ONCE again, Barry and Lesley Greenlaw have decorated their Skerne Road, Driffield, house with thousands of lights to raise money for charity.

This year’s donations will go to Cancer Research UK.

The lights will be aglow from 3.45pm to 10.00pm daily until the 12th Night. Donations can be given at the house, or at the following collection points: The Driffield Cobbler, Martins Newsagents (Cross Hill), Mariners Arms, Spread Eagle, Trout Inn at Wansford & Robin Hood Inn at Middleton.

If the winter weather traps you indoors this Christmas, why not take a virtual trip to the amazing countryside surrounding Preston?

Around Preston is a Lancashire extravaganza published to commemorate the city’s historic 2012 Guild year and written by seasoned historian and naturalist David Hindle.

Here he celebrates Lancashire’s wealth of history and beauty as he takes his readers on a gentle series of walks into specially selected parts of the county, all easily reached from Preston.

Illustrated throughout with stunning photographs of both the landscape and wildlife, this is a book to treasure with its overview of local history and a fascinating kaleidoscope of local landmarks, including picturesque villages, woodlands and buildings alongside birds, mammals and the local flora and fauna.

The wide variety of walks take readers from Preston to Red Scar Wood, Hoghton Tower, Clitheroe, the Bleasdale Circle, the outstanding Forest of Bowland, on a special Guild themed walk around the city and many other locations with a rich history.

Hindle, president of Preston Historical Society, is a rare combination of broadcaster, naturalist and local historian and his book features interesting facts and figures about Lancashire’s heritage including Preston’s journey from leading 19th century manufacturing town to 21st century city.

The satanic mills might have almost completely disappeared now, allowing nature to precariously return to sites once blighted by industry but threats to our landscape still remain from science, modern agriculture and even well-intentioned heritage schemes.

Included in these walks is a visit to the conservation area around Grimsargh wetlands which comprises three redundant reservoirs and is vitally important for its breeding birds and other wildlife.

Another walk takes us in the footsteps of Cromwell, past Red Scar Wood on the banks of the River Ribble and to the site of the Battle of Preston which took place on August 17, 1648.

Red Scar Wood was recognised as a scene of unrivalled beauty by historian Charles Hardwick who published his History of the Borough of Preston and its Environs in 1857. Hardwick was also a skilful amateur artist and described how the trees there ‘cling tenaciously to the crumbling earth.’

These carefully selected walks are ideal for those who wish to escape either alone or with their friends and families to areas off the beaten track.

The use of public transport provides a greater freedom to complete linear walks and most are served by local bus services that penetrate the Bowland countryside via Whitewell and the Hodder Valley to Slaidburn and beyond.

All walks are easy unless stated otherwise and directions, approximate distances and duration are also shown, although walkers are advised to use Ordnance Survey maps as well.

It’s all here... a tour of the county’s heritage and natural history, whether that’s by Shanks’s pony or without leaving the comfort of home!

(Palatine Books, paperback, £14.99)

It takes a wicked and powerful imagination to conjure up stories like Chocolat, the best-selling book which was turned into an equally seductive film, so expect something deliciously different in Joanna Harris’s new collection of short stories.

The title for these beguiling, occasionally bizarre and loosely interconnected tales was founded on Harris’s choice of three essential items for her ‘desert island’ – a cat for company, a hat to keep off the sun and the string for a multitude of purposes.

Each, she felt, could also inspire scores of stories so on that basis, she set to work on these 16 magical flights of fancy, all designed to either move, amuse or surprise, and every one a work of art in its own special way.

This is her first short story collection since Jigs & Reels and some of the characters featured here – like Faith and Hope, the feisty and unforgettable pensioners from Meadowbank old folks’ home – are allowed a welcome reappearance.

Desperately trying to keep their sense of humour and innate dignity in a sea of jobsworth, bullying carers, the two elderly ladies enjoy an unexpected treat when they are left out of a coach outing to Blackpool for briefly escaping from the home.

Stories featuring the everyday jostle with tales of the unexpected so that at one point we are visiting a house where it is Christmas all year round and the next we are worrying about a young girl in the Congo who rides the rapids to entertain foreign visitors and earn a crust of bread.

We meet the ghost who lives on a Twitter timeline, find ourselves spooked by a newborn baby created with sugar, spice and lashings of cake and spy on Norse gods battling each other for survival in modern Manhattan.

‘Dee Eye Why’ relates a man’s relationship with resident ghosts as he obsessively restores a dilapidated old house after his marriage breaks up, and ‘Ghosts in the Machine’ features a lonely woman’s fantasies about a DJ she hears on the internet.

Each short story is preceded by a brief introduction from Harris, allowing readers a fascinating insight into the sources of her inspiration and the psychology behind the characters’ thinking and actions.

Harris is an audacious writer and there are stories here that are guaranteed to unsettle but her message is overwhelmingly one of reassurance that much of the world around us is dependable if not always rational and predictable.

‘Stories are like Russian dolls,’ she tells us,’ open them up, and in each one you’ll find another story.’

Warm, wise, witty and wonderful!

(Doubleday, hardback, £15)

Clouds of cigarette smoke, battered old typewriters hammering away, piles of old newspapers and phones constantly ringing for attention...

Semi-retired national and regional newspaper journalist Terry Hamilton conjures up the world of a 1960s local newspaper office in this funny, nostalgic novel based on his own experiences as a junior reporter half a century ago.

This humorous and at times poignant book evokes the vibrant atmosphere of a busy newsroom where reporters would dash around to `jobs’ ranging from covering church fairs and village fetes to court sessions, council meetings, weather stories and the inevitable fatal accidents.

The title, If Wet In Church Hall, is a phrase that young reporters often saw on notices advertising fetes and other outdoor events in towns and villages up and down the country.

