BORDER! BORDER!

Very tentative suggestions that Scawby Brook households might be better served in Brigg than in Scawby parish have been raised by some of our town councillors.
So when coming down Bridge Street it amuses me to see the Scawby Brook nameboard sited well on Brigg's side of the boundary.
Are they trying to tell us something?

BRIGG SUMMER TIME

Judging by Brigg's biggest timepiece - the clock on top of the Buttercross - we are operating our own Brigg Summer Time.
Although other clocks were adjusted overnight on Saturday, or early on Sunday morning, the one on the Tourist Information Centre, run by North Lincolnshire Council, is still an hour slow.
Brigg Blog carried a similar story last year about the same clock, on another occasion when UK time was being adjusted by an hour.
Hopefully things will be put right later today.
Brigg is sometimes accused of being behind the times - so let's not labour the point!

FOOTY LEAGUE UPDATE

Brigg Alliance’s long reign at the top of the Back’o’TheNet Brigg 5-A-Side league came to an end when they suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to Hardly Athletic. Kelvin Brown scored his third goal of the campaign for Alliance but solitary strikes from Gaz Gowing and Chris Jenson earned Hardly a much needed first win of the season. The Aces capitalised with devastating effect as they slammed four past Grumpy Old Men without reply. Chris Ridley did most of the damage with a fine hat-trick and Tom Morwood with his third of the season completed a convincing win for the new leaders. The Marras kept up their excellent form as they put bottom club Dynamo Chicken Kiev to the sword by thrashing them 6-1. A brace each for Phil Cole and Andrew Morris grabbed most of the headlines with Jason North and Phil Davies also adding to the score line – Morris grabbed a hat-trick of sorts when he put through his own net to give Dynamo Chicken a mere consolation. Finally, Benchwarmers returned to fine form following a 3-1 win against Brigg Fire Brigade. Ben Croft grabbed a deadly double to take his tally to four for the season with Chris Jenson also on the mark, Brigade’s Shane Pritchard notching their consolation goal.


SCORES - MARCH 25

GRUMPY OLD MEN 0 v 4 THE ACES
BRIGG FIRE BRIGADE 1 v 3 BENCHWARMERS
BRIGG ALLIANCE 1 v 2 HARDLY ATHLETIC
THE MARRAS 6 v 1 DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV


APRIL 1 FIXTURES

THE ACES v DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV 18.30
HARDLY ATHLETIC v THE MARRAS 19.00
BENCHWARMERS v BRIGG ALLIANCE 19.30
BRIGG FIRE BRIGADE v GRUMPY OLD MEN 20.00


HOT SHOTS

DARREN BRITCLIFFE HARDLY ATHLETIC 7
DANNY WRAITH THE ACES 6
PHIL COLE THE MARRAS 5
ANDREW MORRIS THE MARRAS 5
BEN CROFT BENCHWARMERS 4
KEV GOODSON THE ACES 4
LUKE MCMILLAN BRIGG ALLIANCE 4
KELVIN BROWN BRIGG ALLIANCE 3
MICHAEL CLEMENTS BRIGG ALLIANCE 3
CAM HILL BENCHWARMERS 3
TOM MORWOOD THE ACES 3CHRIS RODGERS BRIGG ALLIANCE 3
STUART TINDALL GRUMPY OLD MEN 3
CHRIS RIDLEY THE ACES 3


HOW THEY STAND

THE ACES 5 4 0 1 18 7 +11 12
THE MARRAS 5 3 2 0 20 8 +12 11
BRIGG ALLIANCE 5 3 1 1 21 11 +10 10
BENCHWARMERS 5 2 2 1 11 10 +1 8
HARDLY ATHLETIC 5 1 3 1 11 13 -2 6
GRUMPY OLD MEN 5 1 2 2 6 14 -8 5
BRIGG FIRE STATION 5 0 1 4 7 17 -10 1
DYNAMO CHICKEN 5 0 1 4 6 20 -14 1

EASTER DATES

Services for Easter at St Mary's Church, Barnard Avenue, Brigg, have been announced:


Palm Sunday: Mass with blessing of Palms 11.00am

Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7.30pm

Good Friday: Solemn liturgy of the passion 3.00pm

Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil 10.30pm

Easter Sunday: Mass, followed by lunch 11.00am

For further details email stmarysbrigg@btinternet.com

MARINERS SINKING?

Grimsby Town FC are battling to stay in the Football League, with another vital match (at home to Aldershot) this afternoon.
There's a surprising number of Mariners' supporters in Brigg, given that we are about 25 miles from Blundell Park, Cleethorpes.
Partly that's historic - fathers following sons. But much is due to the fact that, for many years, there was a Brigg Branch of the Grimsby Town Supporters' Club, which ran buses to every home game.
Some of the older fans who used this bus, like Sam Briggs, from Almond Grove, could remember watching Grimsby in the old First Division, in the 1930s, when they could boast England internationals George Tweedy and Jackie Bestall, among others.
The buses to matches were operated by Daisy (the well-known Broughton company) and picked up in Brigg at the Brocklesby Ox, Cary Lane, on Wrawby Road near Crosslands (now Rosecroft), and outside the cemetery.
Further supporters were taken onboard in Wrawby, Barnetby, Searby, Grasby and even Keelby.
Grimsby had a dire season about 40 years ago and had to apply (successfully) for re-election, in the days before what is now the Blue Square competition was linked into the footballing pyramid.
The fortunes of the club then picked up in the 1970s and 1980s, and for some years they held their own in the second tier of English football, even being featured on Match of the Day.
The commercial side of the operation was run very successfully by Alec King, who at one time had a bookies in Wrawby Street, Brigg.
During the early 1980s, with George Kerr as manager, Grimsby could boast a very good squad, which included striker Pete Wainwright, raised in Silversides, just outside Brigg, and educated at Glebe Road School and Brigg Grammar.
In his recently produced book on growing up in Central Square, Brigg, between 1930 and 1950, John Rhodes makes reference to going to watch the Mariners, as a boy, when it was easy to get a train to New Clee (a halt right near the ground). Now, of course, we are down to three journeys each way - only on a Saturday.
John was at the Briggensians' Association annual dinner last Saturday and sold a copy of his book to Neil Marland, a keen Mariners' fan, who left BGS in the mid-1970s and went on to become a local government officer in Yorkshire. Whenever I meet up with Neil, his opening remarks usually relate to the fortunes of the Mariners. And so it was last Saturday.
There are quite a few Town followers in Brigg today who used the old Daisy Bus to get to matches and who can remember good seasons and equally some Grim times.
For the fortunes of the Mariners seem to ebb and flow like the tide just behind the ground.

