PLANS to appoint a high-profile anti-crime officer for York have been scrapped. City of York Council had hoped to install a new Safe City Co-ordinator to help combat antisocial behaviour. But the proposal has been ditched by the council's Executive,
NOT many of us would want to go back to school - but you might make an exception for this property. The Old School House, Main Street, Shipton-by-Beningbrough, is a stunning village conversion with farreaching countryside views. Set in the heart
SANTA has his sleigh, but the rest of us need somewhere to keep presents away from peeping eyes. What better way to keep gifts under wraps than by storing them in a cellar, attic or huge house? There are plenty of bedrooms to hide Christmas treats
SHE twice came close to being born desperately premature, after her mum went into labour at just 28 weeks following a car crash. But doctors managed to stop the contractions, and Caitlin Brown was eventually born a week late - on the same date as both
CATS and frogs have the run of Langwith College, at the University of York until December 8. Lewis and Louisa Creed are exhibiting rag-rugs cum wall hangings in the Norman Rea Gallery in a show of animal designs made from charity-shop cast-offs.
HOWARD Read and Sol Bernstein take to the Basement Bar stage at City Screen, York, in The Other Side Comedy Club bill on Sunday evening. Doors open at 7.30pm and master of ceremonies Nick Page keeps the comedy flowing from 8pm. Tickets cost £8,
THE runaway success of the Jazz Weekend at the National Centre For Early Music (NCEM) puts jazz up with all the other attractions in our celebrated City Of Festivals. Friday night was a nail-biter for the NCEM staff, with concert time fast approaching
Rachel Unthank And The Winterset are an Northumbrian/Tyneside all-girl quartet, whose debut album, Cruel Sister, was selected by Mojo magazine as 2005 Folk Album of the Year. Who is in the line-up? Cellist Rachel and fellow singer Becky Unthank, who
THE true story of Father Christmas will be revealed over the next few weekends at Clifford's Tower, York. Rather than the usual festive fare of children sitting on Santa Claus's knee, Clifford's Tower will have historical performer Simon Kirk looking
A GROUP of eminent Yorkshire artists is joining forces to stage Art In The Hall at Bedern Hall, off Goodramgate, York, during the St Nicholas Fayre weekend. June Grey, John Ives, Jean Larcum, Laraine Simpson and Jean Varey are better known for their
LUND Gallery's Christmas exhibition of paintings, prints, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, jewellery and glass opens this weekend. The gallery was opened a year ago by farmer's daughter Debbie Loane in a converted dairy in Alne Road, near Easingwold.
JOHN W Mills is exhibiting his sculpture at the Blake Gallery, York, until December 9. John studied at Hammersmith School of Art and the Royal College of Art, and he taught sculpture for nearly two decades before stopping in 1977 to become a full-time
While his old muckers continue to be shuffled around the globe to make the cash machines ring out in harmony with their cacophonous concoctions, Bill Wyman has found satisfaction by turning his back on all that is the Rolling Stones in order to play music
PERHAPS we can be forgiven for thinking Clifton was a snackers' desert. But no more. We have found the oasis! Responding to the vaguest of directions, we located this small caf at the rear of an attractive card and fancy goods shop. The caf is open
STEPHEN LEWIS goes underground to steak out a York restaurant IT IS years since I last went for a good, old-fashioned steak dinner. As a lad growing up in rural Gloucestershire, the annual family visit to a steak house at Christmas was a rare treat
THE Jazz Weekend at the National Centre for Early Music in York will run from May 4 to 6, next year. Already the line-up is in place: May 4, 7.30pm, The Perfect Houseplants, with earlymusic recorder player Pamela Thorby; May 5, 10am to 1pm, late learners
FROM Reykjavik with music and films come Kitchen Motors, arty alchemists with a reputation for "cross-art chemistry and surreal charm". Find out what that means at The Shed, Hovingham Village Hall, tomorrow at 8pm. On their first UK tour proper,
THE Fitzwilliam Quartet celebrate the birth of Mozart in 1756 and of Shostakovich in 1906 with four concerts in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, next Friday and Saturday. The Fitzwilliam have a strong connection with Shostakovich
DAVE Jones was at his own junction, where he had to make a decision that ultimately would lead to The Junction pub in York. "I'd married a girl from York; we had a daughter - she's four now - and we decided we would leave London, either to go back