Our young hero sets off innocently and enthusiastically on a series of adventures and misadventures as he begins his journalistic career on an imaginary evening newspaper somewhere in northern England, and tries in vain to savour for himself the delights – imaginary or otherwise – of the Swinging Sixties.

Much of its appeal lies in the rich array of characters who populate the novel, and anyone who has ever worked in a newspaper office will recognise people like Puffing Billy, who is never without his disgusting smelly pipe, and Jimmy the boozy photographer, who has an ‘arrangement’ with the buxom landlady of the pub opposite the newspaper’s office.

This delightfully entertaining story is pure nostalgia for those who remember newspaper offices and many other workplaces in the not-always-Swinging Sixties – and an eye-opener for those who don’t!

(York Place Media ebook, £2.02 Amazon download)

Councillor Margaret Pinder, Mayor of Beverley, will be lighting up Tesco Beverley’s Light Up a Life Christmas tree on Saturday December 22.

Throughout December, Tesco customers have been making a £1 donation to Cancer Research UK (Tesco’s Charity of the Year) and hanging a bauble on the tree to make a wish in memory to a loved one.

At midday this Saturday, the Mayor will be lighting up their wishes and Tesco would like to welcome all families to the Morton Lane store to remember their loved ones.

Dave Ryley, the store’s community champion, said: “We would like to thank everyone for your support and kind donations. Merry Christmas from everyone at your Beverley store.”

Cancer Research UK is Tesco’s Charity of the Year 2012 and together we hope to raise £10million to fund 32 early diagnosis and detection research projects across the UK. This will help more people survive cancer and keep more families together.

Drama and romance prove a compelling combination in Lizzie Lane’s novel set in Bristol in the lean years after the Second World War.

Warm and wise, funny and heartbreaking, Lane’s stirring stories never fail to capture the spirit of times gone by, and Wartime Brides takes us to the hardships and dilemmas faced by many families in the aftermath of a long conflict.

Post-war Bristol comes to vivid life as three women from very different backgrounds meet on Bristol’s Temple Meads station where peeling paint and shabby waiting rooms bear testament to years of neglect.

But despite the privations and queues, there is an air of bright expectancy on the faces of the young women who are waiting for the return of their loved ones.

Shy and troubled, Edna Burbage is watching out for her fiancé Colin Smith who has come home crippled and in a wheelchair. Life will never again be the same for either of them.

Vivacious Charlotte Hennessey-White can’t wait to be reunited with her doctor husband David but the once loving and gentle father returns a violent, disturbed man with no love for her, and even less for their two children.

And as for tough nut Polly, her Canadian airman boyfriend Gavin doesn’t come back at all, leaving her pregnant, alone and facing a scandal.

Adjusting to men who have changed beyond recognition and, in Polly’s case, to no man at all is at the heart of this nostalgic and gritty story.

For six years these women had to cope with what life threw at them and, in that turbulent time, they also changed. And all is not as it seems because they harbour secrets that would be best kept hidden...

Lane weaves an enthralling story with sensitivity, authenticity and a big helping of her trademark compassion.

A warm and engrossing read for those cold winter nights.

(Ebury, paperback, £5.99)

A service of celebration for the life of Hilda Storey of Beeford took place at St Leonard’s Church, on 29th November. She died peacefully on November 21, aged 99.

The service was conducted by the Rev James Grainger-Smith, with Nick Tanton on the organ. Great granddaughter Ella sang an anthem and granddaughter Hannah gave a reading.

Hilda was born in the village of Norton near Malton, the daughter of a tailor and a teacher. She attended the local primary school and then the grammar school in Malton where she passed her matriculation exams towards the end of the 1920s. Hilda enjoyed her schooling so much that she chose to be a teacher.

She began her teaching career in her own primary school of Norton where at the end of her first year she had become a non-certified teacher. In 1932 she moved to Londesborough School in the East Riding where the school had seven pupils. She then moved to Beeford School in the mid 1930’s to take up a temporary position, which lasted for five and half years. It was through the village drama group and tennis club that Hilda met Jack Storey and in 1938 they were married in the chapel at Norton, and set up home in Eastfield Farm at North Frodingham.

The couple had three daughters, Gill, Judy and Angela. Hilda had an active life in those days, she enjoyed tennis, dancing, sewing, knitting and cooking and baking. Her chocolate cakes and teacakes were always popular at local fetes. She was a member of North Frodingham Women’s Institute, and a high spot in her life was attending a garden party at Buckingham Palace through the WI.

Eventually the three girls grew up and left home and Hilda and Jack were blessed with firstly grandchildren and then great grandchildren. She enjoyed the company of the children cooking, talking, reading and playing games with them. She was never too old to learn and in her 60s passed her driving test and at 90 mastered emailing.

In the 1980’s Hilda and Jack moved to Dringhoe Lea for retirement and they started going on coach holidays travelling all over Europe with old friends from Beeford. In 1997 they lost their daughter Judy and in 2002 Jack passed away. Hilda decided to move into Beeford for her final years. She enjoyed reading, crosswords, TV quiz programmes and attending the Afternoon Tea and Social Group in the village.

Hilda was a strong, industrious and determined person she was also generous, considerate, and very caring. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

Donations in Hilda’s memory were for Cancer Research UK and St Leonard’s Church.

The passing bell was rung by Mrs. Anne Smith.

