Hogmanay

2007 has been a big year.

A grandson born, an election won (and lost), a son married, a brother married, 3 good friends died, one new friend made, cancer beaten - then throw into the mix, difficult challenges at work, a house fire, my mother only now recovering after a long period of ill-health, a dog lost and returned and millions more wee trials and tests and it is safe to say it's not a year I will forget easily.

For Labour it has been a year with destiny - and one we need to learn serious messages from. We can never be more Scottish than the Scot Nats; never be more Tory than the Tories; never be more individualistic than the Lib Dems: nor be more green than the Greens. Tony Blair's great rainbow coalition of interests has been shattered and Labour needs to rediscover its unique selling point - no-one can be more socially just than us, more caring for the many or be more prepared to stand up against inequality and injustice. It is time to regroup and rethink - it is time, once again, to start with what we stand for.

Edinburgh is facing up to a new destiny too. Facing strong competition from Glasgow to be Scotland's first city and with a city council driven by a coalition of self interest, indecision and posturing it won't be long before the wheels fall off the wagon.

It won't be at the budget for already it seems that the Liberals have all but caved in to SNP demands - it won't be at school closures or at anything the Council has to decide because, truthfully, the two ruling parties will always find a fudge that let's them stay in charge. They have already opted for the 'do nothing' strategy, the 'wait and see and something might crawl out the woodwork' option.

So we will wait and wait till the wheels will fall of the wagon when the cupboard marked 'strategic decisions' is bare, when there are no ambitious plans left by the previous administration to complete - when all the big decisions are being taken elsewhere or by other people, when it will be clear our council is an irrelevance - and we will wake up to find actually we don't need the council to set the council tax (that's being done by the Scottish executive), or to develop the city (that's being done by Forth Ports) or to build major transport links (ditto Scottish executive) etc. etc. And at the same time Glasgow will have pulled ahead as a result of huge national investment (in the Commonwealth games) and focussed leadership...

To reprise a famous election anthem, things can only get better!

Happy New year to all my readers - I know there are a lot of you out there 'coz you tell me so - - I wish you all the best for 2008

Our world's security

My twenty years old nephew visited at Christmas. He is an Oxford undergraduate studying maths and physics. I thought of him when the news came through last night that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is to wear his mother's mantle. I wondered at the maturity of so young a man and the burden he is to carry. Faced with the death of his mother and the end of his life as he has known it, all in the space of 48 hours - and now to know he risks his mother's fate every moment he lives - it is unimaginable. The expedience of politics: to raise him up to carry the PPP standard: to capitalise on his mother's name - I feel sorry for the man boy.

It is a sobering thought, though: the security of our world tied so closely to his future. He will never be a boy again.

Exremism triumphs

I am shocked at the murder of Benazir Bhutto. We are the same age and I have followed her career closely. To me, she represented the triumph of moderation over extremism.
In contrast, yesterday's foul crime represents a triumph of extremism.

Life has dealt her the same hand as so many of her dynastic family. I suppose our only modern western parallel is the Kennedy family and just as the authorities were helpless to prevent those assassinations, so the Pakistani authorities were helpless in the face of the unknown fanatic.

I fear the US and the West has no other option but to trade with President Musharraf now - there are no democratic credentials in his weaponry but it will be a case of the 'devil you know'. The situation is grave for the world. Wringing hands in grief and worry seems appropriate.

It's over for another year

That's it for another year: Christmas Day was lovely. Quiet yet busy - and full of family. Santa was extremely generous...all gifts very acceptable and everybody seemed to like theirs too. Best moment was our 3 years old granddaughter on opening her doll's house which granny and grandad had so painstakingly painted and decorated - pink and cream...a wee girl's dream. She was speechless but her oh so expressive eyes said it all.

Then, the party yesterday - only one real miscreant who drank far too much, the food was well received as was the musical interlude...this morning the house is a complete shambles: I didn't know I had so many glasses or plates not recommended for use in the dishwasher - so they are stacked high waiting for manual washing - not my forte - and since both Mike and I are working today they will be there awaiting his return. I will plod on with clearing up, putting furniture back, hoovering & mopping - but first I'm away to PEP. Never felt less like it in my life!

Anachronism or Inequality?

I am surprised that Tony Blair's decision to convert to Catholicism has provoked such a storm. It would have caused a tsunami if he'd done it 7 months ago - challenging the anachronism (and inequality) of a rule that says there can be no Cathlic PM in the UK. No such restrictions for the Moslem or Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or Atheist.

Christmas is almost here and I am very lucky

Christmas is in sight now...I know this since I have been forced into all the jobs like window cleaning, shifting furniture to dust behind it etc which a strict Presbyterian working class upbringing (polish your shoes every day, always match underwear in case you get knocked down etc.) forces on you - if I had a coal fire it would be a case of sweeping the lum...fortunately mine's is a gas flame affair.

Christmas Day promises to be quiet - only 4 for dinner.

Boxing Day is another matter altogether. We have 70 people plus 4 dogs coming to party. The annual Maginnis/Scammell family bash involves many brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and various other branches...the youngest is 18 months, the eldest 80 years. Last year the centrepiece was a huge family competition based on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. This year, the many musicans are bringing their preferred instrument and we will be entertained by an impromptu jam session...it will be noisy and chaotic but, I am sure, fun. My son, who has perfect pitch, has promised to bring along his drum kit too...I am trying to persuade him otherwise.

Monday will be spent cooking Wednesday's feast - as you can deduce, I wonder why I am wasting my time doing all the cleaning - the house will be a shambles again by Thursday!

Today I am working at PEP - we have many vulnerable service users who will be alone over Christmas and we have decided on part time opening over the holidays with a much abbreviated staffing level. We expect about 7 people in, though there may be more. It is a sobering thought ...being on your own at Christmas, because you have nobody.

I am very lucky.

Ding dong merrily on high

Council meeting yesterday went on for an awful long time to not much effect. Perhaps the only two debates worth mentioning...Meadowbank and The National Concordat...both highly attributable to the SNP.
Meadowbank is going nowhere and if it wasn't for the amusement of watching the Administration dancing on the point of a thousand hot needles there would be nothing to smile about at all.
Now, I will be the first to admit Labour's decision in the dog days of the last Administration to review the plans for Meadowbank has contributed to the current debacle...if we had remained resolute in the teeth of local hostility the plans would have gone ahead ...it wouldn't have been good community politics but it certainly would have moved the agenda forward...and if the new Administration had accepted the recommendations of the Christie Inquiry then the plans would have gone ahead too... but they bottled their chance too.
So now, due to the vacillation of councillors of all parties, the city's sports strategy is in tatters - you can't blame folk for thinking the City of Edinburgh Council couldn't run a church tombola!

The National Concordat is an illusion of democracy: over the twenty years I have been in local government there has been attempt after attempt by Central Government to circumscribe the autonomy of local government: rate capping; sending in the commissionars; local government re-organisation - you name it...and short of actually scrapping local government altogether...they've tried it! But the Tartan Tories...oops I mean the SNP...have come up with the best wheeze of all...they'll now set local government spending priorities and they'll set 100% of local government income...we are one short step away from scrapping councils altogether

Ding dong merrily on high!

Developments

Economic Development Committee today - worthy but dull...only 2 moments of excitement - the first, the convenor agreed to withdraw the item on Newbridge on the pretext of an official complaint by Margaret Smith - frankly I think she was daft to complain...it's more than likely the Econ Dev committee would have voted to overturn the official recommendation anyway and she would have got what she wanted without further delay...and it's not very likely anybody is going to find the officials acted improperly...everything is open to interpretation and officials are ultra cautious by nature...I find the conspiracy theory awfully hard to swallow.

And secondly, it turns out Colin Hunter's job is to go to open competition in the Spring - which I think is a poor show and pretty mean reward for all his excellent work. After all, look at the results open competition produced both times before!

Various

Spoke too soon! I find I have missed two crucial presents - brother in law and grandson...so it's out again to the shops - a nightmare...

The Labour Group meeting this afternoon was, as usual, a protracted affair (hands up, I'm as guilty as the rest for wanting my worth of tuppences) - three and a half hours though: we're definitely in for the long haul.

Tomorrow is the Economic Development Committee - I have received a couple of communications from Margaret Smith MSP complaining about the process used by officials in the Newbridge situation - she makes a series of pretty serious allegations about lack of due process and deliberate manipulation of the facts by officials...it's pretty unheard of and I'll be interested to know how Andrew Holmes will respond to the criticism.

Finally, the newly weds invited us to dinner last night and very pleasant it was too...

Christmas

A great birthday yesterday though slightly spoiled by a car crash (more a bump) which upset my mum and knocked what was anyway shaky composure on a difficult day into something worse. Then the little b who was responsible drove away without leaving his details ...but I got his registration...and unless he was driving a stolen car he will be traced.

I see the story of the £400 million black hole in the capital budget has hit the headlines...at somepoint the administration will have to dump its NIMBY attitude to development, irrespective of the impact on local councillors in their local areas, otherwise our capacity to act will really shrink to £23 million.

Also, had a good meeting with Colin Hunter at WEL last week - really pleased to see things moving along steadily and competently. He is a good man and an able officer. The Board should be delighted to have him.

Today, I'm off for the very last of those 44 presents - the credit card had burned and bombed. I'll be glad to stop spending...at least for a wee while.

It's hard work

Pleased to hear Dave Anderson has secured the top development job in the city - he is a good man and is very practical. It will be interesting to see how he rises to the challenge.

PEP's pantomime went well - 93 paying customers and another 40 or so in the cast or helping - a very busy evening and my deputy manager, Helen, is entitled to feel very pleased with herself - a minor triumph. Only 1 more PEP event...the Christmas dinner and party ...oh blimey it slips off the tongue easily enough but man! It's hard work.

My birthday tomorrow and the fourth anniversary of my dad's death. Time has moved quickly but he remains, sharp in my mind. I miss him.

