The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
THE ARCHIVES
100 years ago
An event of great interest to the farming community all over Forfarshire has just taken place in the celebration by Mr and Mrs George Sinclair, Hillside, Montrose, of their diamond wedding. Mr Sinclair, who is 87 years of age, is a retired farm overseer and during his long farming connection in Forfarshire he served for varying lengthy periods on different farms in the county. The couple are both natives of Brechin. Of a family of 10, all are alive, there being three sons and seven daughters. There are 18 grandchildren.
50 years ago
Bethlehem was a town of contrasts for Christmas Day – hymns and pop music, hippies, American tourists and Israeli soldiers cradling machine-guns. A stream of visitors poured into the town through the day. In Manger Square, in front of the Church of the Nativity, hippies and worshippers mingled with local Arab Christians and camera-carrying American tourists. But the Israeli soldiers posted on rooftops and neighbouring hills, and the armoured cars were grim reminders of the continuing strife.
25 years ago
The case of the vanishing Christmas presents was solved by a quick thinking policeman in Perth. He was called to a house in the Letham housing estate by a householder whose carefully hidden presents had disappeared. The householder had left them for safety in the refuse bin recess, but when she checked they were gone. The constable noticed that there was a new supply of refuse bags and contacted the district council’s environmental health department. A search among the Letham refuse revealed the bag of gifts.
One year ago
Bargain hunters will make today Scotland’s busiest shopping day ever. Post-Christmas sales offering up to 90% off normal prices will see a record number of people flock to the high street and online stores, according to a Centre for Retail Research study. The unprecedented shopping spree will see £315 million spent in Scotland’s shops and £88m splashed out online. The previous Scottish spending record was £379m in total, set on December 26 last year.