Lost and found and gone forever

attendance at an evening function organised by Murray Johnston, the

Glasgow investment fund managers.

He travelled through to Glasgow by car which he parked nearby Murray

Johnston's West Nile Street offices. After leaving the function he was

dismayed when he could not find his car and jumped into a taxi to take

him to the nearest police station, where he reported it stolen.

The hack waited to take Bob to Queen Street Station for a train back

to Edinburgh and on the way the printing boss silently cursed his luck

when he thought not only of the inconvenience of losing the car but also

the briefcase crammed with documents which he had left in the car.

But just as he was reaching the depth of despair Bob could not believe

his eyes when he spotted the car sitting in Bath Street. He then

realised his mistake. Being unfamiliar with Glasgow he had mistakenly

thought he had left it in St Vincent Street.

Rather sheepishly he phoned the police station and explained that he

worked in Edinburgh. The understanding bar officer told him not to worry

that such occurrences happened quite a lot with people from Edinburgh!

Since the incident Bob, who originally hails from Manchester and can

therefore be forgiven for his mistake, has been determined to learn one

lesson and that is never to leave his briefcase in the car.

He therefore arrived at another function firmly carrying his briefcase

where he was met by his fellow director Graham Bowstead who joked that

the missing car and briefcase incident had really ''got to him''. Bob

agreed and then recounted (without a smile) how Graham left the

reception only to discover that someone had broken into his Saab and

stolen HIS briefcase.

Mr Hodgson insists that he did not utter the words ''I told you so''

when he heard about the theft.

Conversion

HE may no longer be turning out on the Murrayfield turf, but

Scotland's grand slam captain David Sole still knows how to instill

discipline in the scrum.

Sole, a grain buyer with United Distillers, was the prime mover in

Tuesday's Flower of Scotland Burns Supper at Edinburgh's Prestonfield

House. The Flower of Scotland Campaign aims to create a healthier

Scotland and to raise money for three charities -- Chest, Heart & Stroke

Scotland, Cancer Research, and the British Heart Foundation.

Tuesday's celebration of the Bard was well-attended by many of Sole's

former rugby-playing pals. The musical interlude was provided by singer

Mary Strachan from Skye, accompanying herself on the clarsach.

Mary was only half way through her first Burns song when the noise

from some of the lads whose musical tastes don't quite run in that

direction threatened to drown her out.

Before song two, chairman Sole rose, fixed the culprits with those

legendary eyes, and demanded ''Show a little respect''. The rest of the

musical interlude was listened to in the kind of silence which would

accompany Gavin Hastings preparing a last minute penalty against the

English, with Scotland two points down.

Sweet and sour

IF you are reading this and are on this morning's direct flight from

Glasgow to Cologne don't be surprised if the passengers around you

appear to have a sweet tooth.

Your fellow passenger sucking away busily is likely to be a member of

the 18- strong party organised by Strathclyde Business Development to

attend the ISM Sweets and Biscuits Trade Fair and Exhibition in Cologne.

Kenneth Clark of SBD has organised the party, which includes Duncans

of Scotland, Johnston's Just Desserts, Gardiners of Scotland and Golden

Casket from Greenock, all of whom will have space on the stand at the

exhibition which SBD booked.

This is the second visit to the exhibition, which is the largest of

its kind in Europe with more than 1000 exhibitors.

Before departing for Germany, Kenneth Clark said: ''Our visit last

year was a big success for the companies taking part and we have taken a

bigger stand this time. In addition to the companies which have space on

the stand other concerns such as Viking Ice Cream and Carousel Wafers

are joining us and will meet a number of international contacts.''

Despite the success of attendance at the sweets and biscuits fair this

will be the last one Strathclyde Business Development will be

organising.

It would appear that Scottish Enterprise also has a sweet tooth for it

has informed SBD that it will be organising the trip next year. Munch

munch.

Board stiff

GORDON Galloway, the lively managing director of SCA Packaging, the

market leader of corrugated packaging in Scotland supplying the whisky,

brewing and horticultural industries, is always looking for new products

and new customers.

To this end he has asked his product development staff to look at the

possibility of producing cardboard coffins. There are, he admits, a

number of problems to be overcome, among them the black smoke which is

emitted when the cardboard is burned, which Mr Galloway admits could

present certain problems.

However, the project is in its early stages, and the 43-year-old boss

of CSA recalls that the firm did produce cardboard coffins about 10

years ago after an earthquake disaster in Venezuela.

He says: ''We don't know if it will work but we are looking seriously

at the possibility. You could put a nice veneer on the coffins and they

would be cheaper.''

Two-sided toast

ONE of the most prestigious social functions in Glasgow's -- if not

Scotland's -- business calender will take place on March 17 in the

Hospitality Inn when the Institute of Petroleum holds its annual dinner.

This year's principle guest speakers reflect the momentous progress

made in the Middle East conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbours.

Joseph Alpher, head of strategic studies in Tel Aviv University and a

former employee of Mossad the Israeli intelligence agency, will toast

the institute while Dr Al-Chalabi, a former secretary-general of OPEC,

will reply to the toast.

