The following planning applications which relate to the Driffield area have been submitted to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council:

Erection of farm shop and cafe with associated parking and highway improvements, following demolition of exisitng farm shop and cafe, Manor Farm Shop, Beverley Road, Hutton Cranswick.

Construction of junction and access to land to north of Station Road, Hutton Cranswick, 17 Station Road, Hutton Cranswick.

Display of externally illuminated fascia sign and externally illuminated hanging sign, 52B Middle Street South, Driffield,

Installation of two air conditioning units and extractor grille to rear, 52B Middle Street South, Driffield.

Demolition of existing stable building and timber store, Red House Farm, Nethergate, Nafferton.

Retention of office building and continued use of yard and office as an LGV driving school, Land South West Of The Elms, Starcarr Lane, Brandesburton.

Erection of a single storey extension to front, two storey extension to side and single storey extension to rear , 43 Pomona Way, Driffield.

Erection of garage to front following conversion of existing garage to additional accommodation, Longcroft, Scarborough Road, Driffield.

Crown reduce Pear tree (T1) to side of canopy by 3m towards conductors and reduction of height sufficient to avoid conductors, Willowdene, Main Street, Foston On The Wolds.

Erection of a replacement garage, Beteric Cottage, Main Street, Garton On The Wolds.

Conversion of existing barn to dwelling and erection of two storey extension to rear following demolition of existing stable building and timber store, Red House Farm, Nethergate, Nafferton.

Fell Black Pine (T1) at high risk of falling due to lifting root plate, Little Green, North End, Bishop Burton.

Fell three dead trees raising safety concerns to properties due to falling branches, 48 St Johns Road, Driffield.

Erection of agricultural storage building, Carnaby House, 15 Main Street Carnaby.

For over 300 years, Bluff House has loomed large over Whiskey Beach, facing the cold, turbulent Atlantic as if it was a challenge.

Within its stony walls, generations of the Landon family have lived and died, celebrated and mourned, schemed, thrived, triumphed and languished, so where else would Eli Landon flee for sanctuary from a life that has all but been destroyed?

Nora Roberts, the extraordinarily successful author of over 200 novels and one of the world’s most popular writers, is in territory she knows best in this beautifully-paced suspense mystery which has both a murder and a romance jostling at its heart.

True to form, she crafts an intriguing and beguiling story, this time featuring a young lawyer who became prime suspect wife when his wife was murdered and has never cleared his name despite the case being dropped.

His journey through suspicion, despair and hope is complex and absorbing and as we travel with him, we become acquainted with emotive human themes like friendship, trust, love and loyalty.

Boston criminal attorney Eli Landon seemed to have the perfect life. He had a beautiful wife Lindsay, a wonderful home and a dazzling legal career but when Lindsay was brutally murdered after confessing to an affair with another man, Eli was named prime suspect – without a shred of evidence.

After a year-long ordeal, the case against him has finally been dropped but Eli’s world is in tatters. Abandoned by his friends, still hounded by the media and a police detective with a grudge, Eli retreats to the small-town sanctuary of Whiskey Beach and Bluff House, his beloved grandmother Hester’s home by the sea.

Bluff House has belonged to the Landons for generations and is the perfect place for Eli to regain his strength and rediscover his first love – writing. He is helped in his recovery by Abra Walsh who is looking after Hester’s home while the old lady recovers from a fall.

The beautiful, energising Abra is nurturing, courageous and herself a survivor of a broken marriage and as Eli heals both mentally and physically, he begins to open his heart to her.

For the first time, Eli dares to dream of a new future but as Abra and Eli take their first steps towards each other, a dangerous enemy is watching from the shadows, an enemy determined to make sure that Eli Landon will never have that new life... whatever the cost.

Roberts weaves a warm, sexy and character-driven story but threads it through with a frisson of hidden danger which adds an air of compelling mystery and keeps the pages turning.

A traditional and stylish thriller with a soft, seductive centre...

(Piatkus, hardback, £16.99)

With its long history dating back to a permanent Roman settlement, an imposing hilltop castle and a rich variety of architectural gems, Lancaster has much to be proud of.

Award-winning photographer Jon Sparks from Garstang takes us on a nostalgic journey in his new book Lancaster Through Time which features a fascinating selection of photographs showing how Lancaster has changed and developed over the last century.

By juxtaposing photographs of the city as it was with how it looks today, Sparks offers us a stark reminder of the wholesale destruction of much of the city’s housing and employment during the 1960s and 1970s.

The huge riverside development, Lune Mills, which specialised in coated fabrics and linoleum and represented the heart of the Williamson industrial empire, once employed a quarter of the city’s workforce but now lies derelict.

Large swathes of housing were pulled down and the old Market Hall, which disappeared in a catastrophic blaze in 1984, was sadly never rebuilt and so missed out on the recent revival for artisan foods and crafts.

However, there is still much to celebrate including architectural gems like the elegant quayside Customs House, the distinctive Ashton Memorial and the majestic 15th century Priory Church.

And there are fine examples of change, like the sympathetic redevelopment of the White Cross Mill site, which manages to marry the best of the old with the best of the new, and historic St George’s Quay probably looks better than at any time in its history.

And more improvements are planned for the freshly cleared site just west of Carlisle Bridge.

Most promising of all for the city is the closure of the castle prison which has opened the door, and maybe even the magnificent John O’Gaunt Gateway, to a new and exciting future as a tourist mecca.

