MARTIN Lunn has a twinkle in his eye. The York astronomer has been studying the science behind the Star Of Bethlehem and will be discussing the latest theories at a lecture in York tonight. Mr Lunn believes the Three Wise Men may well have been astronomers
PHEW, what a relief. I'm not going mad, despite my odd behaviour. Last week's reference to going upstairs and either forgetting what I went for, or coming down with something completely different, struck a chord with lots of you. My Christmas postbag
WHAT'S it like being Santa? Because the great man himself has been hard to track down in York this year, we asked city poet Adrian Spendlow. Without wanting to spoil seasonal magic, we can say that Adrian recently took a job that means he is able to tell
SO the council tax poll circulars have arrived. What a fiasco! What a waste of taxpayers' money! The Lib Dem circular, Focus, recently gave us an early indication of the form and content of the poll document and options to be considered. The most telling
SO that York council, who could not manage a free booze-up in a brewery, can justify ten per cent increase in council tax, they have, at quite an expense, sent out cards with three increases to tick - but not a box with no increase. Would the Evening
Once again I read about RAF Linton-on-Ouse and complaints about its use of flight paths over this area. What I would like to know is who is making these complaints? I live directly under the flightpath for these aircraft. Over the past two weeks I have
HAVING had the same problem as Mr Key (' Killer cat woe', Letters, December 16) with not just one cat, but several, tame and fierce, every known method failed to keep the birds safe and our garden free of cat dirt. Then we bought a battery-operated cat
AFTER reading Mike Key's letter (December 16), I must make a few points. As a cat owner (two actually, shock, horror), I regularly feed the wild birds in my garden. Although my cats do catch birds, they are few and far between. Cats mostly don't kill
Mobile phones are with us to stay - but shouldn't local communities have more say over where phone masts are sited? STEPHEN LEWIS reports. THERE is no gain without pain, goes the saying. In the case of mobile phones, that is certainly proving to be the
FIGURES can be twisted into anything you desire. So the argument has run ever since the two-by-two Ark plight of a rookie boatman named Noah. Nowadays the numbers game can even spell out a new language. It can be pretentiously catchy such as twentyfourseven
PROPOSALS to charge motorists £6 for three hours parking in York city centre were defended today by a leading councillor. City of York Council is considering raising short-stay daytime parking charges to £2 an hour at three central car parks - Piccadilly
CRIMINALS are being warned that they could lose their liberty and their lavish lifestyle thanks to the dedicated efforts of a North Yorkshire Police team. Investigators from the force's economic crime unit seized cash and property worth more than £152,000
TWO men have been banned from York's Chapelfields estate as part of a campaign to tackle hooliganism. Interim antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) were imposed by York Magistrates yesterday against David Powell, 20, of Leeside, Dringhouses, York, and Kevin
PLANS to bring a new Park&Ride site to York's suburbs have been hit by "delay and farce", it was claimed today. Labour chiefs claim consultation over how and where to site bus services on the A59 is taking place for the third time - and have branded
HEROIN addict Daniel Wall started to wake up from a drug-induced sleep as his killer stood over him with a bloody weapon, a court heard today. John Paul Marshall, 43, smashed the left side of Mr Wall's skull with a two-handed swing of a heavy lamp-stand
YORK City Knights' injury hoodoo during the Academic Ashes has continued as new signing Ian Kirke suffered damage to a hand in the second Test. However, the club are hoping the injury is not serious and were awaiting results of an X-ray today. The second-row
A great haircut isn't just for Christmas; it's for Boxing Day too. JO HAYWOOD seeks out three of the best for the festive season. LOOKING for a new look? Well, look no further. Those sensational snippers at West Row in York have come up with three new
PROPOSALS to charge motorists £6 for three hours parking in York city centre were defended today by a leading councillor. City of York Council is considering raising short-stay daytime parking charges to £2 an hour at three central car parks - Piccadilly
"MUM, a boy in my class said that Father Christmas isn't real." My youngest daughter was eager to impart this information the second I collected her from school. "Of course he's real. How else would you get all your Christmas presents? Mummy and Daddy
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 100 years ago: The Lord Mayor of York sitting at the Police Court dealt with a man who had having been unfortunate enough to be unemployed, found work through the Labour Bureau, but spent his earnings in over-indulgence in alcohol
DIRE warnings about the risks of drink-driving have become as much a part of Christmas as Noddy Holder. Sadly, statistics suggest we are becoming inured to the message. Convictions in North Yorkshire are on the increase. Tonight's story may shake us out
NORTHERN Ballet Theatre (NBT) is wont to innovate, yet nothing should detract from the magic of dance, and Peter Pan gilds the NBT lily more than ever before in adding to the base element of choreography. Inevitably, there is plenty of flying in harnesses
CHAMPIONS Kirkdale United suffered their first defeat of the RJF Homes Beckett Football League season, 1-0 at Kirkbymoorside Reserves. Moorsiders played with five at the back and one up front but the tactics paid off as player-manager David Smith belted
