THE story of a Purton gardener’s rather exotic-looking mystery plant was among our offerings this week in 1968.

For six weeks, we said, Ron Cox had watched the strange plant grow at the bottom of his garden, and it now stood at more than seven feet.

Throughout that time he had invited friends and visitors to look at the strange intruder, but none had so much as a clue.

Then he happened to be visited by a pharmacist, Mr PH Thomas, who instantly identified the plant as a large and healthy specimen of cannabis.

We added: “Classified as a poison and outlawed by the Dangerous Drugs Act, the cannabis plant is a rarity in England. This particular one looked far from happy in the rain – it is used to a tropical climate.”

Had Mr Cox been a Beatle, a Rolling Stone or even just under the age of 30 and with generous sideburns, he would probably have been arrested.

However, as he fell into none of these categories, he was politely advised by the police to destroy the cannabis.

The plant probably grew for a reason which sent many a hopeful hippy of the era to their local pet shop. Garden bird seed was and sometimes still is known to contain the odd cannabis seed, some of which survives passing through the creatures’ systems.

Another offbeat story that week nearly half a century ago had a musical theme – albeit only a slight one.

For much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before gramophones and radios were widely available, the piano was the entertainment centrepiece for countless households.

By the 1960s, so many people wanted to get rid of their dusty old uprights that most weren’t even worth the expense of tuning for sale.

That is how the piano smashing competition came to be a popular part of many a fete and country show.

One was held during the Swindon Old People’s Welfare Committee Fete at the Polo Ground.

We said: “From a view by the ropes, it was the pianos that won on points in the smashing contest organised by the Evening Advertiser for a prize of five gallons of beer.

“Each one of sixteen pianos brought a team of four strong men to a state of gasping exhaustion.

“One team, Wootton Bassett Young Conservatives, included a feminine member, Miss Meaghan Humphries. She did not bash, however. She helped to gather the scraps to run the length of the pitch and dispose of them through a space twelve inches square.

“But her team came last, taking ten minutes to smash the piano.

“Winners were Vickers Rugby Club. Messrs IT Fraser, EF Jeffrey, LG Miles and M Radbourne disposed of their piano in 5mins 1sec.”

The fete was opened by Peter Tomlinson, a Harlech Television presenter who went on to devise Saturday morning children’s show Tiswas.

He also presented the programme during its early years.

Another fairly famous person heading for Swindon was a folk singer called Alex Campbell, who was to make a public appearance at the Bon Marche department store in the town centre, which was later rebranded as Debenhams.

The respected Scottish singer, who lived until 1987, was presumably promoting one or both of the albums he released in 1968, but it’s impossible to say for sure as there was no report in our entertainment section, only an advert.

The week saw the 125th anniversary of the Railway Works becoming fully operational. They were still fully operational in 1968, albeit mainly as place where locomotives were repaired and refurbished rather than constructed.

A remarkable photograph showed half a dozen or more diesel locos in a vast workshop. They included D1031 Western Rifleman, which was eventually scrapped.

Our commemorative article concluded: “The exciting age of railway pioneering is over – and Swindon has shared in the glory of God’s Wonderful Railway, as the GWR became known to employees and devotees.

“The romance, the memories and the traditions remain.

“But whatever destiny may have in store for Swindon, wherever its quest for greatness might lead, the snorting, puffing giants it created – and which did so much to create the Swindon we know – will remain an indestructible part of its heritage.”

Another part of Swindon’s heritage didn’t fare as well.

For more than 70 years the Regent Gospel Hall had stood in the town centre, maintained by the fundraising efforts of worshippers.

It became one of many historic buildings to succumb to the wrecking ball during the widespread rebuilding which would include the creation of Theatre Square.

A reader wrote to our letters page, lamenting its demise and relaying his small daughter’s verdict: “Jesus won’t be very pleased.”