Unfinished Houses - Rushden Trades Council on Use of Bricks

Although labour and bricks can be found to build front walls where railings have been removed, several houses in Rushden which would have been used by evacuees or bombed-out families have been left in a half-built state.

This position was the subject of criticism at the August meeting of the Rushden and District Trades Council, when Mr. J. H. Cole, of Kettering, presided.

As Rushden has no ’bus barriers and drivers do not always draw up opposite the head of the queue, it was urged that queue lines should be painted on the pavements for the guidance of drivers.

Stumps of walls left after the removal of railings were said to be dangerous to pedestrians in the black-out.

Complaints were received concerning sanitary arrangements, drinking water facilities and the lack of canteens at ironstone mines to which local boot workers have been transferred.

Mr. E. Horn was appointed to represent the Trades Council on the Higham Ferrers After-Care Committee, and a donation of £1 1s. was voted to Higham Ferrers Market Day.

Sunday Pictures for Rushden?
Trades Council Seeks Opinions

Having started a campaign for Sunday cinemas in Rushden the Trades Council feel that it is up to the young people to get things moving.

Mr. Harry Bailey, the secretary, however, told the “Echo and Argus” yesterday that he is willing to receive comments for and against.

He explained: “The Rushden Trades Council was unanimously for it, but I have not received any outside representation in support or against the scheme. As secretary I have a completely open mind and I am willing to receive comments.

“As far as the Trades Council is concerned, it is not our particular pigeon; we were just willing to start the ball rolling.”

Here are a few comments gathered by “Echo and Argus” reporters.

Staff View

Said a cinema employee: I don’t know what it is to do with the Trades Council, it’s all right for them; they have not got to work. I don’t think it will keep young people off the streets, they go on the streets because they enjoy it.”

Spending their afternoon walking up the High Street two 17 years-olds, one a mechanic, the other a hairdresser’s apprentice.

Said the first: “There is very little to do on a Sunday night. Of course there is always the Christian Youth Association, you can go there. But the majority of chaps don’t want to listen to somebody spouting all night.”

Said his pal: I always go to Wellingborough, but the buses are always crammed full. It would ease the situation there.

Youth Leader

“If people don’t want to go to church they still won’t go anyway. It won’t make any difference there.”

Miss Margaret Neal, the Rushden Youth Organiser, commented: “They have got six evenings a week to go to the cinema. Why bother with Sunday?

“The keen members of the Christian Youth Organisation will still attend their meetings, and the committee will know that they have the support of those who are really interested.”

Mr. J. A. Brawn (chairman of the Young Conservatives) said: “In so far as they would take the youth off the streets and provide them with something to do, they would not be so bad but I would not personally wish them to take young people from pursuits of a religious nature. I don’t think it would normally affect people who go to a place of worship.”

Fought On Sunday

An ex-R.A.F. warrant officer said: “If people want to go to the cinema facilities should be provided for them to do so. If cinemas open after church hours then it cannot possibly affect church attendances. After all people fought on Sunday.”

“Well it would keep the folk off the streets,” an 18 year-old typist: “It would save a lot of Rushden people who now have to go to Wellingborough quite a bit of money, and it would not affect the churches.

“People who want to go to church would go there in any case, whether there were Sunday cinemas or not.”

Sunday Cinema Talk Dropped

As the public have not come forward to express their views on Sunday cinemas, Rushden Trades Council have decided to drop the matter.

“There does not seem to be much enthusiasm or we should have been swamped with letters,” said a member on Wednesday.

At last month’s meeting, the Trades Council invited members of the town’s organisations to give opinions, but the secretary, Mr. Harry Bailey, had to report: “I have had no representations either one way or the other. We don’t know whether people are interested or not.”

The chairman (Mr. C. T. Smith) said that the matter had now been put before the public and there was nothing more that the Trades Council could do.

Mr. H. Wills, agreeing, said that the question was now up to the cinema proprietors.

Mr. Rowthorne: “There does not seem to be much enthusiasm, or we should have been swamped with letters.”

Rushden Urban District Council will receive a copy of the Press report of one of their meetings as a result of another discussion over representation on the Food Control Committee.

