Chase away those January blues with Scholastic’s colourful collection of children’s books which includes an exciting new series based on real-life animal rescues.

Whether it’s a little lost hedgehog, a dog biscuit-sized girl or a seafaring adventure in Cornwall, there’s a story to warm hearts, tickle ribs and set hearts pounding.

Fresh from the printers this month is a brilliant new series of books which have been produced by Scholastic in tandem with the RSPCA, the leading UK animal welfare charity. The books feature fictional characters but tell the real-life story of the RSPCA’s part in an animal rescue.

Each book, priced at only £4.99 and suitable for children aged over three, has a separate theme – wildlife, pets and farm – and includes heart-warming stories that families can enjoy together as well helping little ones to become aware of the important role of the RSPCA in saving animal lives. The beautifully-produced books, with a foiled cover and full of adorable illustrations, also promote responsible pet ownership. There are facts about animal care, an interview with a real RSPCA inspector and information about the RSPCA children’s club. And for every book sold, 15p will be donated to the RSPCA.

In Puppy Gets Stuck by Sue Mongredien, Emily’s family has a new puppy. Pickle is naughty and loves exploring but one day, when out for a walk, Pickle goes missing. Emily’s family and the whole village search everywhere but Pickle can’t be found. Then Emily hears a tiny yap and discovers Pickle is in a pickle. He has fallen into an old mineshaft. The RSPCA and fire brigade come to help and with the help of a special harness, Pickle is pulled to safety!

In Little Lost Hedgehog by Jill Hucklesby, we meet Grace who is out in the garden feeding her rabbits when she hears a rustle in the flower bed. She sits very still by the kitchen door, peering out into the dark and then spots some little paws, two shiny eyes and a twitching nose. It’s a tiny hedgehog but where is its family because he looks lost and hungry? Grace’s mum calls the RSPCA who take it back to their centre and nurse it back to health.

And in the topical Lamb All Alone by Katie Davies, Ben’s school is closed due to a flood warning. At home, Ben and his family secure the house against the rising water but what about the sheep in the field at the end of his garden? The farmer is stuck on his farm and can’t rescue them. Luckily, the RSPCA are on hand to help. Together Ben’s family and the RSPCA Inspector herd the animals to safety – through Ben’s garden! But one little lamb has been left behind. How will they get the animal across the deep water?

These eye-catching and informative books are set to be a real winner with children who love animals, fun and adventure.

Meanwhile, Jumblebum (paperback, £6.99), a brilliant new picture book from top team Chae Strathie and Ben Cort , will have children aged three to six laughing along to the rhyming text and enjoying the big, bright, colourful illustrations. Little Johnny thinks that his room has its own special style but mum thinks his room is a mess. Johnny doesn’t care… until the chaos attracts the terrible Jumblebum Beast. Is Johnny about to end up in the mess-loving monster’s tummy, or can his secret plan save the day? This hilarious tale about the importance of tidying up has a moral that won’t be lost on little ones. It’s for sure there’ll be a new broom sweeping clean when Jumblebum gets to work! And it’s not only little ones who are going to have all the fun this January. The amazing Shrinking Violet Potts (paperback, £5.99), the brainchild of the talented Lou Kuenzler, is a fresh and quirky character and her madcap adventures are jam packed with thrills, spills and laughter.

A must for all eight-year-olds and over with bags of attitude, Violet’s escapades guarantee guffaws on every page. In Shrinking Violet Definitely Needs a Dog, we meet Violet who is normal size one minute and dog biscuit-size the next. Her startling transformation takes place when she gets very excited or nervous and that could happen at any time.

Here we find Violet desperate for a dog, but she’s not allowed one – well, not unless she can prove she’s really, really responsible. Luckily there’s a dog walking scheme that she and her friend Nisha can join and where they love playing with their designated puppy, Chip. Violet and Nisha really want Chip to win the dog show and not mean Ratty-Riley and his dog. But on the big day, Violet surprises Nisha by shrinking to the size of a dog biscuit, and sometimes being tiny is terrifying! However, Violet discovers that her small size might yet win her a prize...

An eye-catching text and warm, witty illustrations by Kirsten Collier add to the entertainment while a special foiled cover and chunky, square shaped design ensure these books will become collectible classics.

Younger readers will also be hooked on Midnight Pirates (paperback, £6.99), Ally Kennan’s second standalone book which is brimming over with excitement, intrigue, tension and wit.

The beautiful (and supposedly haunted) Dodo Hotel sits proudly on the edge of the beautiful Cornish coast. To 13-year-old Miranda and her brothers Jackie, 10, (and his dog Fester) and Cal, 16, whose parents own the 300-year-old hotel, it is the best place in the world.

But the hotel is leaking money with a constant need for repairs and, apart from a few ghost hunters, it isn’t attracting enough guests to make ends meet. It has to be sold and the children must go away to boarding school.

Determined not to lose their beloved home and to stop the Dodo Hotel becoming extinct, Miranda and her brothers hatch a plan. Whilst their parents are away at a wedding, they will escape from school and go back to run the hotel themselves. After all, how difficult can it be?

But one day a strange man checks into the hotel and Miranda is immediately suspicious. And when a ship runs aground in the bay, it seems her worst fears are coming true. This man has something to do with it, and the children are in even more trouble than they could possibly have imagined.

This is a book full of knockabout fun that will appeal to the over ten age group with its irreverent humour, crazy adventures, busy, buzzing dialogue, a charismatic cast of kids (and adults!) and a mystery to keep readers guessing.

Couple all this with its fantastic Cornish setting and seafaring skulduggery, and you have a brilliantly conceived 21st century take on the adventures of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five.

The dazzling but brutal world of 12th century Japan springs into glorious life through the bizarre destiny of one young peasant girl in Barbara Lazar’s sumptuous new novel.

Kozaishō is Fifth Daughter of a large family, sold by her father to a cruel master in exchange for a plot of land and exiled to the dark and shadowy Village of Outcasts where she will become a Woman-For-Play.

In a story told through Kozaishō’s diary, or pillow book, we journey with her through thrilling twists of fate and fortune which will see her as a woman of the night, a wife, a lover, a teller of fantastical stories, a wise woman and a female samurai warrior.

Kozaishō’s brothers and sisters laughed when she told them she had dreamt that she ate from lacquered bowls and wore glittering kimonos. She’s Fifth Daughter, the youngest child of the family and is destined to always live off the land.

But Kozaishō possesses a special gift – her beauty – and it is one that gets her noticed by Proprietor Chiba, the ‘Above-the Clouds’ person who owns the fields where her father works.

Sold to Proprietor Chiba for extra land which her family has long coveted, little Kozaishō asks her father how many days she will be away. ‘A lifetime,’ he replies.

With her father’s last words ringing in her ears, ‘Keep our honour. Do your duty,’ the child is whisked away to Lesser House where she learns about the trappings of wealth, how to dance and the meaning of loneliness.

Marked out by two auspicious omens, she is also allowed to train in the ancient arts of the samurai and befriends the warrior Akio who teachers her to be the Pink Flower samurai, to wield a bow and arrow, to fight with a sword, to use the energy of anger for her weapons, and to cry at beauty but not at pain.

But she also make a powerful enemy in the ruthless priest Goro and when she crosses him, she is banished to the notorious Village of Outcasts, a small, stinking town of prostitutes, tanneries and ‘unclean activities.’

But through the power of storytelling, she learns to fight her fate, twisting her life onto a path that even she could not have imagined...

Lazar’s painstaking research and self-proclaimed obsession with Japanese culture ensures that Kozaishō’s epic story is played out with plenty of historical authenticity, accuracy, atmosphere and an abundance of helpful notes.

But it is also a gripping, cleverly conceived and heart-wrenching love story threaded through with the art, culture and storytelling traditions of Japan. At its heart is one woman’s determination to forge her own destiny, to guard the honour of her family and to stay true to herself.

