Drumlanrig: News from the political sphere

THE branding paranoia of the Olympics was alive and well at Hampden last week, we hear.

Who hid all the pies at Hampden?

A policeman on duty for the football games last week informs us that a large tray of Greggs pasties, intended as lunch for hungry coppers who were guarding the stadium precincts, was turned away at the gates on Thursday last week, because the firm is not one of the Olympics’ corporate partners. The delivery man had to go back to the shop and place the pasties in unmarked paper bags, so they could then be covertly smuggled into the grounds. Perhaps by 2014 this could be ironed out; could there be a better corporate partner for Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games than the city’s best-loved pie shop?

Former adviser to temp for the government

IT DOESN’T quite rank with Man City’s signing of Carlos Tevez, or Rangers picking up Mo Johnston, but it can be revealed that the SNP Government has signed up Jack McConnell’s former 
chief adviser Jeane Freeman to come and work for the Scottish Government. A spokesman said Freeman – who has recently espoused the cause of independence – would be given “a temporary part-time contract” at the Scottish Government to provide “specialist advice” 
to Mike Russell’s education department.

Help! It’s the Blair Blair bunch...

DAVID Cameron’s reputation for “chillaxing” is a contrast to the frenetic activity in the Blair family. While Tony was hotly denying claims of a return to frontline politics last week (not believed by Labour MPs), the talk was that, if he does come back, he may be joined by his eldest son Euan who, it is claimed, is now on the lookout for a vacant seat in order to set in place a new Blair dynasty. Labour MPs nearing retirement who find the ex-prime minister showing a sudden interest in their plans have been warned.

Made-up name spells trouble for Salmond

ALEX Salmond was among the fortunate few to get a seat at Friday night’s spectacular Olympic ceremony, but London 2012 has not been a happy event for the FM so far. In a press release on Thursday, 
he offered support to the “Scolympians” (geddit?). To much amusement, however, the first draft of the release spelled it “Scolymopians”. A leading public relations figure in Scotland contacts us to ponder whether Siobhan Sharpe, the clueless “head of brand” from the BBC’s spoof Twenty Twelve sitcom was involved. “She’s the kind of PR cretin who would have come up with this idea.”