Clithcruc AdLcrli^er and Tinted, Marcii 'J2nd. U)7'J


COTTAGE CATERING


Dial a Dinner for Two or a party . . .


Phone


Stonyhurst 235


Bleak winters indeed


RE CEN TLY I wrote briefly on some personal experiences of the winter of 1962-3 as I saw It by Kibble and Hodder. Ob­ viously this rather scanty reference s t i m u l a t e d readers' memories of those distant days and farmer friends have since reminded me of other various aspects concern­ ing life around Pendleton and Grindleton, and of the more remote places above Hodder.


Opinion.s have been some­


what conflicting and com- p.irisons vary according to experiences. Several farmers are of the opinion that 1940 was the most sevete. Others, equally emphatic, arc con­ vinced that, because of the


prolonged hardsliip, 1947 heads the three spells in­ cluding 1940-1 when we talk Of sheer .Mxtio experience.?. Tliero are also those who have no doubt 1962 was the " daddy ” of them all.


Following on the varied


comments a West Bradford reader kindly forwarded a remarkable pamphlet, Tlie Long Winter 1963-3." 1 am indebted to Mark Lawrence for the loan of this very informative and concise book published at tliat time by the Guardian. If you have any doubts as to the severity of that unforget­ table period then a few brief observations will do much to settle them.


The dramatic saga of


that winter began on December 23rd with ominous


signs from the continent. Parts of Germany had pros­ pects of a more ttian usual white Christmas and 30 villages were isolated in Italy.


Five days later, at home,


40 football matches were postponed and all racing c.mcelled. In the west there were widespread power


failures. At the end of the month,


blizzards swept Devon and Cornwall and the lowest temperature was 9 deg. C. in Yorkshire. More ttian


200 roads were blocked and drifts of 15 feet were com­ monplace. Tlie south got the worst and one motorist took 90 minutes to drive 400


yards. . The first week of 1963 saw


26 power stations banning overtime and working to rule. And in Rochdale a 200 foot chimney was felled by


a gale. A slight thaw brought


false hopes and t'ne Ministry of Agriculture advised farmers to shoot house sparrows as tliey were gathering food in farmyards.


By mid-January, blizzards


.swept Yorkshire moorlands and 100 vehicles were aban­ doned and in spite of a wages settlement the work to rule continued at some power stations.


Scotland was cut of! and


over 200 vehicles were aban­ doned in Westmorland The cold strengthened and trai.is in the Western region began to freeze up while running.


The Arct.ic conditions


moved north and helicopters evacuated 300 workmen


from Fylingdale. Two


climbers were killed in an avalanche near Oldham, a walker died near Bams- bottom and a man was found dead in a stranded car near Blackburn. By the end of January the


Mancunian express took al­ most 10 hours to gel from Euston to Manchester, a journey usually taking about 3.t hoiirs. Again, in the early days


of February, the thaw ended only to add to the diffi­ culties. The Metropolitan


Water Board began experi­ ments to defreeze pipes using an electric charge.


Foxe.s began to hunt in pairs in town centres and


people were advised to keep their pets indoors. By the tenth week troops were called in to relieve a farm on Dartmoor cut off by 20 feet drifts for 66 da.vs.


Even the sea froze and


pack ice stretclied a mile from the shore.


The first night free from


fro.st everywhere in Britain since December wa.s ro


corded on March 5th., This caused heavy flooding in the North of England. Kendal had its first rain lot 74 days and the River Kent was transferred from a dry bed to a 10 feet deep tonent in less than 24 hours. Flood warnings were


issued and. in the North, rivers burst their banks and electricity and water sup­ plies were cut off. Our part of the world was,


were greatly rccluced -n numbers and one man col­ lected 262 dead birds of 45 species in a simll area. This certainly applied to


Bibbie and Hodder ard some 10 years passed bcloie the tlnusli iamily regained its previous .staui.r


Wild geese came to .sever,li


in a way, favoured as it w'as in 1881 and Professor


Manley considered we were also fortunate in escaping


the level of the severe


winter of 1940-1. Wliat with power cuts,


strikes, frozen water mains and burst gas pipes people suffered immense hardship. Bird life and animals also


had difficulty in surviving.


