SOMEONE who was there at the time told me it was true, even though it wasn't confirmed under the 30 year rule.

It is said that during the Falklands War the Royal Navy was busting a gut to track down the Argentinean aircraft carrier the 25th of May, so that it could sink her on that date - Argentina's national day.

Naval intelligence quickly discovered that for fear of that very thing happening, the Argentinean navy kept her in port for much of the war. The high command knew that losing a ship named after the country's national day on the country's national day, would have sent a disastrous message to the world and in particular to the home front, to a people desperate to retake the Falkland Islands.

That message would have been as disastrous as that delivered by Egypt and Syria in the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when Tel Aviv dropped its military guard for a religious holiday on the Jewish day of atonement and allowed the Arab allies to score a famous victory. Israel will not make that mistake twice.

And seeing how audacious the Mossad's counter-intelligence operations have been, how Israel launched concurrent attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen and Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, I would not be at all surprised if they mount a special operation on October 7, the first anniversary of the Hamas raids which triggered Israel's operations in Gaza.

Might they target Hamas's pagers and walkie talkies? Or might they even launch a direct air attack on Tehran.

I don't know what would ever make Israel stop. But I do know it won't stop yet.

THANKFULLY the Scottish government has slapped it down and decent football fans and police officers can breathe easily.

There was a brief, and in my view bizarre, suggestion in recent weeks that the ban on alcohol at football matches might be lifted to allow smaller clubs to generate revenue.

I well remember the riots after a Celtic v Rangers cup final, which prompted the law to change in 1980. We have seen precious few alcohol-related football incidents since and long may that continue.

Not so popular I fear, is the move to increase minimum pricing on alcohol in Scotland, designed to break our battle with the bottle, particularly among those who buy cheap drink in special offers from corner shops. Dire though this is for many a toper, it is without question a good thing.

Banning smoking in public saw the numbers of those with the habit, plummet.

Sometimes you just need someone telling you what to do for things to happen.

WHEN I moved to Helensburgh from the big city some years ago, I was staggered to see there were no big name fast food outlets here.

I was equally staggered to see that there were no high street shops you would find elsewhere. I quickly learned to love the quirks of the G84 postcode and amended my shopping habits accordingly.

Now it's different. The ladies in Fancy Fillings on the front know I like soft rolls and oinky bacon, meat cooked so lightly that a decent vet might bring it back to life. The guys in King's barbers next door know I like a number three all over and a good tight taper at the back.

But lo. What is this? A cataclysm, that's what. A big city fast food shop is heading our way at last. Before you can say Captayannis, Dominos will be queued out, all the way up to the Hill House.

It's the thin end of the wedge, I tell you.