Columns written by The Press newspaper's features columnists

The size of it...

10:47am Monday 20th May 2013

STAND back in amazement! A woman who wears size 16 clothes has been photographed in a bikini for a high street fashion chain. Good heavens, whatever next…

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My first cuckoo? Nigel Lawson...

11:04am Friday 17th May 2013

HERE’S a novelty. ‘Tweet of the Day’ isn’t actually a tweet – as in a pithy pronouncement in 140 characters or less on social networking site Twitter – but a real soundclip of birdsong on BBC Radio 4.

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An acronym? Not in my back yard!

8:51am Thursday 16th May 2013

WHO wants to be summed up by an acronym? Not me, if the abbreviation in question is NIMBY. Yet sometimes life trips you up that way.

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It’s no bed of roses

11:07am Tuesday 14th May 2013

ISN’T gardening supposed to be relaxing – something you do on days off or bank holidays to unwind? In theory, maybe. But in practice it’s anything but.

We mustn’t forget carers’ needs too

11:06am Tuesday 14th May 2013

LAST Friday night – or, more precisely, 40 minutes into Saturday morning – my phone woke me and stopped just before I could reach it.

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Streets ahead...

11:37am Monday 13th May 2013

IT’S a long time since I reported on the vision for the introduction of the footstreets in York. I was the local government reporter for the then Coney Street-based Evening Press and the clamour of protest about the dream of a pedestrianised city centre was deafening.

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Why we’re faking it in York

9:50am Friday 10th May 2013

FORGET controversy over Richard III’s resting place or the closure of Lendal Bridge to cars – the hot topic of debate for women of a certain age in York this week is how dark dare you go?

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'At best this so-called Local Plan is ill-thought through'

8:14am Friday 10th May 2013

Like many York residents, I was dismayed and saddened by the recent publication of the Council's plans to destroy York's greenbelt, by building thousands of homes on it, as well as a number of traveller sites and wind farms.

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The bridge over troubled waters

9:35am Thursday 9th May 2013

IT IS PLEASING to wonder if the council’s new West Offices has a banner bearing the words: “You can’t please all of the people all of the time… but you can sure as hell annoy most of the people most of the time.”

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Condemned out of their own mouths

9:35am Tuesday 7th May 2013

THERE’S a new voice in British politics, the headlines boomed at the weekend. It remains to be seen what impact UKIP’s strong showing in recent polls will have on the make-up of the next Government – how often do mid-term elections reflect the voting at the following General Election? – but they’ve certainly provided a jolt for the “established” parties.

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Rules? They’re made to be broken

9:17am Tuesday 7th May 2013

My children went through a phase of telling me off.

Music fills my heart and soul

11:11am Monday 6th May 2013

WHAT a great idea. Friends of ours have been organising a 50th birthday party and the music of the night features tracks from the UK singles chart on the day birthday boy was born.

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Cars are here to stay, Mr Merrett

12:50pm Friday 3rd May 2013

DO you ever have those dreams where you wake up and think “thank God that wasn’t real?” Mine are the usual ones such as being back at school and turning up for an exam (always maths) having done no revision.

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Lights, camera, then get pedalling

9:30am Thursday 2nd May 2013

HERE is my cycle ride to work, the movie. Check the traffic, head on to the road. Skirt the roundabout and proceed. Sorry about the earthquake vision at this point – the potholes are terrible here.

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Caution needed on Lendal Bridge ban

10:45am Tuesday 30th April 2013

BRIDGES are important in a river city, so it’s no surprise plans have resurfaced to make changes to arguably our most scenic crossing. Nor will it be a shock if the proposal to ban cars and motorbikes from Lendal Bridge sparks controversy.

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