GREAT SERVANT

How sad it was to hear of the death of Coun Ted Appleyard, the people's very long-serving representative on Barton Town Council, Barton Rural District Council, Humberside County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and the Humber Bridge Board.
Even though over 90, Ted, the oldest serving Mayor in Britain, was still working for the community up to a very short time before his death.
What has this to do with Brigg? Well, from 1974-1996 Ted came to Brigg on Thursdays for important meetings of Glanford Borough Council, at a time when all 41 councillors served on every committee. Unlike the current 'cabinet' system operated by North Lincolnshire Council, which to me doesn't seem to offer rank-and-file councillors the chance to contribute as much.
The often lively Glanford committee meetings were held in the fine old council chamber at what's now Hewson House, Station Road, with Ted taking up his familiar place on the very back pew.
The morning meeting (eg housing committee) would start at 10.30am after the councillors had been fortified with tea, served by the genial Mrs Cross from a small refreshment booth outside the chamber.
There would be a break for lunch from about 1pm-2pm when Ted would make his way (with fellow councillors and the press) to the Angel Hotel, for a spot of lunch - before returning for the afternoon meeting.
Ted would contribute to many debates, including Brigg topics like the Corn Exchange and the Recreation Ground.
Although a Barton councillor, he - like the vast majority of his colleague at the time - was not parochial. Ted was just as likely to speak on an issue outside Barton as he was on one in his own domain.
At the end of the first Glanford council meeting I covered, someone introduced me to Ted, whose initial comment was: "I don't care what you quote me as saying, as long as you quote me as saying something."
For Ted was a very shrewd politician, which is why he lasted so long. He knew that whenever his name appeared in the Lincolnshire Times, Scunthorpe Star or Scunthorpe Telegraph, it would register in the minds of the voters - and stay there until it came to election time.
The Brigg-based Lincolnshire Times had a district reporter covering Barton who worked from home. When she was on holiday, I would be sent out (by car) to Barton to dig out what news was available.
First port of call every day was always Ted Appleyard's shop, in Bowmandale. He would always deliver the goods - including (in answer to my prayers) something worthy of that week's front page.
The only downside was while sitting on Ted's sofa, supping a cuppa, you had to fight off his boisterous dogs while trying to scribble down his comments in your notebook.
When a friend of Ted's rang the Scunthorpe Telegraph office very early the other day to announce his death, I was the only one there to take the call, which was quite a shock.
"It really is the end of an era," said the caller. And she was spot on with that observation.
Ted could well be compared to Brigg's own George Hewson - they gave long service to their communities, served at all levels of local government and both ran shops on council estates (a very good way of hearing about people's problems).
They named a major public build after George - the aforementioned Hewson House. So I hope North Lincolnshire Council finds some similar way of ensuring Ted Appleyard's name lives on in the decades to come, in addition to the street in Barton already bearing his name.
If they want a suggestion, rename Waters' Edge (with its oddly-placed apostrophe) The Ted Appleyard Centre.
Even better, add Ted's name into the title of the Humber Bridge...after they have announced the removal of the dreaded tolls!
An excellent two-page tribute to Ted's life and work appeared in yesterday's Scunthorpe Telegraph.

TACKLING BAD BEHAVIOUR

Brigg police and councillors are meeting today to discuss management of anti-social behaviour in the town.
Town Mayor Coun Mike Campion and Coun Sue Nicholson will represent the town council, with Coun Carl Sherwood (also on North Lincolnshire Council) present wearing one of his other hats.
There has been much concern expressed about the behaviour of a minority of youngsters.
I've a meeting with Insp Brett Rutty (pictured) tomorrow to discuss the latest developments, which we intend to outline in next Tuesday's Brigg Extra page in the Scunthorpe Telegraph.

COULD HAVE DONE WITH MORE

There was another disappointing attendance by members of the public at the annual Brigg town meeting, held in the Angel Suite.
This was a golden opportunity to raise issues of concern about the way the town is run, rather thank folk grumbling among themselves.
The police were there, as were representatives of North Lincolnshire Council and Brigg Town Council.
The town council, which organised the event, put up many posters around town, and the meeting was previewed in the Scunthorpe Telegraph, the Scunthorpe Target and on Brigg Blog.
Yet Brigg members of the public, leaving aside councillors and those delivering reports, could just about be counted on one hand.
Still, despite the apathy, the meeting went ahead and some interesting points were raised and questions posed.
Town Mayor Coun Mike Campion responded to a question about whether the town council intended to take up the Government's idea of extending the role of the lowest tier of local authorities across the UK.
That, it was suggested, could include taking charge of projects like restoring the County Bridge.
Coun Campion said the town council had yet to decide whether it 'wanted to do more' - but that would require a bigger budget and more staff.
His personal view was 'no' - he felt the town council's current workload to be sufficient. But he pointed out other councillors might well think differently.
Asked about whether Brigg's boundaries might be extended to take in homes currently in adjoining parishes, Coun Campion said he did not expect the Boundary Commission would be in a position to consider anything for a long time.
But he suggested many residents of the Waters Edge housing development, adjoining the New River Ancholme, only realised they were in Broughton parish when it came to elections being held.
Keep watching the Tuesday Brigg Extra page in the Scunthorpe Telegraph for highlights of the annual town meeting, including a very important development about the County Bridge's restoration.