The beauty of Kozaishō’s imaginative storytelling and poetry, which forms the kernel of her own life story, creates a magical, vivid and fable-like quality to the action and the narrative.

The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai is a formidable Far Eastern feast served up in the best traditions of Japanese storytelling... full of rich, exciting flavours, gritty realities, saucy side dishes and unexpected surprises to tickle the taste buds.

Truly a story to savour...

(Headline Review, paperback, £7.99)

As a new term begins at a tiny North Yorkshire primary school in September 1983, headmaster Jack Sheffield feels that familiar mix of excitement and trepidation.

There’s a fresh intake to settle in, a new teacher to be appointed and at home, Jack and wife Beth are getting used to being parents to baby John.

But nothing has prepared him for the tragedies, triumphs and scandals that will test his skills and endurance in the months that lie ahead...

For those who haven’t already met Jack Sheffield and his amazing, multi-faceted cast of characters, welcome to Ragley-on-the-Forest, a fictional village which forms the backcloth for some of the headmaster-turned-author’s hilarious and heart-breaking real-life experiences at two North Yorkshire schools in the 1970s and 1980s.

School’s Out! is the seventh instalment of the ever-popular Teacher series, and memories of the brave new world of the Eighties, Sheffield’s wry Yorkshire humour and moments of childhood magic are still flowing with the same irresistible exuberance, charm and affection.

For Jack and his cohorts, it’s the era of the new CD player, Microsoft adverts featuring something called Word, the McDonald’s McNugget, a range of strange dolls called Cabbage Patch, the threat of miners’ strikes and a final farewell to the halfpenny piece.

And at Ragley CE School, Jack gets ready for an even more eventful year than usual, including a bizarre introduction to new girl, four-year-old Madonna Fazackerly, who is sporting a Wham! t-shirt, black stone-washed jeans and red pixie boots.

Her ‘sensitivity’ has got her mum and dad ‘proper flummoxed’ and they are eager she should continue a family tradition and ‘mek ’er mark’ on the school. By the end of the first day, some unfortunate graffiti, a wall decorated with handprints and the near death experience of two goldfish will ensure her parents’ fears were groundless.

And there are tests ahead for the village’s adults. School caretaker Ruby’s nostalgia, as the last of her six children gets ready to leave Ragley Primary, is overtaken by a shocking event, and at the village Coffee Shop, assistant Dorothy Humpleby is planning a ‘dirty weekend’ with boyfriend Malcolm in pursuit of a marriage proposal.

But the appointment of a new teacher sets tongues wagging and a scandal brews that is uncomfortably close to home for headmaster Jack.

The joy of Sheffield’s laugh-out-loud books is his attention to period detail, his ability to tap into the fun and foibles of both school and village life and a gentle touch which adds poignancy and pathos to sensitive plotlines.

Top marks again to everyone’s favourite headmaster!

(Bantam, paperback, £12.99)

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Friday January 11 for Mrs Betty Weekes of the Glenfield Residential Home who died peacefully in Glenfield on 6th January. She was aged 91.

The service was conducted by the Rev Robert Amos and the organist was Mr Peter Maw.

Betty was born in Ystradgynlais, Swansea Valley, South Wales. After leaving school she went nursing in London under the aegis of her sister, she came home as war broke out to marry her husband to be Dick who was in a reserved occupation - mining. They had two sons Ross and Ceri, sadly Ceri died as a baby.

She had a very happy married life, she created a warm, cheerful home which was open all hours to friends and neighbours.

She participated in a number of chapel activities (Tabernacl, Ystradgynlais, where, of course, Archbishop Rowan Williams was baptised). She was a member of the Light Opera Society and was also an active member of the Ystrad Labour Women’s Club, they raised a fortune for charity.

After Dick’s pit closed they went to live and work in London.

After their grandchildren Sally and Owain were born they came to live in Driffield to share in their growing up. Dick worked part time at several jobs in Driffield whilst Betty worked in Joe Butler’s clothes shop before eventually doing voluntary work with Barnardo’s.

Betty and Dick enjoyed returning to Wales to see family and bought a cottage there where they made lasting friendships, they also loved travelling all over the UK and the Med, their favourite being trips to Crete and Oberamagau. Most of the year was spent very happily in Driffield spending time with their family.

Betty soon got involved with activities at the Methodist Church and the Driffield Light Opera Society.

After Dick died in 1998 Betty went to live at Taylor’s Field, she made many friends there.

She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

Family mourners: Ross & Liz Weekes (son & daughter in law), Sally & Jon (granddaughter & fiancé), Owain (grandson), Wyn Jones (nephew), Anne & John Anderson (niece & husband), Drew & Gail Anderson (nephew & wife), Mark & John Anderson (great nephews), Ann & Paul Coultass (niece & husband), Cliff & Rosalie Jones (nephew & wife).

Others present: Mr & Mrs J Burrell, Jane Burdass, Ramona Holt, Maureen Wright rep Mrs Joy Ewbank, Sheila Watson & Audrey Dale, Hilda Oxtoby, Olga Ewbank rep Jennifer Garner. Georgina Dean, Malcolm & Marjorie Clubley rep Ted & Bev Atkinson & Mrs M Atkinson, Jim & Janet Clark rep Mildred Galtry & Mary Dean, Geoff Hughes, Grace & Malcolm Craggs rep Yvonne Smith & Mark Oxtoby, Richard & Christine Pollard, Brian Kitt, Clive Hill, Rob & Elaine Leason, Rob & Jenny Youd rep Flora Anderson, Pip & Dave Matthews, Angela Goacher, Betty Wilson, Pauline Hullah, John Hall rep Sandie, Michael & Edna Parker rep Mrs Barbara Wilson, Mary Hanson, Judith & Ian Douglas, Sian Mundey rep Susan Couttes & Carewatch, Sue Mundey rep Marie Perrin & Carewatch, Lauren Paton rep Kerry Beedham & Natalie Davis-Holmes, Debbie Gibson rep Sue Bielby & Carewatch, Mr & Mrs Norman Ellis, Mick Foster, Robert Fenton rep Melanie Fenton & Michael & Andrew Fenton

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Friday January 4 for Mr Ian Sinton of Watton who died on December 20. He was aged 44 years.

The service was conducted by Mr David Keating.

Ian was born in Beverley Westwood on November 18 1968. He attended Cross Hill School and then the Secondary School in Driffield. He married Jaqueline in August, 1998 and they went on to have two children. He settled into engineering, working for the family business, Harrison Hire and Sales from 1994 to 2011, unfortunately he was enforced to retire due to illness.

Family mourners: Mrs Jaqueline Sarah Sinton (wife), Master Lewis Morgan Sinton (son), Miss Ysobella Jaqueline Sarah Sinton (daughter), Mrs Patricia Ann Sinton (mother), Janet & Paul Nichols (sister & brother in law), Denise & Tony Williams (sister & brother in law), Graham Sinton & Elaine Tate (brother & partner), Mark & Jeanette Sinton (brother & sister in law), Jonathan Hood & Natalie Woolhead (nephew & fiancé), Jennifer Hood & Sebestiano Secci (niece & fiance) also rep Robert Hood, Rebecca Hood & Ben Cooper (niece), Michael Nichols (nephew), Mrs June & Mr Trevor Harrison (mother in law & father in law), Tina & Warwick Ivel (sister in law & husband), Daisy Ivel & Angus Ivel (niece & nephew).

