was William Hughes, a butcher of The Shambles, Worcester who, reported the Journal, had pleaded guilty to being asleep in charge of a horse and trap at Spetchley, and was fined 7/6d plus costs.   more...

Graduates all set to shine in Cathedral

THOUSANDS of graduates will finally receive their degrees in a series of prestigious ceremonies at Worcester Cathedral.   more...

City spire when it had a church

ON an inspiring religious note, the Journal of 200 years ago this week sought public subscriptions towards the urgent restoration of one of Worcester's most prominent and familiar landmarks.   more...

Top prize for Beryl's work

THE role of the German resistance during the Second World War proved to be an award-winning topic for a Herefordshire scholar.   more...

Methodists come in for strong criticism

RELIGIOUS intolerance and prejudice was clearly rife in and around the Faithful City 250 years ago, judging by a remarkable report in the Worcester Journal for this week of 1751.   more...

Faithful City marks the Restoration of Charles II

ON a celebratory note, the Journal of 250 years ago reported a day of special events in 1751 to mark the anniversary of the Restoration to the Throne of Charles II.   more...

City company almost landed in the pea soup

THIS week 100 years ago, panic was caused at a Worcester sauce and canning factory when a gigantic food order arrived from Whitehall.   more...

A family's tales of going to blazes

IT was the Sayce family that Worcester people urged to go to blazes in late Victorian and Edwardian times!   more...

When girl power came to the railways

WONDERFUL years working on steam trains at Worcester during the last war are fondly remembered by Mrs Peggy Edwards, of Ronkswood.   more...

When the force was with us...

THIS nostalgic montage of pictures of Boys - and Girls - in Blue comes from the heyday and, alas, final years of the Worcester City Police Force.   more...

The city man who wouldn't be beaten

ONE of Worcester's familiar and popular personalities is the ever courageous Don Baker.   more...

Champagne reward for hero of Ankerdine Hill

SCALING Ankerdine Hill on a bicycle a century back appears to have been seen then as almost akin to climbing Everest on foot -- at least, that's the impression given by an item in the Journal 100 years ago this week   more...

All change for the euro

AS steadfast Sterling-lovers, we may have turned a blind eye to the launch of the single currency on Tuesday.   more...

Generation game goes back 150 years

THE Bennett family of Callow End, near Worcester, have been familiar figures in the life of the village for six generations and for well over a century, from at least mid-Victorian times.   more...

Plan ahead for a smooth ride

THOUSANDS of British families will be taking to the ski slopes for the first time over the next few months and despite high expectations it can all go downhill - fast.   more...

Couple have helped bring out the best in youngsters

GENERATIONS of amateur soccer players in and around Worcester owe much to the likes of 78 years-old Bert Powell, who selflessly devoted half-a-century of voluntary service to local football.   more...

Savoury spread is still a kitchen mate

LOVE it or hate it, Marmite still reigns as one of our favourite foods, despite being created 100-years-ago around the time Edward VII was crowned.   more...

Death masks survive at city medical centre

READERS have rapidly solved the "Where are they now?" mystery I recently posed over the whereabouts of death masks of convicts, who went to the gallows at the former Worcester County Jail in Castle Street.   more...

New collection may just swing it for old M&S

We all know fashion is a fickle thing - but for Marks & Spencer, this adage is particularly true.   more...

Life had to change

ALEXANDRA Gordon always wanted to study for a degree in art, but in her earlier life it never happened.   more...

Tales of Willie still surfacing

ALMOST unbelievably, 72 years after his death, fresh stories still comes to my ears of the remarkable generosity and loving care shown to Worcester people by the legendary Woodbine Willie.   more...

Book-keeping was not exciting enough

A JOB book-keeping was not enough to excite UCW graduate Rachel Pritchard.   more...

Flying cars - they're a vision of the future

If you're standing on a delayed train and reading the latest about Britain's transport crisis, travelling to work in a flying car sounds like a fantasy.   more...

Never too late to stub it out

WITH all the warnings around no smoker can claim ignorance about the health risks attached to the habit but it's something that tends to be pushed to one side when the craving kicks in.   more...

Honoured for training skills

ONCE a professional rugby league player, Alan Curless is now involved with the education and training of young people across the two counties.   more...

Talking Newspaper has 90 year-old remembering

MEMORY Lane continues to receive reader responses to earlier pieces about the former St Nicholas Girls' School at Worcester.   more...

A Revenge Valentine for the one you're off

IT'S the day when singletons eventually start imagining happy couples skipping past hand-in-hand as they walk down the road.   more...

Bowling along to a funeral on the local green

SINCE the time of the Neanderthals, the dead have been buried using ceremonies which have followed similar patterns for hundreds of years at a time.   more...

Re-union brings trio together for first time in 50 years

SOMEWHAT self-indulgent, maybe, but I hope I can be forgiven for regaling readers with my own pleasure and surprise at a recent re-union.   more...

Overdosing on comfort telly to escape reality

IN the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, pundits predicted a rise in the popularity of serious and "hard hitting" television programmes.   more...

Start planning your jubilee celebrations

The Queen's Golden Jubilee promises to be a celebration like no other. But if you haven't been invited to a party at the palace, organise a right royal knees-up in your own backyard.   more...

The comedy artiste, band leader and mayor

SOMBRE may have been his surname but Jack Blackman brought light, colour and cheer to the Worcester scene for more than a-quarter-of-a-century as a dance band leader, compere and comedian.   more...

Old favourites enjoying boom

TODAY'S kid-ults may have succumbed to the irresistible lure of the PlayStation and Harry Potter, but mention classics like Basil Brush and a smile will surely follow.   more...

After Popstars and Pop Idol it's Totstars

Throughout showbiz history there are many tales of child stars rising to the pinnacle of fame only to come crashing down as they grow older.   more...

Top marks for all

The last of three days of graduation ceremonies brought to you by the Worcester Evening News.   more...

Re-union bash for former residents of a Worcester street

CALLING all people who lived in the Foxwell Street area of Worcester between 1930 and 1945, or who went to Red Hill School during the same 15-year period.   more...

The bear essentials for top Mother's Day

THE thought of becoming a mum is both exciting and daunting - I should know, I'm giving it a go myself this August and I'm on the edge of my seat, literally.   more...

Remembering the Titanic 90 years on

For most of us, the sinking of the "unsinkable" Titanic is a tragic piece of history, an unforgettable disaster of the 20th century.   more...

Top marks for all

The second of three days of graduation ceremonies brought to you by the Worcester Evening News.   more...

Cromwell causes city unrest with plaque hopes

A SECOND BATTLE OF WORCESTER - this time in words, not slaughter and bloodshed - was breaking out between Royalists and Cromwell supporters at this time 50 years ago. The war of words in 1951 was mainly in the Council Chamber of the Guildhall and came three centuries after the original fateful battle of September 3, 1651. This year is, of course, the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Worcester.   more...

£6,000 prize for the quit-smoking champ

THERE'S no getting away from the fact that, for millions, a fantastic night out, a worthwhile teabreak or simply a peaceful moment go hand-in-hand with the click of lighter and a long, satisfying drag.   more...

Clem thanks his lucky stars

DURING the Second World War, the average number of missions flown by Allied bomber crews before something nasty happened to them was seven.   more...

NEWS ITEMS DOWN THE YEARS

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Blooms boom in fashions forum

Spring is in the air and flowers are blooming and that's just in the high street.   more...

Toll routes to offer riders a safer option Off-road scheme for horses is on track

AMONG a whole host of outdoor activities that hit the buffers last year when foot-and-mouth paralysed the countryside was an innovative scheme to make life easier for horse riders.   more...

