Archive

  • Terry's 'body blow'

    A SENIOR Cabinet Minister has declared Terry's decision to close its historic factory as a "body blow" for York The Leader of the House of Commons, Peter Hain, told MPs: "It is a very serious situation with the job losses - it is a body blow." York MP

  • Way we were

    Friday, April 23, 2004 100 years ago: According to columnist TT, "we are altogether too mealy-mouthed with regard to correcting children." He believed that a cane had a "marvellous" moral influence. His comments were prompted by the recent drowning of

  • GNER cancellations buck trend

    GNER managed to buck the national trend last year by reducing the number of cancelled trains, it was revealed today. Research carried out by the Liberal Democrats revealed the York-based train operator cancelled 457 services in the first nine months of

  • Rail boss fires salvo at Byers

    RAILTRACK chairman John Robinson has delivered a vicious assault on the Government, launching a salvo of criticism over its handling of the company's demise. Speaking among the proudest remnants of Britain's railway history at the National Railway Museum

  • GNER gives warning over new trains

    THE dream of faster and more comfortable trains to London will be put on hold until 2006. GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett has revealed no new trains will be introduced on the East Coast Main Line until 2006 because the company was only granted

  • Top rail adviser backed GNER

    THE Government's most senior rail adviser has re-ignited the East Coast Main Line franchise controversy by revealing that Ministers repeatedly ignored his recommendation that GNER should be given a 20-year deal. Sir Alistair Morton, chairman of the Strategic

  • Fuming and frustrated

    ANGRY MPs and passengers today condemned a "scandalous" Government decision to extend GNER's franchise by only two years. Transport Secretary Stephen Byers went against the Strategic Rail Authority's recommendations for either GNER or Virgin or GNER to

  • GNER wins two year rail deal

    Transport Secretary Stephen Byers today extended the GNER franchise by two years, until April 2005. But, in a statement to the Stock Exchange at 3.30pm, Mr Byers said: "I regret that the process to negotiate a new 20-year deal has not proved successful

  • Trains franchise decision in days

    MINISTERS have pledged to announce the winner of the drawn-out battle for the East Coast Mainline franchise within two weeks. Last week, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers insisted he was still weighing up the submissions from GNER and Virgin. Parliament

  • Iraqis 'will fight for their country'

    HUMAN shield Antoinette McCormick, speaking from war-torn Baghdad today, said the message to her from ordinary Iraqis had been: "We hate Bush, but we love Americans." She believes they will resist when the Allies try to take Baghdad. "There is a strong

  • British soldiers missing in Iraq

    TWO British soldiers are missing in southern Iraq, and several US marines have been killed in fighting around the city of Nasiriyah, in what has been described as the toughest day so far in the war in the Gulf. The Ministry of Defence would give no details

  • Muslims at cathedral

    DOZENS of members of two different faiths came together to pray for peace at a North Yorkshire cathedral. Muslims and Christians joined together at Ripon Cathedral to take part in prayer and silent thought on the ongoing conflict in Iraq. About 50 Muslims

  • Road reopens

    YORK'S traffic nightmare eased today when Cemetery Road reopened to vehicles. The road had been closed for more than four weeks while engineers carried out major repairs to a collapsed sewer. Rush-hour traffic in the Fishergate area has been extremely

  • Huge demo at 'spy base'

    THIRTEEN people were arrested during the biggest protest seen at a North Yorkshire "spy base" in 20 years. Police said "a tiny minority" got involved in trouble when more than 1,000 demonstrators converged on the Menwith Hill base, near Harrogate. Three

  • Your A64 ideas get go-ahead

    ROAD bosses are to adopt traffic chaos solutions put forward by Evening Press readers to help solve the A64 roadworks chaos. Highways Agency chiefs revealed today that they will create an extra lane approaching works on the westbound carriageway of the

  • Press lobbies roads meeting

    THE Evening Press today took its campaign to Get York Moving to a crucial meeting of highways bosses. Copies of last night's Evening Press, with its uncompromising headline: York Cannot Take Much More Of This, were hand-delivered to officials arriving

  • Seven die as Sea Kings crash

    SEVEN British servicemen aboard two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters died in a mid-air collision during action in the war on Iraq. The collision was said to have happened accidentally above international Gulf waters as British and American forces took

  • Sort this mess out NOW!

    THE Evening Press today issues an urgent plea to highways bosses: Get York Moving. The A64 roadworks at Copmanthorpe have led to rush-hour chaos on the dual carriageway and across the city in recent weeks, trapping commuters, shoppers and tourists in

  • Peace movement gathers pace in York

    ANTI-war protesters daubed red paint on York's Mansion House and other council buildings to symbolise the blood of those being bombed in Iraq. Members of the York Painters for Peace squirted the removable paint on the steps of the Lord Mayor's official

  • Iraqi fears for his relations

    AN IRAQI living in North Yorkshire was desperately trying to contact his family in Baghdad after Friday night's intense bombardment of the capital. Hadi Chiad, who has three sisters living in Baghdad, said he watched the allied onslaught on TV with growing

  • Service for the troops

    EX-SERVICEMEN and women are urging York residents not to forget troops fighting in the Gulf. They are inviting people to take part in a special church service aimed at honouring troops, and are asking that political arguments surrounding the war are not

  • Dame Judi's peace plea

    YORK-BORN actress Dame Judi Dench is taking centre stage on Sunday night at a Concert For Peace. Dame Judi, who was made an Honorary Freeman of her home city last year, will join stars of opera, theatre, ballet, comedy, music and literature on stage at

  • Troops may enter Bagdad by Monday

    BRITISH and American troops may enter Baghdad by Monday, a British military official revealed today. Group Captain Al Lockwood said he hoped Allied Forces would be in the Iraqi capital within the next three or four days. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

  • Dunnington remain the team to beat

    HAVING completed a hat-trick of league titles, Dunnington are the firm favourites to extend their domination of the Hunters York and District Senior League as they will again have a star-studded line-up on show. Collis King continues to skipper the side

  • Peace marchers in bridge blockade

    TRAFFIC was brought to a standstill in the centre of York last night as peace protesters occupied Ouse Bridge and Museum Street. About 300 people took to the streets following a rally at St Sampson's Square to express their outrage at the war with Iraq

  • College students thrown off campus

    YORK College students were thrown off campus as they tried to gather support for their anti-war protest, sparking a row between college management and staff. According to student Oli Wilson, 19, the 20-strong group was told to leave the Tadcaster Road

  • Barbican deal is best

    WITH reference to Mr Waite's letter concerning the Barbican (April 20), the deal with Absolute Leisure to run the centre is a good one for the city's council taxpayers. It was tested in open competition and represented the best of 11 bids received. It

  • War claims its first British casualties

    THE war against Iraq claimed its first British casualties early today when a helicopter crashed in the Kuwaiti desert. The tragedy occurred as American and British forces drove into Iraq, attacking by "air, land and sea". British Royal Marines were said

  • Pay up - or else

    I AM writing in response to Jeremy Banyard's letter in which he asserts his intention not to pay his full council tax this year (April 13). I would remind Mr Banyard and anyone else who may be considering such a course of action that it is illegal. Individuals

  • Wondrous Oblivion, Running time: 106 mins Certificate: PG

    IT would have been easier, if cheesier, to call it Just Not Cricket but writer-director Paul Morriosn wanted to catch a state of mind. Wondrous Oblivion does not suggest cricket, much like Mark Herman's Purely Belter did not suggest football fanaticism

  • Terry's of where?

