A WOMAN in the process of renovating her new Shanklin home made a startling discovery earlier this week as, contrary to traditional wisdom, breaking a mirror proved a good omen.

Emily Davies, along with husband Daniel, recently returned to the Isle of Wight.

She was getting a headstart on the work while Daniel, a petty officer in the Royal Navy, was away at sea.

After breaking the mirror at the top of their stairs, she discovered several pages of a 121-year-old copy of the County Press, dated January 27, 1900.

Emily said: "My husband and I have recently moved back to the Island and purchased our new house in Shanklin.

"There was a mirror fixed to the wall and the only way to get it off was to unfortunately break it up, at which point I discovered the newspaper and couldn’t believe the date on it at first!

Isle of Wight County Press: The mirror at the top of the stairs behind which the historic pages of the CP were found.The mirror at the top of the stairs behind which the historic pages of the CP were found.

"It’s fascinating to read, and there are many family names mentioned I recognise as still being Island family names today.

"We intend to preserve it as best we can, and keep it as a memento of times gone by with the house."

Isle of Wight County Press: Emily Davies found pages of the 1900 copy of the County Press dated from the year 1900 behind a mirror while renovating her home.Emily Davies found pages of the 1900 copy of the County Press dated from the year 1900 behind a mirror while renovating her home.

This is the second time in the past few weeks an Islander has stumbled upon a copy of the CP while fixing up their abode.

Can you beat Kya and Emily to an even older copy?

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