A serial speeder from Clitheroe has made the top 10 for drivers with the most active endorsements on their licence.

The man was caught eight times in just two months, according to a new report by the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

With an additional offence for using a mobile phone at the wheel, the man clocked a staggering 29 points before he was suspended from driving.

The example was one of a number used today by the IAM to illustrate how slow the totting up process can be before bans are imposed.

“It’s really disappointing to see this issue has not yet been resolved,” said IAM chief executive Simon Best. “Drivers must expect 12 points means a ban or the whole system falls into disrepute.”

The country’s worst offender was a woman with 42 points for failing to disclose the identity of the driver of her car on seven separate occasions in as many months last year. Close behind was a man from Warrington who was caught driving without insurance six times in less than two weeks earlier this year, accumulating 36 points. And a Southend man bagged 30 points for 10 speeding offences in 18 months.

“DVLA and courts are upgrading their computer systems to ensure offence information is shared more efficiently,” said Simon Best.

“When drivers with 10 speeding offences are getting away with holding a licence, these improvements cannot come quickly enough.”

This week we re-commence the story of how the Overseer of Briercliffe helped poorer members of the community in the middle years of the 18th Century.

Reference has already been made to the workhouse in Haggate, the aid given to children of the poor to find work and the provision of the necessities of life for both inmates at the workhouse and those who received relief in their own homes.

A reference in the accounts, which should be more widely known than they are, surprised me. It indicates a quart of ale had been bought for “Sharp, he being sick”. This was in May, 1754, and the trifling sum of 3d was spent. A similar sum was also allocated to “Sharp” very soon after. In June 1755 “Charles’s wife” was given 2d worth of “wine and spirit”.

For some reason, when I came across these records, I did not expect to find reference to the overseer using the poor rates on the health of less well-off members of the community. Logically, I should not have been surprised. If the overseer was prepared to help with food, rent, heating and furniture he would surely have provided for medical assistance when it was needed.

The provision of alcohol was one thing but the records had one more surprise: Briercliffe had its own doctor! Remember, we are in the middle of the 18th Century, before industrialisation reached our area. Briercliffe was an area of scattered farms and small cottages with only one small village, Haggate, which was the location of the tiny workhouse. There was no residential landed family in Briercliffe or Extwistle. In fact the Briercliffe family itself was bankrupt, the head of the family in Lancaster Castle for debt, and it was about this time they sold their small estate to the Robertshaws.

There were a few relatively prosperous families, the Halsteads, Smiths and Ecroyds and it was from the latter that the doctor came. He was Dr John Ecroyd (1679-1755) but little is known about him. One researcher says he practised “physic with good success and great reputation”.

He was son of another John Ecroyd, the first of his family to join the Society of Friends, otherwise known as the Quakers. The other son, Richard, who lived at Lane House, Briercliffe, for a time, was responsible for running the family woollen business at Edge End in what was then Little Marsden (now Brierfield). Some of the cottages associated with this business have survived, as has, from a later period, the great mill at Lomeshaye in what was then Great Marsden (now Nelson).

The Ecroyds had come to Briercliffe in the 16th Century from the Hebden Bridge area when they bought the small Foulds Estate. As with many small farmers, they became involved in the woollen industry which they ran, initially, from Foulds House. The present property, replacing an ancient timber dwelling, was built by the family on a substantial scale, at the end of the 16th Century, so they must have become successful in their commercial activities fairly quickly.

As the elder son, Dr John Ecroyd inherited Foulds House, and the land attached to it, but neither he nor his children could be described as farmers. John, his eldest son, became an apothecary in Kendal; Richard, the second son, was trained as a doctor and emigrated to the West Indies, and Stephen, the youngest, inherited Foulds House and could be described as a “gentleman farmer”. The portraitist Sir Godfrey Kneller (1643-1723) painted a likeness of Dr John.

What, then, did Dr Ecroyd undertake on behalf of the Overseer of the Poor in Briercliffe? The first reference we have occurs in May, 1754. It says, “Paid to Ecroyd for Doctoring Charles Greenwood’s wife, 2s 0d”. In March, 1755 another entry reads, “Paid to Ecroyd for Doctoring Henry Nuttall, six pence”.

It is likely Dr John was responsible for prescribing a man called Sharp, already mentioned in connection with being granted ale, a calves heart for “being sick”. It was generally held that a calves heart was full of strength-giving goodness and such treatment, at this time was pretty common. In fact I recall similar attitudes among some of my relations when I was a boy.

A purge was anther popular treatment – though not, perhaps, with the patient as it involved the administering of a purgative to cause the bowels to be evacuated. The wife of Charles Greenwood was given two purges!

