Way we were

100 years ago: The Dean of York was amused and interested by the vicissitudes of a colony of rooks, those "sage and mysterious birds", in the trees near the Minster. The Dean said that a little while ago rooks commenced to build their nests in those trees, and succeeded. He watched them, and observed some smaller black birds, which first he took to be young rooks, but which it appeared were jackdaws, anxiously awaiting their opportunity of discomfiting the rooks. Whenever any of the latter went away for a time, the jackdaws took possession of their nests, and what with eating their eggs and "making things hot for them" the rooks disappeared. The triumphant jackdaws carried off the nests to the Minster front, but the Dean "had them turned out, as it was a shabby thing to do". Two years afterwards the rooks made another attempt, and adopted very different strategy, arriving in force they took possession of the trees they wanted, and there was a great battle. "Like other famous battles, Waterloo for instance," said the Dean, "it was fought on a Sunday." The jackdaws were defeated, driven to their nests in the towers, leaving the rooks to build twenty nests in the trees. The jackdaws, the Dean humorously remarked, had reconciled themselves to their position by persecuting the pigeons.

50 years ago: A reporter at the conference of the Clerical and Administrative Workers' Union, at Bridlington, was locked in the Spa Royal Hall for nearly an hour until police told the manager there was a man in the hall. He had been telephoned from a box in the entrance and the attendants did not notice him, and locked up the hall after the delegates had left. When he had finished telephoning, he found he was unable to get out so telephoned the police, who notified the manager, who went and released him.

25 years ago: Compared with five enterprising "if slightly mad" London school teachers, the Press said: "Dick Turpin had an easy time of it when he and Black Bess made their famous supposed ride from the capital to York." The teachers, who worked at William Gladstone High School in London, set out to repeat the famous highwayman's marathon, with their own trusty steed. But instead of four legs to carry them on the 200 mile journey, they were taking turns pulling a bed all the way. They had set out on April 1, their aim being to raise £7,000 for a school minibus.

Updated: 14:20 Friday, April 01, 2005