NOSTALGIA: This week in 1977 and 1997

* More than 100 people were to lose their job as a result of the closure of the Ross Poultry Limited Willoughby Road factory in Boston. The factory was set to close on December 22, though would pay staff through until January 7. The business blamed the closure on Common Market Regulations which were to become mandatory in 1978. These, they said, would require a substantial capital investment on its part to modify existing buildings and machinery. The cost of implementing the health and hygiene regulations had been reported to be as high as £250,000. The factory produced 20,000 frozen turkeys a week. People who worked there ranged in age from 16 to 60. Some had been there for as long as 18 years. Richard Body, MP for Holland with Boston, said: “People are losing jobs when it is very difficult to find other jobs, and it is all because of EEC regulations over which we, in this country, have no control whatsoever. “My objection to this is that we should make our own rules. “These decisions are not being made by our elected representatives, but by highly paid officials in Brussels who have no idea what losing jobs means to people who, in these cases, are not highly paid.” * The Standard featured Jill Gilbert, of Swineshead, who had passed her Heavy Goods Vehicle driving test in the summer. ‘Mum at the wheel ... of 32-tonner’ was the headline for the piece. Jill helped husband Geoff run his six-lorry haulage business and took her test in order to be able to move the trailers on short journeys, freeing up the drivers for longer ones. This week in 1997 ... * Campaigners were celebrating following the news that the ENT (ear, nose and throat) and oral surgery departments were to stay at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital. The previous year, Lincolnshire Health had announced it wanted to close down the eye, dental, and ENT departments at the hospital. Thousands of members of the public signed a petition and wrote individual letters to the authority opposing the plans. The result was an agreement between the hospital trust and Lincolnshire Health to continue to offer ENT and oral surgery at both Pilgrim and Lincoln County Hospitals. The two hospitals would work together in such a way to minimise disruption. An agreement had not yet been reached on the eye, or ophthalmology, department. * A 12ft cannabis plant, worth an estimated £1,000, had been found growing on land owned by the Environment Agency at Fishtoft. A member of staff had been checking on plant growth when the discovery was made and police alerted. It was believed that the plant may have grown, inadvertently, from discarded hemp seed used by fishermen to catch roach and carp.