February 13, 1973

Marazion Parish Council was considering the blight of pavement parking. “People are having to walk in the road because of the cars on the pavement,” resident W H Miners told the meeting.  “It is getting worse and worse.”

Mr Miners claimed that police would drive straight past offenders without taking action – or even, apparently, any notice.

“The car drivers are almost claiming the pavements,” said Mr Miners, and made the interesting suggestion that tags could be fixed to cars parked on the pavements, alerting their drivers to the relevant section of the Highway Code.

The parish council agreed to write to the police and ask whether more could be done, but the same complaint could be made – word for word – by the pedestrians of 2023: certainly in Penzance, and probably elsewhere. 

February 14, 1973

Parents in Sancreed were fighting hard to save the village school, which was under threat of closure on the retirement of head teacher Miss E Trembath. Some 28 pupils would be transferred to the Tolcarne and Board Schools, Newlyn, with transport provided. 

But any parents who wanted to send their children to, for example, St Just or St Buryan would have to make their own transport arrangements – and foot the bill.

The closure was in line with government policy to do away with schools built before 1903, most of which would still have had outside toilets 70 years later. Despite limited facilities, the cost per pupil per year at Sancreed and similar schools was double what it would be in a larger establishment. All Cornish schools with fewer than 50 pupils were under threat.

Parents argued that children as young as five should not be bussed to and from school, and that setting out from home at 8.30am and not returning until 4.30pm would threaten their physical and mental health. They also pointed out that the route was subject to heavy holiday traffic, potentially delaying arrival at both ends of the day, and that little money would be saved anyway once the costs of extending the Newlyn schools and providing transport were factored in.

A meeting decided that getting up a petition should be the next step in their campaign.

It would be addressed to the Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher. 

February 15,1973

Tenants of Penzance Town Council heard the unwelcome news that their landlord would be raising the rent – perhaps to as much as an average of £3.20 a week. Less than a year previously, they had paid just £1.99 but new legislation had demanded that tenants paid more – and then there was inflation to take into account.

What else could you get for £3.20 in 1973? Possibilities included 10lb of beef forequarter to put in your freezer, a ticket for the upcomi