PRIZES OFFERED FOR VIEWS ON PROJECT

Scunthorpe Telegraph January 24th 2005

Villagers are being offered the chance to pick up a prize in exchange for their views on a current project.
 
The Winteringham Village Hall committee has circulated response forms to every household in the village asking residents what changes should be made to the village hall. Some improvements are being made to conform to Disability Access Regulations, as well as improving energy efficiency, the replacement of the flat roof, additional storage space and upgraded kitchen facilities.
 
But the committee would like to hear the villagers' views to ensure they are responding to the needs of the whole community.
 
To encourage as many people as possible to complete the response forms delivered to Winteringham households, the committee is offering three prizes, to be drawn at random from completed and returned forms.
 
When completed, the forms can be returned to 33 High Burgage in Winteringham, the Village Stores, or Tomlinson's Butchers.
 
All forms must be returned by Monday, January 31.

FUNDRAISER

Scunthorpe Telegraph January 24th 2005

A Coffee morning will be held at Winteringham village hall on Saturday, January 29, to raise money for the victims of the tsunami and coffee, cakes and various refreshments will be on offer. There will also be a raffle and a bric-a-brac stand.
 
Organisers said everyone was welcome. The event starts at 9.30am.

GOLDEN DAY WAS WHITE WITH SNOW

Scunthorpe Telegraph January 8th 2005

The snow-capped mountains of the Scottish Cairngorms provided the romantic backdrop against which a Winteringham couple recently celebrated their golden wedding.
 
Joy (69) and Aubrey Fawcett (71) travelled over the border to Scotland to recapture the idyllic days when, as teenagers, they met more than half a century ago. For it was in August 1952, in the Scottish city of Stirling, when their paths crossed for the first time when both were on holiday.
 
Joy (nee Drane) said they were staying with other young people from all over the country in accommodation at Stirling Grammar School on a holiday organised by Harold Price, the superintendent minister of Trinity Methodist Church, which stood on the site of today's Bhs in Scunthorpe.
 
She explained she was a member of the Methodist Chapel in the Frodingham area of the town and Aubrey belonged to the chapel in his home village of North Kelsey.
 
But Mr Price had set up a youth club in the town known as the Circuit Youth Fellowship (CYF) to which young people from the area would go.
 
Youngsters from all around the circuit took advantage of the Scottish holiday organised by Mr Price and travelled to Stirling where they stayed at the Grammar School.
 
"We all had orderly duties to do," said Joy. "And my friend Rose and I were scrubbing the tables and Aubrey and his friends were told to lay the tables, but they were placing knives and forks at the end we had not scrubbed and we told them so. And that was the first time we met. I would be 16 and Aubrey was three years older."
 
When the week was over everyone climbed aboard the coaches lined up to take them home.
 
"But Aubrey took my friend's seat on our bus home and my friend had to sit in his seat on the other bus, but when we got so far they had to get off and swap seats so he could go on to North Kelsey.
 
"In the meantime he did ask me if I wanted to go to the pictures with him on the following Thursday."
 
It had to be that day, she said, because that was Aubrey's half day off from work. At that time he was a van driver for the Co-op grocery shop in North Kelsey.
 
Joy also worked for the Co-op driving a horse and cart on a bread round in the Crosby area of Scunthorpe.
 
Going to the pictures was, she said, the beginning of their romance which, two years later saw them married on Christmas Day in the Trinity Church on the corner of Wells Street and Cole Street. This happy occasion was, she said, followed by a reception in the neighbouring school room.
 
Even though there was still a degree of food rationing after the war, Joy said they did very well and her mother engaged a Barton firm to undertake the catering for the reception.
 
"And we managed to have ham and other things like that and the Co-op at Lincoln made a wedding cake for us as a present."
 
But like most young couples at that time, Joy and Aubrey were short of funds and this saw her having to borrow her wedding gown from her friend's sister.
 
Joy went on to say they incurred extra expense because their wedding took place on Christmas Day and this saw the price of a licence increase from a modest seven shillings and sixpence to £2 and five shillings.
 
"Everything had to be paid for twice over because it was Christmas Day."
 