RISING COST OF TRAVEL

Bus fares on the Hornsby service between Brigg and Scunthorpe have increased by 20p on a single journey, which now costs £2.40p (subsidised).
Competitors Stagecoach had already raised their prices, making a typical return trip from the steel town to Brigg £2.50p (unsubsidised).
In a green move, North Lincolnshire Council chips in to subsidise certain buses on this route, helping to encourage use of public transport, which is to be applauded.
Unfortunately, only two people got on and paid their £2.40p on the 7am Hornsby service from Cary Lane to Scunthorpe today.
Fares on other bus routes from Brigg have also risen.

INDOOR UPDATE

Week four of the Back’O’TheNet Brigg Indoor Football League, held at Vale of Ancholme Sports Hall, Grammar School Road, and sponsored by The White Hart, produced more top quality football on a night where Brigg Alliance held on to top spot by the skin of their teeth. Trailing 2-0 to The Marras through goals from Phil Cole and Joe Hastings with time running out, The Marras had a great opportunity to put the game to bed when they were awarded a penalty, but they couldn’t take advantage and this proved costly as Alliance turned the screw and forced home two late goals through Jamie Rodgers and Michael Clements to snatch an unlikely point. The Aces took advantage as they slammed three past depleted Benchwarmers, but they didn’t have things entirely their own way as Marley Davis cancelled out Kev Goodson’s early goal. But The Aces finished strongly and added two more through Tom Morwood and another from the excellent Goodson to move them ominously into second place. Grumpy Old Men recorded their first win of the season following a narrow 1-0 win over Dynamo Chicken Kiev. In an excellent game of football that ebbed and flowed, Stuart Tindall managed to grab the only goal of the game to send the ‘Old Men’ into raptures and condemn Kiev to the foot of the table. Finally, Brigg Fire Station grabbed their first points of the season following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Hardly Athletic. Dave Jenkinson notched his second goal of the campaign and Darren Britcliffe added two more to his rapidly rising tally for Hardly, but they weren’t enough to snatch victory as an impressive brace from Will Davison, added to a second goal of the season for Brigg Fire’s Craig Dawson, ensured the honours were shared.



SCORES - MARCH 18

BRIGG ALLIANCE 2 v 2 THE MARRAS
DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV 0 v 1 GRUMPY OLD MEN
HARDLY ATHLETIC FC 3 v 3 BRIGG FIRE STATION
THE ACES 3 v 1 BENCHWARMERS

HOT SHOTS

DARREN BRITCLIFFE HARDLY ATHLETIC 7
DANNY WRAITH THE ACES 6
KEV GOODSON THE ACES 4
LUKE MCMILLAN BRIGG ALLIANCE 4
MICHAEL CLEMENTS BRIGG ALLIANCE 3
PHIL COLE THE MARRAS 3
CAM HILL BENCHWARMERS 3
ANDREW MORRIS THE MARRAS 3
CHRIS RODGERS BRIGG ALLIANCE 3
STUART TINDALL GRUMPY OLD MEN 3



FIXTURES - MARCH 25

GRUMPY OLD MEN v THE ACES 18.30
BRIGG FIRE STATION v BENCHWARMERS 19.00
BRIGG ALLIANCE v HARDLY ATHLETIC FC 19.30
THE MARRAS v DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV 20.00


HOW THEY STAND

BRIGG ALLIANCE 4 3 1 0 20 9 +11 10
THE ACES 4 3 0 1 14 7 +7 9
THE MARRAS 4 2 2 0 14 7 +7 8
BENCHWARMERS 4 1 2 1 8 9 -1 5
GRUMPY OLD MEN 4 1 2 1 6 10 -4 5
HARDLY ATHLETIC 4 0 3 1 9 12 -3 3
BRIGG FIRE STATION 4 0 1 3 6 14 -8 1
DYNAMO CHICKEN 4 0 1 3 5 14 -9 1


For further information about the league, contact Mark Chapman - email MarkyChappy@aol.com

TOP NIGHT

Last night's Briggensians' Association dinner lived up to expectations, a good night being had by all.
It was great to meet up with old school chums and former Brigg Town Cricket Club colleagues Neil Marland, once of Westrum Lane, and Ross McFarlane (pictured). Plus Craig Benson, who recalled how Brigg 2nds once took only 14 balls to knock off the required runs away to Grimsby BRSA.
Following information provided by Roy Foreman, the well-known solicitor, I'm now hoping to track down his younger brother, Trevor, who was a classmate at Glebe Road School and Brigg Grammar, in the 1960s and early 1970s. Trev worked behind the scenes for some major rock bands, so hopefully he will have some interesting tales to tell when we finally meet up again.
Many older Brigg folk will remember Trev's and Roy's dad, police sergeant Ernie. The family lived in one of the police houses (still there) next to the old police station and court house.
See next Tuesday's Brigg Extra page in the Scunthorpe Telegraph and Thursday's Scunthorpe Target for a report and pictures from last night's dinner.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Traffic delays along the A18, through Brigg, seem to be getting worse.
How about taking up Brigg Blog's simple suggestion to combat the problem: Stop all right turns onto Barnard Avenue from the side roads - Cary Lane, Ash Grove, Old Courts Road and Wesley Road.
Then either remove the two sets of traffic lights altogether, or make them only filter traffic turning left onto the A18.

