Who’s fit to wear the shirt?

11:16am Monday 10th March 2008

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FOOTBALL analogies are rife in politics.

Councillors and MPs are regularly accused of "moving the goalposts", debating issues as if they were "political footballs" and such like.

But now our local representatives have ditched the metaphors and gone for the real thing, by setting up a City of York Council football team, at the new PlayFootball complex at Clifton Moor.

Alas cross-party unity is rather thin on the ground, meaning the team is almost all Lib Dems - and has been duly dubbed the Yellow Birds.

Sole Labour man Paul Blanchard jokes: "I was worried about joining the Lib-Dem football team, because their record at the Guildhall suggest they'd score loads of own goals.

"It's actually a lot of fun and I'm glad to take part. We started off as we meant to go on though by coming last in the competition on our first night. I would love to get a Labour Party team together to take them on actually, but if I left the Lib-Dem team would lose their best man, and I'm not sure I can do that to them."

The Diary can't help feeling that the team might be quite good down the centre and on the left. But with no Tories in the team, they could be a bit lacking on the right wing.

Relax - it's Frankie

TITTER ye not - we have serious news concerning one of York's greatest comic sons.

Frankie Howerd, whose rollercoaster television and film career spanned five decades, was born during a snowstorm in a two-up, two-down terraced house in Hartoft Street, on March 6, 1917.

The star of Up Pompeii died more than 15 years ago, but now a charitable trust has been set up in his honour to continue the good work the comedy legend began during his own lifetime.

Frankie's mother, Edith, worked at Rowntrees and he spent the first two years of his life in York, before his family moved to south east London.

Trust secretary Nigel Lincoln said: ""June Whitfield, Griff Rhys Jones, David Walliams and Rafe Spall have leapt at the chance to be patrons, and we are very grateful for their support."

The trust will administer and distribute donations from a variety of sources to help groups and individuals local to the late comedian's final home, Wavering Down House, in Somerset.

There will be an open-air fundraiser for the trust at the country house on Father's Day, Sunday, June 15, between 2pm and 6 pm. Abba and Queen tribute bands Abba 2 Bjorn Belief! and Kings of Queen will feature, supported by the North Somerset Youth Jazz Band. Tickets are £10 for adults, £5 for under-16s and free for under-fives, and can be bought by phoning 01934 732013 or going to www.frankiehowerdobetrust.org.