Barfly: Greyhound's on song for FirstGroup

THEY'VE been a staple of American culture for almost a century and have been immortalised in countless songs and films, but from tomorrow Greyhound buses will be seen on the streets of Scotland after owner company FirstGroup announced last month plans to bring the service to the UK.

The first bus, named Long Tall Sally (above with Greyhound UK MD Alex Warner and appropriate canine companions), will leave Glasgow's Buchanan Street at 10pm bound for London Victoria.

FirstGroup has decided to name each vehicle after American songs to recognise the fact Greyhound buses have featured in countless lyrics over the decades - notably Simon and Garfunkel's 1972 hit America.

Presumably FirstGroup isn't keen to replicate scenes such as the one in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy where Jon Voigt's character Joe Buck cradles his dead friend Ratso, played by Dustin Hoffman, on a Greyhound bus.

Camra man joins beer bid

OUR campaign to get Scottish restaurants to stock Scottish beer has received support from the Campaign for Real Ale. Member David Rickard writes: "I have also encountered the same experience and have complained to the management on a number of occasions. It does need an in-depth investigation into the reasons why restaurants do not turn to Scottish beers, which are of good quality and are made on their doorsteps."

He's urging the brewers to launch an inquiry, but says tourism bosses won't take it on "as I don't see them being interested in promoting beer sales".

Over to you VisitScotland.