Costume drama

READER John B.Henderson reports the odd surreal moment in Glasgow’s West George Street early on Saturday afternoon when an Orange Order Parade happened to coincide with the Comic-Con event at the Royal Concert Hall. “A clash of cultures, as you will”, he says. “Believe me, the young girl who went the extra mile with her emerald make-up to play the fantasy female green character, Gamora, had to be wondering why she was getting all the pelters.

“Mind you, swings and roundabouts - because the guy who went as one of the army captains from Outlander, replete with period-piece black triangular-shaped hat with white frills around the brim, black curly wig, long red velvet tunic with lots of gold braiding and knee-length black boots, and carrying a sword, was hailed by the faithful like a king. All that was missing for him to head the procession was his white horse”.

Child’s play

THE departure of an esteemed Herald colleague reminds us of the time he took on Tony Blair’s one-time political secretary, John McTernan, on Twitter.

McTernan, responding to a barb from another user, posted a terse challenge - “Come down to Peckham and say that, pal”. Our colleague responded by posting a picture of his middle child trying out her karate moves with the message, “Come up to Kirkie and say that”.

PS Someone else reacted to McTernan’s challenge with the words: “Hi John, I will be in London a week today. 5’7”, 60yrs old, bad heart and unfit so you should fancy your chances”.

Blue Skye thinking

TRUE story. The Diary, half-listening to the 7pm BBC radio news on Saturday, raised an eyebrow when the newsreader said that Barry Norman, who has died at the age of 83, had moved to Skye when his BBC career came to an end. Thus did we spend the next five minutes on Google, trying to discover why the esteemed film critic had relocated to the island. Did he open a guest-house at Skeabost? Did he make a point of regularly climbing the Cuillins? It took us a humiliatingly long time to realise that what the newsreader had said was that Barry had moved to Sky. As in TV.

Must be an age thing. Speaking of which ...

You know you’re getting old

WHEN ... you’re watching the TV adverts and find yourself thinking, “These Viking River Cruises look pretty good” (Neil Graham)

... the person canvassing passers-by on the street ignores you (Alastair Cherry)

... you finish a newly-purchased book and as you’re putting in on the bookshelf, find the copy you read five years earlier (Paul O’Sullivan).

The mouse that roared

STUART Morrison was impressed with the “firm but courteous” security staff prior to the SSE Hydro gig by Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow but afterwards was slightly alarmed to see what appeared to be a commotion involving around eight security men. “The source of their panic”, Stuart adds, “was revealed as neither a suspect package not individual, but rather a field mouse. Clearly, it did not have a ticket, and it took four of them several minutes to corner the sneaky wee beastie. One of them captured it in a styrene cup and removed it to a place of safety, to an ovation from nearby punters. It just proved to me”, he concludes, “that, when threatened, we Scots can cope with anything”.