BACKSTREET BOYS FAN ENDS UP PAYING AJ’S CAB FARE IN GLASGOW

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Beverley Lyons
A Scots Backstreet Boys fan ended up paying the taxi fayre for one of the US singing stars when he said he didn’t carry any cash.
Louise Hendry, 37, a financial services administrator from Glasgow was waiting outside the band’s city centre hotel when the bizarre incident happened.
And she admits she still can’t believe that she ended up paying up the cash for one of the I Want It That Way idols.
Louise was standing outside Glasgow’s Blythswood hotel trying to catch a glimpse of the lads who played the SSE Hydro last night when singer AJ McLean from the band arrived from a shopping trip in town in a black cab.
Louise, a Backsreet Boys superfan,  who walked down the aisle to the song Drowning, and even has a lyric from the song tattooed on her neck, said: “AJ had left to go shopping earlier and came back with his minder in a black hack a few hours later. He was carrying lots of shopping bags. There were two girls from Germany waiting for him outside the hotel as well as me and when he saw us he said: “‘I’ll see you in a minute. I haven’t got any cash to pay my cab.”
He went inside the hotel and I could see him asking the concierge about where he could try and get some money. He was told there was a bank machine across the road, but I  told his minder I would pay it to save him any hassle. I rushed over and although the meter said £5.10 I gave the driver £6.”
“When AJ came out the hotel I told him I paid his taxi and he said: “I really appreciate it” and gave me a kiss and a cuddle.”

“I’ve loved the band since I was 22 when my sister liked them and had their dvd in the house . Brian initially caught my eye but I’ve loved them all since”.
“I was so happy when AJ came over for a hug and it was absolutely worth more than the £5.10 taxi fayre. He said he’d enjoyed his day shopping but had bought ‘way too much s***’ as usual.  It was priceless and made my day. I met a Brian later too and had a laugh with him.”
The married mum of one laughed: “AJ has not paid me back yet and I’ve already bought my £93 front row ticket but you never know, I might get an upgrade on the tour.”
Louise said it was lucky she had cash on her as normally she only has her card on her too.
She explained: “I don’t tend to carry cash any more but  I had it because we going for a Chinese meal. I guess I had to miss a starter because of that but I don’t care cause I had a great day.”

Excerpts of this article have since appeared in the Daily Record - from Scotland with Love theshowbizlion.com 

FROM GRAHAM NORTON TO GLASGLOW WITH TOM HUNTER AND ICE CREAM CHEESE...

Graham Norton was resplendent  in a tartan suit as he stepped out to talk about his new book in Glasgow. 
Graham was staying at the Blythswood hotel before heading through to Edinburgh where   he admitted one if his favourite authors was Scots born Denise Mina. 
Graham got the crowd laughing at the bash particularly when one fan asked him to listen to their radio show droptheboom.com. Despite Irish born Graham being a Celt there were language barriers as he misheard the title and asked if it was spelled bomb.
The radio person replied in ernest, ‘No drop as in D.R.O.P’
Graham should have had his big red chair with him. 


Billionaire Tom Hunter was looking pretty cool in a tracksuit when I bumped into him in town. 
Sir Tom told me he wasn’t on a keep fit regime. 
Instead the 56 year old who was with wife Marion and friends including former Clyde 1 boss Paul Cooney been at a gig in town and told me he wanted to fit in with the rest of the cool crowd. 
Tom has always been a very down to earth man and I remember visiting some of Glasgow’s favourite chippies with him and his posse in the past. 
He’s been busy of late working on the kiltwalk and he asked me to ask you if you can take part in the next one. 
I might well be doing it too now. 
You can choose a charity of your choice and Sir Tom will top up by forty percent whatever money you raise. 
He said: “We has over 20,000 walkers this year and are very chuffed with that.”


I indulged in what must be one of the most unusual desserts of this year at Oro Italian in Glasgow. 
Their ice cream cheeseboard sees Melt in the mouth versions of Mozarella, Marscapone and Ricotta all appearing on one plate. 
It was really odd when the Buffalo Mozarella flavour was served up with olive oil, salt and balsamic glaze, but it all worked beautifully!! 
What an amazing concoction by chef and restauranteur Domenico Crolla who tells me is now off to Roma to pick up yet another food award. 
Xxx
Kilts were very much in vogue on Tuesday night as both Enrique Iglesias and Eric Cantona wore one to mark their visits here. 
Enrique’s kilt was presented to him by radio presenter Adele Cunningham who managed to get him a special pink Heart radio kilt made to order by Slanj. 
Robin Galloway, who was also backstage, advised Enrique to wear nothing underneath but only those in the front row can tell whether he did - or not. 

I’ve triple booked myself this Friday night so if I see you please give me a drink of water to rehydrate me. 
Firstly I’ll be saying a very quick hello at The Dockyard Social where they have a special evening with some bloggers ahead of their Halloween market this weekend.
Then I’ll be heading westwards to Clinica Medica to go live on Facebook around six thirty pm and talk about some fat removing treatments with Dr Awfa Paulina (I should take the hint after all my weeks of gorging) 
And lastly I’ll be freaking myself out at the launch of GlasGLOW at Botanic Gardens - with a Halloween themed magical sound and light show.
I’ll let you know if I survive...