Top marks for all

The first of three days of graduation ceremonies brought to you by the Worcester Evening News.   more...

Rival camps honoured King and Parliament

WE'RE aproaching the 50th anniversary of the Second Battle of Worcester which, unlike the awful carnage of the first, was simply a war of words between Royalist and Cromwellian factions.   more...

Choose the palette for perfect lips

A QUICK slick of lipstick can instantly transform your face, so it's no surprise it is considered the most essential item in a woman's make-up bag - if not in life.   more...

Society moving on since the Jubilee

WHAT a difference 25 years makes. A generation after the Queen's Silver Jubilee, British society has definitely moved on.   more...

Putting smiles back on faces

YANKS at the dentists in Worcester a century ago certainly didn't mean the painful pulling out of teeth!   more...

...but the business is still booming

TYING the knot is officially back in fashion, but that magical day doesn't come cheap.   more...

Who'll be singing at the next tribute?

WITH more people tuning into the Party At The Palace than the England v Sweden match, it's obvious that the Jubilee pop concert was a massive success.   more...

Back on track, the first female guard

MY article a few weeks ago about the women who served as railway guards on the steam trains of wartime Worcester overlooked at least one of those worthy young ladies.   more...

Mobile giants WAP up market

DID you know footie fans will be able to watch Saturday goals on their mobile phones within three years?   more...

Seeing the point of protecting your eyes

OUR eyesight, arguably the most precious of the senses, is all too easily strained and fatigued by the long office hours and polluted cities of modern life.   more...

Principal looks at life from other side

THE principal of Worcester College of Technology found out what it was like to be on the receiving end of a graduation ceremony when he was awarded an honorary degree from the University College Worcester.   more...

Pulling the pints down the generations

MILLIONS of pints must have been pulled for Worcester people by the Roberts family of publicans during much of the 20th Century.   more...

Teacher takes learning prize

A HEADTEACHER at a Shropshire primary school has combined teaching with her own learning.   more...

Young happy to cash in on credit

OUR parents and grandparents would never have dreamt of missing a mortgage repayment and using the cash to pay for a holiday. They'd have seen such behaviour as downright irresponsible.   more...

More Mr Darcy than Mr Nasty

HE may not wear breeches any more but the British gentleman is not dead. In fact he is alive and well and heralding in a new age of romance.   more...

Winner of the Bosch award

THE owner of a Malvern business collected an award for his management skills at his graduation ceremony.   more...

Brothers born with entertainment in their blood

THE three Bowley brothers - Jim, Mike and Wal - have given much enjoyment on the Worcester music and entertainment scene during the past half-a-century or so.   more...

At the very bottom of an age-old problem

WITH a snotty sprog on the way, I'm forced to contemplate the inevitable.   more...

Why gentlemen still prefer this blonde

WITH her platinum blonde hair, scarlet pout and trademark wiggle, Marilyn Monroe was the 20th Century's ultimate sex symbol.   more...

Three generations of serving the essentials

A RARE selection of old photographs of Worcester scenes and personalities graces Memory Lane as the lives of three generations of the Bryan family are traced.   more...

Cut the growth in garden crime

READ the News Shorts which line the Evening News and you can't fail to spot intriguing tales of stolen mowers and pilfered power tools.   more...

Being a man can be bad for your health

FOR centuries women have been thought of as the weaker sex but a new US study has revealed the opposite - men's health and well-being is much more at risk than women at every point during their - usually much shorter - lives.   more...

Mystery box of photos spark a search for Doc

DETECTIVE work is again asked of Memory Lane readers as I try, to identify the doctor who compiled 13 photo albums, now in the possession of the Worcester City Museum.   more...

New diet aiming to cut out the calories

IT'S taken as read by many that putting on shed loads of weight stems from eating too much and exercising too little.   more...

Train body and mind to defy growing old

IT'S your birthday. But as you blow out the candles on the cake your heart sinks - another year, another step towards old age.   more...

The cataloguing of a company history

CALLING all past and present employees, agents and customers of Kay's who may have memories or memorabilia to impart about this 207 year-old Worcester company.   more...

Path to a perfect pad fraught with danger

You're looking around house number 20 on your list. It seems perfect but if only......   more...

Chips are down for the couch potatoes

Slumping on the sofa like Jim Royle to channel surf while munching through a packet of crisps might seem the perfect indulgence after a hard day at work.   more...

Henry tells it how it was...

BBC Antiques Roadshow expert Henry Sandon of Worcester has told me of a highly amusing incident witnessed on Pitchcroft about a century ago.   more...

Flexible friends control the stars

WHETHER crabby Cancer or sassy Scorpio, your star sign could determine how you use your flexible friend, according to a new study.   more...

Beer? Ugh!

In recent years women have been catching up with men on everything from pay to job prospects - and even drinking habits.   more...

A testament of time for 300 year-old Friends

THE Religious Society of Friends - The Quakers - have now been influential figures on the Worcester scene for almost 350 years.   more...

Novelty gems fuel the footie

ARE wa David Beckham da, are wa David Beckham da..."   more...

Exorcize stress with a daily dose of exercise

Most people would say they have suffered from stress at some point in their life, whether it is work-related, linked to a major event or just the pace of modern life.   more...

The Moore the merrier

A RECENT chance meeting in Worcester Cathedral with a young woman from Canada has prompted me to give this week's insight into a family who had a significant impact on the community life of the Faithful City through most of the 20th Century.   more...

Most dads will be happy with a card this Father's Day - but a new survey reveals they could ask for

WORLD Cup fever may have rendered dads inactive at present, but you may be surprised to learn how much the average father does in return for a pair of socks on Father's Day.   more...

Real pain in the back for adults

Whether it's a slight tweak as you turn your head to talk to a colleague or a more serious injury such as a slipped disc, most people have experienced some sort of back pain.   more...

Right royal conspiracy?

A CONSPIRACY theory is emerging, five centuries on, surrounding the death of Arthur Tudor, the 15 year-old Prince of Wales, at Ludlow Castle in 1502.   more...

Instant and easy, but is it safe for the High Street?

ANYONE who saw the TV documentary Saving Face a few weeks ago is probably in two minds about the quick-fix wrinkle blasting surgery, Botox.   more...

Health Commentary Special n SAD sufferers can find relief by sitting in front of a box

Let there   more...

Families were at home in the hall

The fascinating and painstakingly researched new book Perdiswell Past and Present by Joan Hinks tells us much about the well-to-do families who lived in the country mansion which stood at the heart of the area.   more...

Mother's coming to stay? Place is a tip? Never fear...

YOUR mother, no matter how much you love her, can always terrify you with the simple words: "I thought I might stay for a few days".   more...

TB went out with the Victorians... didn't it?

MOTHER-of-two Sarah Jinks is among the new generation of people who are mysteriously catching TB.   more...

Tip shut as fire rages in skip

A REDDITCH tip was shut down on Friday after a fire broke out in a 30-tonne skip full of rubbish.   more...

Happy ending to lost albums saga

MANY readers have telephoned or written in since I recently published a portrait photograph taken more than half-a-century ago.   more...

Are you getting all ready to pucker up?

Are you ready to pucker up and delight someone you fancy? If not - why not?   more...

Weighty issue must be tackled globally

IT is said that when the USA sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.   more...

Richard's handouts down the centuries

WORCESTER people are still benefiting from the generosity of a wealthy city clothier and merchant who lived four centuries ago.   more...

Going veggie is great - if you can do without meat

I CAN safely say that I would die if I tried to become a vegetarian. The only vegetables I like are mushy peas and sweetcorn, and there are only so many satisfying meals you can make out of those.   more...

