Megan Wallace explores the Barnsley Chronicle archives from 1988.
HERE is the mews... Conrad the cat jetted off 350 miles to Jersey yesterday for the time of his nine lives.
The four-year-old male Russian blue had a blind date on the isle with three females.
Conrad’s amorous triple encounter took some setting up with numerous telephone calls between his owner, Jackie Lodge, and Jersey because the trip had to coincide with the three female Russian blues being in season.
Mrs Lodge has been breeding Russian Blue cats for about three years, but this is the first time that Conrad has had to travel far away from home to provide his services.
“There are no Russian Blue studs on the island so Conrad had to be imported for breeding services when all three cats were in season at the same time,” said Jackie.
LOCAL businesses have united to set up a scheme to give Barnsley’s unemployed driving ambition.
The aim of the scheme is to give driving lessons to the unemployed and help them in their search for work.
Organisers of the venture are Barnsley Chamber of Commerce and industry’s Community Programme, the British School of Motoring and the Manpower Services Commission.
Chamber of Commerce president Derek Stafford, said: “Barnsley has one of the lowest car ownership rates per head of population in the country.
“This means that there is, inevitably, a shortage of the basic skill of being able to drive - so important a requirement in many jobs.”
A £750,000 expansion at the Ardsley Moat House was described as ‘epitomising Barnsley’s turn-around and recovery’ in the aftermath of the miners’ strike.
Lord Mason said the strike had plunged the town into the abyss of despair.
Not only were miners and their families plunged into debt, but the loss of their purchasing power had serious repercussions on the business community in general, causing several bankruptcies.
“But now we have to recover, and I firmly believe we are doing so,” said Lord Mason.
THOUSANDS of Barnsley children in common with teenagers throughout the land will next week begin work on brand new General Certificate of Secondary Education qualifications.
Time stood still in C21 at Wombwell High School - yet simultaneously catapulted forwards 40 years.
The clock on the classroom wall maintained a stubborn 1.40 at 9am and remained static three-and-a-half hours later.
But in that relatively small space of time industrialists, training agency representatives and a collection of other interested parties found themselves crammed with information about sweeping changes in Britain’s school examinations system.
They had been called at the instigation of the school’s careers master, Trevor Pearmain, and bombarded with knowledge which should help them understand, and appreciate, the achievements of youngsters they may be coming into personal contact with in a couple of years time.
