Caption Sensible.

Mr Smith noticed a recent caption contest in the Edinburgh Evening News.

Mr Smith's suggestion: "Nicola to Shona: I'm looking forward to that currant bun."

What is it about health ministers these days? They always seem to running around.

Ever Greenwood.

So, it would appear that Alex Salmond MSP wasn't the only political figure to be knocking about North Ayrshire last week opening new schools. His colleague Nicola Sturgeon MSP also got in on the act by reopening her own former school, Greenwood Academy.

"A NEW £25million school has been officially opened by a famous former pupil. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon returned to Greenwood Academy in Dreghorn, Ayrshire, to cut the ribbon for pupils and staff. She was a pupil there from 1982-88. The school is now Ayrshire's largest with 1600 pupils and the facilities include all-weather pitches and a Japanese garden."

What a difference a year makes. Mr Smith doesn't think the Ms Sturgeon herself would have envisaged being asked to reopen her former school last year. But what a strange place North Ayrshire is given that they are also going to have former First Minister Jack McConnell MSP back to open the new Arran High School on 9th June. Are the Council collecting signed photos or something?

All bets are off.

Mr Smith reads that First Minister Alex Salmond MSP is up against his party counterparts Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney in the race to be this year's Scottish Politician of the Year.

We know that Mr Salmond himself famously likes a flutter, indeed he himself is a tipster, but Mr Smith suspects that our Alex would be hard pushed to find any bookie willing to bet against him winning the title given the SNP's success in winning May's elections and Mr Salmond's stellar performance since, by comparison with the previous incumbent Jack McConnell.

He will just have to console himself with winning the title on the night and not being able to profit from his victory more directly in his wallet.

"Bolshie" Sturgeon.

Mr Smith read the latest very tame profile piece on SNP Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP, which did little to shine any light on what actually makes the inscrutable Nicola actually tick.

The nearest we got to any earth shattering revelations is that at her old school "... Greenwood Academy she liked English, history and modern studies and hated maths, physics and other sciences" and that she was a bit "bolshie."

Was that it? Perhaps we should just forget about interviewing her again until she takes up deep sea diving or jumping off of skyscrapers?