Hush money

1 The figure being quoted is $250,000. This is supposedly hush money being paid out by a politician who does not want the world to know that he has a penchant for finding amusement in the company of young boys. He is being urged to tread lightly because not every parent can be silenced.

Service provider stands firm

2 OK, they say age is just a number. And with all the talk about 60 being the new 40, the professional did not care about the looks she earned when she stepped out with her 25-year-old beau. She was counting her blessings for having found such a wonderful service provider. She needed no helper or gardener because he fulfilled all those roles. Then she decided to emigrate and put her house up for sale. It's been a few months and so far the service provider has driven away every prospective buyer. We are watching how this one plays out.

Aggressive sponsors

3 And speaking of the Olympians, some did not welcome the constant bom-bardment by certain sponsors who would not allow them space. As we hear it, at every social event, there was one particular sponsor who showed no respect for private time between athletes and family members. This is 21st-century marketing where one has to be aggressive to gain traction.

Celebrations gone awry

4 It was generally agreed that Jamaicans needed to show our athletes love and appreciation for their sterling perfor-mance in Beijing. Many felt we went way overboard. For example, the organisers lost a host of sympathisers in western Jamaica when they dared to put on a float parade which brought peak-time traffic to a crawl between Montego Bay and Falmouth last Tuesday. People going about their normal business were stuck behind the float for nearly two hours.

Paramour vs cuckold

5 There are persistent rumours that the newly appointed one has moved into the manor while the missus is away. When we enquired what was happening, our source replied: "The gentleman is very ambitious, but he is not stupid." He would certainly have placed himself in a box of bricks having to contend with the long-established paramour on home turf, the hot-tempered cuckold and his own sweet wife. So, there!