Alive and kicking

Alive and kicking

THE Bottom Line admires the dark humour employed by funeral plan company Golden Charter in its promotional activities.

The Bearsden-based company was nominated in the creative marketing category of the recent Glasgow Business Awards for its humorously titled "Thinking inside the box" campaign.

It's good to see a business that does not take itself too seriously.

Thinking caps on

EVER wondered what happened to Gordon Burns, host of the legendary 1980s game show The Krypton Factor?

The Bottom Line has learned the veteran broadcaster will be venturing north of the Border to launch Quiz the Nation tonight.

Burns will appear at Edinburgh pub Beer & Skittles to lunch the quiz - billed as a cross of The Krypton Factor meets Who Wants to be a Millionaire? It will allow individuals and teams to play against each other locally and across the country every week through a free-to-air TV channel.

All quiz goers have to do is download the app, log in and watch the action on the pub TV.

Bargain-hunting

SIR Angus Grossart may have been on the board at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) when it built the Palace of Gogarburn, but he looks more at home showing off the humble headquarters of the Scottish Futures Trust.

That organisation is all about squeezing more out of scarce public funds and chairman Sir Angus loves to tell visitors how the furniture in its Thistle Street HQ in Edinburgh is all second-hand. "The reception desk cost £101.90," he said.

"That was £100 for the desk and £1.90 for the felt-tip pen to colour in the chip on the side."

Get the drinks in

BBC Radio Scotland's Mark Stephen has an alternative take on the familiar housekeeping announcements trotted out before every business conference session.

Chairing a high-powered forum at Scotsoft, the digital industry's annual bash, he told a busy auditorium at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre that anyone whose mobile phone went off would have to either "buy a round of drinks or do a dance", while his advice on hearing the fire alarm go off was to "just run".