THE mothballed Byre Theatre in St Andrews has been saved by the university, which will take it over.

We remember when actor Patrick Malahide was taken on as an inexperienced stage manager at The Byre many years ago and dabbled in acting at the same time. He later explained that, whatever role he was given, there had to be a pressing reason written into the play as to why his character had to leave the stage just before the end, so that he could bring down the curtain.

Drive time

OUR story about the pupil driving to school reminds Matt Vallance in Ayrshire: "At Cumnock Academy in the 1960s one of the sixth year boys, from New Cumnock, missed the school bus one morning. So he drove down in his dad's (the local pit manager's) Ford Zodiac, and parked it alongside the teachers' cars at the top of the playground.

"The rector had to get him to move it as the teachers were complaining about their Ford Anglias and Austin A40s being dwarfed by a pupil's big, top-of-the-range Zodiac."

A dog's life

READER Willie Jamieson visited the Grapevine Restaurant in Bothwell where the starters, according to the menu, included "Crispy dug leg". He told the waitress that he might be tempted if it was Pekinese.

Straight talking

WE mentioned the sad death of former Labour minister Sam Galbraith. Karen Penman recalls when Sam, who was a leading neurosurgeon before going into politics, described himself to Terry Wogan in an interview as someone who cracked skulls for a living.

Flea in his ear

AND writer Meg Henderson, in her previous job as a nurse, was working in the Royal Infirmary where one houseman, who didn't like treating down-and-outs, would automatically send them for an ECG if they complained of chest pains without actually examining them - apparently worried about getting too near to fleas.

Says Meg: "Sam was the senior house officer and I told him what his houseman was up to. Last I saw he had him by the scruff of the neck and was marching him into the cubicle saying, 'Examine your patient doctor, before asking for any relevant tests'. Happy days as they say."

On the road

THE latest sports news is that 16-year-old Max Verstappen will become the youngest ever Formula 1 racing car driver.

"His parents won't be so pleased once they find out what the insurance is," a reader phones to tell us.

Lack of power

BOXER Audley Harrison, whose career ended unconvincingly, is taking part in the television show Celebrity Big Brother.

As bookmakers Paddy Power commented: "So Audley's going on Celebrity Big Brother. He does have experience doing nothing for large periods of time before losing, to be fair."

Happy times

A READER, who was able to get through to us straightaway, tells us: "I was hanging on waiting for Virgin to answer their phone for ages while the company played the song Happy - oh, the irony."

Chicken tonight

WE don't dabble in the Bible that often, but a reader phones to tell us: "Just think of how different the world would be if Noah had eaten those two chickens."