What's in a nickname?
Grudgingly, I would concede that the presiding officer is probably right. In banning the use of nicknames in the Holyrood chamber.
Still, it might have livened up a notably dull session of questions to the first minister.
As part of the customary badinage, the FM had labelled a Labour MSP "Seven Minute McNulty".
I think it was a cheeky gag about the duration of a speech by Des McN, the member for Clydebank and Milngavie. Or maybe not. By then, I was losing the will to live.
Frowning frostily, as only he can, the PO said he discouraged nicknames in the chamber.
So Eck, Grayman, Bella and Scotty had to struggle along in a fog of formality.
As I say, the PO is undoubtedly right - but oh how one longed for something, anything to disturb the torpor.
Minimal illumination
The exchanges between Iain Gray MSP B.Sc BPB* and the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP MSP M.A. were, I suppose, worthy.
They concerned the serious topic of employment opportunities for newly qualified teachers. However, the battle swiftly descended into a statistical squabble with minimal illumination.
For the Tories, Annabel Goldie pursued the issue of the money spent advertising the new seller home reports - which the Tories dislike intensely.
To this numbed observer, she made little headway. She sought to engender a scandal, noting that the expenditure on home reports outpaced that on alcohol or drugs.
Here, she claimed, were ministerial priorities writ large. No, said the FM. More was needed right now on promoting the scheme - because it was new and nobody had heard of it.
It said nothing about long-term priorities. And that, mostly, was that.
Tavish Scott was perhaps on sounder territory challenging the transport capital investment programme.
Long day
Was it right, he said, that only the new Forth crossing had absolute priority - while the other 28 items in the plan were equal (that is, equally important or unimportant)?
The answer, incidentally, is yes. But the first minister offered a rather more substantive reply, saying nothing in particular but saying it awfully well.
And so the long day wore on.
*Blue Peter Badge
I'm 
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