Wormegay, Tottenhill and North Runcton milkman retires, St Germans, King’s Lynn Festival and St James’ House surgery, South Wootton, Swaffham Home-Start, Captain George Vancouver, Hunstanton’s former Kit Kat club: Lynn News nostalgia
Nostalgia feature from the Tuesday, May 2 Lynn News
In May 1996, when milkman Bob Edwards announced he was retiring after 21 years in the job – the last 14 working on a milk round in Wormegay, Tottenhill and North Runcton – his grateful customers decided to give him a special send-off. Wormegay residents had a whip-round and presented Bob with an engraved glass tankard and £170 in cash.
He used to work for Dairy Crest until his round was sold as a franchise to Stannard’s Dairies and his typical working day meant rising at 3.15am for a 3.50am start at the Blackborough End depot, and usually finishing around 1pm. Bob said he was “overwhelmed, absolutely gobsmacked” at the warm send-off he received from the villagers. Photo: MLNF-960588
On this week: April 30–May 6, 1996
Bobbies boarding buses have been given a free ticket to ride in and around Lynn. A recent agreement between Eastern Counties Buses and Lynn police means uniformed constables can get a lift on a double-decker or a mini-bus when they are on routine duties. Insp Graham Woodhouse, of Lynn police said: “It’s another way for officers to mix in with the public and I have urged my staff to consider it where appropriate. One example could be beat officers travelling to and from their patches.”
Lynn’s famous Duke’s Head Hotel has been taken over by the Regal Hotel Group, a Newbury-based chain which has bought all 60 of Granada’s White Hart Hotels – which includes the Tuesday Market Place landmark – in a £121.7 million deal. Regal has already confirmed jobs of the hotel’s 50-strong workforce are safe.
Fincham’s award-winning Swan pub has scooped another top award. In March it won the best-dressed bar of the year category in a competition run by the Licensee and Morning Advertiser, a magazine for the pub, club and leisure industry. And now, against pubs which won other categories, the Swan has been named the overall national winner. The delighted publicans, Keith and Meryl Major, collected their £1,000 prize money at a presentation ceremony held at London’s Park Lane Hotel.
Civic leaders fighting to save at least 186 jobs at the Construction Industry Training Board base at Bircham Newton have been given little hope of a change of heart by the board bosses. Plans to move the CITB headquarters to Peterborough are still firmly on the agenda, delegates from West Norfolk Council were told during a meeting at the council offices. Council leader Moss Evans, deputy leader Mike Tilbury and chief executive Alan Pask were given the gloomy message by two top board members who had earlier met staff at Bircham Newton to underline the reasons behind their decision.
A bigger and better fitness room at Lynnsport was launched on the West Norfolk public this week. Unsuspecting housewife Theresa Straker, from St Germans, won a bottle of bubbly when she became the first person through the doors. Eleven new machines have been added and the room has doubled in size to cope with the 1,100 visits a week the facility attracts.
The bells are ringing out once more at Shouldham’s All Saints’ Church, after an appeal for would-be campanologists to step forward. Five of the six bells were silent and only one was rung to announce Sunday services. But following an appeal from the Rev George Parrott, who arrived at the parish 11 months ago, there are nine new recruits learning the art of bell-ringing.
The Linnets clinched promotion to the Beazer Homes League premier division with a 2-1 win over Stourbridge in front of 1,688 fans at The Walks. The three points ensured Lynn finished as runners-up to Nuneaton in the Midland Division table and ahead of third-placed Bedworth. Man-of-the-match Lee Hudson and Brett McNamara got the goals and after the presentation of medals, manager Peter Morris held up a board expressing the team’s thanks for the marvellous support they had received through the season.
North Lynn’s Dow Chemical is investing £1.5 million to go one step better than any legal requirement. The firm is buying an American-made vent treatment unit for its insecticide plant, which will be installed in August. The Lynn plant already meets the Government’s high standards but wants to go one better in a bid to meet the global company’s environmental, health and safety goals by the year 2000.
The final touches to the structure of Lynn’s Corn Exchange will be marked with the traditional topping-out ceremony in the next few days. A £4.1 million scheme to refurbish the building is reaching its final stages and the doors are set to open to the public in September. The Corn Exchange will have a seating capacity of 742 and it will also retain its role as a community hall to be used by local groups.
The borough’s four mace bearers and sword bearer are to look even smarter at official occasions after being given new gowns. They are direct replacements for the bearers’ previous ageing gowns and were presented by the mayor, Fred Juniper, in one of his last duties before his year of office comes to an end.