KATY PERRY ALMOST LEFT A DEPOSIT IN GLASGOW

Katy Perry might be glamorous but she ended up having to scoop up the mess left behind by her pet pooch on the runway as she left Glasgow by private jet .
Katy was departing from Glasgow Airport on her private plane when her poodle Nugget decided to leave Scotland a wee present as she boarded the plane but she decided to pick it up in case it wasn’t appreciated.
Katy was the first big celebrity to enjoy a stay at the newly revamped Blythswood Penthouse - and she even took Nugget there with her.
I’ve taken my own adopted Basset hound Bertie there before and he is treated like a king. He enjoys their scones but they even make special biscuits for doggies who stay there - and have doggy pillows.
Katy checked into the hotel in the wee small hours of Friday morning after arriving in Glasgow straight from Manchester.
Last time she was here she brought her own pillow with her to help her sleep in a new envrionment.
The penthouse with its own roof terrace has two bedrooms and a large living room complete with a hot tub and sauna as I saw at a party earlier this month.
Prices start from £2,500 a night.
Katy walked from there to Taco Bell with some of her crew and was picked up by people carrier at the corner of Sauchiehall Street. Her cars had to drive the wrong way down the street to pick her up after traffic was diverted from the fire.
I met Katy and her tour support Disney Star Hailee Steinfeld who sings the infectious anthem Starving after she and her party hired a private room at the Odeon Cinema to watch a horror movie. It was around one am.
She posed up for pictures and met thrilled Glasgow school girl Ailee Carroll, 16, from Anniesland on her way out.
She’s lost a lot of weight since the last time we met and that’s in part due to her assistant who makes sure she gets a good workout on tour. As you might have seen in some stories she cycled by the Clydeside and actually went by bike from the Blythswood where she was seen saddling up by one of my friends John Brown. 

HIGH TEA WITH GLASGOW IN THE SKY

I'm not big on rollercoasters as anyone who witnessed my recent trip to Blackpool will tell you.
 So the idea of eating my lunch a hundred feet up in the air, hovering above the pigeons and other wild life in Glasgow's George Square, was not one I relished.
However, I'm a great believer in trying anything once (don't quote that back to me) so when Murray Thomson the lovely manager at The Blythswood Square  hotel invited me to be his guest at this once in a lifetime attraction I jumped at the chance. At least at that point my feet were on the ground.
As I waited to go up on the twenty two seater dining attraction I had two things on my mind.
One was sheer anxiety, and the second was that I needed the loo. Luckily they have portaloos in George Square so a few seconds later that was one less thing to worry about.
 If you do need to go up in the air I'm afraid you'll have to wait till you descend- or face the consequences!
Having been strapped into my seat just like a sturdy fairground ride we made our slow and steady ascent.
It's almost like a cruise ship pulling away from the dock in that you don't immediately realise you are moving. Before you know it you are dangling above the Robert Burns monument and at eye level with the Statue of Liberty on the city chambers.
There are foot rests for your feet so you don't feel like you're defying gravity but you can swivel round your chair should you wish to be a daredevil.
My seat was sandwiched between two other brace diners so I didn't have the uncomfortable corner seat which holds no protection on one side.
I expected it to be cold up there, but it wasn't particularly. It began to spit at one point but there is a Perspex roof above too.
It was however slightly breezy and we were advised to tuck our napkins into our seatbelts. I  had been so concerned about not dropping anything below me ( there is no safety net) that I hadn't even noticed my napkin was still under my plate.
 If you drop your phone or fork it will fall the full way but there is an exclusion zone so no one will be hit by it!
With phone in one hand (yes, the selfie generation has taken over) and fork in the other I persevered with my meal.
 Murray looked the picture of calm and his coiffed hair stayed in place while my hair was doing as many summersaults as my tummy.
The other diners tucked in as if this was just a leisurely Sunday brunch. I didn't speak to many of them, and the wind factor made it slightly difficult to shout across the table.
During my flight, Blythswood Square chefs were taking over and my food of tender scallops and buttered asparagus followed by medallions of yummy lamb and mash with strips of cabbage and peas was delicious and my gastronomic dessert finished things off nicely.
Normally I would go into much more detail on the food front but I have to say, on this occasion, I didn't analyse it as much as I normally would. I scoffed it down and it was delicious.
The service too was impeccable but your time in the air is limited so before I could even thank everyone properly it was time to go back down to earth - thankfully not with a thud.
Glasgow In The Sky is in the city until Tuesday and is hosting a whole host of meals from breakfast through dinner and cocktails at night with a variety of restaurants including Cafe Gandolfi, Nardinis, Chaophraya and the Blythswood.
Prices start around £50 to £150.