Unable to feed on the frozen mud banks, birds such as curlew, snipe and red.shank died in their thousands. On one reservoir a man


collected 120 dead coot. They had plenty of food and had apparently died of cold. Thrushes' and blackbirds


playing fields and aavdeni in an effort to gather foodi The British Tru.st for Orn;- thology reported that t i tween 50 and 60 recovered rings were being rec.eived every week when, a.s a riiie the number was 20 or 30. The fight to keep roads


passable was const,am and in the early part of 1963 over 500 lorries were queue­ ing for salt at a Ciie.shire mine. In general it miisi be ad­


mitted that we in Lanc.i- shire and Yorkshire were favoured in compari.sm with the south. . Thi.'. 1 stippo-e being due to the high 'pro­ portion of East winds teach­ ing the south from ilip con­ tinent via tlie .short fr.a route.


NATU?-.-\MST,


n Vte’.s biKigcl. im’ tlw “ u.onlhs i?


; n •cti.'' witn no nv,u- lor iinfon^s'cn civcum-


Y i 'v s or spendings, is ‘


? i '" ' . to tin' i,v uw Bonnigh „ T3/-<rnll O’ll


: Ml- Ronald Ids foreword


','Ym'mittnc esLi- Town


.ji Vic commenls:


Y;'r:,U 1)0 for oaoh eom- to^ koop to Uie


C.sl 1In ;ip


• n a iUl


lilKT'd V, 'obl\ T U f Mt! ■------- v’rk't


■ "'1 m ;


Alfred follows in family^s


winning ways


OVER the years, the A'rcvcr.s family of Clith- oroe have won many prizes for their skill in bakery and confectionery.


So it is not surpri.sing


Ifyour legs need special care-


count on Supp-hose.


Elbeo Suf'p-liosc i.s the sci lous 11 y it. 'l on li bo dciiglitccl. inswer to vonr leg problems.


Supp-hose by blbco,^


l>c.iuse only Snp'p-hosc give your is serious support lor fnshioii- Icf.s 'bHianced' support.


Tlicrc are 0 diflcrcnt sizes.


JO ask our EIbco girl to lidp y 'u jrleeltiiccorrecrone.'I'our an


and lights. Supp-hose i.s, quite simirly, J;u "n buf'


nrindcel women. .«


-I: ^ 0


clionrc from X fashion sh.Kf-s Kd and 6 si'ics, including srookiiigs O


% ® i N l 1 t l ' r i ' * i l O S P i tights and stockings


14 \ORK .sTR[:f:'r. cutheroil TF.uiPHONi; ;;mi


rurmiffirr n n


that another young member of the family is following in Llicir prizew'inning ways.


Ninctcen-ycar-old Alfred


Veevers, of riinlico Road, ha.s won an award for work­


manship and attendance on a b.akcry course at Black­ burn College of Technology


and Design. Ht.s prizes are a handsome


silver ironhv to be kept for 12lh months, and a place on a live-day course to learn


how to make chocolate and marzipan fancies lor cake


decoration. The prize is awarded each


yeag hv a Surrev firm and '.Mfrctl i.s the third person from the CliUicroe area to


win it- The firm. Mc.ssrs Ren.shaw.


of Mitcham, give over 35 similar awards to .students from all over the country. On the all-expenses paid


round & about


cakes at Christina.? and for other special occasions.


Alfred's family for two generations. He works alongside his


Bakery ha.? been in


grandfather, Albt:rt, his father. Ambrose, and hi.s brother Rolicrt in the family business — Crabtree's in the


attends the Blackburn col­


Market Place. One day a week he


lege and is in the middle of his City and Guilds course in advanced confectionery, having already gained a, credit in his basic City and Guilds cotir.se.