BEST DAYS?

Tonight it will be a case of slipping into nostalgia mode at the annual dinner of the Briggensians' Association, uniting former pupils and staff of Brigg Sixth Form College, Sir John Nelthorpe School, Brigg Grammar and Brigg Girls' High.
As those 100-or-so attending will range in age from 18 to 80-plus, and a typical school life might have been only four to seven years, you don't need a mathematical model to work out there won't be that many same age people to chat to.
But that's not really the point. For the teachers and retired teachers are the uniting factor, some having taught before, and after, the switch to comprehensive status.
It's also true, in the case of Brigg Grammar, that many things did not alter greatly from year to year, or even decade to decade.
I was at BGS from 1967-74, which meant departing the hallowed corridors for the world of work two years before the formation of Sir John Nelthorpe School.
Many of us from the BGS era would not go so far as describing school days as being the best of our lives. But things weren't too bad; often they were pretty enjoyable.
Discipline was firm, with corporal punishment, but not unjust. To quote a modern phrase, they (headmaster H B Williams and staff) drew the line in the sand and we knew where it was, and realised what might well happen, if ever crossed.
In the national press today there is talk of the Tories wanting to open up schools for classes on Saturdays. Now that does bring back some unhappy memories.
Ours was the final intake at Brigg Grammar to have to endure Saturday morning school, and it was very hard to take.
July, 1968 saw the final Saturday morning classes held. True, you got Wednesday afternoon off school - but that was no recompense for losing a free Saturday morning.
However, it was good practice for working life, with Saturday morning shifts the norm at both the Lincolnshire Times and later while on the Scunthorpe Telegraph sports desk.
During my year group's early times at BGS we were taught by long-serving masters like Dr Frank "Toddy" Henthorn (history), Geoff "Shoddy" Jarvis (geography), "Woody" Watts (woodwork), Ray "Doggy" Barker (German) and Vernon Atkin (French).
Among the younger masters who taught us in the late 1960s were: David Brittain (physics), later to become headteacher of Sir John Nelthorpe School, who will hopefully be at tonight's dinner at Elsham Golf Club; Jack Moore (chemistry); and Mike Walker (English).
Mr Walker, whose very high forehead earned him the nickname "Dazzler", was one of the unsung heroes, to whom many of us owe a great deal. He was fanatical about comprehension exercises, involving us boiling down verbose paragraphs into much shorter versions. Much of my working life, sub-editing on newspapers, has involved just that!
Vince Adams, another English department member, encouraged us to write in varied styles and to do comment pieces on plays and music, with some success, but the building blocks of the job in hand came from Mr Walker.
History was a subject I really enjoyed at school, particularly in latter years under the wise guidance of Nick Lyons, who uncovered an interest in local history I never knew existed. Happy times were spent undertaking "digs" on what is now Old Courts Road car park, uncovering fragments of clay pipes, or trudging through mud on the banks of the River Ancholme, in the hope of finding Victorian alley bottles.
Although dips as a first year in the freezing cold, unheated swimming pool put me off that pastime for life, BGS was a good school for sport in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Stan Beedham, from Wrawby, our legendary groundsman, nurtured a cricket square good enough to attract county schoolboy fixtures, and we enjoyed taking to the many decent practice nets dotted around the perimeters of the field, whenever the opportunity arose.
There were house matches to contest, and friendlies against other schools - home and away. Plus the highlight - the annual July "friendly" between the 2nd X1 and The Staff, which the entire school was required to watch.
Football filled up the majority of the school year, and it was quite a joy to score two goals (as late substitute) when Ancholme secured the house title while I was in the sixth form. This was notable because, in my early years there, we had been one of the weaker houses.
Ater complaints, a review was carried out of the boundaries deciding which villages supplied the houses with their sporting talent, resulting in Ancholme (previously only Brigg boys) getting an influx from Nelthorpe (villages off the A18, heading towards Lincoln). This meant Ancholme acquiring some notable sportsmen.
The interesting thing about the Briggensians' dinner is you are never quite sure who is going to turn up - or who will be on your table.
Some people go every year; others every few years. Yet the main interest surrounds old boys/girls who have lost touch down the decades but turn up out of the blue, perhaps after a chance meeting with an old school chum in another part of the country, or even through locating the website www.briggensians.net

CRICKET, LOVELY CRICKET

Brigg Town Mayor Coun Mike Campion (extreme right) is seen here last night with collegues from Appleby-Frodingham Cricket Club, while attending the annual dinner of the Lincolnshire County Cricket League, held at Blundell Park, Cleethorpes.
You will note Mike is without his mayoral chain of office, as this was not one of his official duties as the town's first citizen.
Cricket is one of his passions and he puts in a lot of hard work for the sport as an administrator and supporter.
His club did not have a trophy to collect last night but still sent a good contingent to support the league dinner.
A good night out was had by all who attended, including 'His Worship'.

THINGS COULD BE MOVING AT LAST

New signs have gone up on Scawby Road and Bridge Street, maybe hinting the long-awaited new cycle lanes are about to appear.
The new signs have been covered over with polythene for the time being, but I reckon they are probably connected with the cycleway.
Watch this space!