    IT was always said that York was good for cyclists because it is such a flat city. With all the development taking place, perhaps it should be renamed Flat City. The developers are now circling like vultures over a dying beast, fighting each other for

  • York's opinion on war divided

    Opinion on the outbreak of war were divided in York today. Debra Anderson, 22, of Strensall, York, said: "I'm disgusted, I don't want this war to go ahead. Over the past couple of days I think they have proven it is all just about oil, and is purely money-orientated

  • Iraqi missiles hit Kuwait

    Two Iraqi missiles this morning hit northern Kuwait, according to the official Kuwaiti news agency. Experts in bio-chemical suits were said to be examining the blast sites. Updated: 09:13 Thursday, March 20, 2003

  • Pupils stage anti-war protest

    Police were called to a York school after hundreds of students protesting against war with Iraq spilled out onto a city street. Four pupils aged between 14 and 16 have been excluded from Joseph Rowntree School for two days for "inappropriate behaviour

  • Labour Labour members burn their cards

    THE Labour Party is today at least three members lighter after three York stalwarts burned their membership cards in response to war in Iraq. Gordon Campbell-Thomas and Mick and Sue Hoban said they could not support UK military action without UN backing

  • Lord Mayor offers support

    The Lord Mayor of York today offered his full support to the servicemen and women from the city who are out in the Gulf. Coun David Horton said "I and the whole of the Civic Party would offer our support to the men and women who are out there, particularly

  • Home Office issues 'preventative steps'

    THE Home Office has set out "simple preventative steps" - like stocking up on bottled water and tinned food - that people should take to guard themselves against possible terror attacks in this country. Though officials say there is currently "no information

  • Let it snow...

    GEORGE WILKINSON braves the snow to rediscover the joys of winter walking. SNOW - or 'snow shock' as the headlines proclaim - and with it came personal fury that I hadn't managed to organise proper all-weather mobility. The new (nearly new) car wouldn't

  • Toast the coast

    George Wilkinson heads to Robin Hood's Bay for a bracing New Year walk. HAPPY New Year all. Here's a walk from Robin Hood's Bay for a hard January day when a minimum of the other half million visitors per annum are of the same mind. The station car park

  • A classy common

    GEORGE WILKINSON leads us on a Boxing Day walk where the animals take the scenery - and the walkers - in their stride Friday the 13th we walked a route selected for Boxing Day, but superstition ran like rain off waterproofed backs, and we had a super

  • Head for the hills

    GEORGE WILKINSON makes the most of some winter sunshine and enjoys the breathtaking views from the Cleveland Hills The Cleveland Hills sharpened up in watery sunshine and we were delighted to abandon plan B - low level from Guisborough Priory. Crossing

  • Walk in the park

    GEORGE WILKINSON heads to Fountains Abbey for a wander round a World Heritage Site. FOUNTAINS Abbey and the adjacent landscaped water gardens at Studley Royal are a World Heritage Site, fabulous and a real must. If you haven't visited them already then

  • Hidden away

    George Wilkinson heads out across Hamer Moor ROSEDALE Abbey deep in the North York Moors is ever so popular. Nearby, tucked away a mile or so to the east, hidden in a roll of moor, is a quite secret and nameless valley. Well, one we had never explored

  • Going flat out

    My GARDEN rain gauge was brimming, so we decided to walk on sand. Our choice was Allerthorpe, in the Vale of York, and a drive of a dozen miles from the city on one-time Roman road. We left the pleasant village for a farm track through very flat farmlands

  • To the woods

    Grewelthorpe is a nice village near Ripon, and near the quite gruelling but enchanting Hack Fall Woods, which were a popular and picturesque tourist attraction in the 18th and 19th centuries and apparently featured in all the best guides. We left Grewelthorpe

  • Oh, by Esk

    GEORGE WILKINSON takes a brisk walk by the sparkling River Esk then heads out on to the moors on a gloriously crisp, clear day Iwondered if the car park at Egton Bridge was ever blessed with any North York Moors sunshine. The village huddles deep in the

  • Spuds you hike

    GEORGE WILKINSON witnesses the potato harvest near the village of Scackleton. THE village of Scackleton is long and linear, with two pumps, shaggy sheep, a pond and a hint of an ancient moat. It lies bang in the middle of the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding

  • Forever autumn

    George Wilkinson enjoys an Indian Summer walk in Arkengarthdale. This is the last of my three walks in Arkengarthdale, a place I can recommend. The dale is a distance from York, that's why I did it in a midweek-break/saver fashion. Three days of glorious

  • Bubbling beck

    GEORGE WILKINSON experiences stoat encounters of the furred kind in Arkengarthdale. Arkengarthdale was peaceful, we were at Whaw in the sunshine morning, nothing made a sound and nothing moved except a pair of stoats that scampered on the verge. A mile

  • On Ilkley Moor

    Ilkley is one of the most elegant towns in England, a former spa town that has retained the dignified air that would have once attracted the wealthiest people to this "heather spa" in search of a cure during the Victorian and Edwardian era. However, there

  • Deep purple haze

    FOR perhaps a final fix of the purple heather this season we took ourselves off to Hawnby Moor. North we walked, three abreast, a mile and a half along a dusty track that penetrates and bisects the moor. Part of the territory looks fortified by turret-like

  • Golden harvest

    We came into Huggate on York Lane and left a landscape burnished in the harvest time heat for the cool of the Wolds Inn at noon. Thereby "mad dogs and Englishmen" were delayed a while, and it was hot, more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Huggate is a low

  • Heather and yon

    THE landscape backdrop to today's walk is purple heather. The political backdrop is a huge and hugely successful public access arrangement. The land at Bolton Abbey is owned by the Duke of Devonshire who this year publicly apologised for the treatment

  • Moor downpour

    IT was tanking down on the North York Moors, stair rods. A lonely long-distance runner splashed past the car park on the edge of Wykeham Forest, everyone else was sensibly indoors, we tried to get our waterproofs on without a soaking. Then came some hanging

  • Foamy walk

    GEORGE WILKINSON meets the black-painted Darlington Mummers on his way to a waterfall that inspired Turner We pulled up outside the Green Man just as the black-painted Darlington Mummers boarded their coach. Folk festivals, for this was one - the inaugural

  • Plover and out

    J B Priestley wrote in his English Journey: 'We reached Buckden, towards the head of the Dale, and a notable goal for Bradfordians, who have emptied the barrels at the inn there many a time...'. Seventy years later there were 30 cars in the Upper Wharfedale

  • Floods money is slashed

    VITAL work to keep North Yorkshire roads and properties free from flooding has been placed in doubt after plans emerged to slash county council funding for the work of the environment department. Environment chiefs at North Yorkshire County Council are

  • £1m to bolster flood defences

    FLOOD defence chiefs have approved urgent repairs costing more than £1 million to three damaged defences in Yorkshire. The decision came as the Environment Agency revealed that walls, embankments, pumping stations and other protective measures prevented

  • Phew, it's a knockout scorcher for Mark

    A FIGHTING friend inspired Mark Williams to deliver a knockout punch to land the PowerHouse UK Snooker Championship in a toe-to-toe battle which went the full distance at York's Barbican Centre. After capturing his first title in Britain for 26 months

  • Hambleton amble

    WE DROVE to the North York Moors Sutton Bank Visitors Centre and then along the dead straight Cleveland Road to where its Tarmac stops and it becomes the famous Hambleton Road. Here there are arrows for cycle trails - '12 miles, highly technical', 'seven

  • York lobby for floods funds

    COUNCILLORS in York are set to lobby the Government for millions of pounds in order to protect the city against flooding. A notional programme of works, which will cost in excess of £11 million, has been identified by City of York Council in an independent

  • Urgent flood repairs get go-ahead

    URGENT repairs to York's flood defences can now go ahead, after the region's flood chiefs approved a ten per cent increase in the local authority levy. As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Press, the way above inflation increase was agreed

