On this week: ‘Ghost village’ fears and filming starts for Revolution in 1985, with phones donated for vulnerable people in 1998

In our regular On This Week feature we look back to what was making the headlines in 1985 and 1998…On this week: March 17 – 23, 1985East Winch could become a ghost village if a road is built to bypass it and neighbouring Middleton, it has been claimed. Protests were raised as an action committee was formed at a public meeting to campaign for a new road, with business owners fearing for their livelihoods. One resident said: “It is important to have a bypass as the main road is awful, but if businesses close such as our garage, our pub, our post office, East Winch will have nothing.” Fears were also expressed for the future of the Carpenters Arms, which re-opened last May after being closed for more than three years, and was reliant on passing trade.

A new motor business has been launched successfully in Lynn by the Brundle family which is delighted with interest shown in their new Peugeot Talbot franchise. Brundle Sport opened officially for business on March 1 with a spacious new showroom and completely refurbished service area in Railway Road. And now the family has held a reception to promote the fleet side of the business, with invitations being sent out to the business community throughout West Norfolk.Cameras are due to start rolling as shooting for the major film Revolution gets under way – bringing West Norfolk world-wide acclaim and a massive cash boost. Even before the first takes have been filmed, the area’s economy is already reaping the benefits which could well run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. And already more than 1,000 local people – many of them unemployed or retired – will be earning money as “extras” at a rate of £20 a day.A house that comes complete with its own nuclear fall-out shelter is up for sale, at just under £60,000. The shelter, 14 feet beneath the front garden, was built in Fakenham by former fish and chip shop proprietor Brian Cholerton “as an insurance policy”. In the shelter the Cholerton family could survive for a whole year without having to come to the surface, although Brian admits “it’s a bit claustrophobic”. It cost Brian £1,500 to construct with Brian doing most of the work himself, but now the property is up for sale as the family are moving to North Elmham. Head teachers have called for a priority discussion on head lice in schools as concern about the problem is growing among West Norfolk parents, and it will be discussed at the next meeting of the newly-formed Lynn Primary Head Teachers’ Group. Meanwhile, mothers who in January hit out at health authority cuts affecting the treatment of head lice, say they are still worried about the spread of infestation. It is reported that 20 mothers in Middleton have signed a petition after noticing an increasing problem in their village.At cricket dinners the length and breadth of the country the jokes about Fred Trueman are legendary, but when the blunt speaking Yorkshireman is himself the guest speaker the tables are turned on his contemporaries. So it was at the West Norfolk League annual players’ dinner held at the Duke’s Head Hotel in Lynn. He had a superb selection of jokes and cricketing stories to tell – but it all came to a stop when he requested that his remarks were not to be quoted in the local Press and almost immediately he sat down. The great man was on a sticky wicket – a commentator wanting to silence the Press! Snow delayed the arrival of the Duchess of Kent in Swaffham by an hour, and at one stage it was feared she would have to cancel the trip to the John Chapman Day Centre and adjacent Westfields Home for the Elderly in Westfields Road. But to the delight of residents and visitors she arrive apologising profusely for keeping them waiting. Her helicopter of the Queen’s Flight had been unable to take off from Windsor because of snow and was forced to wait until conditions improved.Lynn could be the headquarters of a proposed nationwide organisation aimed at curbing violence on soccer terraces. West Norfolk’s full-time co-ordinator of Soccer as Family Entertainment (SAFE), Mr John Maiden, is recommending to the Sports Minister Neil Macfarlane that the project be expanded all over the country. His plans for setting up SAFE’s headquarters at Lynn were revealed in the wake of rioting at the Luton v Millwall cup match and he has met North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham who has agreed to speak to the minister.