The diary

Published on Wednesday 7 May 2008 22:02

Ghosh, it wis sic a braw nicht

LANG may yer tandoori reek … an eclectic gathering of curry connoisseurs, musicians, lexicographers and software consultants met at Edinburgh's Suruchi restaurant on Tuesday evening for the introduction of what it claims is Scotland's first fully live, online Indian take-away order system, developed for the restaurant by the Edinburgh software firm Eveve. The event also launched a new menu – which, like Suruchi menus over the past decade, is printed in guid braid Scots.

Pauline Cairns, senior editor at Scottish Language Dictionaries, told the assembly that it was back in the early 1990s that she was first approached with a view to translating the menu into the auld leid , and revealed that she's now working with the restaurant's proprietor, Herman Rodrigues, on an Indian-Scots cookbook.

We're not sure what Scots for "fully live, online, in-house takeaway booking system" might be – "heich-tec, lang-distance cairie-oot"? Perhaps not. But we can tell you that the Suruchi menu boasts such delicacies as "Lamb Malabar (nippie) – tender wee dauds o' lamb cookit in garam masala, wi' black pepper an' coconut milk", or "Palak Kofta Makhani (nae nippie at aw) – caller spinach an tattie dumplins maskit wi spices."

Two regulars spoke fondly of a Scots-Indian restaurant they discovered in Ontario run by ex-Glaswegian-Asians – although it didn't stretch to haggis pakora.

Lib Dems have wings clipped

WITH Labour in turmoil over an independendum, little attention is paid to comings (or mainly goings) of the Lib Dems. Alba hears they may have pulled up the white flag in Scotland as regards taking any new Westminster seats. Evidence is in No 2 target Aberdeen South; Matthew Duncan has quit as candidate, the second Lib to do so in Aberdeen South in six months.

One opponent said: "If he or his predecessor were confident of victory, they wouldn't have quit."

Last thing a family kneads

BAKING could be the new recipe for happy families. Britons believe people who bake cakes together make better parents and bond better with their children. Baking company Dr Oetker reveals 33 per cent believe home bakers make better parents, while 85 per cent would like to see children taught how to cook and bake more in school. Baking represents great family bonding time (59 per cent), they say. Alba disagrees – fact: kids ALWAYS fight over who licks the spoon.

Little women and wii wifies

IF YOU haven't had enough Scots in the main item above, here's some more …

Alba stepped into his nearest coffee shop recently and was shocked to see what the locals describe as "Free wifie instore". They are referring, of course, to the establishment's WiFi facilities. Wifies of the wired world unite, say we.