REMEMBER the bad old days of 1999 when the owners of the Bowes Museum talked of closing it for two years for roof repairs? And a year before that, the spectre was raised of closing the museum during the winter.

Those days came to mind on Sunday as Spectator swept through those magnificent gates to be confronted by cars parked well down the driveways as well as in the car park. The purpose was to see one of the short-running exhibitions, the facsimile of the Lindisfarne Gospels. The experience was certainly easier than seeing the real thing, which entailed standing in a slow-moving queue for an hour when the Gospels were on show at Newcastle. This time it was possible to have a longer look and marvel at the workmanship.

Be quick with your visit to Barnard Castle if you want to catch this, for Sunday is the last opportunity.

If you can make the journey, do visit or, revisit, the Tim Rice Collection which also closes on Sunday. This eclectic collection of masterpieces puts on easy view work which only serious devotees are likely to seek out. Here the museum has been working with local children, who have selected favourite paintings and created their own version which, with a description of their thoughts, are beside the originals.

Oh, and while you are there, it would be a shame to miss out the impressive display of paintings by Josephine Bowes, museum founder with her husband.

Thank you Bowes, for a splendid finale to the Christmas holiday.

Eyes left

PERCY Shaw made a huge difference to motoring. Where would drivers be without his cats' eyes to guide them at night?

It's what some folk do with cats' eyes that really baffles Spectator, though.

As if drinks cans, McDonalds food cartons and empty fag packets were not enough evidence of the perennial litter problem, about 30 examples of Percy Shaw's revolutionary invention, with chunks of the road still attached, are piled on the verge in Aiskew weeks after that section of the A684 was resurfaced.

Are they still to be put to good use, given that this stretch of refurbished highway is conspicuous by their absence, or are they just destined for scrap?

If anybody in the highways (sorry, environmental services) department at County Hall is reading this, the aforesaid cats' eyes can be collected at any time in the interests of tidiness from a point roughly 150 yards past Aiskew Crossing, on the right as you go towards Bedale.

If in doubt, refer to your global satellite positioning system or the appropriate Ordnance Survey map for a grid reference