YORK council's plan to change the rubbish collection from weekly to fortnightly has caused a right stink, as one whiff of our letters pages confirms.

But do our waste disposal services really need reform? It is a question prompted by a letter received by the Diary from a garbage industry insider.

"My company - Selective Waste and Litter Collection - has recently been looking to expand its unique service to the City of York," writes SWALC's managing director D Tritus.

"What we consider to be our unique selling point is the way our operatives carefully pre-select items of waste left out for collection and ignore them, ideally positioning them in such a place that they cause maximum visual distraction, health concerns and an unpleasant ambience for the general public, until a week later, when such items are carefully ignored again. Where possible, we like to encourage vermin.

"However," Mr Tritus goes on, "although we believe our excellent service would be ideal for your ancient and attractively litter-strewn city, it is patently obvious we cannot better the service that businesses and residents already receive from the council.

"Only this morning I witnessed one of the city's enormous refuse trucks arriving at the rear of commercial premises on Bootham. Its operatives identified and collected around 75 per cent of waste left for collection before swiftly departing, to do the same elsewhere.

"To carefully leave such an array of discarded boxes, torn bin-liner bags and food waste so effectively - and at the entrance to one of the city's prime visitor car parks - at the start of the day and in less than 60 seconds is admirable.

"Polythene sacks, discarded packaging, old furniture and half-eaten kebabs - all are left to rot in the nooks and crannies of your delightful city.

"York's council tax payers must be delighted, so we will not waste sic anybody's time by trying to muscle in on what is a very slick and well-established operation."

WHAT'S going on up there? George Robson, of Dringhouses, York, was intrigued to see an aeroplane circling above the city non-stop from about 10.30am into the afternoon yesterday.

He said the large aircraft must have been flying at 20,000ft, high enough to be practically inaudible.

Something, we surmise, to do with the races. Any answers?

TALKING of aircraft, we noted a local connection to the BBC children's programme Come Outside.

This stars Lynda Baron, aka Nurse Gladys Emmanuel from Open All Hours, as Auntie Mabel, who flies off to investigate where toothpaste comes from, or some other important pre-school conundrum. Her mode of transport is a light aircraft covered in colourful spots. It looks pretty much like a Firefly with chickenpox, courtesy of York's own Slingsby Aviation.

LOCAL racegoers suffering withdrawal symptoms as York's first meeting comes to an end today can get another fix of fillies and fetlocks at Thirsk Racecourse tomorrow.

Its Saturday meeting kicks off at 2pm. Our favourite race must be the Atkinson Maiden Stakes over a mile and a half.

This recalls a character from the annals of history at Thirsk, which is celebrating the course's 150th anniversary of racing on the present site. Forget high-tech. Jack Atkinson, a former clerk of the scales at Thirsk in pre-war times, weighed the jockeys on a set of potato scales.

Updated: 11:10 Friday, May 13, 2005