WE mentioned the reincarnation of Kestrel lager which will now, curiously enough, be brewed at the Tennent's brewery in Glasgow.

As Jim McDonald in Carluke recalls: "When Kestrel was originally sold by Scottish & Newcastle in the early 1980s it was launched as a competitor to Tennent's lager.

"I was working at Tennent's at the time. There was a rumour that so much unsold Kestrel was being returned to S&N it was nicknamed Homing Pigeon."

Oh so dour

OH dear. A survey by the Transform Cosmetic Group has dubbed Glasgow as the most miserable city in the UK. It reminds us of a website where someone asked the question: "What makes Scots so miserable?"

An obvious answer given was: "The weather" but perhaps more inspired was the suggestion: "Their neighbours."

Bin it

OUR tales of picking up dog poo after pets has provoked much discussion. Reader John Crawford gets off his chest: "When I worked for East Ayrshire Council we provided dog waste bins. If a bin was vandalised, we removed it. Despite this, people still left their little bags of dog poo where the bin used to be. Did they assume the council staff would still come round to empty a non-existent bin?"

A losing attitude

NAMES of lawyers continued. Craig Cathcart in Edinburgh says: "Years ago I was a student leader at the University of Glasgow, and our campaigning organisation was regularly challenged over the legality of our actions, such as hiring buses to go to an anti-apartheid demo in London which had little to do with higher education in Scotland.

"We sought legal advice from a local west end firm, but my hopes for the cause were not raised when we arrived at the Byres Road door of our solicitors, Lowe & Beaton. Mandela got out in the end, incidentally."

Interview technique

JOURNALIST Lorn Macintyre, who is speaking on Tuesday at the Scottish Writers' Centre in Glasgow, was reminiscing with us about his brother Kenny who was BBC Scotland's political correspondent before his untimely death. Lorn reminded us of when Kenny was refused an interview by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on a visit to Inverness.

Says Lorn: "Kenny hid in a broom cupboard and emerged, microphone in hand, as the Prime Minister progressed in stately fashion along the corridor. Instead of hand-bagging him, she greeted him, 'Ah, Kenny,' and gave him an interview."

Sell your soul

THE Edinburgh Fringe programme has just been released. We like the bragging of American comedian Lewis Schaffer, appearing at The Hive with a new show, who says: "My last four Fringe shows were 100% sell outs – if sell out means I've sold out as an artist."

Gilt-edged

DAFT gag for the weekend? A reader phones: "Did you hear about the guy who told his doctor he always feels as if his skin is covered in gold paint?

"'That's your gilt complex,' the doctor said."