From our archives:

85 years ago

Farmers from almost all the villages in the Tadcaster district had attended the annual Tadcaster and District Farmers’ Invitation Ball in the Riley-Smith Hall.

With nearly 500 guests present, it was reported as one of the jolliest functions ever held in the town.

Everyone captured the spirit of the event, and dancing went on until 3am.

With dances to suit both old and young, farmers had forgotten the depression prevailing in their industry for one night of good fun.

According to features writer Madge Whiley, it was all very well to sit back and plan your new spring two-piece, but it is not going to make you look “worth thousands” if you wore it over an old foundation.

When choosing a corset, it should be fitted by an experienced fitter, as the present-day corset should be a pure joy to wear.

And two hens had made their home on the roof of the Three Tuns Hotel, more than 40 feet above Thirsk Market Place.

50 years ago

Plans for the long-awaited new primary school at Strensall, between the River Foss and Westpit Lane were now ready for inspection at Flaxton Rural Council offices.

This did not mean that a starting date for the new school was any nearer, it was to merely see if there were any objections. Police were investigating circumstances surrounding the death of Virginia Maskell, aged 31.

Miss Maskell who had appeared in films and many television plays, was better known for her role as Peter Sellers’s wife in Only Two Can Play.

And radio bleeps and underwater noises, which may have been from two submarines, one French, one Israeli, missing in the Mediterranean, had been picked up by ships taking part in a search.

20 years ago

Radio York and AA Roadwatch were left red-faced after a mix-up with the traffic news. Listeners heard that cows were rampaging through the city centre on the 7.30am traffic bulletin.

But within half an hour the warning was gone and all that could be heard was the aptly-named Jonathan Cowap mooing in the background.

Eighty-six years after it went down, the Titanic had resurfaced in York.

An original 39-inch model, crafted by hand from a rare copy of the blueprints handed down through four generations of a York family was now back on display.