Thursday, February 10, 2005

100 years ago: Some "so-called mustard-tin flirts" wrote the latest letter regarding the behaviour of factory girls, asking if the writer who complained about them was married, and if so what did his wife think to him wandering around Coney Street on a night talking to the flirts. Below their letter another was printed from four shop girls, defending their ilk and stating that: "The shop girl is far superior to the factory girl, and certainly more refined and well behaved, which becomes any English girl. There may be some good ones amongst the factory girls, but to my mind they are few and far between."

50 years ago: Mr Nobody asked readers to "imagine an oak tree so famous that saplings from its acorns were sold for as much as a guinea each... and that was in the days of good, jingling gold!" In the centre of the quiet village of Cowthorpe, three miles from Wetherby, stood Quercus Sylvestris Pedunculata - or the Cowthorpe Oak - a tree estimated to be more than 1,500 years old. This great tree was still going strong, having seen the growth of western civilisation and the development of England from the "slough of semi-barbarism". In 1829, a Rev Dr Jessop measured the tree and found the circumference at the ground to be 60ft. It was 45ft high, and the extent of the principal remaining branches was 50ft. Dr Jessop said at the time: "The tree is hollow throughout to the top, and the ground plot inside may possibly afford standing room for 40 men." In 1772 one of the side branches was thrown down in a violent gale and, on being measured, was found to contain about five tons of timber.

25 years ago: York and District Licensed Victuallers Association warned that a rise in beer duty that would mean the introduction of the 50p pint could close smaller pubs in York. In next months budget it was predicted that beer duty could go up "as much as" 6p, bringing the 50p pint nearer, the average price of a pint of beer in York being 38p. The increase had "been on the cards" for four or five years, but the LVA thought that local drinkers "can't afford beer to that extent" and so it would bring about the closure of some pubs.

Updated: 15:42 Wednesday, February 09, 2005