Extracting from an Array

I have a db field, type varchar, that is actually a 'date' string formatted as dd-mm-YYYY. I used type 'varchar' (rather than type 'date') since I had to accomplish other things with it. Now, however, I do need to extract the Year (the last four digits in the array). I've tried to access the array $_SESSION['expiry'] but I don't know how to explode this array to extract all characters in last item after the last separator : i.e. '-YYYY'. I've used "-" as the separator, but I just get the first number of the last part of the array, i.e.: '-Y'. Is there a way of extracting all characters in that array? I've tried a bunch of combinations, but I obviously don't understand the basic mechanics of array manipulation or 'slicing'. If someone could point me to a good resource, or explain what I'm doing wrong, I would greatly any assistance. Tia, Andre -- Please pray the Holy Rosary to end the holocaust of abortion. Remember in your prayers the Holy Souls in Purgatory. May God bless you abundantly in His love! For a free Cenacle Scriptural Rosary Booklet: http://www.webhart.net/csrb/