SNEAK PREVIEW

The Dying Gladiator's Robert Borrill has just been in touch to say the shutters come off the front of his Bigby Street premises tomorrow.
"If only we could get Russell Crowe to appear!" he jokes about Thursday's grand reopening.
Robert has kindly supplied some pictures by way of a sneak preview for those planning to drop in to his refurbished historic hostelry once it's back in business.

FINALLY APPROVED

After a very long wait, North Lincolnshire Homes has finally been granted planning permission for its 'emergency control centre' at 1A Ancholme Gardens, Cadney Road, Brigg, which involves change of use from residential to B1 (office).
Some reservations were expressed about the loss of social housing of this type, which is said to be in short supply. But, having weighed up all the evidence, North Lincolshire Council agreed to the application from the Scunthorpe-based organisation which manages the area's stock of ex-council properties.
Coun Nigel Sherwood tells Brigg Blog he suggested North Lincolnshire Homes would be better served by using a portable building for its emergency control centre, or buying a mobile incident trailer, as used successfully by Humberside Police.
For those unfamiliar with Ancholme Gardens, it's a development offering housing for more elderly members of our community.
Also granted: Planning permission to retain five storage containers, Thomas Bell & Sons Ltd, Bigby Road, Brigg.

BRINGING THEM TO BOOK?

Coun Nigel Sherwood (Brigg Wolds) has kindly drawn our attention to the recently announced North Lincolnshire Council budget plans in which there is reference to "£300,000 commitment given to relocate Brigg Library and Local Link to The Angel, in 2011/12."
He's not in the controlling Labour group of the council, by the way, which draws up proposals of this kind.
Would it be a good or bad thing to move the Library from its current home on the edge of the Old Courts Road car park? The Angel, after all, has a car park at the back - also pay-and-display. It's a smaller one than Old Courts Road but as long as the elderly and disabled could find spaces to park behind the Angel there probably wouldn't be much difference.
Is it safe to assume North Lincolnshire Council will put the relocated library on the ground floor? Near the front of the Angel, close to the glass doors, would seem the most sensible location.
Post your comments, if you wish...

GLADIATOR DATE CONFIRMED

There's a social networking site for the Dying Gladiator, Brigg, on which they confirm Thursday, March 4 as the grand reopening date, and advise visitors to keep watching for further details.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

Delays are being experienced on Barnard Avenue today while a team of workmen is attending to the traffic lights at the junction with Old Courts Road and Wesley Road.
Temporary traffic lights are in operation but the queue of traffic down Barnard Avenue is so long we've just found it impossible to turn right out of Cary Lane.
In addition, they have blocked off one lane on Barnard Avenue - the one used by traffic coming from the Tesco direction and looking to turn right into Old Courts Road (see picture above).

HARDLY CHAOS, BUT BUSY

Plenty of late lunch-time congestion on Barnard Avenue today caused, in part, by a high turn-out of people coming by car to Brigg for the monthly farmers' market. Traffic was queuing back from the Old Courts Road traffic lights as far as The Monument. The lights were letting just three vehicles a time out of Wesley Road onto Barnard Avenue. And only one was getting through if choosing to turn right across the approaching traffic. I thought it better to head left and turn round at The Monument, until spotting the long queue of traffic. Instead I went down Bigby Street and parked up near the Angel.
A very slow business, then, just to make one purchase at Tesco!

NEW ASSISTANT CLERK

Brigg Town Council is all set to get a new Assistant Town Clerk to help Town Clerk Jeanette Woollard with her heavy workload.
Coun Julian Kidd, chairman of the personnel committee, said that, subject to the receipt of satisfactory references and an enhanced CRB check, a new Assistant Clerk had been appointed. However, he felt it would be unfair to reveal the name in public until confirmation had taken place.
Following the appointment of a new Assistant Clerk, the Town Council's office in the Angel Suite will usually be manned during Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday. However, these hours may vary in accordance with the needs of the council.
The office will continue to be open for public enquiries on Monday and Thursday between 9.30am and noon.

'GLAD' ALL OVER

We understand the long-closed Dying Gladiator will be re-opening its doors to the public late next week after refurbishment by the new owners.
Ahead of that, Brigg's first citizen, Town Mayor Coun James Truepenny, has been given a guided tour/sneak preview of the Bigby Street watering hole. "And it looks very good" was his conclusion.
Some weeks ago, Brigg Town Council wrote to press for the historic sign/statue above the door to be be renovated, and the Town Mayor suggests the new owners have already been in touch with Lincoln University about it.
Brigg Blog hopes to bring you more on the Glad's grand reopening in the next few days.

1.11pm Saturday: Just been down to the Gladiator and the front door is still boarded up, with no sign of a notice announcing the opening date. Further to the earlier post about Sargeant's bitter, we gather it went on sale in the Black Bull last night, rather than today as originally suggested to us.

COMMUNITY PLAN MORE LIKELY

Brigg Town Council's application for £2,500 funding to create our first Community Plan has been successful. Further details will be made available to the public at next month's annual town meeting (much more about that important forum will be posted on Brigg Blog at a later date).
A Community Plan can draw up a kind of wish list of things people would like to see, such as improved leisure or arts facilities. Having an official Community Plan is said to be very helpful in obtaining various grants for projects.
This will be something totally new for Brigg, and although the Town Council is sourcing the money to pay for it, the Community Plan will be driven by the general public, not the wishes of councillors, although obviously they may well have valid contributions and suggestions to make.
NF adds: Brigg Recreation Ground would be at the top of my wish list. It's high time this facility came back under Brigg's control. North Lincolnshire Council inherited it from Glanford Borough Council in 1996, and Glanford only took control, in 1974, because the newly-formed Brigg Town Council did not want to manage it after the the demise of the old Brigg Urban District authority. For many years there has been talk of a group being formed to manage the Recreation Ground. We are sure North Lincolnshire Council would be happy to hand that responsibility over to someone else, as the Rec currently generates little revenue. Plans have been drawn up, at various times, for new changing rooms, the installation of a full-sized floodlit Astroturf sports pitch (ideal for hockey, netball and football). There's even been talk of a mini-golf/pitch and putt course.

BE MORE VISIBLE ON STREETS - CALL

The general policing of Brigg streets by Insp Brett Rutty (pictured) and his team of officers has scored good marks with the Town Council, but a call is being made for 'a more visible presence'.
Approached by Humberside Police to comment on how they found things, councillors were generally appreciative of policing methods, although there was an overall wish to see officers out on the beat more often.
Town Mayor Coun James Truepenny described the anti-social behaviour programme as being very good, while Coun Penny Smith felt more officers needed to be seen on Brigg streets.
Coun Mike Campion noted that although there were traffic officers based round the clock in the Barnard Avenue police station, the building was not open to the public on a 24-hour basis, which was something he wanted to see introduced.
Coun Tom Glossop pointed out the Brigg Neighbourhood Policing Panel's quarterly meetings in the Angel Suite offered a fine opportunity for members of the public to raise issues directly with local police.
Deputy Town Mayor Coun Ben Nobbs suggested speeding traffic in the town needed looking at, with some motorists "tearing about."
Coun Michael Galvin thought it would be useful if an open day was staged at Brigg police station, while Coun Ann Eardley called for improved signage to point the public's way to the police's base in Barnard Avenue.
NF adds: I think most of us would agree that the major issue of youths hanging around Cary Lane and Tesco's and Lidl's car parks is very much improved, for which Insp Rutty and his officers deserve credit. The town centre anti-social behaviour zone has also proved very effective. But Brigg residents - like those in all other towns, cities and villages - would like to see more police patrolling the streets more often. Modern police methods and the way resources are deployed mean we are never going to see a return to the nostalgic days portrayed in the long-running Dixon of Dock Green TV series. But that programme was very popular with the public because it showed a local policeman, with local knowledge, out and about re-assuring the public with his cheery "Evenin' All!" greeting.

