ANN Rye knew of Miss Shepherd, the lady in the van, from reading Alan Bennett's collection of prose pieces, Writing Home. That alone, however, could not prepare her for the task of playing the cantankerous, eccentric old lady in Ian Brown's new revival
BEER for breakfast is ordinarily considered the diet of the dipsomaniac, but now it has been officially endorsed by the licensing bench. Getting into the World Cup spirit, magistrates have allowed York pubs to open at 7am. That is good news for football
NURSES from Ward 11 at York District Hospital are limbering up to give people a run for their money when they take part in the Race For Life. The 16 nurses, who all work on the breast cancer ward, have been following a gruelling training regime to stand
STAFF from Guest Walker and Co solicitors in Shambles, York, are in training for the Race For Life. Partner Karen Riley has organised a team of colleagues to take part in the race on Sunday on Knavesmire, and they have had special T-shirts printed. They
The path we fancied near Grassington was still closed. So we decamped a mile or two down Wharfedale and settled on the village of Burnsall, which Wainwright described in 1991 as 'neat and compact... well endowed with nature and a lovely riverside setting
We took a random route to Pickering Castle turning uphill at the North York Moors Railway station, up through the slopes of old terraced houses. I noticed three stones named Ellis in a Quaker graveyard, a pleasant place to lie, eternity with a view. The
Fantastic views are your reward when you brave the contours out of Clay Bank, says VICTORIA ELLIS There is a choice of car parks today. The big one on the top of Clay Bank offers, as a backdrop to boot lacing, the majesty of the Cleveland Plain. But for
VICTORIA ELLIS works up an appetite after walking in Coverdale. (Please note that since this article was written on the 19th January the pub has re-opened and a warm welcome awaits you!) Carlton in Coverdale was bright, sunny and quiet on Saturday morning
MORE in hope than with judgement, we set off in the fog on Saturday morning to the Wolds for some valley wandering. A phone call to a publican had given some cause for optimism about the weather not being 'too bad'. With hindsight I think my phone call
Today's eight-mile route is a splendid way to stride into the New Year. We started at Pateley Bridge, crossed the River Nidd and took the quiet back road through the village of Bewerley. The next half-hour is a slog uphill and part of a popular little
York's Place Research Centre published a booklet last month called A Guide To The Wetland Heritage Of the Vale Of Pickering. I just had to go out and have a look and chose the carrs and ings (one-time marshlands, reedswamps or whatever) south of West
When we got to Broxa Forest on the North York Moors it was typically wet, gloomy and misty winter weather, so no views from the bench. So we slipped straight into a larch wood and then soon found a nice sunken track through Silpho Moor with beech and
VICTORIA ELLIS takes in the medieval ruins along the Magna Via from Helmsley We drive north out of the centre of Helmsley, not as usual on the busy Bilsdale road, but on a more ancient parallel highway. It is the Magna Via, first recorded in 1145. We
Hold Caldron is one of my sweetest childhood haunts. Arriving here has a magic, as the quiet back road twists round a corner and suddenly dips steep into another world, and then stops at the bottom, deep in a lovely valley, at a stone bridge over a river
IF YOU travel out of Helmsley on the Scarborough road, you soon slip through two little villages squeezed together, Beadlam then Nawton. The pair persist as separate identities which is confusing. Every reference book has two sets of entries. In 1754
GEORGE WILKINSON stretches his legs before an appointment with the surgeon's table... If you drive the road from Thirsk to Ripon you will have been stopped at the start of this walk by the traffic lights on the bridge over the river at Skipton-on-Swale
Grosmont is this week's destination for George Wilkinson. Today we have a triangular route on high moor with terrific views out in all directions, and the triangle filled with heather. A short walk that would combine nicely with a few hours at Whitby
We are back in 'Heartbeat Country', TV land Goathland, on the beaten track, but with a hill or two to make the heart beat faster and plenty of fun. I joined the unchained army of amblers (just got a car park place) and set off down an abandoned railway
