SURELY the stereotypes of Glasgow and Edinburgh are a thing of the past?

Em, not quite. A professional chap in Glasgow tells us he has just moved to Edinburgh where he introduced himself to his new neighbour, a surgeon in an Edinburgh hospital. When she asked where he had moved from and he replied Glasgow, she told him: "Oh, you must be so relieved."

WE mentioned the late great Glasgow writer Cliff Hanley, and Moyna Gardner recalls: "Cliff had a smooth exit line at parties. He would say, 'Now I must circulate. But don't relax - I might be back."

WHEN you look at all the expensive gym equipment these days, does anyone remember the humble chest expanders? Scott Hoad recalls: "I remember when I was about 11-years-old and used my dad's chest expander. As the springs contracted, one of them caught my neck leaving four blood blisters. The next day at school I told everyone that someone tried to stab me with a fork, but managed to subdue them because I'd been 'working out'."

Happy days.

BIG sports news yesterday was that Open golf favourite Rory McIlroy has damaged his ankle playing football with pals, leading to the odds on other players such as Jordan Spieth now narrowing for the Open. As bookies Paddy Power put it: "Imagine being the lad who tackled and injured Rory McIlroy. 'Oops, sorry about that mate. You okay? You can run it off, right?'"

NO, like everyone else we haven't a clue how the Greek financial crisis is going to end. One reader puts forward the solution: "Greece should reinvent itself as a banking corporation. Then it can easily secure a €370bn bailout with no strings attached."

STRESSFUL time selling a house. As John Mulholland tells us: "The internet has created a new world. Not only can I see the number of 'hits' my property has had, but I can see the feedback that people have left. Much is fairly standard, 'decor was not to our taste,' 'garden not big enough' which is fine. But for someone to view the house whose schedule states 'four bedrooms upstairs' and then leave feedback saying, 'excellent property but we really want a bungalow,' beggars belief."

Any other tales of house-selling?

GLASGOW indie rock group A Band Called Quinn has just returned after gigging at the Cultura Inglesa Festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Singer Louise Quinn tells us she popped into a chemist's in a shopping mall to get treatment for mosquito bites. There was a sudden power failure and the staff held torches as Louise, with no Portuguese, mimed mosquito bites in the growing darkness. Amazingly the staff caught on.

Added Louise: "With the power off people were wandering around the shops as if they were in a zombie film which was pretty appropriate as we were all like zombies the morning after our final performance and a night of samba and caipirinhas cocktails."

Yes, makes Glasgow seem a bit dull in comparison.

HOW things change. It seems that as mobile phones display the number of the caller, many young folk are hesitant to answer if they don't recognise the number, unlike us old folk who blithely answered a phone at home whenever it rang. A reader in Glasgow heard a young woman tell her pal who was looking at her ringing mobile: "Answering your phone when you don't know the number is like picking up a hitchhiker. It really could end badly."

FORMER primary school teacher Zofia Niemtus has been collecting the more bizarre letters from parents to teacher colleagues.

Amongst her favourites:

"All of his primary teachers, all the teachers from his previous school and now all the teachers at your school are complaining about his behaviour. You're all picking on him."

"Please don't correct her spelling, it knocks her confidence."

"Why can't he wear running spikes for the egg and spoon race?"