Malton, February 6, and another cold day - but worry not, spring cannot be that far away. Which reminds me about the subject of sweeping or clearing snow from your own bit of footpath. This used to be considered to be good social behaviour. It meant that you were giving consideration to your fellow man. Now things have changed. And not only "things", but people! For the reason, so I am told, why it is not wise to clean the footpath in front of your house is to avoid a claim against yourself, should anyone slip and fall. What is it about today's mentality, that should something go wrong then somebody should be made to pay, and by "pay", it is meant financially? What a cloud for doctors and surgeons to work under, when there is the fear that should the treatment not prove successful they could end up in court. Lack of tolerance and greed go hand in hand it seems.

Today's Gazette & Herald headlines tell me that "MP calls for Ryedale to be given a new name". Is it the Whitehall civil servants looking for a job to keep them in office again? We've had boundary changes for as long as I can remember. No one seems to be able to settle down today and get on with the business in hand, they're always wanting to change things. Whilst it is agreed that the constituency bore the name of Thirsk and Malton at one time, those self-same faceless ones pushed through the change to Ryedale. That's all right. It can embrace what you want it to embrace, and we've had it for 20 years, so let's leave it at that. And anyway, it sounds nice, doesn't it? Sort of friendly. Of course there's lots more to it than a mere name change, and usually finance has a lot to do with it, not forgetting that "what's in it for me?" aspect which often raises its head. Can we not just settle down, leave things alone, scrap the Boundary Commission, and let's get on with our lives?

And then we see another interesting article about Ryedale being targeted by criminals from the outside. The police know this has been the situation for a very long time, and with that knowledge and experience they must know by now how to deal with the problem. The Chief Superintendent suggests that she could do more if more funding were available. Always, we need more money in order to do a job. We've listened to this reasoning for many years with mixed feelings. We are also promised faster response times to calls from the public and are told that new software, now installed, will help. Another catchphrase we've heard before from various agencies in their different fields, and the man in the street wonders what this wonderful "software" is, and what it is going to do. How would we manage without software? We did. Once!

I came across a little item the other day which might be new to you, about Frankie Howerd, for it tells of a plaque over the stage door of York's Opera House, which says "Frankie Howerd - Son of York". Something I'd never given thought to, but had I been asked I would probably have thought him to be from the south and been wrong, for he was born in York. His mum worked at Rowntrees. "Not a lot of folks know that!"

I watched a chap on his bike going down Saville Street the other day - as indeed one sees almost every day. Of course, it's a one-way street and cyclists shouldn't go against the traffic flow, but this chap was standing on his pedal, and was thinking he was beating the system, which he wasn't. Others take their feet off the pedals while remaining in the saddle, and dangle their legs, once again "not really riding" - but in fact they are. Rather like going through traffic lights at a red by not pedalling, but by scooting oneself along with one foot, for which one rider recently got fined £60 with £45 costs. Precedent states that a cycle can be pushed through red lights providing you are walking with the cycle at your side. Yet I clearly remember doing just this at Butcher Corner once, when a lad, and there was a PC on point duty, who made me stop until he allowed me over, and told me that a bicycle is a vehicle, and had to obey traffic laws.

But back to Saville Street, a cycle contra-flow would be of much advantage to cyclists, and including down the Market Place, and St Michael Street, to keep them off Wheelgate. Especially to school children with a haversack full of books on their backs which already makes them very top-heavy and unstable.

To think this was once a two-way street. I can still see the country buses going up and down. I know they weren't quite as wide as they are today, but we took it all for granted, and folk took their time. Which is where things have changed!

A sobering thought to conclude are the 1999 global statistics recently finalised of road crash deaths. 880,000 died. That's a lot of folk. About 85pc were where seatbelt wearing rates are low. Well-paid young males the largest casualty group.

Taken from a motor insurance claim form:

Q. Do you engage in motorcycling, hunting, or any other pastime of a hazardous nature?

A. I watch the Lottery Show and listen to Terry Wogan.

Updated: 10:44 Wednesday, February 19, 2003