FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 10 - 16 FEBRRUARY 1975
This week's many stories include Nevin's fine for misleading customers, the mice-chasing Parr boy who was trapped in mud, the big rises in rates bills that were on the cards, a campaign against deadly weapons in drugs cabinets, the St Helens Treasurer blows his top over choosy council tenants and there's more help for the kidney sufferer who was set to have a dialysis machine delivered by helicopter.
Do you remember Millican and Nesbitt the former miners who won Opportunity Knocks in 1973? On the 10th they were due to perform at the Theatre Royal in St Helens where they were billed as a "special attraction". But when 650 of their fans turned up at the theatre they were told the show was cancelled and they were handed their money back. The duo had been performing in Jersey and had chartered a plane to return to the mainland but it had not been able to land through fog. But Millican & Nesbitt's disappointed fans were informed that a replacement concert had been scheduled in three weeks.
Liverpool's new commercial radio station, Radio City, had only launched four months earlier with their main transmitter on medium wave located in Dairy Farm Road in Rainford. This week was designated "Radio City Week in St. Helens". The promotions included DJ Norman Thomas – who lived in Speakman Road in Dentons Green – undertaking a live broadcast from Church Street.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 11th described how 10-year-old Ian Smith of Somerset Street in Parr had been trapped waist deep in a pool of mud. The incident had taken place on waste ground off Gaskell Street when he and his pals had been following a family of mice. After sinking in a patch of thick mud, his frightened friends attempted to pull Ian out but could not budge him.
So they ran to get the Fire Brigade who used ropes to yank the boy to firmer ground. Ian told the Newspaper: "I must have been in the mud for about 10 minutes. It was all sticky and I couldn't move. It was a bit frightening. There were about half a dozen mice just running around on the waste ground. They seemed to run over the mud, but when I stood on it I just sank straight down."
At a meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority on the 11th it was announced that a massive campaign on the danger of drugs in the home was going to be launched. Those present were told that at least one child was admitted to hospital every day suffering from poisoning through taking drugs or medicines. The scheme would be in the form of an exhibition of leaflets, posters and slides that would be taken to schools and health centres in the district with experts in tow giving advice.
As well as informing children of the dangers of taking pills that they found in their home, efforts would be made to stop parents from hoarding dangerous drugs and medicines once they were no longer needed. Ronald Goodman, the area pharmaceutical officer for St Helens and Knowsley, said forgotten medication in the hands of children could quickly become a "deadly weapon".
On the 14th Nevin's were fined £75 by St Helens Magistrates after pleading guilty to three offences of giving false price indications on groceries in their Peckers Hill Road store in Sutton. The infringements were quite minor and did not involve any overcharging but instead Nevin's pricing was considered to have contained misleading claims. One case concerned a packet of Omo washing powder that was being sold at a "special low price" of 21p. However, its recommended retail price was 21p and so their statement was not true.
In another case a bottle of Sunlight washing up liquid was priced at 19p and claimed to be 3p off the recommended price. But the RRP was 21½p and so they were exaggerating the saving by a halfpenny. Nevin's defence counsel told the court that the firm was a very respectable concern and blamed the issues on mistakes that had arisen through being such a large chain with 22 stores and with manufacturers constantly changing prices.
A few weeks ago I reported that a number of staff employed in the wiring accessories unit of BICC had been placed on short-time. That was blamed on the economic crisis and a slump in house building. Things had not improved and this week BI made 50 female employees from the section redundant. It was a case of "last in, first out" with none of the women having been with the Prescot firm for more than 16 months.
This week Silcocks applied for a long-term lease on a shopping centre site next to Beechams in Westfield Street. The fair was at present staging its annual 3-week winter visit. "We have done so well we would like to stay longer in the future," explained 80-year-old fairground owner Edward Silcock. If permission is granted by St Helens Council the fair would run from October over Christmas and into the New Year. Fairground manager Derek Monteith said:
"Rather than close the fair down for most of the Winter it would benefit everybody if we operated here. The fair would provide a means of entertainment for the kids in St. Helens. After all there isn't much to do around here in the Winter."
The local authority reorganisation of last year was proving to be an expensive business for ratepayers. The St Helens Reporter on the 14th wrote how Merseyside County Council's Policy Committee was expected to approve an increase of 27% in the rates payable by St Helens' ratepayers for the next financial year. That was for the bill's precept that concerned the police, roads and transport etc.
