From our archives:

85 years ago

Beautiful weather had favoured the annual outing of the Bellerby Church Choir, who had this year decided to pay a leisurely visit to Scarborough.

Leaving Bellerby at 6am and returning at midnight the excited party was totally under the supervision of a very wary Vicar of Bellerby, the Rev C A White and Mrs White.

The beauty and charm of the Museums Gardens which were well known beyond York thanks to the professional aid of Sir John Nasmyth, now had plans for a grand fairyland in the garden ruins.

An area had already been chosen to demonstrate a marvellous spectacle of flood-lighting against a Roman wall, multangular tower and surrounding vegetation, on a scale that had never been attempted before.

50 years ago

The cement train involved in the Thirsk rail crash with a London to Edinburgh express passenger train on July 31 where seven people died and 15 were seriously injured had been described as having “a notorious reputation” among guards, according to the public inquiry heard at York.

An extension of licensing hours, and new-style pubs serving refreshments such as tea, coffee and ice-cream, as well as alcoholic drinks could be the way forward for the traditional British pub.

This new type of establishment was becoming very much in demand according to the Consumer Council.

And Coronation Street, the ITV saga had been reported as “widely disliked in the North,” according to the results published in a survey by the National Opinion Polls who had interviewed 1,998 people throughout Britain.

The poll also suggested that viewers had a tendency to believe that the best programmes were produced by the BBC.

20 years ago

Sightings of UFOs over the North Yorkshire skies were more than likely to have been the troubled Russian MIR space station, said astronomers.

A number of York residents had contacted the Evening Press after seeing a strange bright white light, followed by a smaller one, traverse across the sky at around 10pm every night.

Juggling clowns and games galore were the order of the day when youngsters from Pickering took part in the National Play Day.

And Boon Hill Show, Newton-upon-Rawcliffe held a celebration of country sports which included terrier racing and hound trailing.

The show which fell short of £4 off beating its record entry takings, had an attendance of more 1,600 people.