It's not Alfred's first


award .since starting at the college three years ago.


Two years ago he won the


trio. Alfred will stay at a West End hotel and will be treated to sightseeing and theatre trip.s in London, all laid on by' the company. During the day there will


lie work in the factory and the group will be taught the intricate art of making fancy marzipan delicacies


which are used to decorate


BraceweU cup for being the top student in the first and .second ye.ar.s. Last year he was presented wdth a book prize from the Blackburn and District Master Bakers’ Association.


Alfred not only excels at


baking, he is a good driver, too.


.Another of his achieve­


ments was to win the Black­ burn Area Road Safely Association driver of 1972 competition . . . and lie


received a cup for that as well.


ipjsmi


Distinctive sound


THE golden ju'oilee of St James’s bells this month has struck a responsive chord in the memory of a Croydon man now living in Clitheroe.


Preferring to remain anonymous, he told us; •' When I lived in Croydon


I frequently passed the hell tower of Gillett and John­ ston, the world famous bell- founders. And as they cast the St James's bells, and recast those of St Mary'.s in 1928, I must have heard them test rung long before I even knew there was a town of Clitheroe."


The soiuid of Gillett and


Johnston bells is their “ hallmark." he a d d .s. " Sennng with the Forces in Europe in the last war I heard tlie bells of the 13th century cathedral at Herto- geiibosch in January, 1945.


l\l.v ear.? did not deceive me for when I inquired X


learned that they had’ been cast, at the C r o y cl o n foundry."


How did a Croydon local


Government officer event,u- ally come to make his Jiomc in Clitheroe? Quite .simple. He married a local girl. "We met while I wa.s a patient at Ciilclcrstoncs Mililarv Hospital," he said.


ALFRED VEEVERS proudly displays his trophy.


Forsake the sun


THE thought of seeing a white Christmas ’’ tempted


Mr Albert Bell and his wife, Doreen, to forsake their sunny Australian home for a winter holiday in Britain.


ing card scene they expected, but a visit to the Clitheroe area liiis more than made up for tlie disapiMintmcnt.


They did not sec the greet­


of some 900 Guides and Brownies. For Mr Bell formerly in


engineering, this is a retirement holiday. .Although it i.s only thi'ee years since a previou.s visit to Britain, he and his wife decided to come again principallv because of the appeal of their ancestry.


At Rotary lunch


Tomorrow, they travel to


.Scotland to visit relatives— their grandparents were British-born—at the end of a two-week stay at Waddow Hall.


Living at a Guiding


centre makes it almo.st a busman's holiday for Mrs Bell, who is regional com­ missioner for Barwon in Victoria, and is in charge


They have been fascinated


by our castles, with which tiiero is nothing to com­ pare in Au.stralia, and the ruins of Wlialley Abbey. Mr Bell is a Rotarian and


a past governor of his district. He joined the Rotary Club of Clitheroe for lunch, and met the Mayor, Coun. Richard 'I'lirner. Coun. Turner later took


CLAIMS DESCENT FROM DE LACY


IN 1297 Henry de Lacy gave the land on which our abbey was eventually built and endowed it with further lands In Rochdale, Whalley and Blackburn- shlre. Henry was, of course, a scion of the noble family which, for varying periods, held the Honor of Clitheroe from 1087 onwards until 1311.


“ Well, what about i t ? " It’s taken three years of spare time


for John Horseman to construct this huge working model of a steam engine. He’s about three-quarters through the job. Wood carving and oil painting are his other accomplish­ ments. All this, plus two active child­ ren and a wife who is an industrial archaeologist. It’s a wonder the Horsemans have time for banking. But licro’s what ho said about the


TSB. "it’s a bank for people on the go. As your savings requirements change, you can find just the right sort of account to meet your needs. We’re all busy people in my Itimily, so we need a versatile bank.” So ver­ satility is what we give. At different times in y ou r l i fe y ou n e ed


different savings accounts. Sometimes top security, sometimes high interest, and often money available at a


moment’s notice. How many TSB services have you


U WU llUtfU AilUV JC ®©@ \


heard about? With our Ordinary Account your everyday money earns -l"o interest, with the first £40 free of income tax. For your bigger savings we have our Special Investment z\ccount. That gives you up to 8%. Then there are cheaper cheques, a cheque card, long-term investment plans and lots more. Discover our services for yourself. Thev’re all designed to help your savings go further. Call in and introduce your­ s e lf to coramonsense banking.


