THE ARCHIVES

100 years ago

A romantic history is attached to a rope of pearls, valued at £300,000 to be sold in London. A Picadilly auctioneer was in his office when a lady and gentleman called to see him. The lady said she was a Princess and that her companion was of a high rank and desired to do business. The gentleman undresssed in order to reveal a large number of beautiful pearls stitched to a foundation of silk. The necklace dated from the 17th Century and the present owner claims direct descent from Peter the Great of Russia.

50 years ago

Shots were fired from the second storey of a Kirkcaldy tenement late at night. One of two men was winkled out when steel-helmeted police lobbed canisters of CS tear gas through a window. The threehour siege began when shotgun blasts were heard and two men in the street were wounded. Dozens of police, including dog handlers were on the scene when residents on Overton Road reported shots being fired. A huge crowd gathered as the incident unfolded. Two men were taken into custody.

25 years ago

A Johnshaven teenager will take a “dream flight” this weekend to the United States, almost 18 months after an accident left her paralysed. Allyson Stone (13) was left facing life in a wheelchair after she fell 50 feet down the sheer face of a disused quarry in Kirriemuir in May. The accident broke Allyson’s back and severed her spinal cord. Long periods in hospital followed, but the plucky girl’s spirits never failed and her bravery was rewarded when she was told she had been selected for a holiday of a lifetime.

One year ago

Farming leaders are insisting Scottish beef remains safe following the first confirmed case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a decade. The Scottish Government has introduced movement restrictions at the affected farm, believed to be in the Huntly area, while further investigations are carried out to identify the origin of the condition commonly known as “Mad Cow Disease”. Adrian Ivory, who has a herd of more than 500 cattle at Strathisla near Meigle, was among those calling for calm.