Meadowbank

Excitement at Trinity Community Council last night when we learned, tantalisingly, that no land will be sold to facilitate the upgrading of Meadowbank Stadium...but resources will be found 'elsewhere' which presumably means selling off other assets...now, I wonder what that could be?

Aaiee: I am dead!

Can't believe my last post was Wednesday - just shows how time flies.
On Thursday we had a gathering of Labour Party members for a Christmas get-together and a house fire: microwave burst into flames, belching smoke - amusing for the guests and certainly a topic of conversation - me, I'm not so amused...been painting ever since but the house stinks of acrid smoke...as the Germans used to cry in the Victor when they had been mortally wounded, 'Aaiee, I am dead.' That's precisely how I feel...the living dead.

Only one crumb of comfort: at least Wendy Alexander, with her manoeuvre on the constitutional debate, has managed to leave the SNP isolated on a big political issue, rather than us - the anti-Labour alliance has been pretty robust since May...maybe, just maybe, she has insinuated Labour a little nearer to the heart of the agenda...but with all this 'donorgate' stuff still rolling on, it is difficult to see her getting out the mire.

NEETs falling through nets

It's just gone 6pm and my feet have not touched the ground today...meeting after meeting and not finished yet. Once more to go, Royston/Wardieburn Community Centre have asked me to join them at their committee meeting to discuss their recent visit from Marilyne Maclaren, Convenor of Children & Families. Obviously they are concerned her visit portended doom...I will be interested to hear their account of her visit.

Today I was at another local meeting looking at employment for local people. Much of the discussion centred on the situation for young people whose lives (and their community) are blighted because they are without training or employment. Sometimes I think we make it too complicated...it seems a relatively easy thing to ask schools to release the names of anybody aged 14-16 who is not attending school and who is at risk...then you assign them mentors who have the responsibility to engage with the young person either individually or in small groups. Instead we have large numbers of kids (I have asked to have the numbers quantified for North Edinburgh) who drop out and though huge effort is expended by many agencies, it is too late.

This is as frustrating for me now as it was when I was Education Convenor. I heard all about 20:20 and this strategy and that strategy...the point is, the kids are still falling through the net and we seem powerless to really do anything about it.

A leper colony, almost

Been a busy old week and set to get busier. I have looked at my diary and there is no free night or weekend till 22 December. I promise I will wilt long before then.

Sunday was the day before Mike's 57th birthday so it was a celebratory brunch for the family who almost overstayed their welcome.
Yesterday was PEP, constituency surgery then taking me old ma out to do her Christmas shopping...didn't get home till after 8pm so it was a long day.
Today, more PEP then a West Pilton/West Granton Community Council tonight. That was an interesting meeting: Allan Jackson managed to get a TIE, city development and planning official all into the same room at the same time in order that the community could quiz them about the access road. He deserves a medal for perseverance (I bet he was a BB when he was a lad).

The upshot is that TIE hasn't yet agreed to the amendment in their business plan that's needed to allow the access road to stay open permanently. Understandably, this caused a furore. Without the access road the West Pilton community is coralled through bad streetscape design within tight narrow boundary roads - effectively cut off from all main arterial routes and no direct way into the new waterfront. A leper colony, almost. And that's just plain wrong and needs to be designed out.

At my suggestion TIE has agreed to come back within the month with a cost tag to amending the current proposal and transport has agreed to come up with a 'community appraisal' that looks at what happens in terms of community and environmental impact if the access road isn't kept open. I haven't given up on the possibility of changing minds - when a cause is right then right thinking people can generally be persuaded to support it.

Council in crisis - again!

A propos yesterday's comments on leadership - like everybody else I received Tom A's email briefing on the Pathfinder Project and its potential job loss consequences. I found myself biting my lip when I read it - it wasn't the deftest handling of a sensitive issue, especially since the programme has been rolling for a while already. In other words, what was not even a drama and is very probably a positive story about efficient management and partnership working over a period of a few years has been turned into a crisis. And why?

Well, one answer is simple cock-up...somebody, working in their own wee box, took their eye of the ball ...
another is the Administration (if it was consulted at all) didn't compute the information, underplayed its importance and inexperience played its part
or maybe it is conspiracy...after all the pathfinder project was all about 'back house' services and I don't think homehelps are anything except frontline, so I am inclined to think an opportunity has been seized to muddle the current administration's cuts strategy (and blame labour for the fiscal mess) and labour's longer term strategy of efficiency savings.

The answer will lie probably somewhere between all these options - but whatever, the Evening News has got it right...COUNCIL IN CRISIS - again!

The only thing that really puzzles me is this...why is Edinburgh losing so many jobs? Logic surely demands that centralising services means the biggest authority retains more staff and the smaller authorities lose out? Are we doing our own version of Scottish Executive decentralisation? Or am I missing something here?

Trust

Yesterday I attended the board meeting of the EICC and was most impressed: the sheer professionalism of the organisation was self evident and its self confidence understandable. As is so often the case the quality of leadership is critical...Hans Rissman doesn't need me to say it, but it is obvious he runs a tight and successful ship.

I am interested in leadership...from personal observation successful leaders come in different shapes and many sizes yet all share one commodity, the ability to inspire trust in those they lead... and that nearly always comes down to good judgement. Get it wrong and you'll soon be found out.

Which brings me neatly to tonight's news about Wendy Alexander. Our leader has admitted her team has acted outside the law...this is not good news.

And now Royston faces the cosh too

Last night at Muirhouse Community Council I heard a rumour which at first I dismissed as risible...ever suspicious though, I checked this whisper and it has come roaring back at me...
It seems that the new community wing at Royston/Wardieburn...already confirmed in the capital budget [which should have started last year but was held up by endless revisions in design] and the refurbishment of Royston Primary School is now officially 'under review'...code for 'might get dropped'.

I can hardly believe it but it seems I must...especially (so it is whispered) because the Convenor is under pressure to deliver on Burdiehouse Community Centre. Now, I have no angst against the good people of Burdiehouse - they deserve a new community centre, I'm sure - but so do the good people of Granton. I hope it is not true but I fear the worst. Should it come to pass there will be an almighty reaction from the community.

I have alerted my ward colleagues. It will be interesting to see how they react.

Granton Primary School

Tonight I met with representatives from the Granton Primary School Parents Council to provide feedback on a recent meeting with Gillian Tee about the plans to relocate the school.

Originally agreed through community consultation it is an important element in a package of measures to regenerate Royston/Wardieburn. The planned rebuild is intended to create a school that is a shared facility linking the 'old' Granton with the 'new' waterfront.

The other elements are all well in hand namely, the refurbishment of Royston Primary School, the replacement of the Royston/Wardieburn Community Centre and the creation of a new supported housing complex in Royston Mains Crescent to allow for the demolition of sheltered housing at Granton Crescent which is intended as the site for the new school.

The purpose of my meeting with Ms Tee was to establish that with £1 million committed and the approximate £3 million + value of the current school site already in the pot, that the balance of £4 million would be committed in the the forthcoming 3 years capital budget.

I am sorry I had to report bad news to the Granton parents.

A big factor in Ms Tee's downbeat assessment was due to the Scottish Government's failure thus far to identify an alternative source of funding to PPP and obviously Granton PS is not unique in this regard. More worryingly though, was the emerging possibility of a reprioritisation of projects which could downgrade Granton from 'new build' to 'refurbishment'. This would be extremely disadvantageous for several reasons:

...£1 million won't go far in refurbishing a big, old fashioned building when even the quote to refurbish the playground and replace the perimeter fencing is estimated at £100k+

...with two or even 3 new primary schools to the north (on the waterfront); with the emerging possibility of a replacement building for Wardie Primary School to the east; with a fully refurbished Royston PS with a new community wing to the west, Granton would be in a poor position to compete in future for pupils

...failure to proceed punches a big hole in community aspirations for a revitalised Granton

The parents received the news with the same dismay I felt and are preparing themselves to campaign ...

Vegas

Forty three hours of travelling all in, just to see my boy married. I tell you a mother can do no more.

Announcing he was getting married in a fortnight was bad enough; telling us it was in Vegas was even worse; but being married by Elvis was the worst of all. For anybody interested enough I understand it is still on the web http://www.cupidswedding.com/ (stuart/jenny). The 'real' wedding service was conducted by a very kind preacher who managed to make this most surreal of surreal occasions feel serious and sincere... the Elvis bit was pure hilarity. The White Chapel was something else altogether...as is Vegas...

Highlights: definitely the wedding...the wedding supper in the Bellagio Hotel's Picasso restaurant - fountains dancing to the music of Sinatra and Pavarotti and the literally the best food I have ever tasted...The Strip, utterly unbelievable - especially Caesar's Palace...a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon and a champagne picnic next to the Colarado River in Arizona, pinch myself, can this be real?... discovering the magic of apple/gin martini

Low points: 42 hours travelling especially Los Angelos airport, a dirty unfriendly hell- hole...losing $200 dollars in less than 5 minutes at the black jack table...recovering from the magic of apple/gin martini

What can I say?

Would I go back? YES
Would I take the same flight routes? NO
Am I broke? YES
Would I do the same again? YOU BET

Love

Just to let all regular readers know - will be away for a few days for the whirlwind wedding. Just think of the treat in store - a blog dedicated to love!

No time to think

Not been much time to think lately: too much going on and too little time to do it in.

Trinity Community Council last night: in scale, different certainly ... but the issues are the same: concern for community safety, concern for the local environment, concern for new facilities., but a very different approach. The Forth Partnership may be ultimately more interesting than I thought.


Today a meeting about Muirhouse Millennium Park which isn't being maintained the way it should. The officer made a list of pledges to improve the situation...he'd knows I'll be watching!