Chief Mourners: Angela & Geoff Sims (daughter and son-in-law), Dave Light (son-in-law) Nicola & Martin Wilson (granddaughter and husband) Tess and Sasha Wilson (great granddaughters), Carolyn & Stephen Christian (granddaughter and husband) Ella & Jack Christian (great grandchildren), Robert & Naomi Light (grandson and wife), Hannah & Andrew Murphy (granddaughter and husband), Anne and Les Smith, Claire Adkins, Philip Laird, Mrs Bette Storey, Mrs Linda Taylor, Also rep Mr P G Taylor, Mrs Margaret Storey also rep Martin Storey, Canon Michael Storey, Ken Tate also rep Gill Storey,

Others Present: Mr & Mrs I Crabtree, Mr C Robson Also rep Sandra Robson, Mr & Mrs T Sowersby also rep family, Margaret Duggleby also rep Joan Marwood, Gill Butler also rep Ullyott’s of Driffield, Don & Ros Watson, Mrs A Mckie also rep North Frodingham YCA, Sandra Coates, Mr & Mrs P Blanchard, Pippa Robinson also rep Nigel and family, Sylvia Berry, Sheila Norris, Mr A Dixon also rep Mr K Watson and Mr & Mrs A Hillyard, Mr & Mrs David Kell, Jean & Trevor Pickering also rep Helen & Gill Woodall, Wilf Norman, B Jordan, Mr & Mrs J Gillies, Shirley Hebden, Flora Twiddle, Cliff Warkup, Nev Hobson, Neil Clixby also rep Diane Clixby, Mrs G Shepherdson, Mrs K Fitzpatrick, Christine Jackson, Mrs E Barraclough, Roger & Joyce Parkin, also rep Mr & Mrs Robson, Jennifer Chaudry, Karen Jordan also rep Girls from Proactive, Mrs Heather Beard, Mr & Mrs M Warkup also rep Mrs Louise Muirhead, Mr & Mrs A Duggleby also rep Mrs I Benson and Mrs B Kirkwood, Mrs Helen Foreman, Mrs M Kirkwood also rep Mr G Kirkwood, Mrs Ann Aconley, Mr Phil Warkup, Mr & Mrs S Oxtoby, Sheila Robinson also rep family, Verna Shouler, Robert Kirbitson, Ernie Perry, Mrs M Warkup, Faye and Sherree (carers).

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Friday, December 14 for Mr William Towse, of church Rest Houses, Westgate, Driffield, who died peacefully in The Limes on December 6. He was 86.

The service was conducted by the Rev Malcolm Exley .

Billy was born in Driffield and attended school there. He was a mobile grocer delivering to farms before going to work at New Road Garage as a filling station attendant where he worked for over 25 years.

He married Joyce and they were married for 35 years before she died, they lived in Downe Street and Orchard Close during their married life.

He enjoyed going dancing with Joyce to the Spa in Bridlington and the Floral Hall at Hornsea. He followed local football teams, especially Little Driffield and he played pool for the Bay Horse in Driffield.

Chief mourners: Andrew & Michelle Towse, Brenton Towse, Jacky Robson, Georgina Towse, Elizabeth Towse, Abbiegail Towse, Charlotte Towse, Ben Withers.

Others present: Linda Towse, Jeff Cleminson, Mr & Mrs H Arnell, Barry & Lesley Greenlaw, Peter Hammond, Richard & Dorothy Pinder, Evelyn Pinder, Paul & Mandy Blakeston rep Marlene Atkinson, Ray Herbert, Peter & Margaret Sowersby, Maureen & Terry Stapley.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Wednesday, December 12 for Mr Derek John Pryor of Angus Drive, Driffield, who died peacefully at home on December 5. He was 77.

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

Derek was born in Hull, the eldest son of Jack & Elsie Pryor. He was brother to Geoff & Chris & the late David. He was evacuated to Kilham during the war and started school in Kilham. He performed in the local concert party with his friends. He loved cricket and football and he had a trial for Hull City. After leaving school he went on to become a joiner for Maurice Harrison in Kilham. He later moved to Twydale Turkeys to build turkey sheds, he stayed there for 29 years and went on to become Agricultural Director. He took early retirement after having a heart bypass operation.

Derek married Wendy in 1965. They went on to have one son Simon, later two grandsons James and Jack who he adored.

He enjoyed playing golf and was a member of the Driffield Golf Club, he loved being with his friends and enjoyed the camaraderie that went on at the club. He loved wildlife and bird watching.

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Chief mourners: Wendy Pryor (wife), Simon & Maria Pryor (son & daughter in law), James & Jack (grandsons), Barbara & Rob Ellis (sister in law & husband), Mark & Lee Burley (nephews), David & Muriel Ake (brother in law & wife), Tina Ellis (niece),Darren Ake & Wendy (nephew & partner), Geoff Pryor (brother), Gill Pryor (sister in law), Helen Clark, Joanne Richardson (nieces), Chris Pryor (brother), Katie Pryor (niece), Maureen Emmanuelle (sister in law), Sarah Watson (niece), Stewart Pryor (nephew).