BE SURE TO BE THERE

Don't forget Monday night sees Brigg's annual parish meeting, giving residents the chance to go along and say what they think about the way the town is being run - or to raise any issues of interest.
This is a once-a-year opportunity, and, in the words of the marriage ceremony: Speak now or forever hold thy peace (well, for another 12 months, anyway!).
It's no good folk grumbling about things on Brigg streets, or in pubs or shops - here's a golden opportunity to have your say and bring things out into the open.
The meeting is in the Angel Suite, off Market Place, from 7.30pm.
Such get-togethers have to be held annually by authorities like Brigg Town Council.
See you there?

DILLY DAYS

Memories of the days when many Brigg homes had no mains sewerage system have been revived by Kath Smith (nee Sambrook), of East Parade.
It's always good to get letters from her, and on this occasion she goes back to a time when the horse-drawn dilly cart collected 'night soil' from poorer Brigg addresses - chiefly in the town centre.
Kath's memory was jogged by the receipt of her annual bill from Anglian Water, which these days deals with the sewage and its disposal.
'Prim' Watkins was in charge of the Brigg dilly cart. "I wonder what he would think about the 'improvements' today?" Kath asks. "Soon after the 1939-45 war my aunt and her Belgian companion came over to see some of the family.
"After dark, at the bus stop outside Varlow's (in the Market Place), we saw the dilly cart coming over the bridge - lantern lights on the front and side, and a bit smelly.
"What is that thing?" was the question posed by her relative. "We don't have anything like that in Belgium. It makes my scratchy, scratchy!"
Kath reflects: "Those were the days. We were hard up, but happy. If we ran out of milk, or sugar, or a shilling for the gas meter, we would always find somebody to help us out, as we would help them.
"One neighbour came and asked mother if she could borrow a masking of tea. We didn't know what a masking of tea was!"
Kath, by the way, is the last of the original Sambrook family - eight brothers, two sisters.

Our super illustration, by former Brigg man Stephen Hill, shows The Friday Night Dilly Men, and has been featured in a past issue of the Scunthorpe Telegraph's Nostalgia magazine.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

Much improvement work, involving scaffolding, is under way on the block of flats adjoining the Brocklesby Ox, in Bridge Street.

KITTY LITTER

There are still posters dotted about in the town centre advertising the recent cat show, held at Ancholme Leisure Centre.
Folk who put them up should really got round and collect them up after the event, don't you think?

INDOOR FOOTIE UPDATE

Brigg Alliance cemented their place at the top of the league being played at the Vale of Ancholme sports hall, on Grammar School Road, following a 5-2 victory over the Brigg Fire Brigade.
With Alliance leading 1-0, the Fire Brigade put up a stern resistance and did well to frustrate the league leaders, but a controversial second goal for Alliance was quickly followed by a third which effectively ended the game.
The Fire Brigade came back into it and goals from Sam Horton and Tom Francis gave them hope, but Alliance added two more to keep their 100 per cent record in tact. Hot on their heels are The Marras who thrashed Grumpy Old Men 6-1 with debutant Phil Cole grabbing a brace in what was a feisty third game of the evening, Baz Shrimpton netted Grumpy’s consolation in the second half.
The Aces continued their impressive start to the season after beating Hardly Athletic 4-1. Danny Wraith hit a double to take his season’s tally to six and there were also solitary strikes from Tom Morwood and Kev Goodson.
The deadly Darren Britcliffe inevitably scored Hardly’s goal in what was a disappointing result for them. In the only other game of the evening, Benchwarmers kept up the pressure at the top of the table as they came from behind to beat Dynamo Chicken Kiev 2-1. Kiev lead through Ashley Gadie’s early goal, but a stirring fight back from Benchwarmers resulted in goals from Davis and Bingham which kept up their unbeaten run.

TOP SCORERS

DANNY WRAITH THE ACES 6
DARREN BRITCLIFFE HARDLY ATHLETIC 5
LUKE MACMILLAN BRIGG ALLIANCE 4
CAM HILL BENCHWARMERS 3
ANDREW MORRIS THE MARRAS 3
CHRIS RODGERS BRIGG ALLIANCE 3
KELVIN BROWN BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
SIMON CLARVIS DYNAMO CHICKEN 2
MICHAEL CLEMENTS BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
PHIL COLE THE MARRAS 2
ANDREW CORCORAN BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
BEN CROFT BENCHWARMERS 2
STEVE JORDAN THE MARRAS 2
BEN STOTHARD BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
STUART TINDALL GRUMPY OLD MEN 2


SCORES

THE ACES 4 v 1 HARDLY ATHLETIC
BENCHWARMERS 2 v 1 DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV FC
THE MARRAS 6 v 1 GRUMPY OLD MEN
BRIGG FIRE STATION 2 v 5 BRIGG ALLIANCE


TABLE

BRIGG ALLIANCE 3 3 0 0 18 7 +11 9
THE MARRAS 3 2 1 0 12 5 +7 7
THE ACES 3 2 0 1 11 6 +5 6
BENCHWARMERS 3 1 2 0 7 6 +1 5
HARDLY ATHLETIC 3 0 2 1 6 9 -3 2
GRUMPY OLD MEN 3 0 2 1 5 10 -5 2
DYNAMO CHICKEN 3 0 1 2 5 13 -8 1
BRIGG FIRE STATION 3 0 0 3 3 11 -8 0

GOOD TURNOUT

The Briggensians' annual dinner on Saturday night will see 103 people attending - described as 'a good crowd'.
The venue is Elsham Golf Club, and those attending will be former pupils and staff from Brigg Sixth Form College, Sir John Nelthorpe School, Brigg Girls' High School and Brigg Grammar School.
Ages will range from 80-plus to the teenage members of the sixth form, who will be helping me with the fundraising tombola. Although no longer on the Briggensians' committee, I like to help out with the tombola, when able to get to the dinner.
Many memories of school days long gone will be rekindled during the event, which always proves very enjoyable.
For further information visit www.briggensians.net

FRUSTRATING TIME

Drivers suffered double frustration in Brigg yesterday.
First, Network Rail closed the level crossing, on Bigby High Road, for maintenance, meaning a detour via Wrawby and Kettleby crossing for those living in that part of town, plus customers of Brigg Garden Centre.
Secondly, double-yellow lines on Bridge Street (A18) were being repainted. And that caused tailbacks through Scawby Brook and round Castlethorpe Corner.
Late morning, it took us half-an-hour - returning from Scunthorpe - to get clear of the traffic jam.
Brigg's carbon footprint must have gone up two large shoe sizes during the work, with the engines in all those cars, vans and lorries idling steadily.