Then a poem sent by a constituent on Remembrance Sunday. He wrote and had it published in a book entitled " Anthology of British poems", nearly 20 year ago. It was written for the 75th anniversary of the first war.

Scots men of 1914-18.

The soldiers come so far away,
The piper plays the Scots wa-hae,
A haunting tune that fills the air,
Brave soldiers, they show no despair.

Into the fields of no-mans land, brave soldiers march,
The whistle blows,
The battle cry, '' For king and country, to do or die"
No time to think or reminisce of bygone days- the sergeant cries,
" Go Forward men - Go Forward.''

Into the fields of no mans land - brave soldiers march,
The piper plays for them alone,
Their eyes now closed,
They now are home.

I know he won't mind me sharing it with you -

Oh man...

Oh man! Saturday was manic.

After the usual two hour slot at PEP it was off to hire a kilt with my younger son for the wedding which will take place on Monday 17th November. He is six feet three inches and is not keen on his national dress since he feels his legs are too thin. It took a bit of persuading, I can tell you. In the end he went for a plain black kilt and, in fact, looks good. I think he believes me. Then off to OT to buy trainers (black kilt, trainers and T-shirt: I am saying nothing: compared to the rest it is conventional) then to buy the 14 years old granddaughter a mobile for her birthday. That was a torture trial...

In the evening Brian Fallon celebrated his 60th birthday at the CCLASP charity ball at the Prestonfield House Hotel. Black tie and utterly splendid surroundings as well as great food, drink and company - the event went with a swing. Lots of people I know well there too so plenty gossip, chat and laughter: it was a great night, then away sharpish to collect granddaughter who was at her dad's engagement party (which I couldn't go to because of above) and who was getting bored (so she said) with the adult company. Half one before we got to bed and up again early to go to Church.

Granton Parish is the only local church with a memorial headstone and there was a good turn out for the short memorial service then the two minutes silence and laying of wreaths later inside. Norman Smith, the local minister gave a thoughtful and well researched homily on assuming responsibility and remembering our way of life is bought and won on those who have sacrificed their life in battle.

Then finally, before settling down to watch the Hearts, off to JohnLewis to look for an outfit for this wedding. Mike found it (mega surprise, usually he gets it completely wrong) so now the search is on for a hat...

Governing is a lot harder than it looks

So there won't be an imposed limit of 18 children in primary 1-3...the SNP in full retreat. At a recent school council meeting the headteacher speculated that such a reduction in the early years would simply lead to a reduction in per capita budgets for schools meaning a reduction in the economy of scale which bigger schools enjoy. Personally, I don't agree that reducing class sizes beyond about 27 makes a blind bit of difference. What does make the difference is the quality of teaching, the appropriateness of the curriculum, exra support for those who need it and the teachers' expectations of the child - above all that, though, is the encouragement the child gets from its parents. I'm afraid there is no substitute for consistency in the message. And no matter how good a teacher/school is and no matter how much they inspire, it takes a pretty exceptional child to overcome parental indifference. Never mind, I shall enjoy watching the Nats dance on the point of a thousand needles as they try to wriggle off a thousand hooks..as they explain why they're not hiring 1000 s of extra teachers: heh, heh...governing is a lot harder than it looks.

I know I'm supposed to say 'Well done, Glasgow' ...maybe it's sour grapes ...but the way I see it, the Commonwealth Games means hundreds of millions of extra pounds being invested in Glasgow's regeneration above and beyond the extra millions already being ploughed in: Glasgow gave the game away when they led the charge to co-operate in freezing the council tax - freezing the council tax isn't hard for them - they haven't raised their local taxes for a couple of years because they get so much in extra funds for housing, for regeneration, to address health inequalities etc.

Meanwhile I represent a ward with some of the country's poorest, sickest people and in Granton we can't get a penny for new housing or new health facilities or new schools. It has taken me the best part of 5 years to get 1 primary school refurbished and a new family centre promised [still not a single brick laid despite originally intended to be completed by now] to replace a community centre that is crumbling despite all the good work going on in it.

Last week we were shown statistics demonstrating, for example, that the number of people being admitted to hospital from the EH5 1 data zone for self harming (attempting suicide) is 162% above the national average. Poor people in Granton are just as desperate as poor people in Glasgow.

I don't grudge Glasgow any investment they get: I just want my constituents to be treated the same. I, like them, am tired of waiting for the rest of the world to catch up with what we all know down here in EH5 1 - things are bad and not getting any better. The area needs the physical evidence of improvement - new houses, new schools, new environment to encourage people to believe a different way is possible. At the moment, none look very likely.

I know other areas have problems but my job is to push for my ward - I defy anybody to argue with Granton's need: then I defy anybody to ignore it.

Problems

It has been one helluva day: started at 7.45am at PEP with one problem piling on top of another; then on to the City Chambers to meet the new Head of Children & Families...more problems; back to PEP...more problems; on to my surgery...awful problems; Trinity PS school council...not so many problems; interrupted by a phone call so back to PEP...more bloody problems; then opened up the day's emails - all 42 of them, and yes, you guessed it...more problems. It is now 9.45pm (a 14 hours day) and I know there's no chance of stopping for at least another hour. So all the interesting things I was gonna report will have to wait till tomorrow because a few of these problems can't.

Bingo

Apart from the news and history programme I don't watch much telly. My one weakness is Spooks. Half the time I have no idea what's going on but I like the characters (especially Adam and Ros) and the apparent insider knowledge that goes into the writing. Tonight's episode conflicts with Celtic v Benefica and Mike has removed to the conservatory to watch the end of the game...he is not a happy man, being shifted out his warm, comfy chair so I can watch BBC1.

Just back from the business meeting of the Neighbourhood Partnership...Cllr Morris did a pretty good job of getting through the agenda but what we actually achieved, I'm not sure...in fairness, I think she is as frustrated as anybody at how slow progress is...eventually though it will all slot into place and hey bingo.

And today I met Alvin who knows a thing or two about flood defences - he wants the council to spend £740,000 in the next couple of years to bolster the walls at Cramond and Portobello. Granton & Leith he'll leave for WEL and FPA to take care of...should be interesting.

Campagning journalism? Aye right!

I had to laugh.

Last week's Scotsman...trumpeting its success as Richard Lochhead (who he?) calls for a report on the health of Scotland's fish, animal and maritime plant stocks...all down to the Scotsman's 'Save our Seas' campaign.

A triumph for campaigning journalism? Aye right!

Or maybe just a friendly SNP candidate/deputy editor with the right ministerial contacts who sits down and connives at a wheeze that let's the once peerless national newspaper kid its readers that it's still setting the national(ist) agenda and let's a pretendy trendy 'environmental secretary' improve his 'green' (or is it 'blue) credentials to draw the eye away from all the non-environmentally friendly stuff they're really up to like scrapping tolls on the Forth Bridge.

Journos should always remember you can only fool all of the people some of the time...or am I just an old cynic?

Fireworks

Think this blog could become a countdown to an unexpected wedding if I'm not careful. I will spare you the minutiae but my children appear to make a speciality out of hasty weddings. In November 2002 my daughter who had been living with her 'partner' told us she was expecting their first child and now they wanted to get married...on 25 January 2003. She gave me three months to organise it - THE WORKS - venue for 130 guests, frock, bridesmaids, cake...you name it, she wanted it -'before the bump showed' - at the time it was frantic...how I pity my son's future mother-in law...there's no bump, no hurry...just a wedding in 3 weeks time...sweet things. I hope some day, some one will do that to them.

Fireworks tonight - Granton sounds like the sound track for Shock & Awe and my wee dog is terrified...quivering in the corner, unable to eat for fear. The vet recommended diazapam...which seems a bit extreme. Personally I love fireworks and wouldn't ban them but I can understand where the animal lovers are coming from.

And finally, good news today...I am officially discharged from the hospital...as cured of cancer as anyone can be...yes, more tests in a couple of years but free of the persistent anxiety drag that goes with the territory...so I think I'll away and set off that rocket and get ready to dance at a wedding I once thought I might never live to see.

weekends and weddings

It's been a busy weekend: started off on Friday afternoon with a lunch time meeting with a colleague from New York then much later in the evening catching up with my sister and her family (who live in London) and who treated us to dinner at the new Loch Fyne restaurant at Newhaven...and very nice it was too and not nearly as pricey as I thought it might be.

Saturday was PEP in the morning then off to visit a new garden centre we discovered at Hopetoun just outside South Queensferry...spectacular walks are adorned with all the plants on sale, ornaments and various other bits and pieces...a lovely tearoom (again inexpensive and good quality) and well worth a visit.

Sunday was spent lifting tons of leaves from the garden and general tidying up and then while Mike was at Easter Road I cooked and cooked and cooked for all the people we had in the evening. My eldest son has announced he is getting married in a couple of weeks (very unexpectedly) and we are delighted for him and his espoused (nice word that one, though I like affianced too - anything is better than 'partner'!) but inevitably it means a gathering of the clans - on our side, Maginnis & Scammell, who between them can muster over 40 people (hence the very large Xmas prezzie list) - bang goes counting the pennies too - just gonna have to run up a mountain of debt - aaagh!

Life

Been a busy day today particularly at PEP. It's that time of the year when every funder wants an end of year report; key funders want grant forms completed and submitted and in the middle of all that we have a Winter Programme to plan and deliver. This year's Winter festival has, at its core, an arts extravaganza with a fantastic pantomime, mixed media exhibition and launch of a very special recipe book prepared by the Neighbourhood Group. Take into account more Christmas parties than most people have digits, extra shopping trips and a lot more besides and you'll get the picture. November is a month of critical planning and preparation and December is just plain mad!

I've just finished pulling together the annual monitoring & evaluation report (based entirely on service users own responses) and it is excellent. Most striking is the big increase in the number of local people now receiving a service from PEP: we are recording an increase of 23% on last year's numbers and are now providing at least 1 service per annum to 750 people - and that in a year when the organisation has been under the cosh from a drip feed of anonymous, unpleasant allegations. It says a lot about the attitude of the staff and the quality of their work as well as a lot about the solid support from the Board and the vast majority of the local community.