Water rates were also expected to rise by 45% and St Helens Council's own rates – which formed the largest part of the ratepayers' bill – was in line for a considerable increase. As well as the ongoing costs of re-organisation, the high levels of inflation were also pushing up the rates.
A couple of weeks ago the Reporter had written: "A team of volunteer brickies, plumbers and joiners are standing by to build a home extension so a workmate's wife can be saved from death. "They are pledged to work 24 hours a day for nothing to relieve the plight of Jack and Mary Philbin." Mrs Philbin was in hospital and needed a kidney machine to be installed in her home. But the couple's terraced home in Gleave Street in St Helens was too small and so a bigger house in Newlands Road was being bought that had sufficient space for an extension to be added.
Jack worked at Triplex and as soon as the couple were allowed to move into their new home, his workmates would build the extension and a helicopter would drop Mrs Philbin's kidney dialysis machine inside. Then the roof would be added. This week the Reporter said that many kind firms were donating building and decorating materials to assist the team of volunteers.
And workers at the Drylander tailoring company in Merton Bank had clubbed together to buy Mary a portable television set. Elsie Jones of Wyresdale Avenue had organised the collection and told the paper: "Mary will need the television when she spends so many hours on the kidney machine." Elsie herself had been bedridden for some years until she was able to have a kidney transplant two years ago and so knew the importance of overcoming boredom.
Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane were advertising a number of "superstars" that would soon be appearing in their club. I'm not sure that I would class George Roper as a superstar but the comic was then well-known from his appearances on TV's 'The Comedians' and his show scheduled for the 19th was already sold out. The other superstars were Bernard Manning, Wilma Reading and The Fortunes, for which tickets cost £1.25 each.
St Helens Magistrates Court heard this week that a man who attempted to break into a plumber's workshop received more than he bargained for. After breaking a window at the rear of Swires' premises in Duke Street and climbing inside, the 25-year-old was chased by workers and locked in an outside toilet. He was also bashed over the head with some copper piping. The magistrates placed him on probation.
As well as having to find new homes for council tenants that were being moved out of slum clearance areas, St Helens Council also had to provide temporary accommodation for those that were having their homes improved. That usually meant installing central heating and a modern bathroom and, perhaps, a new kitchen.
Both sets of tenants had often been accused of being too choosy over their new location but this week at a meeting of the Housing and Building Committee, St Helens Treasurer Douglas Pennington blew his top. He said: "This is getting out of hand. They are dictating terms now. We are now in the position where people are turning houses down. They've had eight offers for transfer houses to move into. The only answer is to have an armed guard and grab them by the scruff of the neck and put them in."
Then he rounded on the councillors, angrily accusing them of poking their noses into council officers' business. But then Mr Pennington did apologise for his outburst, explaining the frustration of having had removal vans parked outside tenants' doors only for them to say, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go there."
And finally, on the 6th 'Stardust' starring David Essex ended its fortnight's run at the ABC Savoy and was replaced by 'Emmanuelle', starring Sylvia Kristel. And the Capitol replaced 'I Escaped From Devil's Island', starring Lee Marvin with 'Confessions of a Window Cleaner' featuring Tony Blair's future father-in-law Anthony Booth.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new one-way system in Victoria Square, the lorry at the Tontine Market that got stuck in a drain, Rainford's new mobile surgery and the £2 million Higher Parr Street scheme to get rid of congestion is delayed.
Liverpool's new commercial radio station, Radio City, had only launched four months earlier with their main transmitter on medium wave located in Dairy Farm Road in Rainford. This week was designated "Radio City Week in St. Helens". The promotions included DJ Norman Thomas – who lived in Speakman Road in Dentons Green – undertaking a live broadcast from Church Street.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 11th described how 10-year-old Ian Smith of Somerset Street in Parr had been trapped waist deep in a pool of mud. The incident had taken place on waste ground off Gaskell Street when he and his pals had been following a family of mice. After sinking in a patch of thick mud, his frightened friends attempted to pull Ian out but could not budge him.
