Count on the Co-Op...

If 'reduce, reuse, recycle' really is a mantra for our times (alongside 'oh no, the recession' and 'What do you make of that Fred Goodwin then?') then the Co-op really must get the plaudits today.

Unpacking my weekly shopping, delivered by the 'Co' via Caledonian Macbrayne, I was delighted to chance upon their choice of packing/insulation material this week.

Normally we're lucky to get a page or two of an old Press & Journal but today, having recently cancelled the Guardian Weekly subscription, I was treated to a glossy, free and fairly recent Telegraph Travel magazine. Tomorrow's breakfast need not be without its supplements!

Every little helps...oh, that's someone else.

"Unless you can find some sort of loyalty you cannot find unity and peace in your active living"

You have to laugh. Well, I had to at any rate.

I was making a wee ferry journey last week on one of the Calmac routes. As is my want, I purchased a hot beverage. "Have ye got one o' these?" asked the chap behind the counter.

Buy 7 get the 8th free urged the Loyalty Card. A great concept, perhaps, on the high street but where, I wondered, could I go onboard ship to be disloyal? The Starbuck's stand on the Starboard side or the Costa concession on the car desk?

The mind boggles.