TWO people from York and one from Harrogate have been arrested in connection with a fraud investigation centred on a theatre. West Yorkshire Police confirmed the investigation was launched at the request of Leeds City Council, and involves Leeds
Puccini’s Girl of the Golden West is the only operatic western. Its unlikely location, in the California Gold Rush of 1849, has marked it out as a lightweight: it has never quite enjoyed the popularity it deserves. All that may change with this new
THIS boxing comedy drama offers the irresistible sight of Jake La Motta and Rocky Balboa slugging it out in the boxing ring as Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro revive memories if not the characters of two of their greatest screen successes.
THERE’S something endearingly old-fashioned about this thriller fashioned from characters in Tom Clancy’s novels. From the enigmatic Russian-accented villain to daredevil car chases through crowded city streets, we’ve seen it all before. That’s
CITY Screen, York, has teamed up with What’s On for a competition to mark tomorrow’s opening of the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis. One winner will receive the promotional book Sing Out, made to resemble a folk magazine from the early
CULT performers The Tiger Lillies are to present a darkly twisted new show in early 2014, commissioned by Opera North Projects. Opening on Tuesday at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, Lulu: A Murder Ballad is based on the story of Lulu, which
LET’S Hang On takes a musical journey through the career of those Jersey boys Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, whose songs graced such films as The Deer Hunter, Dirty Dancing and Grease. From their beginning in the early 1950s, when Frankie
YORK’S plushest jazz venue is Middleton’s Hotel, Skeldergate/ Cromwell Road, and it has real ale at pub prices and jazz every Thursday. Tonight’s music is from the Mardi Gras Band, at 8pm (01904 611570). Long-running Sunday jazz in York is at Kennedy
THE fiddle-playing folk quartet of Carthy, Hardy, Farrell & Young open Selby Town Hall’s 11th spring season on February 8. Brought together by Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell, the group comprises Eliza Carthy, Bella Hardy, young English
ONLY Fools And Horses fans looking to lift their spirits after last week’s death of Roger Lloyd Pack, alias the gormless Trigger, could book tickets for Only Fools And Boycie: an evening with co-star John Challis at Pocklington Arts Centre on March
BRUCE Springsteen’s finest albums have been driven not only by majestic guitars, wailing sax and the Boss’s passionate vocals, but also by great themes. Born To Run, for example, tackled the rootlessness of youth; Nebraska, the cold shadow of loneliness
SO long has passed since Cocteau Twins fractured irreparably in 1997 that keyboard player Simon Raymonde had parted with all his instruments and was focusing solely on running Bella Union, his label with impeccable taste. Then along came North
THIS MOST accomplished singer songwriter delivers another star turn. Following the stylistic (if not commercial) breakthrough of Saint Bartlett, Jurado has again teamed up with producer Richard Swift to daub a more expressive palette. Jurado describes
NEIL Young’s six-show, three-night, one-man stint at the Cellar Door, the legendary Washington DC venue, was recorded in the winter of 1970 and is an illuminating snapshot of Young’s career in transition. After The Goldrush, which had established
DO not be put off investigating Freedom from Ferguson’s rather lacklustre debut collection. Freedom is a definite improvement, and showcases a very talented artist with the one thing all former X-Factor stars crave – good songs. Indeed, many a
EVERY band must dread “difficult second album syndrome” and few remain unscarred. Nirvana and The Arctic Monkeys did, but too often a classic debut is followed by a classic dud. Just ask The Strokes. For album number two Warpaint pull out all the
COULD measures designed to curb the activities of payday lenders harm the Own Art scheme run by art galleries? Ann Petherick, a founder member of Own Art in Yorkshire, is worried that the threat of increased fees for participating galleries could
O’HOOLEY & TIDOW will head out on tour next month to showcase material from their new album, The Hum. The harmony-singing folk duo will appear at the National Centre for Early Music in York on March 12 at 7.30pm, presented by the Black Swan
MICHAEL Nunn and William Trevitt’s dance company BalletBoyz will take to the road in February and March with theTalent, their showcase for blossoming talents. The show will visit the Grand Opera House, York, on March 12 with a double bill by two
THE Essex girl you used to know from West End musicals, Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast and Strictly Come Dancing has new strings to her bow. Denise Van Outen is embarking on her first tour in Some Girl I Used To Know, a one-woman play co-written
RICHARD Brinsley Sheridan’s 18th century high-society comedy The School For Scandal is undergoing a refit in a trendy 1960s bar in Upstart Theatre Company’s February production. In the York company’s early Sixties version, Sheridan’s tale of money
YORK company Flying Ducks Youth Theatre will stage the American musical Grease at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from April 10 to 12. Tickets for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2.30pm Saturday matinee are available at £10, concessions £8, from
THE cast has assembled for rehearsals of Damian Cruden’s revival of Brassed Off at York Theatre Royal. Damian first staged Paul Allen’s musical stage adaptation of York film-maker Mark Herman’s story of a Yorkshire mining village facing up to the
HERE’S to the power of The Press in helping The Real People Theatre Company find a cast for the March production of Anne Lister’s Ladies. “I just wanted to thank you for supporting our auditions and to let you know that it paid off and that I now
