Barfly: New boys at E&Y jump for joy

NORMALLY when companies send out photographs to accompany announcements about their latest hires, they're highly professional, but, some might say, slightly boring compositions.

Ernst & Young in Scotland surprised Barfly when it sent through a snap that looked like the subjects had just finished their exams, announced a comeback tour or even won the lottery.

Apparently spurred on by female cheers from street level, E&Y's new team, including lead partner for financial services in Scotland Peter Wallace, adopted some highly unusual poses during a recent photo shoot.

A spokesperson for the firm declined to comment on whether Peter Ames' stripey socks marked him out as the hell-raiser of the group.

In the saddle

EACH week, Barfly hears about Scotland's business folk performing remarkable feats for charity, but Richard Moir, chief technology officer at Cisco Scotland, and his colleague, James Macdonald, are surely going beyond the call of duty.

They, along with nine others from Cisco Scotland, are this weekend taking part in Ride Across Britain, from John O'Groats to Lands End. They are hoping to raise around 10,000 for the GB Paralympics Charity to support 300 athletes at the London 2012 Games.

While most people do just one or two stages of the colossal 953-mile route, Moir and Macdonald are going the whole hog. They set out yesterday and have nine days to reach the finishing line, meaning they will have to cycle at least 100 miles a day. We hope they're packing some Vaseline for the saddle sores.

Sponsor them at: http://www.justgiving.com/richardrideacrossbritain

Country life now in cyberspace

NOTHING these days can be spared the advance of technology. Traditional country pursuits have now entered the cyberspace age with the launch of a website to help market Scotland's sporting estates. Land agent Charlotte Gilfillan will lead a team at Perth-based land and property management firm Bell Ingram which hopes its Sporting Lets venture will help estate owners yield greater profits. Shooting enthusiasts already contribute 240m to the Scottish economy. Paul Wakefield, Bell Ingram's marketing manager, said: "Since we are already well established in sporting estate management and have been offering sport to let since 1899, it made perfect sense for us to take this to the next level."