2 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, November 4th, 2004


INSIDE YOUR CLITHEROE ADVERTISER AND TIMES


9 Valley Matters ................................6,7 9 Village News


I Letters................ I Weekendplus . . . I Weekend TV ___ I Family Notices .. IReadersplus . . . . 1 J o b s ................... I Propertyplus.......... I Motorsplus . . .. . I Sport...... ................


.................... 11,12,13 ................. 22,23


................... 31-33 ................... 24,25 ................... 42,43 ....................... 38


...................46,47 ....39-41,44-45


....................52-68 . . . . 37,42,69-72


AT A GLANCE...


Clitheroe bonfire details - page 5 Anna breaks world record-page 10


New Whalley book on sale - page 35 Schools contribute to calendar - page 36


INFORMATION


Duly chcmisl: Boots the Chemist, 15-19 Castle Street, Clitheroe: Sunday, noon to 1 p.m. Police: 01200 443344. Fire: In emergency 999 and ask for fire service. Electricily: 08001954141. Gas: 0800111999. Water: 0845 462200. Councils: Ribble Valley Borough Council, Clitheroe 425111. Clitheroe Town Council, 424722. Hospilals: Blackburn Royal Infirmary: 01254 263555. Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn: 01254 263555. Airedale General Hospital, Steeton: 01535 652511. Clitheroe Community Hospital: 427311. Alcohol Information Centre: 01282 416655. Aidsline: 01282 831101 (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Domestic Violence Helpline: 01282 422024. Cruse Bereavement Care: Blackhurn, Hyndburn and Rib­ ble Valley 01254 207999. Environmental Agency: Emergency Hotline - 0800 807060. Drugs: Local confidential advice and information line: 01200 444484. National: 0800 776600. Ribbic Valley Talking Newspaper: 01200 428604. Samaritans: 01254 662424. Monthly Volunteer Helpline: 01200 422721. Lancashire Rural Stress Network: 01200 427771. QUEST (specialist smoking cessjition service): 01254 358095. Ribble Valley Citizens’ Advice Bureau: 01200 428966.


CONTACT US! News: 01200 422324


Advertising: 01200 422323 Classified: 01282 422331 Fax: 01200443467 editor e-mail: vivien.meatli@eastlancsncws.co.uk news editor e-mail: dunean.smilli@easllancsncws.co.uk sport e-mail: edward.lee@eastlancsnews.co.uk


WEATHER


DUNSOP BRIDGE ■


CHIPPING H


B SLAIDBURN D GISBURN


■ CHATBURN


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BLACKBURN i


WEEKEND WEATHER: Saturday will stay cloudy with possible showers, but by Sunday it will have cleared and should remain brighter.


SUNRISE: 7-14 a.m. SUNSET: 4-31 p.m. LIGHTING UP TIME: 4-31 p.m.


B BURNLEY H ACCRINGTON


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Most Haunted’ crew has a spooky visit to Pendle


by Victoria Duffy


BELIEVERS and sceptics were gripped by a ghostly proclamation that alleged Pendle Witch Alice Nutter was innocent


-from the “other side”. With the legacy of the infamous Pendle


Witches and Pendle Hill’s foreboding image. East Lancashire has always been a draw for believers and non-believers alike. But when Living TV’s "Most Haunted"


broadcast live from Pendle Hill and some of the Ribble Valley’s scariest spots, the ghosts of the Pendle Witches allegedly came out to play in their own inimitable way. Members of the film crew said that they


felt like they were being strangled, psychic medium Derek Acorah was “possessed” by Elizabeth Southworth and a glass and a table were smashed during a seance. Whether, you believe that these were the work of ghosts is up to you. Tales of the ghosts of Peg O’Neil, a servant


who had an affair with her master and later died after falling from a wall into the River Ribble, Ned King, a highwayman and friend of Dick Turpin, who was shot and hung at Hurst Green and Richard Tempest, the des­ titute master of Waddow Hall, enticed the "Most Haunted" crew, which holds paranor­ mal investigations in buildings and areas across the UK. And the crew’s curiosity and persistence


paid off with three nights of unexplained occurances during nine hours of coverage. Millions of people tuned in with the final hour of the Hallowe’en show being the most watched programme in the whole of the UK. Also 13 million viewers logged on to the Liv­ ing TV website to watch several webcams that had been installed in various locations. Led by former Blue Peter presenter Yvette


