PICTURE PAST: July 18, 1969 – Motorway bridge work starts
Michael Harper, Nicholas Taylor, Julian Parsons, Alan Letherby and Paul Robinson at the turntable at Walliscote School's open day. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
One of the town’s rugby clubs hunted for hundreds of pounds to avoid increasing subscriptions. The story appeared in the Weston Mercury and Somerset Herald 50 years ago.
Young Farmers Dairy Festival Stock Show. Kevin Wilson, of Holt Farm, Blagdon, with the champion beast that gained a prize award. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
The show could not go on in Weston after hot weather postponed a puppet show.
A heatwave brought the beach's Punch and Judy to a halt.
The popular children's show had a notice stating: "Weather permitting, too hot to perform."
The show saw the puppets joke and hit each other with clubs to get laughs from the young audience.
Young Farmers Misses Mary and Phyllis Dament, of Shiplate House Farm, who won cups for "best led and groomed" and the Culm challenge trophy at the Dairy Festival Stock Show. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
- Weston staged a 'summer spectacular' when, in brilliant sunshine, the revival of the summer carnival took place.
The first summer carnival for seven years attracted thousands of locals and holidaymakers to applaud the ingenious and colourful tableaux.
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There were more than 60 entries from a wide area and the revival represented a very praiseworthy achievement for the organising committee and the St Peter's Scout Group who initiated the idea to raise money for the West Hospital's Improvement Fund.
- Work was set to start on the southern extension of the Birmingham-Bristol-Exeter motorway across the River Avon.
Young Farmers Dairy Festival Stock Show. Seen with the judges, Mr. G. Davis and Mr. D.H. Capel are prizewinners (left to right): Mr. D. Mead (1st), Mr. G. Baker (2nd) and Mr. K. Wilson (3rd) in the class for Friesian heifer exhibits of six to nine months. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
Minister of Transport, Richard Marsh, accepted the £4,204,024 tender of Fairfield-Mabey Ltd for the building of the bridge and the approach roads.
The scheme was set to extend for one mile from the M5 interchange with Portway (A4) at Avonmouth to the outskirts of Easton-in-Gordano.
The Avonmouth bridge was going to be 4,550ft long with a main river span of 570ft.
- Hornets Rugby Club needed at least £400 above its normal income before next Christmas to meet its commitments after suffering heavy increases in expenditure.
Pupils of Windwhistle Primary School with the life-sized dummy shop "model" acquired by the school. The dummy is dressed in odd clothes from the homes of the youngsters who have recently enjoyed a tour of Cornwall. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
A subscription campaign was launched to increase basic income and it aimed to raise at least £600.
The club's treasurer said the campaign was the alternative to a large increase in membership would lead to a big rise in players' subscriptions and it was something everyone wanted to avoid.
- Visitors arriving at the Locking Road car park for a day in Weston lined the fence for a 'grandstand view' of a spectacular fire in the adjoining railway station yard.
They saw flames shooting high into the air from a railway hut, formerly used as a foreman's office.
Geoffrey Barker and Andrew Sugg, first and second respectively in the third-year boys' back crawl event at Cheddar Kings of Wessex School swimming gala. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
The blaze, fanned by a stiff breeze, spread to one of a line of goods wagons on the side closest to the hut.
The hut was gutted while the goods wagon was badly charred.
Competitors study the programme between races at Cheddar Kings of Wessex School swimming gala. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
Mr Brian Rix, star of the Weston Playhouse comedy production, "Let Sleeping Wifes Lie," is besieged by autograph hunters after he had opened the Eastern Bazaar, staged by the League of Friends of Weston Hospitals. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
Ads 18th July 1969 Edition. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
Ads 18th July 1969 Edition. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
Front Page 18th July 1969 Edition. Picture: WESTON MERCURY - Credit: Archant
