FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (14th - 20th DECEMBER 1970)
This week's 17 stories include the end of the power cut misery in St Helens, the Holy Cross Christmas crib fire, Helena House's Christmas Specials, the demise of the Peasley Cross Derby & Joan Club and the Billinge councillor who said he didn't give a tinker's cuss about a bus company.
We begin on the 14th at a Rainford Council meeting when Walter Darlington called for his fellow councillors to "shout from the rooftops" in order to get better clinic facilities. Currently the village hall and a football club hut at Rainford North End served as makeshift health clinics. The council felt dedicated premises could only be obtained if pressure was maintained on Lancashire County Council.
Rainford was then part of the Ormskirk constituency and the councillors decided to ask their MP, Harold Soref, to take up the cudgels for them. "By not providing the best clinic facilities we are penalising our residents," claimed Councillor Bob Rose. "I am not criticising the services at the clinics, which are first-class, but the premises we operate them in."
The crippling work-to-rule by power workers was called off on the 14th after unions agreed to take their pay claim to a court of inquiry. There had been much public anger last week through all the disruption caused by the blackouts with workers at St Helens' substations targeted for abuse. Some claimed the men had gone beyond conducting a legitimate work to rule and had aggravated the inconvenience to the public.
Later in the week the manager of Bold Power Station defended what he called the responsible actions of his men. Edward Thorpe said: "The people of St. Helens should know that those who work at Bold deserve credit, not criticism, for their behaviour in the past fortnight."
Las Vegas Amusements of 57/59 Ormskirk Street officially opened their new games room at 10:30am on the 14th with every other game free to play for the day.
I find it surprising the number of times that I've come across a newspaper account of someone in St Helens having spotted a person wearing their stolen clothes. On the 14th a 21-year-old man from Ennerdale Avenue appeared in court and admitted taking Maureen Flannagan's coat and gloves. The theft had been from the cloakroom at Ruskin Drive when the bank clerk from City Road had attended a dance.
A week later Mrs Flannagan was shopping in the town centre when she saw her coat being worn by another woman. It transpired that the woman's husband had stolen it from the cloakroom and given it to his unknowing wife as a present. I'll bet she was livid when she found out! Only the husband was charged and he was fined £25 by the magistrates.
This week in the Reporter the Capitol dubbed themselves "the warmest place in town" as a result of new seating having been installed. The Duke Street cinema was advertising a double-bill of 'The Graduate' and, rather appropriately, 'In The Heat of the Night'.
Members of Ashton-in-Makerfield's Library Committee were told on the 14th that Lancashire County Council had decided on the site of the new baths in the town. The chosen land was near the Cansfield Grove and Old Road junction, although official approval for the location and design of the baths would still be needed.
This year far fewer Christmas parties were reported in the St Helens Reporter, although one was held at the Carr Mill YMCA on the 14th. About 90 children who attended the local playgroup enjoyed a visit from Father Christmas and also watched some Tufty road safety films.
During the evening the St Helens & District Round Table's 'Christmas 1970 Appeal' got underway when Father Christmas was escorted round the Windle and Kiln Lane areas of the town. There was lots of carol singing and sweets handed out to children as members of the Table collected donations of food and cash from the public. On the 16th the Round Table was in Dentons Green and on the 18th in Eccleston with the proceeds of collections later distributed as Christmas food parcels for the town's OAPs.
The 'Sutton Christmas & New Year Pleasure Fair' was held on the Sutton Oak Ex-Servicemen's and British Legion Club car park during this week. This was run as usual by Silcocks but I wonder how many punters attended the fair in winter?
'The White Heather Show' was performed at the Theatre Royal on the 17th and 18th. It was the stage version of the TV hit and starred Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor.
The Reporter described on the 18th how three proposed new schools for the borough had been included in what was known as the Department of Education's Design List for 1971 - 72. They were Sherdley county primary which was to be built at a cost of £75,948, Laffak R.C. primary school at £57,343 and St Joseph's RC in Sutton which was costed at £56,020.
Helena House (pictured above) took out a large advert in the paper that they called "Best Buys Christmas Week". An extremely dated-looking Dansette-type portable record player was on sale for 16 guineas. It was called the Co-op MP12 and boasted four speeds and a 6-record auto-changer. I wonder if anyone ever played discs designed for 16⅔ rpm, or even 78 rpm, on these machines? The only time I ever selected those speeds was to make voices on singles and LPs sound silly!
