Y viva la Socialiste...

Just back from Rome where the presidential election last week produced a substantial victory for the centre right and for Berlusconi's candidate in Rome too (53% to 47% for the centre left).

Late today, I phone Ewan to remind him tomorrow's Council (small beer, I grant you in the context of international politics) falls on 1 May - and maybe we should be wearing a red flower in solidarity with socialists the length and breadth of Europe - after all, Labour did win the popular vote last May in Edinburgh and I, for one, remain proud of our many achievements. Perhaps, I have left it too late to arrange...I hope not..and if so I will still cheerfully sing

'Avanti popolo a la rescosa
Bandiera rosa, bandiera rosa
Avanti popolo a la rescosa
Bandiera rosa, bandiera rosa

Bandiera rosa la trionfera
Bandiera rosa la trionfera
Bandiera rosa la trionfera
Y viva la Socialiste,
la bella liberta'

The people’s on the march,
This road they’re treading
It leads to freedom
It leads to freedom
The people’s on the march,
This road they’re treading
It leads to freedom and liberty

From farm and factory,
From school and college
With force of suffering
And source of knowledge
Our leaders leading, our banners waving
Victory proceeding, towards liberty

We’ll wave the scarlet banner triumphantly
We’ll raise the scarlet banner triumphantly
We’ll wave the scarlet banner triumphantly
Y viva la Socialiste, la bella liberta

It fair makes me want to smile and it's definitely not New Labour but we should never forget where we come from.

Billy is jinxed

Invited by my eldest son and new wife for dinner tonight and very nice it was too.

Our departure, nicely timed so Mike can watch Chelsea v Liverpool, coincides with Billy Fitzpatrick's arrival at his son's house - serendipity means they live within 4 houses of each other (no worries about the Labour vote there, then) - and I learn he has chosen the health service job...and has started already.

The job involves working with new technology. Bad news.

Billy is jinxed where new technology is concerned.

I remember one occasion where he is bewailing the fact he has lost his mobile and broken his specs and it has cost him a fortune to replace both in the same week.

We hail a taxi and break into a (very slow) jog across Ferry Road to get into it. Out pops his new specs (not in their case) from his top pocket, quickly followed by his mobile phone. He stands on the specs and the phone smashes into a hundred pieces...as I say, he is jinxed.

God help the Western General!

La dolce vita

Well folks - that's me back: a whirlwind 5 days in Rome with me old mum and husband and that's all the holidays now for several months...

While I was away only two phone calls about Council business, none about PEP (both on strict instruction not to bother me!!) so it was by normal standards, care-free. The sun shone and I got sun- burned and spent all my dosh...la dolce vita

Council meeting tomorrow ...not so dolce I'm afraid.

an equal and opposite reaction

I thought Barak Obama seemed a little subdued this morning, perhaps understandably given the 10% lead Mrs Clinton enjoyed in last night's primaries. This race, it seems, will go all the way and though the statistics seem to be all on his side I am not holding my breath just yet. She is a very determined customer and will not yield easily.

Most dismaying for America must be the clear fault lines of race upon which the democrat race is dividing...black people, it seems, are voting in their droves for Obama with Clinton winning less than 25% of their vote - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction: it looks like this race might yet end by exposing a racial rift people would prefer to pretend does not exist...

consensus about budget strategy? Never!

Labour group executive today and a discussion about changes to the budget making process arising from a motion from the Greens ...questions raised about whether this is the most efficient use of politican and officer time, complaints that debate centres on the margins (i.e. growth and cuts) but ignores the large wodge in the middle...weighty matters to be sure. Personally, I'm not sure there is much room for change...unless there is consensus about budget strategy... and it's a fool who thinks the current Coalition is ever going to want consensus with Labour - their raison d'etre for the next 4 years is to create as big a gap as possible between us and them.

For all we keep on about 'new politics' it seems the game the Coalition is playing is the nearest approximation to 'old politics' that I ever did see.

Allotments

Maybe I am just prescient - did you notice the piece in yesterday's Scotland on Sunday about allotments?

My motion is down to Council asking for a review of allocation policy based on whether you already have a garden or not...how will plans for LIT fit with this, I wonder...

Mark my words

Being a Labour Party member is not easy at the moment - we have a ridiculous spat going on about a tax change that makes the poorest poorer - this should not be happening and I hope and trust both Alistair and Gordon are listening - no matter that 90% of people will be better off - if Labour doesn't stand up for the poorest then we are nothing.

Also, a fuel spat - without petrol/diesel we are screwed and this dispute will be resolved - there can be no doubt, but it is a case of who will blink first...don't you get tired of testosterone?