FOR the first time since 1992, no Battle of the Bands contest will be held next year at Fibbers in York. "We're doing a Glastonbury taking a year out, so 2007 will not kick off with a Battle of the Bands, " says manager Tim Hornsby, right, on the Stonebow
THE Micklegate Singers follow the celebration of Christ's Nativity through the centuries, from Obrecht and Victoria in the 15th and 16th centuries to 21st century offerings from Chilcott and Whitacre, in tomorrow's concert in the Quire of York Minster
RYEDALE Festival will present its Christmas Concert, Good Tidings Of Great Joy, at St Peter's Church, Norton on December 2 at 7pm. Conducted by John Powell, with David Scott-Thomas on the organ, the Manchester Chamber Choir will sing music by Bach,
THE Amoroso Trio concert, Music Of The Night, combines West End and Broadway musical hits, popular opera and operetta at Pocklington Arts Centre on November 30, at 7.30pm. This vocal trio comprises soprano Emma Dennis, tenor Steven Goulden and baritone
UNDER the baton of Alasdair Jamieson, York Symphony Orchestra plays Brahms's Variations on A Theme by Haydn, Stanford's Irish Rhapsody No 1 and Vaughan Williams's London Symphony at Central Hall, University of York, tomorrow at 8pm. Tickets: £9, concessions
A MASKED raider held up a York betting shop tying up the manager and making off with the takings. Residents in a quiet side street in Acomb came home from work last night to find police had cordoned off the road outside their homes in the hunt for a
THE theme of responsibility links the four rarely performed plays to be staged by York Youth Theatre from Thursday to Saturday. The 14 to 16 age group is performing a double bill each night in The Studio at York Theatre Royal, picked from Edward Bond's
Just A Quickie with...Uche Eke, the Sammy Davis Jr of The Rat Pack Party at York Theatre Royal What are your memories of Sammy Davis Jr and how did you end up playing him in this tribute show? "When I was growing up in Wales, Sammy was always on
Billy Bragg is still trying to place himself, as Charles Hutchinson discovers IN THE words of his first great song, "I don't want to change the world/I'm not looking for a new England/I'm just looking for another girl?" ? "I was being ironic, " says
INTRODUCING...Grumpy Old Women Live in a night of theatrical HRT * After the sold-out spring tour and West End run this summer, Jenny Eclair and Judith Holder 's spin-off from the BBC2 series is on 47-date autumn itinerary. * Joining the Perrier
ANDY GARGAN has agreed to sign for York City Knights. The York Acorn ARLC half-back, 22, will officially join the National League Two club on Monday, 24 hours after playing his last amateur game for Yorkshire. As revealed by the Press, Gargan, a British
YORK City boss Billy McEwan feels his squad is fully equipped to reach the end of the year after last night's loan transfer deadline passed with no activity at KitKat Crescent. Conference clubs will now need to wait until January 1 when the transfer
YORK City will attempt to keep the Conference's most potent strike force at bay when Dagenham and Redbridge visit KitKat Crescent tomorrow. Paul Benson (13) and Craig Mackail-Smith (eight) have plundered 21 goals between them this season as the Daggers
LEEDS United manager Dennis Wise has taken a gamble by bringing Barnet striker Tresor Kandol to Elland Road. The 25-year-old former Luton, Dagenham, Cambridge and Darlington forward has never played in the Championship, but has caught the eye of several
HARROGATE Town are looking to buck a trend when they travel to Alfreton Town in the FA Trophy third qualifying round tomorrow. The Wetherby Roaders have gone out at the first hurdle of the competition in the last three seasons, and are keen to end that
HARROGATE Railway will have to shake off some tired limbs if they are to overturn table-topping Buxton in the UniBond League first division tomorrow. Rail had to go through extra time in midweek before getting past Wakefield 4-1 in the UniBond Challenge
NEXT Generation Heslington extended their unbeaten record in the National Premier Indoor Tennis League with a 4-0 win at David Lloyd, Teesside. It was York's fourth straight 4-0 triumph and they will bid for a nap hand at home to North Yorkshire on
CARLTON Towers' young side were bowled out for just 17 by Dringhouses in the Hunters York Senior Indoor Cricket League. It is almost certainly the lowest total in the 21-year history of the competition as they were dismissed in just 20 deliveries.
