GLASGOW Odeon continued.

Former police officer Gerry Conlan was on duty when Tom Jones was performing there, and was backstage as he had to safeguard Tom through the crowd of fans. On stage before Tom was Eurovision singer Kathy Kirby, once the highest-paid female singer in Britain, who cut her Odeon appearance short as all the girls in the front rows were chanting throughout her set "We want Tom."

As the lovely Kathy came off stage she only muttered one word as she fled to her dressing room. "B*******."

Curtains for Ella

AND Jean Hutchison in Barrhead remembers the night the fabulous American jazzl singer Ella Fitzgerald appeared at the Odeon, and continued singing for longer than expected.

Whether it was a council by-law, or whether the staff were not paid overtime, the stage's curtain came down at 11 pm sharp – even though a surprised Ella was still standing below it singing.

Rolling gag

WE mentioned panto dame Dean Park appearing at the Glasgow Pavilion's The Wizard of Never Woz this year. We recall Dean in an earlier Pavilion Panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, when he was inside a fake cottage which was essentially a box on wheels. The brakes failed, and it started moving downstage towards the orchestra pit. The musicians hurriedly grabbed their instruments and fled, while stage hands frantically grabbed at the back of the box, stopping it tumbling into the pit with a perturbed Dean inside.

Afterwards legendary performer Jack Milroy told Dean in the bar: "You'll need to keep that bit in the show, son. It was brilliant."

Up to date?

THANKS to the many readers who noted that the Pope now has a Twitter account, and who wonder if he has also set up a PaPal account if he wants to buy anything online.

Time to ponder

A BUSINESSMAN reading the public notices this week notes that Glasgow business More Metime has gone into liquidation, which he thinks will definitely apply to the owners now.

Labouring a point?

OUR friendly street-corner seller of the Socialist Worker finally gives us his left-wing views on the forthcoming royal baby.

"I thought it was Government policy," he tells us, "to discourage folk who don't have jobs from having kids."

Time of the sign

WHICH reminds us of the story in the new compilation of Diary stories just published, The Herald Diary Beyond Compare, of the mother of two boys who was again pregnant. "If it's a girl," said her husband, "we're calling her Isabella. If it's a boy we're calling it quits."

Ken Smith will be signing copies of the book at Waterstones, Newton Mearns, on Saturday at 1pm and at the same time on the Sunday at the Argyle Street, Glasgow, branch.