THOUSANDS of readers have been following the story of the Diary's rusty ring with rapt attention. It has been the talk of dinner tables from Wigginton to Wheldrake.

Today we are able to reveal the origin of the metallic object which has caused such comment.

All we knew was that it originated from the National Railway Museum and had something to do with the Flying Scotsman.

Turns out that our correspondent was right. No, it's not a napkin ring from the Gravy Spreaders works canteen on Leeman Road, as suggested by Dale Minks. But it is a slice of the famous locomotive's boiler tube just as Andy Scaife proposed.

An NRM spokeswoman confirmed it had been cut from the innards of Scottie in its latest overhaul (which can be witnessed in the part of the museum called The Works).

The engine has to undergo a complete service before it can gain its railworthiness certificate, and as this was happening the clever marketing people nicked a length of tubing to publicise the Flying Scotsman exhibition which opens in April.

Andy had suggested that lots of these "pieces of history" could be auctioned off for charity. The museum is now considering this suggestion.

Meantime, how much are we bid for the Diary's rusty ring, part of the Flying Scotsman's engine between 1999 and 2004? Andy has pledged £10, but if anyone would like to pay more we'd be happy to hear from you.

All money to our Guardian Angels appeal.

THE previous Nestl Rowntree MD Chris White was known as "the bulldozer". Certainly there was plenty of bull associated with his regime.

But does the new man have a nickname? It's funny you should ask that. Paul Grimwood, who is silently overseeing all sorts of ominous changes at the Haxby Road factory, is cheerily known as "the grim reaper".

YOU'VE got to admire his consistency. "I cannot in all conscience see the Barbican as our number one priority." So said Coun Steve Galloway... in April 1988.

ARCHITECT Tom "Cat" Adams was delighted to see the Diary's items on the online guide to York's moggie statuettes. Most of them are on his buildings, as designed by sculptor Jonathan Newdick.

But he thought these works of art were too substantial for a small building styled "Number St Andrewgate". "I really wanted to do a cat flap with half a cat sticking out," Tom tells us. "But I daren't do that."

So instead he bought a kitten ornament from a garden centre, painted it black and fixed it to the wall where it remains today.

Updated: 10:00 Monday, January 30, 2006