AN Ayrshire reader tells us that he noticed in his quiet cul-de-sac that the daughter of the elderly woman who lived opposite was visiting the house every evening when she normally only appeared once at the weekend. He went on: "Fearing for the health of the elderly lady, my wife phoned across, steeling herself for bad news. The elderly woman picks it up, and when my wife voices concern for her health, the old lady explains, 'My daughter's washing machine has broken down. She's round every night to use ours'."
BUSY time at train stations as the bank holiday weekend coincided with a special offer for ScotRail's Club 50 for older travellers of a return rail trip to anywhere in Scotland for £10. John Delaney from Lochwinnoch tells us: "Every train leaving Glasgow's Queen Street was packed with people over 50. It was like the masses heading to T In The Park, except with more booze, and nicer sandwiches. There was no trouble on board – despite lengthy queues for the toilet. It must be an age thing."
GREAT win in the Rugby World Cup for Scotland against the USA despite a poor first half performance. David Schneider summed it up: "Good work, Scotland. Remember the old saying, 'If in the first half you don't succeed, try, try and try again'."
OLDER folk and technology continued. Says Bruce Skivington: "My aunt, who never really grasped technology, had an interesting idea about toasters. Each time she was doing a single slice she would use each slot alternately to 'even the wear on the elements'."
TALKING of technology, Orkney Libraries, which of course has a number of computer terminals amongst the plethora of books, also has a pile of comment/suggestion cards which users can fill in. One they got back at the weekend read: "Please supply Valium to folk who have difficulty with technology. Aaarghh!!" One librarian commented: "Surely staff first, then if there's any left over, customers next."
AN inspired answer in a Glasgow pub at the weekend when a toper chatting to his pals announced: "The wean's pet mouse Elvis died." Immediately a pal asked: "Was he caught in a trap?"
WE mentioned Concorde occasionally being put on the London to Glasgow service for publicity purposes. David Stubley in Prestwick explains: "It was a truly fabulous plane and flying supersonic was a mind-blowing experience, but over land it had to fly subsonic and the ride was, to put it mildly, bumpy. If you knew this you really didn't want to see it was Concorde on the Glasgow to London flight.
"Someone who worked at Prestwick Airport, where Concorde did the majority of its pilot training, managed to persuade flight crew to let him sit in the plane during a training session. After several hours of take- offs and landings, coupled with low speed circling the airport, he seemed to lose his enthusiasm for Concorde."
YOU can tell teenager Flora Sheddens from Perthshire, still winning through in the Great British Bake-Off, has a Scottish mother. As Flora told the Radio Times today: “It’s a very surreal experience. I’ve had a few marriage proposals – some of which my mother thinks I should take up.”
AND still the Volkswagen gags race around. Says Richard Farquhar in Brodick: "Just had a guy in the phone asking if I have been mis-sold GTI."
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