It is not clear that Dr Ecroyd attended on women in confinement, but the Overseer had to foot the bill for Elizabeth Nutter’s “lying-in”. Altogether the confinement cost £1 9s 4d of which 20 shillings was for her “lying in”, and 9s 4d was for “fourteen weeks pay; that is from 26th September, 1754 to 2nd January, 1755”. It is possible this latter sum was to pay for the services of what we would now call a midwife.

Though they might be brief, the medical references in the Overseer of the Poor’s Accounts are very revealing. By the time they are made, Dr John Ecroyd was an elderly man. In fact he died in 1755, the year the records end, but they give us an insight into treatment of the poor.

Another point to make is that virtually the whole of the cost of the maintenance of the workhouse, and the other items of expenditure we have mentioned, not only today, but in the foregoing articles, was met by the rate payers of Briercliffe. The County authorities were hardly involved and there were no grants from the Government in London.

Though we have only got records for the years 1754-5, the system described over the past few articles continued until the 1830s. In those 80 years Burnley was transformed, by the Industrial Revolution, into something like the town we now know although there was a further 80 years of growth to follow.

The main change that took place was the growth of a wage-earning population divorced from the land. In bad economic times such people were very vulnerable and this can be seen particularly in the years that immediately followed the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and in the 1820s when reform of the Poor Law was raised again.

Those who demanded reform were not the poor but those who paid the poor rates. They argued that the poor rates were too much of a burden to bear and the poor ought to fend for themselves. They also indicated the poor would never escape poverty if society paid their bills; something you might think is pretty current at the present time.

The result was the 1834 Poor Law (Amendment) Act, one of the nastiest pieces of legislation Parliament has ever enacted. Surprisingly, it was made law in the middle of the so-called Reform Era, the time when the Great Reform Act of 1832, the Great Factory Act of 1833 and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, all pieces of progressive legislation, were passed.

I will describe the effects of the 1834 Act as they impacted on Burnley in a future article. It was not very pleasant but I should round off my comments about the pre-1834 system before I consider the Act.

The Townships that made up the Chapelry of Burnley continued with their workhouses and the activities of their individual Overseers. We know Burnley, Briercliffe, Simonstone and Padiham, and Habergham Eaves had workhouses and it is likely other larger Townships had similar facilities. For the smaller Townships, like Ightenhill, it is likely arrangements were made with neighbouring authorities to meet the demands of the Old Poor Law.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the work of the numerous local charities continued. We know quite a bit about these activities from the local newspapers, particularly the “Blackburn Mail”, founded in 1792.

Burnley did not have its own newspaper until the late 1840s but the “Blackburn Mail” contains an immense amount of news about our town and the area around. When, for example, there was great poverty and unemployment among the handloom weavers of the whole area in the mid 1820s, the “Mail” not only tells us about the extent of this poverty, it also outlines what was being done to alleviate it.

It is a story of public subscriptions, of soup kitchens, of pies without meat in them and of starving people digging up the carcasses of dead animals for food, an example of that happening in Burnley. But, despite the hardships, society did pull together and, though there were casualties, people got through the bad times.

A demon short on devil-may-care attitude, two lovesick shoes and an over-ambitious potato that dreams of becoming a French fry…

These are just some of the wickedly eccentric fairy tales which have been winning the hearts and imaginations of French children (and their parents) for over 45 years, and are now set to work their magic on a new generation of English-speaking youngsters.

Funny, farcical and charmingly Gallic, they are the work of the late French-Greek author Pierre Gripari who was one of the most successful writers for children in 20th century France and is still a firm favourite among the country’s current crop of seven to 10-year-olds.

But Gripari, who died in 1990 aged 65, was not a uniquely French phenomenon with his book of fairy tales translated into 17 other languages, including Mandarin Chinese, and now English, courtesy of publishers Pushkin Press and a wonderfully sympathetic translation by Sophie Lewis.

Pushkin Press was founded in 1997 and specialises in European works including novels, essays, memoirs, children’s books and everything from well-loved classics to the strikingly contemporary.

Gripari, or Monsieur Pierre as he called himself, was a colourful character whose enchanting stories were born from weekly story-telling sessions with a group of children at a boulevard café near his Paris home.

When Monsieur Pierre ran out of the traditional stories he had grown up with, he and the children made up some brand-new ones, many of them surprisingly poetic, dramatic and bold, and starring everything from giants and witches to mermaids, barbarians, frogs and that ‘hard-boiled’ potato.

These witty, essentially gentle and reassuring stories all feature adventures entirely lacking in cruelty. Kindness to others is always the prime value which will get you out of trouble, with the good rewarded and the evil punished.

The Good Little Devil and Other Tales, which are brought to life by the playful, charismatic illustrations of Puig Rosado, are essentially absurd fairy tales… but all very sensibly told.

Take that good little devil… instead of doing bad things like playing tricks on his teachers, he keeps trying to be good. He does all his homework and, amazingly, he sometimes enjoys it! He is never rude and he even encourages sinners to say sorry.