George Wilkinson hits the trail again, for a moorland walk among the heather. Regular readers will have noticed that a couple of weeks ago the paper described me as 'incapacitated' (much to the amusement of my friends) and Victoria Ellis has kindly done
George Wilkinson heads to Wharfedale I had to laugh as I drove into Grassington; some wag had put up a sign that read 'Twinned with Dodge City'. However, seven miles further up Wharfedale, at the village of Starbotton, Dodge City had a certain resonance
George Wilkinson is enchanted by an evening stroll around Nunnington NUNNINGTON had already settled in for the evening, Nunnington Hall resting after its daily flux of visitors. The River Rye was running in clear, just a little coloured. A touch of breeze
George Wilkinson discovers a walk full of interest through Roman remains at Malton. Today we have a super little easy wander, chock-a-block with interest, straight out from the market town of Malton. Derventio, a Roman fort site, makes a good start. Once
Deep into the far reaches of Nidderdale, at Scar House Reservoir, there was but one other car. I asked the occupants which way they were going round the water. They thought anticlockwise. Using the plughole principle, and being in the Northern Hemisphere
AFTER Star Bores: Attack of the Drones, the flop comeback movie in 1999, George Lucas hits his stride in the second of the 'prequel' movies in his space saga. The phantom menace in The Phantom Menace was the technology: in the rush to put all his new
THE Contemporary Sculpture Park at Newby Hall is open for its second year. Following the success of last year's inaugural exhibition at the Historic House Association house and gardens near Ripon, owners Richard and Lucinda Compton have planned another
REFLECTIONS, an exhibition of new work in oil and water-colour by Meredith Ramsbotham, goes on show at Ken Spelman's Bookshop, in Micklegate, York. Meredith's paintings are very English, with a quiet directness and an intensity in her tranquil vision
A House of Commons motion was this week tabled on the use of Menwith Hill and RAF Fylingdales for missile defence. The Early Day Motion allowed MPs to once again voice their fears that allowing America to use the North Yorkshire radar bases would have
I WOULD query whether or not my native city is any better for the attracting to it of so many companies, British or otherwise, as is claimed by those whose aim is to attract them, ie the York Inward Investment Board. The subject is brought to mind by
IN April a "spokesman for the Highways Agency" in your paper stated that after the May Bank Holiday the restrictions on the A64 were being "temporarily reinstated for part of May". Work has been completed on the bridge, the central reservation and the
Jamie Spencer, who successfully deputised for Frankie Dettori on Knavesmire on Wednesday when winning the Dante Stakes on Moon Ballad, will be the super-sub for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin concern again tomorrow in Newbury's big race. Spencer stands in
STEPHEN LEWIS meets the man who will be stepping into Peter Addyman's shoes as head of the York Archaeological Trust WHEN it comes to having fun, there is nothing, insists John Walker, that beats looking down holes. It is, he says, obviously enjoying
AS the tourist season gets into full swing in York, King's Square becomes a magnet for the crowds, as visitors stop a while to watch street entertainers and munch chips and ice creams. Today's selection of archive pictures show how the square used to
Yorkshire had to endure more misery after a long day in the field at Canterbury yesterday when they then lost Matthew Wood and Michael Lumb to end on 22 for two, leaving themselves to make a further 157 for Kent to bat again. Both wickets fell to outstanding
ONE of York's most contentious plots of land is in the headlines again. The former gas works at Heworth Green has been a worry to residents and a headache to planners for years. The question of what to do with land contaminated with chemicals including
YORK'S Race For Life is set to be the most successful yet, with more women than ever taking part in the sponsored walk and run around Knavesmire. Last year, just under 3,000 women completed the five-kilometre (three-mile) trek around York racecourse,
THE tragic death of a young mother has spurred on her family to raise hundreds of pounds for cancer research in this weekend's Race For Life. Mother-of- three Diane Shipley died of cancer in August, aged 41, after a ten-month illness. Now three generations
