Talk of the Town: Paul goes out in a blaze of glory

THE danger of broadcasting live is that when it goes wrong, there is little those involved can do but ride out the storm.

Which is what blundering radio DJ Paul Harper was forced to do on Tuesday after he followed a news update about the massive blaze in Fountainbridge by launching straight into the Alicia Keys track Girl on Fire.

For a full three minutes and 44 seconds, he was left with a face hotter than the inferno which engulfed the tenement. Five people were rescued when the blaze broke out in a first-floor flat, with 40 firefighters and six ambulances racing to the scene.

The Real Radio presenter has since held his hands up to the gaffe, saying: “I broke out in a sweat thinking, ‘What have I done?’”

I’ll take this to a higher authority

MISUSE of the internet is an issue in the workplace, but sometimes firewalls can be too solid – as council leader Andrew Burns has discovered. When Fountainbridge Councillor Gavin Corbett tweeted that Cllr Burns’ blog was inaccessible through shiny new council iPads, the boss responded: “I’ll complain vociferously to the council leader immediately Gavin . . . oh, wait a minute”.

Keep smiling, it’s only rain

EDINBURGH’S notoriously dreich weather doesn’t put off our tourists, says city-based holiday bookings website Private House Stays.

All that matters – according to 85 per cent of survey respondents – is a friendly welcome.

Throw the book at them

IT is an unenviable job at the best of times, and the powers given to the the city’s environmental wardens to tackle drunks appear to be negligible at best.

Deidre Brock, the deputy Lord Provost, told the monthly full council meeting that in a bid to tackle park boozing, “environmental wardens will now carry a copy of the new park rules”.

She then added: “I’m not sure what they could do with that – perhaps throw it at them.”