125 Years Ago – 1889

Those who have lost all faith in the daily “weather forecasts” of the Meteorological Department – and there are many such – are recommended by a correspondent to try a very simple experiment. All that is necessary for this experiment is a cup of coffee, a little milk and a lump or two of loaf sugar. When you have dropped the lumps of sugar into the cup of coffee carefully watch the air bubbles that rise to the surface. If they suddenly rush from the centre to the side of the cup be sure to take your mackintosh and umbrella with you when you leave the house.

The funeral of the late Mr Richard Wall, maltster and farmer, Addingham, took place on Saturday afternoon last at Addingham Parish Church and was largely attended. Mr Wall belonged to an old and highly respected family in the village. He had served as waywarden from 1874.

100 Years Ago –1914

The annual meeting connected with the Ilkley Guild of Help was held in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, on Monday evening. Mr J. E. Wilson, Hon. Secretary, read the annual report, from which we extract the following. The year has been characterised by some increase of sickness, but a decrease of relief owing to slackness of work. The Guild still continues to do a useful work, and its success is largely due to the care and tact shown by the helpers.

The monthly meeting of the Ilkley Old Age Pension Committee was held on Wednesday evening. Seven claims were dealt with, four applicants being granted the full pension and two being awarded four shillings each. The age of the remaining claimant was certified by the Registrar General to be only 67 years, although the claim had been submitted in good faith; the claimant being quite of the opinion that she had attained the age of 70.

75 Years Ago – 1939

Miss Isabella Rathmell, of 31 Kerry Street, Horsforth, celebrated her 90th birthday on Saturday. To a “Wharfedale and Airedale Observer” reporter this week she recalled the “good old days” when Horsforth was the home of the handloom weaver, a visit by a fair was a cause for celebration, and thieving and highway robbery were commonplace. Miss Rathmell remembers being taken by her mother to the peace celebrations at Rawdon after the Crimean War in the spring of 1856.

A protest against the delay and congestion caused by traffic control at the Black Horse corner, Otley, by automatic signals has been made by Mr H Lund as a commercial transport contractor. The Highways and Buildings Committee agreed that the robots, as at present operating, caused loss of time and congestion of traffic, and had totally failed to achieve proper control of traffic using the road junction.

50 Years Ago – 1964

Six hundred air attack warning sirens will sound simultaneously in the East and West Ridings next week, in a Civil Defence test organised by the police. The sirens will be tested for one minute at 11am on Wednesday, April 15. Mr G. E. Scott, Chief Constable of the West Riding Constabulary, who is co-ordinating the test, said that one aim was to check that the warning could be heard throughout each locality.

About 50 members of Otley Parish Church, many of them parents, signed a petition which was placed in the Church on Sunday, protesting against the “sordid exploitation of sex” in television plays. The petition is to be forwarded to the television authorities. One extract states: “At least three-quarters of plays, much of the comedy and a great deal even of the dancing, comes into the cess-pit category.”

25 Years Ago – 1989

A London actor visiting Ilkley for the day on Saturday left the town heartbroken after thieves stole a script for a play from his car – which he had left unoccupied on Ilkley Moor for one hour. Mr Timothy Morand – who is currently at Leeds Playhouse – had left the script for the play “Captain Swing” in a shoulder bag in his Datsun car.

The diet of astronauts could be changed because of the findings of Rex Newnham, the Ilkley-based research scientist who founded ARONHA – the internationally renowned Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Osteoporosis Natural Health Care Association. At the request of NASA he made tests which indicated that the osteoporosis suffered by astronauts during long spells in space could be due to the intake of highly processed food.