A moving tribute to George Michael at the Brit Awards, historic photographs, opposition to new playgrounds and a Come Dine With Me Watford special were among the stories making our headlines five and ten years ago this week.

FIVE YEARS AGO

School friend and Wham! member leads tribute to George Michael

Watford Observer:

“It all started ordinarily enough. In 1975, we were two boys who happened to share a mutual sense of humour, a love of life-affirming music, the artists and records it gave birth to, and a shared sense that we understood it.”

Former Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley led a moving tribute to George Michael at the Brit Awards.

Ridgeley, who met George at Bushey Meads School, described the late singer-songwriter as the “greatest of his generation, an icon of his era and my beloved friend”.

He said when George died on Christmas Day last year, “a supernova in a firmament of shining stars had been extinguished, and it felt like the sky had fallen in”.

He was joined on stage by the Wham! backing vocalists, Helen DeMacque and Shirlie Holliman, otherwise known as Pepsi & Shirlie.

Watford Observer:

Historian discovers 'oldest' photos of Watford residents

What may be some of the oldest photos of Watford residents have been unearthed by a historian.

Greg Edmund, 21, said he found the Victorian photos while trawling the internet. The pictures date from 1861 to 1901 and Mr Edmund said he is keen to discover who the people in them are.

The photographer, Frederick Downer, was prolific in the area and was mentioned in the ninth edition of the Watford Observer, in March 1863.

Mr Edmund said he believes they are the oldest surviving photographs of people from the area.

Watford Observer:

'It's horrible to see it now': Campaigners oppose new playground

Parents, children and Leggatts councillor Asif Khan dispute the suitability of the new structure Parents and children opposing the closure of two supervised adventure playgrounds looked on in dismay as a replacement climbing structure was officially opened on Monday.

The new piece of equipment at the Harebreaks Recreation Ground consists of a tall tower, climbing wall and two slides, and forms part of Watford Borough Council’s £1.4m overhaul of two sites. A similar construction at Harwoods Recreation Ground is expected to be ready in May.

Some parents have disputed the project from the off, raising concerns about the suitability of the new structure for young children – with the council stating kids as young as five can use it – and the potential for the tower to become a haven for troublemaking youths.

Others argue that the provision for disabled children in the area has been wiped out since the removal of play workers and more varied facilities at the former adventure playgrounds.

TEN YEARS AGO

Watford music man Naughty Boy doing nicely at the top of the album charts

Watford music producer Shahid Khan is riding high this week, after reaching number one in the UK music charts.

The 27-year-old, also known as Naughty Boy, has arranged and produced ten tracks from musician Emeli Sandé’s debut album Our Version of Events .

The album has soared to the top of the charts, selling 50,000 copies on its first day alone and taken pole position in the Itunes album charts. It is also the second fastest selling album of 2012, shifting 113,000 copies.

Watford Observer:

Watford Come Dine With Me airs tonight

Watford will be taking centre stage as the setting for this evening’s (February 24) episode of Come Dine With Me.

The show, in which four contestants competitively host dinner parties for a £1,000 cash prize, will be showing on Channel 4 at 7.35pm.

Among the contestants are a "bubbly" mum, a "highly-opinionated" man, a "soft-hearted" nurse, and a designer clothes enthusiast.

The episode also promises to reveal a dish named after the Cassiobury area of Watford.

Watford Observer:

Demolition of Blackwell House captured by photographer

The demolition of Blackwell House in Bushey has been captured step by step by a photographer in the area.

The monolithic white building in Aldenham Road has dominated the view from Gordon Metcalfe’s house in Silverdale Road for more than 30 years.

The 76-year-old retired art teacher said he was happy to see the structure toppled and has been fascinated to watch the demolition team carry out the humongous task.

“It dominated everything,” he said. “It was a big white box. I think it (the demolition) was quite a difficult business as it was quite close to the road.

“We could hear the machinery and it is still going as they are crushing the concrete.”