For Charity.

Courtesy of Drumlanrig, "Alex Neil's promotion to the position of Housing Minister has cost the SNP's arch trouble-maker £50. The likeable Alex, had previously been limited to a role as the Nat's backbencher on the telly, where he regularly defended Alex Salmond's team. After one appearance on STV's Politics Now, then-presenter Michael Crow, now a Tory spin doctor, bet Neil £50 he would eventually make it on to the front bench. Neil, a long-standing thorn in the SNP leadership's side, insisted "hell would freeze over" first and instantly accepted. Drumlanrig hears that Crow has graciously donated the £50 to the Sick Kids in Edinburgh."

Tunnocks Rip Off Scandal.

Fom the Herald Diary, "MEP Struan Stevenson stuck to his Tory principles while chairing the European Parliament Burns supper in Brussels last week, by insisting that all bids in the charity auction be in pounds rather than euros. Just to show how parlous the state of the economy is, a shiny ingot-style block of 18 Tunnock's wafers was described as the new Scottish reserve currency, and was sold to a sweet-toothed expat for £75."

Mr Smith thought that the European Parliament was trying to stop consumers from being ripped off? £75 for a box of Tunnocks wafers is a rip off, even if it was for charity. By Mr Smith's reckoning you could have gotten 444 Tunnocks wafers for £75 and that is at Tesco prices.

Sweet Charity.

And perhaps the Scottish Charity Regulator should be reminded what "charity" actually means ... and begins at home?

"THE WATCHDOG responsible for ensuring charities do not rip off the public used nearly £13,000 of taxpayers' money on quad biking and archery lessons for staff. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) also billed the public for going on a "mini treasure hunt" ... The global recession has forced private companies to go bust and public sector organisations to make efficiency savings. However, the hard financial times have not prevented OSCR, which had a budget last year of £3.6 million, from finding £12,930 for a "team building" exercise in Methven, Fife."

Charity Folks.

Holyrood's bosses obviously haven't heard the expression, "It's for charity folks." But maybe Our Jack should just dig not so deep into his bank accounts, or even make a donation from his substantial pension which he receives as a former First Minister?

"IT would never have happened when he was First Minister. But Jack McConnell has fallen foul of the Scottish Parliament's "petty-minded bureaucrats" after being refused permission by Holyrood bosses to sell a charity calendar."