In the meantime, Lancaster Through Time offers us a nostalgic remembrance of how the city looked long before time and development took its toll.

(Amberley, paperback, £14.99)

Anyone who says love and politics don’t mix should pick up a copy of Midnight in St Petersburg, Vanora Bennett’s classy new novel.

In an action and passion-packed story set during the revolutionary fervour of Russia’s imperial capital city, those two uncomfortable bedfellows form a marriage made in historical thriller heaven.

Bennett found inspiration in her own great uncle, Horace Wallick, who lived through the Russian Revolution in St Petersburg for this exciting, vivid and sumptuously romantic epic featuring a young Jewish woman fighting for survival in a country torn apart by violence and anarchy.

Harnessing her experiences of living and working in Russia and through hours of meticulous research, Bennett takes us to the dangerous heart of a country in turmoil and into the homes and salons of some of the revolution’s leading players.

From the charismatic Siberian peasant Father Grigory Rasputin, whose influence on the Tsar’s family would help precipitate revolution, and the wealthy nobleman Felix Youssoupoff who hatched a notorious murder plot, to ordinary Russians struggling to survive momentous upheaval, this is a story of passion and politics to thrill and enchant.

After witnessing the murder of Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin in a Kiev theatre and fearing another pogrom against the Jewish population, orphan Inna Feldman flees to St Petersburg to take refuge with distant relative Yasha Kagar.

On the train south she is befriended by fellow traveller, Father Grigory, who pledges his help if she should ever need it and later introduces her to Felix Youssoupoff and the archetypal Englishman Horace Wallick, an artist for illustrious royal jewellers Fabergé.

What she doesn’t yet know is that hot-headed, handsome, half-cousin Yasha is a fledgling revolutionary whose spare time is spent distributing inflammatory leaflets which could put them both in mortal danger.

Yasha works for the flamboyant Leman family and musician Inna is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop. With her exotic looks and talents, she feels instantly at home in their bohemian circle of friends.

As Inna becomes infatuated with the brooding, perilously attractive Yasha and as steady, dependable, loyal Horace finds Inna increasingly desirable, war breaks out and society begins to fracture.

With the revolution fast descending into chaos and blood-letting, a commission to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a means of escape. But which man will she take with her? Can she choose between her heart and her head? And is it already too late to get out of St Petersburg?

Lush, romantic and brimming with suspense, Midnight in St Petersburg explores the social, cultural and political extremes of early 20th century Russia as well as delivering an intelligent and beautifully written love story.

A fascinating and enjoyable historical novel...

(Century, paperback, £12.99)

The renowned Chief Inspector Van Veeteren might now be retired and ensconced in an antiquarian bookshop but his voice still speaks loud to his young protégé Ewa Moreno as she is drawn into a disturbing case...

Håkan Nesser, one of Sweden’s best and most popular crime writers, returns in an intriguing and intelligent murder mystery which encapsulates all that is so addictive about Scandinavian crime fiction.

His compelling Van Veeteren books have picked up a fistful awards and despite the partial disappearance of the enigmatic chief inspector, the eighth in the series enjoys renewed vigour from new kid on the block, the lovely, likeable Ewa.

Nesser is a consummate crime writer, providing brooding, atmospheric thrillers brimming with tension, startlingly real characters, illuminating nuggets of dry humour and plotlines that plumb the depths of the human soul.

And in an ironic twist on the gloom and darkness of the traditional Swedish crime mystery, Nesser’s new drama is set in the heat of a sweltering summer where, rest assured, the sun still manages to cast a large shadow over both the hunted and the hunters.

Detective Inspector Ewa Moreno from the Maardam Police is more than ready for a holiday with boyfriend Mikael when she is commandeered into interviewing a notorious lowlife criminal who claims to have ‘information’ for her ears only about a rogue policeman.

He is under arrest at Lejnice, close to her holiday house, and her ‘copper’s conscience’ won’t allow her to turn down the job. On the train journey there, she is moved by a weeping teenage girl who reveals she is preparing to meet her long-lost father.

He is teacher Arnold Maager, convicted of murdering his pupil Winnie Maas, apparently pregnant with his child, 16 years ago and has been incarcerated in a secure psychiatric unit in Lejnice ever since.

On her eighteenth birthday, Maager’s daughter Mikaela finally learned the terrible truth about her father and, desperate for answers, is travelling to the institution to meet and talk to him.

Soon afterwards Mikaela inexplicably vanishes and Ewa finds herself part of the inquiry into her disappearance. But before she can make any headway in the case, Maager himself also disappears – and then a body is found. It soon becomes clear to Ewa that only by unravelling events in the past will she unlock dark events in the present...

The resourceful, pragmatic, love-shy Ewa slips effortlessly into the gap left by the towering presence of Van Veeteren and a cameo appearance by the dogged old detective himself adds a welcome sparkle to the proceedings.

But it is Nesser’s easy, uncomplicated and yet compelling style which grabs us by the scruff of the neck from the memorable opening lines of The Weeping Girl and refuses to let go until the last page has turned.

Long live the king of the Nordic thriller...

(Mantle, hardback, £16.99)

Bangalore... southern India’s entrepreneurial boom city where tradition and technology, ancient cultures and industrial conglomerates, urban grime and suburban grace rub along together amidst a teeming mass of humanity.

India’s third most populous city is a modern wonder, a newly industrialised metropolis where development has brought a new sense of vitality and confidence but also ushered in huge social and economic problems.

And in India, when ambition, crime, murky politics and the lust for land collide, the fall-out can be both disastrous... and dangerous.

