Remember When: DIY went very badly wrong and Vikings conquered the carnival

1983: Society hairdresser ‘Teasie Weasie’ Raymond made the headlines at Royal Ascot.

The celebrity had announced he would wear a royal blue morning coat but had been asked to reconsider by a representative of the Queen.

Entrants, who are carefully vetted for the Royal Enclosure, were normally restricted to wearing only black or grey.

But over the years Raymond had worn many colours – purple, pink, chocolate and orange. And, to the annoyance of many, he had never been refused entry.

He said: “This year I was going to wear royal blue. I was told it would please Her Majesty if I did not and if it pleases Her Majesty I will abide by it.”

Raymond attended Royal Ascot that year in a black suit sporting a blue carnation.

1988: Newlands School pupil Joanne Schotting, 17, won the prestigious international final of the English Speaking Union.

She was also awarded the prize for the most outstanding personality of the competition, held at the American embassy in London.

She beat 16 other competitors from all over the world with her speech – This Island Race – about the British and their characteristics.

 1988: Nanny Helen Morgan, 18, and her boyfriend Roy Edinburgh were steeling themselves for a daredevil sponsored stunt.

The pair were due to loop the loop in aid of charity at an airfield in Bedfordshire in a plane flown by a stunt pilot.

Helen said: “I’ve never flown before and probably won’t again afterwards. I’m sure I will be petrified.”

1978: Do-it-yourself repairs to the foundations of a house ended abruptly when the building collapsed in a pile of rubble.

And the Hickley family who lived in the adjoining semi-detached home in Norfolk Road also lost the home they had lived in for 27 years after the council ordered the whole property had to come down because it could collapse if there was strong wind or heavy rain.

Neighbours Ajmer and Baldev Sidhu had been working on the collapsed house to make it habitable.

They had been digging out the foundations in preparation to start work on underpinning.

Mr Sidhu said that while what they had done looked stupid he had acted on the instructions of a builder.

“I was just leaving the house when it collapsed,” he said.

1978: When TV chat show presenters Michael Parkinson and Russell Harty met for lunch at the Hinds Head in Bray. Motorcycle racer Dennis Ireland went along too – complete with his bike.

Parkinson was a fan of Ireland, who was a near neighbour on the Fishery Estate and had even travelled to the Isle of Man to watch him compete in the TT racing.

1978: Thousands of fish were killed following a major detergent leak at the Beecham Products factory in Norreys Drive.

And only swift action by the Thames Water Authority saved Maidenhead’s water supply from serious contamination.

The accident saw 2,500 gallons of detergent leak out of a supply tank, most of it reaching the firm’s surplus water system and then running into The Cut – a subsidiary of the Thames.

Within hours fish were dying as the water turned a ghostly shade of white.

Water intake stations along the Thames were shut down to prevent badly polluted water reaching drinking supplies.

The pollution was found to be four times over World Health Organisation limits and could have damaged the health of people all along the river if it had contaminated domestic supplies.

1973: An Advertiser photographer captured the excitement and fun of All Saint’s Junior School sports day (main picture).

Competitors battled it out in a host of traditional sports day events from sack races to egg and spoon races and three-legged races.

 1973: Bourne End’s carnival week came to a colourful finale with a procession of decorated floats.

The winning entry was a Viking themed float from the Bourne End Junior Sports Club.

The procession ended at Jackson’s Field where there were sports, competitions and various displays.