From the Evening News, December 1, 1976

AN attractive 26-years-old Horwich mother is the country's Embalmer of the Year" after coming top in a national examination. Mrs Diana Finch, of Lee Lane, is the first woman to win the title. She is one of only four women embalmers in the North-west.

ANGRY shopkeepers in Chorley Old Road, Doffcocker, Bolton, today claimed their businesses will be "killed off" if a council plan to lay down double yellow lines goes ahead.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, December 1, 1951

THE latest addition to the growing colony of players reared in Bolton junior football, whom Joe Smith has lured to Blackpool, is Peter J. Taylor, son of a Thicketford-rd. butcher. A 17-years-old giant goalkeeper - 6ft 1in and 12 stones - Taylor has signed amateur forms for the Seasiders. Taylor is an apprentice engineer with a Bolton firm.

BOLTON'S "Syncopating Sandy" Strickland was still playing the piano this morning after establishing a new world's marathon piano-playing record in Salford at 10.30 last night. He is aiming a new record of 225 hours, which he will reach late this evening.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, December 1, 1876

A CHESTER correspondent writes:- A good story is circulated at Hawarden. One day last week, Mr Gladstone was passing one of the lodge gates, with his axe slung across his shoulder, on a tree-felling expedition, when he came across a drayman belonging to the Northop Brewery, unloading beer. The man had a cask of beer to get down, and seeing the woodman coming, shouted "Hoi, mister, give us a lift with this barrel of beer out of the cart."

The woodman graciously responded, and came up to the cart with the purpose of assisting the man when he said "You stand at the tail end of the cart, mister, and I'll roll 'un down to he". He accordingly stood at the tail end of the cart, as he had been directed, and after a struggle the barrel of beer was safely deposited on the ground.

"And now, mate," said the drayman, "come into the village, and you shall have the best glass of beer in the place." The gentleman politely thanked him, but declined, and walked away smiling.

"And who's that?", said the man to a person who came up at that moment. "The Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone, of the Castle," he replied. The poor drayman's consternation may be well imagined at hearing who he been familiarly addressing as "mate".