JANUARY 30, and a snowy morning, but not as bad as the forecasts led us to expect, for which I'm thankful - meanwhile the wild birds have been fed and watered, the 'boss' blackbird is checking for newcomers and sending them on their way - he's a terror! A recently popular addition to the birds diet has been the balls of fat obtainable from various outlets around Ryedale, and I haven't yet seen any breed of bird who doesn't help himself to them. Prices of these varies throughout the district from six for £1 in Pocklington to four for £1 in Malton, the best, by a penny, being six for 99p in Selby. Ya teks yer choice!

Cold, dark weather, and inside jobs seem to get attended to at last, and turning out a drawer yesterday I came across a small badge carefully wrapped and in an envelope. One bearing the ravages of time underground, and sent to me by Jim Halliday of Norton who had found it in a field off Beverley Road, Norton, but still readily readable and bearing the words Driffield Cycling Club, Founded 1877. Probably dates between the wars Jim thought, perhaps the 20s. This is quite an interesting souvenir to me, and one speculates as to why it was in a field, who's it had been, and what kind of bike had been ridden at the time. Whilst 'shoddy' was put on the land then more than it is today, and there is a possibility it had been in a jacket so relegated, there is also the likely possibility that the Driffield Club was on a ride to Malton and back, and were taking the cross-country track from Norton, bordering the fields, and coming out at the end of Langton village before pressing on homewards. It could also have belonged to a farm worker who was also a club member, but perhaps a bit doubtful that one. This badge 'lives' with my own original Malton Wheelers badge which I had from early days of 1938, and when I was writing weekly cycling run reports under the name of 'Roadster' in the Gazette. Newspaper columns were 2.5" (65mm) then-we've tightened up since. I kept a cuttings book in those days, as I continue to do, and the names of the riders might just strike a memory somewhere. A ride to Hull on October 16, 1938, consisted of Johnnie Mellor, George Hasnip, Eric Healey, who ran Gascoign's clock repair shop at Norton, Ken Ferguson of Mill Street, I think, Muriel Holmes, Malton, Alf Ireland who later kept the pub at Barton le Willows, and Joe Baxter who lived in St Nicholas Street. Les Whiting, a local tailor, also rode with the club, as did Ernest Large, son of a window cleaner of Peasey Hills Road, Brian Soppitt who's father managed the shoeshop in Saville Street and Kennie Bell of 7 Bridge Road. There were many others, a few of whom are still around today, and looking at the rides we did, we certainly got the miles in, usually doing around 100 - we were young then.

I was doing a bit of shopping in Heron, my favourite store in Malton's main street on Saturday. Its popularity has snowballed since the early days when customers couldn't believe that food didn't have to be expensive, and I watched one of the staff going round the shelves, turning the tinned food on display so that the label was to the front and readable. Friendly staff, which goes a long way in making a shop popular, always give a pleasant greeting, and the reason doesn't need a lot of analysing. However, the 'tin turning' exercise reminded me of being told by a Canadian friend in Ottawa, who does the same thing, although she isn't a store employee. There is considerable French influence in this city, and products tend to be dual-labelled. Whether stores have specific instructions I don't know but invariably, I'm told, the tins have their French labels facing outwards. My friend tells me she takes great delight, as she goes round, in turning the tins round so that the English label faces outwards. I'm sure her shopping trips give her considerable satisfaction!

Another committee has arisen, this time the Malton and Norton Transport Interchange Project, and a report of its aims I have before me. Most of this report I agree with, although I suspect it covers ground which has already been the subject of concern by other bodies with different names. However, it seems to have a lot going for it, working on the idea of a series of mini-projects. Malton Railway station centres on the visions involved and I was surprised to see that Harrisons has a 125 year lease on some of the station buildings. How that will affect future development I don't know, but the group has been sufficiently smart in agreeing over the two pillars erected in recent years which impede the view of the station, and proposes that they be demolished. The sting in the tail is that the cost allocated for their demolition is - wait for it - £5000! Five finger posts are proposed at £6250, and one 'Imperial' cast iron notice board fixed to internal wall - £3000. Thirteen similar items reach a total of £54,000 and leave me apprehensive and concerned. These finances are way amongst the stars, especially when it's Joe Public who pays in the end, and it looks as though someone could get rich. Some good ideas in principle, but finance needs a down-to-earth approach.

Said in court:

Question: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8.

Answer: Yes.

Question: And what were you doing at that time?

Updated: 11:21 Wednesday, February 12, 2003