MUCK OUT POLITICAL STABLES

‘So long as those who have held, or who now hold, the highest offices are seen to behave with cynical dishonesty, then respect for the law, especially amongst the young people, will grow less and less,’ said the prospective Liberal candidate for Tiverton, Mr Frank Suter, last Friday. ‘We need a great public effort to muck out the political stables. Those who publicly promised “to reduce prices at a stroke”, those who in one month proclaim that they are so keen on the Common Market that “they will not take no for an answer” and the next month pretend to be bitterly opposed to British entry, should all be cleared out of public life.’

REFUSED BREATH TEST TWICE

At Teignmouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, Mr Rodney Hallworth, of Riverside, Shaldon, a freelance journalist, was banned from driving for 12 months for driving after having consumed more than the permitted amount of alcohol. He was also fined £30 and ordered to pay a doctor’s fee of £7.20, and for driving a car without a licence, he was fined a further £5. He pleaded guilty.

HALDON RACE TRACK

Proposals for a top international motor racing circuit at Haldon Racecourse, were released last week. The man behind the scheme, a 36-year-old Bideford solicitor, Mr Jeremy Ferguson, hoped to have the circuit opened next year. About 25 meetings a year would be held, each drawing crowds of about 10,000. The circuit, which would be built inside the existing horse racing track, would rival the best circuits in the country, and when the M5 reached Exeter, would be the most accessible.

SHOP WINDOWS

The Urban Council wrote to the Chamber of Commerce for its views on the proliferation of advertising in shop windows. On the whole, the small shopkeeper was not the culprit, but the multiples who covered their windows so that they could not be.seen through. The chamber wrote supporting the council in its efforts to keep this type of advertising within reasonable limits.

TEIGN VALLEY STOMPERS

The special meeting of the Urban Council on Monday was held an hour later than usual to give members a chance to watch the Teign Valley Stompers on Hughie Green’s Opportunity Knocks”on ITV. The Stompers won the studio vote with a 93 rating.

NAME FOR PRISON

The Home Office stated that they were not keen to use the name Rawlinson – Rawlinson Barracks formerly occupied the site of the prison ­ – as it had a ‘singularly military connection’. They would prefer a name with a local connection. A bid to name the prison Scratton or South Devon was turned down; the first was little known and the second might prove embarrassing to the Come to South Devon movement.

WISE WORDS

The pleasantest thing in life is to attend to one’s own business. Thorns and thistles sting very sore, but old maids’ tongues sting more.

RIVIERA CINEMA

Showing this week: Carnal Knowledge; Macho Callahan; Dr.Jekyll and Sister Hyde; Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb; SHAFT; No Blade of Grass; The Glass-bottom Boat; Hold On.