His parents are at their wits’ end so the little devil strikes out on his own and on his quest to learn to be good, he meets all kinds of people, from priests to police and from the Pope in Rome to Little Jesus himself. But will the angels let a red devil with black horns into Heaven?

Elsewhere in this collection of thirteen stories, a naughty little pig swallows the North Star, a man battles a hairy frog, a fairy who lives in a tap hands out some venomous gifts and a headstrong prince falls madly in love with a mermaid.

The theme throughout is the clever and constructive ways in which young people overcome greedy kings, wicked witches, unlucky spells and even silly names. And, of course, there is a big dash of magic to help them on their way.

A timeless collection of fun and funky stories for children in every corner of the world…

(Pushkin Children’s Books, hardback, £14.99)

A doting mother has dug out her running shoes in a bid to give something back to a society close to her heart.

Liz Allison (49), from Ightenhill, Burnley, will be taking part in the world’s biggest half marathon, the Great North Run, on September 15th.

Her aim is to raise as much money and awareness as possible for the National Autistic Society, after her son Kieron (20), was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.

The mother-of-four, who has worked at Sainsbury’s, in Colne, for the past three years, said: “I knew nothing about autism at all before having Kieron. It is quite frightening at first, because you don’t know what it is, and you don’t know what to expect.

“The National Autistic Society are always on the end of the phone, if I ever have any queries.”

Liz, who used to work at Burnley’s Shop Direct before its closure in 2010, has not run properly since her school days. However, having seen her husband complete the 13.1-mile route over the past four years, she decided it was the right time to step up to the challenge.

She prepared for the event by completing the Great Manchester 10K in May this year, and is being well supported by her family, friends and colleagues. She now hopes to raise £500 for her efforts.

She added: “I am a bit nervous and apprehensive, but I am looking forward to it.”

And David Boorman, head of Supporter fund-raising for The National Autistic Society, added: “Autism is often described as a ‘hidden’ condition, but it’s a lot more common than most of us might think, affecting more than one in 100 people in the UK.

“Without the amazing fund-raising efforts of inspirational people like Liz, we wouldn’t be able to continue our vital work supporting people affected by the disability and helping them to lead the life they choose.

“We can’t wait to cheer Liz and the rest of our Great North Run team to success on the day!”

To make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/Elizabeth-Allison

They were the first group to graduate from a new Colne nursery in July 2006.

And now the owner of Toddle In Nursery has shared her pride as her little “tykes” take their next big step to high school.

To mark the occasion, Jessica Webber organised for her original class to meet up at a photo shoot at Create Studios, in Albert Road.

The experience, she said, was an emotional one, and a fantastic way to make the transition between schools easier for the eight students.

Seven members of the group will be starting at Park High School, in Colne, on Monday, having been at various local primary schools in Pendle and Burnley. Five will be in the same form.

Miss Webber, who opened the North Valley Road site in January 2005, said: “It was lovely – really emotional though. I can’t believe how time flies.

“They were all a bit nervous to start with, but by the end of the session they were chatting to each other.

“You don’t really realise you are such a big part of their lives.

“You see them every day, and know everything that is going on in their lives, and then they go and you never see them again. It was nice to revisit the children, with their parents as well.”

The reunited group consists of twins Megan and Emma Reeder, Mia Barras, Jorge Hiscox, Kern Etherington, Kimberley Flannery, Jack Holt and Megan Davies. Lauren Singleton was also in the original group, but has now moved out of the area.

Hi everyone! How’s your summer been? We’ve been having a wonderful holidays spending time together, helping Charlotte unwind and relax before that wonderful brain of hers goes back to school to start Year 4!

This is going to be a challenging year for her as the work naturally gets more complex but she now has her statement of special educational needs and visual impairment support so I’m sure she’ll thrive in true Charlotte style!

You may remember that earlier this year, Leader Times Newspapers ran a story about the Pendle Stroke Group which was under threat of closure after more than 40 years supporting stroke survivors and their families.

Well myself and best friend Lindsay have taken over the running of the group and we are pleased to say that the group will officially re-open on Thursday from 11am-1pm at Trawden Community Centre and we would love to see some of you there.

We will be shaking things up a little and opening the group up to new members as well as family members and carers.

Our aim is to create a community in which stroke survivors, carers and family members can come together to offer support to and gain support from each other.

In my experience, a stroke can be a very lonely experience but it doesn’t need to be that way.

The first meeting is a get together to meet us, have some cake and a cuppa and see what we can offer.

Over the coming months we will be hosting a range of activities, guest speakers and services.

All of Burnley will be rooting for locally-born actress Natalie Gumede when she steps out to take part in the BBC’s flagship show “Strictly Come Dancing” tomorrow evening.

The show has captured the public’s imagination and it’s great to have a bit of local interest as well.