BLACKBURN TRUSTEE SAVINGS BANK Tlie commonsensebaidc


7 CHURCH STREET, CLITHEROE. Tel. Clitheroe 3179


you may well ask. “ All this is old history. We’ve heard it all before.” That is true and the only reason I bring it up now is that only a week or two ago a letter was passed to me from a lady in America (from Lynchburg, Virginia, to be exactl who claims to trace her ancestry back, ’ not to Henry, but to John de Lacy, his grandfather, who died in 1140. To me this is quite re­


Whalley Window


wishes to visit as many places as she can with which the De Lacy's were connected. What a great thrill she is going to have as she treads the lands her ancestors dominated over 800 years ago and who can guess her emotions as she walks the streets of Clitheroe and, coming to Whalley, looks at the statuette, said to be that of Henry de Lacy, which surmounts the North Eastern Gateway to our abbey.


markable—a living link spanning 833 years with the family who became the Earls of Lincoln and Constables of Chester, who granted Clitheroe its first charter, who sired, it is said, Peter de Cestria, Wlialley’s one and only rector. The lady wrote Inquiring


further details of her ancestry and the cormections of her forbears with our district and, by reference to various books, I w'as able to forward her quite a lot of information. My correspondent tells me


too, I have been taking an interest in a new resident in the village whom I fir.st met in the summer of last year.


The.se last few months,


gentleman—it is difficult to differentiate between the sexes when the resident is a mute swan and one is not an expert ornithologist) came to live on the Oalder some time last year and there has since pas.sed a lonely life.


The lady (or it could be a


she Is planning a trip to England in the aummer and


am sure she is a widow (or he is a widower). The swan is one of the few wild creatures that mates for life and clearly th« soUtavy bird


I feel very sony for her. I


on our river is neither spinster nor bachelor or would liave been off and away many months ago .seeking a young and attrac­ tive partner of the opposite sex. The graceful bird, such an


allractive ornament to our riverside, appears to be coming ‘ quite lame and approaches close to the bank, perhaps in search of a tit-bit, for I am .sure our unhappy, polluted river can hardly be rich in the diet of small fl.sh, insects, and water vegetation, a swan finds most palatable. Despite its mute designa­


Mr and Mrs Bell to see clogs being made at his shop, and there they met Mr Alban Snape, who is an official of Clitheroe Scouts. It turned out that Mr Snape had been to .Anglesea Scout Camp in Victoria, of which Mr Bell is a commiti tee member.


Before heading north, Mr and Mrs Bell spent some


time at London Guide Club and they will return to the capital again .soon to witness a major event in the English .sporting calendar.


It is not the Cup Final,


although there are two teams and the event is equally historic. In fact, as a rowing coach for most of his life Mr Bell is look­ ing fonvard to seeing the famous Oxford and Cam­ bridge boat race. Perhaps he can give them a few tips!


Scouts reunion


SOME 50 years have passed j .since the fonnation of the Parish Church Boy Scout Ti-oop and a reunion of the original members is pro-. posed.


But there i.s one problem; !


with the passing of the years, many of the originals i are scattered far and wide and their addresses are un­ known.


