Published: Thursday, 29th November, 2007 10:10
The mystery curse of the Old Curiousity Shop
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A well known local businessman in the 1940s and 50s, Mr Theodore Speaker, put a curse on anyone who attempted to carry out a burglary in his antique shop.
Mr Speaker, an amateur magician and member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, made the curse and consequently his Main Street shop was burgled THREE times yet everything was recovered.
It was when he placed some of his most valuable antiques - worth almost £500 - on display to some customers that one customer remarked: “If the wrong people get to know you’ve stuff like that in here, you’d better watch out.”
There and then Mr Speaker said: “I put a curse on anyone who tries to steal from this shop.”
Attempt no.1 was a smash and grab in the dead of night. A man living across the road heard the smash, threw up his window, and yelled, the thieves fled empty handed.
Attempt no.2 was another smash and grab by sa sailor wearing long top boots. he stuff his boots and pockets with jewellery and got away. The police came on the scene, but the sailor was not content with his haul. He came back for more, didn’t spot the policeman and was arrested.
Attempt no.3 was the most daring and ambitious as Mr Speaker closed his door at 5.45. By 6.30 thieves had ripped away four stout iron bars, forced the bad window and had hauled Mr Speaker’s 4 cwt. safe, containing £500 worth of jewels out into the back court. The thieves only had a few yards to go to get the safe into the getaway car when a woman who lives directly above the shop came down, and spotted them.
She screamed and they dropped the safe and made off in the car.
What’s the explanation? Is it just coincidence? Mr Speaker, who also served as a Largs Provost, believed the Curse of the ‘Old Curiosity Shoppe’ had come to fruition. He said: “Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a habit.”
How did Largs miss out on an all sports complex at Barrfields?
The government axe fell on 1972 despite strong efforts by Council Provost Willie Donald to open a superb facility on a par with the Magnum in Irvine. Willie recalled in 1984: “Largs almost had a Magnum Centre of its own but we missed out on the time factor. The plan was to have an ice rink, games hall, sqaush courts, solarium, creche, cafe, restaurant and bar adjoining Barrfields Pool. The plan was passed by the Planning Department of Largs Town Council in 1972, and they had already accepted the lowest offer for the construction of the Leisure complex but the government axe fell. When the council tried to get borrowing consent they were refused because of new restrictions on local authority spending.”
Intriguingly, Messrs Donald and Councillor Dan Doris wanted an ice rink to be considered for Largs in future.
When did Largs have a population of 25,000?
During the 1950s and 60s when Largs was at its peak as a holiday attraction before travel packages abroad, nearly every house, including council houses, took in visitors. A guide book recorded that a resident population of some 6.500 rose to 25,000 at the height of the season.
A bold fishing experiment took place locally in the 19th century. What was it?
A new mode of fishing was attempted by a company from Paisley. There were no lines and no bait - the fishing was done by electricity in the 19th century experiment. A submerged light was to show at the bottom of the sea and all the fish were supposed to make for this light. The place chosen for this project was Fairlie Sands. A lot of trouble was taken in getting the apparatus erected, and a lot of time and money spent.
However, the process never came into operation after a terrific storm from the north west sent it rolling up the Clyde a total wreck.
During the 1840s, there were around 20 first class fishing boats in Largs employing four to five men each, while there were some 20-30 smaller boats partaking in the same thing. Around 10-12 of these boats were owned by weavers who took to the seas when trading was bad in their own specialist field, though fish were generally so plentiful that they were glad to get a penny for a pound of fish.
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