Looking ahead, I wonder if one day we might see our very own Jimmy Anderson sporting a sequined shirt and taking to the floor? Or how about television presenter Tony Livesey donning the Lycra in a bid to further Burnley’s cause?

Then there’s Alastair Campbell who is known for his ability to spin!

The strike pairing of Danny Ings and Sam Vokes has reaped eight goals so far this season, firing Burnley to third place in the Championship, and the third round of the Capital One Cup.

But while it is a relatively new partnership in Claret the duo know each other’s games inside out.

Both players hail from Hampshire, and came through at Bournemouth, and Ings - who I can reveal is the first winner of the Burnley Express and nonaynever.net Player of the Month Award - taking 45% of the vote - explained the secret of their success so far: “To be fair we go back a long way.

“We both started at the same place and I used to watch him when I was really little and I used to really enjoy watching him play.

“It’s a pleasure to play with him now. He absolutely bullies players out there and he does well for me too.

“He was playing for the first team and he came down for the FA Youth Cup game to play with them and I was called up from schoolboy.

“He was a giant then.”

He added: “We’ve got a good understanding for each other, we know each other’s games.

“He just bullies people and I get the rewards for it!

“He’s great to play with and we do well for each other.”

Ings has five goals to his name, with Vokes netting three.

The pair scored seven between them last season due to injury and a lack of opportunity, due to 28-goal Charlie Austin being an automatic pick when fit.

And Ings is delighted to see his mate on the scoresheet: “He’s scoring goals, which is good, although I didn’t actually see his goal on Saturday because I was completely squashed by about three defenders, but I’m just glad that he’s scoring as well.”

Next up, a week tomorrow, is the derby with Blackburn, and Ings would love to score in that game: “It’s a massive game, especially for the fans, and I can guarantee we’re going to put in a good performance for that one.

“I was gutted I didn’t get to start either one of those games last year.

“I’ve never been so excited for a game, and to try and do it for the fans would be good.

“At the moment I’m very happy, not just for myself but for the team.”

Clarets boss Sean Dyche feels Danny Ings and Sam Vokes’ hard work is paying off.

The pair have eight goals between them from the first seven games of the season, and Dyche puts much of their good form down to their graft in pre-season.

Both look as fit as they have been during their time at Turf Moor, and Dyche said: “Ingsy is really alive at the moment. We’re enjoying him and I think he’s enjoying it.

“We spoke a lot to him last year and in the summer about what we think he can achieve, and what he can do, and he’s taken a lot on board.

“And I must say, Ingsy is getting the plaudits lately, and rightly so, but I must add Sam Vokes into the mix.

“He’s developing well and he’s enjoying his football I think.”

He added: “I said you’d better be ready for pre-season, come back fit and ready, because you will be working!

“Their fitness has improved, and in turn that improves mental and physical sharpness, which improves belief, an the ability to improve performances for longer.

“In turn you hope that improves individual performances and team performances over the longer term.

“I explained to them the simplicity of it, and they’ve taken it on board.

“They’ve worked hard. The work in the summer wasn’t ridiculous, we had good science support, physiotherapy, and that measure between fitness and energy.

“You can only offer and guide people towards performance though, at the end of the day, I believe players take ownership of performance.

“If they agree with me and wish to take on what me and my staff offer them, fantastic.

“If not, we have anger discussion, then another, then I demand, then I drag.”

The Storks have certainly announced their presence on the Evo-Stik stage.

Steve Wilkes’s side responded to an opening day defeat away to Northwich Victoria by embarking on a four match unbeaten stretch.

That sequence included stalemates with Harrogate Railway Athletic and Lancaster City at the Arbories while a terrific victory over Ramsbottom United at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium was followed by a spectacular FA Cup preliminary round triumph over local rivals Clitheroe.

The Storks now travel to Moor Lane to take on Salford City who were dumped out of the FA Cup by Cammell Laird.

The Ammies management team of Barry Massay and Phil Powere have recently added defender Matthew Grimshaw and midfielder Javan Benjamto the ranks to bolster their depleted squad.

They are currently seventh in the Evo-Stik First Division North hierarchy after an unbeaten start to the campaign. They have, however, yet to take maximum points on home soil.

Wilkes has injury concerns over Lewis Jordan (ankle), Spencer Jordan (knee) and Dean Overson (hamstring) for tomorrow’s clash.

But the Arbories boss remains in high spirits after witnessing a determined and domineering second half performance against the Blues at the weekend.

“It’s always good to win your derbies for the bragging rights which we’ll take in to the league game against them in December,” said Wilkes. “It’ll also do our confidence a world of good going in to our next game.

“We’re four games unbeaten now so hopefully we can go to Salford and extend that. It’s early in the season so teams are still finding their feet but we’ve got to be better than we were in the first half.

“They showed great attitude in the second half. We’ve got a great team spirit in the dressing room and it showed with that performance in the second half.”

Padiham will then face their biggest test to date when league leaders Curzon Ashton are the visitors at the Arbories on Wednesday.

