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!