Others present: Nigel Thomas rep Clare Hanley, Richard Ireland, James Grice, Joan & Malcolm Medley, Louise Lowe, Marie Alison, Pete Fisher, Kerry Hara, Mr & Mrs Gordon Hunter, Tom Harrison, John & Mary Fothergill, Judy Ward rep John, Jane Daniels, Gary & Carol Botterill rep H & A Bell Motorcycles, Kerry Stych rep Helen Hoggard, John & Beryl Kinsella, Celia Wheaton, Ben & Douglas Noble,David Sheader, Sue Ward, Christine Shaw,Joy Waite, Vicky Waite, John & Penny Garnham, Trudy & Andrew Berriman, Liz Pexton rep Tony Pexton, Wendy Ashworth (nee Eccles), Mr & Mrs P Foster rep Jackie & Stuart Neish & family, Janet Woodcock, Jon & Ann Foster rep Lynn & Anita, Barbara & Brian Harrison, Keith & Sue Harrison, Darren Harrison, Kirsty Wall, Enid Wilks, Sharon Tomlinson, Christine Whitehouse, Peter Earle, Julie Ringrose, Janet Bates, Jason Storry, Mr & Mrs C & M Bryan rep Beswick School, Wayne Bratley, John Bateman, Tony Dale, Phil Dunn, John & Susan Harrison, Stephanie Leason rep Helen Pooley, Paul Newlove rep Joan Towse & David Lundy & staff, Mrs J Hughes rep Mr G Hughes, Pam Padam, John Hood, Sue Hildreth, Rose Shaw, Megan Cooper, Hannah Thurlow, Valerie Sharpe, Steph Bolton, Annie Corner, Mark Harrison rep Leila Fahey, Nigel & Joseph Hara, Debbie Handley, Mr G Warwick, Mr R Darley, Mark Foster, Cynthia & John Dawson rep the family, Samantha Lowey, Dawn Smith, Jill Barratt rep Beswick & Watton School, Andrew Anderson, Jason Schofield rep Dale Smith, Steph Harrison (Stish) rep Katheryn Harrison & Dan Harrison, Mike Robinson, Steve & Samuel Pickering rep Helen, Bethany & Millie Pickering & Angela & Tony Jones, Stan & Jean Burrell, Ruth Butler rep Geoff Butler & Terry & Marjorie Jackson, Simon & Anne Malster rep Chloe & Libby Malster, Bridget Conroy, Gill Powell, Vicky & Natasha Svenson, Stuart Barker rep Vanessa Barker, Sean & Kerry Booth rep Chuck, Mrs Joan Warkup rep Mr Keith Warkup, Andrew Warkup rep Mr & Mrs R White, Judy & Mick English rep Simon English, Susan Nichols, Kevin Gowlett, Mike Hood rep Sandra Cooper, Angela Goodwin & Craig Kelly, Simon Spence, Elizabeth & Alan Wall, Jeremy Dixon,Mr & Mrs S Cowton, Wendy Simpson rep Jim Sterriker, Mr Ian Mountain rep all the family, Ruth Russell, Richard McCann, Paul & Jane Leason, Beryl Leason rep Derrick Leason, Jane Kneeshaw, Julie Ashton, Stuart & Hester Hood, Nick & Sarah English, Diane Solonyna, Helen McNair, Lynne Smith, Belinda, Matthew & Andrew Watson, Mrs J Harrand, Mr W Malcolmson, Mr & Mrs R Kirk.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium, Octon on Wednesday January 9 for Mr Robert Gladstone of Northfield Avenue, Driffield who died in The Limes Residential Home in Driffield on December 27. He was aged 88 years.

The service was conducted by the Rev Malcolm Exley and the organist was Mr Steven Westaway.

Bob was born in 1924 in Hull and attended school there. After leaving school he joined his father as a street vendor selling fish, fruit and veg from handcarts and covered all areas of Hull. He also worked as a butcher’s boy and delivery lad. In 1942 he worked at the Royal Station Hotel and over the years met many famous stars of stage and screen, including Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy who gave him a white fiver as a tip, a memory he always recalled. He also met royalty during his time there. He left there in June 1942 to join the Royal Navy, progressing to rank of Torpedo/Depth charge engineer, during this time he saw action in Malta, Cyprus and Gibralter. He was discharged in 1945 due to an accident when he fell overboard during the loading of depth charges. He returned to Hull and returned to the Royal Hotel until 1956. He moved to Driffield that year. His early years in Driffield were spent in the building trade, working at Elvington and other major building sites in the Driffield area. He also worked at the Driffield Aerodrome with his brother Frank alongside the Americans stationed at Driffield. After some years he went to work at the Brandesburton Hospital, again with his brother Frank. He transferred to the East Riding General Hospital to take work as a ward porter and telephonist where he stayed until retirement in 1988 and he left with many happy memories.

He was married to Brenda and they went on to have four children.

He loved to play his accordion and for many years played at the Pegasus Club in Driffield alongside his lifelong friend Mr Robin Frazer. He was part of the family that brought music to Driffield and played in the Black Swan, Red Lion, The Buck and The Tiger.

Bob loved his garden and DIY, he loved music of any kind, he loved his family and the family pets, among his favourite was Shep and the family have many happy memories of him.

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Chief mourners: Brenda Gladstone (wife), David Gladstone (son), Barry & Janet Gladstone, Paul & Elizabeth Gladstone (sons & daughters in law), Amanda Gladstone (daughter) & Mr John Caley, Leanne & Andrew Sansome (granddaughter & husband), Gary & Zoe Gladstone (grandson & wife), Darren Gladstone, Richard Gladstone, Jonathan Gladstone, Benjamin Gladstone, Sam Gladstone (grandsons), Ellie Addinall, Morgan Addinall, Josh Sansome, Alfie Sansome (great grandchildren), Arthur & Ann Gladstone (brother & sister in law), Mrs Dot Sweaton (sister), Ivy & Brian Race (sister & brother in law), Eric & Dawn Gladstone (brother & sister in law), Frank Gladstone & Joy Brown (brother & partner), Mr Nick Gladstone & Dianne Akroyde (nephew), Daniel & Corey Gladstone (great nephews), Alan & Monica Davies (cousin & wife), Phil & Jan Bennett (cousin & Wife),

Others present: Peter Gladstone. Beryl Gladstone (sister in law), Elaine Gladstone, Robert Gladstone & Dawn Shepherdson, Martin Gladstone rep Amanda Gladstone, Jean Gladstone rep Mrs D Foster, Frank Gladstone (nephew), Stephen Briggs rep David Briggs & Emma Hodgson, Kathleen Briggs rep Margaret & Barbara Birkett, Terence Pallant, Julian Noble, Mr M Dale, Mr & Mrs B Rugg rep Karen Atkinson, Andrew Rugg, Julie Bowes rep Michelle, Amy & Connor, David Stork rep Christine Stork, Michael Wright, Tracey Hyde, Kelsie Wright,John Pilmoor, Madge Newman, Leigh Norman rep Mark Gladstone & Shane Gladstone, Catherine Parker rep Carole Kember, Dave Parker rep Andrew, Malcolm & Teresa Parker, Terry & Pauline Barker rep Andrew & Michael Gladstone, Mr H Gibson, Mr A Gibson, Jane Westbrook rep Wendy Palmer, Ian & Jo Proudlock, William Proudlock, James Edmond, Ashley Morris, Lee Walton rep Red Lion, Linda Newton, Philip James, Clare Wray, David James, Rob McNeil rep family, Viv & Jeff West, David Burnett, Gary Burnett, Joanne Burnett,Linda Jackson, Robin & Carol Fraser rep Chris & Tony Ward, Mr A Fraser rep Linda, Gordon & Doreen Evans, Mark Linklater, Mike Fenton, Mr P Jackson rep Mrs A Jackson, Jill Sissons-Hood rep Mr M Hood, Paul Woodmansey, Susan & Rod Greenwood (niece & husband), Malcolm Kennedy, Jim Barron, Phil Barron, Miss M Pearson, Jo & Paul Elstob.

