State funeral mystery solved
Not a pallbearer after all... plus: healthy schools and Easter puns

London, 8 Apr 2006

• This week the website leads with the aspirations of one local who's hoping to make a second go of his village clean-up campaign; last time, only three people turned up for a litter-pick - but that hasn't dissuaded coun David McGrath from his quest to keep a corner of Britain tidy. Link


• Reporter Josie McLaren says a joint scheme between a local school and council is set to improve the health of local youngsters. An action plan will see Wasely Hills High School strengthen Personal, Social and Health Education lessons and implement a healthier food policy. Link


• Meanwhile, on another part of the site, a school rumour is finally laid to rest. In the 'Bidgood Blog', local teacher Tessa Bidgood writes of preparations for the Diamond Jubilee of Wasely Hills High School. Preparations have included research into the history of the school and its alumni -- which uncovered an interesting nugget in February when Mrs Bidgood wrote: "We have also been told that one of our ex-pupils was a pall bearer at Churchill's funeral in 1965. We'd never heard that before."
  
  Alas, the rumour is too good to be true. In the latest blog posting, the record is set a little straighter - it turns out that the humble Charles Price did not join Harold Macmillan and Earls Attlee and Mountbatten but was, in fact, part of the rather larger guard of honour for the wartime PM. Link


• Finally the paid-for press, in the form of the Bromsgrove Standard, give special page two attention to the approaching Easter holidays, rolling out some of their the very best Eastertide puns for West Midlanders' enjoyment. "EGG-CELLENT events for the Easter holidays have been lined up across Bromsgrove," declares the paper in its Friday 7 April edition. Those events include a special Easter craft and storytime event at Rubery library on Wednesday.