A constitutional matter
HARGREAVES Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf displayed a keen awareness of Scottish constitutional affairs when The Bottom Line tapped into his insight into Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) first-half results last week.
Mr Khalaf observed that the fine RBS is facing over mis-selling mortgage backed securities in the US could turn out to be more expensive as it will be charged in dollars, given the current weakness of sterling.
The analyst said dollars are “now more expensive in pound terms – even Scottish pounds!”
Leckies in tour
THERE is no getting away from it, building a hotel portfolio across the country does inevitably mean more time away from home.
Speaking as his company unveiled its acquisition of the Ballachulish and Isle of Glencoe hotels, Crieff Hydro boss Stephen Leckie highlighted the challenge in having a visible presence at each of the company’s properties.
“I go to Peebles and people say, do you live here? [I say] no, I live in Crieff,” he explained. “I go to Ballachulish and they do you live here? No, I live in Crieff. But you have to be in these places all the time.
“For example, at Christmas time, my family and I play bagpipes in all the all restaurants in Crieff on Christmas Day. And then on Boxing Day we go down and do the same thing in Peebles. People are going to think we live everywhere [because] we keep appearing.”
Drinks on the Fringe
TRAIPSING around the Edinburgh Fringe venues can be thirsty work, a fact which is not missed on Victor and Carina Contini .
The restaurateurs have teamed up with Italia beer Menabrea, distributed in this country by Tennent’s Lager brewer C& C Group, to run a pop up bar this month. The terrace bar is located in the family’s Contini Ristorante in George Street.
It is making us thirsty event thinking about it.
Gardens for hire
WE were intrigued by a press release which landed this week from Choolip, a new web platform which allows people to rent green spaces in their neighbourhoods to grow flowers and produce.
The idea is tackle allotment waiting lists and give the likes of flat dwellers the chance to indulge their green-fingered tendencies. On the flip said, homeowners who have gardens but have no inclination to grow things can make a bit of money by renting out their outdoor spaces.
Founder Aidan Flynn said: “There are so many people wanting a garden and so many unused gardens, I saw a need to connect the two. We want Choolip to help foster the explosion of homegrown produce and reduce food miles by creating a marketplace for unused outdoor spaces right across Britain."
Mr Flynn added: “Choolip is tied to the urban gardening revolution that is going on all around us and will only encourage more people to become fanatical about green spaces.”
Rabbit on the menu
BUNNY lovers, look away now.
Our farming correspondent Rog Wood’s thought-provoking piece highlighting the growing appetite for rabbit consumption around the world prompted reader Sandy Henderson to share the following vignette.
“I heard about a sign outside a game dealer’s shop with read Watership down – you’ve seen the film, you’ve read the book, NOW eat the cast!”
It’s enough to make you hop with laughter.
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