The Editorial Team Alan
Edwards - David Burton - Ken Farrell - Lesley Pugh -
Christine Stead Our reporters cannot be everywhere. If you have
a story contact any team member or ring 01978 710422 |
IT'S WAR! At the time of going to press, America and the United Kingdom was in day 8 of its war with Iraq. The decision to go to war followed a breakdown in talks at the United Nations. The joint stance of America and Britain was that as Saddam Hussein had failed to surrender his weapons of mass destruction to the United Nations Inspectors, it was right to declare War on Iraq without a further UN resolution (which would have in any case been vetoed by the French) and so eradicate any threat to World peace by a Dictator who has no qualms about using such deadly devices. The war with Iraq by the coalition forces was originally thought to be short and swift, but as time has gone on, this is becoming more and more remote as fierce battles are being waged on all fronts in Iraq. As the push to take control of the capital Baghdad unfolds, coalition forces commanders are now accepting that their intelligence miscalculated the number of irregular forces they would be up against and where they would be fighting. Military chiefs had only expected to confront Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen militia upon reaching Baghdad. But there are reports of up to 30,000 militia members using terrorist tactics already fighting the coalition forces in southern Iraq. British troops in the south are stretched to the limit defending captured territory and taking on the militia in Basra. The British Commanders are now confident they have control of the key port of Umm Qasr, which would allow humanitarian aid to be off-loaded from ships standing by. What is extraordinary about this war, is the amount of media coverage. News teams are stationed throughout Iraq and pictures are beamed across the world in real time. This is war on television. We see pictures of American soldiers parading captured Iraqi troops and holding rifles to their heads as they are searched for weapons. In another scene, a news reporter thrusts a microphone into the face of a soldier as he lies in his foxhole. "How's it going then soldier?", he asks. Then we hear of the story involving a mother seeing her son crouching down alongside a building, when all of a sudden there is an explosion and she sees him running away in flames. Is this type of reporting really necessary? This war is likely to be more bloody and drawn out than expected with many casualties on both sides, and the thought of coalition forces just driving into Baghdad with flags flying, and liberating the Iraqi people from an oppressive regime will just not happen. No, there is much more ahead and the coalition forces are likely to be drawn into bloody street battles, which is where Saddam's forces are most at home. In the meantime the economic effects of this war are already being felt at home and will be for a long time to come. Red Noses all round! This year's Red Nose Day on the 14th March was another huge success, raising money not only to help children in the Third World, but also those in the UK. This year's theme was "hair" and the new tenants and customers of the White Horse Inn readily entered into the spirit of things by wearing some outrageous wigs, raising just over £100 towards the appeal. This had been achieved by having a "swear box" on the bar in the weeks leading up to the event, plus contributions made during an evening of entertainment provided by a local group, "Sonburn". Martin and Joyce would like to thank everyone for all their support. Oracle reporter resigns Ken Farrell, who has been on the editorial team since we started producing the Oracle in January 1999, has decided to put down his quill and ease himself into retirement. Ken was one of the 'founder members' of the team, producing some excellent articles and always coming up with new ideas. Contrary to popular belief, he is not Stargazer, although he did come up with the idea and we have to admit that he has penned a few "thoughts" for the column! Ken's contribution has been very much appreciated by the rest of the team, and I personally have welcomed his support and enthusiasm during the four years we have been running the Oracle. Ken was the "official" proof-reader, and I'm sure that when he sinks himself into the settee with a good cup of tea and a copy of the Oracle, he will find the odd comma or two missing, or the wrong use of its or it's. Thanks Ken - enjoy your retirement! Letters to the editor Dear Editor, I was so pleased to read the piece you printed in the Oracle re: former residents of the Turning Street cottages. Would you publish a correction in the next issue? You printed Mr George Reeves instead of Williams under my grandfather's picture. I shall continue to look forward to reading further issues of the paper. Best wishes Evelyn Roberts, Winsford Ed: We spotted the mistake as soon as it was printed, and a number of people rang to put me right!! Our apologies, the Gremlins were at work - again! Dear Editor On February 9, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, my wife and I decided to take a short walk . Nearing the end of Argoed Lane, a 4x4 vehicle approached at speed from the Bangor Road end with no intention of slowing down and scattering mud in all directions. On raising my hand in protest, the vehicle skidded to a halt, forcing another lady to seek safety on the grass verge. A young man of about 20 years of age got out of the vehicle and came back to us shouting a barrage of four letter words. I pointed out to him that he could have at least slowed down, to which we received yet more abuse. He said: "Don't you tell me how to ******* drive. It was a ******* road and our place was in the ******* gateway", - (which happened to contain six inches of mud.) When I said that we were not going to walk in the mud so that he could speed along the lane, we received another barrage of abuse, to which my wife suggested that if he couldn't take his drink, he should keep out of the pubs. His reply was: "P*** off