On a weekday evening in September 1974, 46 enthusiastic young men lined up at Mission Bay, a saltwater lagoon near San Diego in California, to test their endurance in a new athletic event.

The Mission Bay triathlon was a world first and it was well after dark when the last of the exhausted triathletes made their way across the finishing line.

In the great spirit of sport and adventure, they had come along after a day at work to swim, cycle and run until their legs felt like they didn’t belong to their bodies any more.

Since that autumn evening nearly 39 years ago, the triathlon has become a prestigious world and Olympic sport with Britain’s own brilliant sibling team, Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, winning gold and bronze respectively in the London 2012 games.

The official distances for each element are now a 1,500m swim, a 40km bike ride and a 10km run although other triathlon distances do exist and are used in some races.

The arrival of a whole new breed of professional athletes who have trained specifically for the triathlon has seen the sport’s popularity rocket to new heights and triathlon is now one of the UK’s favourite routes to getting fit.

And there could be no better introduction to the benefits of the sport than Haynes’ new and definitive Triathlon Manual, written by ex-Marine Commando PT instructor Sean Lerwill, who reveals that with its three distinct elements, triathlon training offers more variety and less risk injury.

This accessible and fully illustrated guide is aimed at both newcomers who have decided to give triathlon a go and those who have already taken part and are eager to improve their performance.

As well as information and advice on training and the individual events, Lerwill provides invaluable tips on health, injuries, nutrition, motivation, psychology, supplements, conditioning training and specially focused advice for women and children.

Most people approach the sport with experience of one discipline and then master the other two over time. This superbly produced and easy-to-read manual looks at each sport separately before combining all three in preparation for competitions, such as the gruelling Ironman, considered by many to be the ultimate endurance test.

Ironman was the brainchild of U.S. Navy Commander John Collins who finished a lowly 35th in that original Mission Bay race and involves a much-expanded triathlon consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile run, raced in that order and without a break.

With a Foreword by Jack Johnstone, founder of that first triathlon back in 1974, this comprehensive and fascinating manual will inspire readers to follow a unique training routine, gain a real sense of achievement and maybe even take that first step to becoming a top triathlete!

(Haynes Publishing, hardback, £21.99)

A funeral service was held at St Mary’s Church, Kirkburn on Friday, January 11 for Mr Paddy Sanderson of The Limes Residential Home (formerly of Tibthorpe) who died peacefully in The Limes on January 4.

The service was conducted by Ramona Holt and the organist was Mrs Gwynneth Clark.

Paddy was born at Southburn and attended school at Kirkburn. After leaving school he worked at Middleton Hall as a gardener and later joined Southburn Estates working for the Prince-Smith family as a gardener/chauffeur. He then joined his father who was the blacksmith and agricultural engineer, still working at Southburn and stayed there until the Estate was finally sold.

Paddy then worked for his self and severallocal farmers until he retired.

He loved gardening and when his late wife Kathleen was alive they enjoyed holidays in the Lakes and the Dales.

Paddy & Kathleen lived in Tibthorpe all their married life and brought up three children there.

Family Mourners: Rose & David Crawford, David & Svetlana Sanderson, Shirley & Tom Newlove (daughters, son & in-laws), Brendan Newlove, Mandy & Adrian Ludlam, Giles & Jill Sanderson, Lisa & Charlie Hall,, Caroline Sanderson & Ian Everitt, Zoe & Stewart Howe (grandchildren & partners), Millie Newlove, Holly & Lucy Donoghue, Caitlin & Renea Brook (great grandchildren), Barry & Russell Yeadon rep Stephen & Peter Yeadon (nephews), Bernard & Christine Baker, Alan & Gladys Baker rep Mrs Freda Johnson (sister in law), Sandra & Graham Lee (niece & husband), Mrs Lily Sanderson (sister in law unable to attend)..

Others present: David Adamson rep the family & Dora Stannard, Richard Walgate rep Christine Warkup, Sandra Cuthbert rep Joshua Theakston, Susan Hepworth rep the family, Margaret Buckton, Olive Hodgson, Joyce Hudson, Jane Burdass, Maggie Duncan, James Richardson rep Jackson, Robson & License, Janet Megginson rep J K B Megginson & Sons, Mr & Mrs C Rodger, Sandra Hood, Joan & John Gledhill, Sylvia & Michael Jackson, Caley & Donovan Sackur, Lady Nelson, Mike & Liz Phillips rep Angela Jones, Mr & Mrs J Walgate, Mr M Lakes, Mr Mick Malster rep Peter Wadsworth, Mandy Jordan & Leoni Coultass rep The Limes, Geoff & Doreen Walters, Mr & Mrs D Haldenby, Christine Hickson rep Mr & Mrs K P Hickson, Ruth Pearson, Richard & Lynn Knight, Jane Arnold, Keith & Janet Abel rep all family, Hilary & Cecil Rookes rep Colin Mantel, Tom Grange, Mr T Rookes, Jill Morfatt, Lynn Thomas, Adli Mashale, Janet Arnold.

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter outer space, the Beatles set out on the road to success, a house could be bought for £2,000... and 16-year-old Pam Weaver began her training as a nursery nurse.

She arrived at a government-run children’s residential nursery in Surrey with just one small suitcase, a desire to help others and a burning ambition to get a qualification which would give her letters after her name.

The road ahead involved long working hours, the devastating results of poverty and neglect and plenty of harsh realities, but Weaver also discovered the joys of caring for needy youngsters and the rewards of loyalty, compassion and friendship.

Fans of Call the Midwife will revel in this heart-warming and gritty memoir about life as a nursery nurse and nanny more than 50 years ago.

Weaver takes us through the highs and lows, the triumphs and the tragedies as she moved from caring for deprived and orphaned children to her work as a private nanny at a luxury house near Hyde Park in London.

The daughter of an English woman and a wartime American GI, Weaver was adopted by her natural mother’s best friend and raised in rural Dorset.

After an inauspicious period working on the broken biscuit counter in Woolworths, the young Pam decided she wanted to make something more of her life and successfully applied to train as a nursery nurse.

Her salary was £194 a year, less £101 for her board and lodgings, and when she checked in on that first day she was immediately assigned the ‘Lates’ shift which involved cleaning shoes, drying nappies and settling down children to sleep whilst battling the gnawing ache of homesickness.

She quickly had to get to grips with a demanding routine of early mornings, endless floors to scrub, clothes to clean and children to care for, all carried out under the watchful eye of an overbearing and highly-strung matron.

Life in the nursery was hard and Weaver witnessed the abandonment of children, the struggles of single and widowed parents, families stricken by youngsters born with disabilities and the heartbreak and pain of rejected children.

But despite the rigid routine which could be distressing for both children and staff, everyone did their best to give the children a happy experience. The nursery nurses often took out a child on their days off, bought them extra toys with their own money and always gave a cuddle when it was needed.

In 1965, when her training was complete, Weaver took on a job as a private nanny to a little boy in North London and discovered that for all the wealth and privilege that surrounded him, he displayed some of the same symptoms of deprivation that she had seen in the children’s home.

Bath Times and Nursery Rhymes is a revealing and sympathetic memoir. Written with engaging and uplifting honesty, it transports us to an era of hard graft and dedication whilst providing a fascinating insight into the ethos of childcare in the 1960s.

(Avon, paperback, £6.99)

As apartheid spreads like a stain across South Africa, the voice of one young black girl speaks volumes for a nation in Barbara Mutch’s moving debut novel.

Previously released as Karoo Plainsong, this fully revised and utterly absorbing tale of love, friendship and redemption tackles head on the cruelty and barbarism of racial segregation in the middle decades of the 20th century.

With a captivating blend of eloquence, insight and integrity, South African-born Mutch transports us to a defining and degrading chapter in that country’s history when the colour of a man or woman’s skin marked out their destiny.