So they ran to get the Fire Brigade who used ropes to yank the boy to firmer ground. Ian told the Newspaper: "I must have been in the mud for about 10 minutes. It was all sticky and I couldn't move. It was a bit frightening. There were about half a dozen mice just running around on the waste ground. They seemed to run over the mud, but when I stood on it I just sank straight down."
At a meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority on the 11th it was announced that a massive campaign on the danger of drugs in the home was going to be launched. Those present were told that at least one child was admitted to hospital every day suffering from poisoning through taking drugs or medicines. The scheme would be in the form of an exhibition of leaflets, posters and slides that would be taken to schools and health centres in the district with experts in tow giving advice.
As well as informing children of the dangers of taking pills that they found in their home, efforts would be made to stop parents from hoarding dangerous drugs and medicines once they were no longer needed. Ronald Goodman, the area pharmaceutical officer for St Helens and Knowsley, said forgotten medication in the hands of children could quickly become a "deadly weapon".
On the 14th Nevin's were fined £75 by St Helens Magistrates after pleading guilty to three offences of giving false price indications on groceries in their Peckers Hill Road store in Sutton. The infringements were quite minor and did not involve any overcharging but instead Nevin's pricing was considered to have contained misleading claims. One case concerned a packet of Omo washing powder that was being sold at a "special low price" of 21p. However, its recommended retail price was 21p and so their statement was not true.
In another case a bottle of Sunlight washing up liquid was priced at 19p and claimed to be 3p off the recommended price. But the RRP was 21½p and so they were exaggerating the saving by a halfpenny. Nevin's defence counsel told the court that the firm was a very respectable concern and blamed the issues on mistakes that had arisen through being such a large chain with 22 stores and with manufacturers constantly changing prices.
A few weeks ago I reported that a number of staff employed in the wiring accessories unit of BICC had been placed on short-time. That was blamed on the economic crisis and a slump in house building. Things had not improved and this week BI made 50 female employees from the section redundant. It was a case of "last in, first out" with none of the women having been with the Prescot firm for more than 16 months.
This week Silcocks applied for a long-term lease on a shopping centre site next to Beechams in Westfield Street. The fair was at present staging its annual 3-week winter visit. "We have done so well we would like to stay longer in the future," explained 80-year-old fairground owner Edward Silcock. If permission is granted by St Helens Council the fair would run from October over Christmas and into the New Year. Fairground manager Derek Monteith said:
"Rather than close the fair down for most of the Winter it would benefit everybody if we operated here. The fair would provide a means of entertainment for the kids in St. Helens. After all there isn't much to do around here in the Winter."
The local authority reorganisation of last year was proving to be an expensive business for ratepayers. The St Helens Reporter on the 14th wrote how Merseyside County Council's Policy Committee was expected to approve an increase of 27% in the rates payable by St Helens' ratepayers for the next financial year. That was for the bill's precept that concerned the police, roads and transport etc.
Water rates were also expected to rise by 45% and St Helens Council's own rates – which formed the largest part of the ratepayers' bill – was in line for a considerable increase. As well as the ongoing costs of re-organisation, the high levels of inflation were also pushing up the rates.
A couple of weeks ago the Reporter had written: "A team of volunteer brickies, plumbers and joiners are standing by to build a home extension so a workmate's wife can be saved from death. "They are pledged to work 24 hours a day for nothing to relieve the plight of Jack and Mary Philbin." Mrs Philbin was in hospital and needed a kidney machine to be installed in her home. But the couple's terraced home in Gleave Street in St Helens was too small and so a bigger house in Newlands Road was being bought that had sufficient space for an extension to be added.
Jack worked at Triplex and as soon as the couple were allowed to move into their new home, his workmates would build the extension and a helicopter would drop Mrs Philbin's kidney dialysis machine inside. Then the roof would be added. This week the Reporter said that many kind firms were donating building and decorating materials to assist the team of volunteers.
And workers at the Drylander tailoring company in Merton Bank had clubbed together to buy Mary a portable television set. Elsie Jones of Wyresdale Avenue had organised the collection and told the paper: "Mary will need the television when she spends so many hours on the kidney machine." Elsie herself had been bedridden for some years until she was able to have a kidney transplant two years ago and so knew the importance of overcoming boredom.
Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane were advertising a number of "superstars" that would soon be appearing in their club. I'm not sure that I would class George Roper as a superstar but the comic was then well-known from his appearances on TV's 'The Comedians' and his show scheduled for the 19th was already sold out. The other superstars were Bernard Manning, Wilma Reading and The Fortunes, for which tickets cost £1.25 each.
