What's the odds?

THE death of ebullient former TV racing tipster John McCririck reminds us of when he was hired to make a cameo appearance in the Scottish comedy series Still Game. John arrived for filming at a race day at Lingfield Park, looked around, and declared there were not enough punters there to make it look busy and suggested they go for lunch first. After a very long and very enjoyable lunch - courtesy of the BBC of course - John finally agreed there was enough of a crowd, and went out to be filmed.

Bet on it

AND reader Gerry MacKenzie tells us: "A good few years back John turned up in Milngavie town centre to do the opening honours for a new branch of one of the big, national bookmaker's chains. He regaled the assembled punters with amusing stories, cut the tape and then advised them to stash every penny they had in their possession on a nag he named, due to race in 20 minutes time. He assured them it was a ‘dead cert’. The punters did so. The nag coasted it. The new manager was sick as the proverbial parrot."

Best served cold

ENJOYING the Wimbledon coverage? As our old colleague Ruth Wishart commented: "One of the penalties of watching Wimbledon in Scotland is seeing folk in sundresses whilst idly wondering whether you can justify putting the heating on for an hour or two."

Spaced out

EXPECT much coverage of the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing. David Watson in Cumbernauld says: "As an electrical engineering undergraduate I was fortunate to be at the BBC technical training establishment in Evesham which was taking a continuous feed from the spacecraft to every TV in the college. Huge effort was made by staff to help get the history-making pictures to us and to explain the data such as the best estimates of where they were in space.

"Shame therefore that when Armstrong touched down in the middle of the night with less that 20 seconds of fuel remaining and stepped onto the Moon several missed it as they were lying face down drunk in the lecture theatre.”

Any other moon landing tales?

Stewing

MENUS are becoming more complicated these days because of food allergies. Says Maggie Craig: “Sat down to dinner at a very nice hotel in Falkirk. Spotted on the menu, ‘Traditional Steak Pie (gluten-free with no pastry.)’ Me: ‘No pastry? It’s not a pie then, is it?’ Waitress, ‘No, I suppose not’.”

Invitation only

GROWING old, continued. Says a Newton Mearns reader: "Please don't ask me what I'm doing this weekend without first making it clear whether or not you're going to invite me to something that I'm going to have to make up a lie to get out of."

Sprouting

OUR tales of workplace lunches remind Robin Mather in Musselburgh: "Years ago I was working in a large office in Glasgow and took lunch in the canteen where there was much banter with the waitress. On one occasion I had eaten the main course and was about to start on my ice cream when the waitress delivered a main course to my neighbour with brussels sprouts which I had not been given. I accused her of favouritism. She reappeared a few seconds later and plonked a bowl of brussels sprouts in front of me. I would just like to advise readers that sprouts and ice cream is not the culinary delight it's cracked up to be."

What a tube

OUR favourite social media comment at the weekend was the chap who declared: "Just saw some idiot at the gym put a water bottle in the Pringles holder on the treadmill."