I have bought my first ...

... walking stick, not because I am old, but because of an injury gained setting standards for young people.  My knee will mend in time, but will my pride recover from the indignity of the "old man's walk" ....

... maybe I should cast caution to the wind and purchase a "Tippling Cane" or "Tippler," with hollowed-out compartments near the top where flasks or vials of alcohol could be hidden and sprung out on demand, I might deaden the pain of embarrassment in a haze of a good malt.


Back in Edinburgh " ... rising costs were "a small glitch"... ", that little gem by Council leader Jenny Dawe makes my bad knee seem as insignificant as a case of dandruff.

It comes after figures showed it would cost £750m to cancel the project or £770m to run the line from Edinburgh Airport to St Andrew Square, against an original budget of £545m.

A small glitch might be £545 rising to £750 when the plumber discovers lead pipe where it shouldn't be, manageable.  If a house priced at £545,000 rose to £750,000 it would be madness to pursue it, but in no stretch of the imagination can an increase from £545,000,000 to £750,000,000 be described as a small glitch ..... unless of course you are spending the taxpayers money.

The local politicians responsible for this scandalous overspend should be sent to Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth, for ever and a day .........