St Helens Magistrates Court heard this week that a man who attempted to break into a plumber's workshop received more than he bargained for. After breaking a window at the rear of Swires' premises in Duke Street and climbing inside, the 25-year-old was chased by workers and locked in an outside toilet. He was also bashed over the head with some copper piping. The magistrates placed him on probation.
As well as having to find new homes for council tenants that were being moved out of slum clearance areas, St Helens Council also had to provide temporary accommodation for those that were having their homes improved. That usually meant installing central heating and a modern bathroom and, perhaps, a new kitchen.
Both sets of tenants had often been accused of being too choosy over their new location but this week at a meeting of the Housing and Building Committee, St Helens Treasurer Douglas Pennington blew his top. He said: "This is getting out of hand. They are dictating terms now. We are now in the position where people are turning houses down. They've had eight offers for transfer houses to move into. The only answer is to have an armed guard and grab them by the scruff of the neck and put them in."
Then he rounded on the councillors, angrily accusing them of poking their noses into council officers' business. But then Mr Pennington did apologise for his outburst, explaining the frustration of having had removal vans parked outside tenants' doors only for them to say, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go there."
And finally, on the 6th 'Stardust' starring David Essex ended its fortnight's run at the ABC Savoy and was replaced by 'Emmanuelle', starring Sylvia Kristel. And the Capitol replaced 'I Escaped From Devil's Island', starring Lee Marvin with 'Confessions of a Window Cleaner' featuring Tony Blair's future father-in-law Anthony Booth.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new one-way system in Victoria Square, the lorry at the Tontine Market that got stuck in a drain, Rainford's new mobile surgery and the £2 million Higher Parr Street scheme to get rid of congestion is delayed.
This week's many stories include Nevin's fine for misleading customers, the mice-chasing Parr boy who was trapped in mud, the big rises in rates bills that were on the cards, a campaign against deadly weapons in drugs cabinets, the St Helens Treasurer blows his top over choosy council tenants and there's more help for the kidney sufferer who was set to have a dialysis machine delivered by helicopter.
Do you remember Millican and Nesbitt the former miners who won Opportunity Knocks in 1973?
On the 10th they were due to perform at the Theatre Royal in St Helens where they were billed as a "special attraction".
But when 650 of their fans turned up at the theatre they were told the show was cancelled and they were handed their money back.
The duo had been performing in Jersey and had chartered a plane to return to the mainland but it had not been able to land through fog.
But Millican & Nesbitt's disappointed fans were informed that a replacement concert had been scheduled in three weeks.
Liverpool's new commercial radio station, Radio City, had only launched four months earlier with their main transmitter on medium wave located in Dairy Farm Road in Rainford.
This week was designated "Radio City Week in St. Helens". The promotions included DJ Norman Thomas – who lived in Speakman Road in Dentons Green – undertaking a live broadcast from Church Street.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 11th described how 10-year-old Ian Smith of Somerset Street in Parr had been trapped waist deep in a pool of mud.
The incident had taken place on waste ground off Gaskell Street when he and his pals had been following a family of mice.
After sinking in a patch of thick mud, his frightened friends attempted to pull Ian out but could not budge him.
So they ran to get the Fire Brigade who used ropes to yank the boy to firmer ground. Ian told the Newspaper:
"I must have been in the mud for about 10 minutes. It was all sticky and I couldn't move. It was a bit frightening. There were about half a dozen mice just running around on the waste ground. They seemed to run over the mud, but when I stood on it I just sank straight down."
At a meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority on the 11th it was announced that a massive campaign on the danger of drugs in the home was going to be launched.
Those present were told that at least one child was admitted to hospital every day suffering from poisoning through taking drugs or medicines.
The scheme would be in the form of an exhibition of leaflets, posters and slides that would be taken to schools and health centres in the district with experts in tow giving advice.
As well as informing children of the dangers of taking pills that they found in their home, efforts would be made to stop parents from hoarding dangerous drugs and medicines once they were no longer needed.
Ronald Goodman, the area pharmaceutical officer for St Helens and Knowsley, said forgotten medication in the hands of children could quickly become a "deadly weapon".