Her humble narrator, housemaid’s daughter Ada Mabuse, becomes a powerful symbol for marginalised black women, an example of the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity and a role model for those who face oppression in all corners of the world.

Ada’s abiding friendship with her white Irish-born ‘mistress’ crosses the huge divide, breaks down barriers and sets in motion changes that bring hope for the future...

Cathleen Harrington leaves her home in Ireland in 1919 to travel to South Africa and marry her fiancé Edward, a man she has not seen for five years.

Despite the births of her two children, Phil and Rose, Cathleen feels isolated and estranged at Cradock House in the great semi-desert of Karoo and starts to find solace in her diary and the friendship of her housemaid Miriam’s young daughter Ada.

Born in 1930 in her mother’s kaia under the bony shade of a thorn tree at the back of the big house, Ada feels a part of the fabric of the place.

And Cathleen recognises in her someone she can love and respond to in a way that she cannot with her husband and her own daughter. ‘She made me feel like I was hers,’ says Ada.

Under Cathleen’s tutelage, Ada grows into an accomplished pianist, and a reader who cannot resist turning the pages of Madam’s diary, discovering cryptic messages and secrets that Cathleen has tried to hide. Musical notes, Ada discovers, are like words. ‘They meant one thing when played on their own, and quite another when strung together.’

When Ada is compromised and finds she is expecting a mixed-race child – one who ‘belongs nowhere... who falls in between’ – she flees her home, determined to spare Cathleen the knowledge of her betrayal, and the disgrace that would descend upon the family.

Ostracised and derided within her own township community, Ada is forced to carve out a life for herself, her child and her music.

But Cathleen still believes in Ada, and risks the constraints of apartheid to search for her and persuade her to return with her daughter. Beyond the separation and the segregation, there is hope for a new generation.

The Karoo region’s beautiful but unforgiving landscape, and the music which is the soul of Ada’s friendship with Cathleen, provide a symphony of vivid colour and harmony as the background to this exquisite and heart-rending story which captures time and place with consummate skill and blistering honesty.

(Headline Review, paperback, £7.99)

A new year has brought some fresh and exciting adventures for young readers from the ever inventive book boffins at Macmillan.

Teenagers can catch up with the second part of a scintillating sci-fi series while canine capers, lunchtime madness and journeys to the moon will provide fun and laughter for little ones.

Vortex by Julie Cross

If Julie Cross’s debut novel Tempest created a storm among teen readers, then Vortex, the second instalment of this thrilling time-travel trilogy, is going to put them in a spin!

Using the same captivating mix of romance, action, suspense and mystery, this new sci-fi epic just gets better and better with an irresistible package of superb storytelling, sensational surprises and knockout emotional punches.

Jackson Meyer’s ability to travel backwards through time has landed him a role as agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats.

Despite his heartbreak at losing Holly, the girl he altered history to save, Jackson has thrown himself into the job and proved to be an excellent agent.

However, after accidentally meeting up with Holly again, Jackson is reminded of what he’s lost and he starts to ask questions about himself and his future.

And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents not only find themselves under attack and on the run, but Jackson begins to discover that the world around him has also changed.

Someone knows about his erased relationship with Holly, putting both their lives at risk all over again. The world hangs in the balance as a lovelorn Jackson must decide between saving the love of his life and the entire world...

Set in a vivid present day and a not-so-distant past, Vortex is a gripping, fast-paced thriller which delivers excitement on every page as well as a tender contemplation of identity, relationships and grief.

Cross creates a compulsive and invigorating narrative full of lively dialogue, distinctive characters and a palpably real alternative world.

A top-class book for teens and young adults.

(Macmillan, hardback, £12.99)

The Smug Pug by Anna Wilson

Welcome back to the mad, mad world of Anna Wilson’s Pooch Parlour, the dog salon where pets get pampered and canine mysteries get solved.

The latest chapter of Wilson’s amazing animal antics in Crumbly-under-Edge follows the same fun formula with crazy adventures, lots of laughs, animals galore and some very strange characters.

Nine-year-old Pippa Peppercorn loves helping out at the village’s pampered pets salon, a cosy joint run by the cuddly Mrs Semolina Ribena Fudge, where customers and their pets stop by for tea and sympathy as well as a trim.

New kid on the block is Smug the pug, a clever, funny dog who is full of surprises and has invented a brilliant machine to help things run smoothly in the busy salon.

PIppa has fallen head over heels for Smug and his owner, Tallulah Foghorn, but Dash the dachshund has his suspicions about this so-called doggy genius. He thinks Smug lives up to his name and that Tallulah is nuttier than one of Mrs Fudge’s fruitcakes...

Clare Elsom provides the lively illustrations for Wilson’s concoction of comic characters, animal magic and dastardly deeds.

Ideal reading for children aged seven and over.

(Macmillan, paperback, £5.99)

Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb

If mealtimes often turn into a temper tantrum nightmare with your fussy little eaters, try tempting them with this delightful little dish!

A rising star in children’s picture books, Rebecca Cobb has written and illustrated a colourful cautionary tale about a little girl who is so busy having fun that she lets some unexpected visitors eat her lunch... and ends up so hungry that she’ll eat almost anything.

It’s lunchtime for one little girl, but she’s too busy to be hungry. A visiting crocodile, bear and wolf, however, are starving and are more than happy to eat up all her food. It’s just as well for the little girl that children taste revolting!

But by teatime, she’s not going to let anybody share her meal...

Cobb’s quirky, freehand drawings capture the anarchic essence of a story that will appeal both visually and verbally to pre-school children.

A tasty tale of food, friendship and fun that is sure to tickle young tastebuds!

(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)

Zoe and Beans: Pants on the Moon! by Chloë and Mick Inkpen

Hold onto your pants, Zoe and Beans are back!

The Inkpens, a talented father and daughter duo, deliver another stunningly beautiful picture book in the adorable Zoe and Beans series for tots aged three and over. Chloë and Mick are proving a top team with their unique and exciting picture book partnership.

In their latest out-of-this-world adventure, Zoe is hanging her pants out to dry one windy Thursday when whoosh, a big gust of wind blows her and her pet dog partner Beans up, up, up into space... along with the washing line full of pants!

When they finally land on the moon, there’s a lot of exciting exploring to do. But how on earth are they going to get home again?

Chloë’s imaginative and quirky story is brought to life by her father’s fun-filled pictures featuring an adorable heroine and her crazy canine Beans. Laughter all the way is guaranteed with this madcap pair of pranksters.

(Macmillan, paperback, £5.99)

‘There’s no need ever to feel like a victim; there are no circumstances beyond your control.’

Self-help guru Eric Newborn has an answer for all humanity’s conundrums. Think positively and all will be well, he advises those whose lives are in crisis.

But when Eric’s wife dies from cancer, he finds that grief renders him helpless. There is no easy cure, no platitude to comfort him, no replacement with which to fill the deep trough of his devastating grief.

For the first time in his successful career, the inspirational speaker and bestselling author of several motivational books is lost for words...

The Book of Why, a moving portrait of a man coming to terms with the death of his beloved ‘other half,’ is the remarkable work of New York writer Nicholas Montemarano whose short story collection, If the Sky Falls, won plaudits and prizes in literary circles.

Here he explores how memory, past events and the power of the imagination shape our perception of the world, and how we deal with death, disappointment, happiness, despair and the unpredictable course of our own destinies.

Montemarano dares to peer into the subconscious, to analyse how we process emotions like love, desire and guilt, and to examine the innermost workings of the human soul.

‘This is a self-help book,’ Eric tells us as his story begins. ‘Didn’t think it was, but it is. It’s also a revision, a question, a confession, an apology, a love letter.’

