SPURTLE – 20 YEARS' INDEPENDENT STIRRING

Submitted by Editor on Wed, 19/02/2014 - 20:44

Twenty years ago this month, Spurtle's first edition hit the streets of Broughton.

We're marking this community's engagement with the news, and its paper's unusual longevity, by steadily publishing more and more back issues online, starting with the earliest.

You can rummage through the fully searchable first year's numbers by following this link. Any breaks in the sequence will be repaired in due course, and new issues have been scanned and will be added soon.

Issue No. 1 led with the results of a survey asking for locals' likes and disllikes about living, working and playing in Broughton. Many of the opinions gathered were exactly what you'd expect to hear from a similar survey run today.

One of the commonest complaints had to do with the volume and speed of traffic, and of course there were the perennial gripes about pavement dog fouling. Some people thought Broughton's community feel had deteriorated due to increasing numbers of women going out to work. Others bemoaned the lack of a community centre, particularly for young people. Spilt rubbish and seagulls were no more popular then than now.

Other pieces covered a campaign against the imposition of VAT on fuel, newly colourful shopfronts on Broughton Street, and (reproduced below) advice on how to deal with sheriff officers seeking late payment of Poll Tax.

Enjoy browsing – we’ll cherry-pick more of the most interesting bits as the months unfold.