Gerry Brooke looks back on stories about flooding, the ss Great Britain, the Gang Show and the old Orpheus cinema

Thanks to a lot of money and much deep tunnelling Bristol is now virtually free of the fear of flooding.

But in the past the city has suffered terribly, as it did in October 1971 when heavy rain lashed the area.

The residents of Bedminster and Ashton were especially angry as they watched water slowly seep into their homes.

“After a new pumping station was built, we were assured that the bad floods of four years ago could never happen again” Pamela Price of Ashton, told the Post.

“But it has.”

Winterstoke Road at Ashton had to be closed and the awash Portway was only passable with care.

And it wasn’t only Bristol that suffered.

In Long Ashton three foot of water invaded many houses.

In explanation the weathermen said that three quarters of an inch of rain had fallen in just three hours.

The total rainfall for the last 48 hours, they added, had amounted to nearly two inches.

Parts of Bristol just couldn’t cope.

In other news Portsmouth City Council were offering the ss Great Britain, at present in Bristol harbour, a place alongside Nelson’s HMS Victory.

“This a probably the most important ship in the world – the first iron vessel to be driven by a screw,” said a Portsmouth councillor.

“It should be here to keep HMS Victory company as a memorial to its designer – Brunel, a Portsmouth man.

Joe Blake, the ss Great Britain project officer, said that interest in the vessel had also come from London, Plymouth and Liverpool.

“Until Bristol Corporation make up their mind (about keeping her in the city) other places in the country will be casting envious eyes,” he said.

But he felt personally, that the present berth, in Bristol’s Wapping Dock, was her ideal home.

In the early 1970s the old City Docks – the Floating Harbour – was at a turning point in its history.

With commercial activity on the wane, and leisure seemingly the way forward, a second “Water Festival” – a small boat get together and jollification – was being planned for 1972.

A successful event in July, costing a modest £600.00, had been organised by the Cabot Cruising Club and the Inland Waterways Association.

Scouts in the city were also rather pleased with themselves – they were putting on the first Bristol Gang Show for 30 years.

The venue was to be the Victoria Rooms in Clifton but it was hoped that in future years the show could move to the Hippodrome and become a week long annual event.

An event causing a measure of sadness was the final closure of the Orpheus Cinema at Henleaze.

As the 39th cinema in the city to shut its doors since 1945 it meant only eleven were left.

But there was a ray of hope – film buffs and local residents had been promised that the Orpheus would be replaced by two brand new mini cinemas.

This was a change of heart by the developers, who had planned nothing but a supermarket on the site.

Nevertheless 30 placard waving children and their mothers were determined to picket the cinema during the last performance (it was “Catch 22”) and to sign a petition against its closure.

Its heartening to know that Orpheus WAS rebuilt and is, despite enormous competition, still showing films today.

Lastly Michaela Crees, a “Crossroads” scriptwriter from Clutton, was slamming the local TV station, HTV, for dropping the soap from its tea time schedule.

HTV said that they were moving the series from 6.30pm to 4.30pm to allow “more flexible programming”

Miss Crees retorted by saying that this meant showing old series of Bonanza and the Smith Family.

Thames TV had previously tried to move Crossroads from its peak viewing time but relented after protests from Mary Wilson, PM Harold Wilson’s wife, amongst others