REMEMBER WHEN

Remember when ... 30 years ago from archives

Dimmer view of tip expansion

PLANS TO vastly increase the size of the waste disposal tip at Dimmer near Castle Cary proved to be highly controversial by the end of 1992. The proposal by Somerset County Council and Wyvern Waste Services, a private company set up by the council to run the site, was first mooted without consulting the local people likely to affected, and when a public meeting was eventually arranged in July 1992 to discuss it, more than 400 people attended – with just two being in favour.

Even so, the council granted Wyvern Waste permission to proceed with the expansion and the January 1993 Visitor reported that protestations had not stopped ever since. ‘Growing public opinion against the expansion plan is currently focusing not just on the effect of the extra 320 lorry movements a day along the B3153 but on the effect on other local roads, the downward jolt to house prices which an expanded Dimmer would have, and the direct effect on Castle Cary since the prevailing winds will blow all poisonous gases straight through to the beautiful country town –all of which could force the Minister of Environment to hold a public enquiry, which has so far been denied.’

The expansion went ahead –but nowadays landfill is seen as a highly undesirable way of disposing of our waste.

A case of corporate lethargy

Railways often make the headlines, currently because of strikes but in the January 1993 Visitor the reason was Gillingham Station.

The story reported that the station, run by the nationalised caught my eye thanks to its surprisingly formal language. ‘Mr and Mrs O’Toole have moved from the Crown Hotel at Marnhull and are now at the Old Red Lion, North Brewham, near Bruton’, it announced before ‘wishing a very happy Christmas to all friends old and new’. What it didn’t say was that after 19 years Tom and Anne had relinquished the tenancy of the Hall & Woodhouse pub (the Pure Drop Inn of Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’) and bought the free house in Brewham. And 30 years later they’re still there, still offering a warm welcome and Anne’s notorious fine food.

British Rail, ‘suffers from all the corporate lethargy that the body can muster’. It quotes a letter from the Director of Network South East to North Dorset MP Nicholas Baker stating that ‘when there are staff shortages due to booked leave or sickness we do not have the finances available to cover the shifts by paying overtime rates. When the station is not staffed the waiting room is locked as there has been vandalism and abuse to this facility in the past. We cannot afford to keep carrying out repairs.’

The report asks whether ‘these are the words of a man who has given up’ and concludes that it is a good case for the privatisation of British Rail.

Lush retirement

A familiar sight in Castle Cary for almost a century was the Lush family’s butcher’s shop. It had been in the family since 1894 and run by Ted and Gardinal Lush since 1968.

In January 1993 they retired and handed the shop over to sons Brian and Derek, and a feature in the January Visitor outlined the history of the business and the life and interests of Ted who was widely known for the many roles he played in the life of the town. As Head Steward at the Methodist Chapel for 25 years he founded the youth club there in 1958, and as a keen sportsman he played cricket for the town’s First Team, supported the County Team, and enjoyed his skittling. Sadly the family’s business has since closed.

Popular but not a Ford

What was the most popular car 30 years ago? If an advertiser in the January 1992 Visitor is to be believed it was the Toyota Corolla. According to the advert, since its launch in 1966 the Corolla had sold over 16 million models, ‘making it the most popular car in the world’. Not only that, ‘thanks largely to the world’s biggest automotive research and development investment of £2 billion a year, and over 350 completely new parts, the new Corolla will be even more popular’. But no price is mentioned in the advert.

Milestone move

The January Visitor is published just before Christmas, and amidst the numerous pub adverts extending Christmas greetings to their customers was one which Roger Richards.