  • Cloud cover

    George Wilkinson goes in and out of cloud as he walks on Thimbleby Moor above Osmotherley WE sat in the car on Thimbleby Moor above Osmotherley as the rain lashed the windscreen. Cloud at one thousand foot smeared out the top of Black Hambleton, the nearest

  • Flood victims may get relief on council tax

    FLOOD victims who are unable to live in their homes could soon be entitled to reduced Council Tax bills. Ministers have announced plans to give councils across North Yorkshire discretionary powers to reduce bills. Unless all the furniture has been removed

  • Cue queen's agony

    THE future of the world's best woman snooker player could be in doubt, she admitted in York this week after playing through pain to retain her UK title. Kelly Fisher, the 24-year-old four-times world champion from Carlisle, was in so much pain on the

  • Dogged by George

    Saltmarshe is a hamlet on the Yorkshire side of the River Ouse about five miles upstream of the Humber Estuary. We visited because Mr Ayre from Elvington, an Evening Press reader, sent in a tempting route. Thank you, we enjoyed the walk very much. The

  • Reds alert

    YORK CITY midfielder Lee Bullock collected a snooker cue for winning the man of the match award in the FA Cup game against Brentford last Saturday. Bullock scored the City goal and gave a solid display as the Minstermen just failed to overcome the Second

  • Welcome diversion

    Kettlewell was as lovely as ever except for a migration of caravans and a pipeline. Rain was forecast from the west, there was a dusting of snow on Great Whernside and we had barely set off down Lovers Lane by the sparkling River Wharfe when, late in

  • Wait and see

    Today's walk could have been made for the Moorsbus Service. A short ride from Helmsley takes you to the top of Newgate Bank in Bilsdale and then you can walk back to the town over moors and through the bluebell valley of Riccal Dale using newly designated

  • MP wades into flood defence debate

    ONE year on from the flooding which devastated North Yorkshire, an MP revealed today he is pressing for a major change in the way flood defences are funded. York MP Hugh Bayley said he wanted regional flood committees to have the powers to set precepts

  • Wolds winner

    George Wilkinson discovers an unmissable walk in the Wolds THIS is a wonderful Wolds walk, one of the best I have done. We started at Fordon which is a farm, a mini church, a house or two, that's all, a hamlet at the junction of North Dale, East Dale

  • MPs push for flood defence cash

    MPs Hugh Bayley and Anne McIntosh have secured a Ministerial meeting to discuss the need for millions of pounds of flood defence work in North Yorkshire. Floods Minister Elliot Morley agreed to face-to-face talks after being pressed by the MPs in a Commons

  • Sad 'Rocket' fizzles out

    DETHRONED champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is locking his cue away till next year after his shock exit from the PowerHouse UK Snooker Championship in York. Far from living up to his nickname of 'The Rocket' he played more like a damp squib as he tamely surrendered

  • Flood defence bill may be £11m

    DEFENDING York against future flooding could cost as much as £11 million - and the Environment Agency admits such funding may be difficult to secure. The agency's calculations emerged as Yorkshire householders were warned today they may need to stump

  • Flood warning issued in York

    TWO flood warnings have been issued on the River Ouse at York and Naburn today following more heavy rainfall. The Environment Agency (EA) has released the warnings for the Ouse between Clifton Bridge and Fulford and at Naburn Lock. But a spokeswoman,

  • Brothers get top tips from Ronnie

    TWO York brothers will be appearing on television with their snooker hero during the BBC's coverage of the PowerHouse UK Championship. Steven and Lee Gregson, from Stockton on the Forest, spent two hours at the Cueball Club in James Street, getting coaching

  • Further moor

    VICTORIA Ellis recently did an Evening Press walk on the North York Moors near the Hole of Horcum. There has been a fuss about it. A walker has phoned the paper complaining that her party was turned off the route; farmers have phoned the paper complaining

  • Flood watch back in York

    MOTORISTS in York and North Yorkshire were being urged to drive carefully today after the region's roads were covered with debris and standing water by strong winds and rain. A spokesman for the Environment Agency said a Flood Watch was now in place in

  • Anti-flood measures on show

    HUNDREDS of North Yorkshire residents turned up to an event aimed at helping them shore up their defences against flooding. Led by North Yorkshire County Council, the "flood fair" saw more than 40 exhibitors displaying products aimed at protecting homes

  • Gloves off for election

    THE gloves came off today in Selby's local election campaign as the Labour and Conservative Parties launched their manifestos. The district council's Labour group vowed to tackle anti-social behaviour, while the Tories pledged to crack down on council

  • Room for all

    There were streaks of snow on the colder slopes of the Cleveland Hills but in Great Ayton, ice cream consumption continued institutionally at Suggitts' caf. Visitors to this famous refuelling stop looked out over the River Leven; hard core cyclists slurped

  • Tony Blair gets a grille-ing at last

    HISTORY was made in the House of Commons this week, and not just by Tony Blair admitting he'd got something wrong. MPs met for the first time behind a giant security screen. The idea behind the grille - which stretches from behind the first three rows

  • Hustings session hailed a success

    CURRENT and would-be councillors who braved York's voters of the future at a lively question and answer session today hailed the event a success. The Evening Press organised session, or hustings, was held at Oaklands School, Acomb. It saw a group of Year

  • All white now

    GEORGE WILKINSON is back on his feet and makes the most of a late-winter snowfall Snow, a rare treat, and to make the most of it, to avoid any chance of slush, we changed our plan, from the gentle hills around Coxwold to the high ground of Bransdale.

  • Minster's window of opportunity

    YORK Minster is to be seen in a new light - thanks to some high-tech photographs. York firm Skycell has used its unique Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to take more than 800 photographs of the cathedral's 14th century stained glass windows. The UAVs,

  • 'It's time to dump council dinosaurs'

    A GROUP of independently-minded York election candidates today urged voters to "dump the dinosaurs" - and vote Independent. Les Marsh, spokesman for the Clifton-based Independent group, says that two decades of Labour council rule have left York ready

  • Take it easy

    You may think that travelling to Hawes deep into Wensleydale for a three-mile toddle is a long way to drive for a short walk. We had our reasons. One, we wanted a look at the Dales Countryside Museum which is showing an exhibition called Tracks In Time

  • Nibbles, no quibbles

    THOSE who organise "Intros" have been converted to the idea. Marion Moore, parent support worker with Family Matters, who has run Bitesize sessions in York, said: "York City Council emailed all their employees and we had two very successful Intros - one

  • Rough ride over humps

    ROAD humps, crime and congestion charges were all on the agenda when voters of the future grilled politicians of the present at a York school election hustings event. The Evening Press-organised question-and-answer session, was held at Oaklands School

  • Take the old road

    Victoria Ellis enjoys a smashing walk on a newly discovered track If you have driven the Pickering to Whitby road you might have noticed enticing countryside in the northeast quarter about a mile before you reach the Hole of Horcum. The latest edition

  • Battle for York

    With the local elections looming, the scramble for your votes is hotting up. The three main City of York party leaders explain why you should choose them... Dave Merrett, Labour Running a successful council requires a broad vision, local focus and determination

  • Riverside ramble from Burnsall

    The path we fancied near Grassington was still closed. So we decamped a mile or two down Wharfedale and settled on the village of Burnsall, which Wainwright described in 1991 as 'neat and compact... well endowed with nature and a lovely riverside setting

  • Walk in the woods

    We took a random route to Pickering Castle turning uphill at the North York Moors Railway station, up through the slopes of old terraced houses. I noticed three stones named Ellis in a Quaker graveyard, a pleasant place to lie, eternity with a view. The

