Talk of the town: Gavin's bin had by his recycling ethos

OVER the festive season, many people will have indulged in a little too much mulled wine or sparkling wine at their office party.

Nevertheless, the first line of Green campaigner Gavin Corbett's latest blog entry certainly caught the attention: "During the course of December, I have been wasted."

However, it turns out it wasn't the excesses of the season that he was referring to, but rather rubbish and the lengthy delays to bin collections in Edinburgh this month.

It seems Mr Corbett, who as a keen recycler reckons his family of four would only fill the bin once every six weeks, has been the victim of neighbours who come out in the night and empty rubbish from their overflowing bins into his.

As long as it wasn't filled with wine bottles. They, of course, should go in the recycling box.

Heads-up to avoid that morning after feeling

FEELING rough today? This won't make your hangover any better, but it could head off your next one.

It seems the worst effects of a Yuletide goblet too many isn't really your fault. It's the larger winemakers' use of sulphates, which allow mass production, swifter processing, corner-cutting and, of course, lower prices.

Who says so? A bloke on the inside who insists he's tried every hangover cure and learnt the only real way to avoid the curse of the throbbing head is to be more choosy at the checkout.

Feeling card done by

WE'RE all for receiving cards from keen PR people at any time of the year, but especially when they're filled with goodies.

But spare a thought for the poor press officer who had to send out a card with a note inside which explained there should have been a nice sweet treat inside but because of the recent postal problems they didn't arrive.

Well, at least the card arrived.

Call-offs strike bad note

SNOW and freezing temperatures scuppered many planned parties and celebrations in the run-up to Christmas.

Some things can be rearranged, of course, but it might mean extra work, as Culture Minister and former education secretary Fiona Hyslop acknowledged when asked about Christmas cancellations in parliament.

She said: "A number of the winter festivals that were cancelled will go ahead in January and February, although I particularly regret that the Christmas songs that some of our pupils have diligently learned might have to be replaced for January and February concerts."