Fidelity RAD 12 Transistor Radios were also available from the Baldwin Street store for £8 18/6. These days I think a tranny has a somewhat different meaning! The radio offered no VHF reception – as FM was then known – but Radio 1 was not then on VHF, apart from when it simulcast with Radio 2. Neither, of course was Luxembourg with its irritating long fades.
"A Treat For The Children", continued the Helena House ad. "Our Christmas Grotto is more popular than ever this year. Don’t let your children miss seeing Santa Claus. His presents are wonderful value, too! They will be thrilled with their ride through Fairyland on the fabulous Gnome's Chariot in the basement. Then visit the Toy Fair on the 1st floor."
"Toys! Toys! Toys!" said the Christmas ad of Prestts of 32 - 34 Duke Street. "Make your choice from a wonderful selection." Barbara MacDonald was advertising a Christmas week discount of £1 off all dresses and knitwear bought from her Baldwin Street shop. Tony Sampson of 14 Cotham Street said: "Get your kids-'n-gear this Christmas in Sampson's Sellar". Prescott's Ironmongers – known to many as "Percy's" – was advertising a Stanley-Bridges 4 speed drill available from their Westfield Street and Harris Street shops for £17 19 shillings. In today's money that is about £300.
"For That Merry Christmas – Buy The Best" was the message from B. Spaven and Son selling "fresh local turkeys" from 3 Barrow Street. "The men for the best Scotch fish" was their strapline. Butcher and former TT rider Brian Ball was also selling turkeys from his premises in Westfield Street. "Only the meat gets more attention than the customers", was his slogan.
The Reporter also lamented what appeared to be the end of the Peasley Cross Derby and Joan Club. Last week the group – that had been founded in 1951 – held their annual Christmas Party and despite the jollity on show, there was an underlying sadness. Since demolition gangs had moved into the area, the club's membership had dramatically declined from over 100 to less than forty.
Now only a handful of old folk turned up to the weekly meetings and the club leaders said they were too disheartened to continue. Four of the six-strong committee had already quit and unless volunteers stepped forward to fill the breach, they said there would be no more meetings. 79-year-old Harold Seddon from Cleveland Street was one who was leaving, telling the Reporter:
"I blame the demolition in Peasley Cross for the slump in membership. People have been forced to move out of the area and they are too old to make the journey to the club every week. But there's still enough old people in the district to warrant a Darby and Joan club. All it needs is a bit of push to get it back on its feet."
The Reporter described fury in Billinge over proposed bus scheduling changes, which would reduce the frequency of evening services to Wigan from 15-minutes to every half-hour. To say that Councillor Dan Hegan was unsympathetic to the bus company's financial difficulties in running an under-used service at night would be an understatement! He told the Reporter: "I don't give a tinker's cuss about Ribble's problems. These buses are an amenity which we should do everything we can to keep in existence."
On the 18th a Christmas crib outside Holy Cross Church in Corporation Street (pictured above) burst into flames – just two hours after being installed. The Knights of St. Columba had built the crib – as they had done annually for 54 years – and four statues inside were badly damaged. Temporary repairs were made and although the cause of the fire was not known, the suspicion was that it had been started maliciously.
On the 19th there was a 'Grand Cabaret' evening with the Rockin' Berries at the Plaza Theatre Club in Duke Street. And finally there was a Christmas Carol Concert at the Theatre Royal on the 20th. The event was in aid of the St Helens & District Blind Society with several St Helens school choirs performing alongside the Liverpool Festival Youth Orchestra and Chorus.
Next week's stories will include the coping stone "death avalanche" in Hardshaw Street, the Christmas B-Test blitz, rioting children smash up a brass band's club in Park Road, a Christmas what's on guide and the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest.
We begin on the 14th at a Rainford Council meeting when Walter Darlington called for his fellow councillors to "shout from the rooftops" in order to get better clinic facilities. Currently the village hall and a football club hut at Rainford North End served as makeshift health clinics. The council felt dedicated premises could only be obtained if pressure was maintained on Lancashire County Council.
Rainford was then part of the Ormskirk constituency and the councillors decided to ask their MP, Harold Soref, to take up the cudgels for them. "By not providing the best clinic facilities we are penalising our residents," claimed Councillor Bob Rose. "I am not criticising the services at the clinics, which are first-class, but the premises we operate them in."