On the 14th Nevin's were fined £75 by St Helens Magistrates after pleading guilty to three offences of giving false price indications on groceries in their Peckers Hill Road store in Sutton.
The infringements were quite minor and did not involve any overcharging but instead Nevin's pricing was considered to have contained misleading claims.
One case concerned a packet of Omo washing powder that was being sold at a "special low price" of 21p. However, its recommended retail price was 21p and so their statement was not true.
In another case a bottle of Sunlight washing up liquid was priced at 19p and claimed to be 3p off the recommended price. But the RRP was 21½p and so they were exaggerating the saving by a halfpenny.
Nevin's defence counsel told the court that the firm was a very respectable concern and blamed the issues on mistakes that had arisen through being such a large chain with 22 stores and with manufacturers constantly changing prices.
A few weeks ago I reported that a number of staff employed in the wiring accessories unit of BICC had been placed on short-time. That was blamed on the economic crisis and a slump in house building.
Things had not improved and this week BI made 50 female employees from the section redundant.
It was a case of "last in, first out" with none of the women having been with the Prescot firm for more than 16 months.
This week Silcocks applied for a long-term lease on a shopping centre site next to Beechams in Westfield Street.
The fair was at present staging its annual 3-week winter visit. "We have done so well we would like to stay longer in the future," explained 80-year-old fairground owner Edward Silcock.
If permission is granted by St Helens Council the fair would run from October over Christmas and into the New Year. Fairground manager Derek Monteith said:
"Rather than close the fair down for most of the Winter it would benefit everybody if we operated here. The fair would provide a means of entertainment for the kids in St. Helens. After all there isn't much to do around here in the Winter."
The local authority reorganisation of last year was proving to be an expensive business for ratepayers.
The St Helens Reporter on the 14th wrote how Merseyside County Council's Policy Committee was expected to approve an increase of 27% in the rates payable by St Helens' ratepayers for the next financial year.
That was for the bill's precept that concerned the police, roads and transport etc.
Water rates were also expected to rise by 45% and St Helens Council's own rates – which formed the largest part of the ratepayers' bill – was in line for a considerable increase.
As well as the ongoing costs of re-organisation, the high levels of inflation were also pushing up the rates.
A couple of weeks ago the Reporter had written: "A team of volunteer brickies, plumbers and joiners are standing by to build a home extension so a workmate's wife can be saved from death.
"They are pledged to work 24 hours a day for nothing to relieve the plight of Jack and Mary Philbin."
Mrs Philbin was in hospital and needed a kidney machine to be installed in her home.
But the couple's terraced home in Gleave Street in St Helens was too small and so a bigger house in Newlands Road was being bought that had sufficient space for an extension to be added.
Jack worked at Triplex and as soon as the couple were allowed to move into their new home, his workmates would build the extension and a helicopter would drop Mrs Philbin's kidney dialysis machine inside. Then the roof would be added.
This week the Reporter said that many kind firms were donating building and decorating materials to assist the team of volunteers.
And workers at the Drylander tailoring company in Merton Bank had clubbed together to buy Mary a portable television set.
Elsie Jones of Wyresdale Avenue had organised the collection and told the paper:
"Mary will need the television when she spends so many hours on the kidney machine."
Elsie herself had been bedridden for some years until she was able to have a kidney transplant two years ago and so knew the importance of overcoming boredom.
Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane were advertising a number of "superstars" that would soon be appearing in their club.
I'm not sure that I would class George Roper as a superstar but the comic was then well-known from his appearances on TV's 'The Comedians' and his show scheduled for the 19th was already sold out.
The other superstars were Bernard Manning, Wilma Reading and The Fortunes, for which tickets cost £1.25 each.
St Helens Magistrates Court heard this week that a man who attempted to break into a plumber's workshop received more than he bargained for.
After breaking a window at the rear of Swires' premises in Duke Street and climbing inside, the 25-year-old was chased by workers and locked in an outside toilet.
He was also bashed over the head with some copper piping. The magistrates placed him on probation.
As well as having to find new homes for council tenants that were being moved out of slum clearance areas, St Helens Council also had to provide temporary accommodation for those that were having their homes improved.
That usually meant installing central heating and a modern bathroom and, perhaps, a new kitchen.
