By Hamish MacPherson Back in the Day 'Evidence showed that the steel handrails that were seen as an essential safety element in guiding people downstairs also served to jam people together' IT is always difficult to know whether or not to write about history when it is relatively recent and while there are still many people around who have been affected by, and continue to suffer the effects of, a catastrophic event. Such is the case with the Ibrox disaster of January 2, 1971. The 50th anniversary of by far the worst footballing tragedy in Scottish history will take place a week on Saturday. As it is a matter of history and is going to be commemorated even in these pandemic-hit times, I feel compelled to write about it. I want to try and tell the story and put it in historical context for the very many readers of The National who were not born before it happened, and therefore have no memories of the actual events. For those of us who were in our youth back in 1971, and to the many people who have clear recall of the disaster, I apologise in advance for any upset caused by referring to old memories, and I can only promise to be as factual as possible.