* CARROTS were defying convention and not helping Bostonians see in the dark.
The recent switching-on of Boston's street lighting had revealed no fewer than 40 gas lamps had been damaged during the summer months.
The vegetable was among the items
found inside the lamps, along with stones, broken milk bottles and apples.
* SO MANY onions were coming into Boston Dock that staff were being imported from King's Lynn to help unload the vegetables.
Of the 16 vessels which docked in the town that week, 13 of them were mostly carrying onions.
The other vessels included two large timber vessels and one cargo of German logs.
* THE Great British Summertime had claimed another victim… Boston's tomatoes.
Wet weather had been blamed for a low-quality crop, and worse still, because there were so few tomatoes coming through, prices were soaring.
Costs had reached 2s 3d/lb, compared to 1s 3d/lb the year before, and that was for far higher quality tomatoes.
Mr George Stevens, a Boston fruiterer, said: "If we get a week's sun the English tomatoes will come on and the price will tumble."
* AHEAD of the new season, the Boston United rumour mill had begun to grind. Was a well-known goal-scoring centre-forward from a Football League Club in the Third Division joining The Pilgrims?
And had the chairman of the Boston United board of directors Frank Pitcher paid the transfer fee of £2,000 out of his own pocket?
Wilfred Berry, writing for The Standard, said: "I have been asked to officially state that there is not the slightest truth in either statement."
Unwelcome visitor gatecrashes again
40 years ago this week… 1968
All-time high – Andrew Gosling prepares for the Sky Ride, with a helping hand from the Rev J.R. Worsdall, at New Bolingbroke Church Fete.
* IT WAS a case of lightning striking the same place twice for one Boston household when an articulated lorry crashed into its garden.
Just one day after receiving compensation for damage done to her garden by a lorry, Miss C. Alexander of London Road found another one parked on her front lawn.
The articulated lorry, belonging to J. & J. Beaulah Ltd, had left the road after being involved in a collision with a milk float.
The drivers were uninjured.
* THE skies were the limit for youngsters at the New Bolingbroke Church Fete.
The Sky Ride had proved a popular attraction at the event, and helped organisers raise £124.
The fancy-dress winners were Michel Chester as bunny girl, Graham and David Picker as Batman and Robin, and Vanessa Coupland as a birthday cake.
Déjà vu – the ink was still drying on a compensation cheque when an articulated lorry owned by J. & J. Beaulah became the second such vehicle to come to rest in this London Road garden.
* PIANISTS in Boston and across the county were eager to have their instruments destroyed.
Boston's Round Table organisation was appealing for four pianos – the upright kind – for a smashing competition at its gala the following month.
An advert in the previous week's Standard had been answered by places as far afield as Lincoln, Wisbech and Gainsborough.
* THE banks that liked to say 'yes' were worried it would be a 'no' to a five-day week.
The Employer Federation of British Clearing Banks had turned down a request for the National Union of Bank Employers (NUBE) for a five-day week.
A similar claim had been launched on behalf of Trustee Savings Banks.
Mr J. M. Young, secretary of the Boston Branch of NUBE, said: "Our case is that most similar professions and businesses have a five-day week now, and the use of Trustee Savings Banks on Saturdays by the public is not such that Saturday opening is imperative."
Henry's visit a real knockout
30 years ago this week… 1978
Heavy wait – autograph hunters met boxing legend Henry Cooper in Boston's Woolworths, though they had a wait on their hands after he was held up in traffic.
* BOXING legend Henry Cooper was fighting against the clock in Boston.
The former British heavyweight boxing champion was behind schedule on his promotional tour of Lincolnshire, after being held up in traffic.
He met fans in Woolworths, where he signed his 'splash it all over' photographs.
* YOUNGSTERS in Boston were all made-up at Blackfriars Arts Centre.
The Spain Lane theatre had been welcoming groups of seven to 12-year-olds for backstage tours over the past month.
Play scheme assistant Leigh Lovell and amateur actor Stephen Grist were the adults helping them into the limelight.
* A PETITION had been circulating about 'obnoxious smells' allegedly coming from Boston's new sewage treatment works.
Some 80 people living in 57 properties in the River Way, Fishtoft Road and Powell Street areas of Boston had signed the petition, which was to be presented to Boston Borough Council.
A statement read: "Attempts have been made to camouflage the smell with a disinfectant, resulting in a smell which is as revolting as the original."
That's entertainment – tomorrow's thespians received a lesson on how to apply make-up at Blackfriars Arts Centre, with expert Stephen Grist (centre) and Leigh Lovell (right).
* A YOUNG fisherman from Boston had a lucky escape when he fell 15ft between two lock gates.
Mark Thornton, 11, of Hessle Avenue, was knocked unconscious when he fell into the junction of the North and South Forty Foot drain.
He was saved by fellow angler Colin Westerman, of Ingelow Avenue, and given medical attention by Jennette Perkins, of Hessle Drive.
He was released from hospital several days later suffering from a bruised head and 'wobbly legs'.
Sylvia's trolley dash as council splashes cash
20 years ago this week… 1988
Boston man Brian Doughty was made homeless following a boat fire.
* AN EARLY-morning fire left a Boston man homeless. Brian Doughty lost his home when a blaze engulfed his boat moored near the Haven Bridge.
Mr Doughty had accidently knocked over a candle in his cabin at around 5am. He was left with slight burns. By the time firemen arrived the boat was gutted. It took half an hour for the two crews to douse the fire.
* FOUR years before Supermarket Sweep came to Britain's TVs, it arrived in Boston.
Sylvia Rouse, of Brothertoft, had won a two-minute trolley dash through Boston's Co-op thanks to The Sun newspaper.
She took home around £112 in goods.
* PRINCE Charles was to visit Boston to view progress of restoration work on the Stump, it was announced.
He had previously visited the Stump while serving at Royal Air Force Cranwell and had expressed interest in the work being undertaken, then in its 679th year. No details were finalised, but it was believed the Prince would not be accompanied by any other members of the Royal Family.
Brothertoft's Sylvia Rouse was shopping against the clock after winning a two-minute trolley dash of Boston's Co-op. Pictured (from left) are husband Brian, Mrs Rouse, sales manager Phillip Woodhouse and Co-op sales director Mike Harte.
* MORE cash was being splashed to ensure Bostonians got a modern swimming pool complex.
Councillors had decided to allocate an extra £350,000 for the so-called Rowley Road Project. In November of the previous year they had agreed to spend £850,000 on the scheme, but rising business costs had forced them to think again.