Both sets of tenants had often been accused of being too choosy over their new location but this week at a meeting of the Housing and Building Committee, St Helens Treasurer Douglas Pennington blew his top.
He said: "This is getting out of hand. They are dictating terms now. We are now in the position where people are turning houses down.
"They've had eight offers for transfer houses to move into. The only answer is to have an armed guard and grab them by the scruff of the neck and put them in."
Then he rounded on the councillors, angrily accusing them of poking their noses into council officers' business.
But then Mr Pennington did apologise for his outburst, explaining the frustration of having had removal vans parked outside tenants' doors only for them to say, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go there."
And finally, on the 6th 'Stardust' starring David Essex ended its fortnight's run at the ABC Savoy and was replaced by 'Emmanuelle', starring Sylvia Kristel.
And the Capitol replaced 'I Escaped From Devil's Island', starring Lee Marvin with 'Confessions of a Window Cleaner' featuring Tony Blair's future father-in-law Anthony Booth.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new one-way system in Victoria Square, the lorry at the Tontine Market that got stuck in a drain, Rainford's new mobile surgery and the £2 million Higher Parr Street scheme to get rid of congestion is delayed.
Do you remember Millican and Nesbitt the former miners who won Opportunity Knocks in 1973?
On the 10th they were due to perform at the Theatre Royal in St Helens where they were billed as a "special attraction".
But when 650 of their fans turned up at the theatre they were told the show was cancelled and they were handed their money back.
But Millican & Nesbitt's disappointed fans were informed that a replacement concert had been scheduled in three weeks.
Liverpool's new commercial radio station, Radio City, had only launched four months earlier with their main transmitter on medium wave located in Dairy Farm Road in Rainford.
This week was designated "Radio City Week in St. Helens". The promotions included DJ Norman Thomas – who lived in Speakman Road in Dentons Green – undertaking a live broadcast from Church Street.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 11th described how 10-year-old Ian Smith of Somerset Street in Parr had been trapped waist deep in a pool of mud.
The incident had taken place on waste ground off Gaskell Street when he and his pals had been following a family of mice.
After sinking in a patch of thick mud, his frightened friends attempted to pull Ian out but could not budge him.
So they ran to get the Fire Brigade who used ropes to yank the boy to firmer ground. Ian told the Newspaper:
"I must have been in the mud for about 10 minutes. It was all sticky and I couldn't move. It was a bit frightening. There were about half a dozen mice just running around on the waste ground. They seemed to run over the mud, but when I stood on it I just sank straight down."
At a meeting of the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority on the 11th it was announced that a massive campaign on the danger of drugs in the home was going to be launched.
Those present were told that at least one child was admitted to hospital every day suffering from poisoning through taking drugs or medicines.
The scheme would be in the form of an exhibition of leaflets, posters and slides that would be taken to schools and health centres in the district with experts in tow giving advice.
As well as informing children of the dangers of taking pills that they found in their home, efforts would be made to stop parents from hoarding dangerous drugs and medicines once they were no longer needed.
Ronald Goodman, the area pharmaceutical officer for St Helens and Knowsley, said forgotten medication in the hands of children could quickly become a "deadly weapon".
On the 14th Nevin's were fined £75 by St Helens Magistrates after pleading guilty to three offences of giving false price indications on groceries in their Peckers Hill Road store in Sutton.
The infringements were quite minor and did not involve any overcharging but instead Nevin's pricing was considered to have contained misleading claims.
One case concerned a packet of Omo washing powder that was being sold at a "special low price" of 21p. However, its recommended retail price was 21p and so their statement was not true.
In another case a bottle of Sunlight washing up liquid was priced at 19p and claimed to be 3p off the recommended price. But the RRP was 21½p and so they were exaggerating the saving by a halfpenny.
Nevin's defence counsel told the court that the firm was a very respectable concern and blamed the issues on mistakes that had arisen through being such a large chain with 22 stores and with manufacturers constantly changing prices.
A few weeks ago I reported that a number of staff employed in the wiring accessories unit of BICC had been placed on short-time. That was blamed on the economic crisis and a slump in house building.
Things had not improved and this week BI made 50 female employees from the section redundant.
It was a case of "last in, first out" with none of the women having been with the Prescot firm for more than 16 months.
This week Silcocks applied for a long-term lease on a shopping centre site next to Beechams in Westfield Street.
