HERE’S a snippet of local historical information which seems to have largely slipped under the radar: 350 years ago Worcestershire was among England’s main areas for growing tobacco. One of the hot spots was the Vale of Evesham and the national government was not happy. So much so it sent a troop of cavalry to destroy the crops. Quite a few times. The lid is lifted on this little known agricultural pastime in a new book by Stan Brotherton called “Evesham at Work”. Historian Stan knows just about everything there is to know about The Vale over the centuries and he peppers his informative text with some lovely old photographs.