The Hope Factory, Lavanya Sankaran’s exhilarating debut novel, takes us deep into the fast beating heart of her tumultuous home city to bring us this clever portrayal of two very different families coping with the growing pains of modern India.

And it’s a fascinating story told with beautifully crafted, multi-layered prose, an observant eye for the mundane detail of everyday life, some wickedly witty dialogue and genuine insight into what it means to live in such a vast, complex society.

Anand K. Murthy is the owner of Cauvery Auto, a car parts manufacturing company which was built painstakingly over the years through his own sweat and toil. He is rich, has married well, has two children and is considered to be one of Bangalore’s success stories.

As an Indian industrial pioneer, Anand has survived an unimaginably hostile world, not least the Indian government, ‘a strange, cavernous beast that lay hidden in grottoes and leapt out, tentacles, flailing, suckers greedy for bribes.’

And if he is to clinch a deal with a Japanese car manufacturer, which would transform his family’s lives and ease his ongoing financial struggles, he is going to need at least ten more acres of land, and finding land in an endless city of claustrophobic human habitation, ‘wishful architecture and denuded finances’ is like looking for gold dust.

Meanwhile Kamala, Anand’s family’s maid, exists at the other end of the social spectrum and perilously close to the edge of disaster. She and her clever, resourceful teenage son Narayan live in one room with a shared tap, bath and toilet, and own virtually nothing.

But both are ambitious, Kamala for her son’s future and Narayan to make money fast and easily. Their small hopes for self-betterment depend on the contentment of Anand’s wife Vidya, a selfish and capricious woman whose life is led through the ‘social arteries’ of her mobile phone.

And there are other complications in the lives of both Anand and Kamala. Narayan keeps bad company and Anand’s marriage is in trouble. Before long, their opposite worlds will collide in ways that are both unexpected and perilous...

The Hope Factory is more than just another story of a city and a country in the grip of massive change... it reveals how ordinary people face up to the challenges of a society in which many of its moral building blocks have disappeared, the gap between rich and poor has become a yawning chasm and where dreams of enrichment have become all-consuming.

Sankaran allows her modern morality tale to unfold with drama, humour, an irrepressible sense of irony and a subtle poignancy which moves and delights in equal measures.

But she also tells us loudly, clearly and with real affection that India is still a country where family life rules and where providing the best possible future for your children is the overriding ambition of parents whatever their social background.

A warm, revealing and entertaining debut.

(Tinder Press, hardback, £14.99)

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium, Octon on Wednesday, May 8 for Mr Robert Mark Eric Barr (formerly of New Road,Driffield), who died peacefully in Northfield Manor Nursing Home on April 25.

He was aged 75.

The service was conducted by the Rev Malcolm Exley.

Robert was born in Driffield and attended Driffield School. After leaving school he trained as a joiner and cabinet maker. He spent a short time in the Air Force were he got married and had three children. He enjoyed walking and renovating antiques.

He spent several years of his life living at Wyton Abbey Care Centre where he enjoyed the wildlife and taking daily walks.

The last seven months he spent in Northfield manor Nursing Home.

Family mourners: Stefan Barr & Carly Bird (son & partner), Jane & Stephen Calvert (daughter & son in law) also rep Rosemary Barr & Stephen Harrison (daughter & partner), June & Roger Mason (niece & husband), Cynthia & Richard Sharp (niece & husband) also rep Linda Cox, Angela Buckle, Pam Silversides & Tina Hall (nieces), Mrs Anna Mack (niece) also rep the late Chris Barr & family, Mr Chris Blyth (nephew) also rep the Blyth family from Nottingham,

Others present: Susan Bird, Jim Barron, Phil Barron rep Simon Barron, David Shields, Mr & Mrs Bill W Stabler, Mrs Jane Shipley, Mr G A Wren, Deborah & Clive Calvert rep Jaime, Emilie, Henry & Alice Calvert, Gill & Cedric Calvert rep Melanie & Julian Harrison, Thomas Croft, Janine Webster & Tracey McNellis rep Northfield Manor, Christine Hunt, Cynthia Greatorex, Gwen Draper.

A funeral service was held at the East Riding Crematorium, Octon on Thursday, May 9 for Steven William Proudlock of Garton on the Wolds who died in St James Hospital, Leeds on April 29. He was 35.

The service was conducted by Roger Witts.

Steven was born in Beverley Westwood in 1977. Steven had cystic fibrosis and spent a lot of his childhood in and out of hospital. He had a liver transplant at St James Hospital in Leeds when he was twelve years old.

He went to school in Driffield, first primary and then secondary school. He was a very clever boy and was particularly good with numbers and mechanical things. After he left school he worked at Britax in the offices for a while and then for Lada at Bridlington and at the holiday camp at Barmston where he worked as an administrator and receptionist. He enjoyed driving and passed his test when he was in his teens. One of his favourite jobs was working in the Harbour Lights in Bridlington where he could meet up with friends for a drink and a chat.

He enjoyed going on holiday and him and mum Shirley would set off together and explore Europe. In 2007 they went to New York, they took a helicopter ride over the city and went to the top of the Empire State Building and did many things which became very precious memories for them both. Steven and Shirley shared many interests and tickets for Dancing on Ice and a Madonna concert with the VIP treatment was a treat for them both.

He did his best to live as normally as possible and for a while shared a house with a friend in Leeds and enjoyed a social life but as his illness began to get the better of him he had to return to Garton to live with his mum and dad and Caspar the Jack Russell who adored him.

