Beer conversion

Beer conversion

FOR rugby fans of a certain vintage, the distinctive tones of the late commentator Bill McLaren will be sorely missed when the 6 Nations championship gets underway next month.

But they can help preserve his legacy by buying a beer or two from Edinburgh's Caledonian Brewery.

Caley has commemorated the 90th anniversary of the "voice of rugby" by brewing up Bill's Beer - "cunning as a bag of weasels" - with a percentage of each bottle sold going to the Bill McLaren foundation.

With the charity set up to promote rugby union and encourage young people to take part in the sport, we applaud Caley's sense of profit conversion. But we would hesitate to take part in a scrum after a couple - no matter how crafty the ingredients.

Cool resolve

THE Bottom Line is gratified to hear it is not alone in declining to relinquish its favourite food and drink as a new year resolution.

Ice cream maker Mackie's of Scotland pledged on its Twitter feed to make some really good puddings as its contribution to the annual convention.

Now that is a resolution we can really throw our weight behind.

Office gossip

BREWDOG co-founder James Watt has taken to Twitter for views on how to fill the firm's new office.

Mr Watt was typically offbeat with his own suggestions, musing whether it should include a beer book library, yoga room, shark tank or doggy day care centre. We rather liked the response from follower Chris Pelsor, who suggested a House of Horrors filled by bottles of mainstream beers - the very kind BrewDog so often rails against.

Power play

THE admission by Gatwick Airport during its grilling by MPs last week that it has no back-up power source led to one quick-witted journalist expressing surprise that temporary power supplier Aggreko had not been "battering the door down" when flooding wrecked festive travel plans.

The tweet did not go unnoticed by Aggreko boss Rupert Soames, who smartly replied: "I would be battering down the door but am in traffic jam in Nairobi."

Seems it is not such a small world after all.

 

No chickens harmed

THE production of a short film into the home life and training regime of Scottish Commonwealth hopeful Sammi Kinghorn led to a comic caper which would not have been out of place in a Loony Tunes cartoon.

Law firm Harper Macleod, legal adviser to the Glasgow Games, commissioned the film to get the inside track into how Sammi has gone from novice to elite athlete in the space of just two years.

Shot in the Borders farm where she lives with mother and father Elaine and Neil, the film focuses on the relationship between Sammi and coach Ian Mirfin.

But its production almost had fatal consequences for some innocent poultry. During the shoot Mr Mirfin's greyhound found its way into the chicken coop, leading to frantic squawking and the frenetic ruffling of feathers.

We are pleased to report that no chickens were ultimately harmed.