LOOKING back to the week that was October 14 to October 20, 15 years ago...

A SHARP-shooting pool player hoped his lightning clearance could bag him a trip to Las Vegas, in October 2009.

Richard Harris, 17, of Darlington, cleared all balls in 36.4 seconds to take him to the top of the Rileys All Star Pool Challenge.

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The next best, nationally, was Ben Clayton, of Rotherham, with 44.53 seconds.

The competition aimed to find the fastest player in the country, with the quickest at the end of the month winning an all-expenses paid trip for two to Las Vegas.

Richard, a trainee joiner, of The Broadway, said: "I had four goes, I was getting times of about 50 seconds.

"I potted the black, asked the guy timing me and he said 36 seconds. I was buzzing, shouting around Rileys.

"I'm amazed, I would love to go to Vegas, it is my dream.

"It's a nervous wait now, I've got an eight second clearance so, hopefully, that will be enough."

A fine foods store went back to its Victorian roots by using child labour for a day to help raise money for a good cause, in October 2009.

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Lewis and Cooper, in Northallerton, celebrated 110 years in business and made a return to the days of using young people to fetch and carry by allowing 11 members of Brompton Girls’ Junior Football Club to come into the store to help shoppers.

Their work raised £199, which they planned to spend on new kit and training aids for the club.

When the store opened in 1899, visitors would present their shopping lists at the front counter and wait while a small army of staff rushed about in the depths of the shop to fetch the required items.

A little boy's inquisitiveness helped his grandfather take a winning photograph for a national calendar, in 2009.

Geoff Hill was walking with his grandson, Reece Downs, in Hardwick Park near his home in Sedgefield, County Durham, when something caught the toddler's attention.

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As they strolled along a woodland path, Reece, then aged three, saw a hole at the base of a tree and found a fieldmouse nest.

Mr Hill, 62, said: "A little mouse popped his head out and Reece was amazed. He would not come away from the nest for ages."

Mr Hill hid behind a tree a few yards away and tempted the mother and five youngsters outside with peanuts.