I live in York. It is a culturally rich, vibrant and interesting place. It is the 24th most populous city in England. You would expect that in a busy, well populated city that there would be a lot of interesting things to write about, and you would be correct. The panoply of York life is an abundant source of a variety of newsworthy stories. So what have our local journalists been writing about recently?
A little over three weeks ago a barometer was stolen from Fairfax House, a York museum. In the last three weeks, there have been six – yes SIX – stories in the York Press about the barometer theft. We have had the barometer theft, the police appeal for witnesses to the barometer theft, a second police appeal for witnesses to the barometer theft four days after the first (!), a valuation of the barometer, a self-congratulatory return of the barometer article and today, the arrest of a woman over the theft of the barometer. The same picture of the grinning museum director holding the barometer has appeared in the paper for the last two days.Please, please, York Press, stop writing about the barometer theft. I am heartily sick of hearing about the barometer. Something else - not related to the barometer - must be happening somewhere in York. I may, if I have to read another article about the barometer, be provoked into a rage fuelled spree of barometer vandalism, which would, ironically, cause you to write even more barometer stories than you have already. Please, I beseech you, for the sake of my sanity, never, ever mention the barometer again.