Talk of the Town: Don't be heavy, ask your pal's brother

JUSTICE Secretary Kenny MacAskill is obviously getting tired of questions from Lothians Labour MSP George Foulkes about the health of freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

So when Lord Foulkes asked again about reports that Mr Megrahi's health is improving and he is working on his autobiography, an impatient Mr MacAskill urged the noble lord to seek answers closer to home, pointing out that Megrahi's lawyer, Tony Kelly, was the brother of James Kelly, Labour's deputy justice spokesman at Holyrood.

Kaye plays it fast and loose

WHAT'S a (former) Loose Woman to do?

As host of her own daily BBC Radio Scotland phone-in, journalist and presenter Kaye Adams knew that her Friday show would be dominated by calls about the second televised election debate.

The only slight problem was that during the debate itself she was hosting the St Columba's fundraising Wits Dinner at Prestonfield House.

Not wanting to let the hospice down, the versatile presenter put in a sterling performance as compere, dashing off in between stints on stage to sit glued to her PDA and follow the headlines relating the highs and lows of the debate as it unfolded.

No glamour in Pond life

SHE may be Doctor Who's new sidekick and required to take on Daleks and space-nasties, but Karen Gillan has admitted in real life she has had to face even more gruesome tasks on the show.

The 22-year-old, who first studied acting at Edinburgh's Telford College, said the tough role as glamorous assistant Amy Pond involved such "highlights" as filming scenes lying in a pool of cabbage and vomit.

The star, who has already upset some viewers who claim the new series is "too sexy", also admitted she wasn't a fan of the show growing up – she preferred Star Trek instead.

Bottom line in book sales

IT'S a question authors are often asked: Where do you get your ideas from?

For Leith-based writer Lari Don, inspiration for her most recent work came from the most unusual source – a bum print she noticed left 'behind' on a sandy beach. While most folk would have walked on by, she stopped to draw the outline someone had left in the Findhorn beach sand.

The result is the prize-winning author's latest work, The Big Bottom Hunt. Launched on Saturday, it's an illustrated tale of two children who find a telescope on a beach and set about tracing its owner using their only clue – a drawing of the bottom-shaped dent they'd left in the sand.