All Things Must Pass

HOW the Chronicle reported 2008: just a few of the thousands of stories we brought you in the last 12 months.

January

3 — MOORSIDE student James Ashton was stunned to find that his friend Aisling Davies had changed his named to Ima Stapler by deed poll in secret for revenge for an earlier hair dye prank.



4 — FAILSWORTH stylist Leanne Allsopp was crowned Northern Afro Hairdresser of the Year for the second time.



8 — CLIMBER Paul Braithwaite, who scaled the south west face of Mount Everest in 1975, was made President of the Alpine Club — the world’s first mountaineering organisation.



10 — CLARE Walsh and Kevin Davies were given a shock when their daughter Rebecca Davies-Smith was born in the back of Clare’s sister Joanne’s car on route on the Royal Oldham Hospital.



11 — CONFIDENTIAL details of 148 vulnerable patients, including names, addresses and dates of birth, were lost when health bosses at Oldham Primary Care Trust misplaced two computer memory sticks.



14 — OFFICERS were stunned when a 13-year-old Afghan boy walked into Oldham Police Station after smuggling himself into the country on the back of a lorry.



15 — TALENTED Oldham teenagers Adam Graham, Mitchell Burke and Rebecca Childs did their town proud after being selected to represent their country in basketball, chess and baritone respectively.



17 — FORMER soldier Paul Steele cheated death when he fell under a train from the platform at Greenfield Station as he tried to help two-year-old daughter Chantelle board the carriage. The 36-year-old suffered chest and knee injuries.



18 — DELPH daredevil Sarah Donohue (36) signed up to be the only woman powerboat driver in the Round Britain Race 2008.



21 — LOVE was in the air at the Albion Farm in Delph when a randy ram went on the rampage and fathered 30 lambs.

22 — THE borough’s heaviest downpour for 14 years caused misery for hundreds of families as torrential rain flooded houses, roads and businesses.



23 — THE cash strapped Pennine Acute Trust faced criticism after spending £250,000 on team building days away — including bungee jumping and murder mystery tours — for 2,500 staff.



23 — THE Pennine Way Hotel was demolished.



28 — A HGV got stuck in King Street, Delph, when the driver’s sat nav guided him the wrong way.



30 — BRAVE tot Michael Maloney was given a Little Star award from Cancer Research UK for his bravery and courage throughout his battle with leukaemia.



31 —- LIMEHURST Youth Centre was destroyed by flames that caused the roof to collapse.




Farewells



:: Marianne Jepson (86) popular dance teacher who coached thousands of youngsters.

:: Sid Jacobs (81) former Mayor of Oldham and Chadderton councillor for 50 years.






February



1 — OLDHAM College joined the country’s elite educational establishments when it achieved an outstanding grade in every area of its Ofsted inspection.



4 — AMBITIOUS £30 million plans to transform the centre of Failsworth were announced including hundreds of apartments, landscaped gardens and shops.



4 — LITTLE Joe Slater (4) was overjoyed when kind-hearted stranger David Bowden bought him a pirate ship bed after hearing of his fight with a rare and aggressive brain tumour.



5 — LOVEBIRDS Margaret and Granville Tyldesley celebrated their 60th anniversary at Saddleworth Parish Church — the place where they struggled through blizzards to make the ceremony in 1948.



6 — CHADDERTONIAN Jean Williams was shocked to discover a 15ft hole in her garden caused by an old mine shaft.



7 — WERNETH Junior School went from under achieving to outstanding in just 12 months after an Ofsted report called for massive improvement.



8 — AN Oldham Bag for Life was launched in a bid to help the borough banish plastic carrier bags for good.



11 — YOBS stoned firefighters and their vehicle as they tackled a blaze in Hollinwood.



12 — PLANS for a world class science centre to help local students achieve their dreams were revealed on the site of the Pennine Way Hotel.



12 — OLDHAM East and Saddleworth MP Phil Woolas caused controversy when he said arranged marriages between first cousins in Pakistani communities has caused a surge in birth defects in the UK.



