John Gibson: Nana to chip in with her pension?

Published on Tuesday 9 March 2010 09:16

IT'S all Greek to me and, I must say, a gesture so noble, so philanthropic, so fantastically patriotic that once-great Britain should follow her example.

Near mortally wounded by economic crisis, Greece is so skint that Nana Mouskouri is offering the country her pension to ease its colossal debt. A former member of the European parliament, she gets 15,000 a year. She'll never feel it.

Dubbed the White Rose of Athens in her singing prime, she sold 300 million records during her half-century of fame. It's not the 15k, of course, it's the straight-from-the-heart gesture.

I'm writing to Shirley Bassey today suggesting that, should the UK ultimately be bankrupted, consequence of 13 years of Brown's government, she should consider doing a Mouskouri.

Mind you, chances of Shirl chucking her pension into a national disaster pot will be slim. Doesn't she always wail I Who Have Nothing?

Prats in pants

What our sartorially sophisticated footballers are wearing on the international stage. Seeing them pose (sloppy with those pirouettes, lads) at the floorshow for the new Scotland kit, they looked proper prats.

Big pants. Designed for the catwalk as opposed to the practicalities of performing on the pitch. They seemed to enjoy doing the ponsified bit, though. A handbags-at-dawn scenario. Only the lip gloss was missing. I'd never dare ask Scott Brown if he uses the stuff.

Proper Charlies

Home cooking. There isn't much of it about. Too many takeaways from restaurants feeling the pinch. In these circumstances, An Evening With Charles Campion and Charlie MacLean becomes something of a mouth-watering prospect at Valvona & Crolla's Caffe Bar.

Breaking bread with the two Charlies centres round Campion's new recipe-laden book, Eat Up, product of his culinary tour of the UK meeting cooks, as opposed to chefs while, as ever, MacLean's nose for malt whisky still turns a snifter into a fine art. Celebrating publication, they invite you to join them on 18 March at seven.

Afterwords . .

. . . Thrilled to bits for Van Morrison. We hope the baby was born with a smile on its face, the image of its Big Daddy.