After ten years at the helm, as he leaves the ship of state, Tony Blair urges us to prepare to go on fighting around the world in defence of what we stand for. The most dangerous threat is Islamic extremism, which has built up over the last ten years
My name is Victoria Pettitt and I own and run the Splish Splosh Swimming School which operates in York and Leeds. The swimming schools were set up in April 2005 with an objective to provide local children more opportunities to learn to swim. Personally
New Earswick Swimming Club members were working off seasonal excesses at the annual Borough of Barnsley Christmas meeting with 19 swimmers representing the club. Amy Taylor had an excellent day winning the Top Girl award in the girls' 12 years age group
Duncombe Park Juniors recorded their second York British Sugar League Under-15s win of the season beating fellow strugglers New Earswick 2-1. There were chances at both ends before New Earswick opened the scoring with a low shot. Duncombe Park equalised
CITY of York Boys Under-14s missed the chance of an avalanche of goals in their latest set of Yorkshire Hockey Youth League fixtures at Thirsk. Ben Rhydding A' set the tone with a 12-0 thrashing of a weak Thirsk outfit. When York took on Thirsk
YORK RUFC's Under-7 squad kicked off 2007 with a set of fixtures against Malton and Norton. The A' team from Clifton Park produced a good display of running rugby with some positive attacking runs, notably from Charlie Hudson and Sam Lloyd. Excellent
A lacklustre second period saw York Acorn Amateur Rugby League Club under-15s lose 14-8 at Doncaster Toll Bar. A solid first half saw the young Blue and Golds lead 4-0 thanks to a Tyler Dawson touchdown, but the hosts turned that round as failure to
ALNE Primary School tag rugby players will try to boost their North Yorkshire Youth Games record this summer after again qualifying for the sporting fiesta. Alne represented the Hambleton district in the 2006 Games and will do so again later this year
Malton Squash Club's juniors enjoyed a great day in their latest Harrogate Under 11 League programme. Their third round of games was at Harrogate where they beat Collingham and the host club without losing a game. They were convincing 3-0 winners over
EASINGWOLD School girls' football under-13s take on Rossett School, in Harrogate, in the final of the Minute Maid County Cup on Friday, at Thirsk School (kick-off is at 2pm). The winners will advance to the Northern Schools' Cup - one of four regional
ST Lawrence's proved too strong for Tang Hall in the York Primary Schools' Football League E' winning comprehensively 3-0 in failing light. Bailey Simpson, Amin Manesh and George Tunney were on target for the Saints who have lost just twice this season
YORK Cricket Club is holding coaching sessions for junior cricketers at St Olaves School, Clifton. Under-9s are on Mondays from 6pm to 7-30pm. Older children are on Wednesdays with U11s at 7pm to 8.20pm and U13s from 8.20pm to 9.45pm. Sessions start
BLUE is the colour that put New Earswick Eagles Under-11s immediately in the black in the kick-off to the New Year. A competition run by the Co-operative Bank to win a full free football kit was won by the father of U11s goalkeeper Adam Dunhill and so
Bishopthorpe and Ralph Butterfield are setting the pace at the top of York Primary Schools Football League A'. Both are unbeaten with the Bishops, unbeaten in all competitions, holding a one-point advantage over their rivals. Bishopthorpe teacher Gavin
CHRISTMAS and New Year excess was booted squarely into touch by the super-fit New Earswick Eagles Under-16s' football team. They resumed their York British Sugar Minor League second division programme at home to Real Cliffe with the hosts' manager Dave
YORK City youths were today hoping to build on a spirited performance against Grimsby Town last week when they travelled to Bradford today, writes Steve Carroll. The Minstermites showed courage and determination at Wigginton, twice coming from behind
HEWORTH Junior Football Club's Under-8s are really rocking. The Mitchell Sports Mini-Soccer side have been kitted out in a new kit after a fund-raising effort really struck the right chords. Dance teacher Eileen Rayner, who runs the Rayner Rock N' Roll
MITCHELL Football League Cup holders Woodthorpe have fallen at the first hurdle of this season's competition. They were beaten 5-2 by an impressive Rawcliffe Under-12s despite taking an early lead with a header from a corner. Rawcliffe levelled when
THORNTON Dale Church of England School will be in a position to out-smart most sporting adversaries this year after receiving a brand new kit. Ryelands Care Home donated £150 to buy the strips, which come in different sizes and can be used by each
YOUNG scrum-half Matt Hargreaves is a player with a great future at York RUFC. The 17-year-old starred in his first-team debut for the Clifton Parkers in a 25-3 victory over Scarborough last week with a man of the match performance. And with regular
YORK City boss Billy McEwan is in the market for a new striker following Darryn Stamp's switch from Stevenage Borough to Halifax. Stamp has spent the last three months on loan at KitKat Crescent but made his farewell appearance during Saturday's 5-0
YORK City Supporters' Trust have urged members to put themselves forward for a place on their board ahead of next Friday's deadline for nominations. Five board positions will be decided by an election of the Trust's membership and the successful candidates
THE postponement of Leeds United's match at Birmingham today gives new signing Alan Thompson additional time to work on his fitness before making his debut. The game at St Andrews was called off shortly after lunchtime yesterday following an inspection
YORK City Knights boss Mick Cook expects a full-on encounter tomorrow for Mark Cain's testimonial match. The Knights take on a Cain Select squad which will feature a host of famous faces from the recent past, supplemented by a number of up-and-coming