After PEP it was on to Morrisons to get some necessary victuals - we were down to the last 2 onions, 3 tatties and a solitary pack of herb sausages in the freezer (sausage and mash for dinner tonight!). I am trying to conserve money - 44 Xmas prezzies are going to eat into the funds...not to mention an end of year holiday I booked long before I sat down to do the Xmas sums...so it was all the 'buy one get one free' offers and no booze. It's a shame we don't like pizzas...if we did we could eat for practically nothing all month long...I'm not, by nature, very good at prudence - in truth, Elizabeth and prudence is an oxymoron. I can do it when I have to but I really hate it!

And talking of prudence I caught Marilyne's story in tonight's Evening News (wasn't it an awful photo? Marilyne' is a fine looking woman and plainly they chose the very worst photo - a common trick of the EN as I know to my cost) - is it just me or is everybody getting just a wee bit fed up of the 'it wisnae me, it was them to blame' line she repeats like a mantra. If it isn't Labour mismanaging the budget, then it's the Evening News putting words in her mouth. C'mon Marilyne...you can do better than that!

And finally, I was at Royston/Wardieburn Community Centre tonight to do my regular constituents' 'surgery'. Only 3 people there tonight (fewer than usual) so I had a bit time on my hands. I noticed a poster on the wall, a photograph of Martin Luther King Jnr delivering his 'I have a dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial. It is a startling photograph with the Washington obelisk in the distance, huge crowds between and Luther King in the foreground commanding the space. I read the speech carefully again - and was struck anew as to how many of its phrases have passed into folklore...' the summer of discontent'...'now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all God's children'...a nation where (children) are judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character' ...'let freedom ring'...
I remember hearing that speech on the TV when I was a wee girl...it was as uplifting then as it is now.

If you haven't already done so, go to the Lincoln Memorial and buy a book of Lincoln's speeches and of all the famous US democrats who have used his words and example as an inspiration. I promise you, it will move you to tears, as will the Vietnam Wall. All America's magnificence and mistakes on display in a single place for everyone to ponder.

winter approaches

Children & Families committee today...not much of note except the decision to proceed with a review of community learning and development and anything else that is discretionary spending...that's a lot ...adult learning, community development, ESL, quality review etc etc...none of it has the same media impact as school closures but it's all pretty damned important. Also, a report showing that spending on vulnerable children rises exponentially and is, as ever, out of control...

West Pilton & Granton Community Council tonight - a big and active group with many characters I have known for a long time: all are keen and committed and everyone has an opinion.

The opinion polls don't look promising at the moment though a straight fight between Labour and the Tories always helps us. It looks like Gordon was right to delay: with such volatility in voting intention it would have been a difficult call to make. It will be interesting to see whether the Tory lead can be sustained over the winter months.

And finally...the Xmas diary is beginning to fill up...I feel ill already...was counting up the gifts list ...44 presents...I cannae believe it! Better make a start on it soon...and that doesn't count the 5 December birthdays either!

USP

Looking after my grandaughter this weekend: with her dad and grandad she is a season ticket holder at Easter Road and she arrived after yesterday's match to tell me she is going out with her friends (in Gorgie) and I am to both deliver and collect her. I must be getting old...she is fourteen and it felt a heavy responsibility as I ran through all the reasons why she should not go - all mostly to do with my anxieties. She went: we arranged to meet at 10pm and she was only six minutes late...but I tell you for those six minutes I went to hell and back...she is a sweetheart but she is a teenager. I can remember everything I got up to at 14 years and who with...I wouldn't like to believe she could do the same.

Been reading about the SNP conference: they are enjoying their moment of triumph and are entitled to. It won't take long before the burnish of victory glows less rosily. It is the way of politics and life...nothing lasts, it is only a question of how long. They have had an easy start, made easier by Labour's disarray. I fear this could go on for a while yet. It is impossible to be more Scottish than the SNP and class politics, from which Labour is sprung, is apparently redundant in the new era. The turf is now social justice and economic well being and it is ground that is easily shared. Nationalism is the SNP's USP: Labour in Scotland must find another.

Limits

Well that was a week that passed in a blur...so much going on it's difficult to know where to start but equally no idea how much, if any, was to good effect. Take a look at Thursday's Council meeting for example...nearly nine hours long and in the end only two decisions of any real importance...the trams and Portobello High School...but boy, collectively 58 politicans can really chunter on...

it's also pretty obvious the whole pendulum has swung away from local government to Holyrood and it's clash with Westminster. How much worse will it be when we no longer set our own tax? We'll be ciphers of another tier with no independent action. Funny how centuries of democratic representation can be swept away and nobody even seems to notice.

The most interesting stuff of the last few days has been the revelation that alcohol recommendations on safe drinking (14 and 21 units) have no scientific background. Somebody lied to us...for years...and nobody seems very bothered about that either! An immense relief for me...I don't know anybody (who drinks, that is) who ever stuck to those guidelines. As I get older I drink less and less (I can't sleep if I have more than 2) but the thought of somebody imposing a limit has never been attractive...for me, as true in all aspects of life as it is for alcohol. This week Mike and I decided (after a very heavy dinner party last Saturday) we weren't going to drink at all for 7 days. Alas, we lasted only till Thursday.

economic development

The first meeting of the economic development committee today...it has many more members than I thought and 9 officers ranked at the top table...I wonder how much it costs to hold them all there for the two hours of the meeting...

I was pleased the chair accepted my proposal to call for an audit of all current economic development activity across the council - currently it is spread thinly and to poor effect: each area will hold steadfastly to their own wee bit (probably doing well) but losing the synergy of joint working and direction: I was also pleased the committee agreed with me to undertake an investigation into establishing an Edinburgh Bureau, similar to Glasgow's to act as a focal point of promotion for the Capital. I also want to push for a review of our relationship with VisitScotland. I don't think we good value from them. We shall see...

Good partnerships

Been a good day at PEP: we opened the West Pilton Neighbourhood Garden which is a really successful partnership among 4 partners: NELO, Capital Skills, West Pilton Tenants and PEP. Basically, NELO paid for the landscaping, Capital Skills did the work with young North Edinburgh trainees, West Pilton tenants identified and commissioned the project and will benefit from the environmental improvements and PEP manaaged he partnership and will maintain the garden as a community gardening project. The new garden looks terrific and the 90 people who came along to see the Lord Provost open it, thought so too. A word of praise for the Craigroyston High School Samba Band who were brilliant!

Labour Group this afternoon: a lot on Thursday's agenda: it promsies to be another long day...

The Zoo

Sorry to labour this but I am told yesterday by a reliable source that Steven Purcell aka Mr Glasgow is rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect of Glasgow's new Royal Zoo...it would be laughable if it was not so serious...how are we in this sorry mess? And where will the four Liberal local councillors be when the whole Corstorphine site comes up for housing?

Relocation, relocation...

I am told that rumours already abound that the zoo is looking for a new location. I hope this is not true. If so, our planning committee has a helluva lot to answer for.

No. 1 City: Edinburgh

Just finished watching Location, Location, Location where, based on local authority boundaries and statistics looking at safety, education, culture, nightlife etc. Edinburgh is voted the UK's Number 1 place to live with the best economy outside London.

I feel proud and I think the 20 years of Labour rule in the city (in which I am very pleased to have played a big part) is vindicated. The challenge is now thrown to the new administration. They can't take any credit for this accolade ...but they have to match and better it: so far they've given a damned good impression of ducking every difficult decision and screwing up our progress. Decisions being taken now have a 5 years lead in time: thumbs down to the zoo: thumbs down to new school investment: thumbs down to nursery education and support for the working family: thumbs down to city centre licenses: it doesn't look good, does it?

That leaves the tram: with a £40 million deficit for line b, critical to the waterfront (and the city's next major growth) development, the challenge is to make sure the money is there to build it. Let's see what they're made of now.

Young Turks

Been following some of the blog comments on Ming Campbell's forced retirement...got a better perspective on internal Liberal politics ...found the comments re the 'Young Turks' particularly illuminating...these apparently are newer right wing members of the Liberal party who previously might have found their political home in the Tories. To the despair of the traditional Liberal they have infiltrated the Lib Dems, presumably in the belief that the Tories are a dying breed and political advancement lies elsewhere....(Labour suffered from this too in the '90's).

I'm told it is widely known on the Council rumour mill that the Liberal councillor for the Forth ward used to be a member of the Young Tories...if true, presumably she would be called a 'Young Turk' too.

Politics is a funny business...individuals start off at one point and for various reasons find themselves moving around on the political compass...I imagine it is seldom as a result of a 'damascene' revelation, more likely a set of expediences and compromises where they can get what they want by following another path. I think of all the people I know who have 'crossed the floor' ...with only 1 exception most have changed because they were threatened with extinction by their Party of first choice.

How much harder to stay and fight on...some might call it foolishness, others honourable. It will be interesting to see if Gordon Brown revisits his offer to Ming Campbell to join his government: even more so, to see if Ming accepts...

holidays and forced retirement

Ming Campbell has been forced to resign for no other reason than being too old. He has been relentlessly undermined by his own Party colleagues for a long time: these Liberals aren't quite the nice bunch of people they'd have you believe...

Council very quiet at the moment: it's the school holiday week and everybody is away...it's amazing how empty the car park is at HQ...everybody is married to teachers, you see...

