Talk of the Town: Bring it on down

First, his camp barred Evening News music critic Gary Flockhart from attending after he gave his solo album a poor review. Then, during the gig at the Usher Hall, hundreds of pounds worth of artwork went missing from the venue.

Now it has emerged that there were even claims of racism, aimed at a rowdy Glaswegian in the audience. An Evening News source who attended the gig said one Edinburgh music-lover took exception to his west coast counterpart’s loud talking through the quieter numbers.

He said: “Excuse me, my ticket says Usher Hall, £32, Noel Gallagher, not Usher Hall, £32, some drunken weegie talking about his week at work.”

Happy Hallowe’t

YOU would think being underwater would more or less rule out the prospect of celebrating Hallowe’en.

Not so for the creatures at Deep Sea World on the banks of the Forth. Not only did the aquatic attractions get adorned with some spooky toys, the scuba divers even joined in the fun by adapting their underwater suits.

And despite a pumpkin shortage this year, Craigie Farm in South Queensferry was able to donate some pumpkins to the attraction.

However, dooking for apples in the shark tank was not one of the more popular games on offer.

Go Edie on your rival

EDINBURGH’S health leader Councillor Paul Edie has always feared bumping into housing minister Keith Brown.

The last time they met was in 2001, when Cllr Edie was a parliamentary candidate for the Ochil seat. While he didn’t win, his performance was good enough to steal votes from the SNP, meaning Brown narrowly missed out on election. So when the two met at a housing project in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Cllr Edie was understandably concerned.

He said: “As an ex-marine Keith is probably the only SNP minister trained to kill with his bare hands.”

What’s Swedish for owl?

ANYONE who has been to IKEA of late will have noticed birds of prey at the door of the store.

It is part of an educational initiative, with youngsters able to handle the birds with trained supervisors on standby.

However, the presence of another owl on the roof of nearby Costco has stirred some interest.

One woman said: “We weren’t sure if it was part of the display at Ikea, but it’s been there a while, we thought it may have escaped.”

It has turned plenty of heads, though none the 270 degrees he’s capable of.