Unable to cope with the death of his wife Cary, the soulmate he felt as if he’d known forever, Eric retreats with his dog to his isolated home at Martha’s Vineyard where he surrounds himself with Cary’s belongings ... her letters, her doodles, a few sweaters, a pair of her socks.

The old exhortations that we all have ‘the power to change our lives,’ that ‘happiness is an inside job’ and that illness is just ‘an extension of negative emotion’ have all been rendered either useless or meaningless.

Five years later, on a wild, snowy, storm-lashed night, a car crashes at the end of Eric’s lane and a woman turns up at his door, covered in blood and seeking help.

Sam Leslie, a professional obituary writer (‘God is my assignment editor’), turns out to be a fan who is trying to track him down, convinced that Eric and his best-selling book, Everyday Miracles, will sort out the tragedies and coincidences that have both destroyed and coloured her life.

As Eric vanquishes demons in his past and faces the world again, he and Sam spin around one another like constellations in a greater universe. Together they set out to search for answers to their questions, and to find some meaning in the events that have knocked them off course.

Perhaps everything doesn’t happen for a reason...

The Book of Why is a powerful love story as well an exploration of the fragility of relationships. Thought-provoking, sombre and yet exquisitely tender, it forces us to confront harsh truths about life... and death.

(Headline Review, paperback, £13.99)

Haybrook is expecting to see more families than ever before choosing to rent in Sheffield in 2013.

The prediction from Haybrook, South Yorkshire’s largest independent estate agent, with over a dozen branches across the region, comes in the wake of a steep rise in the number of families inquiring about rental properties since the turn of the year.

Haybrook Lettings, which is based at Campo Chambers, on the corner of Campo Lane and Paradise Square in Sheffield, has seen a three-fold increase in applicant levels as young families in particular struggle to get on to the property ladder.

Sharon Owen, Lettings Manager, said: “The rental market in Sheffield has historically been focused on students and, to a lesser degree, young professionals, who are snapping many of the city centre apartments that come on the market.

“However, this is beginning to change as more and more families, especially the younger ones, struggle to raise the deposits needed to get on the property ladder and opt to rent instead over the short to medium term.”

Haybrook, which last year was named one of the top three lettings agents in the region for market share, is also expecting to see rents rise once again in 2013 as demands for properties continues to outstrip supply, even with a surge of new landlords coming on to the market. Last year average monthly rents rose by close to £50 across Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

“There is still a shortage of suitable rental properties in Sheffield,” added Sharon Owen, “and those properties that do come onto the market, especially homes in the better areas of the city, take only a matter of days before they are let.”

Haybrook prides itself on having its tenants’ best interests at hearts at all times. It is a member of SAFE Agent, a scheme launched by the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) to help signpost people to those firms that protect landlords’ and tenants’ money through Client Money Protection schemes.

As a member of ARLA (the Association of Residential Lettings Agents), the firm prides itsefl on managing all of the paperwork on behalf of tenants and once they have moved in, making sure that someone is always available at the end of a telephone to resolve any future issues.

Haybrook works just as hard for its landlords, whether they are a homeowner looking to rent out their home, a seller who can’t sell and needs to move or a Buy to Let landlord with an extensive property portfolio.

Its property management team offer peace of mind to landlords that their property is being looked after professionally at all times, in the process ensuring they are maximising the return on their investment.

Call 0114 272 0700 or email lettings@haybrook.com.

Plans have been submitted to Doncaster Borough Council for a new housing development that is aimed to help regenerate the area and have a long-lasting impact on the region.

If approved, the first phase of the £22.6m development will see the construction of 334 homes, which is expected to start in March.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) appointed housing and regeneration specialist Keepmoat as its preferred developer in the first phase, which will see the development of 172 homes at Carr Lodge in Doncaster. A further 132 larger homes and 30 self-build housing plots will also be delivered with support from Strata Homes.

Carr Lodge will be Doncaster’s first low-carbon community consisting of 1,500 mixed tenure homes. All homes will be designed to the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 and are designed to be ‘Lifetime Homes’.

The scheme will see a new single carriageway spine road developed to link the roundabouts at either end of Woodfield Way, adjacent to the Tesco supermarket in the south and the Holiday Inn in the north in Balby, Doncaster.

Across the wider development of 1,500 homes, a new main street and village square incorporating shops and a community hall will be developed as well as incorporating other community facilities, a children’s nursery, a primary school, youth club, sports pitches, play areas and a park.

Carr Lodge will include a network of green routes designed to encourage walking and cycling and provide connections to local facilities.

Mark Knight, New Build Managing Director for Keepmoat Yorkshire, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as the preferred developer for the first phase of homes at Carr Lodge and we look forward to working in partnership with the HCA, Strata and a social housing provider to deliver affordable new homes.

“As a local company based in Doncaster, it means a lot to be involved in such a significant, flagship project that will have a long lasting impact on the area. The homes that will be developed in the first phase will be of mixed tenure offering a variety of choice to the highest quality design ensuring that the needs of local families are met.”

Becoming a parent, as we all know, is easy – becoming a good parent is much more difficult.

Parenthood is a challenge many of us face with little experience or education in childcare and from toddler tantrums to teenage mood swings, raising children is certainly not child’s play.

There are books galore out there with every kind of advice for frazzled mums and dads but, if you want to read just one, look no further than a tried-and-trusted ‘parenting bible’ that has been transforming family relationships for 30 years.

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, now available in a new edition, is the phenomenal bestseller written by two women with many years of experience in child psychology but, more importantly, once frustrated mothers themselves.

Their approach is simple, effective, easy to follow and is based on methods that refrain from abstract theorising, affirm the dignity and humanity of both parents and children and deal only with the practical issues of parenting.

Using sensitivity, empathy, communication skills and lashings of humour, they teach how to break a pattern of arguments, engage a child’s co-operation, set clear limits without losing goodwill, express emotions without being hurtful and resolve conflicts easily.

It may sound too good to be true but is achieved by rejecting authoritarian and confrontational methods of punishment and instead encouraging your child to be co-operative rather than simply obedient.

You can learn how to avoid turning simple conversations into arguments, how to instruct rather than criticise when correcting your child, choose effective alternatives to punishments and show a child how to make amends for bad behaviour.

This invaluable book, with its very human, down-to-earth approach, really does give you the know-how you need to be more effective with children, enabling parents to improve and enrich relationships with their offspring.

With three million copies sold and enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, the book provides step-by-step techniques and is illustrated with playful, humorous cartoons showing the skills in action and demonstrating innovative ways to solve common problems.

And to bring this edition bang up to date, there is a thoughtful Afterword on The Next Generation by Adele Faber’s daughter Joanna which gives the time-honoured and tested techniques a fresh, new 21st century perspective.

(Piccadilly, paperback, £12.99)

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Tuesday, January 15 for Mr Paul Arthur Hoggard of Kings Mill Close, Driffield who died peacefully in hospital on January 2. He was aged 64 years.

The service was conducted by Mr Graham Elgey.

Paul was born in Beverley the eldest of seven children. He attended the Minster Boy’s School, St Nicholas and then Longcroft schools. He left school at the age of 17 and worked for a short time in a newsagent’s, he then worked at Armstrong’s from 1969 to 1992 until it closed. He then worked in local public houses in Driffield the Railway and the Blue Bell later working for KV Transfix.

He met Sheila in 1969 and they married in Driffield Church in 1971. They went on to have three children.

Paul was a Freeman of Beverley, he played the piano and violin and was a chorister. He loved and played sport football and cricket and supported Leeds United. He enjoyed playing darts and 5’s and 3’s Dominoes. He also loved travelling, touring Europe.

He will be greatly missed.

