25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

February 18, 1972

PEACE hopes soared this afternoon after Lord Wilberforce offered Britain's striking miners pay rises of up to £6 a week. The increases - of 15 to 31 per cent - blast a gaping hole in the Government's wage policy. Surface workers will get £5 for a new minimum of £23 a week, and underground men £6 to raise their basic earnings to £25.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

February 19, 1947

UNABLE to get what they want from the hawker and the corner shop, housewives are invading the town centre in ever-increasing numbers in efforts to find the wherewithal for at least one substantial meal. Among their places of call is the Wholesale Market in the hope of wheedling from a wholesaler what they cannot find in the retailer's shop. This is not strictly according to the book, and puts the already harassed wholesaler into further difficulties. 'Anything you can say to keep these people away would help', said one wholesaler today. 'We must work through the proper channels in distributing what little we get'.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News,

February 19, 1872

LARK SINGING CONTEST

On Saturday, there was a lark singing contest at the house of Mr Courdon, the Middleton Arms, Charles-street, Little Bolton. No less than 31 birds were entered, owned by competitors from Bolton, Little Lever, Streetgate, Tottington, Darwen, Darcy Lever, Farnworth and neighbouring districts. There were five prizes, four

of which were copper kettles of proportionate value, the fifth being a set of table cutlery. The singing of some twenty of the birds was excellent, their average time being 12 minutes.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.