Monday, September 13, 2004

100 years ago: The famous cricketer Tom Emmett died last month, and numerous stories about him were "doing the rounds." One causing much amusement pertained to a match at Malton, when he was bowling. The ball hit the batsman's leg, causing Emmett to shout "how's that!" The umpire said approvingly "jolly good ball, never bowled a better in your life!"

50 years ago: When most people were mopping the rain from their faces and gloomily inspecting sodden shoes and trouser legs, a colleague of Mr Nobody caused a stunned silence by announcing he was suffering from sunburn. He and his wife had invested in a sunray lamp and had taken their first sun-bath, hoping to acquire a golden Riviera tan. The recommended procedure was to have a hot bath, put on the special goggles supplied by the manufacturers and then loll at ease on the hearthrug or the bed in the bright white beam of ultra-violet light. Although the lamp did not give off any heat, three minutes in its glow was equivalent to about 20 minutes in the midday sun. For about four hours after the sun-bath there is no visible result, then a pink a glow covers the body and according to the colleague "one gets a feeling of vigour and high spirits." Mr Nobody suggested that he might want to arrange sun-bath sessions at half-a-crown a time for those growing steadily paler as the wet summer passed.

25 years ago: North Yorkshire education authority moves to end school swimming lessons brought protests from York councillors. They were told that the county would stop hiring the city's public paths at the end of the year, which would lose the council £18,000 a year in charges, but councillors were more worried that in a city with two rivers, children would be unable to swim. Councillors were trying to meet school governors to find a solution that would result in the children getting their swimming lessons back.

Updated: 08:43 Monday, September 13, 2004