October is probably my favourite month of the year.

When I was young my excitement began on October 1. The anticipation of the forthcoming festivities of Hallowe'en, Guy Fawkes Night and the magic of Christmas always enthralled me.

The golden colours of the trees in my garden and even the crispy cold days of October are always welcome to me.

This year though it seems to be taking its time. The warm evenings we're still experiencing are putting me off dismantling my summer garden and packing up my garden furniture.

The other night Tommy, Gabrielle and I were coming out of Sainsbury's at Braehead.

It was late in the evening but still warm. In fact it was warm enough for a big cheeky fox to be waltzing around the car park stopping for a photo shoot by stunned shoppers who couldn't believe his cheek. Seemingly he is well known in the area and is called the 'Sainsbury's fox' by staff there and 'McDonald' by the McDonald's staff who by all accounts serve him breakfast most mornings.

He was certainly a 'gallus' wee fox with a well fed look about him and a film star swagger. Surely movie stardom beckons…

Strictly Come Dancing for charity

Last year, Tommy and I were contestants in a fundraiser for the Maggie's foundation.

It was a Strictly Come Dancing event. We were paired with professional dancers and competed against each other. It was terrifying.

When 'Strictly' started back on TV this weekend we both felt a shiver run down our spine.

This year instead of watching the dancers however we will need to watch the judges as we have been asked to judge this year's Maggie's Strictly Come Dancing Night on November 15.

We will be writing down all the technical dance comments and learning the jargon.

We have been assured by Lorraine McInnes, one of the organisers, that we will enjoy it more this year since our nerves won't be in tatters. We'll see.

Hopefully the event will be as well attended as last year and raise as much money for Maggie's. If any of the contestants want good marks they know who to butter up.

Comedy talent

Believe it or not that is not our only judging job. On October 24, we will have the daunting task of judging the new stand-up comedy talent competition at Yesbar (the bar formerly known as Vesbar) in Drury Street in the city centre.

Now I know we have been the butt of many jokes in the past but we are certainly not very good at telling them.

In fact when we listen to live comedians we often comment on how hard a profession it is.

As performers it must surely be the hardest job in the business to satisfy the audience. People who go to see a singer usually like that type of music. Likewise for bands. Even actors perform someone else's work. I reckon comedians are a hit or a miss. You either like them or you don't. That's what makes this evening a nightmare for us as we will want all the competitors to win for having the bottle to take to the stage in the first place.

So right from the outset I want to say all the entrants are winners for having the bottle to perform. Making people laugh is a great talent.