Chief mourners: Sheila Hoggard (wife), Lee Hoggard & Georgia Ramsey (son & daughter in law), Darren Hoggard rep Bardna (son & fiancé), Scott Hoggard & Clare Pringle (son & partner), John & Helen Hoggard (brother & sister in law), David & Jackie Hoggard (brother & sister in law), Peter & Hilary Hoggard (brother & sister in law) also rep Nick Hoggard (nephew), Alison & Gary Mowthorpe (sister & brother in law), Richard Hoggard rep John Hoggard (nephews), Nathan & Bethany Hoggard (nephew & niece), Charlotte & Christopher Mowthorpe (niece & nephew), Mrs Dorothy Garner (mother in law), Stephen Peacock (cousin), Pamela & Dennis Carter (sister in law & husband), Sandra & Gordon Shotton (sister in law & husband), Albert & Kim Garner (brother in law & wife) also rep Kerry, Melvyn Garner (brother in law).

Others present: Stephen Briggs rep Stephen & Pam Woodcock, Paul Elvidge rep Charlie Bowes & Kevin Gowlett, Mary Elvidge rep Ted, Phil Sharp rep Margaret Thorley, Mrs Kay Elgey, Rob & Liz Hoggard, Barbara Whiting rep Paul Whiting, Les Massam rep Kath, Sonya Walker & Anthea Sharp, Sheila Phillips rep Jean Wormald, Linda & Neil Bratley, Roy Fisher, Julian Noble, Peter Jackson rep Mrs A Jackson, Mr M Fenton & J Gladstone, Peter Shields, Peter Cook, Steve & Marlene Pawson rep Anita & Mark Edgar, Dennis Thompson rep Chris & Mandy Ireland, Daryl Sedman rep Mr & Mrs C Thorley, Karen Fenwick rep the family, Judy Thompson & George Hodgson, Nick Burton, Robin Arksey, Ray Herbert rep Martin Hatfield, Paul Herbert, Ron & Mary Newman, Linda Anderson, David & Sally Stringwell, Mark Leggett, Sue Bull rep Mick, Christine & Tony Ward, John & Mary O’Donaghue, Steve Franklin, Steve Nicholson, Miss S Baker, James Gibson, Mr K Hyde rep 5’s & 3’s League, Mr & Mrs R Lakes, Mr G Dixon & Mrs J Edgar, Matthew Harness, John Fox, Margaret Cook, Mr J Knowles, Barry & Val Peacock, Katrina Elgey, Nick & Clare Wilson, Stuart & Nicola Galloway, Ann Dickson rep Lisa Johnson, Mr & Mrs D Taylor, Jean & Trevor Pickering, Rachel Kendal rep Eileen Humphreys, Geoff & Sue Wardill,John Adey, Ken & Alice Harrison, June Hartley, Lois Kirkwood, Jean Wilkinson, Les Artley, Lorraine Barker, Rachel Barr, Liz Hickson rep Paul Smith, Alwyn Baron, Stephen Nelson, Mr & Mrs Dennis Petch, Stephen Melville, Joe Kendall, Lois Kendall, Christine Bowers rep Tom Rudd, Paul Nalton rep Helen.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Monday, January 14 for Mr John Boyes of Southfield Road, Driffield who died suddenly, but peacefully in Scarborough Hospital on December 31. He was aged 87 years.

The service was conducted by the Rev Robert Amos and the organist was Mr Peter Maw.

John (Lofty) was born in Lund in 1925. He grew up in Lockington and Lund with his brother Tony and sister Mary. He left school at 14 years old and went to work at Byass’s farm in Lund. He joined the Navy at the age of 16 and trained as a Gunner, this led to a move to the Merchant Navy in 1945, after which he met his wife Margaret Boyes and they married in 1953. He went on to work as a truck driver until semi retiring at 65 years old.

They went on to have four daughters together and after they had grown up he went to work part time as a water bailiff in Driffield until retirement.

He enjoyed his family, especially making them laugh, he loved family parties, sea fishing and was an active Royal Legion member. He was a very proud man especially of his Naval background.

In his later years he amazed everyone with his memory, especially at UK road network, and could tell you how to get somewhere quicker than a modern GPS!

He and Margaret spent 59 happy years together and he will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

Donations in his memory were for Macmillan Nurses and Seaman’s Mission.

Chief mourners: Marie Brandham, Gary Brandham & Jane Clarke (daughter, grandson & partner), Judith & Steve Orman (daughter & son in law), Gillian Boyes & Ben Steel (daughter & partner), Ann & Simon Malster (daughter & son in law), Mrs Mary Turner (sister), Tony Sharp (brother), Michelle & Luke (granddaughter & partner) rep Faith (great granddaughter), Kelly & Jason (granddaughter & partner), Cara & David (granddaughter & husband), Kyle (grandson) rep Leo (great grandson), Chloe & Libby (granddaughters), Sarah & Andy (great granddaughter & partner) rep Daniel & Ben (great grandsons), Jessica (great granddaughter), Louie (great grandson & Sally.

Others present: Ron Dibble (Standard Bearer) rep Joyce Dibble, Captain & Mrs Calam rep Mr B Milner, Don & Barbara Braithwaite rep Brian Dawson, Bill Morley rep Alan Benstead, Joe Noble rep Hull Merchant Navy Assoc.Keith Stephenson rep Hull Merchant Navy Assoc. Brian & Maureen Evans (York), Geoffrey Brookfield, Dick Skelton (President Merchant Navy), Jean & Walter Wilson, Audrey Beastall, Eric & Jean Hudson, John Thompson, Albert Saunders, Michael Charlesworth, Mike Adams, Martin Barmby, Albert Eddington rep Mary,Christopher Brigham, Dennis Brigham, David Brigham,Brian Jones rep Janice, Rosemary Hatfield, Martin Jolly rep Bridlington Royal Navy Standard Assoc. Barry Moody, Gary Miller, Hazel Arnold, Ruth Wharram, Sue Duffill, John & June Lea, Lesley Smith, Joan Watson rep Benjamin, Eric Smith, Mick Harrison, John Stubbs, Eric & Pat Littlefair, Dan Taylor,Julie Gatenby rep Paul, Vannessa Mabbett rep Lifeline, Josie Teal rep Des, John Forester rep British Legion, Janet Chappell, Herbert Chappell,Mr Colin Lawson, Mr P Hagyard, Pat Farrington, Bill Sunderland.Peggy Cammidge, Pat & Denise Ramsey, Robin & Sheila Malster rep Rachel Malster, Jason Gill & Joyce Towse, Jim Barron rep Phil Barron & Rita Soanes.Michael & Jean James, David Shields, Steve Butler, Christopher Leggett, Goff & Chris Kitching, Pete Shields, Jim & Shirley Hood rep Mike & Jill, Kenneth Allen rep Bernard Cutler, David Russell rep Susan Russell & Graham Duke,Phil Addy rep Wendy, Stephanie Leason, Emma Barnes, Maurice & Myra Wilkinson, Lottie Taylor, Mrs M Sharp, Michael Sharp, Fred Hanes, Mr J Orman, Richard Flintoft rep Jackie, Mr J Flintoft, Mrs E Flintoft, Vera Kember, Sandra Calam, Pauline Agar, Jackie Horner rep Tracy Stainforth & Sally Horner, Lynn Rodgers rep Bob Rodgers, Nigel Orman.

A funeral service was held at St Mary’s Church, Kirkburn on Friday, January 18 for Mrs Enid Hyde (formerly of Kirkburn), who died peacefully in the Hull Royal Infirmary on January 12. She was aged 85 years.

The service was conducted by Ramona Holt and the organist was Mrs Gwynneth Clark.