HOLOCAUST Memorial Day on Sunday will be commemorated with a programme of events around York. City Screen, York, will participate in the day, which year takes the theme of journeys, by showing the film Into The Arms Of Strangers: Stories Of The
THE Grumpy Old Women are back to knock some sense into the nation, visiting Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on May 9 with a live version of the hit television show. Perrier Award-winning comedian, writer and original star of Grumpy Old Women Jenny
NEW Wave icons The Stranglers are marking their 40th anniversary with the Ruby Tour, whose 28 dates include Leeds O2 Academy on March 21. The men in black are embarking on a world tour this year, kicking off in the UK in late February and rolling
YOU have seen her busking by the fountain in Parliament Street; you have seen and heard her voice turning Ricky Wilson and Kylie Minogue’s chairs in the blind auditions on BBC1 talent show The Voice; and you may also have seen her supporting Shed Seven
TWENTY thousand free tickets to watch the Tour de France when it sets off from York Racecourse have been snapped up in just four and a half hours. Racecourse spokesman James Brennan said the website and phone line were both extremely busy from
KING of the wild frontier Adam Ant follows up his 44 dates in the United States with 13 spring shows in Britain on a tour with the Roman numeral title of XII B.D. It stands for 12 Dates Before Dirk, an indication that Mr Ant will accompany his
ANYONE interested in volunteering in the Selby area can find out more about helping local organisations at an event next week. An informal information session will be held at Sherburn-in-Elmet Library on Tuesday between 2pm and 4pm. Details
THE director of a growing food brand has pledged to open his first distribution warehouse near York after a sales boom in the Middle East. Craig Benton has secured a £1.8 million contract to supply locally produced nibbles to a supermarket chain
YORKSHIRE has been selected to pilot a new Government scheme which aims to offer every mid-sized business in the country advice on exporting. Trade Minister Lord Livingston has announced he will personally write to all the UK’s 8,900 mid-sized
A FINALIST in the world coffee-making championships served up an educational demonstration at York Railway Station’s new café, ÜGOT. James Gartshore-Boulter and Joe Carnell, who set up the healthy food retailer in November last year, invited Dan
THE University of York Opera Society’s first performance off-campus at the Grand Opera House on Saturday will be a first for third-year music student Jake Muffett too. Playing hedonistic lothario and perpetual womaniser Don Giovanni in Mozart’s
I HAVE never understood the opposition to female bishops, but perhaps someone who doesn’t go to church should keep their nose out. Then again, keeping your nose out doesn’t get you far as a columnist. Just imagine if other bodies still put up barriers
IN 1987 two million visitors came to York and between them they spent £55 million. Now the number of tourists has increased more than threefold while the annual spend has risen exponentially to £443 million. But the city is not resting on its laurels
LAST year Godfrey Bloom was thrown out of UKIP by Nigel Farage for calling women sluts. This was apparently the last straw for the long-suffering Nigel, and somehow worse than Bloom calling developing nations Bongo Bongo Land, or stating that the
J BEISLY’S letter of January 16, contained several points about fracking that I wish to address. Regarding the cost of energy, although it was reduced in the US, circumstances are different here. According to Lord Stern, the claim by David
LAST Thursday afternoon, Fordlands Road was once again blocked for more than an hour by cars parked by people attending a funeral service. Nobody could drive in or out of the housing estate. Mothers were unable to get through to collect young children
DO YOU too find our partisan squabbling politicos tedious, predictable and insulting to the little intelligence they seem to assume we possess? Aren’t politician’s directly or indirectly merely servants of the one per cent? MPs, councillors, bishops
KEITH THORNTON has asked me to “confirm or deny through the letters page whether a deal was struck with the new owners before the purchase of the old council offices” with regards to the trial traffic restriction across Lendal Bridge (Letters, December
I WENT to Venice a few weeks ago, guess what, waiters were patting children on their heads and even hugging and patting them on their backs. Men and women were kissing each other more, and men were shaking each others’ hands more. There was
ACCORDING to Alison Sinclair (Letters, January 20), “If Stonebow House (1964) had been designed by Basil Spence, it could well be a listed building by now.” Or, like his Gorbals block (1965), demolished. William Dixon Smith, Welland Rise, Acomb
FOLLOWING unpopular decisions made by City of York Council, there has been widespread criticism that the regime ignores the wishes of residents. The response has been staunch Labour supporters insisting they can do as they please because they were
MY WIFE and I have been members of the Conservative party for many years. My wife has played an active part in supporting local MPs wherever we lived in the country, during my military career. Yet she withdrew her party membership a few months
DO any female readers have a posh hat taking up space in their wardrobe? If so, would you be happy to donate it to my fundraising cause, The Ear Trust? This is the only place in Yorkshire and beyond giving babies born deaf and children the chance
GOOD luck to Mr James Fox (The Press, 21 January). Let us hope he gets the role. Irrespective of his famous name, I am sure Mr Fox stands a good chance, having come this far. Peter Donnelly, Castlegate, Malton.
