Monday, January 15,1973

Once again, high winds and heavy seas hit West Penwith. At Lamorna, visitors to the quay found that a substantial amount of it had been washed away – including most of the pier.

A small hole in the Quay, built in the 1840s, had been noticed the previous day, but owner John Daniel had been unable to have it plugged in time to prevent further damage. He had watched the pier disintegrate, he said, “as if it were bits of cardboard.”

On Friday, January 19, yet more of the pier fell victim to heavy seas. Mr Daniel admitted that he had never felt so downhearted.

A local fisherman added that the pier “means everything to everybody here,” and feared that the damage could spell the end of Lamorna as a fishing port.

Granite kerbstones and iron railings had also disappeared from Penzance promenade, and there were fears for the roof of the Mount’s Bay Hotel (now the eastern part of the Queen’s Hotel), where the Upper Deck Bar had lost a good deal of its slate facing.

The owner of a grey jaguar saloon was no doubt regretting having parked on the Lighthouse Pier, as the power of the sea, or maybe a storm-flung chunk of granite, had stove in the roof.

Friday, January 19, 1973

Some 14 members of Madron Methodist Youth Club held a Scalextric slot-car racing marathon to help raise funds for a new church boiler. The youngsters weren’t sure how much cash they’d raised – but agreed that they’d all had a wonderful time.

 Sunday, January 21, 1973

Pupils at Madron’s Daniel School took part in their annual Service of Five Candles in the parish church.

Invented by the dean of Truro, the event served as a round-up of the Christian year, with the ‘big five’ events all rolled into one. Different groups of children carried shields representing Christmas, the visit of the Three Kings, Easter, Ascensiontide and Whitsun.

At the other end of the age range, Madron church bell-ringers Rachel White and Thomas Poynter had received awards to commemorate their long service. Rachel had been ringing the changes in various churches for 32 years – and Thomas for a magnificent 56. 

Friday, January 26, 1973

Cornwall Council approved a scheme to redevelop the old Penzance gasworks site. It was to include a pedestrian bridge over the road to provide safe access to the Wharfside car park – which could soon become a multi-storey, after plans to build one in Bread Street had been abandoned.