Steven was both a gentle man and a gentleman, he was a good son, brother, cousin and friend, he loved his family very much and will be greatly missed by them all.

Family mourners: Shirley & Bill Proudlock (mum & dad), Lee Proudlock (brother).

Others present: Dave Medd, Mr & Mrs P Boddy, Dorothy Boddy, Lila & Malcolm Bromley rep Richard & Kim Bromley, Alan & Janet Proudlock, Ian & Stacey Proudlock, Jo Proudlock, Terry Hoggarth rep Catherine & Claire Hoggarth, Darren & Cath Proudlock, Gill White, Andrew White, Lorna Brook, Terry Gray, David Holmes, Richard & Elaine Johnson, Andy & Norma Holmes, Faye Proudlock rep Ann Proudlock, Vicky Grainger & Andy Harland, Lucy Howden, Robert Holmes, Lee Hayers, Terry Bromley, Danielle Bromley, Emma Grabham, Karlene Hogg, Rose & Les Kent, Graham Proudlock, Chrissie Ward, Scott Proudlock, Andrew Potter rep Robert Potter, Jamie Proudlock & Amy Bradley, Nerys Mitchell, Emma Mann, Esther Howard, Rebecca Bretherton, Rob Shaw, Krysia Moore, Nicci Goddard, Jodie Proudlock, Richard Briggs, Andrew Anderson (cousin) Michelle Anderson (cousin), Mark & Linda Anderson (cousins), Andy Anderson (uncle), Jayne Kelly rep Stephen Kelly, Dean & Dawn Ireland, Keith Baker, Tracey Meredith Baker, Peter & Jennifer Baker (uncle & aunt), Marguerite Abbott (aunt), Stuart & Mandy Crompton, Karen Dansworth, Julie Dandy, Julie Johnson, Emma McPartling.

A funeral service was held at the Methodist Church, Nafferton on Tuesday, May 7 for Mr William Gilbert (Gil) Appleby of Sycamore Close, Nafferton who died in hospital on April 25. He was 90.

The service was conducted by the Rev Robert Amos and the organist was Sarah Sellar.

Gil, as he was always known as, was born in 1922 in Nafferton to George & Jemima Appleby. The second of three boys and with six sisters he enjoyed a very happy family childhood.

On leaving school he worked at Thirsk’s Mill, then at the age of 18 he was called up to join the Coldstream Guards and became a Guardsman, he served throughout the war. He saw conflict in Holland, Belgium,France and Germany, liberating many cities on the way. Brussells was one he was most proud of, to be one of the first tanks to enter the city. Being asked by the locals ‘Is you English’, having said yes it started much happiness and celebrations. Gil was awarded three medals for his service and was demobbed in 1946 with an unblemished record. A letter from his commanding Officer spoke of his bravery and loyalty to his fellow guardsmen, many of them losing their lives and he rarely spoke of these sad times.

In 1946 after joining Civvy Street again, he worked at the Landlimes Quarry at the top of Nafferton Wold, driving spreader lorries treating farmland all over the East Riding. He continued to be employed there for a further 40 years retiring in the mid eighties.

He moved from the family home in Coppergate in 1987 to Sycamore Close just round the corner, he enjoyed his garden and spent many happy times working in his greenhouse.

Gil loved sport, he played cricket and bowls for Nafferton, he was also a good darts player. He also enjoyed encouraging his nephews and nieces and their parents in playing cricket on the sands at Auburn. He also enjoyed horse racing and was familiar with all the flat courses in Yorkshire which he attended with his sisters and brothers in law.

For the last six years he was helped enormously to stay independent in his home by Pete and Enid who provided all his meals and did his shopping, his brother in law Les took over when Pete & Enid went on holiday. This tremendous help enabled him to enjoy and live the life he wanted in his own home. Due to ill health he had spent the last few months in Woodlands.

Although a bachelor all his life he always supported his many nieces and nephews and always took an interest in their lives.

He will be greatly missed.

Family mourners: Les Hughes (brother in law unable to attend), Bunty Appleby (sister in law), Peter Rodger (nephew) rep Kay, Jim & Helen Jepson (niece & family in France), Wendy Jameson (niece) rep Christopher & Antony Jameson (great nephews), Geoff & Joan Appleby (nephew & wife), David & Gillian Johnson (nephew & wife) rep Richard & Elaine Johnson (great nephew & wife), Sue & Brian Mellonby (niece & husband) rep Paul Mellonby (great nephew), John Lawton rep Lyn Atkin (niece & partner), Anthony Rodger rep Jonathan Rodger (great nephews), Darren & Mark Appleby (great nephews), Jane Sharp rep Steve Sharp (great niece & husband), Andrew & Meryen Jepson (great nephew & wife), Alan Child rep Liz Smith, Dennis & Maureen Carr (cousin & wife) rep Mildred Arnold..

Others present: Philip Barron rep Simon Barron, Cath Kitching rep Ian, Audrey Jackson, Christine Watson rep Jean Merritt, Heather Winn rep Gerald, Mavis Hunsley, Harold & Audrey Raines, Mrs Ruth Hammond, Mrs M Hammond rep Mr P Hammond, Steve Wright, Esther Ralph, Florence Jennison, Philip Walker, John Ellis, Mr & Mrs John Dean, Margaret Johnson, Anne Pudsey, Stephen Burdass, George Dixon rep Bernard Crosier & Graham Massey.