The fair was at present staging its annual 3-week winter visit. "We have done so well we would like to stay longer in the future," explained 80-year-old fairground owner Edward Silcock.
If permission is granted by St Helens Council the fair would run from October over Christmas and into the New Year. Fairground manager Derek Monteith said:
"Rather than close the fair down for most of the Winter it would benefit everybody if we operated here. The fair would provide a means of entertainment for the kids in St. Helens. After all there isn't much to do around here in the Winter."
The local authority reorganisation of last year was proving to be an expensive business for ratepayers.
The St Helens Reporter on the 14th wrote how Merseyside County Council's Policy Committee was expected to approve an increase of 27% in the rates payable by St Helens' ratepayers for the next financial year.
That was for the bill's precept that concerned the police, roads and transport etc.
Water rates were also expected to rise by 45% and St Helens Council's own rates – which formed the largest part of the ratepayers' bill – was in line for a considerable increase.
As well as the ongoing costs of re-organisation, the high levels of inflation were also pushing up the rates.
A couple of weeks ago the Reporter had written: "A team of volunteer brickies, plumbers and joiners are standing by to build a home extension so a workmate's wife can be saved from death.
"They are pledged to work 24 hours a day for nothing to relieve the plight of Jack and Mary Philbin."
Mrs Philbin was in hospital and needed a kidney machine to be installed in her home.
But the couple's terraced home in Gleave Street in St Helens was too small and so a bigger house in Newlands Road was being bought that had sufficient space for an extension to be added.
Jack worked at Triplex and as soon as the couple were allowed to move into their new home, his workmates would build the extension and a helicopter would drop Mrs Philbin's kidney dialysis machine inside. Then the roof would be added.
This week the Reporter said that many kind firms were donating building and decorating materials to assist the team of volunteers.
And workers at the Drylander tailoring company in Merton Bank had clubbed together to buy Mary a portable television set.
Elsie Jones of Wyresdale Avenue had organised the collection and told the paper:
"Mary will need the television when she spends so many hours on the kidney machine."
Elsie herself had been bedridden for some years until she was able to have a kidney transplant two years ago and so knew the importance of overcoming boredom.
Saints Sports and Leisure Centre in Dunriding Lane were advertising a number of "superstars" that would soon be appearing in their club.
I'm not sure that I would class George Roper as a superstar but the comic was then well-known from his appearances on TV's 'The Comedians' and his show scheduled for the 19th was already sold out.
The other superstars were Bernard Manning, Wilma Reading and The Fortunes, for which tickets cost £1.25 each.
St Helens Magistrates Court heard this week that a man who attempted to break into a plumber's workshop received more than he bargained for.
After breaking a window at the rear of Swires' premises in Duke Street and climbing inside, the 25-year-old was chased by workers and locked in an outside toilet.
He was also bashed over the head with some copper piping. The magistrates placed him on probation.
As well as having to find new homes for council tenants that were being moved out of slum clearance areas, St Helens Council also had to provide temporary accommodation for those that were having their homes improved.
That usually meant installing central heating and a modern bathroom and, perhaps, a new kitchen.
Both sets of tenants had often been accused of being too choosy over their new location but this week at a meeting of the Housing and Building Committee, St Helens Treasurer Douglas Pennington blew his top.
He said: "This is getting out of hand. They are dictating terms now. We are now in the position where people are turning houses down.
"They've had eight offers for transfer houses to move into. The only answer is to have an armed guard and grab them by the scruff of the neck and put them in."
Then he rounded on the councillors, angrily accusing them of poking their noses into council officers' business.
But then Mr Pennington did apologise for his outburst, explaining the frustration of having had removal vans parked outside tenants' doors only for them to say, "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go there."
And finally, on the 6th 'Stardust' starring David Essex ended its fortnight's run at the ABC Savoy and was replaced by 'Emmanuelle', starring Sylvia Kristel.
And the Capitol replaced 'I Escaped From Devil's Island', starring Lee Marvin with 'Confessions of a Window Cleaner' featuring Tony Blair's future father-in-law Anthony Booth.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new one-way system in Victoria Square, the lorry at the Tontine Market that got stuck in a drain, Rainford's new mobile surgery and the £2 million Higher Parr Street scheme to get rid of congestion is delayed.