you old fart" He then stormed off back to his vehicle and drove off. During my working day as a lorry driver I come across lots of road rage, but I hardly expect to see it in the tranquillity of Argoed Lane. We made a note of his registration number and with the benefit of hindsight should have reported the matter to the Police, as there might have been children around the next bend. Maybe he should volunteer to go to Iraq to get rid of his frustration there - I very much doubt it. Overton resident. Name and address supplied Neighbourhood Recycling Site at Knolton pub? A Neighbourhood Recycling Site could be established at the Trotting Mare Inn, if the offer by its landlord is taken up by Wrexham Council. At the Community Council on March 11, Councillors heard that the landlord of the Trotting Mare Inn had offered a part of the car park for a recycling site, to which residents would go to dispose of various types of waste that would otherwise go to landfill sites. The Council having been asked to reconsider a site in Overton, welcomed this offer and resolved to also request that the Paper Bank in Church Road be included in the scheme. Cemetery squatters seek asylum Almost unnoticed at first by locals, an unspecified number of squatters have taken up residence in Overton Cemetery. Obviously their presence is causing a great deal of unsightly damage, that has attracted the attention of the authorities. Apparently returning them to their native area is out of the question as it is unclear where they are from, and it is claimed that they face persecution, if not death, if they have to return. So they have decided to seek asylum in Overton. It has been suggested that they might seek sanctuary in the church as was the practice in previous times; however there is also an argument for them relocating to the older churchyard as it is no longer used for burials. If anyone else can offer an unspecified number of moles a safe place to live could they please contact the Editor. This is a serious issue and not, as has been suggested, locals making a mountain out of a molehill. TASTES OF AFRICA Arnold Black entertained members and visitors of The Community Church with his funny but provoking tales of his trip to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for the Tastes of Africa evening on Thursday 20 March. Sales from tickets, plants, African artefacts and a raffle raised £116 towards the work of Equipe in East Africa. Thanks to Dawn for the 'exotic' buffet and to everyone who contributed. The Community Church meets every Thursday for discussion, teaching, prayer and fellowship in the Parish Rooms, Overton (unless we're out on one of our trips). The next meeting is in the Parish Rooms at 7.30 on 3 April when Bevan Waller from Wrexham will be speaking. The next trip is to the theatre to see Silas Marner on Thurs 10 April. WARDEN RETIRES AFTER 30 YEARS Mrs Margaret Meyer, Warden of Parkside, Overton, retires on April 30, after 30 years service. Margaret became deputy warden in 1972, later becoming Warden. She will be sadly missed by all her friends and residents on Parkside who, after making a collection, presented her with a collection of cut glass crystal. Everyone wishes Margaret a happy and well earned retirement. STARGAZER - COUGH IT UP! At home I've found a new way to avoid those lengthy debates we used to have when we needed to make firm decisions about all sorts of things. Well, it's not exactly an original idea. It's something I read about in the paper and heard on the telly. Let me explain how it works. Supposing we are discussing holidays. I make various suggestions such as "What about renting a caravan at Talacre, or perhaps a week in Nefyn? They've got a good golf-course there. Then again, there's always the Seychelles." When I get the right answer, she coughs. So guess where we're going? Yes, you've got it! On a nice sunny morning I'll say "I think I'll sit in the garden for an hour and do the crossword. Mind you, the car could do with a clean" - Cough ! "I fancy a round of golf this afternoon. But did I hear you say something about visiting your mother ?" - Cough! "I'm just popping over to the Club, dear, or did you want to go to Stan's ?" - Cough!. I've suggested we change round and I have a go at the coughing for a change. But as she rightly points out she's not very good at finding alternatives. Still, I've noticed my bank balance is suffering a bit since we started this new scheme. I think I'll just have to have a go at one of those competitions they have on the telly and see if I can win a bit of money. Promise Auction raises record funds Overton Twinning Association and Overton Playgroup joined forces to hold a Promise Auction in the Playcentre on February 28, raising a record £1400 in just under three hours. Although the event could have been better supported, both organisations were delighted with the result. The joint Chairs of both committees would not only like to thank all those who supported the event, but all those who promised Lots or provided items to be auctioned. The success of the evening could not have been achieved without their contributions and the support of John McCusker who volunteered to be the auctioneer for the evening. A truly magnificent result! Looking Back Last month the Gremlins attacked the production schedule and printed George Reeves instead of George Williams under the photograph of the gentleman with the pipe standing at the corner of Wrexham Road and Turning Street. Which means in plain English that we got it wrong!! And we received a few phone calls telling us so!!! Apologies to everyone. This month we feature a photograph of Overton High Street in the early part of the last century, circa 1915, at a time when the White Horse was an hotel, and gas had been installed in the village. The former Metcalfe's shop to the left of the White Horse, now two dwellings, was preceded by L. Evans, a general drapery store. And is that a knife sharpening machine outside the White Horse? Comments please upon the photograph and any information on the history of the shops on the left of the photo.
