NOVEMBER 5 is only a few weeks away, and City of York Council's latest Your Ward newsletter offers helpful guidelines for anyone taking part in celebrations.

The council offers six key points of advice for anyone having a bonfire, with helpful suggestions such as: only burn dry material; don't use engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire; never leave a fire unattended etc etc - all very sound advice, which we would encourage all readers to follow.

There's also a web link and phone number for anyone wanting further advice from the council on bonfire-related issues.

The council has, however, shown enough humility not to offer advice on firework parties.

After the fiasco which marked last year's 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, we wonder what our esteemed civic leaders may have advised:

  • Don't tell anyone where your firework party is being held
  • Set off all illuminations out of sight of the audience
  • Invite large crowds to your party, but don't close the roads to traffic

QUIZ question: What has this crazy lion picture got to do with finding a solution to the problem of small businesses shunning older employees?

It was submitted by two salesmen at North Yorkshire antique firm Simply Dutch as a way of actively backing calls for small businesses to support older employees.

Can it be that one solution is to set the beast on those who flaunt the new Age Discrimination Act which comes into force next Saturday?

Not really. It shows, Andy Rogers and Ken Humphrey, who now work at Simply Dutch in Leeming Bar, using the antique lion as a publicity stunt when they first opened their own antiques firm in Leeds 36 years ago.

Today Andy is 61 and Ken is 63, and form part of the store's five person team who rely on their well-known expertise.

And how old is the beast in the picture? One thing is for sure. It's no young lion.