The Bulletin No. 64 from February 1978 had this wonderful article: "What's on in Durham" written by our sadly departed friend Frank Burrows. It was a true masterpiece and appears as up to date now as it was then. Now in 2008, new holes appear daily on our streets without others being filled in, and we have the further threat of moving our two statues from the Market Place. Read on and enjoy the pen of a master of words and see if anything has changed over the 30 year gap.
WHAT'S ON IN DURHAM?
Durham townsfolk will have noticed that the National Roadwork competition to find the hole of the year has now started with the preliminary heats being held in various parts of the city. Entrants this year include the Gas and Electricity Boards, the Post Office and the District Council. Traditionally the Gas Board have been considered favourites, having the reputation for staying power. Many will remember the hole in the Market Place which took six weeks to dig and two years to refill. This was perhaps their finest hour and the decision of the Post Office in refusing to install telephone and postal services for the men "working" there was churlish and caused a premature end to a very noble effort.
If the going is firm, and particularly if new, the Electricity Board should do well; no one can compete with their patchwork on fresh surfaces. Not only does their work come in the well-known mosaic pattern but also with a relief and embossed effect. I know their sponsors, the Motor Repairs Association, have high hopes of their success.
The Post Office have a weak team again this year based on the old fashioned 4-5-2 formation made up of 4 watchers screening 5 card players and 2 workers. This formation can of course produce results and therefore most other national teams now employ the 4-7 formation which makes a better poker school and does not affect productivity.
The Water Board are not appearing in this year's contest as they have signed up for the Packer series in Japan. This is a great loss to the competition. as their ability to involve large areas hundreds of yards from their site works for long periods was a delight to the eyes of connoisseurs. British Leyland with Government Assistance have been digging some very deep holes recently but as these seem to be for their own consumption their entry has been judged inadmissible. My tip this year must go to the Council, whose works on Elvet Bridge are quite unsurpassable. While sustaining for long periods high noise levels, money and time have not been sacrificed in the pursuit of workmanship. There is no doubt that Local Government re-organization has produced a team to compete with the very best and one which will be with us for a very long time.
We can all look forward to the finals which are scheduled to start in Silver Street after the Civil Service Christmas Holidays in early April. The new cobbled surface should provide a challenge which I am sure the teams will find hard to resist.
Frank Burrows
The weekly preliminaries at a Rotary meeting as reported in the Bulletin early in 1978 were so lengthy it resulted in the guest speaker's time being cut by 5 minutes. Offended, he began: "In the short time allotted to me I cannot include all the important topics of my talk." He then rambled boringly on until the allotted closing time.
The President responded: "I apologize for forcing Mr X to shorten his talk, but we are delighted that he was so successful."
The President at the time was David MacFarlane who joined the Club in 1963. Unfortunately David passed away in late 2014 - he will be missed.
Bulletin No. 151, dated August 1985, reported on the first day of the Territorial Lane Car Park - a grand total of £42 was collected in donations.