This hospital's nursing wage bill has gone up by millions since 2001...

WORCESTERSHIRE Royal Hospital has been hit by an expensive double whammy this year, which is wasting precious resources at an alarming rate.   more...

Couple made re-union a possibility

IN today's insular stay-at-home, armchair TV society, it was a delight the other evening to attend a large-scale re-union in Worcester with all its human hubbub.   more...

Save your skin with a bottle of the finest factor

IT has always struck me as being a particularly British custom that we lie on a beach and stay there until our skin is seriously damaged, but apparently we're novices compared to the Australians.   more...

Bid to beat Britain's biggest killer

LUNG cancer is the biggest killer of both men and women in the UK, with 40,000 new cases being diagnosed each year.   more...

Full steam ahead for the war effort

Sixty years ago, the people of Pershore and surrounding villages raised a staggering £200,000 to fund a new Royal Navy Corvette.   more...

Swing a song of golf clubs

EVERY year, The Open golf championship is responsible for thousands of rational people taking up the most addictive, infuriating game known to man.   more...

Reach for the stars

WITH a whole new year ahead, who knows what 2003 will have in store?   more...

China crisis with its list of archives

ROYAL Worcester, a major employer in the Faithful City for 250 years, is looking for the help of past and present employees and their families and descendants.   more...

Be prepared for queues, expense

THE summer holidays are here and children everywhere have been released from their schools and left in the hands of their despairing parents.   more...

People need a greater say in future of NHS

2002 was another busy year for Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor. Richard Babington asked him what he feels he achieved last year, and what his aims are for this year.   more...

Atten'shun as museum's war project takes aim

YOUR military musuem needs you ...that's the clarion call to ex-servicemen of the Worcester area!   more...

Best buys for southpaws, cack-handers and mollie dookers

THEY look like normal people, smell like normal people and even sound like normal people. They usually behave quite acceptably in public and can even hold down regular jobs.   more...

Act now before services vanish

ANYONE who witnessed last week's board meeting of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust would not exactly be filled with confidence.   more...

Christmas past - 1945

OLD-TIME XMAS ATMOSPHERE - "Christmas this year should be an extremely happy one. It is the first peaceful festival since 1938. For weeks the stores have been crowded and, although there was not a great choice of presents, shoppers managed to find something, and cards and calendars, though expensive, seemed to be more plentiful.   more...

Ale and hearty with that feminine touch

THE Worcester Beer and Cider Festival is sure to delight drinkers from all over the region this weekend.   more...

Act now before services vanish

ANYONE who witnessed last week's board meeting of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust would not exactly be filled with confidence.   more...

Christmas past - 1944

SIXTH CHRISTMAS OF WAR - "Modified cheerfulness might best describe the atmosphere of any assembly of people in Britain this Christmas.   more...

Over 50s army on the rise

THESE days, everyone seems to want to be young. Old people are a nuisance, tolerated rather than respected by society and ridiculed by young people who think that listening to Slipknot makes them cool.   more...

Fears for future of community hospitals

THE financial problems faced by Worcester's health organisations have been well documented in recent months.   more...

Christmas past - 1943

HOME MADE CHRISTMAS - "The festive season in 1943 is going to be a home made Christmas for most British people. There are few things suitable for gifts on the market, and most of them are subject to 100 per cent purchase tax.   more...

Recipe for success in the classroom breakfast: Don't start the day running on empty

SEPTEMBER is almost upon us, and the nation's children have stopped complaining about being bored as a feeling of impending doom washes over them.   more...

This care home owner has lots of spare beds...

HOW many people does it take to decide where a 94-year-old woman should live?   more...

Christmas past - 1942

CHOCOLATE QUEUES AGAIN - "When we were issued with personal ration books, we thought we had done with queuing for chocolate and sweets.   more...

Digital TV isn't just monkeying around

AN auction of ITV Digital's knitted monkey mascots this week acts as a stark reminder of the perils of taking on BSkyB at the digital game.   more...

We've done our bit... it's your turn, Tony

Evening News reporter Sundeep Kumar travelled down to London on Saturday to gauge the mood of Worcester people attending the peace protest march against a war on Iraq.   more...

Christmas past - 1941

POSTAL RUSH - "With many postmen away at the war, a lot of temporary delivery personnel have had to be hurriedly recruited, including 26 women and 59 schoolboys, primarily from the King's School, Royal Grammar School and the Technical School.   more...

Christmas past - 1940

PEACE AND GOODWILL - "To think of Peace and Goodwill at this present moment in history may seem to some ironical. Millions of men, armed with the most ingenious weapons of destruction the world has ever seen, are engaged in an orgy of killing, maiming and burning.   more...

Christmas past

TELLING and often poignant insights into the happinesses, heartaches and hardships of Christmases in wartime Worcester are drawn here from the Evening News bound archives for the early 1940s.   more...

Mary stands her ground over St George's Lane

APPARENT euphoria among the Worcester sporting public for the City FC's proposed move from St George's Lane to a new purpose-built football stadium is not shared, at least for one, by Mrs Mary Saunders.   more...

Bungalow Ben's life spent helping others

Memory Lane this week looks at the life of Benjamin Bray, a Worcester builder who was one time licensee of the Crown & Anchor pub in Hylton Road and long-term steward of the city's Conservative Club.   more...

Joe's painful role as the Coroner's Officer

A POLICEMAN'S lot is clearly not a happy one when he is assigned to the role of Coroner's Officer and has to deal solely with death, as in the case of the late Joe Freeman at Worcester.   more...

Happy days treading the boards at the Theatre Royal

MY recent feature on Christmases past in Worcester during the Second World War evoked much nostalgia for Beryl Gough, who for many years, has been well-known locally as a dancer and choreographer.   more...

Cheerful Harold was always ready to party

FONDLY remembered this week are a popular Shambles character of yesteryear and a once-familiar landmark building in the heart of Worcester.   more...

Family fortunes in seed and hop sales

FLEETINGLY back in the spotlight is a Worcester family firm which ran a thriving hop and seed merchants business from three landmark city buildings through much of the 20th Century.   more...

Constructed to make an impression

TO me, and I am sure others, one of the most impressive buildings in the Worcester suburbs is the large scale, Georgian-style block occupied by Kays in Northwick Avenue, Barbourne.   more...

The good old, bad old days of Lowesmoor

LIFE at Lowesmoor, Worcester, of the 1920s and 30s is vividly remembered by the surviving members of the Tunstall family.   more...

Heading for a nuts and berries old age

WE'RE all heading blindly into a poverty-stricken old age and many of us won't be able to retire until we're 95, according to recent scaremongering.   more...

Do you feel fit enough to plan holiday?

AS winter approaches and the nation sinks into darkness and depression once again, many people start to plan next year's summer holiday to give themselves something to look forward to.   more...

Don't kill kitty with kindness

ONCE upon a time, pets knew their place and managed to go about their daily business without being smothered with human affection.   more...

Sink the pirates and keep music biz afloat

THE music industry has been struggling to stay afloat ever since the invention of recording equipment.   more...

It's mobile madness and talk isn't cheap!

WHETHER you love them or hate them, mobile phones are now a huge a part of everyday life.   more...

Be kind to your car before it dies on you

FOR many of us, cars are our biggest expense after rent or mortgage payments.   more...

Single life is on the move POP: Have we got the fastest moving chart in the world?

it all started with Al Martino, who sang Here In My Heart, and 50 years later we're all still buying love songs as DJ Sammy is sitting pretty at the top of the charts with Heaven.   more...

All I want for Christmas...

FATHER Christmas will have his work cut out to keep up with consumer demand this year.   more...

