It's all fun and games
LAST week's Looking Back revealed how Spenborough was gripped by carnival fever in the summer of 1970.
The council organised its first ever carnival week, with dances, exhibitions, fairs, fun and games in Littletown, Cleckheaton and Gomersal.
The highlight of the week was a gala held at the Princess Mary Playing Fields during which teams from Spenborough and Brighouse battled it out in an It's A Knockout type competition.
The inter-town competition and gala attracted thousands of people, who braved the unseasonal weather of cold winds and showers.
Up to five thousand people paid their entry fee but it was thought many more sneaked through unnoticed after the wind blew down the admission tents.
Of course the climax was the inter-town competition and after eight different events, Spenborough - wearing striped t-shirts - emerged victorious by 13 points to eight.
Brighouse took the honours in the roller skating waiter, hammock race and the overhead version of netball, but Spenborough never looked like losing.
The home side sealed the honours by winning the calico slide, wellington boot race, the rolling carpet and tractor race and cries of "We are the champions" could be heard ringing out from pool verandah where the Spenborough civic dignitaries were watching.
Victory was finally clinched when it was announced that a group of very wet girls, who had been clobbering each other into a deep tank of water, had finished up with 31 falls to Spenborough and 30 to Brighouse.
Amid jubilant scenes, the Spen team then unceremoniously dunked their manager David Heald - the deputy pool manager - into the water tank.
Thankfully he had time to take his boots off first!
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
