CHEEKY Birmingham carpenter, William Yeates, appeared before Droitwich police court charged with trying to exchange a jug he had just stolen from the Swan pub, Upton Warren, for a pint of beer at the same hostelry. He had failed to note the jug had the pub's name on it. Appealing for leniency he told the bench he had left home because his wife nagged him and he was on his way to Malvern in search of work. He was bound over in the sum of £5 not to offend again.

AFTER many hold ups and industrial disputes the new asylum at Barnsley Hall was progressing well. Extra staff had been employed to ensure the work finished on time. The sites for the isolation hospital and superintendent's house had been identified and the "bacterial" system of sewage disposal had been chosen.

WITH the all-important strawberry season about to reach its peak in the Bromsgrove area, growers were keen to sign up pickers. James Hurley, from Wildmoor Farm, Bromsgrove, placed an advert in the Messenger in which he was offering 2/6 (12.5p) per day, plus refreshments, to his pickers. Lodgings could be had if required. Strawberries were the staple crop for many smallholders and a bad season could spell financial ruin.

NEW "nuisance" by-laws were about to be introduced in Droitwich. In future, the removal of night soil could only take place between 1.30 and 5.30am, and while pigs could be kept anywhere, the manure has to be stored at least 50 feet from dwellings.

THE new manse for the minister at the Bromsgrove Primitive Methodist Church circuit in Birmingham Road was opened. It was an architecturally designed four bedroomed houses in All Saints Road and had been built at a cost of £600 to include furniture. It would replace the present cramped accommodation near the church.