On This Week: Taking a look back to Terrington St Clement fashion show as well as headlines including youngsters saved at Burnham Overy Staithe
In our regular On This Week feature, we look back at what was making the headlines in 1980, as well as a picture from 1990…
On this week: April 22-28, 1980
Mr Peter Beck, a local part-time coastguard, rescued three youngsters from their capsized dinghy during a sailing drama in which a Norfolk clergyman died. He described the tragedy, in choppy waters off Burnham Overy Staithe, as the worst he had encountered in 21 years of coastal patrol work. The clergyman who died after being tossed into the sea by crashing waves was the Rev Paul Farnham, rector of Cawston, near Norwich. Mr Beck launched an inflatable rescue craft taking Robert Archer as crew and they found the capsized dinghy with three children huddled together at the bottom of the craft. They had been able to climb back after being thrown into the sea.
Politicians have got their priorities wrong by trying to stop athletes from competing in the Moscow Olympics, was the view expressed by West Norfolk Sports Council chairman Mr Eric Dodds, when speaking at a “Sportsman’s Dinner”. Delivering his broadside, he said: “Just because politicians cannot find a political solution to the Afghanistan problem they should not make sportsmen and sportswomen suffer. The opportunity for most of them only comes once in a lifetime and they should not have this chance to go taken away unless there is a worthwhile reason.”
Permission to demolish the printing works and garages at the former Lynn News premises in Purfleet Street, Lynn, has been given by West Norfolk Council’s planning committee. The buildings had remained redundant since they were vacated by the Lynn News at the time of the newspaper’s move to the town’s Hardwick Industrial Estate. It is planned for the former reception and other newspaper offices fronting King Street and the office block on the Purfleet Street side will remain untouched.
The landlord of the Three Horseshoes at Roydon, 52-year-old George Mason, has been named District Innkeeper of the Year in a competition organised by Norwich Brewery and suppliers Gilby Vintners. Mr Mason and his wife Sue have been running the business for just over a year having moved to Royden from the Sportsman at West Winch. In the view of the judges the Three Horseshoes showed the highest standards of catering, atmosphere, attitude to customers, cleanliness and turnover than other brewery pubs in the Lynn, Swaffham and Wisbech areas.
Lynn Stars speedway team went on a record-breaking spree against a woefully weak Eastbourne during Saturday’s British League fixture. A victory of 63-15 was a record league win for Lynn which was previously held at 59-19 against Newport in 1972; there was one full maximum and four paid maximums for the Stars riders; The Stars had 11 heat wins at 5-1 and two at 4-2. The British League record score is 64-14, achieved by Wolverhampton against (yes, again) Newport.
Lynn Festival, recognised as one of the leading annual events in the country’s arts calendar, was officially launched in London this week. The 1980 event which will once again bring famous performers to local audiences, will celebrate two important events. In addition to beingthe 30th Lynn Festival, the nine-day event is also to celebrate the 80th of the Festival’s royal patron, the Queen Mother. To mark the thirtieth anniversary a more extensive and expensive programme than ever before has been lined up. The total cost is £75,000 and, for the first time, income from commercial and industrial sponsorship exceeds the Arts Council guarantee.
Brides who treasure happy memories of a wedding day at Terrington St Clement’s magnificent parish church will soon be receiving a special proposal – for funds to save the church. Villagers have launched a £60,000 appeal for urgent repairs to the church and one of the ideas being pursued is to find every couple still living who were married at St Clement’s Hundreds of appeal letters will be sent to brides and bridegrooms who may have a special reason for caring about the church.
West Norfolk Council’s film of the area has been sold to four television companies and the foreign office is to translate it into several foreign languages. There has been a successful partnership involving Tyne Tees Film between the council and the Jobcentres of Lynn and South Shields. The council and the local Jobcentre had encouraged skilled people to come to Lynn to alleviate unemployment problems and the council had allocated houses for the Geordies.