The crippling work-to-rule by power workers was called off on the 14th after unions agreed to take their pay claim to a court of inquiry. There had been much public anger last week through all the disruption caused by the blackouts with workers at St Helens' substations targeted for abuse. Some claimed the men had gone beyond conducting a legitimate work to rule and had aggravated the inconvenience to the public.
Later in the week the manager of Bold Power Station defended what he called the responsible actions of his men. Edward Thorpe said: "The people of St. Helens should know that those who work at Bold deserve credit, not criticism, for their behaviour in the past fortnight."
Las Vegas Amusements of 57/59 Ormskirk Street officially opened their new games room at 10:30am on the 14th with every other game free to play for the day.
I find it surprising the number of times that I've come across a newspaper account of someone in St Helens having spotted a person wearing their stolen clothes. On the 14th a 21-year-old man from Ennerdale Avenue appeared in court and admitted taking Maureen Flannagan's coat and gloves. The theft had been from the cloakroom at Ruskin Drive when the bank clerk from City Road had attended a dance.
A week later Mrs Flannagan was shopping in the town centre when she saw her coat being worn by another woman. It transpired that the woman's husband had stolen it from the cloakroom and given it to his unknowing wife as a present. I'll bet she was livid when she found out! Only the husband was charged and he was fined £25 by the magistrates.
Members of Ashton-in-Makerfield's Library Committee were told on the 14th that Lancashire County Council had decided on the site of the new baths in the town. The chosen land was near the Cansfield Grove and Old Road junction, although official approval for the location and design of the baths would still be needed.
This year far fewer Christmas parties were reported in the St Helens Reporter, although one was held at the Carr Mill YMCA on the 14th. About 90 children who attended the local playgroup enjoyed a visit from Father Christmas and also watched some Tufty road safety films.
During the evening the St Helens & District Round Table's 'Christmas 1970 Appeal' got underway when Father Christmas was escorted round the Windle and Kiln Lane areas of the town. There was lots of carol singing and sweets handed out to children as members of the Table collected donations of food and cash from the public. On the 16th the Round Table was in Dentons Green and on the 18th in Eccleston with the proceeds of collections later distributed as Christmas food parcels for the town's OAPs.
The 'Sutton Christmas & New Year Pleasure Fair' was held on the Sutton Oak Ex-Servicemen's and British Legion Club car park during this week. This was run as usual by Silcocks but I wonder how many punters attended the fair in winter?
'The White Heather Show' was performed at the Theatre Royal on the 17th and 18th. It was the stage version of the TV hit and starred Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor.
The Reporter described on the 18th how three proposed new schools for the borough had been included in what was known as the Department of Education's Design List for 1971 - 72. They were Sherdley county primary which was to be built at a cost of £75,948, Laffak R.C. primary school at £57,343 and St Joseph's RC in Sutton which was costed at £56,020.
Fidelity RAD 12 Transistor Radios were also available from the Baldwin Street store for £8 18/6. These days I think a tranny has a somewhat different meaning! The radio offered no VHF reception – as FM was then known – but Radio 1 was not then on VHF, apart from when it simulcast with Radio 2. Neither, of course was Luxembourg with its irritating long fades.
"A Treat For The Children", continued the Helena House ad. "Our Christmas Grotto is more popular than ever this year. Don’t let your children miss seeing Santa Claus. His presents are wonderful value, too! They will be thrilled with their ride through Fairyland on the fabulous Gnome's Chariot in the basement. Then visit the Toy Fair on the 1st floor."
"Toys! Toys! Toys!" said the Christmas ad of Prestts of 32 - 34 Duke Street. "Make your choice from a wonderful selection." Barbara MacDonald was advertising a Christmas week discount of £1 off all dresses and knitwear bought from her Baldwin Street shop. Tony Sampson of 14 Cotham Street said: "Get your kids-'n-gear this Christmas in Sampson's Sellar". Prescott's Ironmongers – known to many as "Percy's" – was advertising a Stanley-Bridges 4 speed drill available from their Westfield Street and Harris Street shops for £17 19 shillings. In today's money that is about £300.
"For That Merry Christmas – Buy The Best" was the message from B. Spaven and Son selling "fresh local turkeys" from 3 Barrow Street. "The men for the best Scotch fish" was their strapline. Butcher and former TT rider Brian Ball was also selling turkeys from his premises in Westfield Street. "Only the meat gets more attention than the customers", was his slogan.
