DIARY fan Dale Minks has written to warn us about the darker side of childrens' chalking in York. Apparently, it entices you to fall off the city's walls.

Safety conscious Mr Minks has responded to an article in The Press about a child being ticked-off by police for chalking hopscotch grids on a pavement in Somerset.

But, according to Mr Minks, childrens' chalk graffiti in York has a far more sinister edge to it. The "free hopscotch game" he found scrawled on the walls seemed to be a real game of chance.

The numbers on the grid only went up to nine, with the final ten spot scrawled at ground level, several feet beneath the walls.

Mr Minks is afraid eager hopscotchers might get carried away with their hopping and be lured into the chalk trap, plunging off the edge of the walls.

And even an accompanying cheerful scrawl, clearly a message in support of York's thriving tourist industry, was not enough to appease Mr Minks' concerns.

Even the message, scrawled in an array of colours, read "visterts welcom to York" and "it's fun and good", was not enough to stop him hoping for rain to wash away the danger. The lure of hopscotch and chalk graffiti is too much to ignore.


Begs the question

THE Press is willing to cover most stories. But even we, dear reader, did not think there would be a huge amount of interest in the increase in the agricultural output of Belarus last year.

Which begs the question why the Embassy Of Belarus took it upon themselves to email us this fact, along with details about the consumer commodities output and the amount of newly-built floor space.

(For those still wondering, the increase in agricultural output was 6.1 per cent. So now you know).