I choked on my popcorn when i saw the trailer for the new Disney version of A Christmas Carol.

"You've never seen anything like this before!" it proudly declared.

Errr, unless you've read one of the greatest works of English literature or seen one of the myriad of stage and screen versions which have been churned out at regular intervals over the years.

Everyone from Alastair Sim to Patrick Stewart, via The Muppets, have offered their take on this Christmas tale of love and redemption.

The British Film Institute even got in on the act yesterday.

But in fairness to this version, it has achieved something new, not least introducing a new generation to the genuinely scary ghostly goings on.

In that sense, it's probably closer to the original Dickens' tale than other adaptations.

Capture animation - where the actors perform their scenes wearing special bodysuits and then the action is animated - is a technique used by director Robert Zemeckis before in The Polar Express.

But here, in a story which has the central character flying over London, crawling beneath the sewers and tumbling into graves, it really comes into its own.

Jim Carrey, who can create cartoonish expressions any way, is particularly impressive and it's very clear it IS him, not just in Scrooge but in the Three Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, which he also plays.

The great advantage to the technique is that it means actors can play several different roles and the whole film - crowd scenes and all - is pretty much staffed by just 15 actors.

The doubling up makes sense, particularly with Scrooge, since aren't those ghosts just figments of his own imagination?

Last night's London premiere - attended by the film's stars Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Robin Wright Penn - coincided not just with the switch on of the Christmas Lights (this early? bah humbug!) but with simultaneous screenings of the film in 28 cinemas across the country, including Glasgow's Braehead Odeon.

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The elegant setting of Glasgow University's Bute Hall couldn't have been a more apt setting for the first Built and Historic Environment Summit in Glasgow.

Over a hundred representatives from the key heritage bodies were gathered for a brainstorming session, attended, and at one stage, chaired by culture minister Mike Russell.

With just a few hours to fit it all in, delegates had to keep it brief but several points were made loud and clear:

Heritage is not just buildings. It's archaeology, landscape and collections.

It doesn't matter if it's listed, if it's important to your community, it's important.

Too many people chasing too little money so communities have to start taking ownership of their heritage or accept it may be lost.

History needs to be taken to street level. Not just about cathedrals and castles, it's about people's homes and streets and the spaces between them.

Community involvement got a thumbs-up from the culture minister Mike Russell, not least because of the squeeze on government funding at local and national levels.

His question - to the assembled movers and shakers was how to persuade communities to take responsibility.

All well and good if it's an A-listed cathedral but what if it's a less likeable modern ruin.

Does the community in Cardross feel as strongly about St Peter's seminary as the people of St Andrews feel about their crumbling cathedral? I suspect not.

There's no way of controlling what old - and new buildings end up on your doorstep and, as several delegates pointed out, it's not just about buildings.

Can you rouse the same level of community support for an archaelogical find or a sprawling museum collection?

One issue raised by several delegates - including architect Malcolm Fraser - is the issue of VAT which, according to many people, is hampering attempts to restore and repair old buildings.

It's an issue that the newly arrived chief executive of Historic Scotland, Ruth Parsons is well qualified to discuss at length. Among her previous roles before taking up the post, she was a VAT inspector for the Inland Revenue.

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The Lighthouse Trust - the charity which ran the Lighthouse in Glasgow - is to be officially wound down.

No surprises there.

Since August when the Trust announced the company had gone into administration, following a string of funding problems, it's been only a matter of time.

This week, with the withdrawal of Glasgow City Council's funding, it was clear the trust's role in the building was over.

What now? Glasgow City Council is keen to keep the concept alive, perhaps as a business centre for the creative industries.

And unless it wants to go down the route of unravelling its funding - and returning some of the millions the Lottery gave the project when it first opened in 1999 - the council has to think beyond the realms of a business centre to something which appeals to as wide a range of people as possible.

Not an easy task as those who've run the centre for the past 10 years will admit.

It's position down a dark lane, and its esoteric subject matter don't help.

And with so many other cultural centres vying for public attention and money - not least the newly opened Trongate 103 and the newly refurbished Tramway - it's going to be a tough one for the council to justify.

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