Elizabeth Loupas isn’t the first writer to be inspired by the marital mysteries surrounding the shadowy 16th century Duke of Ferrara... English poet Robert Browning got there first.

His darkly satirical poem, My Last Duchess, was born from popular rumour that Alfonso d’Este, grandson of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia no less, may well have murdered his flirtatious first wife.

But what of the Italian duke’s second wife, Archduchess Barbara of Austria, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, who was noted for her long, ‘horse-like’ Habsburg face rather than her youthful beauty?

Loupas makes a return visit to the magnificent splendours of the Italian Renaissance to bring us this sumptuous, wickedly entertaining and compelling reimagining of the woman who bravely, and some would say recklessly, stepped into the shoes of a duchess whose death created a storm of speculation.

Refusing to be sidetracked by Browning’s ‘Victorian sensibilities,’ Loupas places the duke and his Ferrarese court firmly back in the 16th century where pride and possessiveness were very recognisable traits in a Renaissance prince.

And in the midst of all this shining opulence, she conjures up the seductive story of a plain, pragmatic duchess – a far cry from the fairytale beautiful princess – as she is cast adrift in a scheming palace where a word or a smile out of place can spell the difference between life and death.

By her own admission, Barbara of Austria is neither young nor beautiful. But she is quick-witted and practical and, unmarried at the age of 26, she is also desperately in need of a husband.

Just as she is about to be packed off to a convent, like her sisters before her, she seizes what seems to be her last chance – a proposal of marriage from Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. He is clever, handsome, powerful... and widely believed to have murdered his first wife, Lucrezia de’ Medici.

Despite the rumours, Barbara agrees to marry him because this is her last chance to have her own establishment away from her brother’s court and to escape the convent where she would be buried for the rest of her life.

She goes into her marriage clear-eyed and fascinated by her dangerous, enigmatic husband but she soon learns that the court of Ferrara is like ‘a love-apple, beautiful and rosy-red and alluring to the senses, but poisonous, so poisonous...’

Alfonso, proud, intelligent and cultured, admires Barbara’s poise and breeding, her self-assurance and her intellect but as he finds his new wife increasingly driven to discover what really happened to his first duchess, his courtly charms turn to menace and threats.

And watching over them all is his first wife Lucrezia, a restless spirit caught between life and death, whose past life is revealed as Barbara’s present life unfolds. Two women, two wives, both in search of the truth...

Time and place spring vividly to life in Loupas’s dazzling story which puts the complex relationship between Barbara and the enigmatic Alfonso at its core. The element of mystery over the death of the first duchess, and the use of a dual commentary by both wives, provide an extra layer of intrigue and suspense while making the plight of both women palpably real.

Loupas’s impressive and well-researched evocation of the 16th century’s overriding concern with religion and superstition also give authentic ballast to a delightfully entertaining story.

Rich, dazzling and dangerous, The Second Duchess is ideal for fans of historical romance.

(Preface, paperback, £12.99)

Nearly 80 vergers from around the country will gather in Beverley Minster on Tuesday, May 21 for a special event.

Vergers, or ‘virgers’ are the people responsible behind-the-scenes for getting churches and cathedrals ready for services, concerts and other events as well as doing the 101 other duties that no one else can or will. No two vergers have an identical job, but all share a common desire to maintain the standards and traditions of their churches.

Beverley Minster is hosting this year’s day-long Northern Province Festival for the Church of England Guild of Vergers (CEGV). The festival includes a special celebratory communion service in the morning, a pastoral lunch prepared by the Minster’s own catering team, followed by special tours of the church and other relevant attractions in the town.

Neil Pickford, Area Leader for the Yorkshire branches of the CEGV and assistant virger at Beverley Minster said: “We’re delighted to be hosting this event – the first time we’ve done it for many years. For most of us it will be a rare opportunity to meet distant colleagues and friends, then share our experiences and stories.

“Our small team at Beverley Minster is proud to show off our beautiful church but I’m sure we’ll learn many useful tips for improving how we look after it.”

Attendees are travelling from as far as Carlisle, London, Surrey and Malvern as members of the CEGV, which is supported by the Archbishops of York and Canterbury.

When Tanya Byrne’s debut novel Heart-Shaped Bruise was published last year, it didn’t so much break onto the scene as explode in a myriad of starry-eyed reviews.

Teenagers and young adults fell head over heels for her intriguing story of a troubled young girl, an edgy psychological thriller told with a fresh, original and compelling new literary voice.

And now the talented young author is back with her much-anticipated follow-up... a gripping, twisting and turning, backwards and forwards journey into the dark, scheming hearts of two rival teenage schoolgirls.

The secret of Byrne’s success is all in the mind... her ability to tap into the unfathomable, half-remembered world of the teenage psyche where jealousy, desire, love and hatred can become so all-consuming that they escalate into matters of life and death.

Sixteen-year-old Adamma Okomma, a Nigerian diplomat’s daughter, has lived in Lagos and New York so when her father takes up a post in London, she is understandably nervous, and not a little contemptuous, about being incarcerated in an English boarding school.

She is convinced that exclusive Crofton College in Wiltshire, ‘about ten miles south of No One Gives a Damn’ will be a dusty old school where nobody can pronounce her name.

But all is not lost as Crofton turns out to be a co-ed school and her new best friend is the beautiful, tempestuous, unpredictable Scarlett Chiltern who seems ‘to reflect off the panelled walls like a new penny.’