Others present: Mr & Mrs H Towse, John & Irene Mallory, Mr & Mrs C R Lupton, Mrs Gwen Bradley, Rose Crawford rep Mrs S Hepworth & Mr & Mrs M Phillips, Jill Ellis rep Mr & Mrs D Peacock Mrs K Warkup, Mrs L Watson, Mr & Mrs B Chubb, Mrs J Welburn, Mr J Dossor, Mr & Mrs McCewan, Paul, Vigo & Edwina Jensen, Tony & Margaret Mullineaux rep Mark Binnington & Stuart Morley, Brian Swann. Isobel & Geoff Drewery, Brian & Lesley Muir rep Charlie & Angela Wiles, Peter Boyes rep Frank Wilson, David Nicholson, Ross Nielson rep Keith & Marie Robinson, The Trout Inn, Gill & David Johnson, Trevor & Carol Thomas, Raymond Twiddle OBE, Mr & Mrs C Pickard rep Mrs F Brown, Mrs P Butler rep Mr Butler, Mr & Mrs Tony Potter, Mr & Mrs A Brigham, Mr & Mrs A Carlton,Mr & Mrs M Richardson, Blanche Cooper, Mrs C Fothergill, Mr C Sharp rep David Searby, Gordon Roebuck rep Richard Tennant & Richard Hornby, Susan Garwood rep Christopher Garwood, Dave Parker, Mark & Christine Beasley, Mike Clark rep Mrs Yates & John Robson, Dave Hornshaw, Brian Seville rep Gwen Seville & Driffield Golf Club, Barry Dixon rep Audrey Dixon, Mrs Christine Jackson, Janet Robinson, Robert Megginson, John Warcup, Eileen Naylor rep Gordon, Geoff Hall, Bob Bratten, John Smith, Derrick Blundell, Bob Ireland, John Newland rep Margaret Newland, David Gilliat rep Barbara Gilliat,Mr & Mrs C Sansome, John Hakner, Geoff Hakner rep Chris Hakner, Keith Abel, Lynne Rushworth rep Dean Rushworth & Liz Curtis, Janet Woodcock rep Phil Woodcock & Angela & Eugene Maher, Gwen Byass rep Mrs Kirkwood, Mr & Mrs D Brown, Tim & Christine Beachell, Mike Peacock rep Jenny, Nick Bristow rep Lynn, Peter Bradbury rep Irene & Simon Bradbury, Cliff & Lynn Duggleby, Denise Shepherdson, Mr & Mrs M Goulding, Gary Johnson, John Emmett, Michael & Carol Gray, Moira Waites, Barry Ellis rep Irene Ellis, Pauline Everatt rep Angela Belt, Jenny Watson rep Henry Watson, Jim Sampson rep Mary Sampson, Mr & Mrs J Poynton, John Clancy, John Addison, Mandy & Steve Watson,Albert & Brenda Hallett, David Cawthorn, Barbara Vincent,Miss B Baird rep Alan Jefferson, Mrs Y Beachell rep David, Ann, Richard & Jill, Mr J Beachell rep Mrs Pam Beachell , Mr & Mrs B Jordas, Mrs H Morley, Mr R Charter, Mr Mal Wynn rep Maureen, Mr C License rep Betty, Brian & Sheila Young, Mr & Mrs D Hepworth rep Christine Harrison, Mr G Middlewood rep Mr & Mrs R Dukes, Mr & Mrs R Windrass, Mr C Stephenson rep Mrs V Stephenson, Mr & Mrs P Burdis rep Mrs P Burdis, Keith & Angela Lidster, Robert & Joyce Ward, Mr & Mrs H L Middlewood, Mr & Mrs J Middlewood, Mr L Thackery, Mr R Weightman, Mr J Finch rep Mrs L Finch, Mr & Mrs J White, Mr S Anderson, Tim Brown, Mr Nigel Horrox, Mr Brian Taylor, Mr David Roberts, Mr Robin Langhamer rep Mrs E Langhamer, Mrs Barbara Stephenson rep Mr A Stephenson, Mrs M Skinner, Mrs Cynthia Milne, Mr Peter Milne, David Jewitt, Jimmy Mills rep John Mills.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Friday December 14 for Mrs Margaret Elizabeth Boyes, of Southfield Road, Driffield, who died peacefully on the December 4 in the Beverley Community Hospital. She was 85.

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

Margaret (Peggy) was born in Driffield in 1927. She grew up in Providence Place with her brother Albert and sister Mabel. She worked initially at Ford Dairies in Driffield, before she became a bus conductress on East Riding buses where she met her husband John Boyes, and married in 1953. She went on to work as an auxiliary nurse at East Riding hospitals, Northfield and Alfred Bean.

They went on to have four daughters together, after which when they had grown up, she went to work at William Hills Bookmakers in Driffield until she retired.,

She enjoyed her family, especially family holidays, lots of family parties, reading and home baking – Her ‘speciality’ was her meat and potato pies.

In her later years she amazed everyone with her active mind and very good memory, especially at crosswords and countdown, and also looking after all her family. If her family were happy, then she was at her best.

She and John spent 59 years together and she will be sadly missed by all her family and friends.

Donations in Margaret’s memory were for Macmillan nurses.

Chief mourners: John Boyes (husband), 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), 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), Sara & Andy (great granddaughter & partner) rep Daniel & Ben (great grandsons), Jessica (great granddaughter), Louie (great great grandson) and Sally.

thers present: Captain & Dorothy Calam, Albert Eddington rep Mary, Don Braithwaite rep Barbara Braithwaite & Alan Benstead, Ruth Naylor, Nina Naylor, Sue Duffill, Hazel Arnold, Ruth Wharram, Julie Gatenby rep Ken & Cynthia Young, Abigail Neale rep Vanessa Mabbett, Eric & Pat Littlefair, Sandra Calam, Mike & Sue Birks, Mr & Mrs J Flintoft, Graham Duke,Mrs M Turner, Mrs L Taylor, Vera Kember, Richard Flintoft rep Jackie Flintoft, Eileen Flintoft (cousin), Jackie Horner rep Tracey Stainforth & Sally Horner, John Forrester, Eric Smith, Mrs Ada Sylvester, Sheila Malster rep Mrs Joyce Towse, Robin Malster rep Rachel Young & Jason Gill, Keith Gray, Maureen & Brian Evans, Maurice & Myra Wilkinson, June Burks, Joan Watson rep Eric Watson, Bernard Gray.

Last month, following a Freedom of Information request to the Yorkshire Ambulance Service that showed only 48% of emergency calls in Mid Holderness being met under the eight-minute guideline, Graham Stuart MP visited all of the ambulance stations in the constituency.

Mr Stuart said, “I wanted to see the ambulance service in action and hear from front-line staff about how they feel the service could improve its response times in the constituency.

“I was very impressed with the skills, experience and dedication of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff I met during my visit.

