JANUARY

2023 began with a departure of a well-known visitor to Scarborough – Thor the walrus.

He had humped himself out of the water – to the amazement of Scarborough residents – on the evening of Friday December 30, 2022, and settled down for a rest and snooze on the harbour edge.

Not wishing to disturb him and his dreams, Scarborough Borough Council even cancelled its planned New Year fireworks.

But by the time the New Year dawned, he had slid into the waters of the seaside resort's harbour, leaving behind just the memories.

In many ways, the new year began much as the old year had ended.

There were floods (though not too catastrophic); rows about the dualling of the York outer ring road (with climate activists pledging to fight it on ‘all fronts’); huge pressure on the A&E department at York Hospital; and a row over plans to cut the wages of teaching assistants and other support staff at York's South bank Multi Academy Trust. York Outer MP Julian Sturdy pledged to write to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan about the matter.

Ambulance paramedics went on strike; York people were told they could expect council tax to rise by 4.99 per cent; and York failed in its bid for levelling up funds from the government – the council had applied for £10 million for the Castle Gateway project and £10 million for Parliament Street, Coney Street and the Riverside Quarter developments.

York also said a final farewell to a true hero. The Last Post sounded at St Lawrence’s Church at the funeral of York Second World War veteran Douglas Petty, who flew 31 wartime missions as flight engineer on a Halifax bomber crew from RAF Leeming on his final journey yesterday. The funeral was held on what would have been his 100th birthday.

St Lawrence’s  was packed with mourners, on what would have been the RAF veteran’s 100th birthday.

FEBRUARY

One of York’s most iconic stores – Banks Musicroom in Lendal – closed for good.

The news prompted an outpouring of memories – tinged with sadness – in the pages of The Press, with readers remembering happy times in the store, and recalling the many staff who had worked there down the years – including Miss Banks herself, described by one reader as a ‘true pillar of society’.

There were teachers strikes, to add to January’s strikes by paramedics; York charity The Island launched a £50,000 ‘Youth in Crisis’ appeal following what it called a ‘surge in demand’ for its services, and there was huge excitement when York Art Gallery announced that one of the world’s most famous paintings - Claude Monet's 1899 masterpiece The Water-Lily Pond - would be coming to York on loan, although not until May 2024.

The Jorvik Viking Festival returned, with a dramatic finale in the form of a battle at the Eye of York – and an appeal was launched to save New Earswick Swimming pool.

TOMORROW: March and April