MESSAGE OF THANKS

Brigg Town Council has contacted the town of Wootton Bassett to extend our thanks, through Town Mayor Coun James Truepenny, "for the sensitive, respectful and dignified support they are providing to the families and loved ones of those members of the armed forces who, sadly, are being repatriated through the town having paid the ultimate sacrifice."
That course of action was agreed at Brigg Town Council's monthly meeting following a proposal by Coun Tom Glossop, who said of Wootton Bassett: "It's a very moving thing to see people lining the streets in the way that they do."
Coun John Kitwood was in complete agreement with Brigg extending its thanks, suggesting the Town Council might well have done so earlier.

BACK TO NORMAL

Apologies for the absence of postings yesterday. Before Ken Harrison gets concerned about my health or well-being, this was due to computer problems - hopefully now resolved - and the fact I've just done two full freelance shifts at the Scunthorpe Telegraph. Normal service is now resumed.
We intend to up the output over the weekend to make up for it!

CHEERS TO MORE ALE

From Richard Smith, Black Bull, Wrawby Street

Just to let you know that Phil has brewed some more Sergeant's beer - should be ready for the pumps on Saturday (tomorrow); 18 gallons coming.

D-DAY FOR SKATE PARK

Brigg Skate Park - just over the parish border in Scawby, near Ancholme Leisure Centre - needs to find money for next year's insurance or the skids could well be put under this worthwhile facility enjoyed by young people from a wide area.
As the Park is not in Brigg, the Town Council would only be allowed to put a maximum £250 a year into it. However, the insurance for the 12 months from April 1 will be in the region of £1,800, the current yearly premium having been kindly met by North Lincolnshire Council.
Coun Ben Nobbs, Deputy Town Mayor of Brigg, says it is very important the Skate Park Committee succeeds, but warns that unless that body can find the money, the park will close. Another meeting has been arranged for Monday, March 8 when the organisers hope for a good attendance by those interested in saving the Park.
When Brigg Town Council reviewed the situation at its monthly meeting on Monday in the Angel Suite, Coun Sue Nicholson wondered whether it might be possible for users to be asked to pay a small charge for the first time.
But Town Clerk Jeanette Woollard pointed out that would result in many health and safety and supervision issues and change the status of the facility.
Brigg Town Council is now wondering whether other local parish councils might help, together with organisations with a proven track record of supporting worthy causes, such as the Freemasons or Rotary.

'BEST IN BRITAIN' PLAYS BRIGG VENUE

Clive Carroll - described as probably the best and most original young accoustic guitar player and composer in Great Britain by Accoustic Guitar Magazine - will be in concert at Brigg's Angel Suite on Saturday, March 27 (8pm).
Tickets are £10 - contact Angel Suite manager Karen Deeley on 01652 659402 or 07903531201.
Clive has toured extensively throughout Europe, the USA and Australia, and his third solo album Life in Colour received rave reviews.
Karen suggests listening to some of his work through a search on You Tube, or you can view his website www.clivecarroll.co.uk

STEEL TALK WELL RECEIVED

From Phil Allen, Brigg Amateur Social Historians

The subject of the February BASH meeting at Brigg & District Servicemen’s Club was The History of Iron & Steel Making in Scunthorpe, with speaker Steve Cook.
Steve initially took us into the pre-historic past of the area explaining
the origin of the vast ironstone deposits. These were then discovered in the late 1850s in the region of the five small villages of Scunthorpe, Frodingham, Crosby, Brumby and Ashby, resulting in the development of an iron and steel industry and rapid population growth.
He showed many images of the very labour-intensive early days of the industry and some very rare movie clips. The works included Frodingham Ironworks; North Lincoln Ironworks; Redbourn Hill Iron & Coal Company; Appleby Ironworks; John Lysaght's Iron and Steelworks.
Finally, in the early 1980s, it was realised that the local ore (20% iron) could not compete with imported ore (at 60-70% iron) and it was decided to close all the local mines and quarries.
Steve gave a fascinating talk that was extremely well attended and enjoyed
by everybody.
The next BASH meeting will be on Tuesday, 2nd March at the Servicemen's Club - A Nostalgic Journey Around Brigg (See how Brigg looked 100 years ago). This is an illustrated talk by BASH Chairman Josie Webb and Secretary Pat Parkinson.

Pictured at the February meeting are the speaker with some retired steelworkers. Left to right: John Tindall, Doug Parker, Les Wells (seated), Steve Cook (speaker), Len Hippisley, Steve Stubbins.

NEWCOMERS WELCOMED

The three new Brigg Town councillors being welcomed by Town Mayor Coun James Truepenny to the authority's February meeting held in the Angel Suite tonight. Left to right: Coun Mel Oades, of Poppyfield Way, Brigg; Coun Chris Pope, of Common Road, Wressle; Coun Truepenny; Coun Michael Galvin, of Bigby High Road, Brigg. All three 'new boys' made contributions to the 'full council' debates and have been allocated membership of the various town council committees which carry out much of the business. Much of interest came up at tonight's planning and environment committee meeting and the town council's monthly meeting which followed.
Keep watching Brigg Blog in the days ahead for full reports.

BRIGG MATTERS ON THE INTERNET

The popular Brigg Matters community newsletter - delivered in printed form to properties in the town - is now available online for the first time.
There's always plenty of interesting content in each issue and as it's in PDF format online you can easily search for what you want.
A very welcome development. And as Coun Ben Nobbs and his team were kind enough to 'plug' Brigg Blog, we are delighted to repay the compliment with a permanent hypelink on this site and with this link to take you straight to online Brigg Matters BRIGG MATTERS

STILL ON TARGET

Colin Mumby - the oldest striker in town - scored recently for Brigg-based Briggensians Football Club in a Scunthorpe Saturday League match at Barrow Wanderers, even though he's now 60.
The trusty left foot is still doing the business, Col having played - many years ago - for Scunthorpe United Reserves in the same team as a certain Kevin Keegan.
Col's still playing, Kev isn't!

BUSY NIGHT IN PROSPECT

Brigg Town Council's planning and environment committee meets in the Angel Suite (off the Market Place) tonight at 6.45pm, with the monthly 'full council' meeting following at 7.30pm.
These meetings are open to the public - and at the latter there will be time set aside at the beginning for local people to speak on matters of interest to them.

MORE SNOW THAN WE THOUGHT

The heavy snow shower earlier this morning surprised quite a few of us. Still, it prompted a walk round some Brigg streets for me, rather than de-icing the car.
A few picture opportunities also presented themselves.


Anchorage, in Alaska, is a pretty cold place; its namesake The Anchorage, on Wrawby Road, Brigg, got a taste of North American-style weather today.


Our most famous Brigg export to the arts, Lady Olivier (Joan Plowright), has acted in a number of productions in which snow plays a part (eg Disney's 101 Dalmatians). That gave us an excuse to capture this wintry scene today at her first family home in Central Square.
Back in the 1930s, when she grew up in Brigg, no doubt winters really were winters!