And finally, the SNP conference? It sets my teeth on edge. It's amazing how quickly the mood changes...at the moment it's all Alex Salmond...but the wheel will turn again...mark my words...

A busy couple of days

Been a busy couple of days ...last night's meeting at the Dudley Bowling Club was interesting...lots of local issues, apparently small but important to local people. Allan (Jackson) and I have a pile of stuff to get on with. He is to organise a meeting with the developers at Victoria Park/Ferry Road and I, a meeting with the Council and the local residents on how to upgrade the park. Interesting stuff...

Then a meeting about Lower Granton Road where we learn that in answer to local pressure there will be 2 sets of pedestrian controlled crossings installed, flashing speed signs, reconstructed pavements etc etc. It has taken a while and it falls well short of local aspiration but it is at least progress.

PEP receives a summary of its recent independent review by Children + Families Department - extremely good: I am proud of my staff who have done really well - the full details will be published shortly...and today a very successful AGM of the OPEN Forum where our proposals for a local, volunteer-delivered home care service are very well received both by local people and by the Health & Social Care Department.

Then on to the Labour Group AGM where everything runs pretty much according to plan. ..a long weekend to look forward to and plenty grandchildren sitting...

a day in the life...

Last night's Royston/Wardieburn Community Council went well. Joan was in good form in the chair and there was plenty meat for the activists to get their teeth into. I am pleased that they have at long last managed to secure some agreement about the bus route from Leith Community Treatment Centre to the Pennywell Health Centre. The Community Council has campaigned long and hard for a review of the 37 bus route and it looks like their perseverance has paid off.

Today I popped in to see Colin Hunter at WEL for a briefing on developments. His news was good and I am sure the new Board will be pleased, as I am, by some of the imminent projects. Colin is a good man, capable, not excitable and with his feet definitely on the ground. He is an asset and the company does well to have him at the helm.

Surgery was busy too.

A grizzle today

Gawd! I was a grizzle today at Children + Families. My only excuse...I was provoked.

The Convenor has an unfortunate habit of opening her mouth and letting her belly rumble (excuse the inelegant prose but her lack of wisdom irritates me)

Today, she insulted a parent's deputation...snappishly, 'Quit while you're ahead: you're getting the money,'... insulted our dedicated staff by saying standards in our schools 'are poor,' dismissing years of achievement and progress, and yet again weighed into previous education convenors by saying we'd done nothing, achieved nothing and left her with nothing but problems.

She needs to get some balance...she has the torch for a short while and she needs to use it to make a difference, not keep whining about the weight of responsibility. So far, I have seen not a scintilla of evidence that she is capable of visionary policy making, leadership or even has a view of what education is for.


Visit to the podiatry clinic was an eye-opener! Did you know that the equivalent of just over 1 month of staff members' time was wasted last year as a result of missed appointments? That's a lot of money - your's and mine!

Life is surely busy

Interested to read the Evening News' editorial tonight which reflects views not too dissimilar to those expressed in yesterday's blog. There is no easy answer to alcohol misuse by young people...

Today has been busy - most of the day has been absorbed by PEP: our away day (in Granton!) with 40 people in attendance [a very good turn out of staff, Board and volunteers] looked at next year's business plan and several new developments in the offing.

Then on to the Council for a joint meeting of Forth ward councillors and a meeting with Labour colleagues on a whole series of issues. Life is surely busy!

Tomorrow I visit the podiatric clinic (flat feet are murder!) then, in the afternoon, the Children + Families Committee which will, I think, be argumentative. Thereafter, it is a reception to say farewell to Ian Wall of EDI fame. I read today too, that Roy Jobson has left his post. I assume it is politically inspired. In the absence of any other evidence it is difficult to conclude otherwise.

Mass class use of addictive substances are nothing new

Yesterday the Forth Neighbourhood Partnership hosted a 'health summit' to agree priorities for local action on health issues for the next few years. A very acceptable turnout, maybe 50 people and several new faces, and general agreement, I think, on the key issues namely, mental health and stress, access to and information about services, and many, many anxieties about young people and alcohol.

Several people there shared our Justice Minister's view that access to alcohol should be made more difficult - it is an intuitive view that on the face of it, makes perfect sense but I don't think 'prohibition lite' will work.

Making the shopkeeper or publican the gatekeeper for young people, or pushing the price too high will just create another market for 'dealers'. Illegal drugs are easy to secure despite all the energy and money that are thrown at preventing it: what makes anybody think it won't be the same for booze?

The answer lies in a whole number of strategies: not associating alcohol with 'cool', encouraging self esteem, providing other options for young people to get involved in, punishing parents or other adults who buy and supply the stuff for those under-age, holding your breath and keeping your nerve to understand that for the majority learning to use alcohol sensibly is a process of maturity and... most of all, to understand that when people, young or old, are living in what they consider a hopeless situation, they are easy prey to addictive substances that numb the edge of reality - the gin parlours of Victorian Britain, the opium dens of 19th century China, North America and France. Mass class use of addictive substances are nothing new.