“I came away with a strong message that ambulances could be better used and managed by both the service and service users to produce faster response times. It is worrying to hear that 60% of ambulance call outs are not life threatening emergencies and could be dealt with by a call to the GP or NHS Direct.

“If an ambulance is called to a non-emergency situation then it is unavailable for real emergencies. This means that ambulances could be held up and off-area while they deliver the non-emergency patient and hand them over to the hospital.

“It is good to hear that calls are prioritised and that the service does have the ability to divert an ambulance to a higher priority call en route if needed, but this is not possible once the ambulance is engaged with a patient.”

A Beverley school is celebrating after being named as the tenth most improved in England.

Swinemoor Primary School has been hailed for its ‘fantastic achievement’ in attaining its position in the primary school league tables.

In 2009, the percentage of Swinemoor Primary School pupils attaining Level 4+ in both English and maths was 43, but this had soared to 87 per cent by this year, representing a 44 per cent improvement.

Level 4+ is the level the Government recommends pupils should be able to reach in their final year at primary school.

Under new rules introduced last year, schools are expected to ensure that 60 per cent of pupils achieve this standard.

Alison Michalska, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s director of children, family and adult services, said Swinemoor Primary School had delivered ‘tremendous results.’

She said: “This is a fantastic achievement and is a testament to the hard work of the staff and pupils at Swinemoor School, who have blossomed under the impressive leadership of Leon Myers, the head teacher, and the governing body, who, working alongside the local authority school improvement service, have delivered tremendous results.”

Helen Ross, Principal Adviser (Primary) Improvement and Learning Service, said: “These are a fantastic set of results for the school and for all the Year 6 pupils. They show that the school is not only meeting national expectations but exceeding them.

“The Level 5 performance in reading and overall English is exceptional, and among the best in the county. When these results are compared to outcomes in 2009, Swinemoor is the most improved school in the East Riding over a three year period.”

Mr Myers, who has led the school for the past three years, said: “We have got absolute faith in our children – we know they are outstanding. This accolade only proves what we knew all along, that our children are as good if not better than any other children and we are very, very proud of them. This is thoroughly well deserved because they work incredibly hard.”

Mr Myers added: “For our children to realise that they can compete nationally and win this sort of accolade is going to make a real difference to their life chances. They can get a job, they can get university places. This is what education is about – improving those chances.”

Councillor Julie Abraham, portfolio holder for children, young people and local authority schools at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “This improvement is testament to good leadership and management and we are all extremely proud of what has been achieved at Swinemoor Primary School.”

The Troubles in Northern Ireland have rarely proved an attractive proposition for novelists, and Derry author and teacher Brian McGilloway’s ‘no frills’ crime thriller series set in the notoriously dangerous Borderlands is as dark as one would expect.

Dead babies, the terrible grief of families whose murdered loved ones became the Disappeared and the lasting legacy of the province’s violent divisions cast a brooding and sorrowful shadow over the latest outing for Inspector Ben Devlin in a taut, self-consciously social and political murder mystery.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that the shadows cast are too long and too overpowering ... McGilloway’s elegant, almost elegiac, writing and his humane, sensitive Garda detective raise The Nameless Dead from a gloomy reflection on Northern Ireland’s past to a poignant, perfectly-pitched crime story which counterbalances fictional drama with factual history.

This is our fifth case with Devlin, the family man copper whose private life is dominated by his children’s teenage angst rather than any stereotypical battle with the demon drink, a bad gambling habit or skeletons rattling around in his closet.

Respectable, compassionate and doggedly determined in the face of obstructive senior officers, the maverick Devlin always steers a moral course in his pursuit of fairness, justice and the truth.

His patch is on the southern side of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and here we find him working alongside the north-based Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, an organisation set up to try to find the bodies of the Disappeared, those people killed and secretly buried in the Borderlands during the early years of the Troubles.

The team is looking for the body of local man Declan Cleary who was reported missing by his pregnant girlfriend Mary Harte in 1976. There were rumours at the time that he had been targeted as an informer who gave information to the police about IRA activities.

Instead, the dig uncovers the skeleton of a disabled baby in what is believed to be a 19th century ‘cillin,’ an unconsecrated burial place once used for unbaptised infants, but it doesn’t look like this one died from natural causes.

The Commission’s remit does not allow criminal prosecutions from any evidence they uncover and there can only be limited forensic examination of any remains found. Their role is simply to recover the bodies and give families the opportunity to bury their dead.

Devlin is unconvinced that this applies to the body of the little girl and while he is reluctant to fan the flames of the area’s past, he cannot let a suspected murderer go unpunished and sets out to discover the truth.

But now the secret is out, more deaths follow. Devlin must trust his conscience, even when that puts those closest to him at terrible risk...

McGilloway’s uncompromising story is a subtle exploration of the notion of ‘limbo’ – babies abandoned in makeshift graves because the Catholic Church deemed them ‘unblessed,’ the edgy no-man’s-land between North and South and the despair of those who cannot find closure for their missing loved ones.

The Nameless Dead also forces those of us at a distance from the Troubles to re-evaluate our concept of ‘peace’ and to recognise that the people who lived through the hostilities cannot easily draw a line under events that have left so many psychological scars.

(Pan, paperback, £7.99)

Lancashire’s rich social, cultural and industrial history has made the hunt for our ancestors an increasingly popular and addictive pastime.

But family history novices often don’t know where to start, particularly with the bewildering array of records and archives now available, so finding a trusty guide is an invaluable first step.

Sue Wilkes, an established expert on industrial heritage and a well-known family historian, has put together this invaluable handbook packed with practical advice and information as well as an excellent background to Lancashire’s history for those tracking down ancestors who lived or worked in the county.

As well as helping you to trace when and where your ancestors were born, married and died, it gives an insight into the world they knew and a chance to explore their lives at work and at home.

