We will start with a little taster from the frites frontline because, frankly, few things in life are as good as chips, or indeed frites.

Rapidly taking shape at 63 Lothian Road in the 'Burgh, Frites promises freshly hand cut Belgian-style fries.

At present, we have no other info but we are dreaming of crisp, twice-fried frites with the option of mayo and dozens of other toppings.

But not salt and sauce.

Not on frites.

Perfectly acceptable on chunky chipper chips but salt and sauce would swamp the delicate sensibilities of a petite frite.

Small plates, Scottish style

Moving over to Glasgow, We have already wittered on about Mr MacGregor's restaurant which is coming together in Clarkston.

It's the brainchild of the team behind Cocktails and Steaks in Uddingston (main pic shows Cocktails and Steaks and is taken from their Facebook) and the new venture is currently advertising for a head chef.

Apparently, Mr MacGregor’s will be a 50 cover restaurant offering 'modern, small plates with a Scottish feel'. Local produce, freshly prepped will be the name of the game alongside a contemporary cocktail and wine offering. It will be an all-day operation serving breakfast/brunch and a full à la carte menu seven days a week.

All being well, Mr MacGregor’s aims to open towards the end of March.

Sort of sticking with Glasgow, we note that the Glaswegian chef Nico Simeone has announced that he is expanding his Six By Nico concept to Fitzrovia in London.

Every six weeks, each restaurant in his burgeoning chain unveils a new, themed six course tasting menu. Previous themes have included the chip shop, Vegas, childhood and guilty pleasures.

After launching the idea in Glasgow in 2017, the chef has rolled it out in Edinburgh, Belfast, Manchester and Liverpool.

Also continuing to roll out their take on the modern pub are Wetherspoons who have just announced that they would open new premises in the Regent Shopping Centre in Hamilton.

The new unit will have capacity for almost 900 customers. A fact that we're sure will have every independent bar owner in Hamilton jumping in a display of unalloyed joy.

Breakfast with bears

Finally, this one is a little out of our patch but thanks to Edinburgh Live for this story about a West Lothian Zoo where visitors can have breakfast - sort of - with their rescue bears.

Anything that dissuades our ursine friends from stealing picnic baskets gets the thumbs-up from us.

And yes, we realise that last sentence will be lost on anyone too young to have been weaned on Yogi Bear cartoons.