i » f


r I Pubs I


To Adve7'tise here contact V / ^ Serena Bergin


on 01282 478 118 Restaurank \


The Spread Eagle Hotel


S aw ley , C l i ih e ro e L a n c s ,


B B 7 4 N H T el: 0 1 2 0 0 * 4 4 1 2 0 2 w w w .sp re a d e a g le s aw le y .c o .u k


™'Red Pump Innr\


Clitheroe Road, Bashall Eaves ' Nr. Clitheroe, Lancs, BB7 3DA


Three Miles from auheroe a million miles from H w w w . t h e r e d p u m p i n n . c o . u k


01254 826227ectic


M it t o n H all C o u n t r y H o u s e H o t e l


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Legendary cocktails all £3.00 Fridays 5pm - 8pm


01200 4 4 4 1 1 4 TELEPHONE:


the Black I Horse Inn


i


Pimlico, Clithcroc, Lancs, BB7 4PZ Tc.’k 0 1 2 0 0 4 2 0 9 0 6 ,


'M a ty and thin they s ta le r in, fu l l and stout they waddle out'


18 The Valley


Mitton Road, Mitton Whallcy Blackburn, Lancs BB7 9PA


Td: 0 1 2 5 4 8 2 6 5 4 4 WWw.mittonhalJhoteI.co.uk


Cocktails & Canapes every Friday 6-8pm followed by Live music in the Great Hall


Inn a t The Station


Real Beers • Real Food • Real Cosy Beds . • ■ King Street, Cllthefb#’


- BB7 2EU TEL: 01200 425464 ' www.innatthe station', co . u k I By Chris Peacock ■ 0 has taken a driving test M


■ or remember taking their own. Like other special occa­


sions in their lives, people remember passing their test This year the Driving


Standards Agency, which oversees and conducts


driving tests, is celebrating


■ a milestone - 75 years or three-quarters of a century of driving tests. Since it was first intro­


duced in 1935,46 million tests have been taken.


In the early years there


were few rules or regulations to be followed to allow you to drive a motor vehicle. Britain introduced car and driving


licences in 1903, but it was not until June'ist, 1935, that


the driving test was made compulsory.


•


■ Rules brought in to make the roads a safer place included the appointment of the first vehicle examiners; introducing the minimum


driving age of 17; setting the urban speed limit at30 ■ m.p.h.and publishing the


first edition of the Highwav Code. ■


■ ■. . . ,


; > A push from both the pub- . lie and government for bet- : ter safety measures brought


^about the Introduction of the 'ormal driving test. :


The first driver to pass in


ost people will either know somebody who


■ money. Initially there were no driv­


ing test centres so arrange- : ments were made to meet


examiners at convenient places, like the post office, or train station.


■ The pass rate in 1935 was


63% compared to 46% in 2009.


Miss Vera Hedges Butler


became the first British woman to pass a driving test after deciding to travel to Paris to take the French driving test.


Tests were suspended for


the duration of the Second World War and the Suez


Crisis - with examiners put in charge of fuel rationing instead. Up until 1975 drivers had to demonstrate hand signals which are rarely see these days, except by police ■


officers who still use them when controlling traffic.


And if you passed your test before 1996 you would


have been verbally tested on your knowledge of the - '


, highway code. Now drivers must pass a theory test of 50 questions by answering 43


■ successfully. And before you are allowed to take a driving


; test today you most have


passed both the "Theory Test" and "Hazard Percep- tionTest".-


On the day of your practi­


cal test the examiner will call out your name before asking


to see both the plastic card and paper counterparts of


your driving licence. , They will also ask you to read and sign a declaration


cost just 37p: or 7d/6p in old


on the top of the marking sheet before you make your way outside where eyesight is checked. Assuming every­ thing is in order, the exam-


• iner will then ask two basic maintenance questions.


Once in the car the exam­


iner will explain how the test will be conducted - they will want you to drive straight on unless otherwise instructed. If they want you to turn left or right you will be told in plenty of time and they will be more than happy to point the directions to you if, like most learners, you begin to forget left from right. You will need to demon­


strate a good standard of


driving and understanding of the rules of the road. During the test the


: examiner will ask you to pull


over to the kerb and you will be asked to perform two


■ manoeuvres-the "turn in the road", a parallel park or a


bay park, a left reverse or an emergency stop. If you can do the above,


■ and drive to a good standard then you will pass. In October the test will be


■changed again to introduce "independent driving", which


will require candidates to drive for about 10 minutes, either following a series of directions, following traffic signs, or a combination of


both. To help the candidate be clear, the examiner can


show them a diagram too. If you are asked to do the inde­ pendent drive, you will only


be asked to do one other manoeuvre.


