There's nothing more likely to focus your attention on the amenities that are, or are not, available for disabled people, than living with an infirm person. So, since Jean became disabled, I have become very conscious of the misuse of these amenities by some inconsiderate people.

While shopping in Acomb last week I noted three parking bays for disabled drivers in Front Street. Vehicles displaying orange badges occupied two, and one was vacant.

As I crossed the "foot street", warily avoiding speeding cyclists, a car, bereft of orange badge, swung into the vacant bay. A young woman leapt out of the car and strode off like an Olympic athlete.

Unfortunately, there is rarely anyone present with whom to register official complaint about such improper use of the facilities provided for the disabled. A similar problem exists with the specially-constructed crossover points on pavements for people in wheelchairs, or the sight-impaired. These are rarely useable because they are often blocked by inconsiderately-parked vehicles. And nobody, except those who might wish to use the crossings, seems to care.

We moan about some of the European Union regulations, with which we are expected to comply, but now that disabled drivers' orange badges are to be replaced by EU blue ones perhaps we can look forward to stricter enforcement of the rules with regard to parking concessions for disabled drivers.

March 31, 2001 is likely to be a sad day for many former and serving North Yorkshire police officers and civilian support staff, for it is then that the Police Social Club at the Police Headquarters, York, along with other clubs in the county's police stations, is to close.

Sad, but it was the right decision - which was a long time coming - to correct a mistake that was made when the headquarters was built in the late 1970s. Its planning was then awry, because the club and other facilities were either put in the wrong place, or were inadequate for their purposes.

As a result alterations and additions to the building have been ongoing throughout its short life.

As Bob Humpleby of the Police Federation has so rightly said, police officers should have somewhere to relax when they are off-duty. But if they are to "relax" it makes it even more important that their social activities are divorced from their working environment.

Over the years, the club has been the venue for many enjoyable functions and will be greatly missed by its members. Let's hope alternative accommodation will soon be found to house the club, for police officers do need a place of their own in which to let their hair down.

Chris Titley's recent feature on Naughty Old York reminded me of the time we lived in Tadcaster, in the late 1960s, when the town was reputed to be a hotbed of wife-swapping activities. Having just left Bangkok, the hottest 'sin' city in the East, perhaps the world, Jean and I thought Tadcaster tame, and a most unlikely place in which to find sexually promiscuous practices.

However, to enhance the myth and amuse our friendly fun-loving next-door neighbours, with whom we exchanged evenings of cards and ale until the small hours at weekends, we teased our inquisitive and strait-laced neighbours by Kevin and I entering through the back door of each other's house and emerging through the front doors, just in time to greet the milkman, and to be seen by the curious couple across the street.

Our antics caused quite a stir and it gave the locals something to talk about for weeks. But then, there wasn't much going on in Taddy to talk about, and nothing will convince me that wife- swapping was ever practised in that back-water town.