The Reporter also lamented what appeared to be the end of the Peasley Cross Derby and Joan Club. Last week the group – that had been founded in 1951 – held their annual Christmas Party and despite the jollity on show, there was an underlying sadness. Since demolition gangs had moved into the area, the club's membership had dramatically declined from over 100 to less than forty.
Now only a handful of old folk turned up to the weekly meetings and the club leaders said they were too disheartened to continue. Four of the six-strong committee had already quit and unless volunteers stepped forward to fill the breach, they said there would be no more meetings. 79-year-old Harold Seddon from Cleveland Street was one who was leaving, telling the Reporter:
"I blame the demolition in Peasley Cross for the slump in membership. People have been forced to move out of the area and they are too old to make the journey to the club every week. But there's still enough old people in the district to warrant a Darby and Joan club. All it needs is a bit of push to get it back on its feet."
The Reporter described fury in Billinge over proposed bus scheduling changes, which would reduce the frequency of evening services to Wigan from 15-minutes to every half-hour. To say that Councillor Dan Hegan was unsympathetic to the bus company's financial difficulties in running an under-used service at night would be an understatement! He told the Reporter: "I don't give a tinker's cuss about Ribble's problems. These buses are an amenity which we should do everything we can to keep in existence."
On the 19th there was a 'Grand Cabaret' evening with the Rockin' Berries at the Plaza Theatre Club in Duke Street. And finally there was a Christmas Carol Concert at the Theatre Royal on the 20th. The event was in aid of the St Helens & District Blind Society with several St Helens school choirs performing alongside the Liverpool Festival Youth Orchestra and Chorus.
Next week's stories will include the coping stone "death avalanche" in Hardshaw Street, the Christmas B-Test blitz, rioting children smash up a brass band's club in Park Road, a Christmas what's on guide and the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest.
This week's 17 stories include the end of the power cut misery in St Helens, the Holy Cross Christmas crib fire, Helena House's Christmas Specials, the demise of the Peasley Cross Derby & Joan Club and the Billinge councillor who said he didn't give a tinker's cuss about a bus company.
We begin on the 14th at a Rainford Council meeting when Walter Darlington called for his fellow councillors to "shout from the rooftops" in order to get better clinic facilities.
Currently the village hall and a football club hut at Rainford North End served as makeshift health clinics.
The council felt dedicated premises could only be obtained if pressure was maintained on Lancashire County Council.
Rainford was then part of the Ormskirk constituency and the councillors decided to ask their MP, Harold Soref, to take up the cudgels for them.
"By not providing the best clinic facilities we are penalising our residents," claimed Councillor Bob Rose.
"I am not criticising the services at the clinics, which are first-class, but the premises we operate them in."
The crippling work-to-rule by power workers was called off on the 14th after unions agreed to take their pay claim to a court of inquiry.
There had been much public anger last week through all the disruption caused by the blackouts with workers at St Helens' substations targeted for abuse.
Some claimed the men had gone beyond conducting a legitimate work to rule and had aggravated the inconvenience to the public.
Later in the week the manager of Bold Power Station defended what he called the responsible actions of his men. Edward Thorpe said:
"The people of St. Helens should know that those who work at Bold deserve credit, not criticism, for their behaviour in the past fortnight."
Las Vegas Amusements of 57/59 Ormskirk Street officially opened their new games room at 10:30am on the 14th with every other game free to play for the day.
I find it surprising the number of times that I've come across a newspaper account of someone in St Helens having spotted a person wearing their stolen clothes.
On the 14th a 21-year-old man from Ennerdale Avenue appeared in court and admitted taking Maureen Flannagan's coat and gloves.
The theft had been from the cloakroom at Ruskin Drive when the bank clerk from City Road had attended a dance.
A week later Mrs Flannagan was shopping in the town centre when she saw her coat being worn by another woman.
It transpired that the woman's husband had stolen it from the cloakroom and given it to his unknowing wife as a present. I'll bet she was livid when she found out!
Only the husband was charged and he was fined £25 by the magistrates.
This week in the Reporter the Capitol dubbed themselves "the warmest place in town" as a result of new seating having been installed.
The Duke Street cinema was advertising a double-bill of 'The Graduate' and, rather appropriately, 'In The Heat of the Night'.
Members of Ashton-in-Makerfield's Library Committee were told on the 14th that Lancashire County Council had decided on the site of the new baths in the town.
The chosen land was near the Cansfield Grove and Old Road junction, although official approval for the location and design of the baths would still be needed.
