Fantasy budget

SUNLIFE, the company best known for over-50s funeral plans promoted endlessly by Michael Parkinson, is setting its sights higher.

Its 'Big British Budget' invites us to go online and become a fantasy chancellor, splitting the government's budget between the 10 major categories of public spending exactly as we see fit.

After the election, the main parties will be briefed on "the most up-to-date insight on how the people of Britain believe the UK budget should be spent".

What's more, there's no catch - not even 'a free Parker pen' just for running the country.

Hot air

DUTCH rail giant Abellio made its presence gently felt to commuters when it took over the ScotRail franchise from FirstGroup yesterday.

Travellers at Central Station in Glasgow were greeted by the sight of a miniature, Abellio branded hot air balloon, among other promotional activity.

We hope the new operator will stick to the traditional replacement bus model - and not hot air balloons - should the trains fail under its watch.

Long life

WE were amused to hear Robert Graham (pictured) understate the longevity of the family dairy firm he heads .

Speaking to The Bottom Line about plans by Graham's The Family Dairy for a £20 million site in Stirling, Mr Graham said it had been important to find a site in the local area because the family had farmed in Stirlingshire for "quite a few years".

Turns out that what he meant by quite a few years was actually five generations.

Pub challenge

RUNNING a beer company is not as straight forward as it used to be, as Hugo Mills, boss of Molson Coors in Scotland highlighted this week.

When Mr Mills joined the brewer from Italian spirits giant Gruppo Campari a year ago, he discovered pub chains competing aggressively for coffee and breakfast trade, and coffee chains bidding to sell alcohol.

"It's all been turned on his head," observed Mr Mills, who has been impressed by the high standards many outlets exhibit since returning to work full-time in Scotland. Stay tuned to these pages for more.

Art for 'park

THE worlds of business and art will collide in Glasgow later this month when Skypark plays host to an exhibition by local artist Lesley Banks.

Ms Banks, whose atmospheric painting is inspired by Venice and Glasgow, will exhibit her work in the newly-refurbished gallery space at the vast business complex.

Angela Higgins, asset manager of Skypark added: "We are thrilled to have Lesley Banks' work in our refurbished gallery space.

"As a supporter of the Glasgow arts scene, we offer artists the chance to pitch their work to the public beyond traditional art galleries and gain some marketing support. We urge other artists to get in touch with their ideas."

The exhibition of Ms Banks' work, which can be found in galleries in the US and Scotland, include the nearby Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, runs from April 20 to June 6.