Dandy Don

Dandy Don

ALASTAIR Ross, director of public policy at legal firm Pinsent Masons, has been made a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Affairs (CIPR).

Mr Ross spends less time spin doctoring these days than other CIPR fellows, and describes his public affairs role as "telling people what the Government is thinking of doing, what it means for them and what they can do about it".

In a CIPR Q&A, Ross said his career highlight has been taking part in the US Government's International Visitor Leadership Programme and when not at work he "laughs with his wife and daughters and agonises over Aberdeen FC".

Having ended the season with a cup in the bag and a third-place league finish, we trust the agony is no longer so acute.

Bank holds course

MORE than 1100 people in Alford, Aberdeenshire, signed a petition calling on Clydesdale Bank to reverse its decision in March to close their local branch, with some businesses threatening a bank boycott.

One campaigner has now drawn The Bottom Line's attention to the £4 million recently spent by the bank on refurbishing "just one branch" - at Piccadilly in London.

But the community uprising has not swayed decision-makers in Glasgow. A spokesman said all plans to save £5m a year by closing 28 of its 320 branches "remain on course", and that any savings "are being reinvested along with a further £40m in other branches and customer-facing services."

Hunter teased

BACK at the launch of the GEM report the author, professor Jonathan Levie, was also on good form. He teased Sir Tom Hunter that a section in the report on over-50s entrepreneurial activity was included just for him.

Boardroom football

AS the big kick-off in Brazil nears, research has revealed a correlation between England's performance in World Cups and the share price of the UK's top five listed pub companies.

The study, by Equiniti, found the share price of the companies concerned fell by an average of 8 per cent when Fabio Capello's men were knocked out in the second round in South Africa in 2010.

However, prices were impacted less dramatically in 2006 and 2002, when England got to the quarter-final stage in Germany and Japan and South Korea, albeit a heatwave across Europe in 2006 spelled good news for pubs nationally.

The Bottom Line wonders whether replica kits will be standard attire in the boardrooms as England prepare to get their 2014 campaign under way against Italy on June 14.