This year far fewer Christmas parties were reported in the St Helens Reporter, although one was held at the Carr Mill YMCA on the 14th.
About 90 children who attended the local playgroup enjoyed a visit from Father Christmas and also watched some Tufty road safety films.
During the evening the St Helens & District Round Table's 'Christmas 1970 Appeal' got underway when Father Christmas was escorted round the Windle and Kiln Lane areas of the town.
There was lots of carol singing and sweets handed out to children as members of the Table collected donations of food and cash from the public.
On the 16th the Round Table was in Dentons Green and on the 18th in Eccleston with the proceeds of collections later distributed as Christmas food parcels for the town's OAPs.
The 'Sutton Christmas & New Year Pleasure Fair' was held on the Sutton Oak Ex-Servicemen's and British Legion Club car park during this week.
This was run as usual by Silcocks but I wonder how many punters attended the fair in winter?
'The White Heather Show' was performed at the Theatre Royal on the 17th and 18th.
It was the stage version of the television hit and starred Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor.
The Reporter described on the 18th how three proposed new schools for the borough had been included in what was known as the Department of Education's Design List for 1971 - 72.
They were Sherdley county primary which was to be built at a cost of £75,948, Laffak R.C. primary school at £57,343 and St Joseph's RC in Sutton which was costed at £56,020.
Helena House (pictured above) took out a large advert in the paper that they called "Best Buys Christmas Week".
An extremely dated-looking Dansette-type portable record player was on sale for 16 guineas.
It was called the Co-op MP12 and boasted four speeds and a 6-record auto-changer.
I wonder if anyone ever played discs designed for 16⅔ rpm, or even 78 rpm, on these machines?
The only time I ever selected those speeds was to make voices on singles and LPs sound silly!
Fidelity RAD 12 Transistor Radios were also available from the Baldwin Street store for £8 18/6.
These days I think a tranny has a somewhat different meaning!
The radio offered no VHF reception – as FM was then known – but Radio 1 was not then on VHF, apart from when it simulcast with Radio 2.
Neither, of course was Radio Luxembourg with its irritating long fades.
"A Treat For The Children", continued the Helena House ad. "Our Christmas Grotto is more popular than ever this year. Don’t let your children miss seeing Santa Claus. His presents are wonderful value, too!
"They will be thrilled with their ride through Fairyland on the fabulous Gnome's Chariot in the basement. Then visit the Toy Fair on the 1st floor."
"Toys! Toys! Toys!" said the Christmas ad of Prestts of 32 - 34 Duke Street. "Make your choice from a wonderful selection."
Barbara MacDonald was advertising a Christmas week discount of £1 off all dresses and knitwear bought from her Baldwin Street shop.
Tony Sampson of 14 Cotham Street said: "Get your kids-'n-gear this Christmas in Sampson's Sellar".
Prescott's Ironmongers – known to many as "Percy's" – was advertising a Stanley-Bridges 4 speed drill available from their Westfield Street and Harris Street shops for £17 19 shillings. In today's money that is about £300.
"For That Merry Christmas – Buy The Best" was the message from B. Spaven and Son selling "fresh local turkeys" from 3 Barrow Street.
"The men for the best Scotch fish" was their strapline.
Butcher and former TT rider Brian Ball was also selling turkeys from his premises in Westfield Street.
"Only the meat gets more attention than the customers", was his slogan.
The Reporter also lamented what appeared to be the end of the Peasley Cross Derby and Joan Club.
Last week the group – that had been founded in 1951 – held their annual Christmas Party and despite the jollity on show, there was an underlying sadness.
Since demolition gangs had moved into the area, the club's membership had dramatically declined from over 100 to less than forty.
Now only a handful of old folk turned up to the weekly meetings and the club leaders said they were too disheartened to continue.
Four of the six-strong committee had already quit and unless volunteers stepped forward to fill the breach, they said there would be no more meetings.
79-year-old Harold Seddon from Cleveland Street was one who was leaving, telling the Reporter:
"I blame the demolition in Peasley Cross for the slump in membership. People have been forced to move out of the area and they are too old to make the journey to the club every week.
"But there's still enough old people in the district to warrant a Darby and Joan club. All it needs is a bit of push to get it back on its feet."
The Reporter described fury in Billinge over proposed bus scheduling changes, which would reduce the frequency of evening services to Wigan from 15-minutes to every half-hour.
