How Northampton got under my skin
DANIEL Defoe once described Northampton as one of the handsomest towns in the country.
If the author of Robinson Crusoe was alive today would he still hold to that view? Somehow I doubt it. Few, if any, of the buildings which helped him form that judgment survive today.
When I came to work in Northampton nearly 60 years ago I thought I had stepped into a time warp. The streets were lit by gas lamps and the telephone exchange was out of the ark. You had to dial an operator even to make a local call which was very time consuming.
Then a year or so after my arrival the town at last caught up with the outside world.
The installation of electric lighting in the streets changed it from being one of the gloomiest towns in the country to (or so it was claimed) one of the best lit in Europe.
Perhaps I was the catalyst for all the changes for I was constantly making derogatory comments about it to all and sundry, often prompting the retort “Well if you think that about the town why don’t you move away?”
Well, that was my intention. Having trained on a weekly, I planned to get experience on evening paper work before stepping up the career ladder elsewhere.
It did not quite work out that way. I learned that if you stay in Northampton longer than 18 months you remain here for the rest of your working life.
I have no regrets about not heeding that advice. I met my wife here, our two sons live in the town and our lovely grandchildren are close at hand.
Despite my initial misgivings, Northampton has a lot going for it and if those who run it play their cards rights it ought to have a great future . . . shame they have not the foresight to try for city status.
UP and down the country churches are closing because of falling congregations, with the buildings being converted into housing or shops. In Northampton planning permission is being sought to knock one down . . . but for a different reason.
The baptist church on the corner of Broadmead Avenue and Park Avenue North is thriving. So much so that it has outgrown the premises built 90 years ago. The church authorities want a new building capable of accommodating all the activities that take place there.
It may not herald the start of a religious revival but on reflection if more people could rediscover their faith, the outlook facing this country would perhaps not look so gloomy or daunting.
BRITONS are becoming more dishonest with lying and cheating becoming second nature to some, according to a survey. Hardly surprising considering the bad example set by some MPs who ought to be society’s role models.
There will be a lot of tut-tutting at the findings by those who may consider themselves upright citizens. But do they ever make personal phone calls while at work or put their private letters in the office mail tray? Strictly speaking they are committing theft.
I once knew a commercial traveller who turned expenses fiddling into a fine art. He used to stay at cheap B&Bs but produced receipts which he had printed himself showing he had been at leading hotels and guest houses. I often wonder whether his employers ever got wise to his dodges.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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