RETURNING TO BUSINESS

Rumours of my demise have proved unfounded. Just to say I have been 'off sick' from work since last Wednesday but hope to return tomorrow, so normal Blog service should then be resumed...We hope!

ON THE ROAD

A reduction in the Brigg-Scunthorpe weekend bus service is concerning Deputy Town Mayor Coun James Truepenny.
He said the No 4 ‘late’ bus was no longer running, causing problems for people coming home from work or visiting the hospital.
The town council is to raise the matter with the Hornsby company, from Ashby, which operates the service.

DOESN'T HOLD WATER

THE idea of using barges to transport straw to the proposed Brigg Renewable Energy Plant has sunk without trace.
Dave Mouncey, from South Ferriby, an experienced River Ancholme bailiff, floated the idea last year to Eco2, the firm soon to seek planning permission for the plant on the old Brigg Sugar Factory site.
However, Eco2 director Andrew Toft has now revealed it’s a non-starter because the Environment Agency has the legal right to close the river to navigation, which would be no good for a plant requiring a steady supply of raw material.
Mr Toft made his announcement in the Angel Suite during a special session of Brigg Town Council’s planning and environment committee, held to give members of the public an opportunity to comment on Eco2’s amended application.
Robert Borrill, a farmer from Hibaldstow, suggested willow might be planted on low-lying land prone to flooding, then harvested and sent to the Brigg plant, as an alternative raw material to straw.
He thought a few hundred acres might be given over to this use in the Ancholme valley.
Confirming the plant could process this wood, Eco2 director Nigel Viney said if a group of farmers got together, his firm ‘would be interested’.

BACK IN BRIGG

Tony Sykes, former Town Mayor, town councillor and long-serving landlord of the Black Bull, in Wrawby Street, has returned from his home in Portugal for a couple of weeks.
We gather Tony keeps in touch with goings-on in Brigg via this Blog.

IT'S JUST NOT CRICKET

Brigg Town Cricket Club's application for a donation from the town council has been put on hold for the time being for 'clarification' of the financial statement submitted.
Town Mayor Coun Mike Campion, a very keen cricket follower, said the statement made no mention of expenditure on major items like equipment, teas and umpires.
He added: "The cricket club does a very good job in difficult circumstances at the Rec."
Coun Jenny Bell suggested they should defer the issue for the time being.

TWITTER YE NOT!

Councillors were all of a Twitter at a meeting of Brigg Town Council’s policy committee.
Town clerk Jeanette Woollard’s monthly update about the town council’s page on the social networking site MySpace revealed a new entry for teenagers’ 3Bs street project, operated jointly with Broughton Town Council and Barnetby Parish Council.
However, Coun Julian Kidd said youngsters were now leaving MySpace and graduating to rival networks Facebook and Twitter, with the latter ‘running ahead’.
Coun Edward Arnott suggested links could be created from the council’s existing MySpace site to the others.
Comments followed from more senior councillors like “You’ve lost me!” and “It’s a foreign language.”

FOR THE CHOP?

Notification of intention to fell a sycamore tree within a conservation area, in Eastfield Court, Albert Street,Brigg, has been lodged with North Lincolnshire Council planners by Mr T Lowther.
Brigg Town Council - invited to comment on the application - has raised no objections to the tree coming down. It is said to be in a very poor state.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

The Back’O’TheNet Brigg Indoor Football League played its second round of games at Vale of Ancholme sports hall, on Grammar School Road.
Our thanks go to co-organiser Mark Chapman for the latest update and standings, which we hope to run regularly as a new feature in Brigg Blog. Games are played every Wednesday. For further details email MarkyChappy@aol.com


Brigg Alliance remain top of the league following a hard-fought battle with The Aces. With The Aces leading 4-2 with little over two minutes remaining, thanks in part to yet another goal from Danny Wraith, Alliance produced a stirring fightback and grabbed the winner with just seconds left on the clock, Chris Rodgers doing most of the damage for Alliance with a fine brace.
Hot on their tails are The Marras who raced into a three-goal lead against Brigg Fire Station, with new signing John Staff marking his debut with a goal, and a fine all-round performance. The Fire Station keeper was kept busy throughout and produced numerous memorable saves to give his side a fighting chance and when Craig Danson fired home from the tightest of angles, this set up a tense finish but time ultimately ran out and The Marras cemented their place in second spot.
A hotly contested encounter between Benchwarmers and Grumpy Old Men resulted in a 2-2 draw with Stuart Tindall notching his second goal of the season for Grumpy. Cam Hill scored his second and third goals of the season with a deadly double for Benchwarmers, but the goals were only enough to snatch a point and ensure both sides remain unbeaten.
In the final game of the evening, Dynamo Chicken Kiev registered their first points of the season following a 3-3 draw with Hardly Athletic. Hardly lead 3-2 with little over a minute remaining thanks largely to a fine hat-trick from Darren Britcliffe, But Kiev showed great fighting spirit and snatched a draw to deny Hardly their first win of the season.


