Friday, September 3, 2004

100 years ago: "I have but recently made the acquaintance of York," wrote a correspondent, "and am greatly interested in all that pertains to your ancient and in so many respects, unique city. I have frequently in my rambles by the riverside, however, been struck with the scores of anglers all apparently so far as ever I saw, busy doing nothing." The writer wanted to know if they ever caught anything, as he had often waited to see, the result always being nil. He also wondered why this was the case, dismissing a scarcity of fish, for he was often told "there's roach, an' perch, an' pike, and goodgen in't river". The correspondent cast doubt on this being due to inept anglers, and mused whether he had been unlucky in missing a big haul. He asked if readers could tell him of any - providing they were their own, not a friend's - achievements in the piscatorial art. However, "it's a sort of unwritten prerogative of the knights of the rod and line to indulge their powers of imagination a bit, and I fancy we shall have to continue to accept their statements in the best of good faith".

50 years ago: For some years during and after the war, education authorities, particularly in rural areas, gave their official blessing to leave-of-absence by pupils of upper forms to go to potato camps in the autumn. While the need for help from schoolchildren was not as great as in the lean war years some authorities continued the practice, at any rate to some extent, to help out the farmers. York Education Committee made no arrangements for children to go to camp, but it was expected that some children would be taking advantage of the half-term holiday in October to earn some extra pocket-money "lifting" potatoes.

25 years ago: It was announced that the Kings Cross to Edinburgh main line, which goes through York, was at the back of the queue in British Rail's electrification plans. This was because it only took two hours to travel from London to York on a High Speed Train, and so work to speed running times up was not considered a priority. The modernisation of signalling equipment from Kings Cross to Selby, shortly to be followed by York and Newcastle's signal boxes, had misled travellers into thinking the line would be next for electrification.

Updated: 11:01 Friday, September 03, 2004