Those whose whereabouts


are known iiave already received ari explanatory letter, and Mr Hermon A. Co.-ites. 1 Cardigan -Avenue, Clitheroe. will be delighted to hear a.s soon as possible from nil others who would like to attend the reunion.


tion, the bird is not entirely silent and, standing just a few yards away recently, I thought I detected a faint trumpeting. Perhaps she was talking to me or possibly expressing disapproval of the dogs which invariably lead the way on our walks. I really must take her


some scraps next time I venture on that narrow path, rather dangerous at icy and slippery periods of the year. Perhaps she will


become even more friendly and I do hope she has found a degree of happiness in the valley which would be even more lovely if only the river were cleaner. If my good friend and


Raising a laugh


QUESTIomuASTERS in the Masterminds 1973 contest, Mr Harry Brown and Mr Cliarlcs Wilson, have pro­ vided plenty of humour to put the teams at ea.se. But ■ on Friday night they met | their match in contestant Sir Fred Foster.


B team, caused plenty of hilarity when he “passed” a question to his team-mates after hearing only the first three words. “ He’s confi­ dent he doesn’t know it,” joked Mr Brown.


Mr Foster, of the Rotary


colleague “ Naturalist" walks this way one of tliese day.s perhaps he will be' able to enlighten me. It must be very confusing when people don’t know whether to address you a.s " ,slr ’’ or " madam."


laughs when he was Intro-1 duced for the team’s second ; match of the evening—and


He also earned plenty t :


promptly replied “ pas«.'’ Said Mr Foster Jater: “ If


-J.IA


you can’t get the answer, you might as well get a laugh."


SLIMWRAP IS so SIMPLE, SO REI A.v ING. You lie in our special bandages for 90 minutes


— those unwanted inches have disappeared. If .vsu don’t lose, you don't pa.v.


----- ALSO ------


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ALL TREATMENTS UNDER THE PERSONAE SUPERVISION OF CONSTANCE SOUTHWORTII,


M.A.B.TH. |


81 CHATBURN ROAD, CLITHEROE — Tel. 3358


Member of international D’Esthetique Et de Cosmetologie.


Whalley art show The Pendle Artists, an


oganisation affiliated to the North Western Federation of Art Societies, provides the March exhibition in the Wlialley Library.


On view are works in a


variety of medimns by artists from all parts of North-East Lancashire, all signed and all priced. Particularly eye-catching is the needle collage of a colourful and fantastic bird (already bearing a " sold" tag) amidst numerous oils and watercolours of land­ scapes both local and further afield, together with portraits and still life studie.s. The .society exhibits in a different Lancashire town


each .■'■car and Wlialley a honoured at being seicctci as the venue [or ihs Hi! exhibition. An cxplaiiate! | note, displayed with tit; pictures, invites applications for membership from artiiu in the area iiiieresied a furthering theii- lecliiiiqiiei by working with and study­ ing Uie creations of otlic: members, but cinpliasiscs that the aim is no; primarily to be a " learliin; society," mo.sl nicm'oers leaining their .skill,? ai day and evening Further Edu­


cation classes. The exliibitioii w open


>’


throughout normal libraP' hours and will be in iji* village until the end of U month.


THE young people of Ciiipiiiiig arc to be .given


' SMllier chanc-3 to enjoy • iiic facilities of a firs'.- oia.ss yo''th club. Th-ay bintted their copy book.s recently by causiing lirtvoc to their meeting place, iioused in the old John Brabin’s School.


in Windy Street — one of


. the village's oldest family bnilding.s.


hdii fittin.gs were broken, ii record player just dis- Siipca’.'cd and there was cencral cavclc.-'.s abu.se to iiie iii'icrior of the building.


Windows and ■ electric


blame lias been attributed 'o ynuths coming in from


certain amount of


Loiigririgc and the fact that tiiei't' lias been no proper txiull ,-upcrvision.


Foilowing frequent warn- tiie.s .‘ I'voral of t'ne boy.s and


. S;rl.- ,-et to with mop.s and buckets in an opci'aliou "dean up." but the ta.-k


SALON 81 SALON DE BEAUTE


EASE AWAY YOUR SURPLUS INCHES


and ENJOY IT with the latest break-through in Slimming.


