ONE of the few pleasures left in lives of pauper inmates at Bromsgrove workhouse was a smoke, but that too was soon to be denied them. The ruling Guardians at their monthly meeting voted 11 to seven to ban smoking at the Birmingham Road premises. An amendment to allow them to light up after tea at 6pm was rejected.

WILLIAM Yarnold, a hawker, held by police in Worcester and charged with murdering his wife, was a native of Catshill it had emerged. He had been a nailmaker in the village as a young man and had served as a soldier in India and in the Boer War.

THE current state of the gas street lamps in Bromsgrove cropped up at a monthly meeting of Bromsgrove Urban Council. Bromsgrove was said to be the best lit town in the county - a reputation soon to be enhanced by the erection of seven lights at strategic parts of the district. However, councillors heard that many of the lamps in Worcester Road could not be lit because their mantles were broken. There had also been many complaints from residents that lights were lit too early, but it was pointed out that lamplighters had to begin their rounds early in order to complete the task before it got dark.

COUNDS Cycle and Motor Depot, in Bromsgrove High Street, was ahead of its time in catering for future mass markets. In a large advert in the Messenger, the company said it stocked a wide range of car accessories including batteries, carbide lamps and leading brands of petrol, as well as a huge selection of phonographs and records at 10/6 (52.5p) a dozen. And for every shilling's worth of fireworks sold it would add free an extra three pence worth.