THE Messenger itself made news this week when its new press broke down as the paper was about to be printed. Managers faced the prospect of it not being published for the first time in its 93-year history when the Birmingham Post and Mail stepped in to offer use of its press. Lambe's hauliers from Charford were summoned at 3am to transport the heavy printing "forms" to Birmingham while compositors at the Post worked overtime to make the necessary changes to enable the print run of 17,000 copies to go ahead.

RESIDENTS in Birmingham Road were fed up with having to run the gauntlet from being "bombed" by the dozens of rooks who were busily raising families in a rookery in trees near Victoria Road. Housewives too complained of the mess caused to their washing by the birds.

PLANS to make Rubery gay for the forthcoming Coronation festivities with 20 hanging flower baskets and bunting strung from lamposts in the village centre were announced by Bromsgrove urban council. The authority itself was to spend £30 on an appropriate decoration, made by Clements Bros of Bromsgrove, for the forecourt of the Council House. The authority would take out an insurance policy for £20,000 to insure people against injuries while taking part in the festivities.

PLANS for a new £50,000 junior school at Charford to accommodate children from the new council estate were unveiled. Until it was built, near to Stoke Road, youngsters would be bussed daily to Lickey.

AGAINST all expectations Labour performed dismally in the local elections in Bromsgrove taking only two of the eight seats up for grabs. The turnout was also low compared with the 70 per cent in one ward last year with Aston Fields and Charford only managing 51 per cent. Some flower beds in the town had been planted in Labour's red and yellow colours the Messenger observed.