Talk of the town: Did Paul like it? Not a lot . .

Magician Paul Daniels' festival run is not in jeopardy despite being hospitalised earlier this week when glove puppet Sooty hit him with a slice of pizza.

Daniels was filming a scene for The Sooty Show when he was struck by a flying pizza, with the impact leaving him "dazed".

The 73-year-old was taken to hospital with a black eye, and was forced to cancel a live show as a result of the injury, but has now made a full recovery.

Now that's magic.

Is cinema trip a sign Marc's going soft in his old age?

The celeb-spotting season has begun in earnest, and Talk of the Town got in early with an unlikely sighting of 80s synth-pop legend Marc Almond at the Ben & Jerry's counter in the Omni Centre's Vue Cinema - at the very un-rock 'n' roll time of 10am on Tuesday.

We can't help wondering what the Tainted Love singer, whose show Ten Plagues at the Traverse Theatre is one of the Fringe's hot tickets, was going to see at such an early hour - presumably not upbeat kids' animation Rio, which was being screened at the time.

Talk of the Town resisted the temptation to say hello or, indeed, wave goodbye.

The secret to ticket sales

AT a time when comics and actors are fighting to sell tickets, it seems one Edinburgh group might just have the secret to success.

The latest event by the Edinburgh Secret Society is, as usual, shrouded in mystery, with organisers only revealing that there will be magic, and that it will be held in Edinburgh University's historic Anatomy Lecture Theatre.

There are no flyers and no public advertisements and just nine minutes after going on sale there were no tickets left either.

The event on August 16 is clearly the place to be, but for those who missed out on tickets, another mystery event is planned for October.

Nathan's on the ball

CONGRATULATIONS to local youngster Nathan Brown, who is set for the experience of a lifetime as he leads the Scotland squad on to the hallowed Hampden turf ahead of their friendly with Denmark next week.

The ten-year-old will walk out on to the pitch with the likes of Darren Fletcher, Kenny Miller and Nicklas Bendtner, in the warm up match ahead of crucial FIFA European Championship 2012 qualifiers in September.

Nathan won the player escort place after entering a competition organised by McDonald's, the community partner of the Scottish FA.