The Trades Council claimed that Mr. W. Ainge was elected as a Trades Council delegate, and the Council maintained that he was on the committee as a consumer. Mr. Ainge has now ceased to be a member of the Trades Council.

Said Mr. E. Tagg: “I propose that we appoint another delegate.”

“No you see,” said the secretary, “no one has resigned.”

“I propose that we point out the appropriate minute and demand that our delegate be reappointed,” said Mr. Tagg.

Holiday plans for 1949 were talked of, and it was decided that the matter should be dealt with as an area problem and that the County Trades Union Committee, representing all the Trades Councils in Northamptonshire, should be asked to take the responsibility of organising a stagger plan.

Woman Calls for 6 p.m. Shop Closing

Grievances of a shop assistant were aired at Rushden Trades Council meeting on Wednesday evening, when, after a question relating to shops closing had been raised, a member stated that if the shops stayed open until 9 p.m. there would still be people who arrived “breathless and in a hurry” at five minutes to nine.

The matter arose when Miss Doris Tassell pointed out to her colleagues that many shops in the town closed at 5.30, making it very difficult for women at work to do their shopping.

“They have either to leave their factory early, or go shopping on Saturday morning, when most of them want to get on with their housework,” she said.

Miss Tassell emphasised that as the women were being urged to go to work, shops should co-operate with them and help them by staying open until 6 p.m.

Answering Miss Tassell, a representative of the union concerned said that people were given every facility. “There is nothing to prevent them dropping their order in the door, so that it can be prepared, and collected, or delivered, later,” he said, “With the present rationing system they can be assured of a fair distribution, with nothing under the counter.”

He added that there were always people who could not find time to do their shopping. “Women work on an average 37 hours a week and there should be enough time over to get it done,” he said.

It was agreed that a move should be made to organise shop assistants in the town into a union, although two previous efforts had failed.

Cars parked on grass verges

Rushden, at night, is strewn with motor cars left without lights on grass verges and in all sorts of odd places out-of-doors. That is the evidence of Trades Council members, who are going to tell the Urban Council about it.

Mr. R. F. Hirons told the Trades Council on Wednesday that too many people were parking their cars without lights in side streets.

“At the top of Upper Queen Street,” he said, “a car has stood for three months and has never moved –the tyres are flat. There are others in Balmoral Avenue just the same.

Mr. Hirons complained of damage to grass verges which had cost much money to lay and said that ruts a foot deep had beenmade in front of the Baptist sports ground.

Mr. J. Tear, who presided, said that at least a dozen people left their cars out in Trafford Road.

Mr. G. Richardson said there were cases where footpaths were obstructed.

Mr. A. S. R. Oram said there was a shortage of garages as there were a lot of council houses.

“In a lot of cases,” said Mr. W. Hawes, “the Urban Council are to blame because they will not allow a garage to be built in front of your house. You can’t have a neat garage, but you can have a car with a tarpaulin over it standing there every night.”

‘All Over The Place’

“There are cars on bits of ground all over the place,” testified Mr. W. O. Rowthorn, who also complained that in the “Co-operative” car park the path for pedestrians was frequently obstructed by overlapping vehicles.

Mr. B. Perkins spoke of people who parked their cars after dark on the wrong side of the road “but never get pinched.”

Members agreed that they did not wish to put direct complaints to the police, and the secretary (Mr. L. Parkinson) said he would communicate with the Urban Council.

After complaints about the fouling of pavements by dogs, Mr. Parkinson said he would inquire whether there was any by-law in force against this nuisance.

Health Charges

There was also a debate on prescription charges under the National Health Service. It was agreed to support other local protests on this matter, though two members said the present position had been brought on by people who took every benefit they could possibly get.

The meeting endorsed a Typographical Association resolution calling for an increase of old age pensions, and copies of the local resolution will be sent to the T.U.C. and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

“Put them on the cost-of-living index like the boot trade” was the advice of a woman member, Mrs. E. E. Brown.

Mrs. Brown was nominated for membership of the Kettering Local Appeals Tribunal (Wellingborough Employed Persons Panel). Mr. Parkinson was deputed to attend the annual conference of Trades Councils at Bath in May.