READERS never realised how educational the BBC was until the BBC Scotland news website told of accidents on an icy Lanarkshire motorway before adding: "It is believed that ice formed when temperatures fell below freezing."
"Who said investigative journalism was dead," says reader Ronnie McLean.
What the Doctor ordered
THE 50th anniversary of Doctor Who reminds BBC drama publicist Julie Whiteside of meeting Tom Baker, regarded by some as the greatest Doctor Who, when he appeared in Monarch of the Glen which was filmed in Scotland. Tom was dressed in Highland regalia for a Radio Times cover picture, and was gallantly ignoring the many midgies at the lochside. "Hope you'll be ok," Julie tells him.
"Oh yes dear, don't worry about me," he said in his full magisterial voice. "Do they bite you?" he added.
When Julie replied no, Tom, ever
the gentleman, declared: "I find that hard to believe my dear - you're entirely edible!"
On the ball
TALKING of anniversaries, the media was asking everyone where they were when President Kennedy was assassinated 50 years ago, with the assumption everyone knew what an earth-shattering event it was. However one accountant in Glasgow tells us: "I was at the Lifeboys that Friday evening, and I thought the officer's announcement 'Bad news' meant the next day's fitba was cancelled."
On to a promise
OUR mention of cardiac rehabilitation classes reminds Tom Law of attending one where an ageing chap was being told by the nurse how many weeks it would be before he could drive a car, and how many weeks it would be before he could have sex.
"That's some operation," he told her. "I've never had a driving licence - and as for sex … well the last time was about 15 years ago."
The wrong track
JIM McGugan in Letham, Angus, tells us his niece was travelling north by train from London when she got into conversation with a young Indian gentleman sitting opposite her. As they chatted away, he asked why she was travelling and she explained: "I'm going to my sister's hen do."
This rather startled him as he asked her: "What? Your sister's a Hindu?"
What a picture
THE RGI's splendid art exhibition is on show for free at Glasgow's McLellan Galleries, which has been specially opened for the occasion. A chap came in the other day to the gallery's reception desk and said he had come back to have his embossed glass roundels evaluated. This naturally confused staff as he told them an auctioneer had told him to look in.
As the exhibition does not employ an auctioneer they asked when this was. "Oh it must have been about 35 years ago," he replied. "I was just passing and saw you were open."
Working it out
A READER phones to tell us: "The Home Secretary Theresa May, after the case of the women held for years in the house in London, has said modern day slavery is all around us.
"She just forgot to call it by its modern name - zero-hours contracts."
On the case
STEVEN Elder was flying from Portugal to Glasgow the other day when two engineers in front of him in the queue were discussing the "Bill of Materials" for a project - the individual items that were required. One of them then asked his colleague "Where's the BOM? Is it in your case?" and was immediately taken aside by security for an explanation
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