Chronicle chief reporter Jack Tolson looks back through the archives of 20 years ago.
CLASS ACT DARREN LOOKS AT DANCE SCHOOL IDEA
IT started out as a joke but now Strictly Come Dancing champion Darren Gough has said he will live up to his promise to open a dance school in Barnsley.
He said: “The dance school thing started as a bit of fun.
“I said if I won I’d open one in Barnsley because I never expected to get this far.
“But now it’s something I will seriously look into.
“I will see if there’s enough interest in the town for something like this to take off.”
Dazzler waltzed his way to victory in the final of the hit BBC series on Saturday night.
The fast bowler became the first male winner of the competition as he hit judges and the public for six with his fox-trot, freestyle and pasa doble.
He said: “I’m delighted.
“I thought I put on a really good show on Saturday.
“People didn’t believe that someone who acts and looks like me could dance and I surprised myself to be honest.”
STRIPPING LIFEGUARDS AIM TO MAKE A SPLASH
THE Metrodome hopes its lifeguard calendar will make a splash with shoppers in the Christmas sales.
Nine men have stripped off to raise money to buy disabled sports equipment and organisers hope the calendars will become popular stocking fillers.
Aquatics development manager Joanne Loy said about 100 calendars have been sold.
She added: “The customers have been very complimentary and I think our female lifeguards now wish they’d have joined in.
“The lads were very keen to take part, especially because it’s such a good cause.”
ORPHAN DOGS GO DOWN SOUTH
BARNSLEY Animal Rescue Centre is so over-run with Christmas ‘orphans’ it is having to send them south.
Their kennels near Wath are full of unwanted dogs and at times they have even had to keep two per cage.
The situation is so bad that BARC has even had to send some animals to a charity in the south east.
Kennel manager Jeanette Hollywood said: “Luckily we have a link with the Blue Cross which is like the Dogs Trust and we took seven dogs to them.
“That meant we could pick up some more from Huddersfield dog pound.
“July and August are bad and at the end of November and December we get a lot of people ringing wanting to get rid of dogs because they have things going on at Christmas.
“It is always a bad time for people letting dogs loose and they get picked up by the wardens. When the council dog pounds get full they start putting them down.
“We try to help them as much as we can.
“It’s a sad story but our dogs are the lucky ones because they get well fed and nice warm bedding.”
