Meeting of the Local and Family History Network at the Library on Monday 22nd June.
Workshop on the drought of 1976
This was an interesting and thought-provoking meeting: a workshop led by Nathalie, a PhD student, about the drought of 1976. Several people who attended were old enough to remember it well, but Nathalie had also brought copies of articles and newspapers from the time to illustrate what happened, and how local and national government handled it. She told us that Wakefield was particularly hard hit, stand pipes were erected, but these were also used as a threat to encourage people to save water and were never put into use. There was considerable discussion about how such a drought might affect people now since water usage has changed so much. It was felt that there would be much anger since water is now privatised, and in many cases owned by overseas companies. One person commented that it is ‘no longer our water’. It was a useful exercise to consider how history can inform the present and the future.