12 — TEENAGER Beth Bilton nominated her parents and siblings Goodfellas Family of the Year Awards to thank them for helping her to cope with leukaemia.



13 — OLDHAM Major Mark Gibson was appointed detachment commander of the First Royal Marine Unit in the East Midlandswomen.



15 — THE region’s longest serving choir boy was honoured by a visit from the Bishop of Manchester. Peter Waters (80) joined the choir at St Thomas’s Church in Werneth when he was just eight.



18 — THE borough’s oldest club, the Oddfellows in Royton, closed its doors for the last time after 137 years.



19 — LITTER lout Gary Stevenson was ordered to clean up the streets of Oldham after he was caught throwing chip papers out of his car window in Delph.



20 — TEMPERATURES plummeted to -7C — a 22-year-low — leaving Oldham colder than Moscow just a week after revellers had basked in 60C sunshine at Alexandra Park.



22 — STAFF and 1,500 pupils were evacuated from North Chadderton School when a volatile chemical exploded during a chemistry lesson.



26 — FORMER Oldham landlord Michael Diveney, who used to run the Hark to Topper in Bow Street, lost his battle with Legionnaire's Disease.



27 — THE earth moved for hundreds of Oldhamers as tremors from an earthquake in Lincolnshire shook the borough.



28 — TWO families had a lucky escape after arsonists set fire to furniture outside homes in Laburnum Road, Limeside. Ernest and Joyce Weir, their grandson Paul and neighbour Kimberley Green had to be rescued by firefighters.



29 — FAILSWORTH football coach Simon Cooper blasted Oldham Council for the lack of sports facilities in the borough.




Farewells



:: Andrew Bullough (97) champion gardener who won the Chronicle Horticultural Cup for the best kept allotment more times than any other contestant.

:: Geoffrey Abbott (88) Oldham’s oldest bell ringer and stalwart at St James’s Church, East Crompton.

:: Fred Ogden (82) former Latics goalkeeper.

:: Eric Gemmell (86) former Latics striker who famously scored seven goals in one game.








March



3 — LOCAL grub was put to the test when the council introduced a star rating system for everything from sandwich shops to five-star restaurants.



5 — FAKE guns were cleared from the shelves of Oldham’s shops in a bid to crackdown on illegal sales of imitation firearms.



6 — VICTIMS of domestic violence and their children were treated to a luxurious pampering session thanks to kind-hearted staff at the Renaissance Health and Beauty Salon in Shaw.



10 — DOZENS of youngsters from Freehold Community School were taken to hospital with suspected stomach bugs following a trip to the swimming pool at Oldham Sports Centre.



11 — GLODWICK minister Andrew Halstead fed his family of five on just £50 a week as part of an Endurance Challenge during Lent.



13 — CUSTOMERS enjoyed a pint and the chance to win big when the Bulls Head in Heyside launched regular bingo sessions.



17 — FORMER Oldham College student Suzanne Shaw was crowned champion ITV talent show “Dancing on Ice”.



19 — BLUE Coat was named as one of the country’s top schools after achieving an outstanding Ofsted report.



20 — MEDICAL photographer John Fallows, who made history when he took the original picture of the world’s first test tube baby Louise Brown, retired after a long and happy career.



21 — ROYTON schoolgirl Emma Harrison proved she packed a mean punch when she took up boxing in the hope of competing in the London 2012 Olympics.



25 — OLDHAMERS woke to a blanket of snow as the town experienced its first Easter blizzards for 13 years.



26 — STAFF at a Failsworth Auto Spares were evacuated when a bomb was found in their yard during excavation work.



26 — THE country’s first alcohol free Asian pub — the Halal Inn — opened in Westwood to give Muslims a place to socialise.



31 — HUNDREDS of protesters brought traffic to a standstill when they took to the streets to demonstrate against plans to build Oldham’s new £30 million Catholic high school at the Meridian Business Centre site.



31 — FORMER Bevin Boy William Prince (84) received a special badge of honour from Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his work down the pit in Bardsley.




