25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, February 3, 1973

CHEWING sticks of celery, undergoing hypnosis, or swapping to a clay pipe and tick twist tobacco . . . these are all suggestions from local people to a 40-a-day smoker, who wants to give up cigarettes. The 31-years-old man who offered £10 to anyone helping him relinquish 'the weed' has finally given up smoking - mainly because of the encouragement nearly 100 local people have given him. "If I can keep without cigarettes, I'll donate the £10 to charity,' he says.

=50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, February 4, 1948

CRITICISMS from holiday towns all round the coast of Britain are to be ventilated at a private meeting at the house of Commons tonight of the Seaside Reports' Committee. This committee champions the hotel keepers, boarding-house keepers, and all concerned with seaside life.

Two issues to be discussed are (1) the abolition of basic petrol, which is already having a serious effect in keeping visitors away, and (2) the cancellation of the ban on foreign travel next summer.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, February 4, 1873

FOR a short time past a strange visitor has been noticed at the new Town Hall, in the shape of a wild animal, but of what breed has not yet been ascertained. A day or two after New Year's Day, an animal escaped from one of the menageries on the Town Hall Square, and its whereabouts could not be traced, but during last week it gave evidence of its existence of the neighbourhood of the Town Hall, by certain depredations being committed at the Three Arrows Inn, when poultry, meat, and other comestibles were found to be missing. The animal had also been seen in the Town Hall by some of the workmen, but all attempts to capture it had failed. On Monday night, however, Mr Fletcher, the landlord of the Eagle and Child beerhouse, Spring-gardens, was waited upon by the Town Hall watchman, who, it would seen, had seen the beast, and they together, taking with them an English terrier bitch, went into the Town Hall in search of the depredator. A chase took place, and the animal was ultimately captured by the terrier between the rafters of the roof of the building. The animal is now chained in an upperroom at the Eagle and Child beerhouse, where it has been visited by a large number of people. It is something like a racoon, but we are not in a position to vouch for its genus, the visitors varying in their definition of it from 'a monkey', 'a kangaroo', 'a jackal', and 'something like a cat'.

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