Flattering to deceive

Pleasant afternoon at Meggatland watching Hawick vs Boroughmuir. My nephew, Hue, plays for The Greens, and my brother coaches the forwards: my loyalties are with 'Muir though. It was on my watch that the proposal to sell part of the fields to Applecross to upgrade school and club facilities first came to the Education Committee. We stuck with it through thick and thin (12 years, I think), faced down the opposition and now the grounds are fantastic. Boroughmuir won 40- 21 (and the score flattered Hawick), a case of men against boys: also the chance to meet many old friends again...can't wait for the England - France semi final tonight. My husband (who is incidentally exuberant about the football result at Hampden) is half English but he is backing the Auld Alliance rather than the Auld Enemy tonight.

I read in the Evening News the half baked excuses from the chair of planning that he was on holiday...that he would have backed the zoo application...that he thinks they'll get it on appeal: this is a scandal. He is the chair of the committee - he shouldn't be on holiday when a planning committee is on - he takes a good responsibility payment for chairing the meetings and should earn it: it is within his power to set the agenda and reschedule contentious issues items - he could not have been unaware of Paul Eadie's opposition and he could have postponed this application till he was present: and we cannot have a situation where the chair ducks responsibility and incurs costs and massive reputational damage to the Council as a result.

Neutrality

Labour Party meeting tonight and, if I may say so, most members think Gordon got it right - nobody fancied an election on a dark November day especially when there was no need.

Interested too, to learn that George Kerevan (another Labour deserter) is to fight Gavin Strang in Edinburgh East for the SNP. It surely can't be right that he's still able to edit the Scotsman? Nobody could believe he's neutral, surely? Or are we asked to believe he can switch off his SNP bias till the election is called? I don't think so. It's the most consistently anti-Labour paper I've read except the Mail and the Independent.

a happy birthday

A nice evening last night...the Taiwanese National Day Celebration at the George Hotel...as usual Jane Cheng was a generous hostess and the golden dragon symbolising good fortune and prosperity was impressively fantastic. Then on to catch the last moments of our 3 year old's birthday party...'Granny, I'm three,' she shrieks dressed as a flower fairy with face painted as a butterfly. Then, when I ask how many times people have sung 'happy birthday' today...'Infinity' she says, trying out a new word and getting it wrong, but I get the idea.

She shares her birthday with Taiwan and my mother (6 February) with New Zealand. ..wonder if the 14 December means anything anywhere..

Regeneration

Pleased to hear that an initiative I started off maybe 15 months ago is beginning to bear fruit - I refer to the Employment Accord in the waterfront (according to the long term forecasts the waterfront over the 20 years of its development will yield 30,000 + jobs) which I pushed to have taken seriously during my time as chair of WEL. The local community was rightly pressing for proof that the development was going to deliver the jobs promised at the start and despite high level consensus about the objective there was no strategy in place to make it happen. So I convened a summit of all the key employment players and from that a working group was developed. Then I persuaded the Waterfront Partnership partners to put their name to it and I understand the whole thing is gathering pace. Of course, it helps that key employers like Morrison's and TIE are prepared to commit and now, the developers and their contractors are joining the party...linking local labour to available jobs and making sure local people are properly trained and able to take advantage of the opportunities...I understand the Waterfront Recruitment Centre in a year of operation has placed 450 local folk into jobs...I want the uplift next year to be exponential
All we need now is the construction academy to be located in the Waterfront (as was mooted during my time on the WEL Board) and with a fresh refocussing through Craigroyston HS and Telford College on making sure local young people are equipped to join , we can be sure that they too can benefit long term from the massive development on their doorstep. I understand we're not too far away from reaching that either!
So, I say well done to everybody involved in keeping this project alive and moving forward. It would be easy for me or any other politician to take the credit but, in truth, it is as much down to those who put in the labour to make the political idea a reality.

Efficiencies

Watched my old mucker Alistair Darling do his job today. At the personal taxation level the biggie is, of course, the rise in inheritance tax to £600k with immediate effect. I can think of at least 1 person of my acquaintance who is in line for a windfall as a result of the retrospective element. Personally, it will make no difference to me. The value of my parent's home (her only asset) does not meet the current level and while it may eventually mean something for my children I sincerely hope it will be a very long time before they benefit.

I am not one of these people worrying about leaving my kids a legacy. I have managed perfectly well without one and they can too. They have been blessed with two parents who loved them, looked after them and equipped them for adult life. They know how to earn their keep, how to work hard and the difference between right and wrong...and they are prepared to accept the consequences if they get it wrong...that seems a more than adequate inheritance to me. And if they get a financial bonus when we cop it then that's all it is...a bonus. I want my kids to earn what they have...not expect a handout either from the State (unless ill-health forces it) or from their mum and dad.

The really BIG story is, of course, the brakes on the growth of public expenditure - this means the public sector is really going to have look at efficiencies: my husband works in the NHS and his observation is that much of the undeniably new money has gone straight into very high salaries for top level staff...I certainly think that's the case in Scottish Education. The massive investment in teachers' salaries has produced nothing tangible...except better paid teachers...not a bad thing in itself...but not enough for the investment involved. Next thing is reducing class sizes to 18...ostensibly massive investment in education but equally obviously better working conditions for teachers...it needs to be tied unequivocally to raised achievements for children.

Only 1 bright spot

A lousy weekend - caught some kind of horrible stomach bug and spent 48 hours in bed or enjoying an over-intimate acquaintance with the loo...not nice

...then Gordon Brown rules out a General Election and brings heaps of the brown stuff down on his head

...then Scotland gets beat by a team they should have defeated

The only bright spot?

Eve was born on Sunday night at 11.04...weighing just shy of 8lbs...her parents are my good pals and I am thrilled

Education- a top priority?

The Leader of the SNP locally takes the biscuit: today's Evening News, 'We will have to go the Scottish Government to secure as much funding as we can because children's education is top priority'...this from the leader of a party whose national leaders have just denied Edinburgh £100 million schools investment, from a leader whose party has just lopped £9 million from the education budget, toppled (flawed) re-investment proposals agreed by his partners and who lamely explained at Council his own child goes 'private'. ...I ask you...

Nimbyism 2

A propos the previous entry, and not being a member of the Planning Committe: I now discover that the Lib/Dem Chair conveniently absented himself from the meeting (ducking a difficult decision? Or disagreeing with his colleagues and afraid to break the Party line? Surely not?) ; that the committee divided strictly down Party lines -Coalition councillors vs the rest (collusion or Party whips? Surely not?); that the Coalition voted against the official recommendation exposing the Council to the risk and cost of a lengthy Public Enquiry with councillors solely responsible for explaining their reasons (NIMBYism, surely not?).

What happens when we get to Mountgrange? Does the Coalition go with Jenny's recorded view and vote against? More nimbyism? More evidence of a Coaliton united in stopping Edinburgh develop?

What a bunch!

NIMBY

Disappointed though unsurprised to learn the Planning Committee has turned down the Zoo's application for some housing to help fund its refurbishment (better declare an interest here since I'm on EDI's Board which has a commercial interest in the plan)

Having visited several so-called 'international' zoos whilst on various holidays, I am struck at how poor an imitation they often turn out to be compared to Edinburgh's. Residents tend to take our zoo for granted but believe me, it is a fantastic resource and visitor attraction. What a pity it might be at risk for lack of funding...what a pity if it does (as has been mooted) move out the city. Planning Committee members need to be alive to the strategic consequences of their decisions. Awful for us all if 'not in my back yard' becomes the policy driver.

Besotted

It's been a PEP day. No meetings at the Chambers but two local meetings and a 'surgery' instead. I threw in the towel at 7.15pm - been out since 7.30 this morning and could take no more.

Local meetings are always worthwhile...there is always something to learn and there were one or two useful titbits tonight which I will follow up.

Home to find the other half glued to Sky Sports European football - Valencia v Chelsea. The man is besotted...I almost wished I'd stayed on at Royston/Wardieburn!

Edinburgh's Education

Marilyne has met Fiona (two girls together, cosy kind of ring to that, don't you think) and what do you know? 'There's just nothing we can do...no money to upgrade the schools. Oh dearie me!' (wringing of hands and worried looks...)

What is Edinburgh's Education boss thinking? She should be demanding the Minister finds the money. That's her job...to stick up for Edinburgh's Education not play her bit part in some immature, naive labour bashing charade...just as it's the Minister's job to wrench money from the cabinet for her service. They're not a pair of wee lassies: they're powerful politicians who should be punching their weight.

And Cllr Maclaren had an open goal to kick at: wasn't it the SNP partners in the Coalition who pulled the rug from beneath her feet on her school rationalisation programme? A bit of political blackmail and rubbing noses in it might have embarassed the Minister just enough to keep the door ajar for more talks. Meanwhile we have all our biggest, most prestigious schools in an unholy mess and no obvious way to sort it. Cllr Maclaren is not daft, not by a long shot, but she has consistently misplayed her hand.

She owes no loyalty to the local SNP...she should have used their treachery to embarass their Holyrood masters...at least she might have won something for Edinburgh. She needs to remember her pact isn't with Salmond inc. Her pact is with the people of Edinburgh. So far, she's let us all down badly.

Bruce Hay

Read in the paper this morning that Bruce Hay has died. He was a great man, straight and true. The kind of man you would want beside you in any struggle. I have known him and his family for many years and have never known him to be anything other than mighty. The world is a poorer place this morning.

Bullying children...

I can confirm: THE CITY IS NOT BANKRUPT!!! Donald McGuigan reported to the Labour Group today and when I asked, he was adamant...he has never declared the city bankrupt and doesn't know where a figure of £58 million came from...could have told you that already but it's always nice to know...my wee new colleague will have to learn the distinction between hyperbole and actuality...

A constituent telephoned tonight: her 17 years old daughter is doing her 6th year at Telford and receives an EMA (educational maintenance allowance, currently £3o per week to help the poorest kids stay on at school). Tomorrow Telford's staff are on strike and all EMA students (inevitably the youngest and most economically disadvantaged) have been advised by the principal that a 'no show' i.e. failure to cross the picket line , will result in them losing the week's grant. As her mother (who doesn't want to be identified for fear of job reprisal) said, 'This is a serious case of bullying children who are the most deprived.' If it is as the mum describes, I concur.