Autumn stroll by riverbank and woodland

RIBBESFORD Wood belongs to the Forestry Commission but it isn't just gloomy conifers. There is lots of broad-leaved woodland too, which is particularly beautiful in November.   more...

Surf your way through crowds

IRONICALLY for a Christian festival, Christmas shopping can be sheer hell.   more...

Making sure Christmas is all wrapped up

ONCE the ordeal of buying Christmas presents is over, an equally miserable task awaits you.   more...

Brothers with a meating of minds

A FAMILY firm of butchers, one of the best-known in Worcestershire, is celebrating its centenary this year.   more...

All the magic of the movies

WHEN my slightly obsessed other half discovered he could actually be Lord of the Rings' rugged ranger Aragorn in the latest PlayStation offering, I thought his head might fall off.   more...

Betty's stories bring a lost age sharply into focus

THE title of one of the arresting pen pictures of Worcester past - so eloquently painted in words by the late Betty Fulcher - is Jemima and Charlie   more...

Tree-t the pine to a new look

PUTTING up the tree is generally when that cosy Christmassy feeling kicks in.   more...

Time is called at the tea bar

FINALLY, and sadly, to be disbanded next month are a group of volunteers who, for the past 67 years, have brought refreshment to hundreds of thousands of patients, out-patients and visitors to the historic Worcester Royal Infirmary at Castle Street.   more...

Collective views look back to hospital of a century ago

WITH Worcester Royal Infirmary in its final days, I reproduce three photographs here of the historic hospital exactly a century ago.   more...

Why students must watch their debts

IT'S time to put the past 12 months behind you, think of more resolutions to break and plan a bright new future.   more...

A hundred years of history and service

... and it cost just £1,575   more...

A new year to make a start on a new you

NEW Year's Day can only mean two things - a hangover and a sense of guilt after drinking and eating too much over the Christmas period.   more...

Happy days are here again...

FORTY people gathering for a cheery re-union to-night will readily testify that Worcester's Happy Land very much lived up to its name in their "wonderful" childhood days of the 1930s and early 1940s.   more...

Pocket money power of the `tweenagers'

When I was young, £1 pocket money was like winning the Lottery every week, with bells on.   more...

Family's joint history was a cut above rest

A RECENT Memory Lane photograph of Worcester from the 1920s brought a very interesting call from a local man whose forebears, it turns out, were butchers in The Shambles for at least a century.   more...

What to buy when guilt factor strikes

FOR the first time, my New Year's resolutions include thrashing myself at the gym, nibbling lettuce leaves and regularly flushing myself out with water.   more...

Treasure trove of a shy, talented artist

MEMORY Lane pays belated homage to quite an accomplished Worcester amateur artist of yesteryear.   more...

Romantic gift ideas to make Valentine's Day a date to remember

IF you're in a couple, there's one rule in life. DON'T FORGET VALENTINE'S DAY!   more...

A sad day for the Nurses' League

NOSTALGIA and sadness are naturally felt by the 337 members of the Worcester Royal Infirmary Nurses' League at the closure of the historic hospital at Castle Street.   more...

No harm in haggling for those bargains

THERE'S an art to haggling as I discovered in Kenya.   more...

Printer turns limelight on mini Theatre Royal

TUCKED away behind the scenes off Worcester's Angel Street is a small-scale mock version of the auditorium of the city's former historic Theatre Royal.   more...

Days when `rock spivs' ruled roost

During the Second World War, a girl would do anything for an American soldier if there was "candy" on offer.   more...

Anniversary is right on track

THIS summer marks the 150th anniversary of the opening of the railway line between Stourbridge and Evesham, which extended the train network to Droitwich, Pershore and Fladbury.   more...

Royal link with lonely tomb

OCCASIONALLY, I have glanced at an impressive tomb in a fairly isolated position within Worcester Cathedral, but only recently have I been aware of the noble personage whose remains lie below it.   more...

Praise be for the welcome given to a community

THIS summer marks the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Bromwich Road Mission - the lasting legacy of a member of the famous Cadbury chocolate-making family who lived in Worcester and was a significant local benefactor.   more...

Richard Cadbury... man with a mission

WORCESTER High Street was closed to traffic and lined by silent crowds on the day of the funeral of Richard Cadbury in 1935.   more...

Nomads bat on to field events and celebrations

SEVENTY-five not out and progressing confidently towards a century - that's the Worcester Nomads Cricket Club.   more...

Pulling of the pints through two centuries

REMARKABLY, a country pub near the village of Ombersley, has now been owned and run by the same family for more than 150 years.   more...

Annie saved by corrugated iron

ANOTHER tale of a miraculous escape from death in the Meco bombing has been told me in the wake of my recent feature on that fateful day - October 3, 1940.   more...

Thanks are due for the city's women volunteers

MEMORY Lane pays homage this week to the teams of volunteer women who, down the past 62 years, have run an invaluable service for the needy in Worcester.   more...

Trio chalk up two centuries of heavenly music

Jim has memories of Elgar:   more...

It's last orders one more time

THE weekend "party nights" atmosphere and sing-alongs at the Cock Inn, Tybridge Street, during the 1950s are fondly remembered by Muriel and Arthur Cotterill of Kingsbury Road, Worcester.   more...

Family wealth built on seeds

GASCOYNE House, the historic riverside warehouse apartments block at South Quay, is now Worcester's only prominent reminder of a once flourishing city family business.   more...

Bert's lifetime spent in slippery sales

FONDLY remembered is a well-known Worcester High Street shop which was frequently an eye-catching feature of the city centre scene through the first half of the 20th Century.   more...

Bishop's horrific death at the stake

A PAST Bishop of Worcester suffered one of the most horrific of deaths in being burnt at the stake.   more...

Freemasonry's 270 years of lodges in Worcestershire

It's believed Freemasonry had its roots even earlier, in local associations formed by master craftsmen in the art of stone masonry, together with other local "worthies."   more...

A short history of Mr and Mrs Day's Dairies...

I've been learning all about the hard-working dynasty from Mrs Betty Brown (maiden name, Worthington) who, with husband Derek, was the last in the family line to trade in Lowesmoor.   more...

Mum's memoirs in hidden notebooks

FOND recollections of Lowesmoor in the 1920s and 30s and of her courtship and marriage are highlighted in the hand-written memoirs of Kathleen Worthington, who died two years ago at the age of 86.   more...

Worcester's college with a worldwide reputation

WORCESTER'S nationally-renowned College for the Blind is celebrating its centenary on its present site.   more...

Quay memories of an old Worcester quarter

COLOURFUL times half-a-century ago amid the former closely-knit riverside community of houses, shops, pubs, lodging houses, scrapyards and warehouses of Worcester's Quay Street area are fondly remembered by Robert Wardell.   more...

Work colleague Doc was a true county legend

WHEN I joined the staff of the Evening News as a boy, 48 years ago, the group advertising manager of Berrow's Newspapers was a charming chap named Harold Gibbons.   more...

Elgar's steamy night in Paris immortalised in memoirs

STEAMY nights in Paris were experienced in the summer of 1880 by Worcester's most famous son, Edward Elgar, and his future brother-in-law, Charles Pipe.   more...

Eighty years on and Ernest is still a server at his church

A WIDE circle of friends and neighbours have, this weekend, been helping Worcester "born and bred" Ernest Smith celebrate his 90th birthday.   more...

A cheery smile, a jaunty hat... the pose that growers trusted

GEOFF Budd is something of a legend with the farming community of Worcestershire.   more...

The fishy business that led to salmon wars on stretches of the Severn

THERE was certainly something fishy going on at Upton-upon-Severn in the 1600s and 1700s as far as Worcester people were concerned.   more...