We also feature a snowy Recreation Ground, where the sightscreens on the boundary remind us it's less than two months until the start of the 2010 cricket season. But Lee Fielden, Jack Richards, Gary Smith and the other Brigg Town regulars will be hoping for a significant improvement on today's weather.
Perhaps the White Horse pub could have been re-named the White Out Horse!

SERVED BRIGG AND HIS COUNTRY

Foxton Way, off Horstead Avenue, is one of Brigg's newest streets. But it's a fair bet many residents living there today have no idea about the life of the man their street is named after.
Dr John Foxton was a well-known and long-serving Brigg GP, who retired from practice around 30 years ago but carried on for a time as medical officer to the 12 Air Defence Regiment at Kirton Lindsey.
Brought up near Hull, he became interested in the medical profession through an uncle who was a doctor, training at Leeds University, holding several 'assistantships' and volunteering to serve with the Royal Navy at the very outbreak of the Second World War.
After being demobbed in 1946 he came to Brigg to join the branch practice of Dr and Mrs Stiner, of Scunthorpe. A couple of years later he was joined by his younger brother, Dr Richard.
Many of us can remember consulting Dr John Foxton over medical matters at the surgery in Bridge Street (now a block of flats adjoining the petrol station) and at The Cedars, on Bigby Road, now being converted yet again.
Dr Foxton and his wife Thora, a Brigg bench magistrate, lived in the last large detached house on Wrawby Road, almost behind the Recreation Ground, with distinctive ivy-covered walls.
From that property today you can see across the farmer's field to Foxton Way. A bit more than a stone's throw, but perhaps readers will allow a little bit of journalistic licence!

POTHOLES ON ANYONE'S LIST

We are sure North Lincolnshire Council highways are doing their level best to tackle the many potholes resulting from this winter's unusual helpings of frost and snow.
However, council staff sometimes ask the public to alert them to issues needing attention (eg street lights out of action). That being so, the largest pothole observed so far in Brigg is on Yarborough Road.
Unless, of course, you can come up with other challengers!

BIG FAT ZERO FOR BRIGG

My ears pricked up during last night's fascinating TV programme Big Fat Gypsy Wedding - about UK travellers tying the knot - when one of the young brides-to-be mentioned what she ought to wear to attend a forthcoming annual horse fair.
Unfortunately she meant Appleby's, in Westmoreland, not Brigg's long-running August tradition which brings members of the travelling community to our town to buy and sell their steeds in the time-honoured fashion. Footage followed showing gypsy girls at Appleby Horse Fair.
It's not many years since Josie Webb oversaw a small exhibition of Brigg Horse Fair pictures of the past, staged in the White Horse by BASH. Some of my father's images of horse fairs from the early 1970s were among them, and a few of the gypsies who visited the pub for a look spotted themselves, or relatives, among the pictures on display.
Returning to the hour-long TV programme, the terms 'gypsy', 'traveller' and 'Romany' were used at various times. But no real effort was made to explain the distinction between the three, which would have been helpful to many viewers.

WHEN 16 MEN GOT THE BOOT EVERY DAY

Our recent post on Bell's in the Market Place closing in 1983 has prompted further research into Brigg town centre businesses long ago - this time in Wrawby Street.
We'll wind the clock back a century to 1910 when Walter B. Robinson had an emporium selling newspapers, stationery and fancy goods. He later took over a printing business in Cressey Yard, one of the alleys off Wrawby Street, and when radio became a viable proposition opened a radio and gramaphone shop across the way in what's now Lloyds TSB.
The old post office was in Wrawby Street, adjoining College Yard. My grandad Charles Taylor (1896-1990) was a boy messenger there between about 1910 and the outbreak of the First World War, in which he fought and was wounded, becoming a sergeant. He worked as a coach-painter and signwriter for Layne's, in Bigby Street, into his mid-70s, and during the Second World War was in Brigg's Home Guard.
But back to Wrawby Street a century ago...Near to the post office (on the other side of College Yard) was a jewellery and silversmith shop owned by Percy Cross, later being taken on by Winter Jackson.
Next door - and still in business today, of course - came the Black Bull. Circa 1910 there were three other pubs in that stretch of Wrawby Street - the Red Lion, Butcher's Arms and the Rose and Crown. The Red Lion was demolished to make way for a chemist's; the Butcher's became a betting shop (today, the Deli); while the Rose and Crown became a baker's.
Further down the street was ironmonger J H Elwood, later operated under the same name by Ewart Gillard.
Among the best-known on the other side of Wrawby Street was Walker's - a century ago owned by Sidney E Walker, the business having been registered way back in 1844. His first shop was in the premises much later owned by butchery firm Watson's, subsequently moving to the site known to many as Lloyds Bank, then into Wrawby Street. In the late 19th century, Walker's employed 16 men making boots and shoes. Later, of course, the firm occupied a prominent position in Wrawby Street, the business being run by grandson Sidney and his wife Hilda.
A century ago, George Van Eccles had a sizeable men's outfitting shop running the width of a block with rear entrance from Bigby Street. The site became derelict when the business closed and it was some time before the area was cleared.
Nearby was a drapery business owned by the Patchett family - a mother and sons partnership.
In the Market Place the Angel Hotel's successive landlords were Joseph Hellaby Skevington and Bill Bridgwater. The Angel operated a horse-drawn bus to take guests to and from Brigg station - then receiving a proper, seven-days-a-week service from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway mainline (subsequently the Great Central, then the London North Eastern 1923-47).
Our pictures give a taste of what Wrawby Street was like circa 1910. Brigg Blog welcomes your memories, or information, on town centre shops of the past. Please post a comment on this story or email scoopfisher@aol

You can read my Nostalgia page in the Scunthorpe Telegraph every Monday and more about Brigg life long ago in Nostalgia magazine, on sale every month for 75p. The February issue is in the shops next Friday (Feb 26) and costs 75p. It includes a special feature about Winnie Cammack, ex-Richardson's newsagent, Wrawby Street, plus more Brigg memories.

STRAW POLL IS ALL WE CAN OFFER

It was good of the Scunthorpe Telegraph to inform us this week that the Brigg Biomass power plant scheme has been amended and re-submitted for council consideration.
However, a check this morning of the online 'applications received' by North Lincolnshire Council, and the planning register, has failed to locate the updated scheme, which is doubtless going through the processing system at the moment.
We need to remember, of course, that although carrying 'Brigg' in the title the proposed site is on old sugar factory land over the border in Scawby Brook (Scawby parish).
Brigg Town Council, as a neighbouring authority, has the right to be consulted and make its views known. Indeed, it did so on the earlier 2008/9 application for the straw-powered station, subsequently withdrawn by the firm concerned.
Whether the new application will result in another round of consultations and more public debate in the Angel Suite, involving opponents (mainly from Scawby Brook) remains to be seen.
Some straw-carrying lorries will come through Brigg if the plant wins approval, but the majority should by-pass the town. It will be a different matter, though, for Scawby Brook. Hence the residents' concerns.
For me it was disappointing to see the company behind Brigg Biomass decide not to proceed with the idea of using barges to take large quantities of straw direct from farmers' fields alongside the Ancholme to a specially constructed unloading stage on the New River.
Perhaps, when we get to view the revised scheme, water transport will be back in the mix, significantly reducing the number of lorries visiting, and leaving, the plant.
Even if that doesn't happen, and it is still proposed all straw comes in by road, the number of trailers heading through Brigg will be a fraction of what we saw pre-M180, pre-A15 link road, and pre-Pedestrianisation Scheme when sugar factory-bound 'bouncing beat' was once a feature of Wrawby Street, Bigby Street and Bridge Street.
The official company name for the development is the Brigg Renewable Energy Plant. The 2020 target for renewable energy in North Lincolnshire is 112MW. The Brigg REP would be capable of providing over one-third of the 2020 target in North Lincolnshire, the firm says.
An earlier statement it released revealed: "Generating electricity from straw makes use of a residue from wheat production. Brigg REP would stimulate a new market for straw that is currently ploughed back into the land. This market would be worth well in excess of £6m to the local agricultural community and create 50 new jobs. Operating the plant will also create 30 skilled jobs."