In the first part of the book, Wilkes describes the origins of Lancashire’s major industries – the cotton, coal, transport, engineering, shipbuilding and other trades which helped to forge Britain’s great empire.

She looks at the stories of important Lancashire families such as the Stanleys, Peels and Egertons, and famous entrepreneurs such as Richard Arkwright, the Preston barber who developed the water-frame, in order to illustrate aspects of Lancashire life and to show how the many sources available for family and local history research can be used.

But the ancestors of ordinary Lancashire folk also played their part in the county’s history whether they fought for Britain, spun cotton, hewed coal, tended a steam engine, tilled the fields or waved a Chartist or suffragette banner in pursuit of electoral reform.

The second part of the book is a directory of the most important ‘tools’ for tracing family history. Relevant documents, specialist archives, libraries, background reading and other sources are recommended, as well as databases of family history societies, useful genealogy websites and places to visit which bring Lancashire’s past to life.

Even those seeking family history before 1837, the advent of civil registration, can break through this ‘barrier’ through the use of records from medieval courts, government, church, trade and industries.

No stone is left unturned in this fascinating and essential companion for anyone seeking out their Lancashire roots.

(Pen & Sword, paperback, £12.99)

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Friday, December 21 for Mr Maurice Dandy of Wansford Road, Driffield who died peacefully at home on December 10. He was 79.

The service was conducted by the Rev James Anderson & the organist was Mr Peter Maw.

Maurice was born in Lowthorpe, the 4th of 5 boys. He attended Harpham school. He worked on various farms in the area lastly for Mr Bruce Temple.He then had a few seasons on grounds maintenance with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

He married Doreen at Kilham in 1956 and they went to live at Wold Farm in Driffield. They went on to have two sons Paul and Andrew. They moved to live in High Street in Nafferton in 1964 and lived there until 2009 when they moved to Wansford Road, Driffield.

Maurice was a keen sportsman playing football and cricket for Lowthorpe and Kilham in his younger days. He continued his love of sport as a supporter of local teams as well as national teams, often getting up early to listen to cricket on the radio He bred and showed budgies and rabbits and he enjoyed gardening. He had a great love of the countryside and country traditions.

He will be greatly missed.

Family mourners: Doreen Dandy (wife(), Paul Dandy & Jayne Palliser (son & partner), Andrew 7 Lucy Dandy (son & wife), Liam Dandy & Kemba Lucas-Lyon (grandson & partner), Matthew Dandy, Darrell Dandy, Rachel Dandy & Jordan Dandy (grandchildren), Malcolm & Edna Dandy (brother & sister in law), Margaret Dandy (sister in law), Jennifer & Ashley Welbourn (niece & husband), Julie & Andrew Hartley (niece & husband), Neil & Julie Dandy (nephew & wife).

Others present: Molly & Richard Palliser, Colin & Margaret Buckton, John Kettlewell, Sheila Cowton & Michael Duggleby rep Angela, Vera Tordoff, Christine Wildridge, Simon Wildridge rep Helen & Gordon & Ann Tyler, Wendy Simpson rep Frank, Dorothy & Ian Hill rep Kate & Penny, Dulcie Wright rep Karen & Julie, Peter Gibbons rep Celia, Valerie Peacock, Mr L Rawdon, Dennis Nelson, Keith Nelson, Mrs Dorothy Smith, Barbara & Brian Harrison rep Margaret Trees & Marilyn Jordan, Bruce & Jill Temple, Paul Temple rep Ted Atkinson, Steve Burdass, Mrs D Coleman, Mr D Plowman, Joyce & Joe Tuplin, Jane & Steve Sharp rep Brian & Sue Mellonby, Edna & Dennis Sharp (sister in law & husband), Stuart Sharp rep Paula, Megan, Kelly & Ben, Rob Coutts & Susie Long, Jill Booth rep William Booth, Harvey Booth & Adrian Hanrahan, Helen Lawrence, Jean & Tom Coutts, Peter & Sheila Croft, Linda & Gordon Calvert, Sharon Coutts, James Robins, Rob Coutts, James Coutts, Susan Beachell, Jeanette Neal, Sophie & Charlotte Neal, Mrs I Rispin rep Mark, Philip Walker, Keith Rounding, James & Sue Coutts rep Mike, Lynsey, Owen & Scarlett, Sarah Coutts rep Michelle & Amy, Adrian Croft, Tom Rispin, Andrew Carr rep the family Liz Easterby.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Wednesday, December 19 for Mrs Doris Mary McGillivray, of the Beaumont Nursing Home, Stamford Bridge, (formerly of Nafferton) who died suddenly in the Beaumont Nursing Home on December 8. She was 88.

The service was conducted by the Rev Robert Amos and the organist was Mr Steven Westaway.

Doris was born in Kilham in 1924 and grew up there. She attended school in Kilham. She had one brother, George Tate who was ten years younger than her. She joined the forces at the age of 17 and became a NAFFI girl. During the war years she met, and when the war ended married her late husband Alexander McGillivray at KilhamChurch. They then moved to St Andrews in Scotland to start their married life together. They had one daughter Isabel. A few years later the family moved back to Kilham and then to Nafferton. Always returning to Scotland for holidays enjoying time with family and friends.

Doris started to work for the East Riding Council at Nafferton schools, where she worked until she retired in 1984 after 35 years service. She became Cook in Charge at the school canteen and she was affectionately known by all the school children as ‘Mrs Mac’

Doris and Alec had a long and happy marriage, celebrating their Golden Wedding.

She was a member of the Nafferton Women’s Institute for 50 years, enjoying the monthly get together with friends. On retirement she joined the Nafferton Bowls Club where with Alec, spent a good number of years playing bowls together.

