THE wheel of fortune has left Dan Adams' head spinning.

First his flat was ravaged by the Fulford Place blaze. Then to make matters worse, he met Anne Robinson.

To be fair, Dan's appearance on The Weakest Link was filmed before he and his girlfriend Michelle were made homeless by the fire.

What's more, he won. He was named the strongest link despite getting most of the questions wrong. His fellow contestants in the programme, screened last Friday, complained he had plotted a path to the final by joining forces with a fellow contestant, an Irish woman (Michelle is Irish).

No doubt Dan's near-£2,000 prize will come in particularly handy at the moment. He had vowed to share any winnings with friends and family - but no one has seen him since.

Rumours that he is kipping on Anne Robinson's settee have been scotched. After all, the York fitness instructor told her she would look good in Lycra, a comment which went down badly with the rigid-faced presenter.

HERE'S to Elly and her colleagues on the picket line at Radio York who downed headphones to join the national BBC strike.

There's plenty of fat to be trimmed from the corporation. Get rid of those London-based middle managers who splash the licence fee on ludicrous motivational courses at luxury hotels. Oh, and Natasha Kaplinsky.

But the nonsense of a 20 per cent across-the-board staff cut is exposed by the situation at Bootham Row.

Radio York is more than a lean machine, it is positively skinny. Yet the station is expected to lose five jobs, plus one from the website, without it affecting programme quality. To use a technical broadcasting term, this is "bananas".

Readers may be surprised by the Diary's support for Radio York. We have chronicled the station's various difficulties to the annoyance of its management.

But these reports have been prompted by listeners, upset by schedule changes. Like them, the Diary wants Radio York to be as good as it can be.

And that is not going to happen by slashing staff and resources.

CITY of York Council has its own financial difficulties, of course. But a money-spinning idea occurred at the weekend.

Saturday's Evening Press revealed how lap dancers are being hired to strip and gyrate in the back of limousines at Royal Ascot, charging £1,000 a go.

To those who have expressed outrage at such sleazy antics, the Diary says: close your eyes and think of York.

Imagine how many parking spaces 11 stretch limos would take up. The parking fees and fines for the five-day festival could pay for 2,000 wheelie bins.

Meanwhile, the council might offer an alternative cut-price service. For £25 a time punters could enjoy a cup of tea and a Jammie Dodger with the new Lord Mayor, Janet Greenwood, in the back of Steve Galloway's Smart car.

Updated: 08:55 Tuesday, May 24, 2005