100 years ago

A writer to the Hebden Bridge Parish Magazine said: “Why do the choir chew so horribly together in church, and why are we distracted during the sermon by the sight of munching men and boys.

One could find an excuse for the munching if it only happened at the beginning of the service – then I should excuse them on the grounds that they had not quite finished their breakfast.

How long is the congregation to be treated to the steady sound of oral suction that proceeds from the choir during service? How long are we to bear the sight of munching jaws in the chancel, where the fragrant fumes of peppermint rise like incense to the chancel roof?”

 

50 years ago

This year held the luxury of an additional day. In theory, without this day it would not be February, 1964, at all, but June, 1965. For the year really consisted of 365¼ days, less about 11¼ minutes, and taken since the first year AD that added up to an awful lot of days – 481 to be exact.

Caesar had tried to put matters right by making every fourth year a leap year and giving it an extra day. But by the 16th century the official beginning of spring was happening ten days earlier than scheduled – on March 11 instead of March 21. He had neglected, it seemed, that odd 11¼ minutes.

An additional day every four years had proved too much; the correction had been overdone. So, in 1582, it was decided to balance things by continuing the leap year rule but not in the case of century years unless they were divisible by 400. However, things were not put straight in Britain until 1752.

 

25 years ago

A safety-conscious family of badgers had been blamed for subsidence on a stretch of road between Bridlington and Scarborough.

Road signs had been erected on the A165 road near the village of Muston, warning of the danger. The badgers had been living nearby for many years and had been known to cross the road during the night. Villagers were surprised none had been killed – and it seemed the badgers had also become a little concerned for their own safety, for they had tunnelled under the road to get from their sett to a field on the opposite side of the highway.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Council highways department said they were in a quandary as badgers were a protected species. Talks were being held with the RSPCA, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Nature Conservancy Council to find a solution.