John Flanagan’s outfit, who culminated last term just short of the play-off spots, have won all four of their league fixtures and thrashed Ashton Athletic 4-0 in the FA Cup.

Wilkes is now wanting Storks fans to show the same level of support as they have on home games so far.

“There was another big crowd on against Clitheroe and hopefully they’ll come back to see us the next time we’re at home. We’ve had three home games now and they’ve all been very well supported.

“We’ve got the league leaders Curzon Ashton next up at the Arbories so we want people to come back and watch that as well. We’ve had great support so far.

Meanwhile, Padiham’s rescheduled fixture with Mossley will now go ahead on Tuesday, September 17th.

The Storks were scheduled to face Peter Band and Lloyd Morrison’s men midweek but the Lilywhites were forced in to an FA Cup replay by Worksop Parramore - a tie they eventually lost.

Jason Hart hit a hat-trick on Saturday as Colne beat newly-promoted Abbey Hey, who had made a good start to life in the North West Counties Premier Division.

The Reds made a hesitant start to the game, with Abbey Hey retaining possession from the kick off, resulting in James Moss firing narrowly wide in the very first minute.

But a few minutes later Colne came close to opening the scoring when Kristian Evans rose above the defence to meet Ed O’Neill’s free kick, only to see the ball scrape past the far post.

After five minutes, Colne took the lead when Ben Hoskin’s free kick was headed across the goal by Evans to Mark Coyne, who slipped the ball to Hart for a clinical finish.

Seven minutes later, Dominic Craig raced into the penalty area only to be upended by Ross Heywood the Abbey Hey goalkeeper.

Hart stepped up to take the resulting penalty, which was saved by Heywood, but Ashley Carter crossed the ball back into the area, where Hart headed into the bottom corner to increase Colne’s lead.

Colne continued to work hard and began to up the tempo of the game with their short, sharp passing.

Carter was proving to be a good outlet down the left flank and Mark Coyne and Robert Grimes were dominant in the midfield. And just after the half hour mark Colne made it 3-0 when, after a mazy run by O’Neill down the right wing, he picked out Carter, who flicked the ball to Evans, who finished well into the corner.

Just before the break Colne had Chris Thompson to thank when he reacted quickly to make a brave save at the feet of Sam Jones.

In the second half Colne continued to dominate.

Craig was denied by a good save by Heywood, Hoskin saw his header fly over the crossbar and Kieron Burywood made an amazing block from Hart’s goalbound effort.

But on 75 minutes Hart made no mistake when he latched onto a great dissecting pass by Hoskin and calmly passed the ball past Heywood into the bottom far corner.

In the dying minutes Thompson made a brilliant save from a Jones shot before he was beaten by a looping effort by Emmanuel Dube.

Tomorrow Colne face league leaders Maine Road at the XLCR Stadium, kick-off 3 p.m. before the home derby with Barnoldswick Town on Wednesday, kick-off 7 -45 p.m.

Barnoldswick and Settle can still finish as Ribblesdale League runners-up after last weekend’s double header.

Last season’s winners Barlick hold a five-point advantage going into their final game at Edenfield tomorrow.

Barnoldswick could have put the issue beyond doubt but slipped up in both games.

On Saturday, Ribblesdale Wanderers scored 236-5, with the aid of 106 from professional Ben Dougall, before Mark Thompson took 6-55 as Barlick were restricted to 191-9.

Then against Harwood, Barnoldswick were dismissed for 154, of which John Pickup top-scored with 63. Stuart Maher took 5-34. In reply, Great Harwood lost six wickets, but passed the target.

Earby couldn’t do their neighbours a favour against Settle on Saturday. Richard Craddock won the toss and took the gamble to bat on a slow and low wicket.

Fahid Rehman battled to 37 before hitting one to mid-off, and at the halfway Earby had reached 76-4. Craddock and Iain Clarkson added a valuable 38 stand before Clarkson was lbw for 23 and Craddock was also lbw for 16. The tail tumbled and Earby were 123 all out.

In reply, Ian White trapped Read lbw for four, before Craddock took a wicket in each of his first four overs, reducing the home team to 55-5.

Captain Eddie Read worked hard for his 26 until Lee Parkinson had him caught by Clarkson. Earby thought they were in with a chance, however the two Davidsons saw Settle home for a two-wicket win. Craddock ended with 5-32, and Parkinson 2-17.

Padiham arrived at the Applegarth on Sunday knowing they were already relegated.

Earby batted first but Rehman was sent back for just three, trapped in front by Chris Holt.

Chris Walton batted with care and patience against Holt and Mahmood. However he lost Jake Greenbank (12) and Hipgrave (1) before Matt Wilson steadied the ship with a 32-ball 24.

Hargreaves added 10, and Parkinson stuck around for 16 before becoming Holt’s second victim.

