Picture Past: 1966 World Cup build-up in Weston-super-Mare in July 8 edition
Hutton Pet Show held in aid of the RSPCA. "Donald Duck" with his owner Keith Windsor and friends David Carr, John Davidson and Paul Windsor. - Credit: Archant
World Cup fever was about to grip the nation in 1966, with the first game due to start on July 11. The excitement was building in Weston-super-Mare, along with outrage that schools had ‘outlawed’ football.
A pause for refreshment for Susan Burton, Hilary Tyson, Linda Smalldon and Caroline Ducket who were at the Kings of Wessex School fete, Cheddar. - Credit: Archant
The following stories were included in the July 8 edition of the Weston Mercury and Somerset Herald.
* Excitement for the Football World Cup was building, and one advert in the Mercury by TV makers Rentaset targeted ‘World Cup widows’.
The advert, designed to appeal to women, said: “Remember, there will never be a better opportunity of getting rid of your tired old TV.” Husbands were offered a ‘late evening service’ to ensure they did not miss a match.
* But despite the interest in football, not one senior school in Weston taught it.
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The Somerset County Football Association met in Weston, where one member said schools were biased and it was ‘rugby or nothing’.
Speaking at the meeting, George Burnham said: “We must do all we can to remind the school authorities of the complete unfairness of the fact that a national game like soccer is outlawed from schools in Weston.”
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* Meanwhile, a road junction in Sand Bay was described as ‘dangerous’ as it was a blind spot where many drivers cut the corner.
* Ratepayers in Weston had paid £11,000 in fighting plans for an iron ore jetty in the Bristol Channel.
* Banwell Parish Council vowed to try again to have a by-pass built to divert heavy traffic away from the village’s narrow streets.
* Former RAF officer David Lafferty was on his 127th day of living alone in Cheddar’s caves to beat the world underground record.
* People had been using cars instead of their legs to climb to the top of Crook Peak, and it was said they had been spoiling the area.
* Burnham Urban District Council’s hope for a swimming pool to be built in the town moved closer to reality. It was hoped the £80,000 pool would be built on the site of the town hall.
