Gerry Brooke looks back on Robertson's jam factory, Golden Hill, Totterdown and football hooliganism

Still rumbling on throughout the summer of 1974 was the row over the collapse of Court Line, the big holiday operator.

As well as numerous individuals who had lost out to the tune of hundreds of pounds Bristol airport claimed that they were owed £11,000 in landing fees.

And in a story familiar to us today unemployment both nationally and locally was escalating rapidly.

Nationally the figure stood at 691,000 (3%)- the biggest summer increase since records began in 1948

Bucking the trend in Bristol was Robertson's jam factory at Brislington.

Despite making 750 workers redundant in other parts of the country the Bristol operation, said MD Neil Robertson, was to be increased making the jam factory in the city the largest in Europe.

That would mean, he said, taking on more staff.

In other news the first salvoes in what would, many years later, become the "Battle for Golden Hill" were being fired.

Bristol council were hoping to build houses on 26 acres of land at Henleaze which had been used as playing fields by Bristol Grammar School and Bristol Cathedral School.

But Avon County Council, as the new planning authority, were saying no to the planning application.

Councillor Brian Richards, Bristol's planning chairman, told the Post,

"Let there be no doubt about it. We will be going ahead with an appeal" (to the Department of the Environment)

This was also the start of an unresolved war between Bristol and Avon councils who had overlapping responsibilities for planning in the city.

Avon County planners were also coming under increasing pressure to delete a major interchange at the Bath and Wells road junctions - part of the controversial Outer Circuit Road plans - from their highway agenda.

But in the event it was decided to push on with the scheme - a decision which would blight the Totterdown area until the plan was finally shelved in 1980.

On the sports front the Football Association were holding a fact finding inquiry into violent scenes following a recent game between Bristol City and Cardiff City.

FA Secretary Ted Croker had ordered one of his senior officials to visit Ashton Gate for top level talks with police and soccer reps. about the incident.

Football hooliganism was, in fact, a nationwide problem in the 1970s, with the Minister of Sport, Denis Howell, holding top level talks with his Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins and the chairman of British Rail, Richard Marsh, into possible solutions.