Jason Lockley, a late replacement for the injured Craddock, smashed 30 off just 16 balls, before Holt got him.

Walton chased a wide delivery and was gone for a superb 74, and White was Mahmood’s seventh wicket, Earby setting Padiham a target of 191.

In reply, Holt played a very professional innings, adding 60 with Hitchon until Lee Parkinson found the edge of Hitchon’s bat. Kurt Robinson and Holt looked like they could claim the victory, but Lockley saw off the pair, both smartly stumped by Matt Garner. Mahmood (11) and Pettard (14) took the total within striking distance, but Walton sent both back, as well as Meehan, with Padiham eight runs short. Walton finished with fine figures of 5-35, and Lockley 2 for 33.

“The female equivalent of a totally diamond geezer” was among many touching tributes made by musician Tony Thorpe in memory of his beloved wife Shirley.

Tony, a singer and guitarist with pop band The Rubettes in the 1970s, fought back tears at her funeral at Burnley Crematorium where the couple’s favourite songs were played.

The colourful, London-born musician had first met Burnley girl Shirley in 1966. They were married two years later and were together when she died at home in Burnley from cancer aged 63.

In a celebration of her life, Tony opened the service playing the banjolele singing “Spread a Little Happiness”.

Mourners fought back tears when the deeply personal song “Shirley” which Tony composed in 1978, was then played.

Addressing mourners, some of whom had travelled many miles to pay their last respects, Tony told how they first met at Cleopatra’s club, Cardiff, where Shirley was performing as Shirley Dee.

He said: “I adored Shirley from the moment I saw her and have worshipped her ever since.

“She was the female equivalent of a totally diamond geezer. The Marge to my Homer Simpson, the Margaret to my Victor Meldrew.

“May flights of angels take you to your rest kid. God bless you. I love you and I’ll see you later.”

Tony described how, in the early days, their relationship was “a National Express romance” as they lived at opposite ends of the country.

He added the Cole Porter-penned song “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”, which was played at the service, had become their song as it reminded them of those days.

Tony, who battled a drink problem for several years, said that during his life of ups and downs, Shirley was “a constant up”.

He described how she brought up their autistic son Clay while he was touring the world and said she coped with a smile and sense of humour.

Shirley’s brother Derek also spoke, recounting their childhood with sister Jean, and her fondness for bacon butties.

Musicians Ken Bradshaw and Nicky Fox also performed, before the service ended with “I’ll See You in my Dreams” from the George Harrison memorial concert, which Tony and Shirley watched together shortly before her death.

Sitting top of the NWC First Division after three successive wins, Nelson were given a wake-up call on Saturday.

The Blues, looking to maintain their unbeaten home record, made two enforced changes, as Jake Lloyd came in for the suspended Ashley Mihell and Jonny Hession replaced Nat Taylor, out with a broken leg.

The early exchanges were even, but the Admirals had the first shot in anger when, from a corner, the ball was cleared to Richie Allen, but his first-time effort went tamely straight to keeper Jamie Brewer.

Against the run of play, a defensive mistake let in Jordan Icely to put the visitors ahead on 17 minutes.

Nelson pressed hard for an equaliser, but they were soon 2-0 down as Graham Mooney raced away down the right and beat Ben Woodhead with an angled drive.

Mark Fell’s men pulled one back before half-time when, from a quick throw in, the ball was threaded through to Peter Wright, who lobbed Brewer from 20 yards.

Nelson started the second half on the front foot, with Wright having a number of chances, and they were made to pay for their profligacy when Gary Prescott strode through to make it 3-1.

Liam Boswell scored a fine individual goal to cut the deficit again, but two late goals from Simon Whitehead and Prescott sealed the Blues’ fate.

Tomorrow they face a tough trip to Hanley Town, before hosting Rochdale Town on Wednesday.

After three successive home defeats, Barnoldswick Town picked up their first win in front of their own fans on Tuesday night as theyu beat Squires Gate 4-0.

Town were without the injured Kieran Lee, but new signing Neil Stansfield from Padiham was plunged straight into the team.

And they took the lead after 14 minutes, as Matthew Cavanagh wriggled past a defender and pulled a cross back for Chris Ridehalgh to smash the ball past Ben Fletcher from six yards out.

Town began to run riot, creating a series of chances, but it took until six minutes from the break to add to their lead.

Sam Howell was put through just outside the area, and he took the ball on before easily slipping the ball past Fletcher.

With two minutes of the first half remaining, Danny Boyle, who had looked a threat throughout, was sent clear by Danny Morton, and he made no mistake to put Town three up.

Gate should have pulled one back just before the hour, as substitute Christopher Churchman crossed to the far post, where Jack Sowerby shot over when well placed.

Gate skipper Russell McKenna then fired over from close range before Churchman’s shot skimmed off the top of the bar.

This purple patch by the visitors ended when Town scored their fourth goal.

