Talk of the Town: Bin men's example rubbishes cynics

IN these hard financial times, it is a rare thing to hear a tale of true honesty when it comes to money.

Luckily there are still a few examples out there, and what better place to look than Musselburgh, also known as "the Honest Toun", where a pair of bin men have been praised for their Christmas spirit.

Resident Mary Burnett said she and her husband had tried to give their bin men a Christmas tip.

She said: "My husband went out to give them their 'Christmas' only to be told that this was not his regular run, so would we give it to our bin man the next week. I managed to catch them and offered the money again only to be told that it wasn't their run.

"Not once but twice they've refused the gift. How honest was that? It left us with a warm feeling about the honesty of the bin man."

Zoo patrons still going wild for festive offer

CHRISTMAS might have come and gone but it seems there is still plenty of goodwill out there.

Edinburgh Zoo has extended its popular festive 5-per-person offer for an extra day. The cheap zoo trips will now be on offer until the end of Sunday - the ideal last-gasp Christmas present for those who are fed-up with monkeying around waiting for their gifts to arrive.

It's no' Mr Snow's snow

IN the midst of some of the worst weather seen since the 1960s, a gigantic robot that created snow on a daily basis was probably the last thing the city needed.

However, the Mr Snow sculpture in St Andrew Square garden has proved an eye-catching, if bizarre, attraction, and is likely to be missed, even if some people think it was the cause of our weather problems.

Out with his mother recently, one youngster asked if this was where all the snow had come from.

Grape way to weight loss

WITH the festive season of indulgence behind us, many people will now be turning their thoughts to shedding excess weight.

For women out there considering starting a diet, it appears that those in Edinburgh who are 27 years old have the best chance of success.

A study has shown that women at this age have more willpower and determination to shed unwanted pounds.

The survey was carried out by Lambrini to launch their low-calorie tipple Lambrini Light, and are no doubt hopeful all their dieting customers will have the willpower to avoid takeaway food on their way home from the pub.