Enid was born in Driffield in 1927 to Arthur and Sarah Welburn. She grew up in Bainton in a happy home with her 4 brothers and 3 sisters. She attended school in Bainton. In 1950 she married Herbert and they went on to have seven children. Her married life began at Bainton Heights before moving to Elmswell and later retiring to Kirkburn. Enid was a keen cook and a frequent winner at local shows for her jams, cakes and her famous apple pies. Enid had 17 grandchildren with 6 great grandchildren to date, all of whom she adored immensely. She always took great pride in her appearance, getting her hair and nails done every week. She had a lovely sense of humour and always had a mischievous glint in her eye. She will be greatly missed by all her loving family.

Family mourners: Susan & David Acey (daughter & son in law), David & Moira Hyde (son & daughter in law), Phillip & Pauline Hyde (son & daughter in law), Gillian & Paul Wood (daughter & son in law), Peter & Gill Hyde (son & daughter in law), Kevin & Adele Hyde (son & daughter in law), Cheryl & Steve Barmby (daughter & son in law), Darren Wood (grandson), Julie Acey & Nick Holt (granddaughter & husband), Jamie Hyde, Shirley Ellerby & Alfie Hyde (grandson, partner & great grandson), Paul & Michelle Acey rep Isabelle & Olivia Acey (grandson, wife & great granddaughters), Lee Hyde rep Emily Hyde (grandson & wife), Keeley Hyde & James Bowtell (grandson & partner), Jonathan Hyde & Sandra Frankisk rep Jason Hyde (grandson, partner & great grandson), E (Ian) Acey (grandson), Samantha Hyde, Riley & Millie Shotton rep David Shotton (granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter & partner), Laura Hyde (granddaughter), Zoe Hyde & Scott Leonard (granddaughter & partner), Abigail Hyde & Adam Leonard (granddaughter & partner), Daniel Barmby & Jade Gillyan (grandson & partner), Hollie Hyde (granddaughter), Kelly Barmby & Daryle Goldfinkle (granddaughter & partner) Emily Hyde, Katie Hyde (granddaughters), Eric Welburn (brother).

Others present: Colin Hyde (nephew), Janet Hall (niece), Vera & Ron Wray, Roy Marshall, Mr & Mrs S Palmer, Mr W Bentley rep Esme, Mr & Mrs D Dodgson rep Jason, Alison & Curt & Mrs Pat Pearce, Catherine Barker rep Stuart & Vanessa, Stephen Rookes (nephew) rep Mr & Mrs C R Rookes (North Dalton), Mr & Mrs C Wilson rep Mrs G Wilson, Olive Hodgson, Mrs Ann Duffin rep George, Stephen & Sally & Susan Malster, Joyce Hudson, Chris Licence, Leonard Hakner, Barry Hakner, Mr & Mrs David Adamson rep Mrs Dora Stannard, John & Penny Armitage, Mr Peter Woodall, Eileen Butler rep John Butler & The Maughan family, Sue Kirby, John & Pam Silversides, Mr B Brown, Mr David Atkinson, Mrs J Adamson, Mark Dodgson rep Jill Dodgson & Ashley Drury, Pat & Ethna Smith.

We began the New Year in fine style, with a lunch, as usual, at Tickton Grange, but with the added pleasure of having the ladies as our guests. Our speaker, John Peel (no relation, so far as we know) provided additional enjoyment with his illustrated talk on early English musical instruments.

John took early retirement from his post as history teacher at Pocklington School to give himself more time to develop his interest in early English music and instruments. He is a member of York Waits, who perform on radio and TV, have made numerous recordings, and provided music for the Queen when she visited York Minster last year for the Maundy Thursday distribution of alms ceremony.

He began with a demonstration of the shawm, a long trumpet-shaped flute, which was introduced to this country by those returning from the Crusades. There are several carvings of them in Beverley Minster. The oboe was a development of the shawm, and was popular with waits in the 17th Century. Beverley had its own waits (musicians employed by the town authorities to play on ceremonial occasions), and still possesses some of the country’s oldest waits chains of office, dating from the 15th Century.

The recorder, so beloved of school orchestras, originated as long ago as 1300-1400, and carol music for it features in the Beverley Book of Carols, now housed in the Bodleian Library. Different arrangements of finger-holes enabled it to be adapted for the continental market. Much less refined music was provided by cow horns. An early law decreed that woodland travellers had to carry such horns to warn others of their presence, so that they could show that they were not up to no good.

An early example of a one-man band dating from the 1200s was demonstrated, in the form of a small tabor (drum), accompanied by a 3-hole pipe. One of these is illustrated in one of Beverley Minster’s misericords.

All the preceding instruments could be regarded as peasant instruments. They were followed by more versatile ones; for instance, the lute. The model that John Peel demonstrated was very light, with a sound-board only 1/16” thick. Henry VIII helped to popularise such instruments, which were played in the houses of the gentry. Henry left an inventory of some 80 instruments, including, for instance, the crumhorn, a curious little curved horn, originating in Germany.

Beverley and the East Riding generally were musically in earlier days, because Beverley was the headquarters of the Northern Guild of Minstrels. Only Guild members were allowed to play outside their own parishes, and it appeared that different types of bagpipe were popular with such bands. They were common in England from 1300-1600, and visitors to Burton Agnes Hall can see a large version of one over the mantelpiece, being played by a woman! Bagpipers were even hired to play while sheep shearing was taking place, and there is a record of on, John Bartondale (?), being executed at York in 1634 (NOT for playing his bagpipes). After his burial sounds of him playing his pipes emerged from his grave! So he received a posthumous pardon.

As may be assumed from this brief account, John’s talk and musical illustrations hugely interested and delighted his audience, several of whom stayed behind to ply him with many questions.

Any retired professional or businessman interested in joining the Club is invited to contact the Secretary, Mike Welch (01430 872797). We meet for lunch at Tickton Grange on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, and, at the same venue with ladies, for coffee on the 1st Wednesday.

It’s 50 years since that intrepid and inimitable British hero James Bond first hit our cinema screens and since then there have been six incarnations of everybody’s favourite spy.

First off the celluloid production line was the dark and desirable Sean Connery who seemed to have made the role his own ... until a certain Mr Roger Moore stepped into the breach and stole our hearts with his twinkling eyes, charismatic charm and sardonic humour.

And now he’s back... not as 007, of course, but in his new persona as Sir Roger Moore, KBE, Bond observer, Bond aficionado, and author. He may be 85 now and at the age where ‘it’s my pacemaker that keeps my pulse racing’ but Moore has lost none of his trademark wit.

And to celebrate the film franchise’s wonderful heritage, he has written Bond on Bond, a pictorial extravaganza that features brilliant photographs and trivia from all the Bond movies, along with a characteristically self-deprecating account of his own involvement in them. And nobody does it better!

From the girls to the villains, from the cars to the cocktails, from the gadgets to the locations, this amazing book features iconic images from the films as well as many previously unseen shots.

Every chapter covers a different aspect of the Bond films production, including the beginnings, the villains, the girls, the gadgets, the cars, the locations and behind the scenes.

As always, Moore presents his account of the Bond phenomenon with laugh-out-loud comic asides and plenty of acute observations on his fellow Bonds.

Connery, he admits, was the best Bond ... ‘he was rough, tough, mean and witty,’ Pierce Brosnan was ‘cool, calculated and too damn handsome!’ and as for Daniel Craig, he’s ‘terrific, and I hope he’ll reign for many years to come.’

The ‘escapism, entertainment, fun, beauty and thrills that so encapsulate each and every film,’ Moore also reveals, was set down in the original blueprint designed by producers Albert R, ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Salzman.

And that early vision has never faded, earning the films a huge loyalty in the world of 007 fans who not only collect the films but also the memorabilia, the posters and, it hardly needs saying, the books!

So if there is a Bond fan in your family, the hunt for a gift is over... the ultimate book on 50 years of the cult movies written by one of the ultimate James Bonds has to be the perfect solution.

(Michael O’Mara Books, hardback, £25)