The man who fitted my dishwasher the other week used to work on the bins in Glasgow and told me how one day – in a story revealing him to be the hardest man the city has ever seen – he punched a rat in the face. Apparently, the animal lunged at him while he was emptying a bin and it seemed like his only option was an uppercut to its whiskery snout. It’s the perfect Glasgow anecdote really: violent, but funny.

And revealing as well. The dishwasher guy said rats were a constant issue for the bin guys in Glasgow and in some ways it’s not surprising or even troubling necessarily: big cities equals lots of rats. I particularly remember them scurrying – no: strolling – past me in the Dundasvale area of the city where I used to park my car. However, a healthy population of rats is also a sign they have lots of debris and rubbish to feed on and look around you: they have lots of debris and rubbish to feed on.

It could also be about to get a lot worse. Barring a last-minute solution this week, there’s a chance that waste and recycling workers in Glasgow and other council areas in Scotland will be going on strike in August (warning to picture editors: look out all those images of piles of rubbish during the Winter of Discontent in the 1970s). Not only are the staff talking about the conditions they have to work in, using a giant inflatable rat called Cludgie to underline their point, they’re calling for a bigger pay rise than the councils are offering. Unison says the workers deserve a wage that reflects their essential........

© Herald Scotland