WATCHING BRIEF

You can still rely on Brigg's Thursday market for a bargain. The stall outside the Black Bull, on Wrawby Street, will very efficiently fit a new watch battery, test it and set your timepiece to the correct GMT for just a couple of quid. No queuing, either.
There's a lot to be said for efficient personal service from a small trader in this era of big shops and superstores where cheaper prices don't necessarily result in an old-fashioned approach to meeting customers' requirements.
Talking of which, older Brigg Blog followers may well remember the long-established Bell's Furnishers, which closed its shop in the Market Place for the very last time in March 1983. Can it really be that long ago?
It was the first step on the road to retirement for Jack and Marjorie Thompson. The shop had been open for 20 years but the business had been trading in Brigg for more than 60 - initially from a site in Manley Gardens and then on Bridge Street.
It was set up by Mrs Thompson's father, Arthur Bell, after he came out of the army at the end of the 1914-18 war and he ran it with the help of wife Mary.
Mrs Thompson joined her father in the business after the death of her mother and latterly shared ownership with her sister, Betty Faulding, of Goxhill. But it was Mrs Thompson and husband Jack, of Eastfield Road, who ran it day-to-day.
Closure of the Market Place shop resulted in the stock being moved to the outlet in Bridge Street, Mrs Thompson promising to carry on in business a little longer, her husband then being 69.

EXTENSION PLANNED

Planning permission is being sought from North Lincolnshire Council to erect a single storey rear extension at 8 Horstead Avenue, Brigg.

THINK ABOUT IT, PLEASE

Many motorists coming into, and leaving, Brigg prior to 5pm tonight were held up near Castlethorpe Corner where a large flat-backed lorry had been parked. It appeared those concerned were about to load an earth-moving vehicle onto it...near a bend in an A-road at the height of the rush-hour.
Couldn't they have waited half-an-hour or done it a little earlier?

WONDERFUL TEACHER

From Sue Snelling

So sad to hear of the passing of Joan Dodd. She was my teacher at the Manor House Convent. I was a full-term boarder. I remember her so well - the poem "The Forsaken Mermaid" comes to mind. She was a wonderful teacher and one could tell she loved her job. She has left many memories in my mind of all the wonderful work she did.
May she rest in peace.

BUCKING THE SYSTEM?

From Ken Harrison

New sight in Brigg this morning - a pony and cart trotting up and down Wrawby Street via the Market Place.
Even the cyclists had to move out of it way!

E-PETITION OPPORTUNITY

From Ken Harrison

I am making use of North Lincolnshire Council's s new facility of e-petitioning to bring to their attention an area of concern.
My e-petition is short and sweet and relates to Springs Way, Brigg. I have indicated that the footpath is dangerous and needs repairing urgently.
To find the site, go to northlincs.gov.uk - or just type it in 'Search' and NLC Home page will appear.
Click and find 'Council & Democracy' on left-hand side - Click,
Similarly scroll and find 'Decision Making' - Click,
Then look for 'Petition' - Click, and 'Springs Way' pops up in top right. (it actually say, 'Spring Way' 'cos I'm a lazy checker.
If any Brigg Blog follower wants to lend support, please add name.

DON'T BIN IT, BRING IT

Many Brigg households have just received a leaflet explaining that a number of small electrical devices can be recycled, rather than being thrown into the general waste bin (pictured).
In our case you can drop them off when you visit the Household Recycling Centre between Broughton and Wressle. It's open all days this time of year except Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Recyclable items include phones (and mobiles), remote controls, chargers, radios, digi-boxes, speakers, hi-fi units, electronic toys, hairdryers, electric toothbrushes, shavers, hair curlers, kettles, toasters, irons, drills and power tools, strimmers, chainsaws and even lawnmowers.
For further information call 01724 297000 or visit NORTH LINCS
Let's support the recycling initiative!

TIME TO CONSIDER A SHOW VISIT

Brigg has long-standing links with the Lincolnshire Show, which we seem to recall was once held in the town. Didn't they erect a temporary arch over the County Bridge to mark the occasion? Now, of course, there's a super, permanent Showground off the A15 at Grange-de-Lings, just north of Lincoln, and the event no longer 'does the rounds' of county venues.
Many Brigg folk like to have a day out at the show - me included - and some of our firms are represented. It's a fine place to showcase your business.
The 126th Lincolnshire Show will be held on June 23 and 24, from 8am-6pm. For further details telephone 01522 522900, email admin@lincs-events.co.uk or visit http://www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk
Our picture shows Tom Wood, of Highwood Brewery, Melton Ross - whose Brigg links are well-known through the Yarborough Hunt on Bridge Street - enjoying a working visit to the Lincolnshire Show a couple of years ago.

IN PRAISE OF VOLUNTEERS

The annual North Lincolnshire Council Leisure and Culture Awards will be presented on Thursday, March 11 at Ancholme Leisure Centre (6.15pm-9.30pm). This event recognises and rewards volunteers for giving freely of their time within the community, sports and the arts.

ARRANGEMENTS ANNOUNCED

Joan Dodd's funeral will be on Thursday, February 18th at 12 noon at St Mary's RC Church, Barnard Avenue, Brigg, followed by burial in Brigg Cemetery.
Tributes to Mrs Dodd, formerly of St Helen's Road, appeared earlier on Brigg Blog (use the search facility - TOP LEFT - to locate them).

DERBY DAY?

Brigg Town wicketkeeper/batsman Graham Day, aged 16, went for a trial with Derbyshire in late summer 1981, the county telling him he might be called back for an outing with the 2nd X1 at some point.
Graham didn't make it into county cricket but did enjoy a very successful career up to Yorkshire League level with Appleby-Frodingham. Having retired quite early, in recent seasons he has been persuaded to re-appear from time to time by the Scunthorpe Steelmen and Brigg Town.
I saw him in Brigg's Black Bull pub the other day (pardon the pun!) and told Graham I'd unearthed this information about his early career, long forgotten by me.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

We see lots of motorhomes on and around Brigg streets, but how many local drivers realise we have a leading manufacturer on our doorstep?
Kirmington-based Timberland Motorhomes is celebrating after being awarded the nationally-recognised Investors in People (IIP) accreditation. The picture above shows director Lee Sowerby (left) and proprietor Kevin Cain with the company’s coveted certificate. Investors in People is the UK’s leading people-management standard and shows commitment to continuous business improvement.
The Brigg area company, just entering its second decade of operation, has enjoyed considerable success through its own-brand van-conversion motorhomes, plus its highly-regarded Adria, Autocruise, Auto-Trail and Burstner franchises. It also has a retail operation at Laceby and a large factory at Immingham.
Pictured below is a Timberland Destiny motorhome.