The beastly truth behind the Bull Ring

I AM often asked how Worcester's Bull Ring got its name but the answer is, alas, very unsavoury.   more...

His vitriolic tirade is based on ignorance

I AM afraid that John Phillpott's bizarrely aggressive article about the Swan Theatre (Evening News, Monday, March 3) serves to further damage his reputation as both a journalist and independent commentator.   more...

Did the Grandstand ever collapse?

CAN Memory Lane readers answer a couple of posers I have been set but can't answer?   more...

Sad loss of a St John's character

WORCESTER'S Westside has lost one of its most amiable and friendly characters with the death of Horace Perks.   more...

Mediaeval heart of Worcester that's lost forever

THIS atmospheric and vintage set of photographs offer a reminder of a once bustling hub of humanity right in the historic heart of Worcester.   more...

Last survivor the 1952 wreath-laying ceremony

RECENTLY, in my weekly feature for Berrow's Worcester Journal, I published what I considered a very significant photograph taken in the Faithful City exactly half-a-century ago.   more...

A long gone city pub that had a history of smuggling

LEGEND has it that the corner building in this vintage photograph from the 1920s was once a smugglers' haunt.   more...

`The best squadron in Britain'

THE Worcester Air Training Corps had much to celebrate at this time 50 years ago after being adjudged "the best squadron in Great Britain".   more...

Labourers feel pinch of poverty

A CENTURY ago, the City Fathers at Worcester were faced with a local unemployment crisis which had plunged many local families into poverty and hardship.   more...

Newspaper's burglar alert

THE Worcester Journal found it necessary exactly 200 years ago to warn local people to take extra precautions in protecting their homes against a gang of burglars.   more...

Enemies brought together by death

CLOSE in death yet arch enemies in life - that was to be the ironic fate of two remarkable and colourful Worcester characters of the 17th Century, whose ornate tombs lie opposite each other in St Helen's Church off High Street.   more...

City's historic church

A church may well have stood on the site of St Helen's since Roman times though the present building dates in part from the 11th or 12th Centuries.   more...

Former mayor's special day

FAST approaching his 100th birthday is a past Mayor of Worcester and former owner of a city radio and television shop for many years.   more...

Miller's tale of family life at Mildenham

AN intimate history of Mildenham Mill was written in 1974, by Denis Watts, the last member of a family who owned and ran the water mill for a century.   more...

Nurse who cared for Sir Edward

FOR Kathleen Harrison, the pinnacle of her lengthy career in the caring profession was perhaps reached when she nursed composer Sir Edward Elgar through his last five months of life.   more...

Centenarian looks back to concert party days

THE Faithful City has been home to Gladys Milton throughout the 100 years of her life to date.   more...

His vitriolic tirade is based on ignorance

I AM afraid that John Phillpott's bizarrely aggressive article about the Swan Theatre (Evening News, Monday, March 3) serves to further damage his reputation as both a journalist and independent commentator.   more...

Lich Gate craftsman whose violins are prized instruments

WE'VE all heard of the famous and valuable "Strad" violins made in Italy, during the 17th and 18th Centuries by the Stradivari family.   more...

Equally capable of a stern rebuke

LET me hasten to assure Della Lewis (You Say, Monday, March 24) that it was not I who advocated bringing back the old-time matron.   more...

Well, how old is old?

REGARDING P B Matthews recent letter headlined "It's a marriage that won't last forever". How very true!   more...

Extremes of human experience

AS someone who has enjoyed the privilege of singing as a member of the Worcester Festival Choral society for more than 20 years, the recent concert of Mozart music in the Cathedral, culminating in the Requiem, was surely the most appropriate and poignant I have experienced.   more...

Stanbrook's sisterly act of subterfuge

WITH the remaining 28 or so nuns proposing to sell up and move from Stanbrook Abbey, Callow End, it's perhaps timely to re-visit a Memory Lane article I wrote almost two decades ago.   more...

Far better than the amateurs

I HAVE to reply to Mr Welbourne's astonishingly poisonous little letter (You Say, Tuesday, March 18) attacking my profession and the past work of the Swan Theatre.   more...

Easy to see she hasn't a clue about hunting

IT'S easy to see that Marion Large hasn't a clue about anything to do with hunting.   more...

World of work can be students' oyster

EXAMS may be coming to an end, but that doesn't mean students will stop being tested.   more...

Schools' future lies in shape of pyramid

COUNCILLOR June Longmuir can't be accused of mincing her words.   more...

First steps into brave new world of college

PUPILS at Elgar Technology College are marking the end of what has been a transitional year for the school.   more...

Something to celebrate

CONGRATULATIONS all round for those celebrating various awards this term.   more...

Providing answers to parents' questions

TUCKED away in a small office in the middle of Worcester are the answers to all parents' questions about schools.   more...

The week the world came to school in city's Stanley Road

THERE are different reactions to be had when you mention to a school that you would like to drop in.   more...

Weeks of freedom or stir-crazy tantrum time?

WE'RE all going on a summer holiday, fun and laughter for a week or two - or is it really tantrums and tears for a mammoth six weeks?   more...

The signs they are a-changing

BOB Dylan once sang that the times they are a-changing. And for students at Royal Grammar School, Worcester, this is ringing true.   more...

Lick them into shape with milk

MILK might be cool for cats but it's also cool for kids. Whoever discovered that the calcium-rich liquid, routinely suckled by calves, was full of goodness for humans, too, struck oil.   more...

The 16-plus course that is growing in popularity

EVERY summer there is a rush of anxiety and stress as thousands of pupils wait for their exam results.   more...

Forget male boffins - science's future could well be female

Think science and you're likely to conjure up images of boys peering into test tubes, plus Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein and Bunsen burners.   more...

School all set for stardom

FAME Academy, Popstars and Pop Idol will have nothing on pupils at a Worcester school in the years to come.   more...

Learning lessons from the past and looking to the future

ONE hundred and fifty years ago the relatives of pupils at Inkberrow First School were starting their first day in the classroom.   more...

King's benefits from that feel-good factor

IF the Government comes up with a test to see if private schools should keep their charitable status then The King's School, Worcester, should pass with flying colours.   more...

Touching down for best of both worlds

WHAT do you do if you want to focus on becoming a professional rugby player, but get a degree as well?   more...

The student with officer potential

COMMITTING yourself to a career when you are still studying for your GCSEs might seem a bit premature for the majority of city youngsters.   more...

Secret lives of students in city

THERE'S more to student life than books and beer. That's evident just by wandering through the Students' Union building at University College Worcester's campus in St John's.   more...

Army offers key to exam success for youngsters

EXAMS don't end when you join the Army. Although teenagers see joining up as a way of escaping the rigours of classrooms and exams, education is the key to success.   more...

Beauty therapy is more than skin deep

LEARNING how to be a beauty therapist is not just about having a go at each other's make-up.   more...

Jump on the bus to study

SITTING at a computer learning how to get the most out of information and communication technology is not just confined to youngsters in school classrooms.   more...

Special planning for Chrissies' new vision

WHEN a new school for Worcester is built it will mark the end of years of relentless criticism aimed at a city establishment.   more...

Ducking in Severn for 26 about to board boat

TWENTY-SIX people fell into the muddy waters of the Severn at Worcester in a dramatic, if somewhat amusing, incident at North Quay this week half-a-century ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

  more...

Picture of Spa town

A FASCINATING picture of Droitwich a century ago is painted by a feature on "Some British Spas" in a national magazine of the time, the Pall Mall Gazette.   more...

Sad closure of local railway line

A SAD event in local railway history was witnessed at this time 50 years ago.   more...

