From the archives

25 YEARS AGO British Petroleum finally won its bitter £2520m takeover battle for Britoil yesterday when the board of the Scottish independent oil company advised shareholders who had been holding out to accept the BP offer. In conceding defeat there was, however, the prospect of a financial windfall for the Britoil board, most of whom are expected to move out as BP executives move in to the company’s Glasgow headquarters. Britoil’s outgoing chairman Sir Philip Shelbourne yesterday advised the 100,000 small shareholders who had remained loyal to the company to accept the £5 a share offer, although he said the board still believed it was an inadequate price. The board will, nonetheless, be taking up the offer and Sir Philip will make nearly £530,000 by helling his shares to BP. 50 YEARS AGO Taking his farewell of Glasgow audiences in grand style, Robert Wilson heads a notable Scottish cast at the Empire Theatre this week. Supported by the Arthur Blake Singers he recalls some of the favourite songs of his long career. John Dunbar, a talented Scots-Canadian singer omes near to stealing the show with Dark Lochnagar, and there is delightful singing, too, from Joe McBride. Alex McAvoy, Glen Daly, Sydney Devine, and Eric Burns offer several light-hearted items. Dixie Ingram is still a splendid dancer, and he is supported by Isobel James and the White Heather Girls. 100 YEARS AGO The Presbytery of Ayr yesterday provided a fruitful text for newspaper controversy“Are Highlanders Notoriously Lazy?” It is the deliberate opinion of the Rev. W. Phin Gillieson that they are. “It is with an effort that ministers or people can be pushed to make any effort for the Church, or for anything else.” These observations were provoked by the alleged unwillingness of Highland ministers to prepare rolls of adherents. Without venturing to pass any opinion upon Highlanders, for whom on their native heather one has the highest respect (except when one wants anything done before next week), it may be permitted to suggest, with all the diffidence of the layman, that a list of adherents, possibly with marginal notes showing how closely they adhere, would surely be useful to clergymen, both Lowland and Highland. But the Presbytery of Ayr holds the contrary opinion almost as strongly as the Highland pastors themselves.