YORKSHIRE CCC are taking longer than was at first expected to appoint a captain to replace Chris Adams who backed out of the post a fortnight after agreeing to take on the job. Chief executive, Stewart Regan, was last week optimistic that a new captain
John Smith's Men's Darts League division one leaders Cygnet had the pairing of John Mooring (180) and Dave Gibbons completing 701 in 22 darts, but suffered a major blow to their title hopes. Volunteer's Paul Dixon (19 & 22), Mark Hartley (180 for
The Animals Hospitals Cup is the feature event of the weekend where a sell-out field of more than 80 anglers is expected to line the banks of the Ouse below York. River levels are back to normal after last week's flush of floodwater. With some extra
CLIFTON geared up for their York FA Sunday Afternoon Cup duel with Winning Post with a crushing 11-2 win in division one. Their victory came courtesy of a hat-trick from Kevin Butler, braces from Paul and Richard Bedingham and Terry Taylor, as well as
TWO of the York F1 Racing Premier Karting Sunday Football League division one juggernauts were halted in their tracks. Leaders Severus SC walloped close rivals 7-2 Hounds, who suffered their first defeat of the season. That same fate befell Marcia,
THE £150,000 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup takes pride of place at Newbury, and Montgermont gets the vote to land this famous event. Trained by Charles Egerton, the six-year-old proved himself a high-class chaser in the making last season when winning well-contested
POCKLINGTON RUFC could do local rivals Selby a favour if they can gain the upper hand in tomorrow's Yorkshire Two derby against Goole at Percy Road. The East Yorkshire side desperately need the fillip of victory after stuttering following a decent start
BRIAN Walker and his wife, Andrea, are now the outright owners of Hazlewood Castle, near Tadcaster - and are on the verge of a massive expansion of the hotel with the prospect of up to 40 new jobs. The couple acquired the castle in October 1996, then
SOLICITOR Tony Lawton, was today marking his retirement as the longest serving partner at Grays Solicitors, the oldest practice in York. Mr Lawton, 65, who is celebrating this evening with friends, colleagues, clients and former clients at the York's
The Beta Band were always such a revelatory group. It seems a shame founder member Gordon Anderson never got to share the experience - his fragile state of mind got the better of him, and he quit before they had released a note. Without him, they
WAR? What is good for? "Absolutely nothing," rasped Edwin Starr, answering his own question. Absolutely nothing except profiteering, argues Bertolt Brecht, in his anti-war play Mother Courage And Her Children, revived this autumn by English Touring
PARTY time is almost upon us when Christmas cheer will be bubbling over at social gatherings - but secretly many of us will be pouring ourselves large glasses of guilt. Despite our best intentions, we will drink more than we want and then suffer the
ALL Saints'RC School and the Ebor Singers are joining forces to raise money for The Press's Guardian Angels Appeal. As part of their GSCE coursework, the York pupils have been challenged to write carols, and members of the choir will be dropping in on
PINSTRIPE-suited businessmen and women will belt out their favourite songs at a York charity spectacular next month. December 6 sees the return of The Deep End, a concert bringing together the top corporate characters in York, North and East Yorkshire
A LESBIAN who claimed a man raped her in her York flat has been jailed for nine months for making up the story. A judge told Patricia Miller that she had told police "lie after lie" for selfish reasons, and only prison would suffice. Miller, a Liverpool
THE Employment Minister has promised help for the 1,000 people seeking work after massive job cuts in York. Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons yesterday, Employment Minister Phil Hope said he "extended his sympathies" to the workers being made redundant
THE public will have a chance to try to block plans for York's second lap dancing club, The Press can reveal today. The proposals for Bohemia nightclub in Micklegate will have to go before a council licensing committee if objections are lodged. That
THE Archbishop of York has questioned whether the Government is relying too much on the power of legislation to tackle terrorism. Giving his maiden speech in the House of Lords, Dr John Sentamu referred to ministers' pledges of action to provide strong
A YEAR ago, 24-hour drinking was causing a bit of a headache. As landlords applied for extensions to their hours, residents scribbled letters and petitions begging City of York Council to refuse them. Extended drinking would bring more noise, under-age
THE country's top prosecutor has defended his North Yorkshire team against criticism from a senior judge and Government auditors. In August, the Recorder of York, Judge Paul Hoffman, attacked the local Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for what he called
A COUPLE with a one-year-old baby and another due next month will not have to spend Christmas without heating or hot water, thanks to The Press. Julia Parkinson, 32, and her partner, Paul Meillam, 36, got in touch with us after gas network firm United
A DATABASE containing details of every child in York is safe from computer hackers, council chiefs have pledged. The council's Child Index is designed to contain information on all the city's youngsters. Government proposals to launch a nationwide version
BINGE drinkers are putting increased strain on cash-strapped health services, NHS chiefs have warned. North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust said alcohol-abuse was putting "significant pressure" on their budgets, and impacted upon a range of services