Death and crime in the news

DEATH and crime were very much in the news 250 years ago, just as they have been down the many decades since.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: ON Friday evening a young woman was violently assaulted in a coach-yard in the north of this county by a man who, it is supposed, would have murdered her on the spot had not her sister hastened to her assistance, when the villain made off. The young woman continues exceedingly ill and with little hopes of her recovery, having a locked jaw. The utmost exertions are being used and twenty guineas reward is on offer for apprehending the man, and we trust he will not long escape that punishment his wanton and atrocious cruelty so loudly calls for.   more...

Nelson receives freedom of the city

EXACTLY 200 years ago this week, Admiral Lord Nelson visited Worcester to bask in the adulation of the citizens and to receive the Freedom of the City.   more...

Show goes on despite threat

PINOCCHIO marks the end of an era because it could be the last professional production Worcester will see at the Swan Theatre.   more...

Cottage destroyed as hurricane hits county

ENGLAND was struck by a severe hurricane at this time exactly 200 years ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: At our City Sessions, William Smith was convicted of stealing a handbag and was sentenced to be publicly whipped on Saturday next.   more...

More power for Worcester

AT this time exactly a century ago, construction work was under way on a new riverside electricity generating station for Worcester.   more...

Birched for theft of a cake

THE Journal of this week in 1902 reported: Joseph Ranford (12) of Carden Street and Joseph Lucy (10) The Pinch, Hylton Road, were charged with stealing a currant loaf valued at 10d, the property of Robert Stevens Wheatley, a baker of 25 Lowesmoor. Witnesses said they saw the boys rush into the shop and snatch the cake.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802   more...

City mourns death of George VI

THE black-bordered pages of Berrow's Journal were naturally dominated by news of the death of King George VI at this time exactly 50 years ago.   more...

History is made on the Malvern Hills

HISTORY was made on the Malvern Hills at this time half-a-century ago when a new technique for erecting overhead electric power cables was used for the first time in Britain.   more...

Ancient kiln uncovered at Priory

SIGNIFICANT finds were made when workmen dug trenches across part of the churchyard of Malvern Priory (pictured) this week exactly a century ago.   more...

Orphans' emigration

A CENTURY ago, England was shipping some of its orphans across to North America to start new lives. They included boys from Worcester, as a report in the Journal for this week of 1902 reveals.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: The new and elegant Worcester and Birmingham Post Coach - to carry four insiders only - sets out from the Hop Pole Inn in Foregate Street every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning at 8 o'clock to the Rose Inn, Edgbaston Street, Birmingham where it arrives at Dinner and meets coaches for Leicester, Cambridge, Nottingham, Lincoln, Hull, Derby, Sheffield, Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool.   more...

`Ghost' ordered out of the city by magistrate

GHOSTLY goings-on 200 years ago in a riverside area of Worcester, then known as Turkey (today, Tybridge Street), were reported in graphic detail by Berrow's Journal in this week of 1802.   more...

County remembers a popular monarch

WORCESTERSHIRE'S homage to King George VI, through a series of memorial services, was reported fully by Berrow's Journal this week 50 years ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: WANTED immediately to superintend the business of a Inn in the country near this city, a steady, careful Woman. One who has been accustomed to the business may hear of a comfortable situation by directing a letter first to the Printer of this Journal.   more...

Concern for a castle with sewage in moat

THE state one of Worcestershire's historic landmarks, Hartlebury Castle, was very much in the news at this time a century ago.   more...

Close call for Witley Court

THE once magnificent country mansion, Witley Court was under threat of being totally wiped from the Worcestershire landscape at this time half-a-century ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: Notice to Builders - Any person or persons desirous of contracting to build a new gaol for the County of Worcester may see plans and particulars at the present gaol or at Mr Byfield's office at No.39 Craven Street, The Strand, London.   more...

Thousands line city streets to welcome a peace treaty

THOUSANDS of citizens lined Worcester's streets this week exactly 200 years ago to celebrate the signing of a peace treaty between Britain and France, who had been at war for years.   more...

Concern over fairness of a Coronation levy

Raised eyebrows at a penny rate to cover celebrations   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: WANTED immediately a Field contiguous to the City of Worcester and consisting of about 20 square acres, for exercising the 5th Dragoon Guards apply to the Commanding Officer at Mr Russell's, Grocer, at The Cross.   more...

Christians up in arms at Good Friday circus

A PROPOSED Eastertide circus at Malvern caused quite a public stir around this time a century ago.   more...

`Highwayman' in city

A MAVERICK was clearly in town at Worcester this week exactly 250 years ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: SARACEN'S Head Inn, The Tything, Worcester - Mary Raxter, widow of Robert Raxter, takes this early opportunity of returning thanks to the respectable Customers who were kind enough to make use of the House in his time, and begs leave to inform them and the public in general that she proposes carrying on the business and hopes, by strict care and attention, to merit their favours.   more...

Hats off as city plants an oak to mark coronation

A CORONATION Oak was ceremoniously planted on Pitchcroft at this time exactly a century ago as part of Worcester's celebrations of the pending crowning of Edward VII in June 1902.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: THE rejoicings at Astley in this county for the Peace Treaty with France were highly gratifying. Two fine sheep were roasted at the Burf which, with plenty of ale and cyder (all given by gentry of that place and its neighbourhood) were partaken by the inhabitants, whose children were likewise regaled with plum cakes. The donors honoured the festive scene with their presence, and after spending the day in the joyous hilarity which the occasion naturally inspired, they retired in the evening amidst the grateful acclamations of the rustic assemblage.   more...

Theatre upgrading

WORCESTER'S Theatre Royal was clearly crying out for upgrading exactly a century ago.   more...

It's vandalism

SO the vandals have been at it again on Barnards Green. Not content with having destroyed the flowering cherry tree, which looked so beautiful at this time of year, they are now hell-bent on wrecking the carefully tended and much appreciated display of polyanthus.   more...

Expelled from workhouse

A BIG clear-out of malingerers from the Worcester Workhouse was put in hand 100 years ago.   more...

Timely warning failed to save our historic buildings

A TIMELY but unheeded warning was issued to Worcester people half-a-century ago to protect and preserve their precious remaining rows of medieval half-timbered buildings.   more...

1,000 lashes punishment

LOCAL military men were thanked at this time 200 years ago. The Journal of 1802 explained: "A subscription raised in this city as acknowledgement to the non-commissioned officers and privates of our Worcester Militia for their good conduct has been divided amongst them before they are disbanded, and each man has received a share amounting to 5s.6d.   more...

Monarch at mercy of a clumsy mason

PASSERS-by in Worcester High Street were clearly being amused by the antics of a clumsy stonemason outside the Guildhall at this time 100 years ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: An Inquisition was taken before George Best, Gent., one of His Majesty's Coroners for this county, on view of the body of Mary Hopkins, lying dead, who on the preceding Wednesday wilfully threw herself into the River Stour and was drowned. The Jury, after a full investigation, returned a verdict of Self Murder, in consequence of which she was, by the virtue of the Coroner's Warrant, buried in the public highway. An improper connection with a young man, of whom she was jealous, is supposed to have been the reason for her committing such a rash act.   more...

Nailing the lies of `some evil-minded persons'

THE following item is taken from the Journal of this time in 1752:   more...

£50,000 plan to double the size of Norton Barracks

THE War Office was planning at this time a century ago to expand Worcester's Norton Barracks, doubling its size at what was then the huge cost of £50,000.   more...

Scandal of widow and her dead baby

SOME fairly racy and revealing reports are to be found in scanning the Worcester Journal editions for this month 250 years ago. Here are just two items from 1752:   more...