Before long Adamma and Scarlett are inseparable despite Scarlett’s propensity for a swaggering self-assurance that ensures she has enemies as well as friends.

And then obnoxiously forward schoolboy Dominic Sim arrives on the scene and what he lacks in humility he makes up for in wit... and Adamma has a weakness for ‘funny guys.’

Problem is that he’s just the boy that Scarlett fancies too and soon the battle lines are drawn between the two rivals with Adamma shunned by Scarlett and her privileged peers.

But then Scarlett goes missing and everything takes a darker turn. Adamma always knew that Scarlett had her secrets but some secrets are too big to keep, and this one will change all of their lives forever...

Byrne has certainly moved up a gear in Follow Me Down with a plot more complex, more psychologically astute and more emotionally mature than teen novel Heart-Shaped Bruise.

By alternating between events in the present and events which took place eight months earlier, she allows us to watch her characters and their relationships slowly unfold whilst plunging us deep into the story’s central mystery almost from the opening pages.

Cleverly structured, high on emotion and page-turning suspense but subtly nuanced and brimming with powerful themes like obsession, rivalry, relationships and the nature of friendship, this is a novel to read, enjoy... and then read all over again.

(Headline, hardback, £10.99)

Here’s an invitation difficult to turn down... a trip to the beautiful Cornish coast, courtesy of one of Britain’s best-loved TV presenters.

The Holiday Home, Fern Britton’s third entertaining novel, has all the trademark warmth and charm that we have come to expect from the popular broadcaster who has found fertile ground in funny, feelgood fiction.

This time she sets her sights on fraught family relationships and sibling rivalries, and the hidden secrets that can rock the foundations on which carefully constructed lives are built.

Set amidst the beautiful landscape of Cornwall and filled with an eclectic cast of characters, plenty of sharp observation and some bitter home truths, this is a story packed with drama, tensions and more than a few surprises.

Henry Carew, owner of a successful family board games business, and his wife Dorothy fell in love with Atlantic House, high on a Cornish cliff, about 25 years ago and bought it as a holiday retreat.

Their two daughters, Prudence and Constance, were only teenagers when Atlantic House became the jewel in the family crown and have since spent every summer holiday there at war with each other.

The two women, now in their forties, are as different as vinegar and honey. Pru, the eldest by two years, likes to get her own way and is happy to scheme and connive to make sure that she does while Connie, always second best, finds herself almost permanently outmanoeuvred by her big sister.

Pru is a hard-nosed. combative businesswoman, mother of 16-year-old Jem and married to meek and mild house husband Francis who has dedicated his life to caring for his wife and son. What she doesn’t yet know is she is about to get a shock reminder that you should never take anything for granted.

Meanwhile, Connie, mother of teenager Abigail and loving wife to philandering, arrogant Greg, is tired of always being outwitted by Pru and determined that this year’s holiday will be different. Henry and Dorothy have moved into a bungalow nearby and suspecting that Pru wants to get her hands on Atlantic House, Connie won’t take things lying down.

When an old face reappears on the scene, years of simmering resentments reach boiling point and a long-buried secret returns to bite them all where it hurts.

Is this one holiday that will push them all over the edge, or can Connie and Pru leave the past where it belongs?

An enjoyable blend of comedy, mystery, romance and drama, The Holiday Home is wonderful escapist reading and the ideal book to slip into your suitcase as you head off to find your own holiday sunshine.

(HarperCollins, hardback, £12.99)

It has been described as the biggest diet revolution since the Atkins, and the Fast Diet is fast becoming THE way to lose weight and keep healthy.

Based on the principle that two days out of every seven should be given over to a low calorie intake, the diet claims to help fight the flab and cut cholestrol and blood sugar levels.

The runaway success of the Fast Diet appears to be its freedoms and flexibility, its simple basic tenets and its much-lauded scientific backing.

But from a psychological point of view, its indisputable attraction is that the low calorie intake (about a quarter of the normal daily recommendation) is limited to only two days a week, leaving the rest of the time blissfully free of diet worry.

And to help dieters stick to only 500 or 600 calories on those all-important ‘fast’ days, there is now a specially designed recipe book with 150 delicious and nutritious calorie-controlled meals to enable you to incorporate the 5:2 weight-loss system into your daily life.

Start your day with a soft boiled egg accompanied by some asparagus spears, tuck into a bowl of porridge sprinkled with ‘jewel’ fruits such as berries and cherries or, if you have more time, cook up a fluffed prawn omelette packed with protein.

Keep your energy levels high all day by breakfasting on a nutritious plate of chicken, broccoli and scrambled eggs or mix up your own muesli and serve with cherries and yoghurt.

For supper, you can look forward to mouth-watering dishes like a super simple aubergine curry, a portion of salmon and ribbon veg, Sarah Raven’s pan-fried lambs’ kidneys with lentils, a truly delicious and lightweight cottage pie topped with celeriac and leek or find comfort in a warming but low calorie winter stew.

If you are in danger of exceeding your calorie limit, treat yourself to a vegetable-packed, 108-calorie ‘allotment soup’ which promises to fill you up as soon as you look at it, or scan the useful index at the back of the book which details recipes in order of calorie count.

And if you simply can’t resist snacking, there are some inspired fast day quick bites like air-popped popcorns, sugar-free jelly pots and plain endamame steamed and served warm with a little rock salt.

There are also detailed menu plans and plenty of encouraging tips, including kitchen-cupboard essentials, the latest nutritional advice and a whole section of speedy meals for busy days.

