HAPPY anniversary, Nicola. A year to the day in the top job.

The thought seemed uppermost in the minds of Kezia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson, who turned up at the First Minister's Questions party laden generously with gifts.

First the Scottish Labour leader.

"It's one year since the First Minister took office," she began, to loud and predictable cheers from the SNP benches.

"She has been a senior minister for eight years," she continued, to even louder applause.

The hooting only stopped when Ms Dugdale asked a question about cancer.

As for Ms Davidson, the Scots Tory leader, she was left with a face as red as her jacket. (The Tories are picking up votes from Labour, a poll this week suggested, so why not steal their clothes?)

Her problem was this. At the start of the day, a Tory press officer mistakenly distributed the party's "lines to take," its internal advice to MSPs on what they should say on the main issues of the day in the unlikely event of Brian Taylor shoving a microphone under their nose. And guess what? Ms Sturgeon had received the email.

"It says nothing about David Cameron's new private jet," teased the First Minister, in reference to the PM's new £10million toy, CamForce One. "But I'll take it as wee anniversary present."

Ms Davidson was decidedly snippy after that. You probably wouldn't have wanted to be her hapless press officer for the rest of the afternoon.

Apart from those thoughtful anniversary presents, the session fell into a now familiar pattern.

Ms Sturgeon's opponents homed in on her record in government and tried to make a case she hasn't really achieved a great deal. In a slight variation, they sought to exploit Ms Sturgeon's earlier, anniversary-related admission that she was "just getting started".

But as usual, Ms Sturgeon was happy to talk about her record. Or, to be more precise, about opinion polls which suggest the public is pretty happy with her.

She also invoked the SNP's strict 'no criticism' rule. "This is far too serious for party political arguments," she declared, dismissing the very notion the Scottish Government might have any influence over cancer treatment in deprived areas.

So, happy anniversary, Nicola. There are now only four more First Minister's Questions till Christmas. More gifts are sure to be forthcoming.