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1958 - January

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February 26, 1958

One of the biggest Easter eggs ever made left the Newark firm of Smiths Sweets Ltd yesterday for Grantham. It weighs three stone and is about 2ft high. It is made out of 1/2in thick milk chocolate decorated with plain chocolate and 40 edible candy roses in pink, red, apricot and yellow and is filled with toffees.

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The worst snow blizzard in the Newark area for ten years yesterday dislocated industry and transport, cut several bus services and prevented scores of children from getting to school. About 150 employees of Ransome and Marles were unable to get to Newark at all from the Mansfield, Leadenham and Claypole areas. And men who had been working on Monday's night shift had difficulty in getting home yesterday morning. Mr H. H. Blockley, the firm's personnel manager, made arrangements for many of them to get home via Nottingham but some had not left the factory by 11am. Others, living in Southwell, walked home.

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While Mr and Mrs J. M. Randall were entertaining the Amici Quartet in their London Road, Newark, home on Wednesday they were also housing four very valuable musical instruments including Lionel Bentley's Stradivarius valued at between £4,000 and £5,000. When the artists and their hosts were changing for the evening's concert the house's main electricity fused. Preparations for the concert which was held in Sconce Hills School and organised by Newark Music Club, continued by candlelight.

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February 19, 1958

When billiards and snooker champion Joe Davis visited Newark Town and District Club on Friday his first game (billiards) was with the president, Mr G. L. Scott. Mr Davis then played snooker against Mr R. S. Dams, Mr Leslie Coleman and Mr A. G. Clark and later gave a demonstration of trick shots and answered questions from club members.

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Relatives of seriously-ill patients may be able to stay overnight at Newark General Hospital as the result of building extensions. The new wing includes an 11-bed ward which will enable beds to be taken out of several small rooms at present used as wards. It is not expected that the total number of beds will need to be increased, and it may therefore become possible for the hospital to be equipped with a private room, where a ward sister can interview relatives, and a spare furnished room where relatives can be put up for the night.

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A proposal for four-phase traffic lights to eliminate danger and relieve congestion at Newark’s Beaumond Cross was turned down at a meeting of Newark Borough Road Safety Council. The chief argument against the proposal was that the building of the proposed Newark bypass would greatly reduce traffic through the town, so ending congestion. Mr A. W. Neal, who made the proposal, said: “Four-phase traffic lighting should be tried at Beaumond Cross, if only as an experiment, in order to make this notorious danger spot safe for pedestrians.�

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February 12, 1958

Mr C. David Edgar with members of Cropwell Young Farmers' Club when he spoke to the club at Bingham on Gentlemen Of The Press. On the left is Mr Robin Newport, of East Bridgford, present chairman of the club.

Climbing to the stage of Newark Technical College on Friday evening, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the best-known archaeologist in Britain, glanced at the heavy snow driving against the windows and began his lecture to a crowded audience.

Sir Mortimer, the man whose television appearances are among the principal causes of the present widespread interest in archaeology, spoke for an hour-and-a-half and made it seem like five minutes.

Most Newarkers slept through the town's second earth tremor in a year late on Sunday night.
With a rumbling roar, Newark shook for several seconds at 11.23pm. Though of shorter duration, the earth tremor was as severe as that of February 11, last year.

The shock was felt all over the Midlands and East Anglia. Reports indicate that it was particularly severe in parts of Newark, Southwell and Collingham.

Contracts have been signed for the largest order ever received by the Newark firm of Worthington-Simpson Ltd. Equipment costing more than £2m is to be supplied for a giant new power station in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The power station will have a total capacity of 600 megawatts to almost equal to the ultimate combined capacity of the two power stations at Staythorpe. It will be capable of supplying power to 80 towns the size of Newark.