100 years ago

An excerpt from the Marsden parish magazine concerning carol singing said: “We feel bound to protest strongly against the profane practice that prevails here on Christmas Eve of parties of young men staying up all night to howl the Christmas hymn from door to door.

The vicar does not identify himself with those of our own churchmen, who went out singing for money, even though the cause was their stall at the sale of work. Had he known they were going to do this, he would have done his utmost to stop it. The end does not justify the means. Hymns should never be sung except as an act of worship and devotion. It is wrong in principle to sing hymns and make money.

Moreover, when the same hymn is howled all night with maddening repetition, sometimes by two groups of singers near enough to clash with one another in horrid discord, the thing has become a public nuisance, and it is high time that something was done to try and abate it.”

 

50 years ago

A 100,000 gallon reservoir had been practically emptied, and two villages near Helmsley were without water for nearly five hours – because of a mouse.

The field mouse had crept through a small ventilation hole into an electric motor and crawled across the points. The resultant short circuit had caused the motor to break down, putting both the main pumps and the standby pump out of action.

When workmen went to investigate the trouble, they found the field mouse stretched across the points, electrocuted. Both pumps had to be stripped down and reassembled. The electric motor had since been fitted with screens to prevent a reoccurrence of the trouble.

 

25 years ago

The Princess Royal had been the busiest member of the Royal Family in 1988, for the second successive year, according to a survey of engagements.

During the year she had a total of 429 engagements in the UK, compared with 421 for the Queen and 359 for the Prince of Wales. The figures were published in The Times in a letter from Mr Tim O’Donovan, of Datchet, Berkshire, who had conducted similar surveys for the past ten years.

The Duke of Edinburgh had most engagements while on official tours abroad, with 277. The Prince of Wales had 125, the Queen 127 and the Princess Royal, currently on a skiing holiday in Savoy, France, had 236. The Princess of Wales and her family, also on holiday, were soaking up the Caribbean sun on a £5,000-a-day paradise island owned by tycoon Richard Branson.