Tuesday, May 17, 2005

100 years ago

An exciting incident was witnessed on the River Ouse opposite New Walk Terrace. A boat containing a young man and a young woman was near the Terry's Avenue bank of the river, and as the parties were attempting to change seats it capsized, and both were thrown into the water. There were a large number of people promenading the New Walk at the time, and the screams of the young woman caused much alarm. Her companion quickly scrambled to the side of the river and on to the pathway of Terry's Avenue, but it was some time, with the assistance of onlookers, before the unfortunate girl was rescued. She appeared to be none the worse for her immersion, and subsequently the couple, were able to walk off. Some young men took charge of the boat, which was submerged, and managed to tow it to the nearby shipyard at Clementhorpe.

50 years ago

British Railways announced that with the introduction of the Eastern Region summer timetable. The Flying Scotsman had been speeded up, and would leave London King's Cross at 10am, completing the journey to Edinburgh in seven hours, thus saving 27 minutes over the previous summer's timing. It would run non-stop between London and Newcastle. "The Elizabethan" would again run non-stop between London and Edinburgh in similar timings to the previous year, making the journey of 393 miles in 6 hours at an average speed of 60.5 mph. "The Master Cutler" between Sheffield and London had been accelerated in both directions, by ten minutes between Sheffield and London and by 11 minutes in the opposite direction.

25 years ago

Work to transform York's ABC cinema from one screen to three was eventually under way. Manager Colin Bayes said he expected the changes, which were all internal, would take 12 weeks. During that time the cinema would be closed on weekday afternoons. To make way for the two new theatres, one holding 200 people and the other 100, the Painted Wagon under the ABC was to be demolished. The main theatre would be virtually unaltered, but there would also be a licensed bar in the foyer. EMI, which owned the cinema, had been planning the scheme for five years or more.

Updated: 15:42 Monday, May 16, 2005