IT was a real shame to see the good old Raven Hotel in Droitwich go up in flames recently, even though in the back of your mind you had a sneaky feeling that might be its eventual fate.
Still our reporter Charlotte Albutt wrote a splendid obituary and that was rather fitting because the Raven had been a go-to working destination for many journalists over the years.
In the post WW2 decades, probably until the 1980s, most of the large local firms and organisations held an annual dinner dance, usually in the months leading up to Christmas, and the Raven was the venue for many.
As such, our newsdesk would be invited to send a scribe to report on the event.
One guest ticket was supplied and there was rarely a plus one.
As a young reporter I frequently found myself sitting at the end of a table full of folk I had never met before and with whom I had little connection - master butchers, bakers, bankers, lawyers, licensed victuallers, you name them, they had an annual dinner dance.
At the Raven this was usually a black-tie event which meant hiring a dinner suit.
I went to so many I eventually found buying was the cheaper option and at one stage I had three.
The people were friendly enough - although there was always someone ready to slag off the local paper - and the conversation often went: "Nice to see you here. I bet this is a bit of a treat for you."
To which the reply was: "Well, this is my fourth in the last couple of weeks and I've got another one Friday night."
On one memorable occasion Ian Badden, a reporter without a car, was assigned a Raven dinner dance and so he caught the bus from Worcester.
As you may guess there were not many people in dinner jackets sitting on the 7pm Midland Red 153 service to Droitwich Spa and the conductor, after giving Ian the once over in case he was in fancy dress, announced in a rather loud voice: "What's happened, sir? Fairy coach broken down? Never mind, Cinderella will go to the ball. That'll be two bob."
I guess the economic climate did for the annual dinner dance but it was a fire that did for the Raven, the only saving grace being firefighters didn't face the hazards that confronted crews when JC Baker in Foregate Street, Worcester, went up in June 1966.
Flames ripped through the hardware store before it was possible to remove its vast stock of gas cylinders and drums of paint and paraffin.
Three gas cylinders exploded like bombs as did tins and drums filled with more than 1,000 gallons of paint. The inferno was also fed by two 300-gallon tanks of paraffin.
All the surrounding buildings, including the Odeon cinema, had to be evacuated along with 40 cats and dogs from a nearby vet's.
A couple of years before, in August 1964, production of the world-famous Worcestershire Sauce was halted for weeks after a huge blaze devastated much of the Lea and Perrins factory in Midland Road.
The night-time inferno lit up the sky over Worcester for miles around and thousands of people turned out to gaze at a scene that for some was all too reminiscent of The Blitz which was then well within living memory.
While we are at it, here are photos of some of Worcester's other famous fires but sadly none of Ian Badden sitting on a bus in his DJ.