  • Hungry work

    VICTORIA ELLIS works up an appetite after walking in Coverdale. (Please note that since this article was written on the 19th January the pub has re-opened and a warm welcome awaits you!) Carlton in Coverdale was bright, sunny and quiet on Saturday morning

  • Mist opportunity

    MORE in hope than with judgement, we set off in the fog on Saturday morning to the Wolds for some valley wandering. A phone call to a publican had given some cause for optimism about the weather not being 'too bad'. With hindsight I think my phone call

  • Full steam ahead

    VICTORIA ELLIS suggests the perfect walk for Boxing Day to help clear away the post-Christmas cobwebs This is a walk for Boxing Day, and has the following characteristics - easy strolling, pubs at the start/finish and halfway round, simple navigation

  • Water world

    York's Place Research Centre published a booklet last month called A Guide To The Wetland Heritage Of the Vale Of Pickering. I just had to go out and have a look and chose the carrs and ings (one-time marshlands, reedswamps or whatever) south of West

  • Battle of the Bands

    THE Secret Panel vote was split but the audience vote tipped the balance in favour of Tip The Balance in Heat 12 of Round One of the Fibbers/Evening Press Battle Of The Bands this week. The runner-up, She's Not Dead, also qualified for Round Two with

  • Step into winter

    When we got to Broxa Forest on the North York Moors it was typically wet, gloomy and misty winter weather, so no views from the bench. So we slipped straight into a larch wood and then soon found a nice sunken track through Silpho Moor with beech and

  • Black Tie And Tales, York Theatre Royal, April 29-30

    THE companion piece, Screaming Blue Murder, has already issued its death rattle at the Grand Opera House in February. Hull Truck Theatre returns to York next week to reveal what else happened at the Bagley Hall hotel on that fateful night in Black Tie

  • Low down

    VICTORIA ELLIS takes a gentle stroll through the lowlands surrounding Brearton Brearton is surrounded by Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Ripon and Harrogate, the closest about three cross-country miles away. But the little village is tucked away from the

  • Hot Club Of Cowtown, National Centre For Early Music, April 29

    YOU may have seen the Hot Club Of Cowtown on Later With Jools Holland last October, a performance Jools so enjoyed that he duly engaged them for his Hootenanny show on New Year's Eve. This spring, the western swing revival trio from Austin, Texas, are

  • Jazz notes

    PETER King is one of the world's greatest star soloists, whether appearing with the stellar big bands of Ray Charles, John Dankworth or Colin Towns, or fronting smaller groups. When Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts decided to put together a small

  • In days of Hold

    Hold Caldron is one of my sweetest childhood haunts. Arriving here has a magic, as the quiet back road twists round a corner and suddenly dips steep into another world, and then stops at the bottom, deep in a lovely valley, at a stone bridge over a river

  • Setting the scene for success in 2001

    THERE has been a massive leap in imagineering and next year it will be even greater. This is the fourth year since Production Imagineers Ltd, of Elvington, began trading. Now its order book for creating interior themes, theatre sets, scenic backdrops,

  • On the road with mobile Net link

    CONVERGENT Telecom Limited, which, with 225 staff, is one of the biggest employers in Pocklington, is setting its sights on the Innovative Use of New Technology Award. Tony Farmer, chief executive, believes that his firm's latest product, SmartLinx is

  • Victoria falls

    Victoria Ellis discovers a mobile phone is an essential piece of kit for lone walkers There were walkers about but the goose presiding over West Ayton's village green was hardly welcoming, very protective and advancing with lots of hissing. I gave a bit

  • Just Swale

    GEORGE WILKINSON stretches his legs before an appointment with the surgeon's table... If you drive the road from Thirsk to Ripon you will have been stopped at the start of this walk by the traffic lights on the bridge over the river at Skipton-on-Swale

  • Fast track to skills accolade

    IT took only ten weeks for rapidly expanding e-commerce firm Management Services 2000 Ltd of York (MS2M) to attain the Investors in People standard. The speed was an expression of a philosophy that has always existed at MS2M - that if you support and

  • Back on track

    George Wilkinson hits the trail again, for a moorland walk among the heather. Regular readers will have noticed that a couple of weeks ago the paper described me as 'incapacitated' (much to the amusement of my friends) and Victoria Ellis has kindly done

  • Sheppee International Ltd

    SHEPPEE International Ltd, the Elvington firm with a lotta bottle was last year's Exporter Of The Year. Can it do the double? In spite of the strength of sterling, its exports of engineered products for the hot glass container industry all over the world

  • Coasting along

    Victoria Ellis takes in the views on a walk along the coast from Scarborough. The car park took a bit of finding, being curiously unsigned, but when I pulled up it would have been worth the drive just to sit there and enjoy the views of Scarborough Castle

  • Colour purple

    VICTORIA ELLIS temporarily takes over from George Wilkinson, who is incapacitated, and leads a walk to Cawthorne. Cawthorne Camp on a midweek morning was busy with walkers and dog walkers and lorries delivering topsoil. In the first century you might

  • Healing Clinic, York

    APPLYING feng shui, the ancient art of positioning furniture to create a more harmonious flow of chi, or energy, helped to boost turnover at the Healing Clinic in York tenfold. That is the claim of June Tranmer, founder-proprietor the natural health centre

  • The Swallow Hotel, York

    WHERE one Swallow usually makes a summer this time it made a Marriott and heralded the start of the BAM busters. Explanation: The Swallow Hotel, York, became part of the Marriott International Hotel group with a York Marriott branding in June - and that

  • It's a family affair at Lesley's estate agency

    IT'S tough starting out in the crowded estate agency business, even in boomtime. No one knew that better than Lesley Beattie who, having closed one chapter of her life as founder of Friends Estate Agency in York, opened another with Quantum last November

  • Inspiring lessons from animal feed supplier

    ALL those starting out on the hard, but rewarding road to exports, can learn inspiring lessons from Norfeed UK Ltd. The Boroughbridge supplier of nutritional and technical animal feed ingredients has just one family working against the challenges of BSE

  • Roman around

    George Wilkinson discovers a walk full of interest through Roman remains at Malton. Today we have a super little easy wander, chock-a-block with interest, straight out from the market town of Malton. Derventio, a Roman fort site, makes a good start. Once

  • Big is beautiful for York housebuilder

    ENTRANTS in the Evening Press Business of the Year 2001 do not come much bigger than Persimmon plc, the York-based housebuilder which boasts 4,453 employees nationally. And not one of them would be surprised that the firm, which is based at Persimmon

  • Couple's talents go to waste

    SHEY were finalists in last year's tough category for Best Environmental Company - and this time Chris and Christine Dennis justifiably expect their Tadcaster business, Waste To Compost to be up there among this year's leaders. The couple used to count

  • Bright future for Past Forward

    TIME machines, it seems, are big business. Past Forward Limited, the York exhibition-maker which uses 21st century techniques to transport us all into history, proves the point. Its reputation for interpreting history using the latest multi-media techniques

  • No compromise for recruitment firm

    A NO-COMPROMISE yet empathetic approach to recruitment is paying dividends for York-based executive search specialist Beresford Kane Associates, which is pitching to win the Evening Press Small Business of the Year category. Since Steven Matsell and Maura

  • Hunter Gee & Holroyd

    AS an organisation which specialises in business development advice it is worth heeding what Hunter Gee & Holroyd, the York chartered accountancy firm has been doing to collectively involve its own staff in making major changes and improvements. All

  • Banking on play

    AFTER only a few months, Barbara Birdsall and Kate Willink set up a rival bank to their downstairs neighbours, Barclays, at Easingwold. But Barclays did not mind - in fact it co-operated by creating the organisation's own logo stamp. It was less a case