Boyle’s shot cannoned off Fletcher and Howell picked the ball up around the penalty spot and slipped the ball to Cavanagh, whose cross to the near post was hit home by Ridehalgh from three yards out

Howell later hit the woodwork with a fierce effort, but Town were up and running at the Silentnight Beds Stadium.

On Saturday, Barnoldswick went down 2-1 at home to AFC Blackpool.

Injuries robbed Town of nine players, with Lyle Davy taking over in goal from Billy Carrington.

Blackpool had the better openings in the first half hour, but Town took the lead on 38 minutes as Callum Smith won and play it into the path of Boyle, who drove an unstoppable shot into the top corner, giving Bobby Harris no chance.

Boyle and Billy Priestley came close to adding to the lead after the break, but on the hour, a contentious penalty was awarded for a Davy foul on Singleton, which James Walker slotting home to equalise.

Player manager Paul Fildes, a substitute, was then sent off for kicking out after being elbowed in the ribs by Blackpool’s Andrew Richards.

And Blackpool rubbed salt in the wound with a winning goal as Lloyd Balazs headed in from a corner.

Tomorrow Town are at Runcorn Town, before the derby at Colne on Wednesday night.

Members of Nelson, Brierfield and Reedley Rotary Club has donated more than £1,500 from its funds to Pendleside Hospice following its recent closure.

The presentation follows the decision by club members to melt down the president’s chain of office and donate the proceeds to a local charity.

The group chose to donate the funds to Pendleside Hospice, and the £1,572 raised will be used to purchase a vital signs monitor which will be used at the hospice by the medical team.

This will aid people in Burnley and Pendle who have life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, end-stage renal failure, end-stage heart failure and end-stage dementia.

Former club members Rod Marsden and Bert Humberstone attended the Reedley-based hospice to hand over the donation to Hospice Doctor Chris Ainsworth.

He said: “I’m sure your members would have been delighted that the proceeds of your reluctant sale will at least be used for such an important piece of equipment.”

Mr Marsden said: “It was a very sad day in June when the club had to close.

“However, it is comforting to note money from the memorabilia sale will benefit people within the local community.”

Christina Cope, fund raising manager at the hospice, thanked both men for the donation and added: “We wish you all well for the future.

“I am sure we will see many of you again as the Rotary spirit and ideals will stay with you all for ever!”

These days forty five quid won’t get you far - not least in the live music stakes.

But there’s one small corner of Yorkshire flying the flag for the frugal festival-goer.

Bingley Music Live 2013 gave 15,000 music fans real bang for their buck with an explosive and eclectic three-day extravaganza.

Headline acts The Human League, Primal Scream and Chic featuring Nile Rodgers were worth the entrance fee alone.

But a packed-out programme with upwards of 40 acts gave a vibrant and value-for-money experience for teenage pop fans, festival-first timers and music aficionados alike.

Stratospheric synth-pop stars The Human League took crowds back to the 80s with a hit-packed headline set.

The group performed a string of trademark tracks in their electric Friday night set. But it was inevitably “Don’t You Want Me Baby” reverberating around Myrtle Park that was an instant festival highlight.

Earlier, former Specials member Neville Staple and his eponymous band cranked up the festival vibe playing some of his old group’s ska classics including “A Message to You Rudy” and an unforgettable rendition of “Ghost Town”.

Young 18-year-old singer Nina Nesbitt put on a prodigious performance and hotly-tipped Indie outfit Frankie and the Heartstrings got the crowds going.

Saturday’s big draw was Primal Scream – and the fans flocked in their droves from all four corners of the country to relive the glory days of the Glaswegian rockers.

As the sun went down the volume went up as Bobby Gillespie pulled some crowd favourites out the bag from their Screamadelica album.

The jam-packed park throbbed to tunes like “Country Girl” and “Movin’ on Up” that were still ringing in the ears long after hangovers had subsided.

Another festival smash was lad anthem “Chelsea Dagger” rammed home by reformed indie outfit The Fratellis.

Tinchy Stryder had teenagers bouncing at the front with a bag full of chart hits that have made the rapper hot property.

But the most poignant moment of the whole festival was the swansong of legendary guitarist Wilko Johnson who was diagnosed with terminal cancer a year ago.

Touted as his last ever gig, the former Dr Feelgood member’s performance was swirling with emotion and defiance.

Tears flowed in the front row as he played out the final notes of his final song “Bye Bye Jonny”.

Despite the cold autumnal wind, Sunday was white-hot with music talent including Theme Park, The Wonderstuff and China Rats.

Katy B will have undoubtedly won over legions of new young fans with an energetic show of her dubstep-heavy pop sound.

Yorkshire three-piece rockers The Cribs brought verve to proceedings and had their home-county crowd bouncing. When “Men’s Needs” kicked in, 15,000 boisterous voices sang loudly along.