YORK Acorn ARL Under-13s produced a solid performance to notch their first win in the top flight against a strong Westgate side. Tyler Dawson and Josh Peacock both crossed early on, man of the match Anthony Chilton goaling, with the visitors replying
I HAVE just received the latest copy of Your City containing the "opinion" poll. The banner headline is "Your Budget, Your Say". Perhaps the council should have run this past their trading standards department before having the cheek to send this out
I WOULD advise everyone in this fair city of ours, when they receive the forthcoming voting paper for the expected council tax rise, to mark the card with a large "0%" on and send it back. We should not need a rise in council tax this year, what with
IN answer to J Bonarius's question of why the number four on clock dials is depicted as IIII (as on the Little Admiral clock in Coney Street, right) is that it balances visually with VIII (Letters, December 14). However, there are a few dials which do
I WAS very sorry to read the letter from A Broomhead asking people to stop moaning about speeding traffic (December 17). The residents of Tang Hall Lane, Fourth Avenue and Bad Bargain Lane have every right to moan if cars speed along the roads outside
I CANNOT allow B Emmerson's assertion to go unchallenged - that David Blunkett's mistake in this sorry saga was in being found out (Letters, December 19). His error was in attributing his own genuine feelings of love and loyalty equally to his lover,
A relatively little-known section of the current Railways Bill causes concern. It will "streamline" the procedures for rail closures. At present regional rail passenger committees have a statutory duty to report on the "passenger hardship" which would
THE Colombian government has only itself to blame for allowing the Irish terrorists to escape. It should have made them carry ID cards. William Dixon Smith, Welland Rise, Acomb, York. Updated: 11:17 Tuesday, December 21, 2004
ONE of the busiest men in York's flourishing scientific business community has just got even busier. Not content with an impressive array of professional and voluntary roles, Professor Tony Robards has become a non-executive director of a York Science
THAT City of York Council failed to meet Government planning targets (December 15) is more to do with the inappropriate targets than the failings of the planning department. Your article failed to mention that currently only 30 per cent of authorities
N HILLEN asks how long it takes for alcohol effects to wear off ("Confusion over drink-drive limit", December 18). The simple answer is the body gets rid of alcohol from the blood stream at a very slow rate - equivalent to about half a pint of beer or
AFTER reaching a milestone yesterday it's business as usual for Kieren Fallon for the rest of the week. He has a basic diet of all-weather fare before he flies off on Boxing Day to spend the winter riding in Florida. The six-times champion jockey, who
YORK motorists should watch out for delays from today as last-minute Christmas shopping sees drivers taking to the roads. Breakdown service Green Flag was predicting that York's roads would be at their busiest over the next 48 hours as people took a late
PEOPLE in debt who face losing their home will be able to gain help quickly after City of York Council found cash to expand an advice team. Thanks to the funding, a new debt and welfare benefits outreach worker is now on hand to offer free and confidential
HAS a York astronomer solved the mystery of the Star of Bethlehem? Martin Lunn, curator of astronomy at the Yorkshire Museum, has been investigating the star's enigmatic appearance more than two millennia ago. He will explain his theories at a talk at
ACOMB Hockey Club men's first team grabbed their second Yorkshire League division two victory of the season with a surprise 3-2 win at Huddersfield. The Tangerines started brightly and put their high-flying hosts under pressure, taking a fifth-minute
BETTER barriers should be put up at Walmgate Bar to improve the appearance of the historic structure, civic trust chiefs said today. Peter Brown, of York Civic Trust, called for the removal of the plastic barrier which he says is harming the appearance
CHAMPIONS Kirkdale United suffered their first defeat of the RJF Homes Beckett Football League season, 1-0 at Kirkbymoorside Reserves. Moorsiders played with five at the back and one up front but the tactics paid off as player-manager David Smith belted
A YORK boy's costly disappointment was changed to joy thanks to his snooker hero Paul Hunter. Twelve-year-old John Clasper, of Holgate, spent £11 pocket money buying draw tickets trying to win the prize of playing a frame against the world-ranked number
CUEBALL 'A' stormed to a resounding 9-1 win against Dringhouses in York John Smith's Ladies Darts League division one. Highlights were Lindsey Sawyers' 100 finish, 21 from Angie Hields and 23 by Bev Harton. The Carol Brayshaw - Yvonne Ruddock partnership
A HEROIN addict has spoken of the moment he used a heavy wooden lamp stand to beat two men to death as they slept in his flat. In dramatic scenes at Leeds Crown Court John Paul Marshall, 43, described how he "snapped" and attacked his two drug-dealing
A MAN was jailed for four years for causing the death of a woman while speeding in his BMW following a night of drinking. Moments before being sentenced, Kevin James Lane said he felt physically ill to know he had cost the life of 19-year-old Laura Collingwood
MAXINE GORDON meets a York woman who has swapped the nine-to-five to make Christmas cakes and puddings full-time from home. IF you've ever made your own Christmas cake, you will know what a labour of love it entails. There is the careful mixing, the baking
YORK City Knights' injury hoodoo during the Academic Ashes has continued as new signing Ian Kirke suffered damage to a hand in the second Test. However, the club are hoping the injury is not serious and were awaiting results of an X-ray today. The second-row
