THE WHITECHAPEL MURDER.
A man suspected at Market Harborough.
Some excitement was caused in a certain part of Market Harborough on Friday on hearing that a man answering the description of the Whitechapel murderer had come from London that afternoon and had taken up his abode with a Mrs Green, near the British school.
The police were communicated with almost immediately and a watch was set on his movements. During the evening the man went to the station (followed by officers in plain clothes) and returned with his luggage - a portmanteau.
On his reaching home again the police entered the house and searched the portmanteau, but nothing was found to connect the man with the crime of which he was suspected. He said his name was Dietrich and that he was a doctor at one of the London hospitals and gave his address at 22, Howland Street, Tottenham Court Road. He wore spectacles and his overcoat was trimmed with astrachan. Not being satisfied with this information, Supt. Bott placed a cordon of police around the house and telegraphed to Scotland Yard for instructions as to whether the man should be detained or not.
This was about 9 o'clock and an answer was expected within an hour or two. At 11.30, however, no reply had been received and it was not until 5.10 on Saturday morning that an answer was handed to the police. This was of a somewhat vague nature, but the police were on it's receipt withdrawn from the house and no further notice was taken of the matter.
One thing which had excited the suspicions of the neighbours and the police also, was that the same man was in Market Harbough about three weeks ago and stayed at the same house. His movements were then considered peculiar and the neighbours were actually alarmed about him. While here, no murders occurred in London, but after he had gone back, the latest horror was perpetrated."The British School still stands in Fairfield Road next to Old School Mews.
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| Whissendine windmill © Kate Jewell |
For the Liberal Democrats, Cllr Dr Sarah Hill said she was concerned about the existing tenants at The Settling Rooms - Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) and Shopmobility.
"Both offer important services to the community - where will they go?" she asked.But there may be a deeper concern about this move.
I had thought of calling this last chapter "The End," but on thinking it over I changed the title to "Plans for the Future"; for it was not the end.
In the Sussex Memorial scheme, founded to bring education to the agricultural labourers in the Sussex villages ; in the Buxton Memorial Scholarship, which brings each year an agricultural labourer as a student to Ruskin College; in the annual scholarship, founded in his memory and provided by past and present students of the College; in Buxton Cottage on the Chiltern Hills, bought by the Workers' Educational Association and opened in his memory as a resting-place for those who are devoting their lives to working-class education; above all, in the hearts and lives of those who were inspired by his example, Charlie still lives.
"Interesting fact for you," tweeted Jason Manford. "As a rule of thumb, if you can't place someone's accent, they're from Leicester."
Unplaceable it may be, but it's there. Even though the council tried to kill it off it the 1950s with elocution lessons in schools.
It's arguably the first proper accent you hit when you drive north from London.
Somewhere just south of Market Harborough a barrrth becomes a bath, and as you approach the city, magical things happen to the endings of words.
The quickleee of RP English becomes quickleh. Less-terr becomes Lestuh. It slows things down a little when there's a run of them altogether, so if you have cause to ring 999 for instance and say: "quickly, quickly, it's an emergency, there's a dire fire at Leicester Snooker Centre," well, there's a good chance there will have been casualties by the time you've finished raising the alarm.And, as the Mercury says, if you want to understand more about the city's culture, listen to the song above.
The details will be outlined to Harborough District Council representatives at a closed meeting on Monday.
The improvements, which are under wraps until after the meeting, will also include building longer platforms at Market Harborough station and building a lift to improve access for people with disabilities to the southbound platform.
Work could start on the scheme next year.
Monday's meeting comes after the Government agreed to spend £3 million on the new lift two years ago.The report also quotes an old friend of mine who knows about such things:
Rail users group spokesman Steve Jones said: "We have known the key elements of the scheme for some time.
"But it is good that at last plans have been drawn up so we shall be able to see what is being proposed."
He said: " There are two possible schemes. The big expensive one which could include building a new station beside the existing one and another smaller scheme which includes the key improvements on a pared down scale."
