SNP MP Angus MacNeil nipped into the Venezuelan Embassy in London earlier this week for a reception marking the country's independence day. By chance, he'd not long before read George Galloway's denunciation of the notion of Scottish independence in his newspaper column.

So who did Angus first espy nonchalantly schmoozing in support of Venezuelan self-determination? The self-same Mr Galloway. More oddly still, George was flanked by none other than inveterate Nat- basher Brian Wilson, the erstwhile Labour MP. Angus and his Westminster colleagues have since been pondering how different so many things might be if only Scotland could emulate Venezuela in being self- sufficient in wine, not just oil.

Family affair DIARY stalwart Matt Vallance bears news of a Stornoway man's forthcoming wedding. It was expected that all the men in the wedding party would wear matching kilts.

The groom-to-be, however, has decreed that none of the bride-to-be's male relatives should wear his clan tartan. Asked why, he replied without a hint of irony: "If they wore my clan's tartan, it would look as if I was marrying my sister."

Sick sensation OUR story of the oven in the Scottish Parliament that was once used to roast a servant strikes a chord with David Martin, of Dundee.

He recalls that Seville's sixteenth-century Hospital de las Cinco Llagas was originally built outside the city walls as it was a home to pestilence and contagion. In the wake of its recent restoration, Sevillanos comment that nothing has changed. The building is now the seat of Andalucia's autonomous government.

Steam radio VETERAN music-lovers will be thrilled to learn that on August 2 the original pop station, Radio Luxembourg, will continue its ongoing rebirth with a weekend of vintage DJs spinning vintage tunes.

Those involved include such Fabulous 208 legends as Pete Murray, Mike Read and David "Kid" Jensen, who'll hopefully have the decency to rename himself David "Late Middle-Aged Bloke" Jensen. Roger Day is expected, too, having revealed that, as a young Luxembourg broadcaster, his most dedicated listeners were his mum and dad.

To overcome Luxembourg's infamously crackly reception, Mr and Mrs Day parked their car each night at a remote seafront spot near their Margate home, listening to their dashboard radio while warming themselves with a flask of tea.

A stock of autographed Roger Day photos soon became necessary to ward off patrolling policeman, suspicious of the vehicle's steamed-up windows.

No merci TOUJOURS, Leonard Cohen, toujours. Brian Cairnduff saw the legendary French-Canadian ladies' man in Glasgow long before this week's gig. At one point during the show, Leonard asked the audience if there were any requests. A young woman called out in French, to which Leonard naturally replied in kind. The ensuing Gallic dialogue was brought to an abrupt end by an impassioned Glaswegian bellow: "Haw, pal, je ne comprends pas."

Safety first VISITING his local Homebase DIY store, Hamilton man Martin Steel couldn't miss the large area devoted to the joys of summer, displaying barbecues, garden furniture and sun loungers. He was more impressed by the deep fatalism, prescience and commercial nous which had prompted the retail extravaganza's centrepiece: a splendid array of umbrellas.

Howzat! THERE'S poverty and there's upper-crust poverty, according to accounts of the life of the recently-deceased Lord Tweedsmuir. In the immediate post-war years, the son of author John Buchan encountered penury while raising six young children. Afternoon tea at the Ritz remained a family treat, however. As his lordship explained: "It was cheaper than the cinema and my three sons could play cricket in the hotel's corridors."

Dutch treat THE entertainment at this year's Deutsche Bank annual staff conference in Barcelona is slightly less lavish than last year. Instead of the Rolling Stones, it's Jools Holland. Insists a company spokesman: "This is to highlight the fact that Deutsche Bank recently acquired ABN's Dutch assets." Dutch assets/ Jools Holland: some puns are more groanworthy than others.