Farewells



:: Colin Clare (69) Saddleworth Rangers secretary and former Oldham landlord.

:: John Chadwick (76) internationally renowned concert pianist and former head of music at Counthill School.

:: Michael Todd (50) Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police




April



1 — WAR veteran Elijah Debnam called on Housing Market Renewal bosses to reconsider plans to demolish the Derker Street home he had lived in for 54 years.



2 — A GROUND-BREAKING initiative to help teenagers kick substance abuse for good was launched by the Amateur Boxing Association of England and Oldham Drug and Alcohol Action Team.



3 — OLDHAM bucked the national trend for falling prices for terrace homes with an 11.3 per cent rise in value.



7 — AMBITIOUS plans for a £70 million campus to replace Oldham College were announced with a completion date of 2013.



7 — CHADDERTON Town Hall was restored to its former glory with a £300,000 make-over.



8 — CANDIDATES for the 2008 local elections were announced with a third of Oldham Council’s seats up for grabs.



11 — MEMBERS of Springhead Community Centre began a fight to save their centre from closure.



14 — FOUR-YEAR-OLD Corey Lee Richardson had a lucky escape when he set fire to a wardrobe in his bedroom with a lighter.



16 — OLDHAM’S new £100,000 brand image, complete with a new three circle logo, was launched.



18 — TALENTED teen Maria Holmes signed up for Moorside Cricket Team in the Saddleworth and District Cricket League.



18 — FUTURE brides were left without a wedding venue when national chain Travelodge bought the Werneth-based Menzies Avant Hotel and cancelled bookings.



21 — SISTERS were doing it for themselves when Nina and Jennie Smith started up their own plumbing business.



23 — RESIDENTS on a private Royton housing estate kicked up a fuss when they heard that some of the £190,000 homes were to be rented out to council tenants for £70 a week.



24 — AN eagle-eyed Chronicle reader spotted a mug in Asda with a circle design that very closely resembled the council’s new £100,000 logo.



25 — OLDHAM was revealed as one of the country’s worst litter hot spots after a survey revealed that a fifth of the borough’s streets were dirty.



26 — TRAINS came to a halt following an explosion risk at a Higginshaw builder’s yard. All services were stopped due to fears that two acetylene cylinders would catch fire.



28 —LATICS fans enjoyed their last match from the New Start Mortgages stand before it was bulldozed.



29 — OLDHAM midwife Val Finigan made it on to the first ever list of Britain’s happiest people which is made up of those who have contributed to society and help to improve the lives of others.



30 — TODDLER Joel Stelfox (1) was overjoyed when he was reunited with a teddy bear lost during a shopping trip.




May



1 — THE head of Oldham Council, Andrew Kilburn, left his £150,000 a year post to take the chief executive’s role in the London borough of Waltham Forest.



2 — LOCAL voters made their feelings very clear at the polls as the Tories swelled their ranks to seven while the Lib -Dems took over from Labour as the majority party.



7 — FAILSWORTH Councillor Jim McMahon became Oldham’s youngest Labour leader when he took over from former head David Jones at 27-years-old.



8 — KIND-hearted teenager Emma Howarth, a pupil at Hulme Grammar School, was named Oldham’s Student of the Year in recognition of her outstanding voluntary work.



9 — SUPERGRAN Gladys Morris (87) impressed readers with her gravity-defying yoga positions after teaching the discipline for 40 years.



12 — ROYTON singer Zara Kershaw (16) won a place at the prestigious Brit School following in the footsteps of Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis and Kate Nash.



13 — COUNCILLOR Shoab Akhtar became the borough’s youngest Mayor when he took over from Councillor Anne Wingate at just 38.



14 — GULAM Chowdhury was crowned Curry Chef of the Year after delighting the tastebuds of customers at Westwood restaurant Prithi Raj.



16— TRAVELLERS invaded the former Radclyffe School site in Chadderton prompting residents to call for harsh action to get them removed.

