Thursday, June 24, 2004

100 years ago: The North-Eastern Railway Company decided that it would "have nothing to do with" the proposed scheme for a deep sea harbour for Scarborough. Columnist TT thought that it was a disappointment, but as the decision was irrevocable Scarborough would have to "sit down quiet for a tune, and work out its own salvation in a modified way". The big scheme was expected to go by the board, as it was too big for the town to tackle itself and there was not much chance of the Admiralty giving it a hand. The Admiralty had no plans to spend more money for some time, as it had just spent a great deal on Dover Harbour, and if later it did resolve upon building the much needed Harbour of Refuge for the North-East coast, it would "doubtless" select Filey Bay.

50 years ago: York dentists welcomed the British Dental Society's activity in attracting young men and women to train for dentistry as a career, and so stop the decline in the numbers of entrants into the profession. They were urging the Ministry of Health to set up a national committee to investigate the recruiting position, because of the fear that in the next ten years the number of practising dentists would be too low to provide an adequate service for the public. The president of the York Dental Society blamed the present scale of pay, amongst other things, stating some new dentists were paid less then when he started out.

25 years ago: York councillors scuppered a brewery's plans for a floating pub on the River Ouse. North County Breweries wanted to convert a barge to be moored alongside Tower Street Gardens on the city centre side of Skeldergate Bridge, but the "booze on the Ouse" plan was turned down flat by the council. A number of local residents objected, one pointing out that they had enough to contend with in the area with floods in winter and the established pubs in summer, although there was another resident who did say it was a "lovely idea" and hoped it wouldn't be rejected because of "too many wet blankets".

Updated: 08:26 Thursday, June 24, 2004