Mr Jones said to straighten the bend through the station would require new tracks being laid through the existing car park.
He added: "That would require new longer platforms to be built and the car park moved to the other side of the track."These improvements have been in the air for a very long time. Forty years ago the new buildings on platform 1 were built at an angle to the line to allow for its later straightening. But if the scheme is really radical, they may be demolished as part of it.
"At long last the plans to bring Harborough station into the 21st century are to be unveiled.
"I would urge people to attend the public exhibition on February 27."
"The difficult financial situation for Leicestershire County Council means that unless we get an improved funding arrangement, the services that vulnerable people need the most will have to be cut. I know the Minister fully understands the case we made and took into account our concerns as Leicestershire MPs and those of Coun Rushton. We will wait to see what transpires over the next few weeks."I would love to see a more generous settlement for Leicestershire, particularly if Rushton is right to say that we are the lowest funded county council.
Shropshire Council leaders today called for Government help to stave off the impact of multi-million pound budget cuts.
Council leader Malcolm Pate and the authority’s chief executive Clive Wright warned that without assistance they face a considerable reduction in the county’s services.
They have urged either an increase in the amount they can raise in council tax or an alteration of the formula by which councils receive central Government funding.The formula cannot be unfair to everybody, so It looks as though Conservatives are really complaining that central government funding is not generous enough. Even David Cameron has been at it.
“My Twitter account was hacked by someone with malicious intent. Whoever has done this changed my password, as I was unable to log onto it for a considerable period of time. I have reset my account and passwords. I take this kind of issue very seriously and have reported it to the police.”It comes after a Guido Fawkes post that showed Nick Rushton's Twitter account was following a number of "risque" accounts.
"This is a seriously dangerous foot crossing on a very busy stretch of the Leicester to St Pancras main line used by not just adults but young children as well.
"Anything that can be done to improve the safety of the thousands of pedestrians who cross the line there every year can only be a good thing."He may well be right, but one thing puzzles me.
A level crossing in Leicestershire which was closed earlier this year due to safety concerns is to be replaced by a new footbridge.
Little Bowden foot crossing was closed back in August after a risk assessment determined that the amount of time people were asked to stand at the red light varied too much for it to be safe. Train movements in the area meant that on some occasions the red light would be triggered by an approaching train which would then reverse into a nearby siding and therefore never arrive at the crossing itself.
Network Rail determined that the variation in warning time– although working entirely as it should – meant that those using the crossing may grow to distrust the warnings and decide to cross when it was unsafe to.
Now Network Rail is applying for planning permission to allow a bridge to be built at Little Bowden, which crosses the Midland Main Line and sees around 200 trains a day pass through it, with the crossing set to remain closed permanently.
Designs for the bridge are currently being discussed with Leicestershire County Council, with the new footbridge potentially in place within the next 12 months.These workings that trigger the crossing lights without ever arriving at the crossing must be track machines arriving from or leaving for the North at the sidings by Market Harborough station. And I imagine they generally take place early in the morning or late at night when few people are using the crossing.
The annual Celebration of Christmas concert will be held on Saturday (December 19) at the parish church of St Dionysius, Market Harborough ...
The reader this year is Carole Boyd, Lynda Snell from ‘The Archers’ (and all the female voices in Postman Pat among many other credits!).
The concert starts at 7.30pm and the doors open at 6.45pm. Tickets are available from Tim Blades 07976 757352 or MH Music in Market Harborough.
There will also be some tickets available on the door but organisers recommend that people get there early for them.
Lib Dem group leader Cllr Phil Knowles said the plan by the Conservative majority on the district council was “nothing short of a Conservative Bin Tax”.
“Before the May elections we were treated to the Conservative election gimmick of a £7 per annum cut in Council Tax” he said. “Now they are proposing to charge £40 a year to empty green bins on a part-year service.
“And if it’s £40 a year at first, who’s to say it won’t soon be £50 a year or more?”