I have written to the Director of Children & Families with full details of the case: I want to know if CEC had a hand in this decision...

macho man

I have had an interesting day much of which falls into the 'confidential' file so can't be discussed here...yet.

Meeting this morning with the local police and other councillors looking at crime trends in Forth. By far and away the highest crime is vandalism - according to the police usually carried out by teenagers, tanked up on alcohol at the weekends [I paraphrase]. There are several iniatives being trialled: bottle marking [where each local store voluntarily marks each bottle it sells with its own distinctive mark so the police can determine where the kids are getting it, then target adult customers at those shops who're buying and passing it on: like asking shops to adopt a voluntary over 21's policy on the assumption it's easier to identify who looks over 21 as opposed to over 18; targeted use of mobile CCTV etc. This seems a very practical approach to take and if it results in less vandalism and improved health for kids then it's a real win win.

A good meeting with Andrew, Ewan and Ian to discuss the education situation: it seems Marilyne is determined to come back with a fresh set of proposals... she is surely sore at the cavalier humiliation she suffered at the hands of the SNP...but it will be heaping problem upon problem to come back so soon. She will earn no brownie points for macho posturing...women never do...better leave that to the men!

quiet on the domestic front

Yesterday afternoon out canvassing in Boswall: picking up local issues which I will progress. Good response...Gordon obviously going down well...Mark thinks there will be a snap General Election, first Thursday in November...groan...

Other than that, a quiet weekend, working, cleaning, gardening...all things domestic

Burma

Been following the situation in Burma with dismay...it is difficult stuff to watch. It seems the authorities are very determined to crush the rebellion and they may succeed...this time. But history teaches us that the will of the people will eventually win through, though not without bloodshed and human pain.

Talk of a boycott of Chinese goods met with short thrift this morning from a local shopkeeper who said all the goods in the shop were sourced from China; all the clothes worn by those advocating a boycott were produced in China; and what good would a boycott do except hurt lots of poor Chinese? This will be a question world leaders will ponder. An easier target is probably the Olympic Games and the loss of face to the Chinese Government would be incalculable...but it is hard to see any of the big powers acting with serious intent...which makes me feel powerless...but how much harder for the ordinary Burmese person? Paradoxically their only real hope probably lies not with international governments but with the ordinary man and woman in China. Unless they show political support and so cause problems for the Chinese authorities then it is unlikely anything will change. I imagine, though I do not know, a watchful eye is now being kept on Chinese radicals, just in case.

TV Shopping

The last couple of days have been more party than hard work.

Last night was PEP's volunteer party night and it was a joy...staff and volunteers having a real laugh...many of our volunteers came to us very isolated with little confidence but you'd never have believed it. On average the volunteers 'give' PEP 1250 hours per month which is staggering. It requires a lot of management, flexibility and care but is very worth it to see people grow in confidence and skills.

Today, was Helen's final day: a leisurely and fun lunch with lots of happy remisicence and tonight, my mother who hasn't been too well recently, came round for a couple of drinks and some television shopping (her favourites QVC & Gems TV - and she's too poorly to wander round the shops)...it's a different way to spend a Friday evening, and my dad, if he was still alive, would have disowned us both!

£58 million reserves

...and another thing...Cllr Morris also revealed that the Coalition made no attempt to differentiate according to need when applying the cuts. As one person at the Muirhouse Community Council said, ' The need is not the same across the city.' ...then gobsmackingly...'the city is bankrupt. The Director of Finance has told us we need £58 million in reserves. That is why we made the cuts.'...£58 million reserves would have Audit Scotland crashing down on us, ordering us to rebate money to the taxpayers...she needs to do her homework better!

An uplifting message

'I will not be judged today by yesterday.....Today I begin again, focused on the success I will create today' - sent as an uplifting message from someone I count as a friend though we have never met...and it pretty much describes my approach to life...loosely translated - 'you're only as good as your last success'...so you've got to keep on trying.

Tonight at Muirhouse Community Council a motion is put ' That the council withdraw from all dealings with the local Coalition councillors for their attack on local projects and their failure to consult'. Looks at first it might be passed without dissent then a rethink - the motion is to be sent to the joint community council meeting next week...it gave Cllr Morris something to think about ...she scurried off early....

Sooks!

Friends drew my attention to the Evening News online comments yesterday in response to the Waterfront article. In particular to a 'conversation' about the two 'Sooks' websites. I try never to read them and never to respond since defending yourself against a lie is futile and you only end up validating their right to tell the lie in the first place.

Several online readers asked why, if they are lies, does the victim not retaliate with legal action. Believe me, even though I knew I probably wouldn't succeed, I have tried...not on my own behalf (sticks and stones etc etc and in public life you have to be prepared to take it) but on behalf of my many friends, some family members (one attack on my disabled, widowed mother was particularly despicable) and on the many organisations I work with who have found themselves dragged into a morass of crap simply because of their association with me. However, the authors know the difficulty of successful prosecution and abuse the legislative weakness.

I heard recently that one MSP was considering proposing legislation for more effective remedy...it can't come soon enough, I say!

Life is good

Another day...trying in parts, uplifting in others.

Trying...because I get front page and half of page 5 in the Evening News over a strip of green & blue tartan 16 x 68 inches which I was asked to wear at formal events when representing WEL. Two good photographs but a whole lot of inference that I was swaddled in the bloody stuff! Tartan (except as an accessory) is a fashion no no and there is, of course, another side to the story... of how a chief executive reared in the private sector managed to run rings round a Board full of experienced public servants....and that story will be told in due course.

Uplifting ....because today I caught up with two projects I took a chance on over a decade ago and both have succeeded beyond even my wildest imagination and in the process made a big difference to the lives of many....because my son in law seems to be recovering....because a close friend sent me a cheery letter and, fingers crossed, is winning his fight with cancer....because, no matter the trials and tribulations, life is good.

Conflicts and interests

The weekend could only be described as sleepless....family crisis involving an emergency admission to hospital and grandparents making late night dash across the city to collect 3 infants...late night problems with garage door at PEP involving removing all vehicles so we can at least keep the services going during the week...I don't function well without, at least, 3 hours sleep so it's been trying. I know the aphorism that God doesn't give you anything to bear that you can't, but sometimes He gets pretty damned close to the bone.

Also, the Evening News phoned to check again, on the details of PEP's lease of garage facilities with PEP. The conspiracy theorists are obviously still cranking it up. For the avoidance of doubt, PEP holds the original lease agreed on 22 January 2003 signed by the Transport Organiser and a WEL representative. This was updated on 31 March 2004 for insurance purposes - again by the Transport Organiser and a WEL representative. The original lease was agreed before I was a Board member at WEL or before Steve Izatt was in post. I presume it went before WEL Board members at the time for an 'in principle' approval. The updated lease would not go before the Board since it was simply an operational matter but if it had, I would have declared an conflict of interest and withdrawn from the meeting.

For readers' interest...when the current WEL Chief Executive, Colin Hunter, took up post he recommended a change in strategy which involved the company developing the North Shore plots to maximise short term income. I chaired the meeting which agreed this change in strategy even though I knew it would cause problems for PEP's garaging arrangements. At WEL, my first priority was always doing the best for WEL....being in public life means having to always manage these kinds of conflicts of interest. And there is no shame in organisations like WEL supporting an older people's project and all the other community groups it did. In fact, that's what they should be doing!

burning the candle

A busy morning at PEP as we move into the Autumn. It means a new learning programme for our adult learners, new programme for the Neighbourhood Group and a new programe for the Weekend Resource all of which requires a lot of planning and preparation ...on top of that we are moving our garaging arrangements to a temporary home while we seek a more permanent solution and are about to officially open the new neighbourhood garden...as ever a lot is going on and I am lucky to work with the staff I do who are able to rise to most challenges.

Later this afternoon I went to a party. Helen McQuade, Eric Milligan's secretary, who has worked with Midlothian Council, then Lothian Regional Council and finally the City of Edinburgh Council is taking early retirement after 40 years in local government. She is a STAR and will be a big miss. We are great friends and though I won't be seeing her quite so frequently I know we will continue to be so. Pat, her husband is a star too. His father was a Labour Councillor in Midlothian and though he has gone up in the world he has not forgotten his roots. There were many familiar faces at the party...Mr P Nolan, Mr J Gibson, Mrs P Herriott, Mr K Smart, Ms L Cameron, Mr A Jackson, Ms M Jackson aka Costello, Mr E Aitken, Mr M Hart, Mr P Smith, Ms T Gallo, Mr M Wilkinson to name only a few...conspicuous by his absence was Mr B Fallon. He was posted missing and will be in trouble when next we meet....

Tomorrow morning the Labour Party is holding a community conference where I am committed to lead one of the sessions then in the afternoon it is back to PEP to make up for lost time. This is called burning the candle at both ends and in the middle too.

Green machine falls short...

Another long one today ...Council meeeting went on a while ...no surprises in the decisions either. The Coalition, held together by elastic bands, stuck close and every vote went their way. But Jenny gave an interestingly honest response to my question about trust, loyalty and who she's actually dealing with. I'd say she doesn't trust her junior partners one iota and no matter how much Cllr Cardownie tries to ingratiate himself it ain't gonna work. They might all hang together in an anti-labour pact but the body language of his own and Lib Dem councillors is interesting. When he's speaking they look at the ceiling... speaks for itself, I think....

Best speech of the day (in my humble opinion) went to Jeremy Balfour (a Tory), the worst to Cllr Cardownie if for no reason that he berated the Greens on a wrong premise. He apologised - privately, of course: no public withdrawal for our Steve....the first time I heard Steve speak was 30 years ago at a Leith Labour Party Meeting. Alex Wood (remember him?) had just made one of his frequent demagogic rants and Cardownie (then newly joined from the SWP) riposted. They both made an impression for sheer volume if not content...but two Titans of the Labour Movement? ...not!