To say that Councillor Dan Hegan was unsympathetic to the bus company's financial difficulties in running an under-used service at night would be an understatement!
He told the Reporter: "I don't give a tinker's cuss about Ribble's problems. These buses are an amenity which we should do everything we can to keep in existence."
On the 18th a Christmas crib outside Holy Cross Church in Corporation Street (pictured above) burst into flames – just two hours after being installed.
The Knights of St. Columba had built the crib – as they had done annually for 54 years – and four statues inside were badly damaged.
Temporary repairs were made and although the cause of the fire was not known, the suspicion was that it had been started maliciously.
On the 19th there was a 'Grand Cabaret' evening with the Rockin' Berries at the Plaza Theatre Club in Duke Street.
And finally there was a Christmas Carol Concert at the Theatre Royal on the 20th.
The event was in aid of the St Helens & District Blind Society with several St Helens school choirs performing alongside the Liverpool Festival Youth Orchestra and Chorus.
Next week's stories will include the coping stone "death avalanche" in Hardshaw Street, the Christmas B-Test blitz, rioting children smash up a brass band's club in Park Road, a Christmas what's on guide and the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest.
We begin on the 14th at a Rainford Council meeting when Walter Darlington called for his fellow councillors to "shout from the rooftops" in order to get better clinic facilities.
Currently the village hall and a football club hut at Rainford North End served as makeshift health clinics.
The council felt dedicated premises could only be obtained if pressure was maintained on Lancashire County Council.
Rainford was then part of the Ormskirk constituency and the councillors decided to ask their MP, Harold Soref, to take up the cudgels for them.
"By not providing the best clinic facilities we are penalising our residents," claimed Councillor Bob Rose.
"I am not criticising the services at the clinics, which are first-class, but the premises we operate them in."
The crippling work-to-rule by power workers was called off on the 14th after unions agreed to take their pay claim to a court of inquiry.
There had been much public anger last week through all the disruption caused by the blackouts with workers at St Helens' substations targeted for abuse.
Some claimed the men had gone beyond conducting a legitimate work to rule and had aggravated the inconvenience to the public.
Later in the week the manager of Bold Power Station defended what he called the responsible actions of his men. Edward Thorpe said:
"The people of St. Helens should know that those who work at Bold deserve credit, not criticism, for their behaviour in the past fortnight."
Las Vegas Amusements of 57/59 Ormskirk Street officially opened their new games room at 10:30am on the 14th with every other game free to play for the day.
I find it surprising the number of times that I've come across a newspaper account of someone in St Helens having spotted a person wearing their stolen clothes.
On the 14th a 21-year-old man from Ennerdale Avenue appeared in court and admitted taking Maureen Flannagan's coat and gloves.
The theft had been from the cloakroom at Ruskin Drive when the bank clerk from City Road had attended a dance.
A week later Mrs Flannagan was shopping in the town centre when she saw her coat being worn by another woman.
It transpired that the woman's husband had stolen it from the cloakroom and given it to his unknowing wife as a present. I'll bet she was livid when she found out!
Only the husband was charged and he was fined £25 by the magistrates.
The Duke Street cinema was advertising a double-bill of 'The Graduate' and, rather appropriately, 'In The Heat of the Night'.
Members of Ashton-in-Makerfield's Library Committee were told on the 14th that Lancashire County Council had decided on the site of the new baths in the town.
The chosen land was near the Cansfield Grove and Old Road junction, although official approval for the location and design of the baths would still be needed.
This year far fewer Christmas parties were reported in the St Helens Reporter, although one was held at the Carr Mill YMCA on the 14th.
About 90 children who attended the local playgroup enjoyed a visit from Father Christmas and also watched some Tufty road safety films.
During the evening the St Helens & District Round Table's 'Christmas 1970 Appeal' got underway when Father Christmas was escorted round the Windle and Kiln Lane areas of the town.
There was lots of carol singing and sweets handed out to children as members of the Table collected donations of food and cash from the public.
On the 16th the Round Table was in Dentons Green and on the 18th in Eccleston with the proceeds of collections later distributed as Christmas food parcels for the town's OAPs.
The 'Sutton Christmas & New Year Pleasure Fair' was held on the Sutton Oak Ex-Servicemen's and British Legion Club car park during this week.
This was run as usual by Silcocks but I wonder how many punters attended the fair in winter?
'The White Heather Show' was performed at the Theatre Royal on the 17th and 18th.