SCORES, MARCH 4

THE MARRAS 3 1 BRIGG FIRE STATION
GRUMPY OLD MEN 2 2 BENCHWARMERS
BRIGG ALLIANCE 5 4 THE ACES
DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV 3 3 HARDLY ATHLETIC


TABLE
BRIGG ALLIANCE 2 2 0 0 13 5 +8 6
THE MARRAS 2 1 1 0 6 4 +2 4
THE ACES 2 1 0 1 7 5 +2 3
BENCHWARMERS 2 0 2 0 5 5 0 2
HARDLY ATHLETIC 2 0 2 0 5 5 0 2
GRUMPY OLD MEN 2 0 2 0 4 4 0 2
DYNAMO CHICKEN 2 0 1 1 4 11 -7 1
BRIGG FIRE STATION 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0


TOP SCORERS
DARREN BRITCLIFFE HARDLY ATHLETIC 4
DANNY WRAITH THE ACES 4
CAM HILL BENCHWARMERS 3
KELVIN BROWN BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
SIMON CLARVIS DYNAMO CHICKEN 2
MICHAEL CLEMENTS BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
ANDREW CORCORAN BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
BEN CROFT BENCHWARMERS 2
STEVE JORDAN THE MARRAS 2
ANDREW MORRIS THE MARRAS 2
CHRIS RODGERS BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
BEN STOTHARD BRIGG ALLIANCE 2
STUART TINDALL GRUMPY OLD MEN 2


MARCH 11 FIXTURES
THE ACES v HARDLY ATHLETIC FC 18.30
BENCHWARMERS v DYNAMO CHICKEN KIEV FC 19.00
THE MARRAS v GRUMPY OLD MEN 19.30
BRIGG FIRE STATION v BRIGG ALLIANCE 20.00

THINKING OF WARMER TIMES

Many Brigg early risers, heading for work, will have needed to scrape the ice off their car windscreens this morning. However, the days are drawing longer and it won't be long before we hear the sound of ball on willow once again.
In readiness for the new season, starting late next month, Brigg Town Cricket Club members are invited to attend Brockleby Park CC nets at the Ancholme Leisure Centre on Wednesdays (8pm). The first session was held this week.
Club stalwart Gary Smith advises fellow players: "Please attend if possible as these will be the only adult nets before the start of the season.
"You may also wish to view a proposed charity match for the Alf Church Memorial Trophy in the news section of the Brigg Town Play-cricket website."
Visit www.briggtown.play-cricket.com

COMING TO THE SURFACE

Chapel Way and Springfield Rise residents are to be given advance notice of their streets being resurfaced next week.
That snippet prompted Coun Ann Eardley to complain to fellow town councillors about the 'appalling' state of many of the town's roads, with 'potholes' the word she used to describe the situation.
Coun Maureen Glossop, chairing the meeting of the planning and environment committee, said North Lincolnshire Council was doing the problem areas 'in turn' - and advised Coun Eardley to report any issues she had to highways staff or the town clerk.

STRAW POLL

Objections were raised to the proposed biomass straw-burning power plant at last night's meeting of Brigg Town Council's planning and environment committee in the Angel Suite.
No surprise there - and no surprise either that the objections remain road safety and traffic congestion, relating to lorries visiting and leaving the former sugar factory site; flood risk to homes in Scawby Brook; and straw coming off bales on their way to the site and littering the streets.
Eco2, the firm behind the proposed plant, withdrew its original planning application last summer, to do more work on addressing issues raised by the Environment Agency.
This has now been done, mainly by creating lagoons to hold surface water from the site during times of heavy rainfall.
Having heard last night's presentation, my personal view is the company will get permission for the amended application when it goes before North Lincolnshire planners.
Now to answer the question of why Brigg Town Council has become involved in a scheme which is not even within its parish boundaries, but in neighbouring Scawby.
It's certainly not a case of Brigg trying to muscle in on someone else's patch.
Eco2's directors deserve praise for putting their plans into the public domain last night - even before the actual application has been lodged with North Lincolnshire Council.
It was Eco2 which offered to come to last night's meeting, and Eco2 directors who were happy to field questions from concerned Scawby Brook residents, living near to the site. They are planning to make similar presentations in Scawby, Hibaldstow and Redbourne.
Brigg Town Council, as a neighbouring authority, is a "consultee" on the power plant but made no decision last night, due to the fact the application has yet to be lodged.
The town council last night "suspended standing orders" at the suggestion of planning chairwoman Coun Maureen Glossop (pictured), to give Scawby Brook residents the chance to express their concerns and ask questions. For, under council rules, only elected members and staff get the chance to take part in debates.
In case you are wondering, the Brigg Renewable Energy Plant will create 30 new jobs on-site, plus providing income for farmers growing the straw and for haulage firms involved in transporting the bales to the Brigg plant.