''Vas tco much for them and file club \va:s disbanded.


Now ii new conimiUec of


'olmuccr members from the fillagc, .sonic from the former committee and some


Club to niotor-ci


cvl Clitheroe Sera


"istoad U. has been -'htl incliiclc every


Hiders „[ both .scrai ' bo h


.^■■bbic.-ci;'!!. Adhlt c V,;, ‘-'veiyone wa.-.- cm. c.Ui


. "’^ui inlerc.sl.H


.Scrambling -yin no n'c main act


Ihevc will Ills, road ride.?, ir


i .'friah ‘“''bs and compi psi).v5


. ,^.)tint pnce.s. ' ’ObriS to 1 as accc.ssoi


i i . ) ‘ Y” , member.s of Bhe


I ■u'i"wge.strH ' •jcveh'


dia-M ^'bii Ain,s


jko" 1, 7 ^"ramblin'r :! tv;.;.:, Man Di


i'vliwi' ^1, bclual ins •'''b'f'l of


.b'oeting.


•Hin- .''"’ ^brncs for nu 1 « ^ 'U •scrambling eve:


Coi-Rmittee


^)‘b'mah‘n” ' , 'b’‘'cd ft and ca


''■'as s'nn,■'-..2"b- It gave ... ^ el'T-ce to


'fvn""'' r '^'"oiT nio meY? bir


''’5?5bi:e ridtag.'"'''"’ ''""® f


bbc' arc


e m w a s fort 30 pet


'''■ Pred'c'®°V (chairmi "D Flynn. Mr D;


bcedecl. pi -


t iwiii y printed. po.s.siblc t


■bd road cycle.? Uiin< p- ,e meeting at.


* Fi > -iT The dumpers


A POEM inspired, by an experience in Newton /la.ncoti three major trophies for Great Harwood anthorefi


Joan Pomjret. At the Lancashire Authors’ Association iniiiml


meeting in Bury, “ The Dumpers’’ received the BaW Cup for the best verse in standard EngUsli, the Sim


i on


Diamond. Jubilee Poetry Award, and the “ Writer o/ the ’i’ ear’’ Ro.se Bowl—presented by Dr Geot1re\i Handley-Taylor, of London.


Miss Pomfret (Mrs D. C. Townsend) wrote the poem


after find.ing five abandoned kittens beside the reed to Stocks reservoir. The kittens eventually found, good homes.


This is the privewinning poem: The hay-sweet Hodder morning promised, fair,


The townsfolk’s holidays had just begun— IVe drove along the high fell road., and there Found five lost kittens crying in the sun. Dumped, from some car into that lonely place Where every curlew’s cry and passing wing Brought dread. Where every roadside flower’s fair laci And leaf, and blade of grass, seemed threatening.


What kind of people are they who can sprawl On some far beach, that fell road out of mind. Sunning their ugline.ss? Oh, damn them all. Who leave such little frightened things behind! (And a shut, stuffy house where, starved, am! ill, A mother cat goes searching, searching still.)


0. i lT ' 1' I 'h t 'r i '


atious t'-oo unknown the number ol


‘ (0 ralcpii'.'ers an-


that muy be nr-ule the ne’'''’ valuations ctdra Govenniicnt


aiietiuer. was an o-.er.iU


;;;Y Ymm.iuYrs. ' ma me csiinuilccl iinancial


i-'n-i.lieu zlio'.vs a lo.s.s of iAJ.1


ti,r. last beinro tlio now Iji'jlil,. Valley District Cniin- takes over — Coun. Pearson, tinance


.'■'vurivan, .said nionilonne


o'l die vce.r'-s working. 'in his budget .speech - -


y 'conimitteo .spendings Voalcl be improved.


whieh were bv


„„„iiis or £28.273. and as a re.siilt t'lere would pro'o- ,al)lr lie a balance of £72.798 'n the general rate fund at ■i„, (.'id of ylareh next year.


Tlv'i'c was likei-' to be a


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