V I V—^


s o ests


VALLEY DRIVlING r


AND FINALLY ndle By Gerald Searle over for another year, a far I


. cry from the era when, for no more than a fortnight.


Northern industrial town's like Clitheroe simply moved, almost as whole communi­ ties, to the seaside, whether


it was Blackpool or the more upmarket Morecambe! These were, of course,


"Wakes Weeks", a curious term perhaps if we associate wakes with funeral celebrations. In­ deed, wakes were originally reli­ gious events in the middle ages, but they involved the custom of' holding all-night vigils in church before the festival of "rushbear­ ing", when the earthen floors were cleared of old rushes and replaced by a new crop. The rest of the day was treat­


ed as a holiday and a perfect ex­ cuse for dancing, drunkenness and unseemly behaviour, much to the horror of the Puritans, who banned wakes whenever they were in power!


However, the celebration


survived and was extended in the Industrial Revolution, when many workers simply refused to


•turn in after the brief holiday, so mill owners decided to close for a week of cleaning and serv­ icing machines. The construction of an ex­


tensive rail network in the Vic­ torian era also meant that the seaside towns came within easy


reach of industrial Lancashire and "Wakes Weeks" were firmly ■ established.


It may seem strange, there-,


fore, that the most famous wakes belong to a fictional Lancashire town, thanks to Stanley Houghton's 1910 stage play, "Hindle Wakes", which was


not only filmed four times, but also the 1976 television version


featured Donald Pleasance and


was co-directed by Laurence Olivier! . A highly controversial play at


the time, it focused on the illicit relationship of a young couple during the town's Wakes Week and its social consequences. However, there is more "fowl in.a very different "Hindle


Wakes", because it is also a lit­ tle known dish associated with the Bolton area.


Apparently it is a colour­ '


ful poultry dish, consisting of a long-steamed boiling fowl, suppiennented inside and out with such items as pig's blood, . prunes, butter lemon sauce,


breadcrumbs, lemon and greenery. ■ Perhaps not surprisingly, it is


a dying breed, but the fowl has fared rather better at the hands


f another notable Lancashire Hindle, who has made an indel-


David in the studio with Radio Lancashire presenter, Carole Turner,


ibie mark far beyond the county boundary - local ornithologist, David Hindle, who, since leaving Lancashire Constabulary in 1992, has been "re-awakened" in many different guises. Whilst ITV3 now broadcasts


regular reminders of the prob­ lems of retirement from the police through the trials and tribulations of Inspectors Morse and Frost, retirement after 31 years simply freed David to focus on his lifelong passions of conservation, ornithology, the railway and local history - with remarkable results! Though he now takes advan­ tage of his extended leisure


time to travel widely, he is still very much a local lad! Born in Preston, he lived in Ribbleton before his police career took him to Blackburn, Preston and headquarters at Hutton, until he retired to Grimsargh. As a child, trips on his grand­


father's BSA Bantam to all parts of the Ribble Valley laid the foundations of his lifelong dedi­ cation to nature and conserva­ tion, whilst steam train journeys to Whittingham Hospital, where he later worked briefly, fuelled his love of the railways. Indeed, his latest book, "Ail


Stations to Longridge", due for publication later this year by Amberley, is an extensively re­ searched and illustrated history of the Preston to Longridge branch line and associated railways. Many Ribble Valley villages


are rich in social and histori­ cal highlights and have been lovingly celebrated by authors, determined to record all that has been especially memorable about country life. However, none can have been more thoroughly documented


than Grimsargh, in David's beautifully illustrated "The Story of a Lancashire Village". Covering the whole period


from the Bronze Age to the present day - including a refer­ ence in the Doomsday Book, to which apparently David did not contribute-it details not only the physical development of the area but also the more human element, with a wide variety of affectionate, personal reminiscences from Grimsargh residents past and present. It is even described as "prob­


ably the finest definitive history of Grimsargh, in very readable story form, ever written, or ever likely to be written" by local celebrity. Wing Commander Alan Wilding. Indeed, David's books have


never been short of big name endorsements. "Twice Nightly", published by


Carnegie as a history of Pres­ ton's entertainment industry, is described by Jim Bowen as "a


reet good read" and includes extensive personal recollec­ tions from former local music, hall stalwart, Roy Barraclough. It reflects upon no less than 35 of the town's theatres and cinemas, which hosted an incredible A-Z of stars, from