BURNING ISSUE

As you may have seen in yesterday's Scunthorpe Telegraph, tonight sees the unveiling of the amended plans for the Brigg Eco2 biomass renewable energy plant, proposed for the former sugar factory site at Scawby Brook.
A representative of the firm will make a presentation to Brigg town councillors tonight when the planning and environment committee meets in the Angel Suite, from 7.45pm.
The meeting is open to the press and public, and we expect a good contingent of protesters, particularly from Scawby Brook. That's based on the fact there was a big turn-out last year when the original plans for the plant were announced and debated. Subsequently they were withdrawn by the company, and have now been revised.
We shall find out tonight what the changes are.
The proposed plant will use straw as its chief raw material, brought in from farms over a wide area. And the number of lorries that will involve is the burning issue, prompting concerns about road safety, traffic congestion and straw blowing about the streets.
We must stress Brigg Town Council planning and environment committee does not have the power to decide applications like this - they go to North Lincolnshire Council, the planning authority.
However, town and parish councils are the first link in the chain for applications, and councillors at the lowest level have the right to comment on any schemes - large or small - proposed for their area, or immediately adjoining their patch (as is the case here).
Again, if you read yesterday's Scunthorpe Telegraph, you will have seen Brigg Town Council discussing, very tentatively, the idea of seeking to expand the town boundary to include Scawby Brook. Should that ever come to pass, it could well mean the Eco2 site being in Brigg, rather than Scawby Brook.
Tonight's meeting will be in the main room at the Angel Suite - the former ballroom - rather than the very small downstairs lounge.
Our picture from last June shows Eco2 representatives at the meeting in the Angel Suite when Brigg councillors considered the original application. It drew a very large attendance. Nearest the camera is North Lincolnshire councillor for the Brigg area, Coun John Berry, with town clerk Jeanette Woollard and the then Deputy Mayor, Coun Mike Campion.

SIMON SAYS...

Simon (Chozzie) Church, in Perth, Australia, has sent a message to members of Brigg Town Cricket Club - players, past and present, plus family and friends.
The former Brigg cricketer, who emigrated Down-Under, is planning to return to town for a reunion with ex-team-mates, plus taking part in a special veterans' game.
The match will be Tom's Poms (skippered by Andy Willey) v Chozzie's Aussies - for the Alf Church Memorial Trophy, Alf being Simon's later father, and a keen supporter of the cricket club while Simon was appearing as a batsman over many years.
The suggested date is Friday, July 10, although a suitable ground has yet to be confirmed - Brigg Recreation or Sir John Nelthorpe School being the obvious choices.
"My thoughts are to have a game followed by a BBQ and drinks to celebrate," Simon says. "Teams could be picked out of a hat on the day - 20 overs each team, two overs per bowler. Above all let's have a fun night and a couple of quiet beers. All welcome," he says.
Simon had a bit of a heart scare in January, which stopped him coming over to Brigg, as planned, for a reunion at the Yarborough Hunt, which went ahead without him. But the situation has improved. "Now I have the all-clear on my health,I'm back into full training for the big game," he stresses.
Those Brigg Blog readers with the necessary social network site access can reply to Simon by visiting
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=52412676481&aref=18270987

10,000 AND COUNTING

Perhaps you noticed the counter on this Blog tick past the 10,000 mark -
a milestone we are happy to celebrate, if anyone's offering a pint in a Brigg hostelry. We introduced the counter in mid-September.

NEW JOB CLUB OPENS

A new Brigg Job Club starts tomorrow (Tuesday).
Out of work? Need some help with a CV or application form? Looking for ideas to find a job quicker? Can’t find the support you want? Want to talk to people in the same boat?
Then pop along to Brigg Methodist Church, on Barnard Avenue, tomorrow when the club starts, for an initial 'test' period of six weeks, meeting from 1pm to 3pm in the coffee lounge at this time every Tuesday.
Everyone interested is welcome to call in and chat with organiser Jim Marr.
He says: "I have been out of work for seven months and am looking to start a group who can support each other through periods of unemployment. Interested? Nothing better to do? Then come and have a coffee at Brigg Job Club."
You can contact Jim on 07777662258.

NEWLANDS RIDDLE

Information used by satellite navigation systems might need updating when it comes to the Newlands estate in Brigg, Coun Ann Eardley thinks.
She has been trying to work out why trucks heading for the Chartdale housing estate sometimes end up near a public footpath, and use Cherry Tree Avenue and Ash Grove when they don’t need to.
‘No through road to Chartdale’ signs, would solve the problem, she suggested at the quarterly meeting of the Brigg Neighbourhood Policing Panel, in the Angel Suite.
However, her idea gained no support.
Pete Scott, head of safer roads with the highway authority, North Lincolnshire Council, said delivery lorries, like those taking out groceries for Tesco, had a right to go into estates.
Panel chairman, Coun Tom Glossop, agreed, saying: “If they are legitimate deliveries, you cannot stop them.”

NATURE'S BOUNTY

On our side of Brigg we are fortunate to live very close to the countryside, despite being in the midst of a housing estate. This is reflected in the wide range of birdlife visiting urban gardens in this part of town - even very small ones, like ours.
While updating Brigg Blog at home, a bush and tree are in clear view through the window and are visited by not only mundane sparrows, starlings and blackbirds but more exotic bull finches, green finches, blue tits, great tits, robins and wrens, to name just a few.
On one occasion last year a sparrow hawk arrived and perched on the back garden fence, if only for a minute.
Unfortunately our digital camera equipment does not run to a long lens - and the birds will have flown before we get close enough to grab a pic to share with you on this posting.
It would be interesting to learn what range of birdlife visits gardens across Brigg. So, if you can, post your location and the types you enjoy watching.

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Apologies for the absence of a Brigg Blog update yesterday, which was due to 'Mrs F' and myself going on a steam train-hauled excursion to London, setting off early in the morning.
While waiting on the platform at Barnetby we met Brigg's Adrian Broome, awaiting a service train to go rambling in Sheffield.
On our steam-hauled train were Derek Bradley, of Bradley Insurance, Brigg, and his wife Judith, plus Brigg Town Cricket Club secretary Lee Fielden and his wife Fiona (pictured here with the loco).
The full story of the train excursion, with pictures, will appear in tomorrow's Scunthorpe Telegraph, as long as I get to work this afternoon to pen the copy and sort the images.