Talk of the Town: Some hearts got lift from cup loss

FOR the thousands of Hearts fans who trooped through to Hampden to cheer on their team, the journey home on Sunday would have seemed a long and quiet one.

But while one half of the Capital was left rueing the missed chances their team had spurned in losing the League Cup Final to St Mirren, the other half were so thrilled you might have thought they’d won the trophy themselves.

Even Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, who took time out from his busy schedule of tweeting about tennis to spend an afternoon winding up Hearts fans on Twitter – then admitted he was enjoying a “maroonish wine in tribute to their defence”.

And the wine? Why, Castle Rock, of course.

Getting fit is snow joke

BEING a top athlete requires grit, determination and, above all else, a lot of hard practice.

And that means getting out whatever the weather to make sure you’re in the best shape possible – which might explain why runner Lyndsey Sharp was training through the snow yesterday. Although, as she pointed out to fans, it’s not ideal conditions, admitting: “Yes. That was me running along Ravelston Dykes with one eye open, blinded by a snow blizzard.”

Hoy! Mind that motor

HE’S a champion on two wheels – but it seems Sir Chris Hoy isn’t quite as good with four. Edinburgh’s Olympic hero was in a celebrity race ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, and caused more than a few dents in practice – yet he still managed 2nd place.

Bowie’s taken root in the Royal Botanics

BACK to number one in the charts and the toast of the music industry – after more than 40 years in the business it seems that David Bowie is once again everywhere. Even in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, where visitors have snapped pictures of an unusual tree, which resembles a man who has fallen to Earth – the title of Bowie’s 1976 film.