Talk of the Town: Susan has got The Gift of the gab

BETWEEN singing for His Holiness the Pope and releasing a best-selling second album it has been quite a year for local singing sensation Susan Boyle.

The international megastar is getting ready for a well-earned Christmas break, but still had time to enjoy a morning chat with the BBC's breakfast team recently, at which she revealed that she'd had to get six buses to get to her now famous audition.

She also revealed that while she is still staying in her humble home in Blackburn, her beloved cat Pebbles is living the high life in London, where SuBo admitted the moggy was being "spoiled rotten".

Of course no TV appearance would be complete without a plug for her new album The Gift, of which she said: "I'd like to think it's a gift to everybody."

Hopefully everyone set to receive The Gift this Christmas feels the same way.

Salmond ditches hacks to care for sick wife

EVERYONE loves a good party at Christmas, so it was a shame that Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond had to miss his own Christmas party because he was looking after his sick wife Moira.

The First Minister had been due to host the annual festive media reception at Bute House on Tuesday night, but Mrs Salmond was suffering from "a lurgy" and he not unreasonably felt his time was better spent tending to her needs than fraternising with journalists.

Happily, Mrs Salmond is now said to be much better and the First Minister is back on full duty.

Grotty grottos

THE festive spirit hasn't quite reached everyone in the Capital this year. A survey of how many parents would consider taking their kids to see Santa in his grotto found that Edinburgh was almost top of the list for Scrooges across the UK.

With 79 per cent of parents in the Capital saying they would definitely not take their little darlings to the grotto, only Aberdeen scored higher, on 90 per cent. Why ever not? Paying through the nose to queue up in a crowded shopping centre and hand your child to a stranger in fancy dress. What's not to like?

An arresting sight

IT'S from Telford to toy shop for actress Karen Gillan this Christmas, as she gets a new role as a five-inch action figure.

The actress, who trained on Telford's college's HNC acting course, will see her alter ego, Doctor Who's assistant Amy Pond, appear as a new doll.

The figure will be sporting Amy's infamous kissogram police uniform so if it's to scale it is expected the doll's legs will be about four inches long.