Talk of the Town: Rand gesture from SuBo's super fan

THE devotion of pop fans to their idols can often lead them to go to extraordinary - and troubling - lengths to meet their heroes.

Hats off then to self-confessed Susan Boyle addict Carol Rand. The Texan grandmother-of-three is such a fan of our very own SuBo that she travelled 4500 miles from her home to give the singing sensation a 50th birthday present.

Having made all that effort, she ensured the gift wasn't a letdown either, presenting the Blackburn singer with a quilt embroidered with the names of more than 500 of her fans, including that of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of Scotland's Catholics.

In 2009, Carol travelled to New York to present SuBo with a quilt and there was even a smaller version for her cat Pebbles.

Wish you were here, there and everywhere together

IS there anyone left in Edinburgh this week?

Ian Rankin is currently on a tour of the United States, narrowly missing other Edinburghers left, right and centre. Alexander McCall Smith told his Twitter followers: "We miss each other by days. I call on bookstores; they say: 'Rankin was here. Nice man.' He is."

The next day Rankin and BBC music man Vic Galloway discovered they had passed within a whisper of each other in Phoenix, Arizona, without actually meeting.

Neither McCall Smith nor Galloway will get their cub scout badge for stalking if they keep missing him like this.

Ad couple reach for stars

AHEAD of what could be the wedding event of the year, it seems only right that celebrity stargazer Russell Grant reveals his predictions for the happy couple.

Mr Grant has not chosen to write about Prince William and Kate Middleton, nor the Edinburgh nuptials of Zara Phillips and rugby player Mike Tindall, but has given us an insight into this year's other big marriage - revealing the future for BT couple Adam and Jane.

Grant offered such startling insights as "Aries Adam and Libran Jane make a great couple" and suggests Jane nurture Adam's sporting interests to ensure their future happiness.

Lamb to the s-laughter

PAYING tribute to Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson as the Scottish Parliament wound up for the election, First Minister Alex Salmond praised the experience the farmer had brought to office.

He said: "He was, for example, the president of the Blackface Sheep Breeders' Association, which stood him in good stead in herding some of the more difficult MSPs in the chamber."