POETIC JUSTICE

We are still awaiting a planning decision from North Lincolnshire Council on the application to replace the present Tennyson Close accommodation, off Albert Street, Brigg, with 24 new self-contained retirement apartments and communal facilities. Last we heard, councillors were making a 'site visit' to have a closer look. Whether the scheme is, or isn't, approved in its current form remains to be seen.
But who remembers the official opening of the current Tennyson Close grouped dwelling and when it took place?
It wasn't as long ago as many might think. Wednesday January 25, 1978 saw the High Sheriff of Humberside, Norman Jackson, unveil a plaque at the ceremony, attended by Mrs M. Burnes-Salmonds (warden), Mrs J. Sanderson (chairman, Tennyson Close housing committee), Coun Bryan Robins (Town Mayor of Brigg), Canon Roy Cochrane (Brigg Vicar) and Mr J B Strafford, vice-chairman of Havelock Housing Association Ltd.
The High Sheriff said he was sure if Tennyson (the Victorian era Lincolnshire poet) could see it he would be appreciative.
The £250,000 unit, comprising 20 bedsitting flats, four one-bedroomed flats and four one-bedroomed bungalows was built by Havelock Housing, with assistance from Glanford Borough Council, which was thanked at the ceremony for its support.
Afterwards, Coun Robins planted a commemmorative cherry tree in the grounds.

GO-AHEAD GIVEN

North Lincolnshire Council has granted planning permission for a property at the back of The Retreat on Bigby Street (the former Prep School) to be changed to residential use, and has also approved an extension to an existing building at Thomas Bell & Sons Ltd, off Bigby Road.

WORKING UP A THIRST

Ancholme Rowing Club - based in Manley Gardens, Brigg - will be holding its annual Scrumpy Row on Sunday, April 25 (11am start). It's a seven-mile race along the River Ancholme from Brigg to Brandy Wharf Cider Centre.
The winning crew will receive a large jar of scrumpy from the landlord, and there will be medals for the first five crews.
For further details contact Jim Copson on 01652 658911, the closing date for entries being 5pm on Friday, April 23.

GIFT OF LIFE

The Brigg area's next blood donor sessions will be in the Angel Suite, off the Market Place, on March 30, and at Ancholme Leisure Centre, Scawby Road, on April 14.

LANDMARK YEAR FOR ANCHOLME

There are exciting plans - involving Brigg Town Council and others - to try and realise the untapped potential of the River Ancholme this year. Leaving aside the revamp of the County Bridge (a more complex issue) it's intended to tidy up the river and its banks and step up weed cutting. Community-minded volunteers will be called upon to help.
One of the hopes is to attract more boat-owning visitors who will tie up their craft, look round the town and utilise local businesses and services. After all, we have a Tourist Information Centre and are on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, with its nice countryside, walks like the Viking Way and interesting villages, plus attractions like Wrawby and Kirton mills.
Our picture - looking towards Cadney - shows the Old River Ancholme, with Manley Gardens on the right and the railway bridge away in the distance. This is a popular stretch for anglers.

FLASH OF INSPIRATION

A happy group of drinkers in the Black Bull, on Wrawby Street, with landlady Amber behind the bar. We were approached by Ted Cook (right) to take the picture of him and his mates one recent Friday night. No-one has emailed us for a copy so we thought we'd post it on Brigg Blog. Not a great one of Ted, who seems to be resting his eyes, but a decent view of the others, including 'Geordie' Chris Robson (centre).
It reminds me of Millennium Eve 1999/2000 when 'yours truly' became an auxiliary member of the Scunthorpe Telegraph photographic department and toured Brigg pubs taking pictures of happy revellers for a special publication I was putting together.
Some characters of Brigg pubs (eg Lee Johnson) were caught on camera. The mood of the evening was summed up by a group of young ladies on the County Bridge who decided to add their own meaning to the term 'flash photography'.
There's no picture to show what we mean but the happy memory remains strong 10 years later!
You can still see a couple of them - the girls that is - around town from time to time. But they may not remember much about the night in question.

RED FOR DANGER

As regular Brigg Blog followers know, we don't have a very high regard for the accuracy of modern weather forecasting, given that there's so much 'new technology' available these days to the experts. Instead we put our faith in more traditional methods and so regard the rare visit to our back garden of a red-breasted robin this morning as a sign that snow may be on the way.
You have been warned!

GOOD TO SEE

Just been down Wrawby Street and through the Market Place - twice - and not seen a single vehicle in the pedestrian area. Perhaps the message has finally got through.
It made a nice change from having to move aside for vehicles in Wrawby Street while holding conversations, several days apart, with first Deputy Town Mayor Coun Ben Nobbs and then ex-Town Mayor Coun Mike Campion.
King Canute famously failed to hold back the waves; these civic leaders failed to halt the traffic.

PARKING MAD

It's annoying how many vans and lorries you see in Brigg parked on the pavement, with two wheels on the kerb, or on top of double/single yellow lines. It seems as though some drivers believe that if they are delivering it's OK to park where they want, when they want, and for as long as they want. And never mind if it causes a hazard or delays to other drivers who can't get past.
It doesn't bother me too much if a driver straddles single, or even double, yellow lines for a brief period - say to receive a package or pick someone up - as long as he/she remains in, or within sight of, the vehicle so it can be moved if there's an obstruction to other road-users.
Yesterday I saw a delivery van on Barnard Avenue - that's the A18, remember - with two wheels on the pavement so it was difficult to get past in the inside lane; plus a big tanker parked up on Bigby Road, producing the same effect on traffic flow.
There's also a danger from cars (and some vans) being parked very close to T-junctions where visibility is poor, perhaps because of fences or hedges. We used to be told not to park within 15 yards of junctions but you don't see that being observed too often these days.

STATION CLOSURE RUMOUR

Further to yesterday's Blog posting, Coun Nigel Sherwood - one of the three Brigg area representatives on North Lincolnshire Council - stresses he was contacted, in writing, by a concerned passenger who uses Brigg station and so was duty-bound to follow up the closure rumour with the railway authorities.

BUILDING LINKS WITH MASONS

It must be something to do with being a journalist but for many years I've wanted to have a look inside the distinctive Freemasons' Lodge building in Cary Lane.
Have many non-Masons living in Brigg seen inside the HQ?
The Freemasons nationally have been described as a 'secret society' and the movement has received some unfair press coverage down the decades, plus suffering jokes about alleged secret handshakes.
It seems many lodges across the UK now alert the media to the good work they do raising money for charity. So maybe if any Ancholme Lodge officials are reading this they might care to add Brigg Blog to their mailing list. The Masons in Lincolnshire have a website (viewable to all), on which there are articles and even photos of presentations involving Brigg members. So it's hardly secret. Plus, if you know the right night of the week, you can easily spot our local Masons (cases in hand) heading for their meeting in Cary Lane.
From the website photos it seems I've known some of our Brigg-based Masons for years without giving much thought to whether they were or they were not. Just like its no relevance to them whether I've belonged to the cricket club or the Briggensians' Association.
If you want to view the Lincolnshire Freemasons' website, follow this link
LINCS LODGES
You might want to see News Items 6 and 9 in the scrolling display on the left-hand margin; in the list of lodge buildings (in the main window of the page), Cary Lane appears some way down.

