Talk of the Town: No love lost after Leith sticker thefts

MOST people know all too well that love can be cruel. Sometimes you just want to tell someone how you feel about them only to find out that things aren't mutual.

So spare a thought for the poor souls behind the "I Love Leith" campaign, which has found out its feelings appear to be of the unrequited variety.

Having spent money on giant "I Love Leith" stickers for pavements in the area, they have since began disappearing.

A tough lesson in love indeed.

SNP candidate gets his teeth into the Fringe

SNP council candidate Richard Lewis has been dividing his time over the past few weeks between fighting the Liberton/Gilmerton by-election and his role as musical director of The Emperor's Quest, a children's show on the Fringe.

The show has won rave reviews. The Scotsman's Roger Cox said: "Anglo-Korean company Milk Teeth Productions has struck upon a winning formula with an enchanting update of a Chinese folk tale about a flower-loving emperor and his search for a young successor."

Now Mr Lewis has to persuade the voters to give him an equally enthusiastic reception in his bid to succeed newly-elected Labour MP Ian Murray as a councillor.

House about that then?

IT WAS his crowning moment, but Edinburgh celebrity John Loughton now wants to put his Big Brother triumph behind him.

He won the celebrity version of the show in 2008, propelling him to nationwide fame.

Now living in London and pursuing a serious career in politics, the 22-year-old moved to quell rumours he may be re-entering the house as part of this year's show finale.

He told friends on Facebook: "John Loughton wants to just let everyone know that he will NOT be going back into the house!! Save people time asking."

Graving mad at Kenny

JUSTICE Secretary Kenny MacAskill was at Liberton Cemetery yesterday to help launch a new city council initiative which will see teams of low-level offenders on community service being sent out to fix fallen cemetery headstones.

He was full of praise for the authority in embarking on the project and said he was sure others would follow the example.

But council officials who organised the launch seemed a little miffed that the Scottish Government had decided to muscle in on their photocall and hog the limelight while community safety leader Paul Edie was left standing on the sidelines. Mr Edie, however, did not seem too bothered.