They spent their honeymoon - the rest of Christmas Day and Boxing Day - with one of Aubrey's relations in Hull.
 
"That was Saturday and Sunday and then we were back at work in the shop in North Kelsey on the Monday morning."
 
By that time Aubrey had been promoted to manager and they made their first home in the flat above the shop in accommodation which went with the job.
 
They stayed in North Kelsey for two years and until Joy was expecting their first child. At that time the couple went to live with Joy's mother at their family home in William Street back in Scunthorpe.
 
Aubrey sought work with the Co-op in the town and was engaged as a van driver for their bakery which, at that time, was on Rowland Road.
 
He stayed there until their daughter Beverley was born, after which he worked for Clugstons as a lorry driver.
 
Later Aubrey became self employed and drove his own mobile greengrocery van around the area. But then, in 1971, when a friend asked him if he wanted to buy his lorry, Aubrey launched his own one-man haulage business and, said Joy, he never looked back from that time.
 
"He just had the one lorry but he travelled all over the country with it."
 
Four years after Beverley was born, they welcomed her little sister Allison, who was followed, nine years later, by their brother Howard.
 
"I stayed at home to look after my children to make sure they got a good meal when they came home, just like my mother did for me," said Joy.
 
Now she likes to read and solve crosswords, while Aubrey likes walking and tending his garden growing flowers and vegetables from seed in his greenhouse. He is also a Scunthorpe United fan and goes to as many home games as he can.
 
For their special festive golden anniversary they had intended to travel back to Stirling where their romance first blossomed, but because of transport not being available to take them, they settled on a hotel at Newton Moor in the Cairngorms.
 
"When we got there it started to snow, so we did have a white Christmas. The mountains were really beautiful and it was quite romantic."
 
On Christmas Day there was a special delivery of flowers to their hotel from Joy and Aubrey's three children wishing them a happy golden wedding and a celebratory bottle of Champagne from the management, which they shared with other guests.
 
Aubrey also made a presentation to his golden bride on their special day for he had bought her a diamond and emerald ring for the occasion. Now back home, they are looking forward to another celebration with their family later this month.
 
"The family are taking us out for a meal, but we have no idea where we are going," said Aubrey

BUBBLY PUTS FIZZ BACK IN STEELTOWN

Scunthorpe Telegraph January 4th 2005

Scunthorpe's proud industrial history may have forged a national image of townsfolk as hard as the steel on which the town was founded.
 
But, according to the UK's biggest retailer, that image has been shattered... and we're fast becoming a town full of 'Champagne Charlies'. A bottle of bubbly was once only the preserve of weddings and the most special of special occasions.
 
But now, the sound of corks popping can be heard on birthdays, Christmas, New Year and - sometimes - even at important sporting matches.
 
In fact, Tesco claims the region is enjoying 'a passionate love affair with bubbly'.
 
Champagne sales at Tesco have risen by an unprecedented 21 per cent, according to a spokesman for the company, and that is not taking into account the sales for New Year.
 
Beer, wines and spirits director Mark Murphy said: "For most people over the age of 40 a bottle of Champagne used to be opened for a really special event.
 
"But nowadays, with the price of good quality Champagne tumbling to under £15, more people are likely to treat themselves and bring a bottle to a party, celebrate the start of the weekend or even if their team wins an important sports game."
 
Since 1998, Champagne consumption in Britain has doubled - brought about mainly by supermarkets not only cutting prices, but also being able to offer their own top quality brands for less than established names.
 
Mr Murphy said the love affair with bubbly led Britons to importing a record 34.5-million bottles of Champagne in 2003, but this year that figure is set to grow to 37-million bottles - an all-time high.
 
Darren Harpham, manager of the Time nightclub on Doncaster Road, poured some cold water on the claims Scunthorpe was now a town full of 'Champagne Charlies'.
 
But he did say the Doncaster Road nightclub sold more Champagne this year than in previous years.
 
"We probably sell two bottles of Champagne a week. Five years ago we didn't sell any, so I suppose it is getting more popular," he said.
 
Mr Harpham said Time stocked three types of Champagne - Moet for £35 a bottle; Bollinger for £50 a bottle and vintage Dom Perignon at £95 a bottle.
 