ALONG with some work friends I attended the panto Snow White at the Grand Opera House on Tuesday, December 17. This production was especially for people with disabilities, autism etc. On arrival the staff were so helpful, it was unbelievable
100 years ago At the Mansion House, York, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress (Councillor H Rhodes Brown and Mrs Rhodes Brown) had given a party in celebration of the twenty-first birthday of their daughter, Miss Lillian Ada Rhodes Brown . There
Drilling for shale gas is becoming a controversial issue and it could it come to Yorkshire. What might be the benefits and potential risks? STEPHEN LEWIS reports. THE Conservative peer and former Energy Secretary Lord Howell of Guildford sparked
YORK City manager Nigel Worthington has welcomed a ten-match uninterrupted run of games for stalwart defender David McGurk. The 31-year-old centre back has not managed double figures in terms of successive starts since September 2011 but reached
OPCLIFFE’S John Baines has been named as part of Team GB’s 56-strong squad of athletes for the Winter Olympics next month – thanks to last-ditch qualification. The Middlesbrough-born bobsleigher will be part of GBR2, one of two crews that will
YORKSHIRE are sifting through applications from all over the world from candidates interested in taking over as second team coach as a replacement for Paul Farbrace. The position was advertised after Farbrace chose to take over as Sri Lanka’s new
ONE of Yorkshire’s most talented all-rounders, Graham Stevenson, has died at the age of 58. Stevenson played in 177 first class matches for Yorkshire between 1973 and 1986. He scored 3,856 runs, with two centuries, and took 464 wickets at an
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club has teamed up with Pro Coach and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation to stage the region’s first 24-hour coaching event. Held at the Yorkshire Cricket Centre, at Headingley, the event takes place on February 8 and 9 and
Full-back Dominique Algar scored four tries as York Ladies rose to joint third in the Women’s Rugby League Association Winter League with a 54-0 win at Dewsbury Moor. Half-back Mary Tiplady and prop Carly Hilton starred, but it was an excellent
NEW Earswick All Blacks ARLC are eyeing a fifth straight win and third place in the Pennine League championship division. All Blacks go to basement side Moorends Thorne Marauders on Saturday (2pm) in buoyant mood after a 10-8 victory at Slaithwaite
UPDATE: Heworth ARLC's friendly against Hunslet Warriors, as detailed below, has now been called off due to a waterlogged pitch. HEWORTH ARLC begin a new era tomorrow night with their first friendly of 2014 – hoping the influence of one-time
PLANS for a £1.5 million revamp of York’s Newgate Market are to go on show. Architects enlisted by City of York Council are looking at how the market can be improved following claims it is looking tired and needs a higher profile. Possible schemes
SPRINTING sensation Tom Somers is on track for the World Junior Championships after smashing the 200-metre field at the Northern Indoor Athletics Championships. The 16-year-old City of York Athletic Club runner scorched round the track in 21.69
YORK ‘A’ gave themselves a great chance of winning the Yorkshire Over-55s League division one title after beating Featherstone ‘A’ for the first time in the league in five years. York had a great spell between the fifth and tenth ends when they
A VIVIENNE Trophy date with Beccles beckons for York Indoor Bowls Club as they kept up their fantastic record in the competition. The Thanet Road outfit easily beat Leicester 106-69, winning all four rinks, to move into the quarter-finals where
YORK Indoor Bowls Club came out on top in a tough Mason Trophy encounter with North Cave to book a meeting with Redcar in the last 16 next Thursday. After ten ends, York trailed 24-17 on aggregate but, by the 15th, they had taken a 29-28 lead and
NEW Earswick’s ladies moved into second place in the Yorkshire Ladies ‘B’ League when they beat Leeds 85-84, picking up eight points out of the ten at stake. The match was close throughout and no more than four shots separated any rink at the finish
NEW Earswick found the going tough in their Yorkshire League division one encounter against reigning champions Featherstone. There was consolation for the Huntington Road club in one winning rink. Barry Johnson’s away team were 7-0 ahead after
CHILDREN had been involved in two accidents with rope on a slide weeks before a three-year-old girl was fatally injured in the same place, a jury heard. Nursery nurse Lyndsay Harrison alleged she was so concerned about two incidents on the same
A TEN-YEAR-OLD girl was panicked and frightened when a man tried to abduct her a on quiet country road near Selby, a court has heard. The girl was walking her dog on a lane when David Wain, 56, allegedly approached her on September 12 last year
AN event commemorating the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in January 1945 will take place this weekend. The Riding Lights Theatre Company will be performing a rehearsed reading of The Minute Book. The event will be