  • Spicing up contest

    SALEEM AKHTAR, the man who has built up an expanding chain of Asian restaurants across the region, is spicing up the Evening Press Business Awards. As leader of a family business of eight restaurants and takeaways in York, Harrogate, Flaxton and Bradford

  • Courses revered

    NEARLY three years ago when Maureen Ryan, then aged 53, was suddenly, shockingly, made redundant she promised herself that from now on she would never work at anything she did not enjoy. So, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, she began Phoenix Training

  • Growth title is the goal for turf firm

    IF the turf at St James's Park football pitch in Newcastle now becomes hallowed as a result of England's 2 - 0 victory over the Albanians in this week's World Cup qualifier, then give thanks to an East Riding turfmaker. The ground, as with the late and

  • Burn and Company

    A LOT of time, effort and money has gone into making Burn & Company, the York solicitors and business practice, a "people first" organisation. That is why the practice is entering the Progress Through People category in the Evening Press Business

  • Firm that changed skyline of York joins race for our awards

    FEW organisations could have had more of an impact on York than the 127-year-old firm of family builders, William Birch & Son. Time and again it has changed the skyline of the city and beyond with its new schools, factories, churches, houses and shops

  • A great achievement

    Workers laboured into the early hours to make sure York awoke to see its Millennium Bridge proudly in position. The river reopened after a 30-hour closure at 6am, with the new 310-ton bridge secured three hours earlier. After a meticulous operation the

  • 'Slow but sure' bridge in place

    Anticipation was written on the faces of Millennium Bridge watchers as they squinted in the autumn sun and waited...and waited...and waited for York's new superstructure to glide in to place. The engineers never promised it would be a fast show, and even

  • Millennium Bridge edges across river

    The waiting is over. Three years in the making - and much longer in development - York's new Millennium Bridge finally glided majestically into place over the River Ouse today. An army of proud engineers, designers and construction workers rubbed shoulders

  • Bridge of sighs as downpour sinks big day

    YORK'S Millennium Bridge has 'fallen' victim to October's heavy downpours. Heavy rain, a week's worth falling yesterday alone, and a 'flood watch' now in force, scuppered plans to launch the bridge tomorrow because the River Ouse is becoming too swollen

  • Guard duty for Pikes

    Pickering Town boss Steve Brown has given up on the Northern Counties East League premier division title race but says his side need to stay focused to avoid further disappointment. The fourth-placed Pikes lost 1-0 at Harrogate Railway on Wednesday to

  • St Oswald's are Moor the merrier

    YOUTH rugby in York is making giant steps to keep up with the big boys. The York International 9s competition saw little brother being played out alongside the Fairfax Cup - the Marston Moor Cup. Young rugby players, both boys and girls, from nine primary

  • Ironsides test mettle

    YORK IRONSIDES player-coach Brendan Carlyle reckons he has a squad good enough to win the York International 9s this weekend. Carlyle - player-coach of Heworth ARLC, where the tournament will be played tomorrow and Sunday - announced his line-up last

  • New bridge still causing problems

    FRESH problems are dogging York's Millennium Bridge, with council chiefs admitting that they have no idea what is causing cracks on the walkway. In the latest of a series of problems to hit the £4.2 million project, parts of the bridge have been fenced

  • Police say bridge is a 'nuisance'

    IT WAS meant to be a monument to civic pride in the new century ... but police today admitted the Millennium Bridge site is now a major nuisance. York-based Chief Inspector Andy Bell spoke out as high temperatures prompted many youngsters to congregate

  • Duke to view York's new bridge

    The Duke of York will give York's Millennium Bridge the royal seal of approval when he visits later this month, City of York Council revealed today. The Duke has accepted the council's invitation to visit the £4.2m bridge project during a trip to York

  • Cracks on city's new bridge

    Walkers and cyclists were reassured today that York's Millennium Bridge is safe to use after cracks appeared on the pathway. City of York Council said the network of jagged lines in the asphalt surface had been caused by someone apparently driving a Transit

  • Bridge floodlights not such a bright idea

    YORK'S shiny new Millennium Bridge may have opened in a blaze of publicity this week, but residents living nearby think its glaring night-time lights are not such a bright idea. Anne Tracy, a teacher at All Saints School, who lives in Finsbury Avenue

  • Bridging the divide

    Two communities from either side of the Ouse were united today with the opening of York's Millennium Bridge. Residents from the Fulford Road and Fishergate area met up on the crossing with their counterparts from the South Bank and Bishopthorpe Road district

  • Time to honour our local heroes

    THE Evening Press and City of York Council have launched a major new campaign, to seek the real heroes in our community. In our York Community Pride campaign over the next few months we will be looking for people and businesses that have made an outstanding

  • Pride in our city

    TODAY'S campaign is running alongside the Evening Press-backed York Business Pride, a partnership between the council and the business community. Launched in November last year, the campaign encourages businesses to take responsibility for smartening

  • A golden weekend

    THE Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations in York got off to a cracking start with a weekend of colourful events in the city. Bunting, balloons and Union flags were draped across York as people came together to celebrate the Queen's 50 years on the throne

  • A golden chance

    YORK residents are grabbing a golden opportunity to celebrate 50 years of the Queen's reign this Bank Holiday weekend. People from York will be joining events in the city and around the country as the nation marks the historic occasion. Army veteran John

  • All you need... is a love of music

    The nation's biggest ever sing-song will take place when the Beatles' classic All You Need Is Love rings round the country on Monday. Following the success of the massed performance of Lou Reed's Perfect Day in 2000, Sir Paul McCartney has endorsed the

  • The Jubilee party

    JUBILEE Bank Holiday Monday is party day throughout the UK, and at the heart of the celebrations in North Yorkshire is BBC Music Live, bringing the music to the party. BBC North Yorkshire and City of York Council, the organisers of York Live 2002, are

  • Celebrations in York

    TEN years after the royal wedding, York was celebrating again. It was the city's 1,900th birthday, a wonderful reason for a year-long party. And the guests of honour were the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. York had organised hundreds of events scattered

  • Worth the long wait

    YORK had a long wait to see the Queen after her visit in 1988. The city did not host the sovereign during the Nineties, but that only heightened the sense of expectation when it was announced she would tour York on July 27, 2000. Cheering crowds greeted

  • A Minster wedding

    YORK was decorated with thousands of white roses for Yorkshire's biggest royal event in living memory. On June 8, 1961, Katharine Worsley from Hovingham Hall married the Duke of Kent in the Minster. The first royal wedding in York since 1328 was a magnificent

  • Right royal treat for York couple

    LUCKY couple Darren and Jayne King are in for a right royal weekend after winning tickets to one of the Queen's Jubilee garden parties at Buckingham Palace. Darren and Jayne, of Wigginton, York, won the pair of tickets by ringing a special telephone line

  • All in a Royal day

    The Queen's day follows a pattern reflecting her life of service. THE Queen's day begins at 7.30am when her maid brings morning tea. Two solid silver pots contain Earl Grey - the Queen's favourite brew - and hot water for a top-up. There is milk but no

  • Princess who became Queen

    SHE was not born to be Queen. Until her uncle's scandalous love affair rocked the monarchy, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was destined to spend her life a step removed from the heavy burdens of sovereignty. Her royal pedigree, however, could never be questioned

  • Shop's golden opportunity

    THE past came alive in a memorabilia shop which celebrated the Queen's Golden Jubilee. Staff at Past Times, in Castlegate, York, dressed in 1950s costumes and offered old-fashioned prices as they knocked ten per cent off everything that was bought. Customers

