25 YEARS AGO: No retirement for "King John" call

About 3,000 leaflets were placed on car windscreens and handed out to people in Falmouth at the weekend in an effort to get one of Falmouth's best known ice cream salesman out of retirement.

John Martin and his wife, Janice, had been selling ice cream at Pendennis Point for 32 years and their decision last year to retire was greeted with sadness.

Many letters were sent to the Falmouth Packet urging Mr Martin to continue. Weekend visitors to Falmouth, and in particular Pendennis Point where Mr Martin was most well-known, were confronted with posters and the words: "There will be no Spring unless they bring back the King. No retirement for King John."

Mr Martin said this week that he had not fully retired but there were many other jobs to do apart from selling ice-cream.

Falmouth entered the debate over a university for Cornwall at an 11th-hour meeting held at the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society.

The town council finally decided to call a meeting with representatives of Exeter University, who are behind the scheme, after last month's public meeting at Penryn.

Only 30 people turned up to hear Sir Geoffrey Holland, vice chancellor of Exeter University and Professor Inkson, head of the physics department, out line their plans.

The Falmouth meeting heard that the project's steering committee would announce their recommendation as to which four sites they favoured on Monday May 20.

"The final decision of the university council will not be made known for another week and a half", said Sir Geoffrey.