Business people: Burns Supper supplies are secured for this year

By ERIKKA ASKELAND and DOMINIC JEFF
Published on 21/01/2013 00:00

RUMOURS that Burns Night would be ruined by a shortage of haggis this year due to the closure of Halls of Broxburn have been scotched.

A spokesman for Halls – which is estimated to produce as much as 70 per cent of all chieftains o’ the puddin’ race – confirmed the factory was still producing it, at least until the end of January. But who will fill the gap in the market?

The maker of high-end Macsween haggis has ruled itself out of such a role. A spokeswoman said: “We will just have to wait and see what happens. Production has gone up this year, but not because of the Halls story. It is just people choosing Macsween.

“Halls operated at a different end – they made a pork-based haggis at a much lower cost. Macsween isn’t exactly in the same territory.”

Behind the glamour

THE company behind a big business awards night, which recently revealed its keynote speaker will be none other that Bill Clinton, is hiring.

But it is unclear whether the former US president – or the blue-chip sponsors of the Scottish Business Awards – will be delighted to know their involvement will also contribute the skills development of a keen young self-starter who gets a job – but no actual money.

In an advert on the free classified website Gumtree, awards organiser Capital Events said the “successful candidate’s role will be phoning Scottish company’s [sic] to encourage participation in the event and selling tables. The candidate should be confident on the phones, and keen to work on this project to build their CV and experiences. The candidate should also be in a position to work Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm on an unpaid basis.”

The job will continue until June and the holder of the post will be eligible for some “occasional commission”.

Thirst for a new role

MSPs may want to find time in their busy schedules for what could be the best job in the Scottish Parliament. The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) was in Holyrood last week to try to persuade the Scottish Government to create a minister for community pubs.

There is no word on whether Alex Salmond is planning to recruit a new minister, but judging by the turnout at Camra’s event there will be no shortage of candidates. And inroads made into the casks of Scottish ale on offer on the night suggest many are well qualified for the job.

Noble way to help bosses

TRANSPORT industry veteran Denis Noble has earned the gratitude of his employers at First Aberdeen after inventing a piece of kit that is saving the company thousands of pounds a year.

The 67-year-old engineer has built an oil storage tank with a pump that means crucial maintenance on First’s 32 bendy buses can be carried out in house, rather than having to take them out of service.

“I was confident it would be successful but it proved to be even more effective than I had anticipated,” Noble said.

Originally from Glasgow, Noble has been a driver, mechanic, engineer and director at a range of bus and haulage companies in Scotland, in a career spanning more than 40 years.