AN INQUEST has been opened into the death of an 87-year-old woman who died in an incident in which a man has been charged with murder. The inquest heard Elsie Mowbray was at her Victoria Court home, off Leeman Road, on New Year’s Day when a man
AN OWL which is believed to have flown into power lines after being confused by smoke from the massive tyre fire near Selby has died. The short eared owl, nicknamed Phoenix, was found near the fire at Newgen Recycling with serious injuries last
WILDLIFE campaigners in Yorkshire have criticised the Supreme Court’s rejection of a legal bid by opponents of the HS2 rail link to force more scrutiny of the plans. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has claimed two important sites in the county will be
THE chair of tourism organisation Visit York, Jane Lady Gibson, has been appointed to lead a new broader marketing initiative for the city. The project aims to drive forward not only marketing and tourism, but also cultural and business development
CHEERLEADERS have given two visiting locomotives an American-style farewell as they prepare to leave York forever. The National Railway Museum (NRM) is about to wave goodbye to Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada, the famous Mallard’s sister
CITY leaders will today unveil their plans to create a £1 billion tourism industry in York, writes Mark Stead. Visit York and City of York Council plan to target more North American and European visitors and tap into the Chinese market. They
THE funeral of a well-known North Yorkshire businessman will include a procession of heavy haulage wagons driven by former employees through the town this afternoon. Peter Sunter died on Wednesday, January 15, and his funeral will be held today
YORK has been named as the most popular destination for city breaks in the UK. Research by short break specialist Superbreak puts the city in the top spot for 2013, ahead of long-standing number one destination Edinburgh, which is now second.
A NORTH Yorkshire couple have been issued with confiscation orders totalling more than £220,000 for benefit fraud stretching back almost a decade. Mariola Kostrzewa, of Dove Cottage, Wistow Road, Selby, will have to serve 27 months in prison unless
UNEMPLOYMENT numbers have fallen in York and North Yorkshire, with fewer people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA), this month. New figures by the Office of National Statistics, released yesterday, showed the number of people claiming JSA in
A YORK support service has celebrated its second anniversary with a perfect score in helping young people find and keep their new homes. Howe Hill Hostel, which has 23 beds, has ensured 25 homeless 16 to 21-year-olds take on and maintain their
A HOLIDAY Park on the Escrick Park Estate, between York and Selby, has won a prestigious award from internationally renowned conservationist David Bellamy. Hollicarrs has been given the Special Distinction Award in the 2013 David Bellamy Conservation
A MAN suffered serious head injuries and another suffered facial injuries in a car crash in Knaresborough. At about 12.30am on Wednesday, a silver Mercedes C-Class crashed into a tree in Stockwell Road, near the junction with St Margaret’s Road
AN AWARD-WINNING stand-up comedian who regularly sells out arenas has announced a one-off gig at Selby Town Hall. Alan Carr will play the 150-seat hall as part of a series of warm-up gigs for his upcoming national tour, for one night only next
YORK Minster is to protect the Great East Window – one of its medieval masterpieces – with a newly developed UV shield. The UV resistant glass will be used as part of the external protective glazing for the 15th Century window, which has been removed
GOOLE High School is to host an auction in aid of an ambitious project that will take its students to the skies. A flight in a vintage aircraft and a course of archery lessons are some of the lots included at the auction of promises to raise money
SECONDARY school league tables looking at how pupils performed in their GCSE and A-level exams across the country are out today. According to data published by the Department of Education (DoE) York, North and East Yorkshire’s schools and colleges
FINAL entries are being accepted for activities to be held during York International Women’s Week. Ideas for the annual event – which has included shows, concerts, talks, walks, sport events, dances, poetry, arts and crafts and a variety of workshops
A NEW police team has been launched to investigate fatalities on North Yorkshire’s roads. The Major Collision Investigation Team will take over from local officers following collisions, allowing them to get back on patrol sooner. The team is
A LEEDS law firm is expecting turnover to hit £16 million this year after merging with a York practice, as it reports increased profits over 2013. Lupton Fawcett, which now trades as Lupton Fawcett Denison Till after merging with York-based Denison
More than 4,000 tonnes of road chippings, collected by East Riding of Yorkshire Council following last year’s £2 million road surface dressing programme, will be cleaned and stored ready for reuse as part of this summer’s programme, helping the authority
