Dentists set to abandon NHS

Dental care under the National Health Service could become a thing of the past in South West Hertfordshire, it was claimed this week. Dentists all over the country are protesting against a seven per cent fee cut on treatment for their NHS patients – and it could mean thousands of them restricting or completely abandoning their treatment. Many now feel the Government is actually trying to force them out and privatise dental health care “through the back door”. They say it is trying to make it as unattractive as possible for dentists to treat NHS patients – and the move will backfire on the public.

[July 3, 1992]

Princess visits hospital

Celebrating her 31st birthday on Wednesday, the Princess of Wales still found time to carry out an official visit to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital of Stanmore. Wearing a slim-fitting pink silk dress, Princess Diana spent about an hour and a half in the hospital meeting patients and staff.

[July 3, 1992]

School gets ready for the boys

Workmen are getting Westfield School in Tolpits Lane ship-shape for its first intake of boys in September. The school previously only admitted girls but was forced to take the co-educational option because of falling rolls. More than £200,000 is being spent on alterations at the school, much of that going towards the cost of adapting showers, changing rooms and toilets for a mixed school.

[July 3, 1992]

Retail park facelift

A new retail park looks set to be built in Watford’s Lower High Street as part of a massive facelift for that end of town. The planned development could also improve the rush-hour traffic, which regularly chokes the street near the Bushey Arches roundabout junction, with plans for a new gyratory road system. The retail park will involve an extension of B&Q, and the building of another do-it-yourself store, FADS, and Children’s World. The motor and cycle accessory company, Halfords, has also apparently expressed an interest in joining the development. The park will replace old, derelict sites that have become an eyesore over the years.

[July 10, 1992]

Carnival spirit

Vandals did their best to disrupt Radlett Carnival on Sunday – but they could not stop everyone from having a ball. The night before the carnival, vandals broke in to a caravan parked at Phillimore Recreation Ground and set free a horse, called Action, owned by Mr Bill Hitchins, which was one of the weekend’s main attractions. On Sunday morning Mr Hitchins and a team of volunteers had to round up the horse and get it into shape before the big event. Mayor of Hertsmere Eric Muddle opened the fair and judged the carnival procession. Fairfield and Newberries Schools took part in a five-a-side football competition. There was a falconry display and firefighters from Radlett Fire Station put on a mock crash and fire rescue for the crowds.

[July 17, 1992]

Soccer club courting bankruptcy

The lucrative Vicarage Road ground-share deal between Watford and Wealdstone football clubs could be abandoned before the start of next season. The financial affairs of the cash-strapped Stones are already in the hands of administrators, and a question mark hangs over the club’s future. If the club’s fiscal frailty is not resolved swiftly, the deal with Watford could be off. The Beazer Homes league side, relegated at the end of last season, signed the £2.5million ground-share deal last Easter, which bought them half of Watford’s 127 year lease at the Vicarage Road stadium.

[July 24, 1992]

Bart comes to town

Cartoon character Bart Simpson got the thumbs up from five-year-old Terry Cole in South Oxhey on Saturday. The famous brat, who stars in Sky One’s series The Simpsons, entertained children in St Andrew’s precinct as part of a promotion for Jones Cable Group. The company has just installed a cable television system in South Oxhey and Carpenders Park. Sky One is among 19 other channels available on the cable television service now on offer.

[July 24, 1992]

Orbital rail link

A £650million orbital rail route could connect commuters from Watford and Rickmansworth with towns all around the outskirts of London, within 10 years. London Ring Rail is planned to stop at Rickmansworth, Tolpits Lane, Watford High Street, Watford Junction and Radlett on its circular tour around the capital. It would join the south west Hertfordshire area to 38 towns, such as South Mimms, Wimbledon and Kingston, as well as all four Heathrow airport terminals.

[July 31, 1992]

What was happening in the world in July 1992?

  • Braniff Airlines goes out of business (July 2)
  • Iraq refuses a UN inspection team access to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture on suspicion the site contains archives related to illegal weapons activities (July 6)
  • Bill Clinton announces his selection of Al Gore as his running mate in the 1992 US presidential election (July 9)
  • Axl Rose of Guns ‘n’ Roses is arrested on riot charges (July 12)
  • The Slovak National Council declares Slovakia an independent country, signalling the breakup of Czechoslovakia (July 17)
  • A car bomb placed by the Mafia kills judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort in Palermo (July 19)
  • Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes prison (July 22)
  • The 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Spain (July 25)