Teignmouth Post and Gazette No 4932 Friday 27 August 1976

MINISTER FOR DROUGHT

The Government has appointed Denis Howell, former Sports Minister. He will be setting out “sensible restrictions” with standpipes, and advises streets to designate water wardens, so that no disabled residents suffer. Schemes include new boreholes out of coal mines, for poor quality water to go to industry, and bulk cargoes of water by sea.London bookmakers are taking bets on which day rain will fall on the Air Ministry roof. The odds-on favourite is September 8.

LOOK WHAT THE STORK IS BRINGING

Mr. Hedley Robinson told us that the two cosmonauts aboard Salyut-5 have reported that violent storms will sweep across Europe. However, the storks in the Pyrenees may be just as accurate. They have already started to migrate south, which foretells an early and fierce winter ahead.

ON THE BEACH

The Council ordered the immediate removal of 20 beach huts. The main holiday hiring is over, and rather than have a mass exodus when the sea defence team moves in. The other reason is high seas nearing Force Five blowing easterly, due to the storm conditions off Italy. Bulldozers are moving the stinking heaps of seaweed and weaver fish, whose stings were sending victims to hospital.

WASPS

Miss Dorothy Lynch was getting ready for bed on the top floor of 6 Chelsea Place, when she had the feeling that the night has a thousand eyes. She looked out and saw dozens of wasps looking in from the eaves. She made a refined and lady-like dash to another room. “Help!” Teignbridge replied that unfortunately they had only one pest exterminator in their employ, and he suffered from vertigo - he was unable to climb a high ladder.

Rats in the cellar - fine. Wasps in the roof - nothing doing! The next day, he phoned to assure her that they would be gone in September, to which she replied “They’re not grockles. They are not down here on holiday.”

WHEN “CORONATION STREET “ BURIED ITS DEAD WITH DIGNITY

The first sad occurrence was the death of Arthur Leslie, who was Jack Walker of the Rovers Return. He had a premonition that he was going to die, "but he did not want to muck the scripts up”. None of the writers or members of the cast could bear the thought of seeing Arthur’s image on the screen, knowing that he had just died.

It was decided to scrap the two episodes, at a cost of £6,000. All the writers had to go home and write Jack Walker out of their scripts. There was the sorrow of the writer working through the night to score out the name of the man he liked and respected.Today, as long as the “Street” lasts, the viewer will always see a photograph of Arthur Leslie whenever the scene goes to the living room of the Rovers Return, Granada’s permanent and fitting memorial to the first actor.