Ross King: Zoom catch-ups with old pals are a lot of fun and games

If anything, at least this pandemic has given us all a chance to catch up with our friends and colleagues.

I was on to some of my old pals for a wee catch up on a video chat this week.

I’ve known this couple since the ’90s when we worked together – they’re called Anne and Nick. That’s Anne Diamond and Nick Owen – my colleagues with whom I worked at Pebble Mill.

The pair have a show on the internet called With Anne And Nick that’s well worth checking out. It’s the two of them doing what they do best – chatting with people.

I joined them on YouTube – which also took me back to my younger days. Specifically when I was a teenager in Glasgow and I’d hear people shout: “You, ya tube” at me.

And sometimes it was worse things!

Anne, Nick and I had the best fun ever back in the day. When Nick and I got together we were like two naughty schoolboys and Anne was the headmistress!

We reminisced about some of the features we worked on at the time – I remember classics such as Nick On A Stick and Anne On A Pan!

I took great joy when I caught up with them to say: “Anne, you haven’t changed a bit and Nick…well, you have!”

I’m a big fan of Nick. I first met him in the 1990s at a wedding. At the time I had a Filofax with me – that’s how far back this was – and in it I’d written the names of all the male presenters I wanted to be like.

One was Phil Donahue, one was Michael Parkinson – and the other was Nick Owen.

I showed it to Nick at the time and he didn’t believe me!

I met Anne earlier, back in the 1980s when she was doing a show with one of my oldest pals, and fellow Scot Paul Coia.

It was great to catch up with them, so tune in to With Anne And Nick for more chinwags with top guests… and me!

And it was great that everyone joined me, Kaye Adams and Wet Wet Wet on Thursday for the Beatson Blether on Zoom to raise funds for the Beatson Cancer Charity.

It is uch an amazing charity and thanks for all the questions, laughs and memories. It is so much appreciated, especially when there’s so much going on the world just now, for people to be so generous.

Next week I’ll be chatting with probably my favourite Bond girl… and she really was just a girl when she played Solitaire opposite Roger Moore in Live And Let Die. Jane Seymour was just 20 and now she’s – whisper it – 69 but looking more beautiful than ever. I can’t wait to chat to her.

One last thing – I always have a laugh when I talk with Lorraine Kelly on our telly slots but this week she came up with best way to judge social distancing when talking about Dollywood.

Dolly Parton’s theme park reopened last week and Lorraine reckoned Dolly had a very particular way of social distancing.

Or should that be Double-D distancing…?