Talk of the Town: Hitchhikers’ guide to contest success

CONGRATULATIONS to Edinburgh University students Andrew Peel and Simon Hall, recently featured on these pages telling how they were taking part in a charity hitchhike to Amsterdam.

Not only did the boys make it to their destination – without spending any money – they also did it before any of the other teams. All it took was 30 hours spent in 13 different cars and a steep learning curve regarding thumbing lifts on a dual carriageway. Well done boys.

You lookin’ for a picture with SuBo, Mr De Niro?

SHE’S the West Lothian singing sensation who’s taken the world by storm, but it seems Susan Boyle can still be a little star-struck.

SuBo is currently in New York ahead of the launch of her new album, and was thrilled to bump into acting legend Robert De Niro.

She was appearing on the Today Show alongside the Raging Bull star – and Oscar-winner De Niro happily posed for a picture with the 51-year-old from Blackburn, West Lothian, backstage.

Susan also told fans how she had spent time shopping on Fifth Avenue and visiting Central Park while in the Big Apple.

What Talk of the Town really wants to know is was it De Niro who asked for a picture with our very own star?

Forest lumps get a ride

FORGET Santa, it seems getting hold of some of the Capital’s Christmas trees is more like a job for Special Branch.

Forestry chiefs are going to tree-mendous lengths to get Britain ready for Christmas, after drafting in a helicopter to airlift Christmas conifers from a dense forest.

More than 100 trees were removed by chopper from Kielder Forest in Northumberland, as the location is too remote to be accessed by tractor or crane.

The Sikta Spruce trees will be sent out to city and town centres across the UK, including London and Edinburgh.

The big question, of course, is will they also use the helicopter to put the angel on top?

Mind your 3s and queues

IT is a quintessentially British pastime, but it appears our love of standing politely in queues is on the wane.

A study by mobile operator 3 has found that Edinburgh residents cannot tolerate much more than four-and-a-half minutes standing in a queue. But how do they avoid them?

According to 3, they turn instead to their smartphones and internet shopping. Perhaps soon waiting politely for a mobile signal will be the new British custom?