Family Mourners: Isabel & Mike Rogerson (daughter & son in law), Andrew & Clare Rogerson (grandson & wife) also rep Adam Rogerson (great grandson) & Joanne, James, Jessica, Jennifer & Jonathan (granddaughter & great grandchildren), Chris & Sue Tate (nephew & wife) also rep Sarah & Emily (great nieces).

Others present: Mrs Grace Sanderson rep Julie Spence, Rita Riggs, Nancy Grace, Dorothy Hyde, Janet Woodcock, Edna Thompson, Tony & Eileen Thompson, Fiona Gavigan, Gillian Calvert, Ruth Murray, Roy Dowson rep Nancy, Cicely & Helen (cousins), Brenda & Philip Davison rep Les Cockerill & Madge Crawley , Nick Woodhead, Peter Gibbons rep Celia, Sue Johnston, Ann Gordon, Sue & John Stubbs, Christine Shaw rep David Robinson, Julie Daubney & Paul Shaw, Jill & Peter Errington, John & Maureen Johnston, Mrs Sheila Sykes, Carolyn & Martin Pevleve, Peter Hodgson, Lee O’Shea, Alan & June Bielby, George Kellett, Nigel & Shirley Brass, Pamela & Brian Kirby, Brian & Sue Mellonby rep Margaret Johnson, John & Jill Seaton rep Joan Shawcross, Paul & Cathy James.

A funeral service was held at All Saints’ Church, Driffield on Thursday, December 20 for Mrs Alwyn Simpson (formerly of Pockthorpe), who died peacefully in Scarborough Hospital on December 9. She was 88.

The service was conducted by the Rev Malcolm Exley and the organist was Mr Martin Salter.

Alwyn was born in Whitby in 1924. She attended Cliff Street School and then the County School in Whitby. Her father was a jet manufacturer. After leaving school she trained as a State Registered Nurse at Scarboorough Hospital.

She married George who was a farmer in 1948 and they lived at Pockthorpe until they retired and moved to Driffield.

She was a member of the Women’s Institute for many years, firstly at Kilham and then Driffield. She was a volunteer with the WRVS helping with the hospital trolley service and she was also a member of the Driffield Ladies Luncheon Club. She enjoyed playing bridge, gardening and music.

Family Mourners: Elizabeth & Paul Stephenson, Janet & John Rennison, Caroline & Stewart Elliott (daughters & sons in law), Margaret Walker (sister), Jayne Priestman (rep great grandson Christopher) & Michael Moss, Sarah & James Halligan, Helen & Ian Woodruff, Richard Stephenson, James Stephenson & Lucinda Cawood, Thomas Elliott & Eleanor Proudfoot-Sackur, Mark Elliott, Philip Elliott (grandchildren), David Smith, Stephen & Linda Smith, Fiona Hughes (nephews & niece).

Others present: Mr & Mrs P Sawyer, Mrs D Cracknell, Mr & Mrs B Stephenson, Mrs H Good, Mrs Sue Dennis, Mrs Margaret White, Sue Dillon, Richard & Jane Headlam rep Peter & Mary Naylor, Marjorie Cooper rep Sally Beswick, Sharon Dean, Eileen Rowbottom, Freda Watt, Mr John Watt rep Mr D Searby, Mr P Owen, Malcolm Copeland rep Billingshill, Mrs Margaret Botterill, Mr & Mrs C Robinson, Susan Hyde rep Riverhead Hall, Mrs E Bell rep Driffield Ladies Luncheon, Basil Thompson, Mr & Mrs B Howland rep Mr & Mrs M Minns, Mr & Mrs Mike Foreman, David Watt rep Yvonne Watt, Betty Taylor, Mrs A Byas, Di Watson rep the family, Mr & Mrs Maurice Riley, Mrs D Duggleby, Jill Ellis rep Driffield WI, Ann Dunnington rep Driffield WI, Jan Parr rep Mrs Scruton & Mr Geoff Parr, Val Wilson, Rev David Everatt, Mrs P Butterworth rep Mrs A Pollard, Mr & Mrs John Williamson, Mrs William Wright rep Mr Wright, John Jefferson rep Jean Beachell, Mrs Daphne Padwick, Mrs S Franklin, Mr & Mrs I Rogerson, Mr & Mrs F Ullyott rep Jennifer, Mark & David, Margaret Smith rep Janette & Simon, Simon Minns rep James Mortimer Ltd.

A funeral service was held at All Saints’ Church, Driffield for Mrs Muriel Harrison, of The White House, Driffield, who died peacefully in The White House on December 8. She was 87.

The service was conducted by the Rev Andrew Ison and the organist was Mr Martin Salter.

Muriel was born in Watton and attended Beswick School. During the war she was in the Land Army. She met Tom and they married in 1947. After their marriage they lived in Kilnwick where they stayed for 57 years. She helped on Cawkeld Farm potato picking and enjoyed many happy days working with the other women. She taught her daughters how to bake and knit, she enjoyed her garden, growing vegetables and keeping pigs just after the war years.

They later moved into Driffield and Muriel and Tom enjoyed going on bus trips. She was very family orientated and loved spending time with her family.

Sadly, shortly after Tom died Muriel had to go into care but she still enjoyed going into town in her wheelchair and the trips out with the White House.

She will be greatly missed.

Chief mourners: Cynthia & John Dawson, Joan & Malcolm Bentley (daughters & sons in law), Mike Ibbertson (son in law), Sonya & Sean Bendelow (granddaughter & husband) rep Charlotte Grace (great granddaughter), Aimee Dawson & Rupert Clemmit (granddaughter & partner), Sarah & Neil Hastings (granddaughter & husband) rep Robert & Katie (great grandchildren), Michael Ibbertson (grandson), John & Daphne Elliott (brother & sister in law), Steve & Brenda Pettinger (cousin & wife), Kathleen & Brian Swaby (cousin & wife unable to attend), Trevor Harrison rep June Harrison, Tina & Warwick Ivel & family & Jackie & Ian Sinton & family, Brian & Barbara Harrison rep Angela Goodwin, Keith Harrison rep Sue Harrison, Caroline Elliott rep David Elliott & Carole & Adrian Croft (nephews & nieces), Darren Harrison (great nephew).

