PAST and present staff and their families at the Blue Bird toffee factory at Hunnington enjoyed an open day to celebrate the firm's golden jubilee.

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WORRIED traders in Bromsgrove met district councillors to tell them of their fears for the proposed retail development on the former Cattle Market site. They claimed such a scheme would cut the town in half and that 90 per cent of shopkeepers opposed the plan. Council leader Henry Chattin said the authority was acting in Bromsgrove's best interests.

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FOLLOWING a month of rain the sun shone on the 3,000 visitors to Bromsgrove's Sport for All day in Sanders Park. District Council chairman, Cllr Maurice Broomfield and Jubilee Queen Gail Robinson, arrived in the park by helicopter to officially open the event.

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THE Rev Harold Goddard, vicar of Stoke Prior, stripped to the waist and jumped on the scales during his church fete. He had shed 25lbs after being on a sponsored diet for the past three months to raise £55 for church funds.

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SHOPKEEPERS in Bromsgrove were to vote on whether the rule requiring them to close at 1pm on one day per week should be waived. It was understood that the majority were in favour, but Labour district councillor Trevor Porter wanted the views of shop workers taken before a final decision was made.