  • Salute super Severus

    Severus SC completed a prized John Smith's League and cup double with a brace of victories. They started with a 3-0 win over Derwent United courtesy of goals from Ducey, Lake and McShane. On the same night Marcia, one of their title rivals, could only

  • Town ready to light Jubilee touchpaper

    THE QUEEN'S Golden Jubilee is set to go off with a bang in Tadcaster with a grand fireworks display. The display will be the finale of four days of celebration in the town which will include a street fair, a tug-of-war and a Jubilee ball. The ball will

  • Leaflet on village toll road sparks row

    A PARISH leader has accused city council officers of employing arm-twisting tactics in a public consultation about radical plans to create York's first toll road. Coun Steve Kenwright, chairman of Fulford Parish Council, may report City of York Council

  • Army couple wed as war threatens

    A MILITARY couple brought their York wedding plans forward because of the increasing threat of war in the Gulf. Corporal Leah Sandys-Parsons, 28, is on 24-hour stand-by to be flown to the region within two weeks as a member of the Catterick-based Royal

  • Daughter's 'grand gesture' backed

    A YORK couple told today why they are backing their daughter's plans to become a human shield in Iraq. John and Mairi McCormick - who both served in the Second World War - say they do not believe an American attack on Iraq would be a just war. The couple

  • Concern as travellers return to park

    TRAVELLERS have returned to a York beauty spot. A group of up to 50 with a dozen caravans rolled on to Rawcliffe Country Park beside a busy Park&Ride site yesterday. Local councillor Mark Waudby warned there could be trouble looming. He predicted

  • Don't rush into war with Iraq, says MP

    YORK MP Hugh Bayley today urged Britain to stand against a gung-ho rush towards war with Iraq. He asked Prime Minister Tony Blair to avoid entering war through a misplaced loyalty to the United States. And, in an echo of the warning given by Cabinet "

  • MPs in terror check on York

    LEADING defence MPs are coming to North Yorkshire to assess the county's readiness amid growing tension over terrorism and a possible war against Iraq. Westminster's powerful Defence Select Committee is to visit the army's brigade headquarters at Imphal

  • Reserve troops 'to train in North Yorks'

    HUNDREDS of reservists could be sent to Strensall Barracks for medical training as part of military preparations for war with Iraq. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon was today expected to announce the mobilisation of 7,000 reservists, along with the deployment

  • Champ Steve to be freeman

    A SPECIAL ceremony is to take place on Thursday to make World Sidecar Champion Steve Webster an honorary freeman of York. York-born Steve was nominated for the distinction by Labour councillor Brian Watson. Steve, 44, who now lives at Easingwold, won

  • York's Reilly good partners

    SPIN doctors Dan Broadbent and Reilly O'Neill hope they have the winning prescription for York Cricket Club this season. Slow bowlers Broadbent and overseas player Jeetan Patel almost spun the Clifton Park outfit to the Yorkshire League title last season

  • Alive and kicking

    TEENAGE striker Adam Arthur is likely to make York City's bench at Doncaster on Saturday as Chris Brass turns to players with the club at heart. Arthur has impressed in recent reserve games and is set to be called up to the first-team squad for the crucial

  • Our boys are back in town

    YORK-BASED soldiers have returned to the city after serving in Iraq. The party of 40 soldiers from 2 Signals Regiment arrived at Imphal Barracks at 1am yesterday for a joyful reunion with their families and loved ones. They were among the first wave of

  • Entertaining the troops

    A GENEROUS gesture from a York music and video shop is helping entertain bored British soldiers on duty in the Gulf. Phil Clayton, customer focus manager at York's Virgin Megastore received an SOS call from Bombardier Graeme Clark, of the Catterick-based

  • Protesters make a point

    THESE young people from York took to the hills to make their point about the Iraqi war. The students at Bootham School are training for an expedition to the Moroccan Atlas mountains later this year. One of their training expeditions took them over the

  • Hope makes Easter plea on Iraq

    THE Archbishop of York has urged the international community to work together to bring about a civil and democratic society in Iraq after the suffering of war. But he has warned that the precedent set by Afghanistan after its liberation from the Taliban

  • York mime artist attacked in Syria

    YORK author and street entertainer Michael Mime is today back in Turkey after being assaulted, abused and threatened with death as he tried to enter Iraq. Michael, whose real name is Michael Todd, is trying to get into the war-torn country to trace his

  • Link up with pride squad

    TOO often our eyes are drawn to people who lack civic pride. The vandals, the yobs, the small, but aggravating, anti-social brigade. It is about time we turned the spotlight on those who really merit our attention. The army of residents who delight in

  • The fight for peace goes on

    Emily Mackay finds out why peace protesters camping near a York landmark plan to carry on opposing the situation in Iraq In the wake of the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad, the mood at the Millennium Bridge Rainbow Peace Camp, in York

  • Battle rages on banks of the River Tigris

    A FIERCE battle was said to be raging today on the banks of the River Tigris, as US Marines battled with Saddam Hussein loyalists around a mosque where it was rumoured the dictator himself may be hiding. One Marine was reported killed in the fighting,

  • Speeding fine farce for Gulf war soldier

    A DEVASTATED York mother told today how magistrates convicted her soldier son of speeding - even though he is out fighting for his country in Iraq. Sheila Uttley says court officials had previously promised her the case would be put on hold until after

  • Skilled journalist now helping businesses

    DURING more than 20 years as a journalist, Peter Davenport was a skilled observer and an expert in instant communication of complex facts - some of them as dramatic as Bloody Sunday in Ireland, the Lockerbie plane disaster and the hunt for the Yorkshire

  • Aldwark venture is to the Manor reborn

    SPEND £5.5 million on revamp plans for an hotel, and the results are bound to make their mark not only on the venture but the whole area. That is just what happened at the luxury Aldwark Manor Hotel, near Alne, once Newcastle businessman Brad Holbrook

  • Fierce battle raging in the heart of Baghdad

    A FIERCE battle was today raging in the heart of Baghdad after an American armoured column smashed its way into the Iraqi capital. US troops were said to have seized three presidential palaces and raised the American flag over one of them, and reporters

  • Convoy off to London on protest

    YORK Against the War is planning another convoy of coaches to the next national anti-war protest. The demonstration takes place in London next Saturday, with coaches departing from York's Memorial Gardens at 7.45 am. Spokesman Rory Palmer claimed tickets

  • Bucking the trend in the world of dotcom sales

    WHILE other dotcoms are being ground into the dust under the heel of disillusionment, the York-based shoe-shop.com is not only alive and kicking - but virtually tap dancing... Perhaps a major reason for its success was the fact that it was founded by

  • Back our boys

    WHEN Jade Whitby and Laura Buckle took to the streets to demonstrate their support for British forces in the Gulf, they were marching for love. Jade's boyfriend of six months, Matt Goodman, has been with the Marines in the region since January, and Laura's

  • Elizabeth offers up virtual solutions

    VIVACIOUS Elizabeth Liddle is so busy helping other people run the administrative side of their businesses that she hardly has time for her own administration. "So I know what it's like," laughs this 25-year-old farmer's daughter who runs her Rapport

  • Contractors 'caused A64 cones chaos'

    HIGHWAYS bosses today blamed a new bout of A64 chaos on contractors who extended lane closures - only minutes before the morning rush hour. Tailbacks and long delays confronted frustrated motorists because workers closed off part of the A64 before they

  • Gridlocked again

    MOTORISTS suffered extensive delays last night as they battled through York's busiest roads. Day trippers who were thinking of heading to York or to the coast were also expected to be caught in traffic congestion today. Westbound traffic on the York outer

