THIS is a tale of two creches. One for men who hate shopping with their partner, the other about a new corral for children at the Fitness First health centre at Clifton Moor. David Jubb of Coffee Espress in York's Goodramgate has come up with a great idea for women who want to shop without having moaning men traipsing around the stores after them.

So girls, dump your man, dump your bags and shop till you drop safe in the knowledge that your bloke is upstairs in Coffee Espress doing nothing more sinister than surfing the Internet or reading What Car?

David, married with two grown-up daughters, rates shopping somewhere between "a funeral and going to the dentists".

So he knows how men feel about slouching from one store to another with a face like a bloodhound in a vegetable market.

"Women can leave their partners upstairs and bring as many bags back to the caf as they like," he says.

"Women won't have to suffer comments such as 'Your bum looks big in that skirt,' or 'This is the third time we've been in this shop in two hours can we go home now'," says 45-year-old David.

Internet access is free for the first ten minutes then 5p a minute after that for 'abandoned' partners. There are a couple of sofas and chairs and David is on the verge of installing a Playstation so the lads can be boys.

Who knows, the big lads' creche may help cut down those arguments over shopping and lead to domestic felicity, whoever she is.

The creche for children at Fitness First recently opened and gives parents the chance to tone up their pecs while their offspring are carefully looked after.

It is called Little Poppets, the winning name thought up by 11-year-old Katie Cooper of nearby Lakeside School.

Elaine Arnold, of Fitness First, says: "We think more people will take advantage of our facilities knowing they can bring along their little poppets."

GREAT news! The superb Dr Rock programme is back on the air, starting tonight from 7pm to 8pm on BBC Radio York.

After my campaign earlier this year to re-instate the good Doctor - the DJ with a laugh like a buzz saw - he is finally returning.

Christine Windass of York who ran the listeners' campaign, along with mine, was up in arms that the Rock Of Ages programme was axed from the station last March.

She told me: "The support of all Dr Rock's fans throughout Yorkshire has been truly incredible and has greatly influenced this most welcome and rightful return to our airwaves."

Christine orchestrated a massive poster campaign which led to petitions with hundreds of signatures urging Radio York to bring back the Dr Rock good time party music and entertainment programme which was such a feature of local weekend listening.

Charles White (Dr Rock) says: "It's great to be back! I couldn't believe the reaction to my programme being withdrawn. I had phone calls, letters, e-mails and faxes from all over the county. It got so frenzied that I had to step in to stop protesters marching on Radio York!

"The grounds of 'poor listening figures' given for stopping my programme made no sense to me as I had been congratulated by the station editor only a few months earlier for more than doubling my audience in a year. The letter said: 'I am greatly encouraged by these figures, which also reflect a healthy audience for the repeat slot. This is excellent news!'

"Now I want to thank all the people who supported me and I pledge to carry on bringing great music to the air and encouraging local musical talent."

Dr Rock's fame seems to know no bounds. The Yorkshire Coast College's department of Art, Design, Media and Performing Arts now has an annual Doctor award (really called The Charles White Trophy, for advanced media, communications and production) in the shape of a microphone, for their best student in these disciplines.

It was recently won by Mark Buckingham who was "gobsmacked" at winning this prestigious award.

Turn on, tune in to BBC Radio York tonight and give your lugs a treat.

A call to GNER in York to book tickets to London uncovered an amazing insight into our capital's newest attractions.

When our caller from Old Malton had finished sorting the tickets, a conversation about her day out ensued.

Planning to visit the Millennium Wheel - the London Eye near the Houses of Parliament - the caller asked the GNER operative where to get tickets and was told to ring the Millennium Dome down river at Greenwich.

"Why?" asked our caller.

"Because the Wheel is on top of the Dome," she replied. "I nearly fell off my chair" was our caller's response.

I'm not surprised.

MY blood ran cold when I heard the latest deeds of a High Court judge.

I much prefer the men and women in red to keep their wigs on, stay in court, so I know where they are and how to avoid them.

But this High Court judge was seen leaving the County Court in Piccadilly and walking on foot to lunch with the High Sheriff at York Crown Court.

He even shooed his official car on ahead so he could get a little exercise.

The very idea that Turpin could meet one of these implacable enemies just by walking down the street is appalling.

For pity's sake, why can't he use his chauffeur-driven limousine like any other VIP, such as Deputy Prime Minister Two Jags John Prescott?

TURPIN fan Sylvia Rooke recently posed the question: "Who is the longest-serving landlord or landlady within the city walls?"

Tim Hornsby of the Fibbers group thinks he may be in the running.

Tim 'he-mailed' me with this: "I have been a city centre licensee for just short of 18 unbroken years, more than 12 of those have been spent in York city centre since April 1988. That's probably not long enough to win, but it's quite long enough in the city centre... thank you very much!"

PICTURE: Roly Smith, back, and Ian Stuart, at the men's creche at Coffee Espress, Goodramgate, York