Looking Back – news from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear
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Great find in Egypt
From the Groat of December 15, 1922
Local contributor Cairnduna used his column to "call attention to the late remarkable find by the Earl of Carnarvon and Mr Howard Carter" who had discovered the tomb of "Tutankhamen", placing them "in the front rank of Egyptologists".
"After going down 16 steps, through the accumulated debris of the ages, the exploring party came upon a door, which, on opening, was found to lead to a chamber, the magnificence of which carried one back to the gorgeous imaginings depicted in the Arabian Nights as associated with the rubbing of Alladin's Lamp.
"The richness, the extent and wonderful variety of the contents exceeded the dreams of avarice."
Beyond the initial chamber was another door which was expected to lead to the tomb itself.
Cairnduna explained that the entrance had been resealed and Mr Carter had gone to Cairo "to superintend the forging of iron doors" to prevent robbers, while "Lord Carnarvon had sailed for London for experts and for chemicals to be used for the purpose of preserving the most fragile of the finds intact".
He added that "most of the contents will eventually find their way to Cairo Museum but no doubt many museums throughout Europe will benefit from the unrivalled discovery".
Bomb scare at Dounreay
From the Groat of December 15, 1972
Following a warning received at Dounreay "that an explosion might occur there within 24 hours, there was a complete evacuation of workers except for key personnel".
The discovery of two suspicious looking objects later in the day revealed that the whole thing had been a "deliberate hoax".
The objects were examined by a bomb disposal expert from Aberdeen who found them to be harmless. One had been discovered in the main workshop and the other at the entrance to the fast reactor.
A final check had been made of the site and workers were expected to return the next day.
Elsewhere, a new seine-net fishing boat was to join the Wick fishing fleet.
The Boy Andrew I, which was to replace the Boy Andrew which already fished from the port, had been launched from the shipbuilding yard of George Thomson and Son, Buckie.
The £82,000 vessel had been built for one of Wick's top skippers, Mr Norman Bremner.
Associated with him in the new venture were two long-serving members of his crew, William Young and Alex Miller, and the Wick fish-selling company of John S Duncan.
The naming ceremony had been performed by Skipper Bremner's wife Jean in front of 120 guests, many of whom had travelled from Wick for the occasion.
New motel to rise from the ashes
From the Groat of December 19, 1997
A new motel was poised to rise like a phoenix from the ashes after a blaze which destroyed the Weigh Inn Motel in Thurso earlier in the week.
Fire had broken out in the office area around lunchtime and members of staff had grabbed fire extinguishers but were beaten back by smoke and flames as gale-force winds fanned the flames into the lounge and dining room.
Both fire crews from Thurso and one from Wick had raced to the scene but were "unable to stop the fire ripping through the building at frightening speed".
The north-easterly gale had made it impossible to save the property, according to assistant divisional fire officer John Duncan.
However, owners Weigh Inn Motel Ltd were already looking to the future.
As a JCB moved in to demolish the charred remains of the bar, lounge, kitchen and function room, company director Jim Youngson said they were determined to be back up and running as soon as possible.
He said he and other members of the family business were "heartbroken for the 20 members of staff at this time of year and we can just pray we can keep them with us because we thought of the business as a family".
He added that they wanted to "rebuild as soon as possible".
