GOOD to see the Queen recovered from her York-induced cold and able to splice the porthole at the Battle of Trafalgar bicentennial celebrations.

More than 160 ships gathered for the regal review off Portsmouth, in the biggest gathering of naval firepower since the battles on the boating lake at Peasholme Park, Scarborough.

So what's York doing to mark the event? We turned to the Trafalgar Bay pub, Nunnery Lane, to see what glittering celebrations it has planned.

"We haven't bothered," confessed Brenda Allen, landlady for 17 years. "I didn't even know it was the Trafalgar celebrations this week."

You never know, there may be a maritime question or two at the Bay's quiz night. No point in overdoing it.

After all, historian Hugh Murray speculates that the pub wasn't named directly in honour of Lord Nelson's heroics but to venerate a racehorse.

ON the same subject, what is this trend of celebrating anniversaries when they didn't happen? Even the Diary's dodgy historical knowledge stretches to the fact that the Battle of Trafalgar took place on October 21, 1805.

Then there's the 60th anniversary of VE Day which has been dragged from May 8 to July 10 by the Government. Perhaps the authorities decided midsummer offers a chance of better weather so a pasty nation can develop its commemorative tan.

Why stop here? Let's celebrate Christmas with July street parties and mark the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes Night once the kids break up. Remember, remember the fifth of August...

THANKS to readers who pointed out alternative sources of pet food following the demise of Hargreaves (Diary, June 27).

One informant points us to ever-reliable Barnitts, a shop with "a good section of pet stuff which is where I now get my fish food".

Diary regular Barbara Pettitt suggests York Market for good value pet comestibles.

As an aside she recalled working at Bleasedale's Wholesale Chemist on Colliergate in the Fifties. There she sorted the caged birds' cuttlefish from the loose tea from the dry powder poisons - a task, we surmise, that had to be completed diligently to prevent a parrot massacre.

YORK MP Hugh Bayley's annoyance at southerners' poor grasp of local geography (Diary, June 22) brings a response by email.

"It is hardly surprising that southerners are ignorant of 'Yorkshire' geography, since, to the best of my knowledge, a certain county called Yorkshire doesn't exist, and hasn't done for 31 years.

"I am a born and bred North Yorkshireman, and proud of it. I do not want to be associated with wessies the other side of the A1, or anyone south of Selby. But I take his point."

We are keeping this contributor's identity under wraps so as to relay his post-Ascot comment: "I work as a night porter in an hotel in York, and from my experience of seeing a certain multi-millionaire racing horse owner, all I can say is, if having money means you are an ignorant, rude, ill-mannered person, then thank God I'm skint."

FROM our small ads on Friday: "Young couple seek room, asap." And we used to make do with the back seat of a car.

MORE feedback has come in on that memorable figure from York racing history, Prince Monolulu. We'll relay it when space allows.

SPOTTED screaming down Walmgate yesterday: an electric mobility scooter playing the Crazy Frog song...

Updated: 11:17 Wednesday, June 29, 2005