Sweet

SADLY, with chains such as Tesco taking over the corner shop and the introduction of self-service tills, you don't get so many interactions like this, but as a traveller from Aberdeen commented: "I was in Motherwell, about to get the bus back to Aberdeen. Went into a shoppy and asked for a bottle of water and a Twirl. The man twirled. This is the level of customer service we are sadly lacking in Aberdeen."

On ice

A POSTSCRIPT to the Arsenal signing of Celtic defender Kieran Tierney which many Celtic fans were unhappy about. As one supporter of the green-and-white declared on social media: "Scared tae drink this weekend in case I have a full-blown breakdown in front of folk, and start greetin' about Kieran Tierney leaving. Think I'll stay in, go for a big bubble bath and eat my bodyweight in ice cream. That's wit the birds dae when they are getting over blokes, innit?"

See you, Jimmy

OUR stories of folk abroad unexpectedly knowing about Scotland reminded Harry Clarke of being on a cruise where the young woman serving behind the bar, from the Philippines, on learning he was Scottish replied in a convincingly authentic accent: "Gonnae no dae that?" When he asked how she learned this gem she explained that The Krankies had been the onboard entertainment earlier that season.

In the News

NEWS from America where an angry Donald Trump, disliking the negative coverage of his presidency, predicted that the New York Times would be out of business within six years. Comments Alistair Coleman: "I didn't realise he was planning to buy it."

Pounding it

AS folk return to a wet Scotland from their holidays, Scotty comments on the latest electronic fad: "Thank you for bringing your Bluetooth speaker to the beach. I didn't want to hear the sound of the waves and birds and wind – I wanted to hear the Spotify playlist you listen to everywhere else in your life because you hate to be alone with your thoughts for even one minute. Thank you."

And author Rodney Lacroix revealed a post-holiday scenario that some folk might recognise: "Wife, 'Ugh, I gained three pounds during vacation. What about you?' Me, looking at scales showing I actually lost a pound, 'I gained four'."

Getting stick

GROWING old continued: Ian Forrest in Laurencekirk gives us the slightly melancholic example: "When someone gifts you a deid man's walking stick. Sigh. And you need it. And you're grateful. Sigh."

Needled

A READER in London declares: "When I moved down south from Glasgow I told everyone that my nickname at school was 'Scarface'. I never explained it was because I was brilliant at knitting."

Sweeping statement

WE dip into the latest Brexit shenanigans with a reader in Ayrshire telling us: "A member of my golf club told us all in the bar, 'Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn should be caretaker Prime Minister. Because he looks like a caretaker'."

Read more: 1945-1953: Churchill visits Ayr and Glasgow