BRIGG DRIVER ALERT - DELAYS POSSIBLE

Tree pruning work is planned on the A18 in Brigg and there's a "delays possible" advisory warning in place for motorists.
The location given at the moment is merely "Wrawby Road" - which is lengthy and has many trees on either side.
We will ask North Lincolnshire Council for further details of the location and the number of trees to be trimmed.
This work is earmarked for Tuesday to Thursday, September 11 to 13.
Drivers should also take note that the A1084 will be CLOSED to vehicles on October 11 while Network Rail's Bigby Road level crossing undergoes its "annual test."
Diversions will be in place, as is always the case when work is being done to the railway crossing.

PICTURED: Some of the mature trees alongside the A18 on Wrawby Road - an attractive feature of Brigg for decades.

IS TRAFFIC ISLAND NEAR BRIGG IN THE BEST SPOT?

When we took the above picture recently from the top of a double-decker bus heading from Brigg to Lincoln it set us thinking whether this traffic island (centre) is in the best spot.
Would it be better moved further along Scawby Road, closer to the Silversides turn-off?
There's a well-used bus stop on the opposite side of the road to the lengthy row of Scawby Road houses and those on the Silversides/River Meadow estate.
But passengers who alight from  No 4 service Hornsby buses then need to cross the A18.
We think the majority of people on foot would prefer to cross the A18 near Silversides Lane.
The current island, pictured, is ideal for folk  on foot heading towards Castlethorpe and Arties Mill, to the right
But we think there's greater need to cross near Silversides.
What do the good people of Scawby Road think?
Closer to  Brigg there is a crossing point provided for pedestrians at the top of the Waters Edge housing estate, from which many people visit North Lincolnshire Council's Ancholme Leisure Centre. So that one is in a good spot.

WHERE YOUNG DRINKERS LIKE TO MEET IN BRIGG

Cabanas proved quite a talking point in Brigg not so long ago when some were installed behind what was then Dexter's Ale House & Kitchen.
Cabana is the Spanish name for a small hut, often to be found on beaches.
Three wooden structures (pictured above) have now been added in the beer garden of the Yarborough Hunt, on Bridge Street.
They were fully occupied last Saturday night - mainly by people in their 20s.

CHANGES AHEAD AT BRIGG CLUB

Brigg Town Football Club has been based at the current Hawthorns venue since circa 1960, having earlier played at the Brocklesby Ox ground, off Bridge Street.
A small licensed bar/clubhouse was soon added at the new venue, later being extended to benefit members who paid their annual subs and also visiting fans who fancied an after-match pint.
It is now intended to make this a "community interest club" and refurbishment is already under way inside the premises.
The club is now appealing for old photographs of the ground/clubhouse to be displayed.
Brigg Blog has a few from the 1970s we'll be happy to donate for possible use.
If you have any old prints, take them down to the club for scanning and safe return.
The Brigg Town FC Grand Opening Night will take place at the Hawthorns clubhouse on Saturday, September 16, from 7.30pm.
Admission is free and entertainment will be provided by Geoff Wilson - guitarist and singer.
"Do not miss this event or you will regret it!" the organisers say.
Brigg Town FC was founded in the 1860s, making it one of the oldest in the world.
But despite the long history, it is changing with the times.

 

BRIGG TRAINS TO THE SEASIDE ON BANK HOLIDAY MONDAYS: THEN & NOW

Many older Brigg residents will remember, as children, being taken by mum and/or dad to Brigg railway station to board a train and spend an enjoyable day out in Cleethorpes on August bank holiday Mondays.
We  visited Wonderland, rode on the big dipper and helter-skelter, played the (old)penny slot-machines in the arcades and tucked into fish and chips or, if the family budget was stretched, feasted on packed-up sandwiches dusted with windblown sand.
There's been no bank holiday service along the Brigg line to the east coast resort for many years - with passenger trains reduced to Saturdays only since the mid-1990s.
But rail campaigner Paul Johnson reveals in the latest update to his Brigg Blog that people today are asking why there there are no trains operating on bank holidays.
As there is clear demand, could it be time for train companies to consider a rethink?
It's not as simple as it was in British Rail days. For the firm that operates the trains today is not the one that staffs the signalboxes and owns the track.
Paul also mentions governmental involvement in the process.
Read the latest Brigg line report by Paul through this link...

PICTURED ABOVE: A recent view of Cleethorpes station, with the beach on the right. Diesel units only today;  until 1965/6 this was trainspotters' paradise on summer Saturdays and  bank holiday Mondays with all sorts of steam locos pressed into service to bring excursions to the resort from Yorkshire and the Midlands.

BRIGG COULD DO WITH... WE PUTT FORWARD AN IDEA OR TWO

Brigg has much to offer in terms of leisure facilities - football, hockey, tennis, bowls, cricket,  netball and now rugby (there's a pitch at Sir John Nelthorpe School).
But, sadly,  there's nothing at all for golfers.
Fans of this sport can visit nearby courses in Broughton, Elsham (pictured above) and Messingham.
But isn't it time for something within the town boundary?
A full-sized course in Brigg is clearly not an option, given the amount of land required.
But what about a pitch and putt facility?
One suggestion has come from a local resident who thinks the Millennium Green, off Elwes Street, could be adapted fairly easily to offer half-dozen holes. Take along your own equipment, he says.
Players' feet could also keep the grass down and reduce the number of cuts required by the council.
Although a few yards over the border in Scawby, the old sugar factory sports ground, off Scawby Road, is an ideal size for a much larger pitch & putt course.
At Brigg Recreation Ground during the 1960s and 1970s there was a putting green.
The council provided you with a club and a ball and off you went.
It only cost a few pence and was very popular with children, many of whom got their first introduction to golf.
You were only supposed to go round the course once, but no-one stuck too closely to that rule.
There isn't room for a pitch and putt course on the newly-refurbished Rec, but if North Lincolnshire Council acquired a bit of farmland adjoining the ground - perhaps the other side of the tall poplar trees - that would do nicely.
Of course... there's nothing to stop a businessman or woman taking up this idea; the local authority does not have a monopoly on providing leisure facilities.

BRIGG REMEMBERS WAR HEROES WITH PARADE

A special parade was held yesterday (bank holiday Monday, August 28) in Brigg to remember the brave men who fought, and in many cases died, during the Battle of Passchendaele 100 years ago during  "the war to end all wars."
The parade assembled in Station Road and marched to the Monument war memorial, where wreaths were laid and a lament played.
Later that afternoon, at the Britannia Inn, people were invited to stand and remember those who lost their lives during the conflict.

WAR-TIME SONGS ENJOYED IN BRIGG AT BRITANNIA INN SOCIAL EVENT

Singer Jools, from Grimsby, pictured above, gave a rendition of war-time tunes in the beer garden at the Britannia Inn in Brigg yesterday afternoon, and the audience also enjoyed music from the RAF Waddington Pipes & Drums.
This social event - attended by many members of today's forces and those who had served in the past - proved very successful.

Britannia Inn landlady Kate Savage pulling a pint

BRIGG WILL REMEMBER PRINCESS DIANA

On Thursday (August 31) it will be 20 years since the death of Diana, The Princess of Wales.
She twice visited Brigg and the ornamental pear tree planted in 1988  by The People's Princess is still in place.
It is close to the County Bridge, the River Ancholme towpath and the Spring's Parade car park (almost opposite the White Hart pub).
There is an inscribed plaque near the tree trunk.
We will not be surprised to see some floral tributes placed at this location this week, in her memory.

The plaque above the main entrance to the Buttercross in Brigg town centre marks the Princess's visit in 1988.