Carluke and Lanark Gazette strolls Down Memory Lane

Discover the stories that made the Gazette headlines 10 and 25 years ago.
On track...race action from inaugural Overton meeting on March 28, 2004 (Pic Lindsay Addison)On track...race action from inaugural Overton meeting on March 28, 2004 (Pic Lindsay Addison)
On track...race action from inaugural Overton meeting on March 28, 2004 (Pic Lindsay Addison)

10 years ago, Thursday, April 1, 2004

* LOCAL resident Sandy Merry was “deeply unhappy” about the number of parked cars narrowing Station Road and blocking driveways in the street. He said he’d spotted 64 cars parked there the previous Wednesday, reducing the road to a single lane through which buses and heavy lorries had to pass.

* GLESPIN villagers were in uproar after their daily bus runs to Hamilton were reduced from eight to two following transport authority SPT’s decision to change the service provider from Stuarts of Carluke to Henderson’s Coaches.

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* Carstairs Junction Primary teachers celebrated the school’s centenary by displaying an exhibition of photographs from the early 1900s to 2004 and the original school register from 1902.

* POLICE believed that fires which almost completely destroyed two cars in Carluke had been started deliberately and were linked. Vehicles torched were a Fiat Brava in Shand Lane and a Peugeot 306 in Moorside Street.

* A last gasp winning goal for St Anthony’s, scored an incredible six and a half minutes into injury time, condemned Lanark United to a 2-1 defeat and almost certain relegation from Abercorn Division 1.

* the first point-to-point horse race meeting in Clydesdale for four years was staged at Overton Farm in Crossford. Organiser Willie Young said he was “99 per cent certain” that another point-to-point meeting would again take place at Overton Farm in 2005.

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* monteith AFC qualified for the South of Scotland Amateur Cup Final with a comfortable 3-0 semi-final triumph over Dunbar AFC at Innerleithen. All three goals were scored by George McNab.

25 years ago, Friday, March 31, 1989

* clydesdale folk were being warned to guard against bogus collectors trying to cash in on money being raised to save lives. Ambulance staff claimed that two crooks had been “going round the doors” falsely claiming they were from the British Heart Foundation and were collecting to raise money to buy defibrillators. They were asked for ID by a householder in Carluke’s Moss-side Avenue.

* IT was claimed that almost 400 elderly people would soon feel safer in their homes – thanks to a joint venture between Clydesdale District Council and Strathclyde Region. The two authorities had joined forces to provide an Alert Community Alarm System, linking the elderly or handicapped with a round-the-clock emergency service.

* a package of measures – including a telephone hotline to advise people on how to apply for a community charge (poll tax) rebate – was to be introduced by Strathclyde Regional Council. A leaflet outlining who would be eligible for the rebate would soon be available through social work and other regional offices.

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* the 450 people who were failing to keep chiropody appointments every month – without giving notice – in the Motherwell and Clydesdale Health Council area were costing the NHS the equivalent of two chiropodists every month. The figures were revealed at the local Health Council’s annual statutory meeting.

* clydesdale District Council had received almost £68,000 in planning fees the previous year as the number of new developments programmed for the district continued to rise. Almost 650 planning applications had been dealt with in 1988, with only 37 of these being refused.

* one of the oldest flower shows in Scotland – run by Douglas Horticultural Society for the previous 132 years – was in danger of folding unless new blood came forward to replace some of the long serving office bearers and committee members. In a last ditch attempt to revive the society, a public meeting was to be held in Douglas Church Hall on April 8.

* a capacity audience was expected at Carluke District Hall the following night for the annual Clydesdale Sports Council Sports Personality of the Year Awards. Five trophies were up for grabs, including the Senior Personality title for which nominees included Lanark father and son rally aces Jimmy and Colin McRae. Jimmy was the current British champion and Colin had been 1988 Scottish champion.