Talk of the Town: Jerry says tanks for birthday treat

SOME city residents might say they could have done with an armoured fighting vehicle at their disposal to barrel their way through the Festival crowds.

Now one man whose company played a major role in the Fringe has got hold of one, after staff at a courier company chipped in to get their boss behind the wheel of a tank for his 60th birthday.

Jerry Stewart, director of Eagle Couriers, which was responsible for delivering more than a million leaflets to be distributed on the Royal Mile in August, has picked up the nickname “Jerry the Tank Commander” after a stint at the military helm.

He said: “Driving a military tank for my birthday was brilliant and certainly different from anything that I have done before.

“Although it was a great laugh I’m glad we don’t have to drive those tanks around for a living, but then again they could be pretty useful if we experience a severe winter like 2010.

“Luckily we have our trusty vans and I have some good-humoured colleagues who thought a tanking experience would be perfect for my 60th birthday. They even got me a personalised T-shirt to remember the day by which says ‘Jerry the Tank Commander’.”

Better hold on to your chains of office, Russell

TRAVELLING at 40mph down a steep hill trapped inside a bouncy globe might not be everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to a fun day out.

But the new zorbing run that’s been given the go ahead next to Hillend ski centre is sure to prove a hit once it’s rolled out.

And, it seems, its first volunteer has already stepped forward – or perhaps that should be pushed forward.

At Midlothian Council’s planning meeting last week, leader Bob Constable served up a motion that Provost Russell Imrie take to the slope at the earliest opportunity.

It was passed unanimously.

It’s hammer time at class

HAMMER horror is associated in the minds of most cinema-goers with the gruesome, technicolour exploits of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

But though its 1960s and 70s heyday has long since passed, the iconic British film house has recently re-entered the fray with vampire-remake Let Me In and Harry Potter horror Woman in Black.

A new film studies evening class for horror fans of all ages, hosted by the Capital’s St Thomas of Aquins High School, will cover this and other little-known Hammer facts. Fangs for the memories, says TOTT.