Jack McConnell celebrated five years as first minister this week by sending out mixed messages about his future. Firstly, he admitted in an interview that he had asked himself whether continuing in his job for another four years was worth the strain it put on his family. But later McConnell appeared to have cast his doubts aside and insisted that, if elected, he will happily serve another full third term. Whether the electorate feels as enthusiastic remains to be seen.
Politicians least likely to enter a smoky room
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Scotland could become the first place in the UK to raise the legal age of buying cigarettes to 18, if plans by the executive are approved by MSPs. Doctors welcomed the move, but others accused the government of turning the country into a puritanical state. There is already a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, and if the new proposals get the go-ahead, Scotland will have some of the toughest anti-smoking legislation in the world.
Most astonished living relatives
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A retired station master who played the stock market astonished family and friends when he left an estate worth more than £2m. Hamish Lunn, a bachelor, lived modestly in Lybster, Caithness, on £20,000 a year, but behind the scenes he accumulated a fortune through investments. He died in 2005 without making a will. The money will be shared among 13 first cousins.