16 — AUSTRALIAN teacher Peter Greaves swopped life in Oz for a 12-month stint at St Margaret’s Primary in Hollinwood. The 48-year-old quickly settled into local life thanks to his love of music and football.



19 — PREDJUDICE was given its marching orders when hundreds of Oldhamers took to town centre streets for the International Day Against Homophobia amid music, dance and drama.



23 — ROUGHYEDS chairman Chris Hamilton’s efforts to keep rugby league alive in Oldham were recognised when he won the Man of Oldham trophy.



26 — POLICE and fire crews battled to save dozens of animals at the Petsville Hotel in Uppermill when a dramatic moorland blaze threatened to destroy the building.



27 — THE super-successful Operation Alligator saw Oldham police seize £22,000 of heroin, cocaine and cannabis plants as well as arresting 22 people and seizing dozens of lethal weapons.



29 — CANCER treatment moved closer to home when plans for a £17 million radiotherapy unit — a satellite for the Christie Hospital — were approved by the council.




Farewells



:: Pat Greenwood (61) set up Oldham Netball Club which became the largest and most successful club in the borough.




June



3 — BLUSHING bride Claire Wilding chose her pet Bischon Frise dog Georgette as her maid of honour when she married Kevin Young in front of 70 guests at the White Hart in Lydgate.



4 — LOCAL lottery winner Tommy Cone donated £10,000 to the Christie Hospital to help fund research into prostate cancer.



5 — ANGRY bikers brought roads and motorways to a standstill when they staged a stunning and noisy protest against rises in petrol prices.



9 — GREATER Manchester proposed a £3 billion plan to improve public transport in the region which would be partly funded by a week-day, peak time only congestion charge.



10 — PLANS to axe eight local post offices were met with disgust from Oldhamers who said the closures would affect some of the town’s most vulnerable residents.



13 — THE Failsworth family of Sharon Mosoph, who was murdered in 1976, were celebrating after a judge ruled that her killer Trevor Hardy must spend the rest of his life in jail.



16 — FORMER Councillor Riaz Ahmad, volunteer Ged Tasker and David Curtis, executive director of nursing and organisational development at Pennine Care NHS Trust, were all recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.



16 — THOUSANDS of women donned their running shoes for Oldham’s fifth Race for Life which raises vital funds for Cancer Research UK.



17 — ANDY Burnham, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, declared the new £26 million Failsworth School as “the best he had ever seen” when it opened its doors.



18 — PERFECT pooch Diesel was crowned winner of the Chronicle’s Pet Idol competition to the delight of owner Ann Tindall.



19 — PARTS of the town centre were evacuated following a gas blast in Yorkshire Street which injured a PCSO



23 — TALENTED Nicola Garth, from Watersheddings Primary, was named North West Teacher of the Year.



26 — POLICE discovered a cannabis farm worth £500,000 at the derelict Spinners Tavern pub in Clarksfield.



27 — THE borough was flooded when two weeks of rain fell in a single day forcing Failsworth School to close because of severe leaking.



30 — REVELLERS enjoyed two days of fun, frolics and festivities as Oldham Carnival arrived at Alexandra Park.




Farewells



:: Ajit Medtia (39) self-made millionaire who set up Medtia Associates and married an Indian princess.

:: Gerald Collins (80) Saddleworth dairy farmer.




July



1 — THREE knives, a cosh, four BB guns, a cap gun and a multi-tool knife were all found in Oldham secondary schools.



3 — Mahesh Kumar, clinical director of radiology at the Royal Oldham Hospital, swopped X-rays screens for the big screen when he became a Bollywood villain in the film thriller “Accident”.



7 — Diners at the Royal Oldham Hospital took a trip down memory lane to celebrate the 60th birthday of the NHS by tucking into poached salmon with bubble and squeak — popular in 1948.



9 — Frustrated saver Linda Grime, from Royton, staged a one-woman protest outside the Bradford and Bingley bank after her savings were left in limbo.



9 —Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was mobbed by pupils as he opened the £30million Radclyffe School.



10 — A Failsworth peacock whose distinctive wake-up calls were giving the community a headache was rehomed.