UNDER WRAPS

Extensive building work is under way at the former solicitors' office of William and David Bains - at the junction of Albert Street and Bigby Road. It's a distinctive detached building in a very prominent location, as the estate agents among us would say. After we took this picture it became virtually entombed in protective sheeting.

PERMISSION REFUSED

A planning application to extend the offices of the Carers' Centre in Redcombe Lane, Brigg (with associated car parking) has been rejected by North Lincolnshire Council.

THINKING OUT OF THE (SIGNAL) BOX

Last word on railway matters for now...
If the train operator decided not to continue with the passenger service through Brigg (not that there's any suggestion they will at present), where would that leave Network Rail's station? It wouldn't have been closed by them but would be closed (as far as the public were concerned) due to receiving no passenger trains.
Things are much more confusing since the days of dear old British Rail, which not only owned and looked after all the stations, signal boxes and other lineside structures, but also operated the passenger and freight trains. Now we have many separate firms doing the latter, with Network Rail overseeing the infrastructure.
Currently the Brigg line only has passenger trains on Saturdays - three in each direction - meaning you can get to Sheffield or Grimsby.
British Rail did once try to withdraw passenger services on the Brigg line but had a change of heart.
We've said it before and we'll have to say it again: Brigg (and Kirton Lindsey) have the worst passenger service (in terms of frequency) of any stations in the UK. Better than no service at all, and some might say we are lucky to have that. But not exactly a welcome statistic.

LONG LIVE OUR STATION!

It is often difficult as a local community journalist to decide whether or not rumours should be reported. So when we heard second-hand rumours last year suggesting there might be plans to close Brigg railway station we asked a few well-placed friends to check it out, and decided Brigg Blog would hold fire until they came back to us with something more concrete to work on. Nothing was heard so the story was put on a back-burner, so to speak.
However, the latest issue of the newsletter InTouch with Brigg and Wolds Conservatives - delivered to homes in the town - reports the rumours and gives assurances from Network Rail that there's nothing in them.
So the station, which has served the town for more than 160 years, lives on - even though it was thankfully never under threat. At least not for now.
Come on, Nige, asides like that are how rumours start in the first place!

PS No criticism intended here of those behind the Conservatives' newsletter who have a right to make their own minds up on what they print. And it's reassuring to know all's well on the railway front.

STEAM TRAIN THROUGH BRIGG

The afternoon of Saturday, March 13 will see Brigg train fans out in force to watch a surviving giant of the steam age pass along our rail line and through the station.
Britannia class loco No 70013 Oliver Cromwell will be in charge of an enthusiasts' train from London which is visiting Cleethorpes and New Holland. It's arriving via the Lincoln-Market Rasen-Barnetby route, but returning home by using the Brigg line.
No times are yet to hand but we hope to post them a few days before the steam loco's nostalgic visit.


We lost the last of our North Lincs locos back in 1966, but there are quite a few Brigg trainspotters still about who will be there to get a look at Oliver Cromwell.
Preserved steam loco excursion through Brigg over the past decade or so have included a B1 4-6-0, a Stanier Black Five 4-6-0 and the Gresley V2 2-6-2 Green Arrow, which was running so late that some folk went home and missed it.
Patience has always been a virtue when trainspotting!
There will be much more about Oliver Cromwell's visit in the next issue of the Scunthorpe Telegraph's Nostalgia magazine which goes on sale at the very end of this month (75p). It will also include a tribute to that long-serving Brigg newsagent of the past, Winnie Cammack.

The main picture (above) shows Oliver Cromwell in Barnetby last February when it hauled a special train from Cleethorpes to London (via the Scunthorpe line, not ours). Among the passengers were Brigg Town Cricket Club first team captain Lee Fielden and his wife Fiona, seen (inset) with the loco during a 'water stop' along the way.

LIKELY TO GET GREEN LIGHT

Elected councillors are to make the long-awaited decision on whether North Lincolnshire Council will give North Lincolnshire Homes 'change of use' planning permission to transform pensioners' accommodation in Ancholme Gardens, Brigg, into a call centre for staff to use during an emergency.
Most applications are now decided by council staff, but a few - like this one - are settled by a committee of councillors.
Planning staff can see no reason to refuse the granting of permission, despite Brigg Town Council's objection on the grounds that there's a local need for pensioners' accommodation.
Councillors don't always go along with the expert opinion of their planning staff, but they do in the majority of cases. So the odds are on permission being granted in this case.
We'll bring you the decision, once it's made.

ARRANGEMENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Here's a family tribute to the life of ex-Brigg resident Joan Dodd (Feb 9, 1919-Feb 8, 2010). Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

Joan Dodd, a well-known Brigg personality, died in Manchester, the day before her 91st birthday. Having lived in Brigg for 87 years, she moved last year to Manchester due to ill-health so her family could care for her.
Although Joan was born in High Wycombe she moved to Brigg with her parents at the age of three as her father, Fred Lyon, a survivor from the Battle of the Somme, was to join the family business, Lyon’s Bakery in Market Lane,. He went on to run this in its new home in Grammar School Road for many years with Joan’s mother, Dorothy, and brother, John. As a teenager, Joan helped out in the baker’s shop, and delivering bread to the nearby villages, all the time saving her pocket money for extra dancing lessons.
Joan was primarily known in Brigg for her huge contribution to drama in the town, both as actress, dancer, and later as teacher and director. In her early years she danced in many shows for the Brigg Operatic Society, famously executing the most testing totem-pole dance in Rosemarie. She later went on to act in many productions for the Glanford Players, always with the trade-mark star quality that earned her commendable newspaper reviews.
Meanwhile, Joan studied for her LAMDA Gold Medal and began to teach drama and elocution, extending her enthusiasm to her own growing family who all enjoyed participating in the Brigg Music and Drama Festival, fostering their own life-long love of drama, theatre and music.
In the late 1940s Joan began teaching at the Manor House Convent School, where she remained for nearly 20 years, again inspiring many students to enjoy drama and poetry as much as she did. But her long-term ambition was to run her own Children’s Theatre School, which she finally realised in 1965, beginning with one Saturday afternoon class in the back room at the Black Bull public house in Brigg. This grew in acclaim over the following years to such an extent that she had a waiting list of children she could not accommodate. With Theatre School she continued the huge support for the annual Brigg Festival, with many individual entries in the poetry classes, and creative group entries of mime, dance-drama and one-act plays.
However, Joan’s true love of theatre was now something she could pursue and she went on to produce some major shows including The Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music and the King and I. Friends from the Operatic Society rallied round with support in some of the adult roles, and she had enormous help from a fantastic team of workers backstage, with Stage Manager Roy Rae, and Costume Designer Anne Jeffrey.
Along the way Joan found time for other ventures – learning to play the cornet in the early 1960s in order to help re-establish the once successful Brigg Town Silver Band. She was at one time the only lady member of the band, competing with them in competitions at Nottingham, Leicester and Bell Vue, Manchester under the direction of their conductor Geoff Benson. She also took up the game of golf in the 1970s, playing at Elsham and becoming Ladies’ Captain.
Joan had married the journalist Ted Dodd in 1938 and they went on to raise a family of five children. Ted’s death at the end of the 1990s, along with the that of both Richard and Robert was understandably a challenge to the vibrant personality that Brigg had known for so long, and at that point she began to take a less active role in Brigg life.
Although her interests and activities were energetic and wide-ranging, and her love of family was the main core, this was inextricably linked to her identity with Brigg – both the town and its people.

