There has been an emphasis on very old things in recent days, with the Skye ferry crossing, whisky from the 1800s and Joe Biden all making the headlines.
The 89-year-old crossing was awarded The Red Wheel plaque by the National Transport Trust in recognition of its place in transport heritage.
Fewer than 30 plaques have been awarded in Scotland, with the Glenfinnan Viaduct and the Churchill Barriers in Orkney among the other recipients.
All three date back more than half a century, and while transport project HS2 may never be a contender, it feels like we’ve been hearing about it for almost as long.
Joe Biden’s pet pooch Commander is back in the dog house after nipping another Secret Service agent.
Unfortunately the German Shepherd didn’t make it as far as the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC where Suella Braverman was attempting to redefine the word ‘persecution’.
Why she thought the US capital was the right place for a British home secretary to discuss Europe’s immigration issues is depressingly transparent and straight out of the Boris Johnson playbook.
Refugee Convention ‘has saved millions of lives’
As she eyed the Tory conference and the leadership, she must have calculated that dissing the 1951 UN Refugee Convention on the world stage would make her look like a global player, when in fact it made her look like a heartless numpty.
The UN Refugee Agency highlighted the UK’s 175,000-person asylum backlog and rejected an overhaul of the convention, saying it is “as relevant as ever” and has saved “millions of lives”.
Back at the White House, everyone was too busy bringing the president’s pets under control to take any notice of Suella, and dogs were also stealing the limelight closer to home.
Sprocker spaniel puppies Russell and Dee have joined the police in Aberdeen and will soon start training as sniffer dogs to detect drugs and explosives.
Such tasks are a piece of cake for sprockers – a cross between a springer and a cocker – as they are notoriously clever.
My own sprocker regards any attempt to train her as an insult to her intelligence and I sense resents me for holding her back from a glittering career in law enforcement.
Perhaps in time Russell and Dee will turn their paws to more complex matters, such as solving crimes and working out how to drive around Aberdeen while avoiding bus gates once the Beach Boulevard closes early next year as part of the city Masterplan.
Police called in to manage whisky queue
If only there had been a sprocker sniffer dog at Blair Castle, then 40 bottles of nearly 200-year-old whisky found behind a hidden cellar door might have been discovered earlier.
Carbon dating suggests the whisky might be the oldest in existence, dating back to the early 1800s and may even have been enjoyed by Queen Victoria.
In November, 24 of the bottles will go up for auction while at the Isle of Harris Distillery this week, a new dram sold out within five hours.
Customers queued round the block for a bottle of The Hearach, with police having to manage the crowds.
Chips off the menu?
Tourists queued for the chance of a dram at St Machar Bar in Old Aberdeen, which enjoyed it busiest summer thanks to cruise ship visitors.
As my alma mater, the St Machar Bar is close to my heart but it was crammed enough back then with Aberdeen University students and lecturers, let alone tourists.
Sometimes it was so busy I even considered going to class if only to get a seat.
At least tourists will be able to tuck into tasty treats, especially if the university gets the go-ahead for a food truck, unlike offshore workers who can only have chips once a week.
Figures show North Sea workers are getting bigger, with their average weight jumping from under 12 stones in 1975 to more than 15-and-a-half-stones in 2023.
The industry is now revising equipment, lifeboat capacity and menus.
Back on dry land, M&S has been given permission to serve Prosecco along with its sumptuous afternoon teas and may soon serve mulled wine with mince pies.
Let’s not mention this to anyone going offshore soon though.
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