15 — Physics teacher Jason Sharp (43), from Counthill School, played the Tudor king Henry VIII in an educational film.



16 — A quarter of Oldham’s schools were closed during a two-day strike over pay by council workers, organised by unions Unison and Unite.



16 — Lee Binns (86), from Clarksfield, who survived the Normandy landings in the Second World War, was left battered and bruised after being mugged for his £1,000 bingo winnings.



21 — Soaring fuel prices saw 70 lorries and cars join a mile-long convoy during a mass protest along Oldham Way.



22 — David Cummaford (46) suffered two broken legs after his helicopter crashed into a hill above his home in Saddleworth.



23 — Grasscroft golfer Harry Wrigley, a member of Saddleworth Golf Club for 45 years, achieved his very first hole-in-one at the grand old age of 80.



28 — Oldham town centre turned pink as revellers donned their finest fancy dress for the annual Gay Pride festival.



29 — More than 3,000 British passports and visas worth millions on the black market were stolen from a van in Chadderton.



30 — Suspected human remains on Saddleworth Moor which sparked a full scale media alert turned out to be a dead sheep.




Farewells



:: Barrie Wright (69) former Chadderton and Oldham councillor who was chairman of the housing committee.

:: Ernie Cooksey (28) former Oldham Athletic footballer who lost his battle against cancer.




August



5 — GREAT-GRANDFATHER Ged Mullane (75), from Waterhead, was preparing to fly the flag for Team GB at the European weightlifting championships in the Czech Republic.



6 — Six teenage pals were hailed heroes for saving a man who was drowning after jumping 40ft on to rocks in Dovestone Reservoir.



7 — Residents celebrated after a Chronicle-backed campaign to save Lees Post Office ended in triumph.



8 — Hathershaw father Aaron West (20) was shocked after finding police had kicked in his back door and the message “Oldham Task Force Called” spelled out with magnets on his fridge.



12 — Two council contract staff were suspended after having sex in an office cheered on outside by a crowd of 20 people.



18 — Local cyclist Chris Newton (34), who lives in Oldham, was celebrating his third Olympic Games medal — a bronze in the individual points race in Beijing.



22 — Angry protesters banged drums and waved placards in a passionate demonstration against a proposed academy in Waterhead.



22 — A hillside garden at the junction of Shaw Hall Bank Road and Chew Valley Road, Greenfield, collapsed wrecking two cars.



22 — Head teachers paid tribute to the borough’s students who notched up record-breaking GCSE results.



28 — Groups of men went out on twilight patrols in Westwood and Coldhurst to try and stem a rising tide of prostitution and drug dealing.

29 — Miracle baby Cameron Boothby-Toft, of Hollins, who weighed less than a bag of sugar at birth, just 1lb 8oz, beat the odds to celebrate his first birthday.




Farewells



:: Ken Fisher (82) Saddleworth Rangers club president who put in 30 years service at the club.




September



1 — Firefighters from Oldham and Hollins saved the life of a 17-year-old girl who was overcome by toxic fumes in a house fire in Hathershaw.



2 — The old Brook Mill site in Hollinwood was named as the

proposed site for a new academy school.



3 — Chadderton-born physicist and former band member of the group D:Ream, Professor Brian Cox, (39), was involved in the world’s most powerful particle experiment ,the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.



4 — Oldham Council revealed the historic Grade II listed Oldham Town Hall was only months away from a major roof collapse and needed £25 to £30 million to be brought back into use.



5 — Hundreds of budding sports stars had their dreams washed away when wet weather postponed the 23rd Saddleworth Olympics.



8 — Radio and TV personality Steve Penk bought 96.2 The Revolution radio, based at the Sarah Moor Studios, Henshaw Street.



8: Lovebirds Paul Dean (39) and Joanne Mayall (35), from Royton, who beat the odds, celebrated winning their dream wedding in a national competition.



9: A council laptop containing sensitive information about vulnerable adults with mental health problems was stolen from a car parked at The Grange, Grange Avenue.



