FROM OUR FILES
TEN YEARS AGO FRIDAY MAY 4 2007
All aboard the whisky bus TWO OF Campbeltown’s oldest companies have joined forces to bring a new and very eye-catching attraction to the town this summer.
The Springbank Open Top Tour of Campbeltown is a joint venture between Springbank Distillers and West Coast Motors and brings the town its first open top bus tour.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIDAY MAY 8 1992
Tension mounts on God’s island EVERY member of staff working on the Gigha Estate has been laid off the island’s estate manager has just announced.
Mr George Hall told the Courier on Tuesday that letters had gone out from Mr Potier giving notice to six people, including two full-time and one part-time gardener, general workers and a joiner all of them living in tied cottages.
And he said one gardener had left earlier because of uncertainty over the island’s future.
He said: ‘I am the only employee left and I daresay I may be laid off eventually. I just keep going.’
He said he understood the gardeners, who look after the famous Achamore Gardens, had been offered reemployment through Savills, the agents dealing with the sale and had been given the chance to rent their homes.
Since the island went up for sale at the end of March, rumours have been flying about - and a few weeks ago Kirsty Alley was among those said to be interested.
FIFTY YEARS AGO THURSDAY MAY 11 1967
Crazy daisy A RARE horticultural find has been made in a Campbeltown garden.
While mowing his lawn, a local man came across a three-headed daisy.
Not three flowers growing from a common stem, but a three-in-one stem and flower.
It can clearly be seen in photographs that the triple stem is quite flat.
The finder, who prefers to remain anonymous, took the daisy to experts, who had this to say: ‘This plant shows the phenomenon known as fasciation, which is the coalescing of stems on a plant.
‘Fasciation is fairly common, particularly in the daisy and hyacinth families. It arises due to some environment effect and is not inherited. Seed from the daisy, therefore, would be no more liable to show fasciation than seed from any other daisy plant.’
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO SATURDAY MAY 5 1917
May day THE SCHOOL children were granted the customary holiday on Tuesday, the 1st of May.
The weather was of a most summerlike description, and large bands of the young folks hied themselves to the country, where they had a full day’s healthy enjoyment.
The old-time May Day dish of curds and cream was much sought after as usual, but does not seem to have been so generally available as formerly. Death of former sheriff of Argyll
THE DEATH took place in Edinburgh on Thursday of last week of Mr James Ferguson KC of Kinmundy, Sheriff of Forfarshire.
Mr Ferguson was the eldest and only surviving son of Mr William Ferguson, of Kinmundy, Aberdeenshire.
He was born in 1857, and was educated at Edinburgh University.
He was called to the Bar in 1879, and in 1888 was appointed an extra advocate-depute on the Glasgow Circuit, and in 1892 he became advocate-depute.
He was appointed when the Unionist party came into power three years later, and was senior advocate-depute from November, 1896, till his appointment as Sheriff of Argyllshire two years later.