IT WAS quite a story, back in 1955, when Billy Thomson and his pals built a ‘Davy Crockett hut’ in the back courts on Scotia Street in Cowcaddens. The young lads had no idea they were about to be embroiled in a drama that made the newspapers in Glasgow and beyond…. Billy got in touch to tell us the story after reading a recent Times Past feature on eccentric city cinema boss and businessman Albert Pickard. AE Pickard ran, among other things, the Britannia Panopticon, introducing a variety of unusual acts and performers to the city. Much to the delight of audiences, Pickard would sit at the top of a ladder at the side of the stage throwing nails at members of the audience who got out of hand. He would also ‘hook’ acts off the stage – literally, with a long pole – if they were rubbish.