All change at the BBC?

Off to Kirkcudbright this morning ... but just quickly looked at the BBC News web-site (which I generally think is a completely fantastic source of information and am totally addicted to!) and it appears to have changed its 'format and feel' somewhat :-(

... lets hope it doesn't result in "Terminal 5-type" internet chaos :-((

... normal service will resume next weekend :-)

Kirkcudbright-bound :-)

Junior and my better-half are still "out of school" for another week, so we're off on our first family holiday since last October ...

... venturing to sunny (?) Kirkcudbright for the week, from tomorrow through to Friday.

Blogging will thus be extremely light (if not 'non-existent') until next weekend - just how will you cope??

Allotment update ...

A few days ago, I promised some updated pictures of the allotment to illustrate progress-to-date ...

So on the left, we have the site pretty much as found when my better-half was first allocated the plot a couple of months ago ...

And below, a couple of shots of how the site is now looking ... the observant amongst you will spot that 6-beds are now prepared (plus fruit-cage!); with 3-beds to go :-)

(track) Cycling Glory

Its been hard not be completely in awe of the British Track Cycling Team this weekend - 9 Golds and counting :-))

... as regular readers will know, I'm a bit of a part-time cyclist myself - have been somewhat addicted since 1982 and my first big road-tour; and completely hooked after I went to see the final day of the Tour de France in Paris in 1986.

Greg leMond was the first American to win the tour that year ... but I'd really gone in the hope of seeing Robert Millar win - the Scot had come 4th overall in 1984 (still the best any British cyclist has achieved in the Tour) but it wasn't to be :-(

Nevertheless, the atmosphere on the Champs-Elysees as the cyclists finished was electric ... the final stage of the biggest spectator event (and sport overall) in the World! I can still hear the mesmerising whir of the bikes on the cobbles as they sped past the adoring crowds :-))

... with all this track-cycling success, it does make you wonder just why the British can't seem to produce a road-racing star capable of winning the Tour de France? Robert Millar was the closest we ever got (by far) ... and that was well over 20-years ago :-((

Local democracy - not here thanks

I mentioned just a couple of days ago how the SNP/Lib coalition just ignores Council decisions and has a cavalier approach to change ... well, yet more proof of that yesterday :-(

• have a look at the Evening News coverage of the Education Secretary's response to the imminent submission of feasibility studies on the Wave 3 schools - here
• those studies are now submitted as of yesterday - see here
• now have a look at a post I did in October 2007 - here - which recounts an all-Party agreed Council motion
• DO READ that motion - almost the totality of it has been completely ignored ... NOTHING has been reported to any Council Committee about the feasibility studies whatsoever, despite the terms of the agreed instruction to the Council

It is a disgrace.

Now maybe the Nats and Libs don't give two-hoots about local democracy and are happy to completely ignore Council decisions, but surely senior officers should at least pay some attention to what the Council instructs them to do??

It is all pretty ironic coming from a bunch of Liberal politicians (in particular) who used to endlessly berate us (when we were in Administration) about how our consultation procedures were 'shallow'.

Would be funny if it wasn't so serious.

And it is serious, not just the complete avoidance of any accountability towards Council decisions/instructions, but more depressingly the Education Secretary's comments do seem to indicate that Wave 3 schools are going nowhere fast.

I would love to be wrong.

Day off in Anstruther

Took a day off today (outrageous, I know!) and went on a bit of a coach-trip to Anstruther ... cannot tell you how good the weather was - amazing after the spell we've had recently.

... this is the coach loading-up in the early evening as we're about to return home :-)

Not only was there plenty of sunshine, sand and sea ... we even managed to fit in a significant amount of shopping :-))

Back to normality tomorrow ...

Its the end for Obama ...

After all the excitement, anticipation, and foolhardy-predictions ...

... this just has to be the end for Obama :-((

More on Craiglockhart creche ...

I mentioned the obvious, local anger over the proposed closure of 'Craiglockhart Sports Centre creche' at the Community Council meeting last night ... I also referred to my suspicion that a fair degree of political hypocrisy was permeating the debate, and it transpires my suspicions were well-founded :-(

I've now checked, in detail, what each political Group on the Council proposed for Edinburgh Leisure's 2008/09 Grant. The various positions are as follows:

SNP/Liberal Coalition - a straight reduction of £300,000
Green Party - a straight reduction of £300,000
Conservative Party - a straight reduction of £250,000
Labour Party - an off-set reduction of £100,000*

Obviously (and unfortunately!) it was the 'SNP/Liberal Coalition' budget position that was passed, but other political parties should at least show some humility and honesty about their own complicity in all of this.