Mr Harpham said the vintage Champagne was reserved for very special occasions and, before New Year's Eve, the nightclub had sold only one of the £95 bottles this year.
 
But, perhaps understandably, it was a different story at the region's most exclusive restaurant, Winteringham Fields, which has one of the best Champagne selections in the entire country.
 
Last autumn it won a star prize in a Champagne competition.
 
Winteringham Fields won the Best in Lincolnshire award in the Trophee Gosset Celebris, Europe's leading Champagne competition.
 
Annie Schwab, who owns Winteringham Fields with her Swiss chef husband Germain, was delighted with the establishment's success.
 
"Everything about Winteringham Fields also says Champagne," she said.
 
"From the water feature in the garden for aperitifs to the trolley which accompanies the desserts, Champagne is as fundamental to Winteringham Fields as the food itself."

FOCUS ON BAD BEHAVIOUR

Scunthorpe Telegraph January 3rd 2005

Only five councillors were able to attend the December meeting of Winteringham Parish Council, which was chaired by Coun Jackie Bateman. Apologies received were recorded.
 
Anti-social behaviour by groups of youngsters was still a problem in the village and letters were to be sent to Insp Rutty and the headmaster of Winterton Comprehensive school. The clerk had raised a query about trees covered by preservation orders, and Andrea Ellis of North Lincolnshire Council replied the owners were responsible for the safety and maintenance of their tree/s.
 
The clerk presented the financial report and it was agreed all invoices should be paid.
 
At the January meeting the precept for 2005/06 would be discussed.
 
The drainage work on Western Green appeared to have been successful and the green is no longer flooded.
 
The village drains had been cleaned out during November, the salt boxes were back in position and almost all the street lights were once again operational.
 
An issue of the village newsletter had been distributed during November. Editor Harry Wells had done an excellent job, and the council had received a number of compliments about it.
 
The clerk read out all correspondence and the councillors instructed her on the replies to be made.
 
The next meeting of the parish council will be held tomorrow, and will commence at 7.30pm.
 
All Winteringham Parish Council meetings are open to members of the public, and time is allowed at the end of the meeting for parishioners to address the councillors or to make their comments.

'ELLEN'S MARBLES' ON DISPLAY IN WINDOW

Scunthorpe Telegraph January 3rd 2005

Reader Margaret Illingworth, of Westrum Lane, Brigg, wrote to Nostalgia, following an article recalling days gone by in Old Crosby.
 
"I read with interest the reference to the last house on the left on Old Crosby Street. The two 'old ladies' called Marshall who kept the shop were Mrs George Marshall (nee Hannah Mary Slingsby), of Winteringham, and her unmarried sister Miss Ellen Slingsby." She continues: "These ladies were my great aunts. I remember Miss Ellen Slingsby when she lived in Winteringham after her sister's death and the sale of the shop.
 
"As to what they sold, aniseed balls and paraffin were certainly among their wares. They also sold sharps and bran from an outhouse behind the shop. It would have been difficult for a stranger to make out what they sold as their window display never varied, consisting of a bowl of clay marbles and two mousetraps.
 
"Mrs Marshall was an enterprising lady. She taught herself to ride a bike when she was middle-aged, played the organ at Crosby Chapel, and was a worker for the Liberal party, long before women had the vote.
 
"I understand the shop never did very well because the Marshalls, as strict Methodists, would not stock cigarettes, which would have improved their turnover. The household was probably dependent on Mr Marshall's wages as a labourer in the mines at Santon."
 
Memories of the shop in Old Crosby were recalled in our Nostalgia column on Monday, December 13, by Dennis Cox of Mallalieu Court, who believed it had at one time been a pub.
 
Another reader, Ken Tallentire of Old Crosby, recalled the shop had later been run by his parents Edith and Richard Tallentire, who took over from the Marshalls around 1929.
 
If you have any memories or old photos, please share them with us by writing to Nostalgia, 4-5 Park Square, Laneham Street, Park Square, Scunthorpe, DN15 6JH. Please place your name and address on the back of any photo.