12: Oldham Council scrapped plans to build a £30million Catholic High School at the controversial Meridian Business Centre site, next to Oldham bypass, following furious public protests.



12: Hundreds of pounds of reward money came flooding in from as far as Greece to help catch the killers of six-month-old kitten Angel who died after being kicked and lashed at with a metal bike chain.



15: Chadderton couple Louise Dean (38) and Tim Boycott (47), who lost their wedding day flights when travel firm XL collapsed, had their big day saved by the Co-operative Travel branch in High Street, Oldham.



17: An ambitious £30million regeneration plan for Failsworth town centre was put on hold because of the credit crunch.



19: Unions warned of a jobs bombshell amid news the council planned to cut 850 jobs - almost a fifth of the workforce.



24: Moorside millionaire Tommy Cone came to the aid of Moorside pre-school nursery and donated £2,500 after thousands of pounds worth of toys stolen.



25: Charity stalwart Di Heffernan, who began her charity work more than 20 years ago, was named the 2008 Woman of Oldham.



29: Coronation Street actress Jenny McAlpine, who plays Fiz in the popular soap, visited Asda supermarket in Chadderton to help with its Tickled Pink campaign.



29: Council staff were looking at plans to dim the borough’s street lights in the future to save money and become more eco-friendly.



30: Former Land Army girl Gwendoline Hyde (84), from Shaw, was awarded a special badge and certificate signed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the work she did in the Timber Corps during the Second World War.




Farewells



:: Eric Longworth (90) Shaw-born ‘Dads Army’ actor and one time manager of Oldham Repertory Theatre.




October



1 — HIGH school head teacher Allison Crompton, (47), from Chadderton, chased a knife-wielding thug and ordered him off a bus.



2 — Little Eva Burke (2) was reunited with her beloved Scaredy Cat toy following an appeal in the Oldham Chronicle.



7 — Parents were left fuming after Whitehead End Primary School, Chadderton, was closed for the day so teachers could jet off to Barcelona for staff training.



9 — An investigation was launched after teenage shepherd Christopher Crowther (18) found the body of a pilot strapped into the remains of a light aircraft on moors at Greenfield.



14— Latics chaplain and vicar of Christ Church, Chadderton, John Simmons’s prayers were answered when a good Samaritan returned his lost Oldham Athletic season ticket.



15 — Bishop of Salford the Rt Rev Terence Brain chose the former Radclyffe School site in Broadway for Oldham’s new £30million Catholic High School.



16 — Bluey, the school hen from Springhead Infant and Nursery School, lived up to its name and laid a blue egg.



20 — New mums were left horrified to find a breast-feeding room at the Royal Oldham Hospital closed because of a mouse infestation.



21 — Chloe Hains (7), from Greenacres, was nominated for a Pride in Oldham award after phoning 999 when her father Mark Haines was knocked unconscious after falling down the stairs.



23 — New Schools Minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry joined New Bridge pupils as they broke the record for the number of people simultaneously perfoming sign language to a song.



27 — Unlikely trendsetter Rev David Penny, from St Matthew’s Church, Chadderton, turned heads with his new shaved hairstyle to kick off a £200,000 church appeal.

28 — Machala Bennett (36), from Glodwick, had her identity stolen after a woman from Ghana began using a pasport in her full name.



30 — Respected GP Vidya Dhanawade (67) hung up her stethoscope after more than 30 years in Royton.




Farewells



:: Bill Lawton (88) former Oldham Athletic player and professional cricketer who was married to actress Dora Bryan.

:: Beryl Colson (82) former Saddleworth councillor who raised funds to build four classrooms in the Gunjur village school in Gambia.

:: Jean Chadwick (88) one of the founders of the Cousin estate agents.

:: Robert Birrell (58) Oldham keyboard player who toured with Herman’s Hermits.




November



5 — Thieves who snatched a £700 parrot from a pet shop got more than they bargained for as the bird could say its name and address.



6 — Police carrying out a drugs raid on two houses in Fitton Hill discovered exotic animals including snakes, lizards and a giant boa constrictor.



