Wednesday, March 23, 2005

100 years ago: There was a remarkable low tide at Filey, when, as one fisherman put it, "the bay was nearly empty of water". It had been quite possible to walk to the causeway stone, which was situated 60 yards further out to sea to the town outfall, and which was only seen on rare occasions. It was also possible to walk on the sands as far as the spitals on Filey Brig, a statement which would give visitors an idea of the extraordinary lowness of the tide. No explanation had been offered for the low tide but all Filey fishermen were agreed that it was one of the lowest within the recollection of the oldest of them.

50 years ago: In an exhibition which had opened at the Yorkshire Museum dealt primarily with Roman pottery, however one "foreign" exhibit had been included because it was of exceptional interest. This was an oculist's stamp found nearby a complete amphora unearthed in the grounds of the Mount School. At the time, only about a dozen of these stamps had been found in Britain, and it was the first to be discovered in York. Cut on one of the sides was an abbreviated legend which was roughly translated as "Julius Alexander's special ointment for sore eyes". The inscription was in reverse, so that it could be pressed on to a pastille of ointment, indicating that, even in Roman York, the public liked a branded product bearing a "reliable" name.

25 years ago: Residents of Chaucer Street in York would soon be making a break with the past, and it would make for a brighter future. One of York's free-standing gas lamps in the small road off Lawrence Street was to be replaced with an up-to-date electric mercury discharge lamp attached to a wall bracket. The replacement of the old standard lamp had been delayed over the previous year because of the Electricity Board's heavy maintenance programme, but the new lamp should be installed within the next two months. According to a spokesman the lantern wasn't that old, as it was square shaped, and so it was less than 100 years old. Most of York's gas lamps had been converted, however a few were retained in working order, for example around York Minster.

Updated: 08:40 Wednesday, March 23, 2005