More than 1000 will attend the dinner, including 10 lords, among them

Lord Abernethy, Lord Goold, Lord Weir and Lord McFarlane of Bearsden.

Bill Beaton, former general manager of the Clydesdale Bank and

chairman of the Institute of Petroleum's Glasgow branch, is heavily

involved in organising the function.

He told Business Diary: ''It is marvellous to have such senior figures

from the Arab and Jewish communities sharing the top table on such an

occasion.''

The former banker, who spent 43 years at the Clydesdale starting as an

apprentice, has been busy this week on behalf of the Petroleum

Institute.

In the midst of finalising the guest list for the annual dinner he

also presented prizes along with Professor George Maxwell who holds the

Kearton Chair of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at Strathclyde

University.

Three students, Gordon Love, from Wishaw, Jean Luc Hospital, France,

and Morten Jakobsen, Denmark, won the prizes donated by the David

Cargill Trust and the Petroleum Institute to promote education in the

oil industry.

Bill Beaton developed his knowledge and contacts in the oil world more

than 20 years ago when oil exploration was just beginning in the North

Sea.

He circled the world five times, gaining oil business for the

Clydesdale Bank, and chuckles as he recalls: ''A certain other bank

described itself as the Oil Bank, but when the eight onshore fabrication

yards were established we were bankers to every one of them.''

Flight of fancy

THEY take their golf seriously at Honeywell Control Systems. Four

employees, Joe McArdle, Sandy Sutherland, Tom Cummings and Derek Eyre,

are so tee-ed off with their performance on the golf course they have

decided to do something about it.

So determined are the quartet to improve their dismal performances at

three consecutive appearances in the firm's annual golf competition that

they have decided to book a golfing holiday in North Carolina at Easter.

Looking grim after having seen their rivals pick up the coveted

prizes, Joe McArdle, secretary of the Honeywell Golf Club, said: ''After

another embarrassing season we decided to take radical action and have

booked up for the States.

''The standard of competition is very high at Honeywell and we will

have our work cut out if we are to win any of the trophies, but we will

give it our very best shot.''

Michele Miccio, director of room controls at the Newhouse plant, was

surprised at how serious the Scottish workers take their golf when he

arrived in Scotland from Honeywell in Germany last year.

He said: ''I was aware that the Scots enjoy golf but I have never seen

such a dedicated group before. With several scratch players among the

ranks of the club the sport is taken very seriously indeed.''

The travelling quartet do not believe that their determination to

improve their game is being taken seriously enough by the other members

of the club but are content to allow next season's results to speak for

themselves.

Shaken not stirred

MOBILE phones have many uses but not many owners will have used them

in the way David McGibbon used his earlier this week when he phoned from

an ambulance to inform waiting business colleagues at Tayburn Design in

Edinburgh that he would not make lunch.

Mr McGibbon, finance director of Grampian Holdings, was making his way

to Tayburn's office in Causewayside when his car hit black ice near the

Livingstone cut-off.

An ambulance took a severely shaken and bruised Mr McGibbon to St

John's Hospital in Livingstone where he was treated for a neck injury as

well as shock and bruising before being allowed home.

Later in the week when he had returned to work Mr McGibbon admitted

that he was lucky to ''walk away from the accident''.

The accident also means that the finance director has yet to cross the

doorway of Tayburn's modern office in Kittle Yards.

Making light of the accident Mr Gibbon, who is having to wear a neck

collar as a result of the crash, joked: ''I have dealt with Tayburn for

a number of years and they have naturally visited our offices. They have

been trying to get me through to their place for some time and the lunch

would have been my first visit, but I haven't made it yet.''

Rabbie's tops

BURNS cropped up a few floors above Glasgow's Buchanan Street

yesterday when Mike Ross, managing director of Scottish Widows, topped

out its major new office and retail development on part of the site once

occupied by this newspaper.

Ron Macara, of the main contractors Melville Dundas, donned a giant

tartan tammy of the type which might appeal to the man in the cigar

advert, and addressed the haggis in a rewrite of Rabbie's words,

including everyone from demolition contractors to site agents involved

in the job.

The complex doubles Scottish Widows' property investment in Glasgow to

some #60m. The ground floor retail units will be completed by March and

Mike Ross reports that six of the seven leases are already in lawyers'

hands.

If a complementary use can be found for it, added Ross, the shell

Rennie Mackintosh building on Mitchell Street, where earlier generations

of Herald scribes used to labour, will also be developed.

Hidden talent

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Greig Ewart has become an unconscious star overnight.

His mum Pauline Ewart went along for a photo session with his wee

brother, three-year-old Fraser, but took Greig along because she did not

have anyone available to look after him.

The photograph was to be used in Scottish Power's #750,000 poster

campaign advertising their energy advice service to 1,600,000 homes

throughout Scotland.

Pauline, who works with Scottish Power, was posing for the photograph

with young Fraser on her knee while Greig was told to be quiet and

behave himself. But unnoticed by Pauline or the photographer Greig

crawled behind the chair and peeked out while his mum and his wee

brother were being snapped.

Once the film was developed the photographer spotted the engaging

print of Greig intruding into the frame and Scottish Power were so taken

by the natural charm of the photograph that they chose it for their

marketing campaign.