Thinking of replacing your windows or glazed doors this year? Then you should know that as of April 2002 replacement glazing comes within the scope of the building regulations. Building Regulations Approved Document L is Government legislation introduced
Motoring Editor MALCOLM BAYLIS looks at Renault's designer cars DESIGNER homes, designer clothes, why not designer cars? So alongside the brands of modernity such as Conran, Dyson and Bang & Olufsen, Europe's number one car manufacturer hopes to sit
YORK City boss Terry Dolan has admitted a summer surge of more fresh blood hinges on whether Russ Howarth and Darren Edmondson accept new deals. And the City chief has hinted if the out-of-contract duo do commit themselves to the Minstermen then his rebuilding
VICTORIA ELLIS suggests the perfect walk for Boxing Day to help clear away the post-Christmas cobwebs This is a walk for Boxing Day, and has the following characteristics - easy strolling, pubs at the start/finish and halfway round, simple navigation
VICTORIA ELLIS takes a gentle stroll through the lowlands surrounding Brearton Brearton is surrounded by Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Ripon and Harrogate, the closest about three cross-country miles away. But the little village is tucked away from the
Victoria Ellis discovers a mobile phone is an essential piece of kit for lone walkers There were walkers about but the goose presiding over West Ayton's village green was hardly welcoming, very protective and advancing with lots of hissing. I gave a bit
Victoria Ellis takes in the views on a walk along the coast from Scarborough. The car park took a bit of finding, being curiously unsigned, but when I pulled up it would have been worth the drive just to sit there and enjoy the views of Scarborough Castle
VICTORIA ELLIS temporarily takes over from George Wilkinson, who is incapacitated, and leads a walk to Cawthorne. Cawthorne Camp on a midweek morning was busy with walkers and dog walkers and lorries delivering topsoil. In the first century you might
I broke my rule of 'never try to get anywhere on a Bank Holiday' to do a route recently recommended by the North York Moors Authority. This is useful for me as I don't have to worry about it too much and I think will be nice for you as it's a pleasant
GEORGE WILKINSON hops on the Moorsbus for the 'forbidden land' The Moorsbuses have been cruising the North York Moors like a fleet of Marie Celestes. Here is a chance to take a ride and do a linear route recommended by the parks authority. You jump off
THE title cannot be a coincidence. Adze Gallery, in Gillygate, York, is holding an exhibition cheekily called Sacred & Mundane, just when, only yards away in Exhibition Square, York City Art Gallery is presenting Sacred & Profane. On view until
A RETAIL expert has dismissed fears that York's historic core will lose out if the Coppergate Riverside scheme goes ahead. Jonathan Baldock told the Riverside public inquiry that the city centre currently has significantly less vacant shops than the national
A NEW evening league aimed attracting more young players to take up the game has been launched by York Vale Cricket League. Clubs belonging to the league have been encouraged to form teams to play in the competition with games lasting a maximum of 18
REGIONAL assemblies, for all their limitations, at last offer the marginalised regions of England a chance to have a voice in the running of their own affairs. England has suffered and has been weakened by the regional disparities in wealth and power
A VERY large proportion of people live in fear of the rise of violent crime in the country, while politicians do nothing to allay these fears. Sentencing of these criminals should be counted in years and not weeks as is often the case. People should make
PLEASE tell me that I have misunderstood the hype, and that the England football team are not really paying £800 per room per night for a total of 50 rooms in a hotel in Dubai? No decent nation would sanction such obscene expenditure in our country's
A TOTAL of 40 British servicemen have now been struck down by a mystery bug which has hit personnel in Afghanistan, including some York-based soldiers. Reports from Bagram air base indicated that a further 22 people had fallen ill, in addition to the
SECOND division pacesetters Stamford Bridge were far too strong for fourth division Sheriff Hutton, who crashed to a 241 run defeat in a one-sided Hunters the Estate Agent York and District Senior Cricket League Edward Readman Memorial Trophy preliminary