It was the stage version of the television hit and starred Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor.
The Reporter described on the 18th how three proposed new schools for the borough had been included in what was known as the Department of Education's Design List for 1971 - 72.
They were Sherdley county primary which was to be built at a cost of £75,948, Laffak R.C. primary school at £57,343 and St Joseph's RC in Sutton which was costed at £56,020.
An extremely dated-looking Dansette-type portable record player was on sale for 16 guineas.
It was called the Co-op MP12 and boasted four speeds and a 6-record auto-changer.
I wonder if anyone ever played discs designed for 16⅔ rpm, or even 78 rpm, on these machines?
The only time I ever selected those speeds was to make voices on singles and LPs sound silly!
Fidelity RAD 12 Transistor Radios were also available from the Baldwin Street store for £8 18/6.
These days I think a tranny has a somewhat different meaning!
The radio offered no VHF reception – as FM was then known – but Radio 1 was not then on VHF, apart from when it simulcast with Radio 2.
Neither, of course was Radio Luxembourg with its irritating long fades.
"A Treat For The Children", continued the Helena House ad. "Our Christmas Grotto is more popular than ever this year. Don’t let your children miss seeing Santa Claus. His presents are wonderful value, too!
"They will be thrilled with their ride through Fairyland on the fabulous Gnome's Chariot in the basement. Then visit the Toy Fair on the 1st floor."
"Toys! Toys! Toys!" said the Christmas ad of Prestts of 32 - 34 Duke Street. "Make your choice from a wonderful selection."
Barbara MacDonald was advertising a Christmas week discount of £1 off all dresses and knitwear bought from her Baldwin Street shop.
Tony Sampson of 14 Cotham Street said: "Get your kids-'n-gear this Christmas in Sampson's Sellar".
Prescott's Ironmongers – known to many as "Percy's" – was advertising a Stanley-Bridges 4 speed drill available from their Westfield Street and Harris Street shops for £17 19 shillings. In today's money that is about £300.
"For That Merry Christmas – Buy The Best" was the message from B. Spaven and Son selling "fresh local turkeys" from 3 Barrow Street.
"The men for the best Scotch fish" was their strapline.
Butcher and former TT rider Brian Ball was also selling turkeys from his premises in Westfield Street.
"Only the meat gets more attention than the customers", was his slogan.
The Reporter also lamented what appeared to be the end of the Peasley Cross Derby and Joan Club.
Last week the group – that had been founded in 1951 – held their annual Christmas Party and despite the jollity on show, there was an underlying sadness.
Since demolition gangs had moved into the area, the club's membership had dramatically declined from over 100 to less than forty.
Now only a handful of old folk turned up to the weekly meetings and the club leaders said they were too disheartened to continue.
Four of the six-strong committee had already quit and unless volunteers stepped forward to fill the breach, they said there would be no more meetings.
79-year-old Harold Seddon from Cleveland Street was one who was leaving, telling the Reporter:
"I blame the demolition in Peasley Cross for the slump in membership. People have been forced to move out of the area and they are too old to make the journey to the club every week.
"But there's still enough old people in the district to warrant a Darby and Joan club. All it needs is a bit of push to get it back on its feet."
The Reporter described fury in Billinge over proposed bus scheduling changes, which would reduce the frequency of evening services to Wigan from 15-minutes to every half-hour.
To say that Councillor Dan Hegan was unsympathetic to the bus company's financial difficulties in running an under-used service at night would be an understatement!
He told the Reporter: "I don't give a tinker's cuss about Ribble's problems. These buses are an amenity which we should do everything we can to keep in existence."
The Knights of St. Columba had built the crib – as they had done annually for 54 years – and four statues inside were badly damaged.
Temporary repairs were made and although the cause of the fire was not known, the suspicion was that it had been started maliciously.
On the 19th there was a 'Grand Cabaret' evening with the Rockin' Berries at the Plaza Theatre Club in Duke Street.
And finally there was a Christmas Carol Concert at the Theatre Royal on the 20th.
The event was in aid of the St Helens & District Blind Society with several St Helens school choirs performing alongside the Liverpool Festival Youth Orchestra and Chorus.
Next week's stories will include the coping stone "death avalanche" in Hardshaw Street, the Christmas B-Test blitz, rioting children smash up a brass band's club in Park Road, a Christmas what's on guide and the Reporter's New Year's Day baby contest.