TRIBUTE TO JOAN

A well-known Brigg resident for most of her life, Joan Dodd has died - just a day before what would have been her 91st birthday.
She was the widow of long-serving Brigg journalist Ted Dodd, the family home being in St Helen's Road.
Although living in Brigg for most of her life, she moved to Marple, Cheshire, within the last year to be near her daughter Mary-Lou (Petrie).
Joan was well-known in Brigg, having taken part in Operatic Society productions before and after the war.
She played in the Silver Band, and was a staunch supporter of the Music and Drama Festival, encouraging numerous pupils to take part in both events.
Surely her greatest achievements were the productions of the Children's Theatre School in the Corn Exchange. Where necessary, she involved the parents of the children, several of the youngsters going on to take main parts in adult societies. On leaving Brigg, for further education, many were inspired to continue their studies, either as teachers or full-time in the theatre or on television.
Joan taught at the Manor House Convent before its closure. After that she had more time to join Ted at Elsham Golf Club, becoming lady captain for a year.
Our picture shows Joan in happy mood in summer 2003 when she enjoyed attending a large family gathering at Scawby Village Hall.

GETTING BACK TO NATURE

Pupils of St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, will find their nature study sessions a bit more comfortable if a planning application gets approved.
The Grammar School Road centre of learning is seeking permission to erect a log cabin near the nature area at the back of the facility, from where pupils will be able to observe the trees, flowers and presumably wildlife.
From the cabin this will can be done 'undercover' rather than having to brave the unpredictable English weather.
The structure will be fashioned from pre-treated spruce boards with a shallow pitch roof covered in 'mineral felt shingles'.
The school says it will be of a rustic, traditional appearance and in keeping with the surrounding nature area.
An application for the necessary consent has now been submitted to North Lincolnshire Council (the planning authority) by a Hewson House-based agent for North Lincolnshire Council (the education authority).
First stage in the process will be consideration by Brigg Town Council, whose comments (if any) may be taken into account by planners before they rule on the application.

TRIPLE CELEBRATION

The Beauty Clinique, on Queen Street, is having a triple celebration, with 25 years in continuous business in Brigg, a fifth consecutive Crown Salon Award and the Beauty Therapist of the Year award.
Sarah Jane Ramshaw, of The Beauty Clinique, was crowned Beauty Therapist of the Year at the prestigious Guinot Beauty Awards Ceremony at The Landmark Hotel in London, and for the fifth year running The Beauty Clinique was awarded Crown Salon Status by The Guinot Institute of Paris, at the same awards ceremony.
Sarah Jane was chosen, in November, as one of three finalists from more than 1,600 beauty salons in the British Isles. This prestigious award is conferred on the therapist who has consistently shown “the highest standards of professionalism” over a prolonged period. Sarah Jane said that she was “overjoyed to have won the national prize when up against such tough competition from city salons, health spas and beauty farms”.
The Beauty Clinique owner, Lucy O’Reilly, said that she was thrilled for Sarah Jane and knew when she was short-listed in the final three that she would win the award. She said: "These awards especially reflect on the dedication, long hours and hard work done by all the beauty therapists in this salon. We have a policy of continuous training and product updating and set ourselves exceptionally high standards of client care for all our treatments. We have been in business for 25 years, an achievement in itself, steadily growing in reputation and stature. These awards prove that what we are doing we are doing well and we are doing it well in Brigg.”

ON-STREET PARKING 'EARLY WARNING'

By a QUAG spokesman

In the most recent Conservatives' Intouch newsletter (Feb, 2010) there is an article updating the Residents' Parking Scheme, which will be shortly introduced on a limited number of town centre streets in Brigg.
A representative of the Queen Street Action Group (QUAG) - an activist group of residents that have petitioned NLC - has asked Brigg Blog to clarify a slightly misleading claim in the article.
The article wrongly indicates a 'residents ONLY parking scheme' will cover some of the streets adjacent to Queen Street.
The scheme is not a 'Residents Only' parking facility, but a scheme that will allow qualifying residents exemption from the limited 1-hour on-street parking zones in the area. The Scheme will not preclude others from parking along such streets, although, in such, circumstances, 'visiting' motorists will have to comply with the displayed limited parking bye-laws.
The Residents' Parking Scheme is expected to be introduced at, or near, the time when the North Lincolnshire Council assume Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) from Humberside Police. This means that NLC will take responsibility for enforcing both on-street and for NLC's car park's off-street parking.
CPE Parking Enforcements Officers have already be appointed and NLC indicated that parking regulations will be enforced throughout the authority and, obviously, this will include Brigg.
Before Christmas, NLC was expecting final approval to introduce CPE from the Ministry of Transport. It is anticipated that CPE will be introduced some time in March.
However, NLC has indicated that prior to the start of CPE, there will be a period of about two weeks to inform and educate motorists about the need to observe and comply with parking regulations.
Humberside Police will still control moving traffic offences and such infringements as obstruction - the latter includes such examples as parking within the zig-zag zones outside schools and parking a vehicle on the footpath.
Humberside Police and NLC have both indicated at a recent public meeting held at Brigg Town Council's Angel Suite that there may be need to work co-operatively to improve certain, or enduring parking infringements.

BEEN AWAY

Apologies for the lack of posts on Saturday and today but myself and Mrs F. have just been away on a weekend coach holiday break (booked through a Brigg travel agent).
Normal service has now been resumed.

DIARY DATE

Just received written confirmation from Josie Webb, chairman of Brigg Amateur Social Historians, that I'll be guest speaker at the group's meeting on Tuesday, November 2 - the subject this time being The History of the Scunthorpe Telegraph. Venue is Brigg Servicemen's Club (8pm). Free admission - all welcome. Make a diary note now, folks!
Thanks, Josie, I'll be looking forward to that. Hope your audience think likewise!
Still, the recent talk to BASH on the History of the Lincolnshire Times seemed to go down OK.
If you are a member of a group needing a speaker, just let me know. Tel 01652 655134, leave a message on the answer-machine I'll get back to you, email scoopfisher@aol.com or put a post on this Brigg Blog entry.

CIVIC BANQUET

Brigg Town Council's civic charity banquet and auction will be held at the Kar Restaurant, Old Courts Road, on Thursday, March 11 (7pm for 7.30pm).
The event will benefit Brigg Old People's Welfare Committee and Let's Rock Cancer - the chosen needy causes of Town Mayor, Coun James Truepenny, and Consort, Coun Edward Arnott, during their year in office.
Tickets cost £25 for this very popular annual event.

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

A few weeks ago, during the particularly bad weather, Brigg Blog reported sighting what appeared to be the Ghostbusters runabout, parked near Riverside Surgery, off Barnard Avenue. You may recall we drove down to the Monument in a queue of traffic and came back along the A18, only to find it had been spirited away before we could take a closer look. Well, we are pleased to say it's been spotted again, and that a couple of our kind supporters have combined to bring living proof, just in case some of you doubted our original story. For those who might not know, Ghostbusters is a very successful comedy film about a team of odd-ball types in New York who save their city from being taken over by bad spirits. The catchy theme tune by Ray Parker Jnr currently features in TV adverts for a telephone directory firm.