YORK'S charismatic Archbishop, Dr John Sentamu, has made his first speech in the House of Lords. We expected something special. And boy, did he deliver. Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it, he thundered - quoting 18th
Little Caitlin Harkins was almost born three months premature. Doctors managed to stop mum Mel's contractions, however - and eventually Caitlin emerged a week late. She made a grandstand entrance, popping out on the same day - December 9 - that
NOW that debate regarding the Bonding Warehouse has left the headlines for a while, I wonder if we can learn more about what, if anything, is ever going to happen to the derelict White Swan hotel at the corner of Piccadilly, York? It's some years ago
PUSH and they push back. The basic strategy of self-defence in martial arts like Judo. It allows the defender to turn the attacker's own force against themselves. We are suffering from the reality of this truism in Iraq. They push, we push
NOW that General Pinochet has been charged with murder, kidnapping and torture, many British socialists are calling for the man to be put to death. What hypocrisy coming from a political movement which once (and some would say still does) very
WE are so grateful to the Archbishop of York for supporting the British Airways (BA) member of staff who has been forbidden to wear a cross at work, and we are so encouraged by her outspoken allegiance to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it would
JUST what do I have to do so I don't become an accident victim? I cycle to work up Water Lane five days a week. One morning this week, at around 7am, I passed the roundabout with Green Lane, my priority, and slotted into a few cars arriving from
I DISAGREE strongly with the Government's decision to allow hospitals to advertise for patients. It will result in patients basing their treatment choice on the glossiness of a leaflet rather than the good advice of their GP. NHS hospitals,
I WOULD like to respond to the letter regarding the proposed new swimming pool in the west of York (Simple Way Best, Letters, November 21). It raised some concerns which I am happy to allay. Firstly, the building of the new pool on the Oaklands
WE are told that Britain currently has the worst behaved young people in Europe, has the highest number of schoolgirl mums, the most youngsters suffering from sexually transmitted diseases, very large numbers of teenage alcoholics, and something like
LIVELY festivals and business investment in the city have placed York in the top 20 of the UK's most culturally vibrant cities. A new league of top spots, published by Arts & Business (A&B), puts the city at number 20 thanks to healthy investment from
TREE and nature lovers across York are being asked to help council chief make the most of National Tree Week this weekend. City of York Council's Parks and Open Spaces section will be hosting three tree-themed activities tomorrow and Sunday. Native
COUNCIL chiefs have apologised after a 93-year-old widow looked set to go without a carer for a week, following the handover of care arrangements to a private company. The pensioner contacted The Press to criticise the handling of the switch from in-house
IT MAY not exactly be the Garden of Eden, but there can be few holier plots around than the Archbishop of York's palatial grounds. Now the Diary learns that Dr John Sentamu is hunting for a green-fingered plant lover to keep his beloved begonias in bloom
OPPOSITION councillors are calling on waste chiefs to expand York's recycling service to include terraced homes. Labour councillor Ruth Potter is also appealing for families with young children to be given larger wheelie bins to deal with their extra
AN MP has criticised a decision to close down two York day care centres without first consulting users and their carers. York MP Hugh Bayley said City of York Council should now "put things right" by consulting fully on how services at Yearsley Bridge
A PUBLIC inquiry could be held into part of York's "ring of steel" alleygating scheme because of a row over bin collection. Police had 19 objections to the project from residents in Clifton and have resolved all but one. The Press told in July how plans
POLICE are warning Christmas shoppers in York to be on their guard against thieves hoping to take advantage of thronging crowds. As the city prepares for its busiest weekend with the arrival of the popular St Nicholas Fayre, officers are warning that
A bid to save trees and create new woodland has triggered the launch of a Christmas card recycling campaign. The Woodland Trust has teamed up with Recycle Now, the national recycling campaign, for the third year to urge people to ensure their festive
A YOUNG woman told a couple of Asian origin to "get out of our country" and slapped one of them on the face, a court heard. But Samantha Dawn Michelle Broughton claims she is not a racist. Prosecutor Angela Smith told York Magistrates Court that Broughton
PUPILS and parents at York's Steiner School are gearing up for their Advent Fair this weekend. Visitors won't find Christmas trees and reindeer at the fair being held at the school tomorrow, but they will be able to make their own advent wreaths and
YOUNG conservationists from the Mount School in York have reached the finals of the prestigious Blake Shield Awards. The Blake Shield is awarded by the British Naturalist Association to a team aged ten to 16 for a natural history or conservation project
A TOWN'S civic head has warned against its overdevelopment, after builders were given permission to construct 14 new luxury homes. Pickering mayor Julie Hepworth - who said the town was "pig sick" of new houses - joined dozens of protesters calling for
THE deputy leader of Selby District Council has died following a heart attack. Family and friends have been paying tribute to Coun Wally Norton, 70, who was rushed to hospital on Tuesday night. He passed away at Castle Hill Hospital, near Cottingham
