Talk of the Town: Councillor has a puzzling attitude

Having been caught out completing puzzles during a full council meeting, some might expect Labour councillor Eric Barry to show some sort of remorse.

But the long-serving councillor showed no regret over playing Sudoku throughout a debate about The Gathering during last week's meeting.

Quite the contrary - he said he regularly reads over constituents letters during council meetings and has even written his Christmas cards during debates.

After the story appeared in the Evening News on Saturday, Cllr Barry got in touch to complain about the photograph used alongside the article showing someone playing sudoku.

"I object to the posed photo of someone doing the easy Sudoku," he said. "I only ever do the five star difficulty ones because the rest could be completed before the end of a single speech."

These parliament leaks are not a threat to security

IT never rains but it pours into the Scottish Parliament.

The building may have been open some time now, but attempts to stop the leaks seem to have had little success. The buckets were out again yesterday to catch the drips.

A spokeswoman confirmed Facilities Management were investigating and monitoring three "minor" leaks on the public staircase, the black and white corridor area outside the debating chamber and the staff garden level restaurant area.

No need to work like a dog

There are apps for just about everything these days - the day we never have to leave our home must be just around the corner.

So if you've always wanted a dog but don't fancy going out in the rain to walk it, why not try the iMutt app from the Dogs Trust rehoming centre in West Calder?

It lets you pretend to be a carer at the centre, looking after a dog for five days and preparing it for rehoming - by doing nothing more strenuous than tapping away at your phone in response to message alerts. And you won't even have to splash out for dog food.

Setting the record straight

THERE was snow on the ground as the SNP gathered for their "spring" conference in Glasgow at the weekend. Inside the conference hall, the former Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson - who was forced to quit in December after motorists were stranded in snow on the M8 - wasted no time in distancing himself from the weather outside, telling delegates: "It's snow my fault."