Talk of the Town: Ian makes a clean start of things

WE'RE comforted to hear that Ian Murray, MP, has declared his constituency office "cruelty-free".

The politician has apparently ensured that all of the office's cleaning and household products are cruelty-free, which wins him the Leaping Bunny Mark from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection.

We're even more delighted with the photograph which accompanied the press release, showing Mr Murray cleaning the windows of his office with a suitably kind cleaning fluid.

We can't help but wonder - is he still trying to get rid of the remnants of that huge Nigel Griffiths photo that used to fill the windows?

Airpiano maestro hits a lighter note with city gig

MOVE over the air guitar, musician Jo Hamilton has been invited to play a live set in the Capital with a difference - showcasing the "airpiano".

She will perform at TED, a non-profit biannual conference, between July 11 and 15.

Jo said she was the first artist in the world to work with an airpiano - a new "musical interface which allows playing and controlling software instruments simply by moving hands in the air".

PR plans are sunk

WHEN PR firms send out press releases which have been inadequately tailored for a "local" audience it's always a painful read.

Today's fine example is about the apparent trend for Scots to take up narrow boating for their summer holidays. Apparently "three quarters of people from the Scotland are more likely to go on a narrow boat holiday on UK canals this summer".

We also wonder if the people writing the release are not too familiar with the raininess of Scotland's summer weather.

It's time to hit the books

CHILDREN who struggle to speak at the age of two are less likely to do well when they start primary school, according to new research.

The study, by researchers at Edinburgh University among others, found children who own more books and are taken to the library as toddlers are more likely to achieve higher scores when they start school. The findings show that children's understanding and use of words, and their ability to say two or three-word sentences by the age of two was strongly associated with their performance when they started school. So it seems you're never too young to hit the books.