April
Spring time in April brought with it the sad news that former council leader, MP and Freeman Bob Haworth, known as "Mr Bolton" had died.
Current mayor Cllr Linda Thomas paid tribute at the time to her departed friend and colleague as a "true gentleman."
Mr Howarth, aged 92, was leader of Bolton Council for 24 years after representing the Bolton East constituency for six years as an MP.
Bob Haworth with wife Josie
Later that month, another of the borough's stalwarts was laid to rest with the death of Anwer Patel, one of the founders of the multi-million pound Cohens Chemists empire.
Mr Patel and his brother were the driving force behind the opening of Essa Academy in Great Lever as part of their work to improve the life chances of young people in Bolton.
Anwer Patel
Essa Foundation Academies Trust chief executive Andrew Cooper said: "He was a kind and humble man who was committed to improving the life chances of young people and he will be greatly missed in our family of schools."
May
Covid continued to dominate the headlines as spring wore on with May 3 bringing the revelation that police had been called to a wedding in which 65 people, well above the number permitted by restrictions at the time, had been in attendance earlier in the year.
The threat of lockdown loomed over much of 2021
A licensing statement said: “This was clearly a pre-arranged wedding.
“By being open this day with adults and children mixing the restaurant’s management has put everyone at risk of contracting the virus and passing it on to others in the area.”
Pandemic controversies abounded over the rest of the month with then-council leader, the late Cllr David Greenhalgh calling on the government to rule out further local lockdowns.
Bolton West MP Chris Green soon followed suit and on May 26 accused his own party's government of "undermining public confidence" as new travel guidance was issued for the borough, without first consulting the council, saying that people should meet outside whenever possible.
Mr Green said: "This decision is wrong and undermines public confidence in the government's strategy."
By May 31 town hall leaders were urging residents to get vaccinated ahead of an incoming fourth wave.
June
As spring began to turn into summer, normal activities began to resume.
June 5 brought the news that aspiring athletes would get the chance to take part in Bolton's famous Ironman competition.
Bolton's Ironman festival announced in June that it would be returning later in the year
This year the festival would host two races, the traditional Ironman UK and the one-off Ironman 70.3.
Later that month, Rivington Terraced Gardens announced that it was ready to rock again with a three-day music festival planned for the summer featuring DJ Mark Radcliffe, Toploader and Republica.
Rivington Terraced Gardens announced big plans in June
Unfortunately the music extravaganza was not to be and was cancelled later in the year.
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