Wednesday, May 17, 2006

100 years ago

For four years there had been a Boys' Brigade corps connected with St Paul's Church and parish, York, and its existing position was stronger in number and more popular than ever. It was most capably and earnestly managed by a few of their good men officers, and it had done great good amongst the boys, both physically and morally. Each year they had had a camp in some healthy country district, and this year one was planned at Filey. The camp would last from Saturday to Tuesday in Whitsuntide, and was exceedingly popular. The boys paid 5s each towards expenses. It was also pleasing to hear that there had been more than a hundred boys on their roll the previous Sunday morning at the church parade, the corps filling one side of St Paul's Church, and everyone had been pleased by the reverence of the boys at worship, and their smart appearance on parade.

50 years ago

One father was remarking ruefully on the way in which the parents' cost of living rose with the child's developing intelligence. He had three children. The youngest one, still a toddler, could be kept happy for hours through the medium of the very simplest of toys - the whip and top that cost 6d. The middle boy, like most of his young school friends was obsessed by the exploits of Davy Crockett, and spent most of his time only dimly in York. The hazards of frontier-life were far more real to him. His coonskin cap cost his father 6s and his hunter's gun 3s 3d. The eldest son had decided to become an under-water explorer, at a cost of no less than 25s to his father. His flippers were 11s, the eye shields 8s and the breathing apparatus 6s.

25 years ago

Solar heating, once seen as the hope of the future, got the thumbs down. The consumer watchdog magazine Which? said that despite the rise in fuel prices, solar heating was still poor value. It argued that the best prospects of saving money on solar heating were for people who switched from full-price electricity to heat their water, and who were prepared to install their own systems. Switching from gas, you'd be very lucky to get your money back. The Which? report, published by the Consumers' Association, said the first consideration in saving energy and fighting fuel bills was "a high level of insulation." There were now around 19,000 homes in the United Kingdom with solar heating systems, and the number was increasing yearly. But the report said: "Although fuel prices are now going up faster than they were in 1977, solar heating is not an economic investment for most people."

Updated: 09:03 Wednesday, May 17, 2006