John Gibson: Lighting up time with Lorraine

Let there be lights and verily, according to Brian Crawford’s gospel, there were lights.

The managing director of The Dome in George Street conceded he did bend the rules a little in bringing Christmas to Edinburgh even earlier this year.

“We were midway through October when our decorations went up, outside and inside, with two festive 18 feet high trees. Resisting the temptation to light up – half a million on our Rose Street tree – isn’t easy. But we plunge back into the relative dark earlier, on January 6.’’

The entrepreneurial Crawford, a Duddingston resident when he is up here – he also runs London nightspot Tramp for owner Kevin Doyle – had close showbiz chum Lorraine Chase perform on Monday the ‘‘official’’ celebrity switch-on at The Dome.

Round his lunch table were Lorraine in a stunning scarlet suit and black hat, June Doyle, Janice Arnott, Margaret Cunningham and the George Street venue’s events manager Kate Bell.

Lorraine, key member at Emmerdale for four and a half years, is starring in panto at Weston-Super-Mare, by the way, if you’re planning a coach trip.

Ark at Sir David

David Attenborough (Sir David, if you please, he’ll remind you) was asked by his beloved, besotted BBC to choose ten endangered animals that he would like to save from extinction for Attenborough’s Ark. We had to hope he didn’t forget to include himself.

Did you hear that, Noah? David is inclined to whisper.