Fielding and presented by Dr David Bull, "Most Haunted" (pictured right) has devel­ oped a cult following over the past two years. Viewers are a mix of sceptics, believers and


those that sit on the fence. And it has a variety of celebrity fans


including Robbie Williams, Jenny Frost from Atomic Kitten and Radio 1D J Scott Mills. A studio with an audience of approximately


200 was set up a t the St Mary’s Centre in Clitheroe and Yvette, Derek, paranormal


Whist club


SOLO whist winners at the Pendle Club were: Mrs A. Foster, Mrs M. Hold­ ing, Mr D. Grant. New players welcome every Monday at 7 p.m. Bridge winners at the


Pendle Club were: Mrs Frances Porter, Mrs Sylvia Walsh, Mrs Marjorie Col­ lier, Mrs Doris Bluiit;\; New members welcome


on Mondays at 1-30 p.m. Domino winners were:


M. Parkes, V. Giles, J. Pye, R. Kiddie, J. Leach. New members welcome every Friday at 7 p.m.


Pots stolen


POLICE are advising peo­ ple to be aware of thefts involving plants and heavy pots. Pots worth £225 were


stolen from the garden of a house in Ribblesdale Court, Gisburn, some time during last Thursday and Friday morning.


■ni . ' i s Road closed after smash


A MAN had to be cut free from his car and two other peo­ ple were slightly injured in an accident which closed the main road between Blacko and Gis- bum for more than three hours on Saturday evening. Fire-fighters had to use cut­


ting equipment to release a Hellifield man from the wreck­ age of the Mini Cooper which he had been driving. And while he had to be car­


\


ried out on a spineboard, his injuries were not thought to have been serious. A Ford Focus was the other


investigator Ciaran 0 Keeffe, producer Karl Beattie, lighting rigger Stuart Torvelle, make-up artist Gath Howe and director of photography John Dibley visited areas believed to be frequented by the Demdikes and Chattox. And their expectations were high on Hal­


lowe’en, which is apparently the most active night in the paranormal calendar. Their mis­ sion was to try and find an answer to the age- old questions about these women. Did they possess supernatural powers or were they caught up in a paranoia initiated by James I? At Bull Hole Farm, near Sabden, which is


believed to have been central to the witches’ trial and was once owned by Alice Nutter, an alleged spirit named Alizon Device put an invisible rope around Derek’s neck and began to choke him, as if he was being hung. It was then that the team began to be followed by up to nine spirits. But the most sinister turn of events hap­


pened at the derelict Tindale Farm as crew members began to feel unwell and the alleged spirit of Alice Nutter proclaimed that she was


not a witch. During a seance in the pitch black farm building, a glass began to move wildly around the table as Yvette called the spirits forward. They claimed to be commu­ nicating with a ghost called Elizabeth South- worth and that there were another nine in the background. Stuart began suffering severe breathing difficulties and had to be taken outside. Meanwhile viewers at home reported seeing black figures and ghosts on the web­ cams. As the drama unfolded, three other crew members felt like they could not breathe or as if they were being choked - which they believed was the angry ghosts picking them off one-by-one, wanting them to leave. But it was when the live feed was cut at the


end of the show that the really creepy things began to happen. A tired, emotional and frightened Yvette


screamed at the spirits, the glass flew across the room and smashed on the floor and the table rocked back and forth violently before tipping over. The legs had been ripped from the sockets. Do you believe now?