What we have failed to acknowledge is that for a significant minority in 3rd millenia Scotland, the situation feels as hopeless as it ever did. Add to that a general disenchantment with religion which makes the possibility of a new temperance movement unlikely: the same disenchantment with politics which means nobody believes a word that politicians have to say: and a cult of celebrity where role models are seldom 'clean or sober' then it is very clear our young folk in deprived neighbourhoods are up against it...it takes a very special kind of young person to say no... but they are out there and they must be where we start.

Weasel words

Off to Duddingston House this evening for the Oyster Club - the House is amazing. Built in the 18th century for Lord Abercorn and allowed over the centuries to fall into rack and ruin, it was bought over 15 years ago by Bruce Hare, eminent architect and arch critic, not without reason, of Edinburgh City planners. He has done a fantastic job restoring the mansion and giving it a chic, ultra modern twist. I recommend if you ever have the opportunity to visit, grab it with both hands.

Tonight's speakers were Bruce himself and (Lord) Jamie Sempil whom we met in New York last week. His ambition is to create the largest Highland Games ever, in Edinburgh in July next year and the largest gathering of the clans ever seen. It will be an exciting, unforgettable occasion, I am sure. Tonight's occasion was, as ever, very well attended, a stimulating mix of people from every part of Edinburgh's society.

Before I left for the evening I spent an hour reading the papers for Tuesday's Children & Families Committee. I am dubious.

On the one hand we have a paper spelling out the enormous disparity in achievement between children in rich and poor areas of the city and lots of weasel words about having to do better: then we have a departmental reorganisation that removes some of the key posts precisely intended to support those intervention measures...no logic there and precious little commitment...Tuesday promises to be an interesting afternoon.

Billy Fitz

Put in a few hours at the Council today catching up on reading and correspondence ...as well as the gossip. Political gossip is always one to watch. It is seldom precisely accurate but if you're smart enough at reading the chicken bones then it's pretty easy to discern the way the wind is blowing. There's always a nugget of truth buried somewhere in the ephemera...

Bumped into my pal Billy Fitz today who tells me he has been offered not one but two jobs which, after all the pre-employment training he's been doing lately, he jolly well should have! Whichever one he chooses I say good luck to him. It's been nearly a year since last May's elections and that's a long time for someone like Billy who likes both criach and company to be out of a job and out of the swim of things. I am told he has joined the Board of a couple of local voluntary organisations and is making strong and positive contributions. That's good news. He has a lot of experience to offer. And Billy was always good at keeping his ear to the ground where political gossip was concerned...he could sniff a good story at 50 yards...

T5

First case home, just like a homing pigeon, was Mike's kilt then a full 24 hours later mine's follows suit. I understand the company delivering the late luggage receives £37 per suitcase. They'll be making a fortune just now.

Terminal 5 was something else...definitely faults in its planning and conception...too few security screening points meaning large queues, security points located too close to the top of a very high escalator meaning the queues back up dangerously on to it, so of course passengers are allowed only in a rota up the escalator...long queues at the booking desks and a disproportionate number of desks given over to Club passengers meaning Economy goes very slowly...not good, I'm afraid. Obviously, I didn't see what was happening with the luggage but the delays in its return tell its own story. I imagine there is some very hard thinking going on right now and I wouldn't be surprised if more money isn't needed to get it right second time round.

Some very sad wee stories at surgery tonight which puts most of my trivial concerns into perspective...I'm away to deal with them right now...

A confused numbering system

Back to PEP today and to catching up with hundreds of emails from the Council.

Away 5 days only yet it is a daunting task to wade through too much junk mail advertising sleaze and viagra (how the hell is it not filtered out CEC's system?) then to start on the replies to many, many constituents' enquiries...if anything the numbers are on the increase. Inevitably some are directed to all 4 Forth elected members - but I seem to be getting a fair whack personally. I am not complaining. It is the best way to find out what the issues really are in the area.

Latest, include the usual batch of housing worries, road & pavement repairs, a sizable commentary opposing the plans for City Park and interestingly, a very long running saga about the numbering system in tenemental properties. A confused numbering system where people used to be, for example, 16/4 but are now called 16 (f3) means too much mail goes astray...or even worse a neighbour gets a letter intended for next door...this causes mayhem when (as has happened at least twice to my knowledge) the letter has been a complaint about next door!

I have been pursuing this for a while and at last have an agreement for one stair only (where the complaint has been most persistent) to have the stair renumbered. I wonder what it would cost to do it throughout the city...