And finally....and only because I promised to reveal all at Council...this morning I went in early to speak to Ewan...and found Andrew (who shares the office) with his breeks at his feet. Before anybody gets carried away, the explanation is entirely innocent...he cycles into work (to reduce his carbon footprint, bless him) and changes from cycle shorts into trousers...so in answer to the many people who asked...his underpants are clean but definitely not green...

A long one

I'm very pleased that sense has prevailed and the North Edinburgh Arts Centre is to get a reprieve. Now the Board has to make their rescue plan stack up. Anything I can do to help, I will, including sending a cheque for their appeal.

Attended the Royston/Wardieburn Community Council last night which went well...and then on to the West Pilton Community Council...Allan Jackson has been a man of his word and moved things on with TIE. As a member of TIE's Board he is in a good position to hold them to account and he has got them to admit that if the Council lift their objections to the Access Road remaining closed then they can make the engineering work...now it's up to both Coalition councillors in Forth to put the pressure on their officials to play ball. Shouldn't be too difficult...there will undoubtedly be another public meeting and we'll see how that goes.

Two days back and two 14 hour days...by the end of the week I will have undone any good the holiday ever did...Council meeting tomorrow...- many deputations...it's bound to be a long one!

A remarkable number of junk emails

Last day of the summer holiday and my eldest son's 32nd birthday. We had a family celebration yesterday - his sister made him a birthday cake and his daughter his favourite banana and chocolate chip muffins so he was a happy man.

I have spent today catching up on over 300 emails, many of them junk: I don't understand why it is that the Council's filtering system can't weed out a remarkable number of junk emails which are plainly of a pornographic nature or are trying to flog viagra or other such drugs. I'm not the only person receiving them and no matter what I do they appear with unfailing regularity. I never open them and whenever one appears I just delete it. Maybe 50 of this sundry assortment this time...it's time BT got their act together and fixed this.

However, in among the dross was a number of interesting stuff, including a detailed list of proposed actions being undertaken to resolve the problems in Granton Crescent. It will be important to learn if the collective problem solving abilities of the local office and local police have been enough to sort the problem out. I intend to speak to the officer tomorrow to find out.

That's politics...

As holidays go, it was grand. Sun shone, apartment excellent - I spent a lot of time on the balcony reworking a novel I have been working on for a couple of years - I enjoyed myself. There was the occasional irritating moment -when friends phoned to alert me to the Evening News article on WEL.

I've now had the chance to read the articles - indeed someone kindly posted them as comments on this blogsite. Needless to say I don't agree with the interpretation and Cllrs Cardownie's and Morris' comments are, in some instances, adolescent - but I guess that's politics ...

The key things to remember are all the hospitality events and the single foreign trip I made were all reported to and approved by the Board: events, like the rugby and sponsorship of the Jazz Festival were intended to promote the company postively to key organisations & individuals as well as to a wider audience and are certainly not uncommon (councillors get invited to that kind of thing all the time and I'm sure Cllr Cardownie has enjoyed more than his fair share of such events...maybe not Cllr Morris yet since she's relatively new) and since councillors of all parties usually formed part of the guest list it wasn't as if anybody was being secretive.

In fact, Cllr Cardownie was frequently invited, usually said yes, then failed to turn up...presumably something more important turned up.

Hospitality and foreign trips are difficult areas for those in public life: usually they afford the opportunity for the kind of less formal networking that 'oils the wheels' or, in the case of visits abroad, good sources of learning but they are undoubtedly easy targets for criticism.

There are 3 choices really: you can make the 'safe' decision not to participate in any such events - in which case you are cutting yourself off from other sources of information and are working from the basis that there is nothing to learn from other places and other people: do this, and you certainly won't invite any negative public comment but I don't think you'll achieve much either. Or you can go to all and any such trips or occasions (I have known several councillors who adopt this approach) and you will enjoy your time in public life but will need to grow a thick skin to immunise yourself from the criticism you attract. Or you can do what I do, which is choose carefully which events you think you'll learn most from and for which you're prepared to accept the public stick when it (as it surely will) comes.

I learned a lot from the Boston trip. Most importantly I learned that all waterfront regeneration projects have a government building as an anchor and a bait for other investors. That's why I led the WEL Board to accept the offer from the Scottish Executive to locate a major national institution at the Gateway site (despite some headaches about making the plan stack up). When this is formally announced, along with the major benefits it will bring in terms of visitor numbers to Granton, it will be Cllr Cardownie and Cllr Morris who take the credit ...and I guess that's politics too.

We're all going on our summer holidays

I have cleared my desk at PEP, done what I can do at the Council and everything is ready for the summer holidays - hurray. We have booked an apartment in Puerto Banus, hired a car and when we're there hope to spend a couple of days in Cadiz. I have stocked up on books 'Atonement' being top of the list, and am taking the laptop to do some writing - so, along with the joy of preparing fresh local produce to eat and drinking the best rioja - my holiday is all planned. I can't wait.

While we're away my sister and two of her adult children are travelling from London to settle her son in as a Fresher at Edinburgh University and are using our house as their base. He has found a flat but I am warned to expect regular visits for feeding - I have drawn the line at doing his laundry!

So that's it - no more blogs for a while: normal service resumes mid September

Three coins in a fountain

On Friday the Labour Group is throwing a party: what, you might ask, have we got to celebrate after our electoral drubbing in May?

I have to say, that despite the defeat, the labour group is in pretty good heart. Take a look at the divided groups opposite us and you'll see what I mean. Jenny is plainly unable or unwilling to assert her will over the Liberals - to us, it looks like the backbenchers are running the show and their lack of experience shows.

The SNP? I mentioned elsewhere our view that Mr Cardownie isn't making all the running, except maybe running scared now Mr Tymkewycz has time on his hands.

The Tories? Even Iain Whyte looks like he might have his hands full with definite grumbling on show at last week's Council.

What do each of these groups have in common?

Lots of new members all eager to strut their stuff; to show they can't be taken for granted. Politics, you see, is a deadly competitive business and never more so, than when you're in power.

And Labour? Well we've four new councillors, all extremely capable, all been given recognition and a clearly understood agenda that we're going to be the most effective Opposition this Council has seen. We've been handed a couple of open goals lately but it won't always be so... meanwhile we do have a job to do to lay out our stall and we aim to do that too.

So, the party is for fun, a get-together - the theme is 'Roman Holiday' and though, sadly I'm no Audrey Hepburn, and even more sadly there will be no Gregory Peck, we'll enjoy the company, the vino rosso and the pasta and we'll even have a Trevi Fountain to throw our coins into and who knows who'll be wishing for what...

How to make a hash of it

The first education committee went off pretty much as expected today... though the schools reorganisation programme should now be renamed 'How To Make A Hash Of It.' Today we had the astonishing admission that for some community centres & nurseries in the first round, their promised public consultation would be heard after they'd made their case to the committee: effectively, the committee would have decided their fate before they'd been consulted. You really couldn't make this up.

In fairness to the convenor, as soon as she understood the size of the cock up she backtracked and agreed to change the process but the expression all her colleagues wore told its own story...glum, dejected...wondering how they got into this hell. Not a promising start for the new director or the new convenor.

Oh...and one more thing...at last we wrung an admission out from the Coalition that Labour had no hit list of schools...a glimpse of truth in what so far, has been a defensive, shrill attack by Marilyne.

Elsewhere, a good public meeting last night about the Access Road in West Pilton with unanimity among elected representatives, the community and the land developers that the road should be kept permanently open...now let's see if 4 councillors are better than 1 in persuading city transport & TIE to change their mind.

5 days and counting then I'm away for my summer holiday...yippee!

A humble u-turn & an honesty box

I see the Lib/Dem/SNP Coalition has performed a humble budget u-turn already: surpise, suprise...it's to do with councillors' soup and sandwiches. You remember the headlines about scrapping free lunch time facilities for elected members? Well an email went round at the weekend to tell us they're being re-instated at a cost of £1 (roll only) or £1.50 (roll & soup) ...'collection will be by way of an honesty box'.

Now I seldom eat lunch at the Chambers (nearly always down PEP way) but even if I did I wouldn't be too happy with this arrangement. It's all very well trusting us to pay, but councillors who eat lunch while on Council business are expected to produce receipts and claim the cash back. So this arrangement neatly bypasses the established system - another example of the Coalition making it up as they go. Maybe we could have an honesty box for collecting our Council tax too - now that would really be a first!

It takes time

The horrible murder of Rhys Jones has shocked the UK.

Here in Granton, guns are not a new phenomenon. I can think of at least 4 incidents in the last 18 months where whole neighbourhoods have been locked down as armed police swarm tenements looking for guns used in local incidents. Everbody, including the police, knew who was responsible; everybody, except the police, was afraid to 'grass' in case they ended up looking down the wrong end of a barrel.

I completely understand local people's fear and I also understand that until someone is prepared to screw up the courage then the hoodlums will prevail. Until you have lived with that kind of fear it is difficult to be judgemental.

Once, for a while I was caught up in the middle of two gangs, fighting it out for supremacy in the area. It was insidious, vicious stuff. The gangs were powerful local families with strong roots in the area, both with a large power base and with many neighbours who regarded them as friends. One would come to make a complaint about the other; then vice versa - meanwhile fearful constituents daily reported anti- social, criminal incidents involving both. Local housing policy was being used as a weapon by the gangs - each trying to get the other out.

They were clever in other ways too- legitimate local concerns about lack of youth provision or the need for new community facilities were an excuse for rowdy, oppressive public meetings, feeding local people's fear that the authorities were not in control, aggrandising their own power. I became a target - one night my car was stoned and I was nearly driven off the road. I don't mind telling you I was terrified. After that, our house was wired with a panic alarm and camera for months- [one morning our dog accidentally set off the panic alarm...within minutes six police officers were banging on the door...reassuringly!]... I was not unique in any way though...

