Remember When: Mystery of the 21-inch cigar

1974: A crew from BBC television series That’s Life was at the Ferry in Cookham to test the merits of the great British banger.

The team included reporters Glyn Worsnip, Esther Rantzen and Kieran Prendiville, who were tasked with testing out sausages during their pub visit.

1979: Roland Green and his son Alan had built up a valuable collection of American comics.

The Greens’ collection was estimated to be worth £4,000 and covered all of their attic and most of Alan’s bedroom.

Their prized comic was Amazing Fantasy 15 – the 1962 debut of Spider-Man.

1984: Pupils at the Piggott School in Wargrave were earning extra pocket money by staying behind after lessons to clean their classrooms.

The scheme, which involved 17 sixth-formers, was supported by the county council’s education department.

Head caretaker Frank Ponton said: “It gives them pocket money, independence, and is the start of their working lives.”

1989: St Mary’s Roman Catholic School pupil Mark Daulby won a scholarship to Eton College.

Mark was one of only four boys picked from 45 from all over the country who competed for junior scholarships.

1989: Newlands School was in the news in more ways than one with the launch of five new publications.

The fourth year English group was tasked with producing a newspaper as part of their GCSE coursework, with five editorial groups each producing one front page.

The titles were The Huckster, The Daily Knight, The Rhetoric, The Communicator, and The Paper.

1999: Cookham Dean Post Office owners Sam and Rhonda Surman were stubbed in their tracks – when a 21-inch cigar was found on their doorstep.

Rhonda and Sam had no idea who it belonged to, and didn’t believe it had fallen out of someone’s pocket.

The cigar was believed to have been made in the Canary Islands and was thought to be a ‘gimmick’ to demonstrate how skilful the cigar manufacturer was.