Mourning over, a nation gets ready for the coronation

LIFE in England capital exactly a century ago was affected by similar contrasting emotions to those of today with mourning at the death of the Queen Mother and the pending celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee.   more...

Newsboy taken to court for shouting his wares too loudly

IN Worcester a century ago, it clearly didn't pay to be too exuberant, as one newsboy found out to his cost.   more...

A badge of past office for Worcester's ex-Mayors

FORMER Mayors of Worcester were, from half-a-century ago, to have a tangible reminder of their years of office as First Citizen.   more...

Runaway horses the cause of death, injury, damage

CLEARLY, if you valued your health and well-being in Worcester, it was always advisable as pedestrians 100 years ago to be on your guard against bolting horses!   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: Members of the Spetchley and Adjoining Parishes Association for the Prosecution of Felons are requested to meet at the Rein Deer Inn, Mealcheapen Street, Worcester on Saturday at three o'clock. Those members who have not paid their subscriptions are expected to do so on or before that day.   more...

Carpet for fit for a coronation

THE magnificent carpeting that adorned Westminster Abbey a century ago for the Coronation of Edward VII was specially made by a then nationally-renowned Worcester carpet manufacturing company.   more...

Worcesters granted freedom of borough

WHAT the Journal described as "one of the greatest local spectacles of the century" was witnessed in Kidderminster at this time half-a-century ago.   more...

Workers highlight a threat of starvation

SOME sharp foresight clearly prevailed among the English working classes at this time a century ago, judging from an item in the Journal of 1902 under the heading "Food Supply in War Time".   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: Mr Harris of Sidbury has received an honorary Medallion presented to him by the Royal Humane Society for having providently rescued and restored to life a youth who had been apparently drowned in the Severn.   more...

Strauss heaps rare praise on `local boy'

WORCESTER'S most famous son, Edward Elgar, was basking in his first rays of international recognition at this time exactly a century ago, thanks mainly to the leading German composer of the time, Richard Strauss.   more...

City mourns passing of actor-impresario

AT THIS time 100 years ago, Worcester was mourning the passing of actor-impresario William Gomersal who had been lessee of the Theatre Royal in Angel Street for 21 years.   more...

Memorials to war dead unveiled in Cathedral

THREE new memorials to the war dead were unveiled in Worcester Cathedral at this time half-a-century ago.   more...

Age no barrier to doctor's wife

THE Worcester Journal of 250 years ago makes fascinating and sometimes amusing reading. Here is just a taste of the sort of snippets published in 1752:   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: The 24th Regiment of Foot, which lately landed at Portsmouth from Egypt, has passed through the city in the course of the present week on the way to Liverpool.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: Residents of Great Witley and surrounding villages formed themselves into something of a vigilante or neighbourhood watch group at this time two centuries ago. It was called the "Hundred House Association" and, through a public notice, warned that at its joint expense it would "pursue and prosecute every person or persons who shall commit or attempt to commit a felony or any other criminal offence in this district."   more...

Courageous landlady brings villains to justice

THE historic Shakespeare Hotel in Angel Street, Worcester, clearly had quite a formidable landlady at this time 200 years ago, judging from a report in Berrow's Journal for this week of 1802   more...

King's pardon for deserters

A "PROCLAMATION for Pardoning Deserters" was published in the Journal for this week of 1802 when the nation was enjoying a short break in its years of war with France.   more...

City rejoices at end of Boer War

JOYOUS news of the end of the Boer War in South Africa arrived in Worcester at this time a century ago.   more...

Saturday football opposed

FOOTBALL even on Saturdays seems to have been frowned upon by some at this time 100 years ago.   more...

Praise for gas street lamps

MALVERN'S famous gas street lamps, proudly surviving as part of the scene in the hillside town today, were winning lavish praise at this time a century ago.   more...

Farmer is compensated for crash on the tracks

A "RAILWAY smash" near Norton Station outside Worcester was the subject of a County Court case, fully reported by the Journal at this time exactly a century ago.   more...

Props sale more fun than productions

A SALE OF surplus "props" at Worcester's historic Theatre Royal a century ago this week appears to have been very much a performance in itself, judging from "Crowquill's" comment column in the Journal of June 1902.   more...

Crossing victory celebrated by pair

A THOUSAND-name petition calling for action to halt the speed of a busy Worcester road looks set to reap rewards.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: A most immoral practice has prevailed in the town of Manchester since the peace treaty with France has been concluded.   more...

King's illness halts Royal celebrations

IN the coming week of June exactly a century ago, Worcester and the rest of the nation was supposed to be holding a right Royal celebration, similar, though on an even grander scale, to this month's festivities marking the Queen's Golden Jubilee.   more...

Triumphant show

"A TRIUMPH over adversity" was the general verdict on the June 1952 Three Counties Show held at Hindlip near Worcester.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: The Senate of the United States has ratified the convention between the USA and Great Britain for the payment of £600,000 as a full compensation for all claims on account of debts due before the war.   more...

Dripping treat in cake

THERE are almost Dickensian overtones to another tale from Berrow's for this week of 1902.   more...

25 years ago

September 16, 1977   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: To Country Gentlemen and Others - Try Hunter's Restorative Balsam of Life and Health to cure the Deplorable Decays and Weaknesses brought on by dissipated pleasures, hard drinking and too powerful courses of mercury. The Balsam has been well known for 20 years for its inestimable virtues. This invaluable medicine may be had from the Printer of this Paper and his Newsmen.   more...

50 years ago

September 19, 1952   more...

Drunken pea-pickers bring shame to town

THE Avonside town of Evesham was in the news for all the wrong reasons at this time a century ago.   more...

100 years ago

September 20, 1902   more...

Press are given a first-hand view of murderer's hanging

AN EXECUTION at the former Worcester Jail in Castle Street was described in detail in Berrow's Journal this week exactly a century ago.   more...

25 years ago

September 9, 1977   more...

Conquering hero returns

WITH PEACE restored at last at the end of the Boer War, the nation gave a rapturous hero's welcome home from South Africa to Lord Kitchener this week a century ago.   more...

50 years ago

September 12, 1952   more...

100 years ago

September 13, 1902   more...

Politicians injured in hillside accident

AN OUTING to Malvern by nearly 400 West Midlands politicians this week exactly 100 years ago was marred by a serious accident on a hillside road.   more...

25 years ago

IT was no mean feat that Denis Dipple escaped with only slight bruising when a ton of steel bars fell on his toes.   more...

World's tallest man pays visit to city

THIS week 250 years ago, Worcester people were offered the chance to gaze on possibly the world's tallest man at that time.   more...

50 years ago

September 5, 1952   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: At the Worcester County Quarter Sessions this week, Thomas Price, convicted of felony, and Thomas Smith for stealing nine fowls and a turkey cock were each sentenced to the transported for seven years, while Joseph Attwood for stealing a hen was sent to three months hard labour.   more...

100 years ago

September 6, 1902   more...

News Items Down The Years

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Rich and famous turn to health resorts

A FURTHER insight into the lives of England's rich and famous a century ago is given by the Journal's London correspondent "Aurora" in her Ladies' Column for this week of 1902.   more...

25 years ago

July 24, 1977   more...

Conflict over quarrying in Hills

A FURTHER proposed devastating bout of destruction to the Malvern Hills through quarrying was the subject of a major public debate at this time half-a-century ago.   more...

50 years ago

July 26, 1952   more...

Italian and his donkey

SOME EYE-CATCHING cases were reported by the Journal from the Worcester Petty Sessions court this week exactly 100 years ago. Here are just four:-   more...

100 years ago

July 26, 1902   more...