Bamzooki boffins win the day


BAMZOOKI boffins from Balderstone beat the best for the BBC. And if that sounds like baloney, bear


with us. Bamzooki is a new computer craze


gripping the nation’s creative youngsters. Televised by Children’s BBC, it is a


nationwide competition to design the best “zook” - computer-generated crea­ tures that are able to move and behave autonomously. Taking nature as inspiration, the


young contestants design their zooks to compete against each other in a variety of competitions. Now filming for its sec­ ond series, the hit game show features cutting edge computer simulations. The four Ribble Valley friends - all


pupils at St Leonard’s Primary School, Balderstone - were hooked on the first series of Bamzooki and decided to have a go themselves. They are Robert Spouse (10), from Brockhall Village, Robert Wright (10) and Oliver Reed (11), from Mellor, and Chris Wills (10), from Chor- ley.


They used the Children’s BBC Bam­


zooki website to design their zook and submit it to the programme’s producers. The producers then choose the most


promising designs and send out a special Zook Creation Toolkit - computer soft­ ware on CD - to their creators, who use it to build a “living” version of their design. The best zooks are then chosen to bat­


tle it out on the TV programme. The Ribble Valley team, who called


themselves "The Bugcatchers”, caught the producers’ eye with their inventive designs and were called down to London to compete and be filmed for the forth­ coming series. They spent three exciting days in the capital, taking on other Bam­ zooki teams from around the country to win through to the final. They were up against an unbeaten


team of 13-year-olds from Nottingham, but emerged the winners.


The Bugcatchers were presented with


Bamzooki trophies, certificates and T- shirts signed by the presenters.


Spouse. The team from Nottingham were


“We had a great time,” said Robert


older than us, but our zooks were better.” During the trip there was also a chance


to visit Hamley’s toy store and see a pro­ duction of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.


Special time


TO mark Remembrance Day, Clitheroe Town Council is holding a “National Pause to Remember” ceremony on Thursday. Members of the public are invited to join the council and the town


mayor, Coun. Joan Knight, at the castle gates


at I I a.m, where the beginning and end of the silence will be marked by the release of a signal rock­


e t__________________ Head’s race


A HEADMASTER from a Ribble Valley school is putting on his running shoes and heading across


the Atlantic. Mr David Lloyd, from


Grindleton school, has been invited to


compete in the New York marathon on Sunday. Mr Lloyd is running m


aid of the charity. Chil­ dren with Leukaemia.


by Duncan Smith


TELEVISION crews filming a “Most Haunted” show made a Clitheroe shopping street feel


like a “ghost town” for traders. A large section of York Street


was cordoned off to allow parking for the TV company vehicles, pic­


tured above. But th a t robbed parking from


shops along York Street, whose owners are angry that they were not notified in advance. They say their trade suffered significantly through the week-long disruption. Barriers and cones were erected


in York Street early last Wednes­ day, including signs warning of


“road works”. A large section of the street to


the rear of the St Mary’s Centre was cordoned off. The next day, as a succession of vehicles began to arrive and park behind the cones and barriers, it became clear that they were not for road works. In fact it was a parking lot for


the TV company, which was based at St Mary’s Centre for a three-day live transmission of the cult “Most Haunted” show, broadcast on satel­


lite TV. The vehicles ranged from articu­


lated lorries full of cameras, lights and other equipment to BT vans installing hundreds of yards of


cabling. Creating the vehicle park on the


side of York Street where parking is normally prohibited meant there could be none on the other side, where shoppers usually park in


marked bays. That was bad news for a range of


shops and businesses along York Street, including Seven menswear. Brown’s Bistro, Maison interiors and The Clothes Shop. According to their proprietors,


they noticed an almost immediate drop in trade, with customers unable to park. The nearest public car park, at North Street, was also closed for several days to accommo­ date the TV company. “What we are most angry about


is the complete lack of consultation for shops and businesses in York


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Street,” said Graham McGuire, proprietor of Brown’s Bistro. “Our businesses are suffering and we are looking at a full week’s tak­


