Thursday, April 29, 2004

100 years ago: At York Police Court, a man described as a baker, but of no fixed abode, was charged with being found in enclosed premises, the front garden of Pinehurst, The Mount, York, for an unlawful purpose. A police officer saw him in the front garden of the house on the night in question, and so he asked him what he was doing. "Nothing," was the reply, but the officer was still suspicious and so brought him to the police station. The defendant said he had been drinking and did not know where he was. He was travelling from Manchester to Darlington, and got out at York to have a drink. When asked by the Bench whether he had a train ticket, the prisoner said it would be amongst his property, however the constable said that all he had on him was some rare mutton, some bread and cheese, and a duck. It then had to be explained to the justices that penny ducks was slang for a faggot, which caused a great deal of laughter in the court.

50 years ago: A good time was certainly had by all who watched Layerthorpe Working Men's Club's walking match for women. The comic costumes were the cause of many a long laugh, and the frolics of some competitors, especially a man dressed as a woman accompanying a woman dressed as a baby, gave the walk an uproarious send-off. An interesting fact about the walk was that the majority of the women competitors were "Mrs". And there was at least one grandmother taking part, who, at 64, was the oldest walker. But considering that the walk did not begin until well after 11am and did not finish until after noon, the question which puzzled Mr Nobody was: Who cooked Dad's dinner?

10 years ago: Villains were travelling hundreds of miles to poach in North Yorkshire, police revealed, with poachers from all over the north-east, and even from Leicestershire, targeting the area. Animals that were thought to be under threat from these so-called commuter criminals, the latest to target the county after it had been plagued by burglars, shoplifters and robbers from across the north of England the previous year, included deer, sheep, pigs and rabbits.

Updated: 11:35 Thursday, April 29, 2004