100 years ago

York Head Teachers’ Association had held a meeting at which they took up the consideration of the effect of the cinema and picture houses on children.

Mr H A Skerry, who introduced the discussion, said that they recognised the necessity of amusements in modern life, because they knew that a very great many people, perhaps the majority, lived drab lives, and were engaged in drab occupations, and great numbers of these were more or less compelled to live amid dreary and uninspiring surroundings, so that one could hardly wonder at the desire for relaxation and amusement.

A group of teachers had conducted a survey visiting all the picture palaces in the city. They had found that there were during one week: children over seven years of age – attending one evening, 989; two evenings, 163; three or more evenings, 28; attending on a Saturday afternoon, 1,298. Children under seven years of age – attending one evening, 178; two evenings, 35; three or more evenings, eight; attending on a Saturday afternoon, 482. This gave more than one fifth of the children of the city attending picture shows in York in what was a normal week.

Mr Skerry thought they were producing blasé children, who before they had reached their teens had experienced every thrill, and said that his experience was that the number of nervous children was on the increase, and he thought that was due to insufficient sleep and the excitement, consequent on attending these places.

 

50 years ago

“I’ll fight any man alive,” bellowed an exultant Cassius Clay after the sensational victory over Sonny Liston at Miami which had made Clay the new heavyweight champion.

The spectators were stunned into silence when Liston, biggest “certainty” in boxing history, retired with an arm injury, which would have prevented him from defending himself, at the end of round six. There were sensational scenes after the shock result. “I whupped that big bear and I whupped him good,” bellowed the victorious Cassius Clay, the man who said he was king and then proved it.

 

25 years ago

York Minster needed £3 million over the following 13 years for urgent restoration work on decaying stonework – and at least £300,000 had to be found this year.

An expert’s report had revealed that atmospheric pollution had made the rate of decay faster than was at first thought. Even replacement stones inserted 80 years before were so decayed that repairs could no longer be postponed. The western towers alone would need a 13-year programme of work before the stonework was secure.