SAD that Euro 2004 is over, but at least footie fans everywhere can finally emerge from their TV screens.

Among them is York council leader Steve Galloway. Flicking through a copy of Who's Who In Yorkshire, published in 1999, we stumbled on Coun Galloway's entry which listed his single recreation: "Watching football".

Despite the pressures of office, he has told the Diary he enjoyed the tournament. Contacted before yesterday's final, Steve backed Portugal to take the trophy, like the rest of the world underestimating the power of Grecian 2004. As for England's quarter-final exit, he bears the pain stoically. "I shared everyone's emotions on Euro 2004," he said.

"Being a Darlington supporter I am used to failure."

Let's hope that York City's elderly - sorry, experienced - new squad can lift the leader's spirits next season.

THIS is the week when York commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Minster fire.

So the Diary can't resist reprinting an extract from Craig Brown's column in the Daily Telegraph last week.

Humorist Craig imagined how Patricia Hewitt, the relentlessly "on-message" New Labour Trade Secretary, would have reacted to the conflagration.

"I'm absolutely delighted to announce that, as planned, a thunderbolt has struck York Minister in complete accordance with our guidelines," Craig imagines Ms Hewitt announcing on the Today programme.

"The feedback we are getting from the people of York is entirely positive. What they are telling us, John, is that, frankly, it was high time the hard-pressed people of the North had a really good blaze. And they are thrilled to bits that we have provided them with one."

WELL done to campaigners in St Mary's, off Bootham. They persuaded York councillors to throw out a plan to demolish a house and replace it with a four-storey block of nine apartments.

As Coun Ruth Potter said: "We should not be demolishing perfectly good buildings."

Quite. Now can the same logic be applied to a much more important house, Burton Croft?

IN last Thursday's Evening Press, chief reporter Mike Laycock proposed that the Terry's site should become a chocolate museum.

York author Kate Lock is in touch to point out that this idea was first raised by her in this very column fully eight weeks ago.

Back then she suggested that the new Charlie And The Chocolate Factory film, starring Johnny Depp, could be shot in Terry's acting as the perfect launchpad for the new attraction.

"I'm very impressed that Mike Laycock had that Willy Wonka idea for Terry's," Kate writes. "Shame he didn't mention that the Diary was way ahead of him there.

"Still, from little cocoa beans, big attractions grow.

"Any progress on J Depp? Maybe we

could lobby him personally?"

Go for it, Kate...

HE regularly parks his car where he shouldn't. But this time, the York businessman's motor was on the double yellows through no fault of his own. It had broken down.

As the traffic warden approached to issue yet another ticket, the trader explained his car had succumbed to an electrical fault.

"And," he added, "I know as much about car electrics as you do about public relations."

REPORTS that children received a record pay-out of £3 billion in pocket money last year came as no surprise in these quarters.

Diary Junior, aged five, recently reported that his classmate had lost her first tooth. She put it under her pillow and the tooth fairy delivered... £10.

With such a lucrative dental dividend, is it any wonder that children are so eager to slurp sugary drinks and hasten tooth decay?

Updated: 11:11 Monday, July 05, 2004