Thursday, May 25, 2006

100 years ago

To mark a significant anniversary, a deeply interesting chapter in the Educational History of York would be told by Mr W W Hargrove in the following day's Yorkshire Weekly Herald. It was the history of the Friends' Girls' School, which was originally projected in 1784 by Esther Tuke and eventually opened quite a number of years later on New Year's Day, in Trinity Lane. The school was afterwards transferred to Tower Street and eventually to the Mount, where it was still, and carrying on in a most flourishing condition. While John Bright was prominently associated with the Friends' Boys' School, Lindley Murray was chiefly identified with the Friends' Girls' School, in which he took a great interest in its early days, and to which he rendered valuable help. The interesting fact was brought out in the article that it was some of the pupils of the York Girls' School who persuaded Lindley Murray to compile his famous grammar.

50 years ago

Every time the illuminated model of an owl blinked in Scarborough's Peasholm Park, television viewers in the area blinked at the heavy interference on their sets, which lasted for two of every three seconds. For three and a half hours nightly the interference blotted out both sound and vision, and even drowned the voice of Billy Cotton calling "Wakey, wakey." It certainly woke up people in the vicinity into action. Mr Percy Pepper, of Peasholm Drive, had a few friendly words with Scarborough Corporation electrician, Mr Les Speakes, who was one of the electricians at the Tree Walk, which attracted many visitors with its illuminated models of animals. The two men arranged a signalling system. Looking from the park to Mr Pepper's lounge window, Mr Speakes knew there was interference when the lounge light was switched on, and he traced the trouble to the time switch of the owl. He cut out the switch. The owl no longer blinked, and neither did the viewers and their sets.

25 years ago

The Government was giving away £8m -- but it was no use all rushing at once. It was for hotel and guesthouse owners to improve their property. York was being offered a share -- on a first come, first served basis. The Yorkshire and Humberside Tourist Board was urging owners to claim as much of it as soon as possible. The windfall for upgrading accommodation with central heating, washbasins and showers, was a new grant from the English Tourist Board. "It is a direct grant which can be used for anything from an extension to providing facilities for the disabled," said Miss Janet Campbell, development advisor with Yorkshire and Humberside Tourist Board in Tadcaster Road, York.

Updated: 10:23 Thursday, May 25, 2006