Monday, March 22, 2004

100 years ago: Returning from Flaxton on the Sabbath Eve, a correspondent was amongst anglers whose paraphernalia indicated a good day's sport. Nothing of incident occurred until they reached Haxby, when the by this time drowsy travellers were awakened by the ticket collector. All but one of the tickets were produced, but one man in the corner searched every pocket, without avail, for his piece of missing pasteboard. The train was being delayed, and the collector's temper was rising, as he wondered if there ever was a ticket. At that moment there was a slight rustle from a full pannier on the hat-rack, and a dying trout wriggled down into the angler's lap, opened its mouth, and disclosed a partly nibbled "return half!"

50 years ago: A trumpet-blowing vicar brought a breath of musical novelty to the service at St Lawrence's Church, York. He was there as a guest preacher on a special Lent exchange arrangement, and gave a recital accompanied by the choir, and later gave a solo performance of the "negro spiritual" Steal Away to Jesus. The vicar had come from Belfast originally, where he had played the trumpet since he was six, playing it later in the parish band and then the parish orchestra, organising a band or orchestra at many of his parishes since then.

10 years ago: A survey of North Yorkshire women showed that more of them would prefer to soak up the sun in the arms of a rib-tickler rather than an Adonis, but their male counterparts were desperately seeking Ulrika Jonsson look-alikes, rather than comedians like Jennifer Saunders. When it came to the choice of local women, Hollywood hunks Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson lost hands down to funnyman Michael Barrymore.

Updated: 08:29 Monday, March 22, 2004