Talk of the Town: A fitting reward for one of a kind Edwyn

Yesterday, the News told how the singer threatened to take action against Lothians BNP for using his hit A Girl Like You on their website.

Now, hot on the heels of single-handedly swatting the local BNP in his Edinburgh birthplace, he is being lined up for an honorary degree.

Buckinghamshire New University is to award him a degree in recognition of his "incredibly generous contribution to the national and international music industry".

Mr Collins, who now lives in London, said: "I'm so flattered. This is an honour, and a most unexpected one."

Waiter, can we have the small bill please?

IT might seem like folly, but one Edinburgh chef is putting his cuisine to the ultimate test by offering it to diners for whatever price they think it's worth.

The Restaurant at the Rutland is putting on the "pay what you like" promotion to launch its new autumn menu today, with diners asked to decide what they think the meal is worth, and then pay accordingly.

Though it could prove costly, bosses at the restaurant are not too concerned - head chef David Haetzman was the winner of this year's Chef Medaille D'Or at the Scottish Hotel Awards.

Craig's platinum day

Any Dream Will Do star Craig Chalmers has tied the knot in the Capital.

The singer, 29, said he was "happiest man in the world" after marrying marketing executive Jennifer Smith on Sunday.

More than 150 guests watched as the couple took their vows at the lavish Norton House Hotel, near Edinburgh.

Craig said: "It was greatest day of my life. Jennifer has made the happiest man in the world. From the moment I met her, I knew she was the one for me - it was love at first sight."

He didn't don his Technicolor Dreamcoat for the ceremony, but Craig still stood out by wearing a striking platinum-coloured kilt.

File under 'Awkward'?

ONE of the earliest achievements of Tony Blair's decade in power was the creation of the Scottish Parliament.

However, the Edinburgh-born former prime minister - who by his own admission was "never a passionate devolutionist" - interestingly decided to include his reflections on Scotland's new democratic venture in the chapter of his memoirs entitled Kosovo.

As one avid reader has alerady suggested: "Perhaps he viewed them both as war zones, foreign territory beyond his control."