  • Roadworks and queues return to A64

    TRAFFIC chaos once again brought the A64 to a standstill today as the second phase of major roadworks got under way. Tailbacks were causing motoring misery for drivers who faced long delays travelling on the eastbound carriageway. Work to reconstruct

  • Delays warning as A64 work resumes

    SEVERE delays are expected as roadworks on the A64 restart next week. The project, to create a £4.1 million junction and underpass at Copmanthorpe, was put on hold for two-and-a-half weeks over Christmas to ease disruption. But it will resume on January

  • Joy for York traders as stretch of A64 reopens

    YORK traders were today delighted after a crucial stage of the A64 roadworks was completed in time for the main pre-Christmas rush. A stretch of the reconstructed eastbound carriageway, between Askham Bryan and Tadcaster Road, re-opened yesterday afternoon

  • Mum says: 'Finish the job'

    THE mother of a soldier stationed in Iraq today sent a message to the forces fighting in the Gulf - finish the job and rid the world of Saddam. Ann Grundy, of Selby, has not heard from her son, Peter, a staff sergeant with the Royal Engineers, since the

  • Extra traffic lane hope as agency races to ease congestion

    HIGHWAYS bosses are to have a rethink over phase two of the A64 roadworks following renewed calls to save York from another six months of traffic chaos. A senior Highways Agency officer is to look again at whether an extra lane can be created on the contraflow

  • Six more months of traffic misery

    YORK is set for another six months of traffic misery next year after highways chiefs ruled out extra lanes at the A64 roadworks. This autumn's crippling congestion on the dual carriageway and across the city centre has largely been caused by the single-lane

  • Ribbons shown for our troops

    YELLOW ribbons have begun appearing in North Yorkshire - and they will not be removed until our troops have returned from Iraq. But "blueys" - special air mail letters used by relatives to write to British servicemen in the Gulf - have run out at York's

  • American ground forces in fierce battles south of Baghdad

    AMERICAN ground forces have been taking on Iraq's Republican Guard in fierce battles south of Baghdad. The US troops became engaged with the Iraqi elite forces at Kerbala, 70 miles south-west of Baghdad, from about midnight British time. They were supported

  • Planet York push was 'a huge success'

    MORE than five thousand homes and businesses signed up to Planet York, the year-long push to make York the UK's most energy-efficient city, leading organisers to declare the campaign "a real success." Now complete, the aim of Planet York was to make York

  • Seven killed at checkpoint

    SEVEN Iraqi women and children were killed when American forces opened fire on a van which allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint. US sources said the vehicle, which was found to contain a total of 13 women and children, continued heading towards the

  • Did PlanetYork get into orbit?

    Ambitious plans for a year-long push to turn York into Britain's Energy City have come to an end. Adam Nichols finds out if it took off. TWELVE months ago the remnants of an ice Minster dripped in the August sunshine, the detail melted into a slushy heap

  • Peace campaigners play dead in market

    A SILENT column of peace protesters marched to a York market before holding a symbolic "die-in" in solidarity with civilians killed in the Iraqi war. More than 200 protesters marched from the Museum Gardens to Newgate Market, where scores threw themselves

  • York sees both sides of the argument over war

    TWO York brothers and their families are proudly flying the flag to send a strong message of support to Allied soldiers serving in the Gulf. Andrew Gibson, of Tang Hall, and brother Martin, of Acomb, are to hold a weekly flag and banner demonstration

  • Ill York medic back in England

    THE second Gulf War has ended early for an Army medic from York, after he was rushed out of Iraq suffering pneumonia. Sergeant Giles Farrington was taken to a Greek-based RAF hospital and is now back in England after coming down with the illness before

  • Villagers stage protest on Green

    A GROUP of residents from two York villages made their views on the war in Iraq known when they joined forces for a peace vigil. The event, organised by Churches Together in New Earswick and Huntington, took place at New Earswick Green yesterday. Members

  • Welcome to clean machine

    THIS is the van that is helping the York Housing Association clean up its act. The vehicle, leased from City of York Council, is being used by the organisation after it signed up to PlanetYork. The year-long project aims to make the city the United Kingdom's

  • Missile strikes Baghdad market

    IRAQI officials claim an Allied missile has struck a market in Baghdad, killing 58 people. As television pictures showing the aftermath of the alleged attack were flashed across Arab countries by satellite TV stations, American military sources said they

  • Green van around town

    YORK Housing Association has cleaned up its transport act by taking on a new Liquid Petroleum Gas-powered van. The vehicle will be used by property maintenance worker Tony Easton who tours the group's 500 properties across York. It combines with the company's

  • Support group mooted

    NORTH YORKSHIRE parents of soldiers out in Iraq have told how they feel isolated and lacking in support as they worry for the safety of their sons. They have said their plight would be eased if they could meet up with other soldiers' relatives, and share

  • Business urged to back campaign

    YORK businesses are being urged to take the environmental destiny of the planet into their own hands by tackling energy waste head-on - and saving money at the same time Laura Collins, campaign manager for PlanetYork - a year-long drive to make York the

  • York human shield heading for Jordan

    HUMAN shield Antoinette McCormick was today heading for Jordan after being turned back from Syria. The 38-year-old woman set off for the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday after being told she could no longer remain in Baghdad on her tourist visa. She

  • Cheese switch hopes

    CHEESEMAKERS in North Yorkshire are set to benefit after their French counterparts fell out of favour in America over France's opposition to the Iraq war. A team of buyers from the United States, including Robert Kaufelt, owner of the famous New York

  • Mum's agony at war scenes

    MARGARET WELBURN knows only too well the anxiety of service families in wartime. The York mother has not one but two sons who are fighting in the Gulf. She is so concerned for Russell, 22, and Nicholas, 25, that she sometimes cannot bring herself to watch

  • Need for more troops - veteran

    GULF war veteran Terry Walker has criticised British and American top brass for adopting a "softly-softly" approach to the Iraq war. Terry, who lives at Wheldrake, claimed lives have been lost because Britain has only one Armoured Brigade out in the Gulf

  • Students plead for support for soldiers

    A SMALL group of demonstrators took to the streets of York to call for support for the war and backing for British troops. About a dozen students from York St John College marched through the city centre yesterday afternoon holding the Union flag and

  • Pupils remember the fallen

    NORTH YORKSHIRE schoolchildren turned their thoughts to the war in Iraq when they took part in a poignant trip to some of Europe's battlefields. Upper school pupils from Ryedale School spent a week in Belgium, visiting battlefields as part of a tour organised

  • Human shield leaves Baghdad with warning for the Allies

    HUMAN shield Antoinette McCormick was today leaving Baghdad for Syria after being told she could no longer stay on her tourist visa. But the 38-year-old told the Evening Press by phone from the Hotel Palestine she intended getting a shield visa when she

  • Baghdad rocked by wave of blasts

    IRAQ was today claiming it had suffered "many casualties" after two missiles allegedly hit a busy market place in Baghdad. Officials from the Iraqi information ministry were reporting that the market was hit during a Coalition air raid today in the north

  • Freed Ian tells of his hopes

    FREED deaf charity campaigner Ian Stillman has written to his supporters in York and across the UK to thank them for their continued backing. More than five months after being released from an Indian prison, Ian, whose parents live in Tadcaster Road,

  • Jane makes sure all 'our boys' have good teeth

    A YORK-BORN servicewoman has been preparing troops for conflict in Iraq - by checking the health of their teeth. Jane Nottingham, 46, has just become the first female dentist in the RAF to be promoted to the rank of Group Captain and she is also the only

  • Flying the flag for troops

    THE Union Flag is starting to fly in the York area in a show of support for British troops in the Gulf. One has been put up outside the Adams House Hotel, in Main Street, Fulford, by proprietors Bob and Claire Cook. Bob said they were flying the flag