TICKETS ON SALE

Brigg Tourist Information Centre - at the Buttercross - is the place to go to get your tickets for Wish Me Luck, a 1940s night being held to celebrate VE Day by Brigg Amateur Social Historians (BASH).
The event will be on Friday, May 7 at Brigg Servicemen's Club, Coney Court, and feature Paula Baldwin's Shiny Stockings Swing Band, plus other attractions. Tickets are £15, including buffet.
This annual event always proves very popular, and folk are being encouraged to attend in war-time dress/uniform.
BASH's next monthly meeting will be on March 2 at the Servicemen's Club, when Josie Webb and Pat Parkinson will present an illustrated talk called A Nostalgic Journey Round Brigg.
BASH's website can be found at www.briggbash.org.uk.

REGISTER YOUR SUGGESTIONS

A vehicle connected with a Brigg business to do with clothing adjustments carries the personalised numberplate SEW. You can see it running round local streets.
Perhaps I could reflect my interest in cricket by scouring the lists for RUN or even BAT. Those who remember my playing days with Brigg Town CC would reasonably suggest OUT or LBW as being more appropriate!
There must be some good ones we can think of for Brigg people, firms and organisations. FIX, perhaps, for John Blanchard's domestic appliance van, and ATE for the Deli in Wrawby Street.
Your suggestions are very welcome, and we anticipate a good number from Ken Harrison.

WORTH JOINING

A new internet entry called Brigg has been created on the Facebook social network (no connection with Brigg Blog), and has 500-plus supporters. We'll be accepting the kind invitation to join. There are some interesting pictures of the not-too-distant past, including one showing locally renowned punk band The Diseased outside Talking Heads record shop.
Had they been inside to spend £4.30?

(That final line will have impressed local punk fans!)

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Maybe you saw the stories in the national press about thousands of pounds being spent across Britain to replace street signs owing to incorrect spelling, faulty punctuation and missing information, with 14 councils holding their hands up.
In Brigg we have Kings Avenue (no apostrophe on the nameplates), but wasn't the street named in honour of Dr King? Mr Spring founded the preserves factory but the shops and car park are in Springs Parade (again with no punctuation).
Then there's St Helens Road...and others.
These roads were named long before North Lincolnshire Council came on the scene. However, perhaps someone in authority could make a note to the effect that when the time arrives to replace street signs in Brigg they should look at the punctuation. Plus reviewing whether Chapel Way was intended to be a tribute to former Brigg Vicar of the 1960s/1970s, Canon Roger Chappell? Brigg Town Council thought so when the road was created, but Glanford Borough suggested the name was linked to the nearby chapel in Brigg cemetery.
Isn't it easier just to drop the possessive "s", anyway? We have Magrath Court, not Magrath's - and Churchill Avenue, rather than Churchill's. That cuts out all the confusion.
Where it gets really difficult is street names like James - and we have one of those. It certainly needs an apostrophe, and the current Brigg nameplates are without. So that must be incorrect. But do we go for St James' or St James's? One rule suggests it depends on how you pronounce it, and we have a guide from how the TV and radio presenters refer to Newcastle United FC's stadium.
But back to Brigg...It's passed into local folklore how, decades ago, the old Urban District Council acted quickly to remove a replacement street sign on the wall of the White Horse which had transformed Grammar School Road to Grammer School Road.
Five out of 10, must do better!

D-DAY+ HOW MANY?

It seems to be taking a surprisingly long time to decide North Lincolnshire Homes' planning application seeking to change 1A Ancholme Gardens - a 'domestic dwelling' which forms part of the well-known pensioners' development - from residential to office use as a disaster recovery/business continuity site call centre.
The target date for a decision by North Lincolnshire planners was December 31 - more than a month ago - while a letter sent from the authority to North Lincolnshire Homes suggested D-Day by January 14.
The 'end of consultation' period was set by planners as December 10.
Brigg Town Council is objecting to the suggested change, believing it will lead to the unnecessary loss of a residential property for which there is demand in the area.
Although appreciating the need for a disaster control centre, the Town Council thinks this location (close to the River Ancholme) is completely inappropriate 'as the properties in Ancholme Gardens are within a high flood risk zone'.
The Town Council thinks a more suitable site should be found by North Lincolnshire Homes in another location.
Planning applications these days normally get decided pretty quickly, compared with how it was years ago, many smaller schemes now being decided by council officers rather than a committee of councillors, which was the procedure for many years under the Glanford authority.
Generally I'm a strong believer in council decisions being made at public meetings by ALL the councillors elected by the public (not one or two, or a handful). However, small planning applications are a notable exception. The old Brigg-based Glanford Borough Council had 40-plus councillors ploughing their way through a lengthy planning committee agenda every month or so. And, even then, some of the major schemes had to be decided by higher authority - Humberside County Council.
Today's North Lincolnshire Council deserves praise for the way it puts so much information about planning applications into the public domain, including comments by objectors and supporting documents from those proposing developments. Our planners also offer a weekly update of new applications and decisions reached.

CONVENTIONAL APPLICATION

Listed building consent to remove an existing spiral staircase and replace it with a conventional timber one is being sought for 5 Manor House Convent, Bigby Street, Brigg, by Mr J. C. Dyson. The application will be considered by North Lincolnshire Council planners.

EXTENSION APPROVED

Planning permission has been granted by North Lincolnshire Council to retain a single-storey side and rear timber-framed extension at 12 Birch Avenue, Brigg, the applicant being Mr D. Magee.

PROOF OF THE PUDDING

The old saying about waiting and waiting for a bus and then three coming along all at once is confirmed in Brigg not long after 9am - certainly on weekdays - when you can see just that number together at the stop in Cary Lane.
Something I keep meaning to check is whether Hornsby's buses (No 4 service) are now using Cary Lane again in the evenings. A few years ago, when we had repeated problems with objectionable youths milling around that part of town, after-dark buses were re-routed to the small stop near the White Horse.
Now the issue with the youths seems largely to have disappeared, have the buses again started using Cary Lane late at night? If the answer is No, then maybe someone should inform bus company managers about threatening behaviour incidents being very much reduced. Otherwise, how would they get to know?

BORN IN THE ANGEL?

A weekend visit to Brigg town centre for a few pints left me reflecting on pubs of the past and some of the familiar families who've run them.
Many older Brigg Blog followers will remember popping into the historic Angel Hotel, in the Market Place, before it closed its doors - later to reopen as a council office complex (as our picture shows).
On the Lord Nelson side of the entrance - adjoining Exchange Place - was the Angel Hotel shop/off licence. It was quite fashionable, decades ago, for pubs/breweries to have shops of this kind. That was before the arrival of supermarkets in small towns like ours and before almost all convenience shops successfully applied to court for the right to sell cans and bottles of ale/lager.
To many of our generation, the Shrosbree family is synonymous with the Angel. Back in early October 1980, Charles (Mick) and his wife Susan, who had left the Angel 17 years earlier after a spell as managers, returned to take over the hotel again - this time holding the lease.
For five years prior to returning to Brigg, he had been running a private hotel in North Wales. But, having been born in Cleethorpes, he wanted to return to Lincs, and was pleased to take up the opening in Brigg. He was first appointed manager of the Angel in 1959 after training at the Royal Hotel in Grimsby. He later transferred to the Carlton in Blackpool, prior to moving to Wales. Son Martin - 17 at the time the family came back to town in 1980 - was reportedly born in the Angel.
I'm sure we can get that confirmed one way or the other in the near future!
Another well-known landlord at the Angel was Colin Sanderson, in the late 1970s. He gave his name to Sandy's Bar - aimed at the younger age group - and can only have been in his mid-20s when he took over the place with wife Janice.