THE Golden Fleece, one of York's oldest pubs, has erected an Internet video camera in an upstairs bedroom...but don't worry - it points outwards.

The webcam surveys Shambles beneath and relays the images live on to the Internet, providing a constantly updated view of one of the city's most historic streets.

No doubt viewing gets more interesting the later in the evening you turn on your computer.

The webcam is linked to the website of York music venue Fibbers - which apparently has 3,000 visitors a day from all over the world. You can find it at, not surprisingly, www.fibbers.co.uk.

On the subject of the Golden Fleece, its excellent food is now on a Special 'Early Bird' offer - two main meals for £10 between 5pm and 7pm - stupendous value.

- The response to last week's Bar Talk design-a-garden competition at the Three Legged Mare has been underwhelming.

Landlord James Butler has received only two inquiries but is expected a flood of interest in the coming weeks.

"People must be taking their time, composing their thoughts and waiting until they have a spectacular idea before coming down to see me," said the ever-chirpy pub boss.

"And that is fine. Those who do enter will obviously be entering only high-quality designs and therefore choosing the winner should be easy enough.

"I want to give away the cash prize, it is burning a hole in my pocket. If the people of York don't want to design it, I'll call in Ground Force."

He added that if people didn't bring in their own ideas they would have no right to complain if he did it himself and it was terrible.

"If I create an eyesore, no-one can moan," explained James. "The opportunity is there to design it, so come on, where are your ideas?"

- On a serious note. Pubs all over York were used as a news base while the tragedy in America unfolded.

For the only time in Bar Talk's memory the news story was so great landlords were turning on televisions and punters were coming in off the street, with or without drinks, to watch the events unfold.

So unprecedented were the events, that normal pub rules were put on hold.

And people used York inns as television rooms and quite rightly so.

The best example of this was at Coopers, up at the railway station. People were stopping off and just gazing in amazement at the telly, with no one telling them to buy a drink.

Even the crowds of people outside Radio Rentals in Parliament Street were surpassed in certain pubs.

Televisions, normally an anti-social nuisance in a boozer, proved their use to the mass public on this occasion.