Barfly: Welly boots made for treading the boards

He transferred his skills seamlessly from running welly boot maker the Hunter Rubber Company to flogging bricks and mortar as head of the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC).

But perhaps his heart is being on the stage - last week he made his debut treading the boards as small-time gambler Benny Southstreet in the ever-popular Guys and Dolls for Bohemians Lyric Opera Company.

Meanwhile, renewable energy specialist Andy Drane will miss out if his employer Davidson Chalmers picks up a prize in this week's Scottish Legal Awards. He will be spending the evening playing the lead character Peter Knight in Out of Sight Out of Murder performed by the St Boswells Drama Club.

Standard shares and chiefs take a battering

THE big question everyone wanted answering last week was whether there had been a bust-up on the Standard Life board. Chief executive David Nish turned up for the annual results sporting a nasty-looking bruise and cut on his right cheek while chairman, Gerry Grimstone had a black eye.

Turns out the chairman suffered his injury during some rough play with his four-year-old grandson while Nish had injured himself falling off his bike.

The stock market didn't see the funny side of the results, marking the company's shares down 7 per cent.

Cold comfort

A SCOTTISH device that records workers' exposure to vibration has shown it has surprising survival qualities. One of Edinburgh-based Reactec's HAVmeters was lost in an ice-filled crevice and snow for two months on the site of the M74 extension. But workers were stunned when they not only discovered it after the thaw, but also found that it still worked after being re-charged. Jim O'Hagan, managing director, said: "We're delighted that the tough conditions in recent months have proved the ultimate test for our technology and that we have passed with flying colours."