Beautifully illustrated and with easy to follow instructions, this groundbreaking companion book explains everything you need to know about the rules and guidelines of the Fast Diet as well serving up recipes so delicious that you’ll want to eat them on feast days as well as fast days.

(Short Books, paperback, £14.99)

There’s an ill-wind blowing through the troubled Republic of Niger... and it’s not just the dry, dusty, damaging Harmattan breeze that sweeps in from the Sahara across West Africa.

Gavin Weston’s heart-rending debut novel, inspired by his personal experiences as an aid worker and child sponsor, opens a window onto another world; a harsh, forbidding lanscape where political and civil strife is a way of life, Aids is the principal way of death and children are victims of both.

During his stint as a relief worker in Niger in the late 1980s, Weston witnessed the terrible privations of sub-Saharan Africa but it wasn’t so much the grinding poverty that shocked him as the emotive issue of child-marriage.

As a tribute to the young victims, and particularly the young Nigerien girl sponsored by Weston and his family when he returned to his native Northern Ireland and who abruptly stopped corresponding with them when she was married off at 12, he put pen to paper.

Harmattan, the story of Haoua, a spirited and intelligent girl growing up in a remote village in Niger and facing the kind of odds that are unimaginable in the West, is a truly emotional reading experience, a moving and brutally honest account of poverty, sickness, oppression and shattered dreams.

Eleven-year-old Haoua Boureima lives in the remote village of Wadata in Niger where her father grows millet and sorghum and her mother is a housekeeper. She has a stable home life and a loving and attentive mother, and enjoys working and playing with her brother, sister and their friends.

Haoua is one of the village’s lucky children. Her schooling is being paid for by her sponsor family, Neil Boyd, his wife and twin daughters Katie and Hope from Co Down who are the same age as Haoua. Their photographs and postcards give her a tantalising glimpse of another world, one which she has slowly started to believe could be hers through her dreams of becoming a teacher.

Haoua’s father, entrenched in age-old traditions, disapproves. ‘Educated girls argue with their parents,’ he tells her, but Haoua has an older brother, Abdelkrim, a serving soldier who sends money home to support the family and is a progressive thinker.

When Abdelkrim comes home on leave, the family’s humdrum existence is turned upside down. He has a bitter quarrel with their father, accusing him of gambling away the money he sends and of being the cause of their mother’s worsening health.

‘Your ways are no longer my ways,’ he tells his angry father who, it emerges, is planning to take a second wife.

And for Haoua, there are new storm clouds on the horizon. As civil strife mounts in Niger, she begins to fear for Abdelkrim’s safety, her mother’s illness is much more serious and further advanced than anyone had recognised, and her father’s plans are turning out to be far more threatening than she could have ever imagined.

Approaching her 12th birthday, Haoua is alone and vulnerable for the first time in her life...

Niger’s unforgiving landscape with its parched earth, searing heat and vast palette of colour is beautifully evoked but just as powerful are the raw descriptions of Haoua’s broken life... her challenges, her traumas, her terrible losses and the dreadful destiny shared by so many young girls.

Haoua’s plight is made even more moving by the contrast to the lives of the Irish twins whose comfortable existence in the West is a far cry from the realities of everyday life in Niger.

Weston weaves a brilliantly detailed and dramatic story full of haunting images and unforgettable characters... a vivid and visceral reminder that for some, the promised land is still a distant country.

(Myrmidon Books, paperback, £8.99)

East Riding Young Farmers Clubs and Crossgate Cluster will hold their annual County Rally on behalf of East Riding YFC on June 1 when 15 East Riding Young Farmers Clubs get together for a day of static and active events at Cawkeld, between Kilnwick and Watton at Driffield.

The County Rally is an annual event where by all the Young Farmers Clubs come together for a day of competitions, which is set to be a particularly historic occasion as it is 25 years since it was last held at this site.

The event has been organised by members of Bainton, Beverley, Beacon and Market Weighton Young farmers Clubs and is sure to be a cracking day out with plenty to see and do throughout the day.

Mark Flint who farms Cawkeld with his wife Diane both remain very involved with the movement. Speaking about the rally, Mark said, ‘YFC don’t receive the grants that we did back when we were members, so everything has to pay its way.’ With this in mind the combination of 4 clubs forming the Crossgate Cluster makes for stronger social bonds as well as funding. Cluster Chairman Rachael Walshaw from Beacon YFC is confident the day will be a great success. She said, ‘we are keen to form relationships with other organizations, and thanks must go to all companies who have supported the County Rally. Bishop Burton College is the main sponsor for the event, and their support has gone a long way to helping the day go ahead and certainly paved the way for our future working relationship.’

The day will comprise of active events such as fashion shows, tractor handling, cookery, the boat race and flower arranging, plus arena events.

In addition there will be a Rally Do in the evening (8pm to 1am) with tickets priced at £7 before the May 29 and £10 after that date.

Beverley’s Tesco store have hosted a bag packing event for Beverley District Scouts.

The event took place on Tuesday 18 May, raising almost £400 which will be used to fund new equipment for the group.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “Thanks to our customers, the bag pack raised a fantastic £397, which will help purchase badly needed new equipment for the group.”

Janice Quinn, Assistant Cub Scout Leader, has thanked all of Tesco’s customers who so generously supported the bag pack.

In May 1931, 24-year-old Alfred Wainwright set out with three friends on a walk which would prove to be a gruelling test of man’s endurance against nature.