Eventually they imploded and their gun violence led to arrests with one or two being jailed. Of course, they will, in time, return since their families still live here. It remains to be seen whether their return will mean an upsurge in the same behaviour or whether they have changed. I hope so.

Two women, in particular, stick in my mind as having shown the kind of courage needed - one was relocated out of Edinburgh to a safe house, the other sadly died of a long standing illness. Both made a moral stand that eventually helped bring their community back to some kind of normality.

I don't know the circumstances behind the gangs in Liverpool which have led to this tragic murder. I do know, though, that it will take guts on the part of many ordinary people to help make the community safe again. Knee jerk policy won't work: it takes time to build confidence in the authorities; time to show people there is a different way - it takes time to defeat badness.

5 taxi drivers, 4 ministers and 3 policemen

The weekend- thank the Lord. No weddings, no family demands, no constituency obligations - just 48 hours to do as I please. Inevitably it will involve a fit of cleaning - it's either boom or bust chez Maginnis and it's been a while since the furniture has seen a duster or the floors a mop. Husband off to watch the Hibs with elder son and eldest granddaughter and I'm taking my old mum to the pictures - 'Knocked Up' ...nothing too challenging, hopefully funny....

Then tomorrow, the garden: the weeds are springing up again; the forecast is good and I enjoy gardening if I can get some time at it. For a moment I can pretend I have Nature at my mercy.

I wonder at the nature of the new city council: reflect on the fact it at least 5 taxi drivers; 4 ministers; 3 policemen on it...I wonder what you could draw from that? Answers on a postcard please...

Political instinct and talking to people

Lots of email correspondence from parents and constituents worried about the consequences of the school closure programme. I hope they're not writing to Marilyne and expecting a quick response either. Today, several conversations with people who have written to the chair of Children & Families some weeks ago reveal they haven't yet received anything other than a holding response. Now I now she's been busy trying (unintentionally I'm sure) to bring all hell down on her head but she has a whole swathe of staff who can answer her letters for her...she only has to read and sign them. I suppose once you get in the habit of not wanting to hear opposing voices it becomes infectious.

I was interested yesterday to hear how often the Administration referred to the fact that the hit list was drawn up by experienced officers - now, I've no doubt the new head of children & families is experienced but she doesn't know Edinburgh...she's only been here a couple of minutes! Marilyne is meant to provide the political instinct and acuity: not much sign of that, I'm afraid. But you can't fault her for courage, though.

Keeping the hoi polloi out

An amazing day at Council yesterday: ten hours of drama and serious mistakes by the Lib/Dem Coalition.

Mistake 1 - using the Lord Provost's casting vote to gag Edinburgh citizens - that will come back to haunt them

Mistake 2 - asking a totally inexperienced councillor to second the motion on school closures: he was weak, did not advance the Coalition's argument an iota and, given that not a single one of her front bench 'heavyweights' came in to support her, means Marilyne already looks isolated. At the very least Jenny Dawe should have seconded her

Mistake 3 - using the Lord Provost's casting vote to push through the closure consultation when the Children & Families Committee hasn't even met yet was premature and nervy and means the Council is split down the middle...in Marilyne's shoes I would be worried she couldn't get the Tories to back her

Mistake 4 - The Lord Provost moves to reinstate the robes & the SNP vote with him: hardly the actions of a modern, anti-unionist party when the robes are nothing less and nothing more than a symbol of the unelected power of Briitish Monarch

Mistake 5 - The Lib/Dem Leader says wearing robes would, 'if nothing else separate us (councillors) from the hoi polloi'- you couldn't make it up!!!

So there you have it - the new administration in its true colours - reactionary, elitist and unprepared to listen

Suppressing debate

Visited the Victoria Children & Families Centre today - threatened with closure, these very vulnerable parents sought advice. I was shocked to be told by the depute headteacher she was under instruction not to discuss the centre with me. ..not even allowed to tell me how many children attend the Centre or how many families it serves. I am the local councillor - and central diktat denies me denied simple facts about a public facility. It is outrageous. This Lib Dem/SNP Coalition is in trouble if it thinks it can suppress facts and debate

liberal democrats? I think not!

Labour Group meeting today - three hours later it was still going on and I had to leave. Lots to go through: budget cuts; school closures; Meadowbank replacement but, interestingly, a sleekit move to change Council standing orders to forbid deputations to the Council. Even Malcolm Chisholm MSP has been denied a hearing - I advised him to knock on the door again...standing orders don't change until Council debates and decides. And what kind of Coalition is it that wants to deny people their say? Not very liberal; not very democratic and definitely not very sure of their ground!

Headaches

Labour has scored a success.
Stefan Tymkewycz has decided to stand down from Holyrood to concentrate on the council. This follows intense pressure from Labour when council procedures were tossed aside to allow him to attend a vote. Diversionary arguments that it was all due to Labour gerrymandering were exposed by Eric for the nonsense they were. The Lord Provost has complete authority to curtail debate, control proceedings. The Lib/SNP Coalition has bowed to the inevitable and Tymkewycz has made his choice...but his decision may have given Cardownie a headache. Look at the Meadowbank debate. Both Stevens took an opposite view but it was the one spelled FA who won the internal SNP debate. A portent of the future? A leadership challenge soon? Watch this space...

The latest Maginnis wedding went of with a loud, successful bang.
Mike has 3 siblings and between them they have 12 children. Ten were present yesterday and they partied hard as a clan, plainly enjoying their united strength...not a hint of friction. Mike's parents would have been very proud.
I predict several headaches today and...oh yes...the bride was beautiful too!

The vision thing

The buildings closure list is now out: 3 things are immediately clear:

• the process amounts to cheating the public - imagine pretending that a long deputation/hearing at the C+F committee is a proper substitute for people who will want their say to the entire Council...it's clear to me that Marilyne is terrified her troops will cave in if confronted with true parental resistance...the report says patronisingly that 'repeat deputations [are] not conducive to attentive listening'. What do they think we are? Five year olds?
• The proposals are flawed: too many annexe solutions taking us back 10 years when Labour marched people to the top of the hill, got kids out of portacabins and split sites and into proper classrooms and single schools - and now we're being marched right back down again to conditions we thought we'd abolished forever
• And...this proposal was meant to help rebuild Council balances (or so we were told by Marilyne in June) yet here we are with a report, peppered with commitments to reinvest any savings (both capital & revenue) back into C+F. Doesn't look so good for poor old Donald McGuigan's balances, does it? And £16 million of capital from the closure of 13 primaries won't go far in building many new schools either! So blaming this Lib Dem/SNP's 'brutal' (Marilyne's words, not mine) school closure programme on Labour mismanagement won't wash...they've not proposed this programme to rebuild balances at all

So, I'm left wondering where their vision thing is...school rationalisation in the 90's (by me) was to find the money to create the first universal nursery provision in the country and in 2000's (by Ewan) to let the biggest new school building programme in a century go ahead in Edinburgh. ..big ambitions - huge vision for our Capital City's Education.

Anybody know what the narrative is here?

The mood music is changing

Invited to the Film Festival opening event last night - Hallam Foe. Not sure if I liked the story largely because I don't think there was enough explanation of motivation but Edinburgh looked fab.

So that's it. Jack's gone. End of an era, really. He's changed the face of Labour in Scotland alright. Knocked the smile right off our face and difficult to see how we can get it back again. Local government was our organisational foundation and right across Scotland we're in trouble. Wendy says her first task is to rebuild the Party. She'll have to, and damned quickly too.

Personally, I think those people who argued for PR in local elections have a lot to answer for: but we've got to look to our own performance too. Our policies look...are tired...where's the vision thing? My old mum says there's nothing new under the sun...right but wrong too...new people need old ideas constantly refreshed and made relevant for their time...that's the politican's job. The mood music in Scotland has been too stolid, too managerial and too damned boring. Excitement is what the people are looking for: I fear the chimera of independence - sometimes ...even if it's just a blink, you can fool all of the people all of the time.

Hear Hear!!

Staff at PEP received a boost today - one of our funders was in for their annual visit and to follow up on written reports. She praised the organisation for 'great team working', for its 'strong sense of its values' and for its 'intelligent, confident, reflection on the way forward'. Hear, hear!!

Lothian Region ...happy days

Did I tell you that yesterday was a trip down memory lane?

A conducted tour of the former Lothian Regional Council Chambers - now the registry office. Former haunts I knew very, very well: each room full of fabulous memories...each room wonderfully decorated: it would be worth getting married again just to do it in one of those suites. The grandest of them all, the Lothian suite - the old Lothian debating chamber...and here...isn't it great? I don't have to get married again...the Council is relocating there in September because the City Chambers is being refurbished...happy days are here again

Mair airts & pairts

Last night's meeting with the North Edinburgh Arts Board was interesting: forecast of a substantial deficit if spending goes ahead as planned, advice that the Autumn programme has been shelved : the Board is taking their fiduciary duties seriously. I do not want the theatre to close - not even for a short time - re-building an audience in those circumstances is a doomed exercise. I believe they must produce a rescue plan which aims to close the funding gap through a combination of public funds, private fundraising and trimming the budget. This is an important facility in the area and says much about its aspirations - everybody has a part to play in rescuing it.

In 2008 it will be 50 years since Yehudi Menuhin specifically requested to play in North Edinburgh as part of the official Festival. He filled the Embassy Cinema and the event was a tremendous success. I have asked the Evening News for its help in trying to promote the idea of a special event in North Edinburgh in 2008 - we're gonna need the Arts centre for that!

And finally: I saw it last night and knew instantly I must have. My object of desire ...a black, gleaming panther of a car... Chrysler Crossfire - my name is on it...no man or woman has ever made my heart beat thus!!