AN interesting story about a Malton lad, Robert B North, was passed on to me by Michael Hickes, now of Sleights, who shares a place along with me on our family tree, intersecting somewhere near a great-grandma. Born February 10, 1867, in Wheelgate, Robert B North had two grandfathers, both of whom were shopkeepers. The Norths were boot and shoe makers in Wheelgate, and the other one, granddad Kirby, was a watchmaker at 56 Market Place. Robert North had been apprenticed to Spiegelhalters, watch repairers in Market Street, and by the 1914-18 war he had a factory at Watford, employing 600 workers producing his inventions, including car clocks, speedometers and magnetos. Robert's factory supplied all Rolls-Royce car and aero engines with magnetos up to 1932, and Alcock and Brown's first Atlantic air crossing from Newfoundland to Ireland, on June 14-15, 1919, was in a Vickers Vimy Bomber using Robert B North's Watford magnetos in its engines. These, incidentally, are in the Science Museum in London. "Malton boy does good"! Indeed!

Robert was offered a knighthood but turned it down as he wasn't willing to contribute to party political funds, obviously a man of principle, but he did become a Freeman of the City of London in 1924. On the Kirby side of the family, Harry had the watchmaker's shop where Hoppers now is, and was a Malton urban councillor in the 50s, and the Speigelhalters I recall as jewellers, etc, living in Old Maltongate, and with a daughter who went to the grammar school. Michael Hickes, who passed this bit of history on to me from Robert B North's grandson, of Hertfortshire, shares a great-grandmother with Robert B's aunt Jane, so it is a wide-spreading family tree indeed.

Local government reorganisation again finds the headlines and, as I've said many times, why oh why can't 'they' just leave things along. The current arrangement with parish councils, district and county has worked well enough forever, it seems, so why mess about with it? A job-creation project, no doubt, or, similarly, someone in high office is looking for something to do. 'They', whoever they are, are hell-bent on putting Malton under the Scarborough umbrella, and most ordinary folk don't think too much of this idea. From a physical communication point of view, people find York is a closer neighbour, easier to commute to and with more prospects of us making progress. Needless to say, decisions will be made for us by people who don't live here, and I expect we shall just have to lump it.

Always interested in picturesque speech, and in his case, writing, I was taken up with journalist Bill Anderson's quotation in a letter to the Gazette & Herald in December on the subject of car parking, in which he said "...Scarborough, our proposed shot-gun wedding partner of the near future". Very apt! I liked that one Bill.

Another recurring problem, often read about, is that of anti-social behaviour in Wentworth Street car park, and I am surprised that a stop hasn't been put to what is described as a nuisance. Last week's problem was, once again, vandalism to the Scout hut. A sorry state of affairs. However, I have read several times that plans to build a new £1.9m police station on the car park will solve this problem. Does this mean that the problem remains until a new station is built? It may or may not affect the nuisance, but I can't believe that the different folk who have expressed this as a solution really expect to be taken seriously, for this isn't the real answer to it, is it?

A call from Sheila Scholefield, of Barton-le-Street, told me about folk of days gone by, and especially her grandfather, George Smith, who for 60 years tended his flock in that area. Mr Smith had worked for 36 years for Guy Raines, of Barton, by the time he retired in 1929. Both his wife, and ten of their children, had also worked for Mr Raines at one time and another. A cutting from the Gazette of April 1936, tells of the hard winters encountered in years past, when Mr Smith was bringing a flock of sheep from Helmsley - no cattle wagons at that time, which was around 1916. Leaving Helmsley, he managed to bring the flock as far as Oswaldkirk where he had to run them into a field as further progress was not possible. A rescue attempt was made the following day, by which time many sheep were buried in the snow, but still alive, and Mr Smith had to abandon his horse and continue on foot. With the road eventually cleared, the task of getting the sheep to Barton was accomplished by lorry, several journeys having to be made, which took a week.

The article tells of the witch who lived at the bottom of the hill at Barton-le-Street, who frequently cast her spell on waggoners and their teams, which resulted in horses refusing to proceed up the hill. I wonder what the answer to that was.

Confucius he say: "You are more likely to get forgiveness than permission, so you might as well go ahead and do it anyway."

Updated: 10:27 Wednesday, February 25, 2004