IT'S amazing what little things one can notice when on foot in the town, providing you look about. For instance, the two chicanes in Wheelgate, Malton, each had tall bollards to show where they were. The one near the old Post Office is no longer. I suspect this got demolished at the time of the fire nearby. The one opposite Heron had recently been run into and was leaning drunkenly when I saw it earlier this week. I thought I was going to end up that way myself, as a woman piloting a huge 4x4 banged up the pavement and down again as part of her parking-alongside-the-kerb manoeuvre. It wasn't necessary if she'd come in slowly. I do wish the proper authority would take this driving-on-footpath habit in hand. It really is just idleness, or an inability to position the vehicle correctly, for being approached by a vehicle mounting the kerb whilst walking along, is not a pleasant experience, and shouldn't happen to a pedestrian.

Looking upwards at the fire-gutted building above the former fruiterers, I noticed the date on the fall-pipe hoppers. 1912. Strange. Never spotted that before. Most builders of repute used to use dated hoppers, many going back to the 1700s. The Lodge has them, and so did Easthorpe Hall, several of which, made of lead, melted in the heat of the fire.

And men in cafes, which I tend to notice when I go for a coffee in one, in our main street. They sit there whilst their wives, who look after them every day of the week, are sent to the counter, with instruction as to what to get, and then have to carry the loaded tray back as they wait to be fed. I think that just now and again they could give the lady a break and wait on her. A few do, but on the whole, chivalry seems to be dead.

With the Gazette & Herald in front of me, I've just come across John Clark's RYEview. However, because he tells us that his views are not the same as those of the editor, he wondered if this issue might be his last. Now really, that is a blinkered view, isn't it? Editors don't usually chop someone's opinion out, just because it doesn't agree with their own, and certainly I know the gazette's editor wouldn't do so. Provincial newspapers, especially, give an unbiased view, as a rule, of what is happening in their area. This is what newspapers are all about, and what a miserable, dull, going-on it would be without some variance of opinion. I hope John can learn to think better of his fellows, and especially show some ambivalence when wearing his council hat.

I'm sure he does, though, really, for he and I share similar views on the A64 issue, for I have been reminded that I complimented him on his stand on this issue several weeks ago, and I'm sure that he hasn't been 'sent to Coventry' for not agreeing with his fellow councillors.

Reading on further, I see we have a new traffic warden, an ex-RAF officer no less, just the kind of person we need to instil discipline, and we hope she enjoys her time in this part of the country. The report mentions footpaths, and keeping them safe for pedestrians, so may I commend my earlier paragraph to her - there's just a chance we might make a start of keeping vehicles from driving on, and parking on footpaths in our town.

Like lots of folk with paperwork to do, I have a large blotter on my desk. Not for the purpose of blotting, of course, these days, but as a sort of writing 'cushion'. For years I've used coloured blotting paper because it tends to stay 'cleaner' than the white variety. However, for a year or two, the blotting paper trade was a bit Henry Ford-ish (you could have any colour as long as it was white). I'd tried shops all round the area with no luck. Anyway, I was doing a bit of a late spring clean in my office and decided on a ring around to see if there was any coloured blotting paper anywhere, and what d'you know? First call, without even ringing out of town, was to Wallis's in Yorkersgate, and I was told: "Other than white, we are only able to offer you blue". Only! I was over the moon, they really made my day. My desk looks right smart now with its new, clean blue blotter in the middle, I'm chuffed! That's when you can see it peeking through the paperwork.

I usually try to finish my column with something to raise a little smile, if I can, or at least to give you, dear reader, something to ponder over. A little change today, for my monthly newsletter from the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) Association came this morning, and under the heading 'Inner Peace' was the following: "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all those things you have started but never finished. So today, I have finished the bottle of rum, my valium, a big bag of Doritos, a large pizza, a chocolate cake, a gallon of strawberry ice cream, and a case of beer. You've no idea just how good inner peace feels".

Updated: 12:28 Wednesday, December 10, 2003