Dance addiction

Strictly addiction still afflicting me this Saturday night I'm afraid :-(

It's not good, I know! And just how Scott & Natalie edged out Kara & Artem in this week's scoring is simply beyond me??

I desperately need to ensure a few Saturday nights nowhere near a telly :-((

South West NP Transport Forum

Wall-to-wall meetings yesterday ...

... one I meant to mention, and the least stressful, was the mid-afternoon South West Neighbourhood Partnership Transport Forum: nothing to do with the Chairing of course ;-)

But seriously, I do think the sub-groups of the Neighbourhood Partnerships (or at least in South West?) are becoming, by far, the best forums for getting very localised action on very localised problems.

Blindcraft to close

Full Council Papers now out - main agenda can be found here ...

... and the two reports I referred to earlier are here and here.

The former report on the appointment of interim bus and tram Chairs will certainly not create as much outrage as the latter report on Blindcraft, which recommends its outright closure :-(

The world's oldest foundation devoted to the welfare of the blind to be closed - and 217-years of social inclusion grinds to a halt.

What a shameful moment for Edinburgh :-(

Glasgow managed to find a solution to the financial challenges this type of facility involves; and even Lib-Dem/SNP run Aberdeen eventually managed a rescue-package.

Shame on their Lib-Dem and SNP colleagues here in Edinburgh. As I alluded to back in September ... their minds were already clearly made up on this issue :-((

10million people laughing at Edinburgh :-(

8.50am Friday, and I've just listened to a 5-minute package on Radio 4 which was enough to make you weep ...

... Radio 4, at this time of the morning, has an audience-reach of some 10million people - that's right: 10million people!

And, you've guessed it - why would Radio 4 be talking about Edinburgh at this time on a Friday morning - well, it could only be the tram project!

And the presenter, James Naughtie - and who can blame him - introduced the whole sorry saga as if it was some sort of joke ... followed by the journalist - Colin Blane - actually including an excerpt from an upcoming Leith panto that is indeed making a real joke of the tram project :-(

What an advert for Edinburgh :-((

Buses, trams and Blindcraft

Forgot to mention the upcoming Council Meeting next Thursday (18th) - papers will be out tomorrow morning and I'll put links up as soon as I can ...

... having seen a draft agenda, seems to me there will be two main issues of contention: interim bus and tram appointments and the future of Blindcraft.

I actually suspect the latter could be more contentious than the former :-(

Statutory Repairs Service?

Audit Committee this morning (main agenda here) was totally dominated by a couple of linked reports on the Council's Statutory Repairs Service - you can find them here and here ...

... there are quite clearly some very serious issues that require to be addressed in this section of the Council - I know from my own local mail-bag the level of frustration with this aspect of work that the local authority undertakes.

More to follow, I'm sure.

The meaning of "verbrecher"

There's not much else you can say about today's instalment of the ongoing tram-saga ...

... if it wasn't so deeply serious for Edinburgh, the misinterpretation of a single word could be comical :-(

Alcohol Bill (etc.)

What a difference 18-months can make?

There are undoubtedly some positive measures contained within the Alcohol Bill (etc.) passed this afternoon; but I can't help thinking (personally) that it's all been a bit of a missed opportunity :-(

Neither of the main Parties in Holyrood come out of this whole episode well - and it surely provides a very clear lesson about the 'timing' of trying to put into legislation any such controversial proposals?

Slow train to ??

Borders Railway pretty prominent in the news this morning ...

... sadly, the story has all the hallmarks of yet another capital infrastructure project becoming somewhat unstuck :-(

I'm really left wondering just what piece of infrastructure (of any description?) the current Scottish Government or local Edinburgh Council will have actually initiated and thereafter delivered within their 4-5 year term?

Locally - can any one add to the Skateboard Park (which is great, by the way!) or Colinton Toilets?

I can't think of anything else they've actually initiated and seen to completion??

Strictly addiction :-(

As friends and colleagues know, I'm not a huge TV fan --- never around a TV much during the week --- but I've a terrible confession to make about a dreadful Saturday-night habit I've picked up over the last few weeks ...

... yes, I've rather tragically become addicted to the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing :-(

I do realise that what little (if any) street-cred I had has just flown out of the proverbial window, but I've been getting a bit of flack about not owning up to my Saturday night habits on the blog ... so there, I've now done it!

And by the way - I personally think that Kara Tointon is the absolute sure-fire winner ;-)

Hutchison/Chesser Community Council

Hutchison/ Chesser Community Council meeting tonight ...

... speakers came along from both local Police and local Fire services: good to thus see a slightly higher than usual turnout for the evening.

Earlier part of the day dominated by a endless series of meetings ... November Council Meeting now only a week or so away :-(

Allotment Update - autumn leaves

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we've now used up all our leaf-mould on this year's potato beds ...

... so, was pleased to see a new delivery of leaves down at the Allotment late this afternoon!

Several barrow-loads later and the leaf-bin is now practically overflowing and happily decomposing in preparation for use next autumn :-)

Job was made much easier by having some additional nieces visiting us today - who were very keen to help and put to good use to assist in the mammoth 'leaf-collection' operation :-))

The most popular phone in the world!

My old Nokia mobile does struggle at times - and is often the butt-end of many a joke because it doesn't do e-mails or have a camera ... errr, that's because it's a phone (not a computer or a camera)!

Well, imagine my delight when a friendly source pointed me in the direction of this little article ...

... what can I say, except that I do indeed own the most popular phone in the world :-)

Tram woes continue

Tram woes continuing to totally dominate the local press today ...

... for better or worse, these recent events - for me - create a bit of a space which should be used constructively - and I tend to agree with those who are urging that the vacant posts should not be filled in haste and on a permanent basis?

Interim-appointments are needed, for sure, but they must be seen to be just that --- time limited and with an absolute clarity that they must eventually be filled through an open and transparent appointment process.

A coalition divided

As mentioned yesterday, down in London today ... and the tram project seems to be totally dominating the local press up in Edinburgh :-(

If ever there was a time for some clear political leadership, then surely now is it ... sadly, the undeniable truth is that the Council Coalition is deeply divided on this issue and no matter what the other Opposition Groups do, nothing will change that fact.

A fact that contractors - and everyone else involved in the project - have been all too aware of since May 2007 :-((

London-bound

Down to London tomorrow for various Electoral Reform Society meetings ...

... rather depressingly, East Coast trains have started charging for internet access, so blogging may well be non-existent!

Not that I'm tight with my money or anything ;-)

TIF confusion

Pleased to report that the Audit Committee's recommendations were pretty much accepted in full this morning - with only the timeline being delayed slightly from January ... but the spirit of what was requested, was accepted.

Most debate, somewhat surprisingly, actually centred around the use of Tax Increment Finance (TIF) for trams - or not?

Frankly, there appears to be a degree of confusion (I'm being polite!) around this issue and one can only hope that someone, somewhere, provides a bit of a clear lead in the not-too-distant future :-(

Policy and Strategy meeting tomorrow

Policy and Strategy Committee meeting tomorrow morning - main agenda can be found here, and all the individual reports are on CPOL as usual ...

... those earlier Audit Committee decisions on the 'Care and Support Services Tender' are up for agreement (hopefully!) and I do hope that the local Coalition accept these unanimous (all-Party) views of the Audit Committee?

Interestingly, the Learning Disability Alliance Scotland (LDAS) campaign around the 'Care and Support Services Tender' won the "Herald Society Awards 2010 Campaign of the Year" at the end of last week - further details here ...

... one can but hope that similar recognition is notionally allowed in Committee here in Edinburgh tomorrow!