CONGRATULATIONS to Lawrie Dews: at last someone who can see where our problems start with the flooding ('Dredge the River Ouse, says ex-bargeman', January 31). Yet I feel absolutely incensed to read a nameless spokeswoman for the Environment Agency immediately
WHILE I appreciate local concern for flood victims, I feel that the attention given to the flood crisis in the York area is now getting completely out of hand. The tragedy of the earthquake in Gujurat, India, is of far greater significance. Tens of thousands
THE proposals by the Liberal Democrat administration at Harrogate Borough Council to increase the Council Tax by 9.8 per cent is a lesson in how Liberal Democrats propose to run services. In some Liberal Democrat-controlled authorities the backlash against
WITH reference to D K Johnson's letter regarding the Poppleton traffic survey. I regularly use the junction which has the new traffic island. I can assure him that it has made a vast improvement to crossing the road safely particularly with my two children
AT an open meeting, hosted by the York Older People's Forum, York MP Hugh Bayley confirmed that the winter fuel allowance would be paid again by a Labour Government. But he did not confirm any amount. The insulting 25p age addition pension payment for
SO Mr Baldock seeks to defend Peter Mandelson (Letters January 27); only a foolish general would try to defend a position which is indefensible. Politics apart, Mr M was found out, not once, but twice telling porkies. His 'machinations' appear to be mainly
DAME Cissie Sessay has hung up her outrageous frocks after a record-breaking run in Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal in York. Fortunately, Britain's best panto dame will return in a new guise at Christmas. Berwick Kaler is now as much a part of the
Now's your chance to quiz York City chairman Douglas Craig online. He has agreed to take part in a thisisyork question and answer session which is bound to attract the interest of Minstermen followers given the club's lowly position this season. Evening
Fears for the future of York's Bootham Park Hospital were voiced by conservationists today as hospital chiefs began looking at its possible relocation. The psychiatric hospital could be replaced by a brand new development on a "green field site" as part
STANDING on the site of the much-awaited extension to St Leonard's Hospice, and showing off their very own "totaliser", are the York workers committed to helping to make the £2 million dream a reality. When the group of staff from Norwich Union toured
New names will be etched on the two main trophies after first-time champions were crowned at York and District Table Tennis Association Closed Championships at York RI gymnasium last night. Third seed John Farmery, of Fulford Road WMC, won the men's singles
In a keenly contested replay that was considerably closer than the scoreline suggests, Pocklington lost 23-10 at home to Hull. The visitors' greater strike power in the backs gave them the victory over an under-strength Pocklington outfit. Both sides
York failed to halt their run of League defeats in North East Division 2 when they lost 27-13 to Redcar at Clifton Park. York had the better of the first half and turned round 6-3 in front. Redcar had been somewhat ragged as a result of an injury pile-up
A retired American Navy chief is coming to North Yorkshire to support the fight against the location of a US National Missile Defence (NMD) system at RAF Fylingdales. The visit comes as Foreign Secretary Robin Cook was today arriving in Washington for
Seven York walkers put in a marathon effort by walking from Scarborough to York for charity. The hardy souls set off from Scarborough at 11.45pm on Friday and marched through the night, arriving in York footsore, but elated, at 10.20am on Saturday. They
Acorn were the only York amateur team in action at the weekend as both Heworth and New Earswick's BARLA National Cup ties fell victim to the weather. Sadly there was no joy for Acorn as they suffered a 24-2 defeat at Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks in the
Leeper Hare York and District League premier division leaders Huntington Rovers won 2-1 away to Wigginton Grasshoppers. The young home side went into the lead after 30 minutes, when Carl Young finished off a well-worked move. Both goalkeepers, Darren
Hundreds of air cadets from across Yorkshire and beyond gathered at York Minster to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Air Training Corps. But swirling snow and biting winds had meant the planned parade through the city had to be cancelled at the last
Now's your chance to quiz York City chairman Douglas Craig online. He has agreed to take part in a thisisyork question and answer session which is bound to attract the interest of Minstermen followers given the club's lowly position this season. Evening
Ghostly goings-on at a premier York restaurant have links to its risqu past, thisisyork can reveal. Built on the historic site of a brothel, the owners of the Blue Bicycle in Fossgate are convinced that smashed vases and falling clocks are related to
York Wasps are still seeking their first win of the Northern Ford Premiership campaign after another battling but ultimately point-less display yesterday. After almost a month without a league game following two postponements and a cup tie, the fact the