Arthur Askey to Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth! ■ The "Corrie" link is main­


tained in David's second theatri­ cal study, "From a Gin Palace to a King's Palace", published this time by Tempest. This lavishly illustrated


review of two centuries of : Preston's music halls is intro­ duced by Betty Driver MBE, who played there in revue when she was only 12, and prefaced by Sir Torn, Finney QBE, CBE, who / considers it "a fascinating read/


T is probably safe to say that our summer holiday period is finaliy


Qkes


evoking nostalgic memories as well as being a valuable source of reference to theatre lovers, scholars and historians". However, the only theatri­


cal link to David's other four books is a foreword from Eric Morecambe's widow, Joan, for


"Birdwatching Walks around Morecambe Bay". This is the second in a series


of Palatine guides which also covers the Yorkshire Dales and


the Lake District, whilst the first, "Birdwatching Walks in Bowland", highlights not only the wonderful bio-diversity of the Ribble Valley area but also the opportunities for walks, manageable for almost every­


one, amidst its stunning natural beauty. Supported by a team that


includes co-writer and fellow or­ nithologist John Wilson, artists Christine Dodding and Nicola Breaks and photographer, Stan Craig, David has made full use


of his more active, outdoor interests.


Having taken to the hills and


dales of Lancashire and Cum­ bria on foot, he has produced


three collections with a broad readership.


For the hiker there is a profu­


sion of bracing walks, clearly itemised and mapped; for the conservationist there are fas­ cinating points of natural and historical importance and for the ornithologist there are glo­ riously coloured photographs and specialist comments on the areas'bird populations. ■ And finally-just to fill his


endless spare time presumably


- he has made a significant impact in yet another medium, in the role of a regular broad­ caster on Radio Lancashire. Seamlessly, he has transferred the fluency, sophistication and affable tone that character­ ise his writing style into the confident, authoritative voice of the expert, whether discussing his beloved birds, conservation and railways with John Gillmore and Carole Turner, the history


of travelling fairs or the cinema ' with Ted Robbins, or even - with


Steve Royle.-the home of the Cross family. Red Star Mansion, which is now the site of the lo­ cal crematorium! Retirement is often consid­


ered the perfect time to settle back with a radio and some good books.


However, for one very active


ex-policeman, this has entailed broadcasting rather than listen­ ing and, with eight books to his name in only 12 years, writing instead of reading. His history of Grimsargh


begins: "Dedicated to my wife, Dorothy, for her patience and support". When you consider


that he has also completed a Master of Arts degree, clearly


David Hindle is also a master of understatement! .


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■ THIS crossword is just for fun - no prizes are I given, The solution will be in next month's issue ACROSS


of The Valley.


I (4,4) 17. Impairs the perfection of the planet (4)


I. Possibly ape is reddish-brown (5) 4. Dried fruit making dog rave! (7) 8. Comfort for the organist? (7) 9. Eccentric part of engine? (5) 10. Nothing taking egghead to the river (4) II. Dislike of one rendering (8) 13. European flagstaff (4) 14. Enthusiastic, and sharp, too (4) 16. Appear to be finished: inspect in detail


20. One kind of timber is just right (5) 21. Treachery of the senator (7) 22. Try a leg in a big way (7) I 23. Hesitation at the summit: he drinks too


much! (5) DOWN


I Twist? (6,7) 2. Punishing plane perhaps (5)


1. Not the first service requested bv Oliver


'3. There's nothing in beer but a plant (4) 4.1()0 quit but remain closely attached (6)


trouble (7) 15. Guard by the southern gate (6) ■


(5)^ 19. Port not touched (4)


SOLUTION TO AUGUST CROSSWORD Across: 6 Orderly; 7 Banal; 9 Pie; 10 Parallels;


12 Provocation; 15 Prosecutors; 17 Carbonate- 19 Man; 21 Jetty; 22 Coffins.


I Balloon; 8 Mascot; 11 Frost-bite; 13 Vacant; 14 Broaden; 16 Warns; 18 Troy; 20 Off.


Down: 1 Train; 2 Set; 3 Plea; 4 Hail-storm; 5


about building? (8) 13. The one under protection got peer in


5. Kind of pipe for making tapes? (8) 6. Nights for the telling? (7) 7. Silly one tries prank, gets captured (5,8) 12. Ensuring people aren't kept in the dark


Fun crossword


writer of work on marine set-up


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