GARDENER Jack Hunter has retired after 50 years of tending the famous R V Roger's nursery at Pickering. He spent 40 years at the company's gardens in Whitby Road, Pickering, as a nurseryman and has been the key man at the Malton Road operation despatching
THE deadline is looming for the public to register views on a proposed 'mini parliament' for Yorkshire and the Humber. The Government has set a cut-off date of March 3. One way to express your view is via website www.odpm.gov.uk. You can also phone (0870
WHEN ex-airport boss Graham Slater decided on a complete change of career and set up a bookshop in a spare room at the 200-year-old family home at the North Yorkshire moors village of Gillamoor, experts told him it would take five years to show signs
RYEDALE councillors have opted not to increase the district's tax this year but have slammed the North Yorkshire Police Authority for its massive 76pc rise. Coun Alan Farnaby, leader of the district council, told its policy and resources committee: "I
DEFRA is to cull three beef animals imported into England from Northern Ireland from a herd which has subsequently had bovine brucellosis. These animals were among five imported into Great Britain last September. The affected animals and contacts were
A FARMER'S futuristic conversion of traditional stone barns into a business centre, heated by willow grown on his farm, was one of four Yorkshire winners of Britain's top rural architectural awards. Environment Minister Michael Meacher presented the CLA's
FEBRUARY 13, and by the time this gets into print it will be only two or three days to March and spring can't be far behind. Hurry! Hurry! Making for home last Friday, still on the York bypass, and about 13 miles to go, I was passed by an all-sounding
PARENTS and children have welcomed the return of much-needed nursery facilities to a Ryedale village. Wath Court Nursery is the first business to move into farm buildings at Wath Farm, near Hovingham, which have been revamped as part of a rural regeneration
This week's column is written by Philip Place FOR our new wash, two likely lads arrived from Skipton on Thursday last, much like Fred Dibnah and Donald, equipped with sufficient tools to service a jumbo jet! The old pumps that had been in place for 25
WHEN I was looking for material for my Gazette & Herald article on the Over-60s Club, I was told that the present premises were built on the site of a derelict farm. I was puzzled how there could ever have been enough land there to make a viable farm
A NEW bid to win planning permission to erect a beacon on the North York Moors, where one has stood since Roman times, is being made by the residents of Danby. For centuries, a beacon had been lit in times of emergency or celebrations and, during the
THE first of 12 editions of a comprehensive history of Kirkbymoorside is set to be published - but they are already almost sold out. Editor and local historian and Coun Barry Brook said just 200 copies of The Kirkbymoorside Times will be published during
JUST months after a nasty motocross accident at Harwood Dale last year, Barrie Darrell proved he had not lost his touch by winning the Eboracum-organised Kay Trophy Trial. The Pickering-based rider won after completing the Vale of York course with no
Scarborough and District FA Junior Cup - PICKERING Royal Oak have become the first ever team from the second division of the RJF Homes-Beckett League to make the final of the Scarborough and District FA Junior Cup. They will play Edgehill reserves, the
RECENTLY I watched a programme on some remarkable monkeys in Japan. They live by the sea and near an area where, traditionally, waste potatoes and food have been thrown away. The local monkeys became scavengers and, several monkey generations ago, one
I cannot see why terror should exist when it is caused by those who are rich: Causing the poor to fight poor so they can gain a whole lot more: Why won't people really look? At who is reading their holy book, The book that causes all the wars whichever
LADY Lumley's School pupil John Peel will be competing against some of the top young cross-country runners in the country next month after qualifying for the English Athletic Association National Schools finals. John, who is in year 11 and comes from
Thornton-le-Dale maybe best known for its picturesque houses and landscapes but it has also become a breeding ground for talented young gymnasts. Members of the Pickering-based Ryedale Flames gymnastics club won a host of individual and team championships
The garden is springing into life - snowdrops, aconites and cyclamen coum are bursting into flower, and with luck will seed themselves about for future years. Scent is everywhere in the garden, from the graceful arching branches of the pink flowered Viburnum
A NORTH Yorkshire tourist attraction is hoping to pull in a worldwide audience thanks to its ever-improving website. Helmsley Walled Garden's internet site is featured as the site of the month in the March issue of Gardeners' World magazine - and staff
ANOTHER North Yorkshire village looks set to lose its post office and village shop if no one steps forward to take the business on. Mike and Irene Hardey have run Cropton's post office and stores for 31 years. They have finally decided to call it a day
RYEDALE District Council's planning service is too slow, too expensive and unlikely to change, according to a new report. The council's development control service has been rated as poor, receiving no stars out of a possible three from a Government watchdog
BRITISH soldiers held captive during the Second World War had an ingenious way of keeping warm during the freezing winter months. Scraps of tins, old cotton reels and leather laces were all cobbled together to make blower heaters, used to keep the prisoners
SOME of the country's most prestigious names from the equestrian world are among the judges for the horse section of the 2003 Great Yorkshire Show. The show, which this year runs from Tuesday July 8 to Thursday July 10, always attracts entries from some
FARMED fuels from the fields of Yorkshire could make a "massive contribution to the nation's energy needs", says Dorothy Fairburn, regional director of the Country Land & Business Association (CLA). But, she says, the Government's energy white paper
I FEAR the time has arrived once more for my annual tirade against the county rate rise. First, I would love to meet this 'Public' who so 'willingly accept' these truly mind-blowing improved police services. I am sure as a rural county we cannot do without
A MAGICAL sensory room developed for children and young people with special needs has been unveiled to help families across Ryedale. Ryedale Special Families have spent £4,500 so far on providing a fun and safe environment to play in, in the room at its
MALTON Bacon Factory midfielder Nicky Cass was the unfortunate victim of a freak accident last Saturday during his side's 1-0 cup victory over local rivals Old Malton. He broke his elbow after falling awkwardly after an innocent challenge from Paul Boyes
GOLD Cup-winning trainer Jimmy FitzGerald, whose long and highly-distinguished career in Ryedale has spanned more than 33 years and has produced some 1,200 winners, including six at the Cheltenham Festival, is to bow out this weekend. Malton-based FitzGerald
CHILDREN from Luttons Community Primary School were dancing to a different beat recently when they had a visit from an African drummer and an Indian dancer. After watching a performance by the pair, pupils took to the floor themselves to learn aspects
