December 28, 1955

The Fleet’s In — the first item in Newark Parish Church Trinity Guild’s Christmas Showtime — put the audience in a gay mood last week.

This third in a successful series of Christmas variety shows was presented at Barnby Road School, Newark.

Humorous sketches were included in the programme and Chris Grant and Doreen Antcliff did their miming-to-records act which is now well known to Newark audiences.

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Members of the Staythorpe Power Station Sports and Social Club who have spent most of their spare time in the past year restoring and redecorating the 15-year-old derelict chapel buildings in Kings Road, Newark, to provide club premises, have completed the first stage of their work.

The erstwhile schoolroom behind the chapel is now a brightly decorated, well-appointed club, with a billiards table, comfortable furniture and a modern bar.

And although the larger chapel building — later to provide facilities for dancing, badminton, table tennis and major functions — remains derelict, the club is now in use.

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Work is expected to begin in the coming year on the new telephone exchange which will bring automatic dials to Newark but it is likely to be the end of 1958 before Newarkers can dial a number.

The new exchange will be built on open land near the Castlegate corner of Lombard Street.

There will probably still be some hand operators in the new exchange for dealing with trunk calls but it is possible that it might be completely automatic.