Americans `take possession' of a Cotswold gem

AN American invasion of a picturesque Cotswold village in Worcestershire was highlighted by the Journal this week exactly a century ago - and, remember, it was long before the days of air travel and package holidays.   more...

25 years ago

July 15, 1977   more...

City's `comforts' for the soldiers

DURING the Boer War in South Africa, many Worcester people busied themselves sending "Comforts for the Soldiers."   more...

50 years ago

July 19, 1952   more...

Could it have been Nelson?

TWO very tantalising items appeared in the Journal for this week of 1802, both teasingly short of vital information.   more...

100 years ago

July 19, 1902   more...

Is it time for a ban on walkers?

MARCH is still just about with us, yet the first blaze has broken out on the Malvern Hills. The fires season seems to start earlier every year.   more...

25 years ago

July 8, 1977   more...

In court for attempting suicide

THE Journal edition of this week a century ago reported the plight of a distraught Worcester man. An engine fitter by trade and in middle age, he appeared before magistrates at Upton-upon-Severn, charged with attempting to commit suicide by jumping into the river from Upton Bridge.   more...

50 years ago

July 12, 1952   more...

Death sentence for four sheep rustlers

IT clearly did not pay to be caught sheep stealing in this county 200 years ago, as four men found to their bitter cost when they were brought before a judge at the Worcester Assizes in 1802.   more...

100 years ago

July 12, 1902   more...

100 years ago

July 5, 1902   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: During a violent storm of thunder and lightning on Thursday last, Edward Taylor, a potato dealer of Ombersley, while driving a cart on a road in that parish with his two horses, was struck dead. A woman and two children who were riding in the cart, happily escaped unhurt. A cow grazing in a field near Bromyard was also killed by the lightning.   more...

50 years ago

July 5, 1952   more...

Princess wows the crowds in Worcester

PRINCESS Margaret, beaming and looking glamorous even in uniform, took centre-stage in a full page of pictures and lengthy reports in Berrow's Journal this week exactly 50 years ago.   more...

25 years ago

July 1, 1977   more...

Foot-and-mouth hits the county's farmers

FOOT-and-mouth disease was clearly rampant in Worcestershire at this time 250 years ago.   more...

25 years ago

June 24, 1977   more...

A glimpse of city life 250 years ago

A SERIES of public notices and reports in the Worcester Journal of 250 years ago make fascinating reading and give a glimpse into local life in 1752.   more...

50 years ago

June 28, 1952   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: Theatre, Worcester - The Manager respectfully informs the public that for Race Week only, the Theatre will present the comedy, "The Heir at Law" and the farcical play "The Romp." The parts of "Cicely Homespun" and "The Romp" will be played by Miss Mellon from the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane who has been engaged for the week.   more...

Coronation celebrations take over Faithful City

AN ILLUMINATED boat procession along the Severn from the Waterworks to the Cathedral was the highpoint of Worcester's celebrations of the Coronation of King Edward VII this week exactly a century ago.   more...

100 years ago

June 21, 1902   more...

50 years ago

June 21, 1952   more...

Birds probable cause of foot-and-mouth

BIRDS were identified by scientists exactly 50 years ago as the most probable cause of the spread of Foot and Mouth disease in Britain.   more...

25 years ago

June 17 , 1977   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: On Wednesday, the Right Hon.Viscount Nelson, accompanied by Sir William and Lady Hamilton, arrived in Oxford where the Freedom of the city was presented to his Lordship. The following day, an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law was conferred on his Lordship by the university. He and his party then travelled on to Gloucester. His Lordship appeared in high health and spirits.   more...

25 Years Ago

May 27, 1977   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: MR Elouis, Harp Master to Her Royal Highness, Princess Sophia of Gloucester and several of the Royal Family, respectfully informs the Nobility and Gentry of Worcester and its environs that he will have the honour to give a concert on the Pedal Harp at the Hop Pole Inn, Worcester, at 7 o'clock next Monday. The concert will be followed by a ball. Admittance 3s.6d.   more...

50 Years Ago

May 31, 1952   more...

Faithful City responds to flood disaster

HEADLINES in the Journal exactly half-a-century ago were dominated by the Linton and Lynmouth flood disaster and the speedy response of Worcestershire people to the relief fund.   more...

Elgar's choral masterpiece wins acclaim in city

THIS week a century ago, a hugely significant first performance took place at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester of Elgar's great choral masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius.   more...

`Extraordinary' highway robbery

AN "EXTRAORDINARY" highway robbery was reported by the Worcester Journal this week exactly 200 years ago.   more...

Steamers under fire

THERE were troubled waters at Worcester in Edwardian times with regular protests about the pleasure steamers plying the Severn.   more...

City's Royal visitor

WORCESTER people crowded the streets at this time 200 years ago to greet a son of their monarch (George III) when he paid a royal visit to the Faithful City.   more...

100 Years Ago

May 31, 1902   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: A considerable trade is being opened up between this country and Japan - a nation which is stated to be the richest in the world for gold, spices, silks and silver. The Emperor is, fortunately, well disposed towards England.   more...

100 years ago

August 9, 1902   more...

Fourth Methodist church is completed

EXACTLY 100 years ago this week, a new Methodist Church was completed and officially opened at Pump Street, Worcester.   more...

50 years ago

August 9, 1952   more...

Divided nation of gamblers and savers

A LEADING Worcestershire figure slammed Britain of half-a-century ago as being "a divided nation - of gamblers and of savers."   more...

25 years ago

August 5, 1977   more...

Death of Droitwich's legendary `Salt King'

THE animosity felt towards his estranged wife by Droitwich's legendary "Salt King" John Corbett right up until his death was fully exposed with the publication of his will this week exactly a century ago.   more...

25 years ago

August 12, 1977   more...

Fourth Methodist church is completed

EXACTLY 100 years ago this week, a new Methodist Church was completed and officially opened at Pump Street, Worcester.   more...

50 years ago

August 16, 1952   more...

100 year ago

August 16, 1902   more...

25 years ago

HEADLESS Cross residents association landed itself right in the wet and smelly...following an appeal in the Indicator for manure.   more...

50 years ago

August 30, 1952   more...

100 years ago

August 30, 1902   more...

25 Years Ago

September 23, 1977   more...

50 Years Ago

September 29, 1952   more...

100 Years Ago

September 27, 1902   more...

25 years ago

September 30, 1977   more...

50 years ago

October 3, 1952   more...

100 years ago

October 4, 1902   more...

25 years ago

October 14, 1977   more...

Bells of the tower ring out

THE bells of Abberley Tower rang out joyous recitals of different tunes all year round a century ago, according to "Crowquill's" jottings in Berrow's Journal for this week of 1902.   more...

50 years ago

October 17, 1952   more...

Music pirating 100 years ago

IN these hi-tech days of the world-wide web and CD writers, there's much talk of music "pirating", but it's fascinating to find that the same illegal practice was being perpetrated a century ago!   more...

100 years ago

October 18, 1902   more...

Rider Haggard to publish book on rural England

BERROW'S Journal seems to have been particularly interested a century ago in the travels around the country of author Rider Haggard as he looked in depth into the trials and tribulations of country life in England.   more...

125 years

October 21, 1977   more...

Ceramic artist awarded BEM

ARGUABLY the best ceramic artist ever to work for the Royal Worcester porcelain company was presented with the British Empire Medal at this time 50 years ago.   more...

News Items Down The Years

1802: On Saturday evening last, an inquest was taken before Mr R.M Mence, Gent, on the body of a man found suffocated in a wash-barrel at a public house in Worcester. The deceased had driven the mail coach from Birmingham to this city o