Talk of the Town: Rescue was a bit of Manuel labour

IT was a serious fire involving a huge response from emergency services and the dramatic rescue of several people – and a rodent.

Yesterday’s blaze in Lothian Road certainly raised the profile of Lothian and Borders fire and Rescue, but also raised some unexpected questions. For amidst the scenes of frantic bystanders and firemen was a slightly charred cage of a rescued pet. Initial reports suggested the cage belonged to a hamster, although reports from the scene then said it was a rat. The ensuing discussion bore more than a little resemblance to a certain Fawlty Towers episode – and the inevitable conclusion that the animal must have been a Siberian hamster.

Red card for foul play

IT’S an issue that’s bound to get messy, with concerns rising about the amount of dog fouling in the Capital.

And for those who think it’s not bad, one reader said it was so bad in some places that walking was like playing “spot the pavement”.

Snow way it would work

AS Talk of the Town revealed last week, the recent weather prompted some youngsters to fake a council website in a bid to get the day of school

And having tracked down the site, it’s clear why they failed. As well as well as forgetting to put a capital letter on Midlothian at the top of the page, and leaving the web address as “myfrontpage”, the mini-hackers really blew up by forecasting just 5cm of snow.

An A for effort but, in the end, an F for failure.

Man’s best . . way of avoiding intimacy

WHILE women have the classic “headache” line when they are not in the mood, it seems men are a bit more creative.

Research from Lloyds pharmacy Online Doctor suggested Capital men were using excuses including playing Call of Duty or that the dog was watching.