And finally, I learn today you can buy postage stamps online, delivered in less than 24 hours ...no wonder post offices have a limited shelf life.

Tartan Week

Back from New York later than expected...delayed flights, long queues and luggage gone walkabout...it all adds spice to life.

I have had an absolutely fantastic time. Helen, Pat, Eric, Janis, Norma, Mike and Bobette made the last 5 days go with a bang.

Bobette Orr is worth a blog to herself: the first female US consul general to Scotland, great, great niece to Ulysess S Grant whose handshake with Robert Lee meant victory for the Unionists and defeat for the Confederacy and the start of peace following a bitter Civil War, female consul to Egypt and a deeply committed Christian...she is an amazing woman who is fiercely proud of her Scottish roots. She (and her husband, Bill) has remained a constant friend following her time in Edinburgh. Her life is experience rich and her conversation always interesting . Elegant in Black Watch skirt, plaid, matching jacket and tammy she strode down 6th Avenue, her immaculate tartan couture putting all us Scots lassies to shame.

On the way home (we had plenty time - see first sentence) we counted the number of events we squashed in over the short break. In total we counted 9:

• the service at the Memorial Garden to remember those British people who lost their lives in 9/11, followed by a reception at India House...the Red Hot Chilli Pipers wow the crowd and get everybody jumping
• the St Andrew's Society reception held in the Tennis and Racquet Club [worth going to just for the building itself - palatially decorated in hunting green and gold with fabulous marble fireplaces]. We meet John Smeaton and his New York pal Kirsty as well as many familiar friends
• then on to a supper hosted by retiring chairman of the American Scottish Foundation, Alan Bain who fetes Edinburgh's contribution (and most particularly Eric's as their Ambassador in Scotland). We share Alan's excellent company with Alisdair Hutton's (voice of the tattoo and the leader of Borders Council) and Mike Povey who is responsible for organising the Scottish international Model T Ford rally in May. Sitting next to me is Angus McCormack one time EIS leader and sparring partner at COSLA...we share reminiscences and I get to meet his lovely daughter Ayleth who is performing at several official events
• On Saturday we're off to Church for the Kirking of the Tartan; then the parade itself where there was a stushie when our First Minister - allocated a marching place behind the Parade's organisers, pushes himself to the front and causes offence. The parade itself was brilliant and the sun shone! Norma, who is experiencing her first Tartan Day, sums it up for us all...'there aren't the words to describe it'
• Then on to another event at Scotland House, followed by the Foundation's post parade celebration at Stouts on West 33rd Street....think Hogmanay ...at $40 a shout you get 2 bands including the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and as much beer, whisky or vodka as you can drink for 3 hours...you get the picture
• Then finally on Sunday 6 April, just a couple of hours before we leave for home, we attend the Foundation's event at The Arsenal in Central Park in honour of Tartan Day's 10th Anniversary. The Arsenal itself is a great building owned by New York City's Parks & Recreation Department (it fair puts the Ross Bandstand in the shade) and we get to meet a couple of the new Mayor's commissionars. Eric is invited to address the gathering to reflect on 10 years and makes a brilliant speech. Quote of the day, 'It is 75 years since Franklin Delano Roosevelt abolished Prohibition (loud cheer from the audience) with the slogan, 'Happy Days are here Again' and US citizens were able, once again, to enjoy a glass of Scotch without running away from the police. Kenny McCaskill, are you listening?'

Sadly, he wasn't.

What can I say?

Spent a fortune, loved every minute, be back again next year...

The demon drink

Fell into a conversation today with a mate about McAskill's Temperance Campaign...he was pretty annoyed with the latest wheeze to force supermarkets to artificially raise prices, punishing, he said, all the folk that drink sensibly. 'It's almost,' he said, 'like the man is on a moral crusade, preaching fire and brimstone against the last legal drug.' [There's a thought - next step, prohibition?]

For me, I think it's much simpler...there is nothing so nauseous than the righteousness of the reformed sinner. Most of us can manage to go to a football match and not end up charged and convicted for drunk, disorderly and breach of the peace.
But we have a Justice Minister who couldn't.
The demon drink is the culprit and if it can make a fool of him it can make a fool of us all. He's protecting us from ourselves...and judging us all the same...as him...not a good way to make policy!

April Fool

April Fool's Day and already the victim of a prank...everybody knows I am utterly handless with anything mechanical - anything that works with an engine, has cogs, nuts, bolts or moving parts and I am mystified. A flat tyre is my idea of a Rocky Horror Show...'Elizabeth, see your front tyre is flat. Cannae drive on it either... You'll need to change it.'

I dash out to have a look and everybody creases up. I hope that's the least of my troubles today.