That bad back troubling you again? Then your best bet may be to get out of bed and get on with life, according to University of York experts. Doctors should advise people suffering from acute and chronic lower back pain to try and continue with day to
Home-grown talent Mick Hagan is on a triple-shooting mission to kick-start York Wasps' season. The young prop forward believes February could prove to be a make or break month for the Wasps, who are still without a league win following yesterday's 37-
Flood victims today feared a return of their worst nightmare as weathermen predicted more heavy rain after a weekend of snow in the hills. Rivers in North and East Yorkshire remained on Flood Watch as furious businesses at Stamford Bridge blasted a "disgusting
The grand surroundings of the Mansion House's state room became the backdrop for a York councillor to do a very brave thing for an even braver young boy. Coun Simon Tarry, Liberal Democrat representative for the Clifton Without ward, had his head shaved
STEPHEN LEWIS is less than starry-eyed about the latest craze for St Valentine's Day gifts JUST imagine it. The candles are lit, the table is bathed in a warm, intimate glow, your beloved is leaning towards you, her eyes melting. Feeling the moment is
Q I'm very confused about the problems associated with the MMR vaccine. Should I have my baby vaccinated or not? A This is a very tricky question, not helped by the official response to recent public debate, which has been pure spin-doctoring. You may
JOHN Carr of York, the architect behind some of northern England's most impressive buildings, is the subject of not one, but two new books. They provide a timely reassessment of a man whose work stands at the centre of York's most heated political debate
EVER since he first stood upright, man has been a martyr to his back. We have all experienced back ache: for the lucky ones, this discomfort amounts to a few twinges caused by an afternoon weeding the garden. The unlucky ones are confined to bed by debilitating
TOM Anderson, of the National Theatre's touring company, second left, gives tuition to Huntington School pupils Samantha Hickman, Charlotte Hardy and Tom Hair, for their performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The production followed a
Malton and Norton's high fliers won their Yorkshire Shield first round tie at Wath-on-Dearne by 49-14. A number of key players were rested in order to give those squad members who have not been regulars in the side the chance to show their paces for a
The Right Honourable Sir Frederick Lawton, a former Lord Justice of Appeal who taught both Margaret Thatcher and Sir Robin Day, has died in York aged 89. Sir Frederick, who was known in the legal profession as Fred, moved to North Yorkshire after retiring
Two goals in the last six minutes by Marcus Bramald saw Goole hit back from 2-1 down to steal the points from visitors Harrogate Railway in the Northern Counties East League premier division. However, the scrambled winner in stoppage time had Railway
The north's premier pantomime dame, Berwick Kaler, will return to the Theatre Royal next year in a production of Jack And The Beanstalk. The announcement, made at the final show of Dick Whittington on Saturday night, means that Kaler will appear for an
Villagers have formed an action group to combat plans for a big increase in traffic through a "very dangerous" crossroads. People living in Raskelf, near Easingwold, are angry that National Grid plans to send many of its vehicles through the village as
York rail passengers have lost two years of faster tilting train services because of indecision over the new East Coast franchise, thisisyork has learned. York-based train operator GNER had pledged to bring in 140mph tilting trains by 2004 if it won the
The cost of swimming and other sporting activities at four of York's key venues will rise by an average of 2.5 per cent under a proposed new pricing structure. The Barbican Sports Centre, Edmund Wilson Swimming Pool, Oaklands Sports Centre and Yearsley
Unsung hero Ray Gray was back at his desk today - just 48 hours after returning from the Indian earthquake where he put his own life on the line to rescue six survivors. The 44-year-old father-of-two from Selby today gave a harrowing insight into one
The Imperial Cancer Research Fund today launches a new campaign to raise awareness about men's cancer. STEPHEN LEWIS spoke to prostate cancer sufferer Alan Hayes about the importance of seeking help early BRITISH men are good at doing embarrassed. There
WHAT is this obsession with doing people down? Just about every quiz show on television ends with some sort of vote to send a contestant packing. We revel in voting people out, showing people up as the so-called weakest link, or the least-liked, or least-useful
Home-grown talent Mick Hagan is on a triple-shooting mission to kick-start York Wasps' season. The young prop forward believes February could prove to be a make or break month for the Wasps, who are still without a league win following yesterday's 37-
STEPHEN LEWIS is less than starry-eyed about the latest craze for St Valentine's Day gifts JUST imagine it. The candles are lit, the table is bathed in a warm, intimate glow, your beloved is leaning towards you, her eyes melting. Feeling the moment is
York Wasps are still seeking their first win of the Northern Ford Premiership campaign after another battling but ultimately point-less display yesterday. After almost a month without a league game following two postponements and a cup tie, the fact the