MARK CAIN is confident his Select squad have the ability and determination to put on a show in his testimonial match tomorrow, writes Peter Martini. His side, made up primarily of York Old Boys' plus some talented young amateurs, have not trained together
DARREN Callaghan and his fellow York Old Boys' are relishing the chance to test themselves against York City Knights' current first-team squad. A total of 16 former York players will turn out in a Mark Cain Select squad which is to take on the Knights
THE free First York bus service for York City Knights home matches will continue this season, including tomorrow's Mark Cain testimonial match. The routes and times have been slightly amended: Thanet Road baths 1.45pm, calling at York Rail Station
YORK City Knights assistant-coach Jason Ramshaw has re-registered as a player for 2007 and will come out of retirement for the first time tomorrow. However, the 37-year-old has stressed he is not looking to reignite his playing career and will only turn
YORK City return to the road after this weekend's break from action with next Saturday's trip to Kidderminster quickly followed by a Tuesday night meeting with Halifax. But Billy McEwan's men will go into the matches with an away record that ranks among
THE tremendous demolition of Crawley underlined just how good a side York City are becoming. Communications director Sophie McGill said recently that City are playing their best football since those unforgettable days of Paul Barnes and Jon McCarthy
YORKSHIRE CCC have already received a shoal of applications for the two new posts of head of professional cricket and director of cricket development. Former South African pace ace Allan Donald was among the first to put his name forward to take charge
SIMON Mason is returning to Clifton Park to boost York Cricket Club's challenge for honours this summer. The prolific run-scorer spent last season with North Yorkshire rivals Harrogate but is back under the leadership of Marcus Wood. Mason had a superb
LOWLY Crystal Palace B' stunned York John Smith's Sunday Pool League leaders Clifton with a fine performance to claim a 4-4 draw. It could have been worse for unbeaten Clifton, who were trailing 4-2 until captain Jonny Mitchell won the last two frames
NEW Pickering Town boss Mark Wood said his first task as manager was to get the club back to winning ways. Wood, formerly assistant manager at Pikes, was given the nod for the hot seat on Wednesday night after previous boss Alex Mathie resigned following
WETHERBY Charlie Hall chase winner Our Vic can take on Kauto Star in March's Cheltenham Gold Cup, his owner David Johnson believes. The champion owner says his star horse, who struck on his only appearance this season so far when taking the prestigious
WITH Carlisle having fallen victim to waterlogging, Kempton stages the only racing in Britain tomorrow. Louphole gets the nap vote to return to action on a winning note in the Play Roulette At Intercasino.co.uk Handicap over six furlongs. Trained by
THE pull of Yorkshire lured Guy Wills back to his native county three years ago. Now, the 29-year-old is soon to return to his York roots. Wills is to be the new professional at Fulford Golf Club. The current pro at the Flaxby Park Golf and Country Club
ALL these years of being mercilessly lampooned as not being exactly the sharpest blade on the sole of a football boot - and look at David Beckham now. Destined for a new career in the fledgling Major Soccer League of America on a reported contract of
RICHMOND, castle and all, takes a while to walk out of, because it is so diverting, but eventually we left the cobbles and took a road out west on to the northern flank of Swaledale. This road is a dead end, it climbs, servicing a line of houses on one
THROWING mud pies and climbing trees might not be part of your typical day now - but wouldn't it be fun if it was? Building a tree house, collecting frogspawn or making perfume with flower petals were the making of many happy memories for children in
THE new year brings an early spring clean at our house. The Christmas trimmings are removed - with reluctance from our sentimental daughter, but relief from the rest of the family - and everywhere is cleaned and dusted ready for a new start. The garden
IT'S the Summer of Love - 1966 - in the Golden State. San Francisco is finding its feet as the centre of alternative hippy culture, while Los Angeles is sweltering under smog and slowly recovering from the Watts Riots. It may be the Swinging
Los Angeles, late 1940s. Hollywood is in the grip of an anti-communist witch-hunt, with the US Government ordering suspected Red sympathisers to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Among those ordered to testify is Oscar-winning
THIS is a very readable account of the lives of 50 women who have made an impact in fields as diverse as politics, entertainment and science. At just 200 pages, each entry is limited to a few pages, but despite this brevity, it is hugely informative
HAVING finally managed to see Casino Royale last week, I am delighted to report I have something in common with gorgeous brunette Bond babe Vesper Lynd. And no, I'm not an MI6 agent. One member of our household working for the Government is quite enough
YOU MAY be wondering where the Ardche is. It's not as popular a holiday destination for Brits as it is for other northern Europeans. The Ardche Mridionale (the southern Ardche) is a roughly triangular area in the middle of southern France, with the thundering
WITH reference to fingerprinting schoolchildren (Thumbs down, The Press, January 6), one head teacher comments in your article that "the world has no answer to terrorism without using these things". This shows the insidious way we persuade each other
AS Coun Lawson has such a strong sense of justice in the killing of another human being (Right to hang, Letters, January 10), maybe he would like to join the growing number of people who wish to see George Bush and Tony Blair arrested and prosecuted