ings being affected.” Carol Horsfall, of Seven


menswear, said potential customers would be put off just by glancing down York Street and seeing all the cones and disruption. Nick Pratley, of Maison, said


many of his customers needed to park near the shop to collect larger items such as furniture, not to mention the disruption for deliver-


ics. “If there is no parking on York


Street, there is no business,” he


said. The York Street traders already


felt that they were often left out of


' initiatives to promote the town centre and market - feelings height­ ened by the lack of consultation


over the disruption. “When will the businesses in


York Street get some recognition in Clitheroe?” asked Mr Pratley. “We are a mainstay of the Clitheroe business community,” By Tuesday afternoon the TV


company had packed up and gone, but the barriers and cones


remained. Tina Winsor, of The Clothes


Shop, was keen to see when they would be removed. She estimated that her takings were down by at least a third over the weekend, nor­ mally her busiest time, and one potential customer had told her directly that she had turned away because she could not park. “My biggest fear is that this


could keep happening with the development of the St Mary’s Cen­ tre,” she said. “There is certainly no access to the front of the build­ ing, on Church Brow.” Several of the traders now intend


to write letters of complaint to Lancashire County Council and local MP Nigel Evans. They learned th a t it was the county council, as highways authority, that had carried out the work. They also heard a rumour that


the council was paid £8,000 by the TV company to park its vehicles there for the duration of the out­ side broadcast, and asked if any of that money would come their way as compensation for their loss of


trade? This week the county council


emphatically denied that rumour, stating that it received no money from the TV company. A Lancashire County Council


spokesman said: “We closed about 10 parking bays while a film crew was in Clitheroe, but no roads were


closed. “We do not automatically con­


sult the public to let them know about a traffic management issue and would only send out advance notice if a road was due to be


closed.” Pictured are some of the York


Street traders, angry at the week- long disruption to their businesses. They are, from the left, Carol Horsfall, Graham McGuire, Nick


Pratley and Tina Winsor. (CR291004/2)


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vehicle involved in the acci­ dent, which took place at around 5-40 p.m. on Saturday, half a mile from the Moorcock Inn, Blacko, in Gisbum Road. The woman driver, from Nel­ son, suffered from bruising and


shock, but again her injuries were not believed to be life


threatening. The three casualties were all


taken to Burnley General Hos­ pital for assessment as a pre­ cautionary measure. Fire-fighters from Nelson


and Barnoldswick attended the scene of the crash, along with an Incident Support Unit. Other drivers were diverted via Barnoldswick while the


road was closed. The force of the impact took


its toll on the back of the Mini Cooper, which was badly dam­ aged, and fire-fighters said the


accident looked a lot worse than it ultimately turned out


to be. The names of the injured


have yet to be released by police.


r


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Fury as TV crews ‘block’ parking


Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, November 4th, 2004 3 Top party role for Valley MP


THE Ribble Valley MP, Nigel Evans, has been appointed vice-chairman of the Con­ servative Party with special responsibility for maximising support from Conservative voters living and working overseas. Mr Evans said: “I am delighted with


this appointment. I know how important to our marginal seats will be the battle to. win votes from UK citizens working and


living abroad. Overseas votes could deter­ mine the outcome of some seats. “I personally know of voters from the


Ribble Valley who are living and working in China and New Zealand. There are mil­ lions of British voters living and working abroad and it will be my responsibility to work out the strategy to get them voting Conservative at the next general election.”


Musical date


THE Clitheroe Parish Church Organ Society is launching the first of its "Coffee and Concert" series on Saturday at 11 a.m. The concert mil fol­ low at 11-30 a.m. and last about an hour. The soloist will be


David Cowen, an organ scholar at St Peter’s Col­ lege, Oxford, before becoming assistant organist at Leicester Cathedral and subse­ quently continuing his studies in France. After the concert,


James Lonsdale, the organist at St Mary’s and music adviser to the society will be on hand to help members of the audience find out a bit more about the organ.


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