Town Of International Fame!
Grantham should be internationally famed because of Edith Smith ...
... who in 1914 became the UK's first "warranted" female police officer, i.e. with full powers of arrest.
Maybe the town should be famous because Isaac Newton went to school there.
Bit it is probably most famous for Alf Roberts' grocers shop on Broad Street. He was also a Methodist preacher ...
... and local politician who eventually became Mayor of the town. But it was his daughter Margaret who stole the town's limelight and also became some sort of national politician.
There she is, posted in the window as the shop actively promoted Douglas Hogg as its MP to be.
Grantham's Alf Roberts and his shop should not be confused with a similar business that once traded in the northern town of Weatherfield.
But he never had a daughter (nickname "snobby Roberts" at school) who became Prime Minister.
First appearing in 1961, Alf Roberts was a GPO sorter, he worked alongside Ken Barlow’s dad Frank. When he reappeared on our screens in 1971 he was by then a supervisor. Alf also involved himself in local politics and was a councillor for many years and twice served as mayor of Weatherfield in 1973 and 1994. He lost his seat in 1987 when he lost against Deirdre Barlow which caused him to have a heart attack. He reclaimed his seat in 1991 when he beat Deirdre in the election and remained in his seat until he retired in 1998.
But he never had a daughter (nickname "snobby Roberts" at school) who became Prime Minister.
Back in the day, Grantham was served by the Lincolnshire Road Car Company ...
But at least staff had a comfy hut from which to emerge cheerily to cary their loads of appreciative passengers.
Lincolnshire ...
... became simply "Road Car" at Privatisation ...
... and was snapped up by Yorkshire Traction - briefly. Traccy was bought by Stagecoach now the much smaller operator of buses in the county.
All that is left of the once mighty Road Car empire in Grantham is service 1, hourly from Lincoln.
Actually, not quite all. The company also operates service "G" ...
... on schooldays only.
Grantham's new bus station, built next to Morrison's, is even more spartan that the original ...
... seen here through the bus parking area. It has a long line of stands with simple shelters ...
... and no other facilities that fbb could discern on-line - certainly no gaggle of cheery staff emerging from their cosy mess-room!
Tomorrow we will enjoy publicity from the current dominant operator in Grantham.
And it is printed publicty of high quality.
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Advent Calendar Day 2
Belief and the Bible
The Bible (it is the Greek word for "Book", not a particularly "religious" word at all) makes people say some strange things. A chum at church announced to anyone who would listed "I don't believe everything in the Bible." Naughtily, perhaps, your blogging author asked him which bits in particular he "did not believe.
He struggled at answer because, simply, he did not know what was IN the Bible apart from a few stories from childhood.
Significant parts of the Old Testament (the biggest chunk, from before Christmas) have been in written form for about 4000 years. The whole Bible, now with the post Christmas section, has been available for nearly 2000 years. During that time it has brought strength, comfort, peace of mind and purpose in life to billions of people.
The majority of people who dismiss, ridicule or refuse to even consider the Bible know almost nothing about it!
The Bible begins with light ...
Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. God was pleased with what he saw.
And ends with light.
There shall be no more night, and God's people will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.
And there is light after the first 2000 years of written scripture.
I am the light of the world,” Jesus said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”
This Advent Calendar will follow the progress of humanity and its understanding of that Light. It will follow the complete unexpurgated story of Christmas.
But simply!
===================================Talking of Lights
Next door's display is a profusion of varied illumination, glorious to behold (?).
The fbb's display (tree and cross intermixed), used for a year or two, finally fell to bits over the winter.
So something new was required. How about something that represented Christmas?
A "rope light" nativity duly arrived and will be hoisted into place today.
fbb is not at all sure that there is Biblical evidence for Joseph as a Martian (with green beard?) but maybe it will look better when displayed in the dark.
Other illuminated symbols of the season will follow.
Next Grantham blog : Satutday 3rd December
There is an upstairs staff room at Grantham bus station but many drivers seem to prefer to form a huddle on the concourse. What there aren’t are public toilets nor an information office. There’s a recent Centrebus timetable published in October but there’s nowhere there to get it ! And it would never occur to most drivers to stock the leaflet rack on their buses with copies 🙄
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