Talk of the Town: Councillors find that the Link is far from missing

IN THE current tough economic times, NHS Lothian intends to reduce spending by £31 million in the next year alone.

Perhaps some of these savings could be found by cutting back on the number of copies it prints of its in-house newspaper, titled Health Link.

The City Chambers' members lounge - for the city's councillors - has been provided with 40 copies of this month's edition for politicians to peruse at their leisure.

On seeing the large pile of newsprint, one senior councillor was heard to comment: "A few copies is fine, but 40 copies for councillors seems to be a complete waste of money."

People power – sort of

THE people have spoken and the verdict is damning.

A petition set up calling for the tram project to be scrapped will no doubt have TIE seriously assessing the long-term viability of the scheme after a total of eight, yes eight, people signed it.

The petition follows a survey in the Evening News which found 47 per cent on respondents in favour of calling time on the embattled project – something the PR machine at everyone's favourite arms-length company will no doubt brand a "myth" on its Facebook page in the coming days.

Sofa so bad for housing

IT has been a bumper few weeks of sport, with the World Cup and Wimbledon commanding the attention of viewers, and it seems both buyers and sellers may have been unwilling to tear themselves away from their TVs to sort out property deals – the latest Agency Express Property Activity Index shows the housing market stalled dramatically in June.

Except, of course, for the Capital, where the housebuying appears to be a bigger pastime than either football or tennis.

While Glasgow saw its house sales drop 24 per cent over June, the Capital saw a rise of 12 per cent. Those living in the West may suggest this shows they are more committed to football than their Edinburgh counterparts, although it is always possible that the rise was caused by an influx of Scots from South of the border trying to escape the talk of Germany, 1966 and Frank Lampard's ghost goal.

More room for The Room

IT may be rated as one of the worst movies of all time, but that hasn't stopped The Room returning to the Capital by popular demand.

Made in 2003 by US writer, director and star Tommy Wiseau, The Room is a relationship drama so bad it has developed a cult following worldwide.

Dubbed "the Citizen Kane of bad movies", bosses at the Cameo cinema have arranged a screening for 11:30pm on Saturday 31 July, so book early to ensure disappointment.