Talk of the town: Fate of medal hero Sir Chris Hoy is sealed SIR Chris Hoy has been a frequent visitor to the pages of this organ in recent times, and now our friends at the Skegness Standard have dropped TOTT a line to reveal how the history-making cyclist slipped into their pages. Staff from the town's Natureland Seal Sanctuary are often dispatched to rescue stranded seals in the area, and decided to mark the Olympic year by naming finds after heroes from the Games. So when a three-month-old seal pup was picked up on a beach in Lincolnshire last week, it was named Chris. He was suffering from deadly lung worm, but is now being nursed back to health and is expected to be on his bike soon. Camera-wielding tourists meet a snappy dresser TOURISTS flock here thinking they'll find a Scotland only seen on the front of shortbread tins. But for one couple wandering up the Royal Mile, they stumbled into that fantasy land itself. A local man making his way down the famous thoroughfare in resplendent Highland regalia en route to a wedding reception last week was stunned to be stopped by a camera-wielding pair who demanded a postcard-perfect picture. They then took turns to pose with the wedding guest, whose only regret, he tells TOTT, was not to demand the price of his first pint at the party. Get smarter with barter A NOVEL approach to providing education has hit the Capital. The Trade School Edinburgh held its first session last weekend - but rather than money, students pay for classes with a barter item requested by the teacher. It could be food, supplies or even help. Already established in cities such as New York, Amsterdam and Bangkok, the school's site states that it celebrates "practical wisdom, mutual respect, and the social nature of exchange." Clearly the age-old custom of providing teachers with an apple in recognition of hardship and poverty hasn't gone completely out the window. Put a stake on a flake WINTER'S first snow has already fallen on the Capital - and according to the bookies that's a sure sign of a White Christmas. William Hill is predicting more people than ever will enjoy a flutter on the prospect. So much cash has already been placed on snow falling on Edinburgh Castle on December 25 that the odds have been slashed from 4/1 to 8/1 - leaving the bookies facing a Christmas whitewash.