Remember When: Melanie Sykes opened Maidenhead's new cinema

1975: Ernest Roberts was preparing to put away his brush, shovel and hook for the last time.

He was due to retire as Waltham St Lawrence’s lengthman, leaving only two others in the job in Berkshire.

A lengthman kept footways tidy and cut back overhanging grass, but the role was gradually being replaced by machines.

1985: The school bus service between Hurley and Bisham was granted a dramatic, eleventh-hour stay of execution, following the personal intervention of Berkshire County Council education committee chairman, Cllr Frank Butters.

The service taking Hurley youngsters to Bisham Primary School was due to be axed, but parents were told it would be reinstated on a temporary basis the day before the start of the new term.

It would continue until the end of the term, to give extra time for alternative arrangements to be made.

1990: A school sign that had left Bisham villagers ‘irritated’ was vandalised.

An unknown hand painted out the address ‘Marlow, Bucks’ on the new sign at Bisham CE School, which had caused instant protest in the Berkshire village. As well as saying ‘Marlow’, it had a new school logo – a swan, which was synonymous with Marlow and Buckinghamshire.

The school’s headmaster said the addition of ‘Marlow’ was a mistake, but a swan had been on school sweatshirts for the past two years.

2000: Residents and offices across Maidenhead joined together to beat the queues, conserve fuel and get to work on time as fuel price protests caused a petrol crisis across the country.

Contingency plans were drawn up at the Royal Borough, while businesses encouraged staff to use public transport, pedal power or car pool.

2000: Glitz and glamour arrived in Maidenhead when TV celebrity Melanie Sykes attended the long-awaited movie event of the year.

The town’s eight-screen UCI cinema was officially opened by the Big Breakfast presenter, and the company’s UK and Ireland cinema manager, David Harris.

The event followed 18 months of preparation.