As voiced before, the sad truth is that the City of Edinburgh Council is now being 'finance-driven' and not 'service-driven'.


*Our own proposal was that the Council would pay the complete Edinburgh Leisure annual grant at the beginning of April 2008 (as opposed to splitting it over the financial year) thus enabling Edinburgh Leisure to generate additional interest receipts of approximately £100k to make-up for the grant reduction.

A cavalier-approach to change

The Children and Families Organisational Review consultation period closed yesterday - remember; that's the Review were the ruling Council Coalition have budgeted for £2million worth of savings before the start of any consultation/implementation ... so much for the promise of "real opportunity to participate in decision-making".

Worse than that, as I've mentioned before, the whole process quite clearly breaks the decision of an earlier meeting of the Education Committee back in October 2007 - further details here.

Its no way to take people with you - and re-organising the largest Department of the Council does need some buy-in! Its not so much the 'what' as the 'how'.

As is so often the case now, its the cavalier-approach that many of these issues are being dealt with that is annoying people - it will surely all come back to haunt those currently in charge?

It's best on hot-toast ...

I never cease to be amazed at the wonders of Facebook ... discovered that there's even a "group" for people who are addicted to Marmite :-)

... it's got over 55,000 members - nearly as many as the daily readers of this blog :-))

Much more seriously ... just how did people cope before the invention of Marmite??

Pay attention ... biomass-free zone

Just spotted this incisive press release ... can anyone who knows Jim Hume get him to knock some sense into his local Edinburgh colleagues' heads??

I mentioned the relevant Scottish Parliament motion last month - here - and briefly commented on the FM's Lockerbie visit - here ... clearly my local Lib-Dem colleagues are paying no attention whatsoever to this blog :-(

Craiglockhart Community Council

Craiglockhart Community Council meeting this evening.

Fair bit of discussion about Edinburgh Leisure's decision to close several creches ... and, despite the panicked changes announced over the Easter weekend, Craiglockhart Sports Centre creche is still one going to close.

Seems to me that many are conveniently forgetting the only reason Edinburgh Leisure are thinking of closing creches is because the City Council summarily cut its annual-grant by £300,000 a few weeks ago ... it's that third law of classical mechanics again :-(

Financial inquiries ...

Can't help but notice that Aberdeen City Council appears to be getting into deeper and deeper trouble ... really serious, financial trouble - and not debatable, political-trouble.

I mentioned a few weeks ago, the contrast between Liverpool and Edinburgh ... and you can now draw your own conclusions about Aberdeen's recent track record?

... one can only hope, probably in vain, that certain local colleagues may wish to quietly reflect on just how difficult it can be to successfully run a major city authority ...

Back to the grindstone ...

Not only has blogging been intermittent since last Thursday ... it's been non-existent!

But, back to the grindstone this morning after a remarkably quiet weekend - I've never experienced so few work-calls over a holiday weekend ... excellent :-)

You'll be glad to hear I'm not going to give you a blow-by-blow account of my Easter activities, but I am bound to report that 'allotment fever' has featured strongly and to suggest you just will not believe the next round of photographs :-))

Easter Weekend :-)

Easter Weekend is here :-)

Hoping for a bit of a break from the usual frantic-pace for the next four days, so blogging my be a bit intermittent :-(

... normal service will resume on Tuesday at the latest!

Happy Easter ...

Neighbourhood Partnership meeting

Local Neighbourhood Partnership meeting this evening ... back in Craiglockhart Primary!

Agenda can be found here - two interesting presentations at items 4 and 5, but they did take up a lot of the available time and other subjects were unfortunately a bit rushed.

Some pretty obvious anger, throughout various sections of the meeting, over recent grant decisions ... unfortunately, I sense it will get a lot worse in the coming months as the full impact of what's just happened becomes fully apparent :-(

Loss of direction ...

Audit Scotland report out today on the condition of Scotland's schools.

Strip away all the commentary and I do think there's a fairly worrying tale of 'loss of direction' here?

Someone really needs to get a grip on 'infrastructure renewal' for the Scottish Government - if the Scottish Futures Trust is deemed dead (consultation is now closed, so we should know soon?) then a replacement is needed very quickly.

We've already had nearly a full-year of not one single, new contract being initiated for a school building in Scotland :-(

... not good.

School Show

Craiglockhart Primary School this evening - as a parent not local Councillor! - to watch junior's performance in 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Bi-annual 'leaving show' for all P6/P7 pupils!

... trying to put parental bias to one-side (nigh-on impossible, I know) we thought the show was absolutely first-class :-)

Excellent performances all round ...

... especially from those "winged monkeys" :-))