But it was Chic, led by the charismatic disco Demi-god Nile Rodgers, that brought the festival to a climax with a show-stopping, jaw-dropping blitz of Number 1 hits.

Ethereal in white, 60-year-old musical mastermind Rodgers and his pin-sharp eight-piece band showed why they have become the must-see festival act of the summer.

“Everybody Dance” ignited the crowd with disco fever straight from the off.

Arms aloft, thousands of fans from seven up to 70 danced, swayed and sang together to “Dance, Dance, Dance”, “We Are Family” and Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” in a five-decade-spanning, 24-carat gold homage to Rodgers’ genius.

The man even brought out the sun and a rainbow before the show, and the festival, culminated with a rapturous rendition of “Good Times” which will live long in the memory of the Myrtle Park masses.

Bingley Music Live’s cri-de-guerre is “Big Hearts. Big Sounds” and they will have undoubtedly won over a few more after yet another fantastic festival.

Leaving your child at the school gates for the first time is an emotional experience for any parent.

But for Emma Crosby, this rings particularly true as she prepares to take her son Jacob (4) to Park Primary School, Colne, on Monday.

Jacob was diagnosed with the rare chromosome disorder Trisomy 8 Syndrome (T8M), which affects only one in every 25,000 to 50,000 babies, last year.

While the youngster is as capable as any other child of living a happy and healthy life, he does face obstacles including extreme behaviour and speech difficulties.

However, as his learning capabilities are not yet fully clear, Jacob will be joining primary school as a mainstream pupil.

It will only be as he progresses that a decision will be taken as to whether or not he requires special educational needs.

Emma (25), of Granville Street, said: “My feelings are a bit mixed really. Jacob is really excited, and I am really nervous.

“We won’t know his difficulties until he starts learning. It is scary, but I am also really proud that he has come so far.

“He will be one of the oldest in his year, but developmentally he won’t necessarily be as far on as some children. I have to look past that, and let him do what he can.”

Since being diagnosed Jacob, a former Newtown Nursery School pupil, has been working hard to tackle his behavioural problems. This includes using a “Now and Then” board, to help him understand the concept of time.

To follow Jacob’s progress visit Emma’s Facebook page “Our T8M star! — Jacob’s story”.

Nelson won their penultimate game at Todmorden on Sunday by 15 runs as Russell Bradley earned two collections in an outstanding performance.

Nelson won the toss and elected to bat first on a bitterly cold day at Centre Vale.

Despite losing Max Howells for four early, Nelson set off like an express train, rattling up 50 runs inside the first 10 overs.

Young Tyler McGladdery had made an enterprising 27 when he pushed a half-volley into the hands of mid-on but David Crotty did not last long before he was caught behind for one.

Neil Thompson and Ryan Canning put on 56 for the fourth wicket, as Canning notched his 10th half-century of the season and took his season’s tally to 892 runs before he was given out lbw to Geeth Alwis, for 55.

The final seven overs were where Nelson really put the opposition to the sword.

Sixty nine runs were added as Thompson and Russell Bradley and then Harrison Phelan attacked the bowling.

Thompson was caught in the deep for 45 and Bradley, after hitting two fours and three sixes in recording his highest ever league score, was caught off a skyer for 64.

Phelan equalled his previous best and was undefeated on 18 when the Nelson innings closed on 237-7.

Needing to score at the rate of 4.76 runs per over, Todmorden gave themselves a chance of victory by scoring at a rate of over five per over for the first half of their innings.

However, they lost wickets at regular intervals and at the halfway stage were 127-6.

Richard Meade had taken a couple of wickets, having Ben Sutcliffe caught behind for three and taking the important wicket of professional Geeth Alwis who was caught by Crotty for 14.

Young Lewis Hillman took his first ever senior wicket by bowling Elliott Gilford for six and Phelan had the dangerous Simon Newbitt stumped for 37.

A double bowling change brought double success for Nelson as Andrew Sutcliffe was stumped off the bowling of McGladdery for 11 and Ross Coates was bowled by Thompson for 35.

McGladdery and Thompson did slow the run rate for a while before Kristian Garland (39) and Freddie Priestley (26) picked up the pace again.

Both batsmen, however, became stumping victims for Russell Bradley as they danced down the wicket to Howells and Thompson respectively.

It was a good day for Bradley as he earned himself a second collection for the match, claiming five victims. Todmorden, even when nine wickets were down, did not give up the chase until it was mathematically impossible to win and they were eventually beaten by 15 runs.

Nelson are at home to Haslingden on Sunday for the final match of the season.

Team Appleyard Macadam Racing - sponsored by Colne’s John Macadam & Son - saw two young Supersport 600 riders excel at the British Moto GP meeting held at Silverstone over the weekend.

Graeme Gowland and Deane Brown both had class victories on their 600cc machines in the Silverstone 200, open to all classes of bikes.