It was almost exactly a year after his first, life-changing trip to the Lake District which inspired a lifelong love affair with the area’s breathtaking beauty and magnificence. The experience was ‘a revelation so unexpected,’ he later said, ‘that I stood transfixed, unable to believe my eyes.’

Back home in Blackburn, Wainwright set his sights on a return visit the following spring for a six-day tour which would enable him to see every valley, mountain and lake… even though, realistically, they might not all be physically visited.

He mapped out a route, visiting ‘everywhere worth mentioning’ but avoiding the tourist traps and picnic spots. The walk, he promised his three work colleagues from the Borough Treasurer’s office in Blackburn, Jim Sharples, Harry Driver and Eric Maudsley, would be arduous but well worth the time and effort.

Dogged by the notoriously wet and temperamental Lakeland weather, the ‘grand tour’ of Whitsuntide 1931 ultimately failed to achieve its objective but it did sow the seeds of his worldwide famous seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.

And it would be another 60 years, after Wainwright’s death in 1991, before the six foolscap sheets on which the great author, illustrator and walker mapped out that long-ago Whit tour, would once again see the light of day.

Shortly after Wainwright’s death, Eric Maudsley, the sole surviving member of the group, made available the details of that holiday which, unknown to anyone, he had kept for 60 years.

And now professional photographer Ed Geldard, who formed a strong friendship with Wainwright towards the end of his life, has recreated the tour in remarkable detail, giving a breakdown of the route, along with 180 magnificent colour photographs.

From Orrest Head with its lovely views of Windermere and the Coniston fells to the beautiful Troutbeck valley and from scenic Angle Tarn Pikes to Patterdale and its surrounding fells, this is a journey through what Wordsworth described as ‘the loveliest spot that man has found.’

The tour is also a perfect itinerary for keen walkers looking for a genuinely informative guide to walking in the Lakes and who would like nothing better than to follow in the great man’s footsteps.

It is also a fascinating discovery for Wainwright aficionados who can delight in this ‘missing page’ from the life story of the man whose Lakeland love affair has become an integral part of its history.

(Amberley, paperback,£12.99)

The war may be over but peacetime brings new challenges for three women from Bristol... not least their buried secrets.

Lizzie Lane takes up the story of three friends, which she began in her warm and earthy novel Wartime Brides, and fast forwards eight years to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

As always in Lane’s compelling sagas, drama and romance take centre stage as she whisks us away to another age. Warm and wise, funny and heartbreaking, her well-crafted stories never fail to capture the authentic atmosphere and spirit of times gone by.

Here, post-war Bristol comes to vivid life with its legacy of potholed roads, crumbling walls and mountains of rubble, all strangely offset by a sea of red, white and blue bunting which heralds a new Elizabethan era but seems optimistically garish in the aftermath of war.

Inside the city, three very different women – Polly Hills, Edna Smith and Charlotte Hennessey-White – are still counting the cost of those six long years of conflict.

Tough nut Polly is haunted by memories of her Canadian airman boyfriend Gavin who was killed on active service. She longs for an easier, more glamorous life, but knows that is unlikely with her irrepressible young daughter and her charming, scheming husband Billy who has an inclination for the less legal ways of making money.

Middle class Charlotte, with her stiff manner but inner vulnerability, is trying desperately to forget her illicit wartime romance and accept the shortcomings of her marriage to David, a man left mentally scarred by his experiences of war.

And Edna, married to the kind, loving Colin who runs a successful business despite losing both his legs in a wartime blast, is desperate to protect her young family, even if it means keeping painful secrets…

Nostalgic, gritty and with the softest of centres, Coronation Brides serves up a beguiling story with sensitivity, authenticity and a big helping of Lane’s trademark warmth.

(Ebury, paperback, £5.99)

How many men out there are getting tired of the sedentary pleasures of our brave new world and secretly long to be ‘a real chap’?

After all, there is only so much web surfing, shoot-’em-up game playing and Lady Gaga DVD watching to be done before boredom starts to set in.

Of course, there are many things for which a modern man can be truly thankful – takeaway pizzas, sat-nav, disposable razors and painless dentistry to name but a few – but they have come at the expense of the age-old, chivalric skills.

The tradition of fathers passing on life skills to their sons has all but disappeared so if you want to reconnect with the ability to create your own adventures and deal with danger, Rod Green has some invaluable advice that will help you to ‘man up’ and impress the woman in your life.

From basic tasks like sewing on a button, lighting a camp fire and climbing a tree to building a snow hole, escaping from a car in water and emergency landing a small aircraft, this humorous but helpful encyclopaedia of masculine know-how will give you a fighting start in your quest to toughen up.

Man Up! presents useful but often long-neglected skills and imparts wisdom gleaned from many sources. With just a little forethought, plenty of good sense, a few handy implements like torch, compass and first-aid kit, a sound background knowledge and the right attitude, Green shows how to deal with potentially risky situations.

There’s the chance to learn and, in some cases, relearn forgotten skills like how to set a broken limb, harvest food from the wild, make a raft, find water in the desert, cope with suspected poisoning and even escape from a bear.

For good measure, Green throws in some 21st century twists on the old hints and tips as well as universal guidance like keeping a cool head, carrying a stout stick and matches on expeditions and never underestimating the value of a sturdy and comfy pair of brogues.

Man Up! comes in an elegantly designed, but hardy and robustly masculine, volume making it the perfect gift for Father’s Day and the ideal rite of passage from boyhood to true manhood!

(Michael O’Mara, hardback, £9.99)