Talk of the Town: Minister dishes up food for thought

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond and his deputy Nicola Sturgeon will be hoping everyone can now forget about auctions, lunches and the Scottish Parliament restaurant after they were both cleared of any wrongdoing in the Lunchgate row.

But just hours before Holyrood's standards watchdog announced he would not be investigating any further, the Rev Alex Noble, who was leading yesterday's Time for Reflection in parliament, produced a ripple of laughter among MSPs.

Before launching into his thought for the day, he thanked his local MSP, Kenny Gibson, for nominating him for the slot – "and for the nice lunch".

What's-a matter you? Give-a Facebook some respect

A FRESH Facebook battle for the number one slot is up and running.

Still reeling from the excitement that was Rage Against the Machine versus that bloke off The X Factor vying for the Christmas number one, we have learnt that two venerable giants of the 1980s music scene are the latest to have online bids for chart domination launched in their honour.

It means that Ultravox's Vienna is set to go head-to-head with Joe Dolce's Shaddap You Face once again, 30 years on. The Vienna campaign is being orchestrated north of the Border by Edinburgh's Helen Thomson.

Now, we've never been to Vienna, but we hear it's-a not so bad, it's-a nice-a place . . .

Scrum-thing fishy going on?

THERE haven't been too many occasions when Edinburgh Northern rugby players have found their way into international programmes.

The recent Wales v Scotland match was an exception, with a photograph of David Turkington, Jarv Macfarlane and Ross Hornsey appearing.

Alas, the lads were not parading their rugby skills but helping to advertise a scheme whereby, on 5-6 June, rugby sponsors Royal Bank of Scotland will help upgrade clubhouse facilities around the country.

Skipper Jarv insists Northern's appearance is due to "contacts at the advertising agency" but cynics might suggest it has something to do with the club's premises at Inverleith Park having once been set up as a delousing centre in the event of Edinburgh coming under chemical attack during the Second World War.

The big key to success

IT IS not easy keeping a check on the finances of an organisation as big as the city council.

But the council's director of finance, Donald McGougan, has been widely credited for his firm grasp of all things financial – and the Evening News has learned the secret of his success.

Mr McGougan carries around a large, old, traditional calculator everywhere he goes – much more reliable than these mobile phone versions people seem to favour these days, he tells us.