Simon Pia's Diary

DESPITE her deselection - which you read here first - Councillor Lezley Cameron is still a high-flyer. While Edinburgh council leaders may not have been bending over backwards to help her out in Edinburgh South, the Lord Provost made her one of his four new Deputy Lieutenants of the City on Monday. However, Lezley had to leave the ceremony sharpish as she had an appointment with the First Minister, Jack McConnell, and afterwards was spotted dining with him and Malcolm Robertson in Est Est Est.

We wonder if her deselection was discussed and the reasons why.

The comic side of Eddie George

IT’S easy to see why the Bank of England governor, Sir Eddie George, has an affinity with comic-book characters. He’s one himself.

Sir Eddie compared Scots companies to Bob the Builder - a touch patronisingly - because of their "can do" attitude. What the governor did not reveal is that he features in the comic strip "Young Eddie George" in Viz magazine - which prides itself on puerile filth - alongside the "Fat Slags" and "Big Vern".

Sir Eddie’s grandchildren introduced him to "a great character called Bob the Builder". We are not sure he’d be so impressed if they introduced him to a copy of Viz.

Revealed - John Lennon’s Fife duchess

ANOTHER Diary world exclusive - for Beatles fans anyway - as we reveal the origins of the Duchess of Kirkcaldy, mentioned yesterday in the reference to the song Cry Baby Cry on the Beatles’ White Album.

Our source, Frank Wallace, tells us: "I would like to explode the myth that she was Celia Sutherland, wife of Dr J Sutherland, dentist in Victoria Road." The actual person John Lennon used as the subject of his whimsical lyric was Mary Yardley, now deceased, who was the agent who booked the Beatles when they appeared at the Carlton Cinema, Rosslyn Street, Kirkcaldy, in 1963.

Frank takes up the tale: "Prior to their appearance, the Beatles had been to Mary’s house in Methil, where they had tea. John Lennon and Mary struck up a friendship and for many years after the Beatles’ only appearance in Fife, Mary received postcards from John from wherever the Fab Four were in the world. We can only guess at why Mary, or "the duchess", was late for tea - she was maybe still negotiating their fee."

The Duke of Kirkcaldy was Mary’s husband, John, who had booked the Beatles into a local B&B - which is probably what the "Bird and Bee" refers to.

Mary Yardley was something of a legend in Kirkcaldy, a highly respected figure on the music scene, booking some of the biggest names in the rock and pop business to appear at the Raith Ballroom in Links Street. The Beatles gig was only moved to the Carlton cinema because of its larger capacity.

Alan King was indeed the manager of the Raith Ballroom, which in its day was the most popular dance hall in Scotland. He moved in 1972 to Ayr, where he was manager of the Caledonian Hotel for many years. "He would certainly have been responsible for staging the Beatles," Frank adds, "but it was through Mary Yardley that all the arrangements were made."

It’s not known why John Lennon described Mary as the Duchess of Kirkcaldy rather than Methil. "Perhaps it just scanned better," Frank says.

It’s also interesting that Lennon misspelt Kirkcaldy - missing out the second "k" - which is a common error by people from the nether regions. To this day, the lyrics on the White Album CDs continue to misspell the Lang Toun.

OUR source, Frank Wallace, has impeccable sources himself. Mary’s husband, John, told Frank about it when they met at a function where John’s son, Hugh - or "Shug", as they say in Fife - also a musician, was playing. "I believe that John may also be deceased now," Frank reckons, "as Mary was a woman in her late forties when she was involved in booking the bands. Hugh, or Shug, still lives locally. If I were him I’d be checking out what happened to the postcards to his Mum from John Lennon, as they must be valuable collectors’ items by now." As they say, history on your doorstep - courtesy of the Diary, and thanks the readers.