A bit flushed

THE Herald reported that Prince Charles is to meet Outlander's Scottish star Sam Heughan on a visit to the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow this week. We remember when the indoor shots of Outlander were first filmed in a converted factory in Cumbernauld and Sam claimed that the American production company had given all the American crew a list of Scottish phrases to use if out on the streets of Cumbernauld. He said they included "Whaur's the cludgie?" for those seeking toilet facilities, "Sen' furra polis" if wanting to contact the local constabulary, and "lae me alane" for those wanting some peace and quiet. Is it just us, or does it sound as though Stanley Baxter had a hand in compiling the list?

Child's play

A READER phones to confess to us: "I found myself shouting at my grandson, 'Stop arguing with your sister, she’s only four!' and then I realised I was arguing with a seven-year-old.”

A bit backwards

STROLLING down Byres Road last night we see that former head of radio at BBC Scotland Jeff Zycinski was in the Waterstone's branch flogging his light-hearted book about his radio years, The Red Light Zone. Jeff likes to tell the story of his scoop when he worked as a young news reporter at Moray Firth Radio. As Jeff told us: “One Monday morning a station volunteer arrived on crutches. She explained that she had been walking on Ben Hope but had torn a ligament. She said she was too embarrassed to have a helicopter rescue her, and realising there was less pain if she walked backwards that was how she made her way back down.

"My story of the 'Highland lass who walked backwards down a mountain because she was too shy to call for help' made national headlines. Proof that a good journalist should always ask colleagues what they got up to at the weekend."

Sack race

POLITICAL observers are still digesting what the sacking of Defence Minister Gavin Williamson means to the Tory Government. We liked the observation of Professor James Chalmers at Glasgow Yoonie, who says: "Very much hope this is the beginning of Theresa May realising that if she can’t achieve anything she might at least sack people, preferably with relish."

Hard to take

TALKING of politics, be thankful for small mercies that we in Scotland were spared having local council elections yesterday which were taking place in England. A reader down south phones to tell us: "Folk are so fed up with politicians just now that none of the local candidates could get us excited. There was a phrase coined for this feeling – electile dysfunction."

Flight booking

WE mentioned the problem of inadvertently buying a book you already own, and Stephen Murray tells us: "Bought a book in an airport shop in Newark Airport. It was truly dreadful. After one chapter I gave up and left the book in the seat pocket on the aircraft. A few months later I bought the same book in the same shop before my flight home to Glasgow. After the second page I realised I'd read it before and yes, it was still truly dreadful. It's one thing to make a poor choice when buying a book but to make the same choice twice? That takes skill."

Born to be mild

GROWING old, continued. Says reader Alan Campbell, a Glasgow exile living in Edinburgh: “I could not help noticing that the large retail unit opposite Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings, recently vacated by motorcycle firm Harley Davidson, is now home to a chain of funeral directors. Aye, we are all getting older.”

Read more: 1988: Now there’s something you don’t see every day ...