From the archives:

85 years ago

Farmers in Snape, near Bedale, were being blamed for the lack of water for domestic purposes, after complaints about the water pressure been unusually low, sometimes with only a drip coming from the taps.

Following up the complaints was Sanitary Inspector of Bedale Rural Council who revealed that the cause of the trouble was without a doubt the over use of the water by the farmers.

Unlike Mr Winston Churchill’s dramatic arrivals on Budget Day, when he would walk over from Downing-street surrounded by a cheering crowd, Mr Neville Chamberlain entered the House by the back of the speaker’s chair.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer to an excited crowd all awaiting his budget speech.

Daily columnist Mistress Pepys wrote in ‘Her Diary’ that “For a treat for Mr Pepys, My Maid Jane being out, I prepare with my own hand a very tasty dish of Sweetbreads on Toast.”

50 years ago

Only four people, two Germans and two Swiss, survived when a chartered Britannia airliner, with 128 people, including 10 crew aboard, crashed on a hill outside Nicosia, Cyprus.

Four of the crew were Britons in what was considered as one of the worst aircraft disasters since a BOAC Boeing 707 crashed into Mount Fuji, near Tokyo, in March 1966 killing all 124 aboard.

The plane, due to land in Cairo for refueling, was reported to have been hit by lightning.

Due to the interests of safety the height of the tower of St Michael’s Church, Spurriergate had to be reduced.

And St John’s College had won the York Half Holiday Trophy for the eighth successive season when they defeated City Police 3-0 on Rowntree’s ground.

20 years ago

Mindless vandals had robbed Selby of a rare horticultural gem, by systematically ripping apart a priceless magnolia tree which had attracted hundreds of visitors every year to Selby Park.

The 90-year-old tree, which was as old as the park itself was one of the original plantings.

Silver statues had been causing a stir in York’s Parliament Street.

The London actors were in York as part of a nationwide tour.

The breathtaking pair gratefully responded as coins were tossed with a nod or a wink.

A York coach driver Nick Barker had been given the title of the best in Britain, after winning the UK Coach Driver of the Year contest.