A Quiet Night Out In Paisley

It was a beautiful Sunday summer's evening in Paisley on 26th August 1928. May Donoghue, a 30-year-old shop assistant, was looking forward to spending some quality time with a friend. She had been working hard at a draper’s shop in Glasgow, where she lived as a soon-to-be-single-again mother. It was the end of the summer and May felt she needed a break from her daily grind and struggles.

After jumping on a tram outside her home in the east end of Glasgow, May settled down to take in the views as she headed out to Paisley, a thriving mill town ten miles west of its big city sibling. It had been a long week and May was looking forward to a boost before it all started again on the following morning.

She arrived at Paisley Cross nearly forty-five minutes later, and as she was still early,   she decided to get off and walk up through the High Street to the little café  - the Wellmeadow Café  - where she was to meet her friend. They had not seen each other for a long time and had a lot to catch up on.

The Wellmeadow Café was a popular spot for locals and visitors alike. It was owned by Francis Minghella, an Italian immigrant who had established a successful business selling ice cream and soft drinks. Francis had a reputation for being friendly and generous to his customers.

May and her friend took a seat at one of the tables near the window. That allowed them to people-watch those heading into the town for a night out, and to laugh at some of those heading home after a much too 'boozy' afternoon out. May’s friend was buying and she chose a Pear and Ice, while May opted for a ginger beer and ice cream concoction known as a Scotsman Float. 

The waitress brought them their orders and dutifully placed them on the table. May thanked her and turned to her friend. They started chatting about their lives, their families, and their plans. Everything normal... at this point!

May watched as her friend poured some of the ginger beer from a dark brown bottle into a tumbler for her. She then added a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The drink looked delicious and tempting. May thanked her friend again and took a sip of the drink. It tasted sweet and spicy, just as she liked it. Everything still normal... at this point!

The first half of May's drink slipped down a treat. May was laughing at her friend’s jokes and stories. It was proving to be a wonderful evening and it was obvious to everyone in the café that the two friends were having a great time... oh, and everything was still normal... at this point!

Francis, ever the jovial host, approached their table and offered to fill up their drinks by pouring the remains of their bottles into their tumblers. He lifted May's bottle to pour in some more ginger beer.... and that is when it happened! As he tilted the bottle, suddenly something fell out of it and landed with a splash in the tumbler. It was a slimy, strange-looking decomposing snail.

May immediately felt a surge of nausea and disgust. She stood up and shrieked in horror. Both she and her friend were in shock. They stared at the snail in disbelief. The snail did not appear to be staring back.

Sick to her stomach, May ran to the bathroom and vomited. She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and a shiver down her spine. She wondered if she had been poisoned by the snail. She asked the startled café owner to call for a doctor. 

Francis was a good guy and was sympathetic, but he immediately knew that any investigation into the incident would put him under the spotlight. So, rightly, he claimed that he had nothing to do with the ginger beer. When he had received it, it was sealed with a metal cap and wrapped in paper. 

By now in panic mode, the distraught café owner told May that the ginger beer had been supplied by David Stevenson, a local manufacturer who bottled and sold his own ginger beer to various outlets. Sure enough, the bottle had the name 'D. Stevenson, Glen Lane, Paisley' etched into it.

May Donoghue was outraged and helpless. She felt that she had been wronged and that someone should pay for it. And so, it began...