Thanks to Martin Lewis of The Stabelyard, Overton, all the players in last month's photograph of the Overton Football Team in the 1950's have been identified bar one. Martin played for Overton and would have appeared in the photograph but for the fact that he had been injured in an earlier game. The Cups proudly displayed are the Rhos Ambulance Cup, the League Cup and the Ethelston Cup. From left to right (back row) are Tom Haynes, not known, Ron While, Harold Roberts, Ron James, Farmer, Ron Jones, Eric Fearnall and Herb Stant. Front left to right (front row) are Dennis Jones, Les Penlington, Ronnie Cross, Bill Torence, Tom Fearnall, Fred Robinson and Eric Jones. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this Looking Back series which is proving to be very popular with our readers. We therefore intend to keep this running for as long as the photographs are submitted to the editorial team. Whilst we appreciate the interest in looking back at old times, hence the articles on the introduction of the Gas and Water supplies to the village, we do not want to create an imbalance in the range of articles that we report. Copies of the Oracle are being kept by many people and it is creating a social history for future generations - so we must continue to report upon issues of the day, no matter how nice it is to look back and see how things have changed. Overton's Gas Supply Following my brief history of Overton's water supply it seemed a good idea to turn my attention to the other two public services, gas and electricity and describe what I have been able to discover about them. Like a number of villages around Wrexham - Holt, for example - Overton had its own gasworks and by an odd coincidence it stood, like Wrexham's, in Salop Road. Overton's gasworks was founded by the Gas, Light and Coke Company of Chester in 1873 and stood at "Mossleigh", the home of Mr. and Mrs. Keen, on the corner of Musley Lane and Salop Road. There it continued to supply gas to the village till 1916 when it closed down and was sold to Mrs. Keen's grandparents to become their home. Despite this Mr. and Mrs. Keen still receive the occasional letter addressed to "The Gas House"! The rear of the building was the "Retort Unit" where the gas was produced from coal and its bricked-up window can still be seen from Musley Lane. Mr. Keen told me that the roof of this section was originally built of steel trusses and laths to which slates were tied with wire - all designed for fire prevention in what must have been quite a dangerous area. In the garden he showed me part of the base of the gasometer still buried under the ground. Tar was a by-product and traces of this can still be seen, even after almost a century. In fact, during the 1950's an underground tar storage tank suddenly appeared in his garden, still containing tar. Though gas was supplied to many of Overton's houses there was no gas lighting in the streets and in the St. Mary's Parish Magazine of August 1895 we find the Rector grumbling that as the Parish Council had decided not to adopt the Lighting Act "we suppose the village will be in darkness next winter. In most places people look upon the introduction of gas as a boon; but in Overton darkness is preferred to light and the expenditure of a few pounds per annum upon the lighting of the streets is regarded as folly and a waste of money " A 1915 photograph shows a solitary gas light outside what is now the Chemist's in the High Street, but after 1916 the streets must have stayed dark until electricity finally arrived, courtesy of Mr. A. R. Gamble.
After an absence of 74 years gas finally returned to Overton in 1990 when British Gas agreed to provide a supply to the village after a minimum of 100 householders agreed to sign up and pay £200 each for it to be installed. Llangollen Eisteddfod needs your help? Do you have any spare mugs at the back of your cupboard that you could donate to the Llangollen International Eisteddfod Committee? Carol Dykes, Overton's Hospitality representative said: "Each year it costs a lot of money to provide the overseas visitors with food and drink during the competitions and this year we are hoping to reduce the cost of buying paper cups by asking people to look in the back of their cupboards and donate any mugs they don't need." She added: "And it's about now I need to be thinking about those who would be willing to put up one or two people for a few days during the Eisteddfod which this year runs from the 7th - 13th July. Last year we accommodated 44 members of a choir from Bavaria who were competing in the Eisteddfod for the first time. Thirteen families opened their doors and extended the hand of friendship to our visitors and if anyone would like to help by accommodating some visitors this year, I would be very pleased to hear from you." If you can help either with mugs or by hosting, please e-mail editor@overton-on-dee.co.uk In Brief
Landowners worried over "Right to Roam" The Countryside Rights of Way Act, which was passed in November 2000, was heralded as the "Right to Roam " Act, a rather misleading title which has worried many landowners. Many farmers believed, and still believe, it would give the public the right to wander anywhere they liked, trampling crops and even walking through people's gardens. Nothing is further from the truth, but it has been a hard rumour to kill. What the Act allows is for people to walk on land called "Access Land", areas confined mainly to mountains, moors and heaths. It also includes Common Land. Draft maps have now been issued for consultation purposes by the Countryside Commission for Wales clearly showing these areas. At a recent meeting of Overton Community Council, Councillor Farrell explained that he had examined the maps in great detail and stated quite categorically that no such places are shown on the map for the Overton area, with the sole exception of the Common Land at Knolton Bryn. The consultation period is still in its infancy and it is not expected to be completed until Spring 2004, when the final maps will be put to the National Assembly. Councillor Farrell said: "Although the maps do not affect Overton, I must emphasise that the existing Public Rights of Way must be kept fully open for public access. In fact there are still some 35,000 miles of Bridleways and Footpaths in England and Wales that are still obstructed and will need to be cleared." |
