Last call
SIR Brian Souter provided some customary humour as he chaired the Stagecoach annual general meeting in Perth.
Urging the audience at Perth Concert Hall to switch off their mobile phones before proceedings began, he recounted the tale of a Nokia ringing as its deceased owner was being buried.
“These Nokias last forever,” he said. “I heard the story of an old boy who got buried in Stornoway.
"They had put his best suit on him, and his Nokia went in the coffin as they were lowering him into the grave. So remember and switch it off!”
Taxi talk
THE vast bank of knowledge the average Glasgow cabbie is able to draw on is already legendary.
But entrepreneurship professor Les Charm, visiting Scotland this week from Babson College in the United States, was certainly surprised with the sophistication of the chatter during one journey.
That saw the academic being regaled about the different business models of black cabs and the Uber service which is soon to launch in Scotland.
Lunch dash
THE question and answer session at the Stagecoach AGM proceeded briskly. But it was perhaps not surprising, given that investors were being treated to a bite to eat afterwards.
“Don’t forget, you are all that stands between us and our lunch,” chairman Sir Brian Souter quipped as he invited questions from the floor.
Life after whisky politics
THERE is plenty of life beyond the Scotch Whisky Association for Campbell Evans.
Mr Evans, who spent 24 years at the Edinburgh-based industry body, has launched his own media relations and public affairs consultancy.
Atholl Crescent Consultants recently provided media advice to Australian businessman David Prior following his takeover of Bladnoch Distillery, and is busy working on other projects connected to the industry.
But it’s not all been work for Evans since he left the SWA earlier this year. He has enjoyed some time cycling in France and is taking part in Eurovelo 6 – a trans-Europe cycle from the Atlantic to the Black Sea – in stages with friends.
We wonder if it is only energy drinks that Mr Evans has been stowing away in his water bottle.
Dram fine
SPEAKING of whisky, what is believed to be the world's most exclusive dram was unveiled by venerable blender Gordon & MacPhail at The Royal Opera House in London yesterday.
Just 100 decanters of the Mortlach 75 years old will be available to collectors across the globe.
With a price-tag of £20,000, only serious afficionados - or bonus-laden City execs - need apply.
Marathon effort
A 22-strong team from risk and insurance law firm BLM in Scotland have dug deep to raise £16,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The lawyers, solicitors, associates and administrators formed five relay teams to complete the 26.2 mile course in the recent Edinburgh Marathon Festival. Two from the BLM team – Katie Anderson and Jamie Varney – completed the whole course.
The sum raised by BLM was the biggest for the charity from the EMF this year.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here