Others present: Brent & Jill Flint, Jenny Shaw, William & Jill Lamb, Joan Hardy rep John Robson, Heather Young rep Maurice Young, Audrey & Ernie Weightman, Jennifer Mullinger, Jessie Cooper rep David, Ruth Rawson, Mr & Mrs John Hill, Ann Knaggs rep Friends of Guiding, Sheila Hara rep Mike Hara, Judy English,Joan Savage, Louise Dawson rep Paul Savage, Mr & Mrs H W Thompson, Jennifer Newlove, Mrs Wendy Wilson, Christine Clark, Pauline Caley rep Tom Caley, Mrs J Hughes, , Sharon Simcox rep The White House, Gill & Cedric Calvert rep Linda Elvidge, Pam & Val rep The White House, Gillian Farmery rep the family, Mrs Joan Warkup rep Keith Warkup, Andrew Warkup, Ann & Ray Berriman rep Mr & Mrs K Pickering & Mrs J Pickering, Liza Noble, Mark Flint rep Mr & Mrs B Flint, Ann Johnson, Mr & Mrs P Hara, June Taylor.

Think of David Nicholls’ One Day, add a week’s worth of northern humour and you have what could be one of the year’s funniest and most romantic books.

Breezing in on the wave of 2013 is Mhairi McFarlane whose very modern, very witty and very wonderful debut novel is a true labour of love.

Five years in the making and set in Manchester, the beating heart of the north, You Had Me at Hello also comes straight from the heart.

It’s a rollocking, rumbustious romantic comedy which bubbles over with engaging – but very credible – characters, slick dialogue, plotlines that tug at those heartstrings and all written with a nudge, a wink and an irresistible sense of fun.

Central to the story is that old ‘love story’ chestnut ... what happens when you meet up again with the boyfriend ‘that got away,’ the man you adored (and still do) but who slipped through your fingers, probably never to be seen again.

Rachel Woodford is a ‘doormat’ kind of girl who works as a court reporter, has been dating dullard Rhys for far too long, still lives with her old Manchester University flatmates and is well and truly stuck in a mind-numbing time warp.

But then Ben, her old uni flame whose memory has never really stopped lighting her fire, turns up again in Manchester ten years later and it’s as if she’s ‘woken up after a coma, been jolted back to life by a favourite song.’

Only trouble is that solicitor Ben is married to the beautiful, clever Olivia and his evidently shiny, joyful and functional existence puts into sad relief her own ‘decade-long stasis,’ making her feel as if she ‘sits around in a moth-eaten Miss Havisham graduation ballgown, listening to a crackly recording of Pulp’s ‘Disco 2000’.’

Is their bittersweet reunion going to be the final chapter of their long-running story, or could it be the beginning of a whole new blockbuster?

Easy to read and hard to put down, McFarlane’s creative and cuddly concoction is a slow-burning, wry and funny love story with plenty of width and depth to keep the smartest and most demanding chick-lit readers hooked to the very last page.

With its pleasing mix of romance and reality and a seemingly bottomless store of hilarious one-liners, You Had Me at Hello is a welcome breath of fresh air to blow away the cobwebs of 2012.

(Avon, paperback, £6.99)

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium on Monday, December 17 for Mr John Burdis of Little Driffield who died suddenly but peacefully on December 8. He was 74.

The service was conducted by the Rev Malcolm Exley & the organist was Mr Peter Maw.

John was born in the Airman’s married quarters at RAF Driffield in 1938, the middle of three sons. His dad died in World War 2 and his mum died during his early teens.

He attended school mainly at Little Driffield, which he was very proud to say he attended, particularly as he spent all his married life yards away from where the school used to stand in the village, he also attended Driffield School.

He started his working life as a farm labourer (he had a lifelong love of animals). His career mainly involved driving HGV’s, finally retiring from the Yorkshire Water Authority due to ill health.

He met Pat in 1962 and they married in Skerne in 1965. They moved to the marital home in Little Driffield after watching it being built. They went on to have three children and later two grandchildren. He always considered his parents in law Mum & Dad, no longer having his own.

He was a member of the St John Ambulance and he particularly enjoyed first aiding at motor cycle meetings/road racing and rugby matches in the local area. He was also passionate about driving, it was more than a career to him. He loved animals, he had numerous pets over the years including dog, cats and keeping and breeding various breeds of birds.

He was extremely proud to be a Yorkshireman, his favourite saying was ‘Yorkshire born and proud of it’.

Chief mourners: Mrs Pat Burdis (wife), Mr Steven & Mrs Lynda Burdis, Mr Paul & Mrs Anne Burdis (sons & daughters in law), Mrs Julie & Mr Mark Hirst (daughter & son in law) also rep Ryan & Keryn Hirst (grandchildren).

Others present: Pam & Nigel Kelly, Gwendoline Cook, Philip Cook, Maurice Wilson, Pearl Mcglen rep District Nurses, Sylvia & Brian Berry, Mr & Mrs I B Broom, Simon Pryor rep Maria Pryor & Wendy Pryor, Jean Hirst, Bob & Janet Overfield, Mrs D Lacy rep Mr M Lacy, Terry & Maureen Edmond, Sybil Throp, Andrew & Janet Cage, Keith Philipson, Mr & Mrs J Corkins, Mr & Mrs F Felton, Mrs S Burdis.