Tanked out
GARY: Tank Commander star Greg McHugh has received plaudits for his comedy turn in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the SSE Hydro. But it seems that appearing every evening in panto is a puff and a pant too much for the poor performer. Late at night, and weary from another sold-out show, Greg reports with a yawn: “I wouldn’t say I’m overly emotional and tired, but I just said: ‘The TV is too loud!’ and I’m staying in a flat on my own. I really have to go to bed…”
Fishy story
AS the UK braces itself to leave the European Union and reassert its destiny as an island cut off from a continent, Scotland finds itself becoming increasingly cosmopolitan and continental in nature. As proof, we provide a snippet of everyday life in that most Neapolitan of new towns... East Kilbride. Reader Bill Thomson was strolling through a supermarket in that neck of the woods when he overheard a harassed gran, struggling to supervise three grumbling little boys, snap at them in a no-nonsense manner: "No, I'm not buying you calamari today."
Carpeted
ANOTHER fond recollection of novelist, poet and painter Alasdair Gray, who sadly died a few days ago. Back in the bitterly cold January of 2002, when black ice was everywhere, the writer Bernard MacLaverty bumped into Alasdair and his wife Morag walking into the pub. Alasdair was carrying a sizeable rolled hearth-rug beneath his arm. “It’s to help Morag over the more difficult bits,” he told Bernard.
Teen talk
KIDS. They say the most adorable things. Actually, on second thoughts, they’re just cheeky wee scamps who should simmer down and let the smarty-pants adults do all the yakking. At least that’s what a buddy of BBC Scotland reporter David Cowan is probably thinking right now. “At breakfast today, my pal asked her 14-year-old daughter: ‘What are your highlights of the decade?’” explains David, who adds: “She replied: ‘That makes me cringe, and if you continue, I’m going to leave.’”
Honourable fella
OUR challenge to come up with new acronyms for SAGA, the travel company for pensionable passport holders, continues. Once again we come across a reader who says the letters should have nothing to do with the holiday industry. Russell Smith tells us that having been overlooked in the New Year Honours List (again!) he has decided to award himself the post-nominal title SAGA, which stands for Sensitive – Amiable – Generous – Angelic.
Man oh man
WE conclude with a joke from reader Sue Taylor. She hopes it will be enjoyed by the Diary’s feminist readers. (And perhaps a few unreconstructed gents of the old school variety will partake of a hearty guffaw, too.) “Where does a mansplainer get his water?” asks Sue. The answer, she says, is of course: “From a well, actually.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel