Back in the day: We delve into our archives to see what was going on 10 years ago, 25 years ago and 50 years ago this week

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10 years ago – September 10, 2015

Tribute to Tull

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson visited a West Berkshire village to pay homage to the band’s namesake who is buried at a nearby church.

The founder member of the prog-rock group, who is known for playing the flute while standing on one leg, visited St Bartholomew’s Church in Lower Basildon where 18th-century agriculturalist Jethro Tull is buried.

The original Jethro Tull is celebrated as the ‘father of modern farming’, and is famous for perfecting the horse-drawn seed drill in 1701, while the group founded by Anderson is famous for its mix of blues, folk and rock, producing number one albums such as Stand Up, Aqualung and Thick as a Brick.

At St Bartholomew’s, Ian Anderson took the opportunity to play an impromptu tune on his iconic flute and to say a few words to the fans and press who were there.

Following the visit, he said: “What a poignant and happy trip to St Bartholomew’s in Lower Basildon to visit the resting place of Jethro Tull.

“I even tootled on my flute for him. Paying my respects to the man of agricultural science and engineering was long overdue.”

25 years ago – September 7, 2000

Final farewell

The people of Newbury celebrated with the women of the peace camp as the last caravan left on Tuesday, but the two groups have not always seen eye to eye.

Greenham Common became one of the major news stories of recent times, with the women and children sheltering under polythene sheets one of the country’s most poignant political images.

Jean Hutchinson, from Wales, was one of the last women to keep up the vigil in the caravan and, as they congregated at the front gate for the last time, said it felt great to feel their work in Newbury had been done.

She now intends to work on the archives of the last 19 years for future generations, and raise funds for the planned commemorative garden.

Relaying the story of her first visit to the famed site, Ms Hutchinson said that her bicycle had been punctured near to the spot where she was later to dedicate many years of her life to the campaign against nuclear weapons.

She said: “Looking back, it was like the bike was telling me ‘Don’t go, you have a job to do here’.”

50 years ago – September 11, 1975

Developing crisis

No more large scale development – that was the plea made by Greenham Parish Council at their meeting on Wednesday.

The parish council fear that the new Berkshire County Council structure plan, expected by the end of the year, will mean more large housing developments for the parish on the edge of Newbury.

And Newbury District Council principal planning officer Mr Paul McMahon has warned that there is a possibility of more development in any of the areas around Newbury.

The parish council feel that the area needs time to settle down after its last big expansion in the Bostock Road area.

They feel that this expansion has totally changed the character of the parish, and it trebled its population.

They want no more large-scale development in the forseeable future.