10 — Thousands of Oldhamers braved biting winds at the weekend in an act of remembrance for the soldiers and servicemen who sacrificed their lives.



11 — 75-year-old disabled pensioner John Slater, from Failsworth, said he was prepared to go to prison over a £4.50 phone charge.



12 — Workers at the Saddleworth Business Centre received a real eye-opener when Page 3 girl Rhian Sugden dropped into their office to pick up a cheque for Christie Hospital.



13 — Council workers braced for redundancies were sent a three-page blog celebrating a £14,000 trip to China by five senior Oldham Council representatives.



17 — Father Christmas and Noddy joined thousands of people who lined the streets at Oldham town centre’s Chritsmad light switch on.



18 — Classic car enthusiast David Bradbury claimed his car was crushed and rare vintage parts lost after Oldham Council cleared his rented garage without telling him.



19 — “Star Trek” actor Patrick Stewart opened University Centre Oldham’s new £5.5million extension in Cromwell Street.



24 — Disabled newsagent Stewart Evans (57), from Royton, who fought off robbers for the third time at his shop in Grimshaw Lane, near Middleton Junction, vowed not to let them force him out of business.



25— The chance to star in Oldham Coliseum’s renowned panto caused a stampede of chorus girls as over 150 hopefuls went for just 18 places.



28 — Bride-to-be Dr Tej Kaur (26), whose family run Dobcross Post Office, was forced to reschedule her honeymoon following terrorist attacks in Mumbai.




Farewells



:: Jimmy Hilton (77) former Lancashire and Somerset cricketer.

:: Jack Errock (78) who picked up a rare Masonic honour for 50 year’s service.

:: Edward Bennett (72) former Conservative councillor.




December



1 — FUDGE, the 12-month-old barn owl, delivered wedding rings to bride and groom Sian Davies (25) and Craig Wilson (34), from Mossley, on their big day.



2 — Heavy overnight snow and sub-zero temperatures brought chaos to Oldham’s roads, left drivers stranded and forced schools to close.



2 — Fearless leukaemia fighter Alicia Stott (7), from Shaw, was presented with the Little Star award by Cancer Research UK.



4 — War hero Ray Whitehead (83), from Coppice, was left devastated after his campaign medals and OBE were stolen after thieves ransacked his house.



5 — Leigh Carlisle (28), who lost her battle with asbestos-related cancer earlier in the year, won a Pride in Oldham Award for her fund raising efforts, which was presented to her mum Sheila Carlisle and step dad Mark Skerratt.



8 — Chadderton baker Brian Ellerkar (51) was trapped for 13 hours in a lift at his work at Park Cake, Hathershaw.



10 — Children at Blackshaw Lane Primary School in Royton were left in tears after a substitute teacher told them Santa Claus did not exist.



11 — Oldham shops defied the economic downturn and reported a roaring festive trade, while Woolworth’s launched a closing down sale.



12 — A group of Derker residents failed in a London High Court fight to save their homes from demolition.



15 — Council leader Howard Sykes said Greater Manchester’s landslide “No” vote against congestion charging was a massive blow to Oldham’s regeneration.



18 — Unemployment was up again with the number of people out of work hitting 4,645, a rise of 172 on the previous month.



22 — Great-grandmother Nellie May Wood celebrated her 105th birthday at Park House Residential Home, making her one of the oldest women in Oldham.



23 — The town centre’s famous Candlelight Club closed after owner Ken Naylor called time on a career spanning more than half a century.



24 — John Allen (43), of Byland Road, had a miracle escape after surviving a suspected gas blast at his home.



29 — Councillor Paul Martin called for the use of a controversial mosquito device to tackle anti-social behaviour in a Failsworth alleyway.



30 — A group of residents appealed to the Derker Action Group to give up its fight against the Housing Renewal programme.



31 — Oldham’s coldest December for 27 years was topped when overnight temperatures plunged to a numbing -4C.



NOW LET’S SEE WHAT THE NEW YEAR BRINGS...