Hibs, the PEP team and me...

Oh dear! Sitting watching the Hibs v St Johnstone semi and SJ have just equalised while I write. Half my immediate family are at the match supporting the Hibees (we Jambos have better things to do with our time) so there'll be a few fast beating hearts in the Maginnis family at the moment. Been the tease of the day at PEP. Everybody there a seasonholder at Easter Road (except me) and it's all been poking fun at my expense. Not a person not wearing green. Not a person not prepared to believe Hibs won't triumph in this make or break week... goodnatured ...but...football is serious stuff...just hope it doesn't go to penalties - could I ever forget Hampden 2oo6 and penalties against Gretna. Biting my nails, eyes squeezed shut till somebody said, 'It's Townsley stepping up.' Ex Hibbee...knew we were all right then!

Elections definitely in the air now - phoned up by the Lib Dem MSP campaign tonight which was interesting. This first PR election for the council will be a new experience. ..(Hibs just scored- Maginnis hearts beat even faster at Tynecastle) ...the received wisdom is that STV is as much about the candidate as it is about the Party which is no bad thing. I do believe the electorate can separate wheat from chaff ...but it's definitely going to be challenging. I'll just do what I've always done. Work hard, stay focussed, try to be optimistic (at election times not my natural forte), take nothing and nobody for granted...see what happens...

Read a lot of rubbish in some anarchist rag about Waterfront (and me) - folk should get their facts right before they rush (anonymously) to print or pass malicious gossip off as facts. Frankly, it's amazing reading all the things I'm supposed to have done. 'My old granny used to say, 'Never mind, hen. If they're talking about you, they're leaving somebody else alone...and at least they're not ignoring you.' Sad, but true.

Three minutes to go and Hibs look like they've got it. Go and get my bullet proof vest out for tomorrow. That PEP team won't miss me...

The Boys in Blue

Big day today for Lothian & Borders finest. Board meeting this morning and we say farewell to one chief constable, say hello to a new one and pass the budget - all in one day. The budget held no surprises - an increase of 3.1% if you deduct the extra for the pension fund: and continuing the trend to invest in police officers and new technology as well as a big capital sum for replacement vehicles. Surprised, but pleased to hear how 'green' the police fleet is - won awards for its eco investment. Then I spoil it all by driving back to Edinburgh from Haddington. Had to get back to work and was on a deadline!

I noticed too that the replacement Police HQ is still on hold for lack of finance. Paddy T is adamant that Fettes isn't good enough as it is and requires too much investment - no secret I wanted the new HQ to go on the waterfront (didn't matter which site, so long as it was on the waterfront) but that was scuppered early on by Force planners but who knows? Maybe the idea will be resurrected...They're aiming for a meeting with Jack Mc C to talk it through but they'll have to get their skates on. The way real estate keeps rising, they'll soon be priced out the Edinburgh market then imagine a capital city without a police HQ. Doesn't bear thinking about really...

You've got to laugh, or not - as the case may be

Bumped into my good friend Laurence Demarco the other week - haven't seen him in a very long time but it was good to chat. He sent me a copy of his recently published book entitled,'You've got to Laugh' which is a selection of anecdotes from Laurence's (very full) life. Laurence is the complete anti- dirigiste and I've always liked his rascal rebel character. When you don't see someone for a while you can forget why you ever became friends: reading his book brought it all back.
In the afternoon I hosted a meeting with Corinthian Yacht Club and Forth Ports. That was interesting too. All four men at the meeting were keen sailors with a love of the sea and all things nautical. I'm no good with water. Every time I go on a boat I'm sick. Lots of people love it, though. Corinthians are concerned about their long term viability if they can't agree winter storage for their yachts. Forth Ports are currently preparing new plans for the middle pier which (unlike the current plans) will contain a community boatyard with winter storage - and of course, all 3 boat clubs in the immediate area (Corinthians, RF and Port O' Leith) have competing interests for the same space. Forth Ports plainly want to find a positive solution that suits everybody and it seems to me as a neutral observor that the 3 clubs are going to have to talk to together first to see if they can agree on a way forward then engage in joint discussions with FPA.
We edge closer to May and the elections and I was obviously interested in the story about prisoners winning the right to vote. Opinions among friends are divided with the majority view being cynical about human rights legislation that equalises rights for people who quite frequently have shown little or no regard for anybody else's rights to dignity, respect (or in some cases) to life itself. Playing Devil's advocate I point out that not respecting the prisoners' rights presumably makes the State as bad as them. 'Wake up,' they say. 'Try telling that to your constituents. Victims have rights too. Don't make me laugh!' The trouble is, as I look around...it's difficult to disagree.

Been a lot in the press of late about bullying - I was in St David's primary school the other day and they had a huge poster on the wall -obviously designed by the pupils- about what constitutes bullying. Top of the scale came hitting, then the obvious ones like name calling and 'ganging up' or ignoring people. Then came another interesting list - what was called 'indirect' bullying. This included making up stories about people and consistently passing on false information designed to make the victim unpopular...now that gave me pause for thought. When I was young that was called being a liar and a gossip and I quickly learned to avoid people who did that- still do for that matter. In politics malevolent, anonymous gossip (particularly in an age when perception is all) is a blunt instrument that can do lasting damage. Children have a lot to teach us!

Attended a Scrutiny Panel today looking at the pension black hole especially as it affects charities who are part of the Lothian Pension Fund. I found this particularly interesting. In a nutshell, a new accounting regulation now means that organisations have to declare their pension liabilities in the annual audited accounts. For some small charities this could spell real trouble if their liabilities (given well reported poor investment returns for all pension schemes) exceed their assets. They'll find it difficult to attract funding which only adds to their problems; options are either to reduce the amount spent on delivering services and address the pension liability or hope they can persuade funders to stick more money into the pot to help with the shortfall...neither very attractive propositions. This one still has a long way to run...

That's it for tonight...finally learned how to 'post' properly and how to work this system...it's only taken 4 weeks!

Trams

Good morning. The day before Christmas Eve and I think I've got this up and running so here goes.Been a busy week at the Council tying up all the loose ends before the Christmas break - and of course fitting in all the inevitable seasonal events: locally, there was a particularly nice event held at the new Edinburgh's Telford College, based in the Waterfront, and organised by the Granton Churches Network. This is an organisation involving all the local churches in Granton (of which there are many) which aims to create physical and spiritual links between the traditonal community on the south side of West Granton Road and the new, emerging community in the Waterfront. The event was a well-attended Christmas Carol Concert which crossed all the generations and then mince pies and coffee. A very nicely judged event. And of course, the main event at Council was the near-unanimous decision to approve the Business case for the trams. I was surprised my erstwhile colleague (now representing the SNP) spoke so vehemently against the trams. Our city is set to keep growing by 2%+ every year and without trams the current public transport system will not cope. It's self evident we need to have a new public transport system to complement the brilliant Lothian Buses whose passenger journeys are set to grow - even with the trams in place - from 108 million to 115 million. From my perspective too,the trams present North Edinburgh with a massive opportunity to reconnect with the city. Over the last 40 years North Edinburgh's population has slumped almost by half as people left looking for work. With the people goes infrastucture such as schools, buses etc. The regeneration of the Waterfront will bring back the people and the whole process will be stimulated by the trams - Granton won't be seen as an inaccessible, remote place. Instead, it will be place where people want to work and live and play. I think the SNP - in the interests of short term populism - are making a big mistake