  • Stillman looks to help deaf people

    CHARITY worker Ian Stillman is aiming to restart his work with the deaf in England. Ian, himself disabled and profoundly deaf, was released from an Indian jail in December after thousands campaigned for his freedom. He had to leave behind a foundation

  • So proud of son Dave

    THE family of a York soldier serving in Iraq have spoken of their pride in his mission - after they saw him in action on camera. Signaller Dave Benson, of Haxby, who is in the 216 Air Assault Signals Squadron, was pictured in a national newspaper in a

  • Queen Mum's own county

    CHRIS TITLEY charts the special relationship York holds for the Royal who used to bear the city's name... ON APRIL 26 1923 a very "special relationship'' began. It was the day Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became the Duchess of York by marrying Albert, second

  • Christmas together for Ian and family

    THE parents of deaf charity worker Ian Stillman are enjoying their first Christmas with their son for years. Roy and Monica Stillman travelled from their York home to stay with their daughter, Elspeth Dugdale, Ian's sister, in Romsey, Hertfordshire. It

  • Emotional reunion

    THE parents of freed charity worker Ian Stillman were today enjoying an emotional reunion with their son. Roy and Monica said they were looking forward to having a family Christmas together for the first time in seven years. Speaking for the first time

  • Home free

    IAN Stillman today hugged the family he has been separated from for two years - and thanked Evening Press readers for demanding his freedom. The seriously ill and profoundly deaf charity worker flew home to Britain after his dramatic release from an Indian

  • MPs praise Ian's family

    JUBILANT MPs today paid tribute to the family of freed charity worker Ian Stillman and "all those around the world" who campaigned for his release. Four MPs, including York's Hugh Bayley, have tabled a House of Commons motion to celebrate his release

  • County salutes Queen Mum

    Celebrations broke out all over North Yorkshire today as the county saluted the Queen Mother on her 100th birthday. As the Queen Mother celebrated with the royal family and thousands of fans in London, the carnival atmosphere spread to York and North

  • He's free at last

    THE family of a disabled charity worker freed from the hell of an Indian jail can now celebrate Christmas together for the first time in seven years. As Ian Stillman, 52, stepped from his cell in India's Himalayan foothills and hugged his wife, Sue, and

  • Royal fans dress for festivities

    Queen Mum fanatics Lesley North and her mother Pamela Byers were today staging a right royal party in their living room. The pair iced three cakes and purchased tiaras and Union Jacks to add to a Queen Mother tea towel, commemorative mugs and other collectibles

  • Message goes round the world: Ian is free!

    Charity worker Ian Stillman is a free man today.ADAM NICHOLS reviews the case experts said was a serious miscarriage of justice THIS is the email I've been longing to write. So said Ian Stillman's sister, Elspeth Dugdale, as she sent the message "Ian

  • Centenarians welcome Queen Mum to club

    North Yorkshire centenarians today congratulated the Queen Mother on becoming a member of their distinguished club. Annie Worcester, of Westminster House Nursing Home, York, who celebrated her 100th birthday last October, also lived through two world

  • Inmate's family encouraged by meeting with Jack Straw

    FOREIGN Secretary Jack Straw has told the family of deaf charity worker Ian Stillman he wants to see him freed from an Indian jail. In the first meeting with his relatives since Ian was jailed three years ago, Mr Straw said all parties wanted to see an

  • Family to meet Straw over Stillman's plight

    DEAF charity worker Ian Stillman's plight will be explained directly to Britain's Home Secretary tomorrow. His family has secured its first face-to-face meeting with Jack Straw in Whitehall. They are hoping to push forward Ian's case, which they feel

  • Stillman relatives to fly out as health worsens

    THE FAMILY of deaf charity worker Ian Stillman is planning to fly to India as fears for his health worsen. Ian, 51, is spending his third year in jail after being convicted of cannabis possession - a charge he has always denied. Ian, whose parents live

  • Family fears for Stillman's health

    DEAF charity worker Ian Stillman is being visited in prison by a Delhi diabetes expert, amid fears that freezing conditions could kill him. Ian, 52, whose parents live in Tadcaster Road, York, and who had a leg amputated after a road accident, is serving

  • Protesters in freedom fight

    MORE than 150 supporters of deaf charity worker Ian Stillman gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London to protest about his imprisonment. Campaigner David Buxton, of Christian Deaf Link, organised the protest which took place yesterday. Ian

  • Stillman family shocked by claims

    INDIAN press reports claiming deaf charity worker Ian Stillman has been refused a presidential pardon are the latest part in a campaign against him, his family said today. Ian's brother-in-law Jerry Dugdale said the British Foreign Office had told him

  • India plea in fight to free charity worker

    INDIA'S representative in Britain has come under fresh pressure to allow charity worker Ian Stillman to remain in the country if he is freed from jail. MP Sandra Gidley managed to lobby High Commissioner Ronen Sen at a Friends of India reception at the

  • Diplomat meets Stillman family

    INDIA'S representative in Britain has met the family of jailed deaf charity worker Ian Stillman. His parents Roy and Monica, who live in Tadcaster Road, York, joined with the rest of their family to speak with Indian High Commissioner Ronen Sen. They

  • Defeated Tory, 65, plans comeback

    TORY leader John Galvin today said he still hoped to lead his party into the next York local elections - at the age of 69. Mr Galvin is coming to terms with life away from the political chamber after he, and his two Conservative colleagues, lost their

  • 'Meltdown' says Labour man

    IT'S meltdown. That was one Labour activist's view even before the result was announced in English Martyrs' School. The poll there was to decide the three candidates for Holgate - York's most marginal ward at the last election, writes Matthew Woodcock

  • Landslide

    A LANDSLIDE local election result saw the Liberal Democrats sweep to power in York - an outcome that also saw the Conservatives wiped out and the city's first Green Party councillors elected. The new council has 29 Liberal Democrats, 15 Labour, no Conservatives

  • Fulfordgate on the road

    FULFORDGATE will start their defence of the York Vale Cricket League's Horwath Pulleyn Heselton Cup with a preliminary round trip to Copmanthorpe on May 2. Should they win they face another away game, at Burton Salmon, in the first round. The league season

  • Classroom cash delay

    YORK education chiefs have made the replacement of crumbling classrooms at a York school a top priority - despite a failed bid for Government funding - and are set to allocate an extra £30,000 to the scheme. But plans to set aside a further £1.5 million

  • Alive and kicking

    TEENAGE striker Adam Arthur is likely to make York City's bench at Doncaster on Saturday as Chris Brass turns to players with the club at heart. Arthur has impressed in recent reserve games and is set to be called up to the first-team squad for the crucial

  • Greens call for action

    THE Green Party has called for urgent action to improve school crossings in York. Andy D'Agorne, Green Party candidate for Fishergate in this week's election, said that although there was a programme of safety measures outside York schools there were

  • Independent voice 'healthy for York'

    YORK'S only Independent councillor says she wants to continue "working for the people and the community in York." Upper Poppleton councillor Janet Hopton, pictured, is seeking election to the new Rural West York Ward. She said a voice on City of York

  • War hits Labour

    LIFELONG Labour supporters in York are deserting the party in the wake of the war in Iraq. One long-term Labour supporter and election candidate, Gordon Campbell-Thomas, has already publicly burned his party membership card because of the war. Now, three

  • Lib Dems concerned over access to police

    REDUCED public access at two York police stations is damaging attempts to put the community at the heart of the fight to crack crime, according to senior Liberal Democrats. Launching their party's local anti-crime policy, Coun Irene Waudby, shadow executive