ONE day in January, 1960, in Glasgow’s Hyndland Road, six men bundled A.E. Pickard, the millionaire entertainments entrepreneur, into a waiting car, which took off at high speed. Pickard was informed that as actor Kenneth More, a previous kidnap victim, had paid £50 for his release, then he ought to be worth more. He demurred, and began a spirited debate with his kidnappers.

Many and varied were the fundraising methods used during Glasgow Students’ Charities Week. Actor Duncan Macrae (above) was raised shoulder-high by students in George Square and “invited” to sing. He obliged but then found himself at the centre of a seething mob, and finally found himself seated on a wall at the side of the City Chambers. The final day - Saturday, a day of snow and sleet - saw a student from the art school’s climbing club being lowered from a tower above Central Station until, carrying a ragged umbrella, he dangled 40ft above Hope Street, swinging like a pendulum. Railway police were summoned. On the street, a student equipped with a toy machine-gun sought donations from passers-by.

The city centre witnessed a procession of 50 lorries and thousands of “fantastically dressed” students. Female students performed a pleasant set dance of indeterminate lineage. One student was dressed as an Egyptian mummy, but his bandages began to unwind, leaving him embarrassingly exposed.

The entire week raised at least £14,200.