Talk of the Town: When both boots are on the other foot

THERE are many tales of woe as soon as the snow strikes but spare a thought for one reader who, on the orders of his house-bound wife, trudged into the city centre and visited four different shops before finding one which stocked size five wellies.

Delighted with himself he went to the pub to celebrate, emerging hours later, bleary eyed but with confidence his efforts would be praised. That is until he proudly produced the precious cargo - two right boots.

Rare squirrel heads to the zoo . . of its own accord

EVERYONE goes to the zoo to see unusual animals, but one family were delighted to come across a cute critter they hadn't expected to see - an albino squirrel.

Pete Wilson and fiancee Gill Jackson had taken their daughter Phoebe to celebrate her first birthday at Edinburgh Zoo when they saw the creature looking quite at home in the flamingo pen.

Mr Wilson said he had been stunned by the sight: "It was one of these miserable rainy days, we were on our way out and it was in the flamingo pen. I just thought 'There's a white squirrel!' and called to the rest of them - it was there for about a minute and then shot away up the tree."

Zoo staff confirmed that the squirrel had been spotted several times by staff - perhaps it's looking for an enclosure of its own?

MP bids ta ta to 'tache

LIKE many, Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat MP Mike Crockart will be shaving off his four-week-old moustache today as "Movember" turns into December.

He was one of several MPs - and 100,000 other people across the UK - who grew whiskers during the month of November as part of a worldwide campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

"My wife will be pleased to hear I'm not planning on keeping it," says Mr Crockart.

He managed to get in at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons last week to ask David Cameron to join in next year's effort. But while the PM was happy to congratulate Mr Crockart and his colleagues on their facial hair, he stopped short of pledging to grow a 'tache himself.

Man Flu no laughing matter

IT'S official. We're no longer allowed to tease our men-folk by diagnosing them with Man Flu when they get the sniffles.

A new survey reveals that half of men in the Capital feel the term is derogatory and undermines men's health, preventing them from seeking advice for genuine illness. With more than 40 per cent of the men surveyed saying they avoid their GP when worried about their health for fear of wasting their time, they may have a point. Sorry, men.