I WAS absolutely stunned to read that Louise Milner complained that a bus driver refused to carry her unaccompanied children, aged nine and four (Mum hits out in school bus row, The Press, January 9). I am even more stunned that she would expect him
HAVING had my right foot trapped under a slow-moving car wheel in Davygate "footstreet", two weeks ago, resulting in a broken bone and the inconvenience and discomfort of a foot in pot for six weeks, I find the term footstreet ironic, to say the least
COUN Madeleine Kirk is right to highlight the Government's repeated mishandling of the NHS (Even more cuts, The Press, January 10). Since coming to power, the Government has invested more money in the NHS, but has simultaneously created a financial
MAY I add to the comments of Stephen Reid (Vital trust, Letters, January 5) regarding the service he received at the A&E at York Hospital. My husband, John, was admitted to Ward 32 from A&E. Service was fabulous from all staff, and the ambulance
I UNDERSTAND R Burton's concern over the imminent demolition of the old St Barnabas' School (Concrete Rubbish wipes out history, The Press, January, 1). To its credit, the planning committee which considered the application to demolish it went
ONE of my favourite Christmas highlights was once again seeing the Barbican Centre hold the UK Snooker Championship. Whoever thought of this idea of holding this event needs to be congratulated. Just before this there was the Masters Darts at Bridlington
"ONE of these days it's going to collapse, and it's going to be like a tidal wave." Those were the words of local resident Harry Reeves reacting to news that vital flood defences protecting 500 homes in Leeman Road are unlikely to be improved next year
THE opening of York's second lapdancing club will give a boost to Micklegate's flagging night-time economy, its manager claimed today. Hong Poc said Bohemia will attract late-night custom back to the area, but without adding to problems of drunken violence
STAFF and pupils at Fulford School are celebrating getting a coveted award. The school has been given an advanced award for inclusion from City of York Council. Over the last two years, the school has set up a group with parents, students and staff
HARD-PRESSED borrowers in York are set to face mounting debts after a surprise rise in interest rates - but house prices should remain stable. The warnings came after the Bank of England increased the base-rate of interest by a quarter-point to 5.25
A WINDOW CLEANER'S "speed" bid to make an honest living turned him into a drug dealer, a court heard. Paul Franks, 24, refused to turn down any request to shine glass as he tried to maintain his partner and child, as well as pay off the set-up costs
ONCE her eyesight was so bad she was as good as blind - now she has near-perfect vision after undergoing the second part of hi-tech surgery. Last year, we reported the remarkable story of Carla Tracey, manager of Colliergate jewellery shop Azendi, who
Anne McIntosh, Tory MP for the Vale of York, has added her voice to calls to tackle the soaring cost of gas bills - and also criticised the rising cost of living. The message comes as the Conservative leader David Cameron called for an Office of Fair
FORMER Miss York contestant Melissa Chapman, is determined to help keep this year's contest strictly a York event. She is planning to don the evening gown she wore at last year's final and launch her own recruitment drive. She intends going into the
AN 87-YEAR-OLD woman agreed to pay nearly £4,000 for a bed after high-pressure selling techniques left her feeling "hypnotised". To compound matters, Olive Rankine, of Front Street, Acomb, York, had just two days earlier been told she could lose her
A FURIOUS elderly couple claim their next-door neighbour's dilapidated house is attracting vermin and making their lives a misery. George and Kathleen Rowe said they had battled for more than ten years to get something done about the "disgusting" bungalow
NOT enough North Yorkshire patients will get to choose where they get hospital treatment this year, according to a top-level health report. A report to bosses from North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) set out the latest details of how many
A SUB-POSTMISTRESS in York has helped to save the Post Office card account system from being axed. The Government was planning to scrap the scheme - threatening the future of thousands of rural post offices. York MP Hugh Bayley was urged to ask the
YORK's council has revealed why it failed to consult people over the controversial plans to close a day care centre - it knew they would object. City of York Council chiefs say it would have been unfair to ask parents and customers what they thought
SICK children from York are to be given an unusual insight into their illnesses - through art. Artists and medics are to work with young people from York Hospital's children's ward in the two-year Biomation project, which aims to explore their medical
FEARS are growing that City of York Council could fall victim to "compensation culture" over the state of the city's roads. Hundreds of motorists in our region are demanding payment from council chiefs, claiming they have suffered damage or injury due
A serial drink-driver has been branded a "danger to other road users" and jailed after he was caught drink-driving for the fourth time. Andrew Smith, 37, was also banned from driving for five years and must then apply to get a provisional licence and
COUNCILLORS are considering clamping cars blocking a vital access route at Brayton. Village Green Road, which runs along the village green, is a private road owned by the parish council. The council has painted double yellow lines on the road and has
IT IS a sad day for a family-run North Yorkshire boarding school which is closing after 50 years. Howsham Hall Preparatory School, near Malton, will close at the end of the summer term in July due to falling rolls which will result in the school being
