Talk of the Town: Bargain-hunters left out of pocket

SHOPPERS at Morrisons in Piershill must have thought they were on to a good bargain when they spotted the sign advertising "Half-price Belgian chocolate truffles".

But they may have had second thoughts when they read on to discover the boxes of La Trufflina treats had been reduced from 2.24 to 1.99.

Someone at Morrisons might need to pay a little more attention to basic maths.

Does Santa still come when boys turn 50?

CHRISTMAS is always a stressful time of year. For local councillor Andrew Burns, however, it seems that is not enough to distract from his biggest worry - ageing.

Having celebrated his 47th birthday, he took to his blog for a last post before the holiday season, and admitted to followers that he wouldn't have time for updates - as he would be "too busy panicking that there's only another 36 months of my forties left".

Every cloud has a silver lining, of course, and like most of us with elder siblings, Cllr Burns is taking heart from the fact that by the time he turns 50, his sister will have hit 60.

Salmond plays Cupid

ON the subject of politics, Alex Salmond is on a romantic mission to woo students into the SNP fold, it seems, as long as they pledge their undying love for the party by Valentine's Day.

He's offering tens of thousands of scholars a virtual Valentine's card in a bid to sweep them out of the arms of the Lib Dems.

"This Christmas we are inviting all those let down by the Lib Dems, to join with Scotland's students, show their solidarity over tuition fees, take a look at the SNP and have their political hearts mended with a free SNP membership," SNP convener Bruce Crawford MSP said, announcing the scheme.

So convinced of his current appeal, and detecting dissent among disillusioned Lib Dems, the First Minister has even extended free membership to former members of the Lib Dems.

Feeling like a turkey

WITH everybody rushing around at this time of year, it's no surprise that sometimes things get overlooked and forgotten.

According to a leading rental company, people have been leaving just about everything behind in their vehicles.

The most unusual discovery was the front end of a horse costume, while other festive finds include a cardboard cut-out of Santa.

A pair of diamond earrings, stamped Christmas cards and even ten Christmas puds were also left behind. Someone even forgot their tray of pigs in blankets and frozen turkey . . .