Labour smears on my doorstep

Daft wee article in the Herald today with mock outrage from assorted Labour people after an unconfirmed number of John Mason's Parliamentary leaflets strayed into Dennistoun.

"One of the newsletters was received by Labour councillor Elaine MacDougall, who said: "I couldn't believe it. My whole street had this leaflet delivered."

I stay in the same street at Elaine McDougall, just across the road. I often see her emptying her dogs on the grass outside my flat, ensuring no one can actually use that area without risk of Toxocariasis. Anyway, it seems unlikely that she would get one of John's leaflets and I didn't. And I didn't.

I know of other people who live in Dennistoun who also didn't receive a leaflet, all of which suggests that Labour are (of course!) blowing this whole thing out of proportion. If some leaflets did get get delivered it's simply a mistake on the part of the distribution company, who should have had details on the Parliamentary boundaries. Some boundaries are a bit weird, and the Glasgow East ones are odd in places; they don't work strictly to logic or postcodes and G31 does cover a wide area. It's hardly a big deal, and certainly not the conspiricy Labour's fevered imaginations are leading them to believe.

As mistakes go, it's not even in the same league as Margaret Curran's, which actually did hit her constituents directly in the pocket - her unstamped unsolicited mail cost each constituent who recieved it £1.30. People turning up at the sorting office to pick up this mail were rightly angry that they were having to pay to collect something they never asked for in the first place. At the time, a Labour spokesperson said: "This is a typical SNP smear story." And it's not as if they would ever do the same...

This article did make me think though how jealous residents of Glasgow North East must be to recieve a newsletter from a hard working MP. I have lived here for two years, and have never had a newsletter from Michael Martin. Which leads me on to the real scandal.

It has been reported that the people of Glasgow North East are to be left unrepresented until November. People who vitally need assistance on tax, benefits, asylum and passports, or wish to influence Westminster on issues like Trident renewal, ID cards, welfare reform or the future of the Post Office will have no representative and no voice.

I am disgusted that Labour see fit to use smear tactics to distract from the reality that John is a hardworking MP doing his best for his constituents, while in a neighbouring constituency Labour are too feart to go to the people and ask for their vote. I don't wonder why.

Fun fun fun, in the sun sun sun...

I was moved to post on this by Yousuf's rather one-sided political polemic on tennis courts. Of course it would be nice to have loads of local facilities available at low or no cost. The reality is that there is a cost in providing services, and most likely this cost would be met by Councils, not the Scottish Government. I'm not going to defend any Council's record, but a bit of understanding that "free to use" does not mean "cost-free" would be helpful.

On a slightly more political slant, I would point out that Labour have an abysmal record in selling off playing fields and pitches across the country. In Glasgow, the cost of hiring facilities in PFI schools is prohibitive to many community groups. The need for form filling and applications for funding also puts off informal users. There are pitches all over the city in disrepair due to lack of maintence over the years.

I hate to go to a in my day type rant, but I spent huge chunks of my summer climbing trees, playing with friends, exploring, and injuring myself in new and creative ways (concussion and hospitalisation from falling from the monkey bars being a particular high point). There was no tennis, no swimming pool in my town (it got built mid-high school), and where I lived was miles away from the fairly limited sports centre the town had. It sounds archaic, but we made our own fun.

The spirit of this seems to be alive and well in the children in my street who, after finding chalk inadequate, have gotten hold of some masking tape and lined themselves a tennis court. I'm very impressed! It's gotten a wee bit squint since the bin lorry ran over it this morning, but you get the point.

Grampa Simpson style rant over, there are loads of organised activities going on in the East End of Glasgow, provided by a number of organisations funded in a multitude of ways. The East End Youth Network has a programme of events, with all manner of sports and arts activities for young people. The organisations involved have worked really hard to put together programmes of events, so there's always something to do! I wish I was still young enough to take part, but I hope as many young people as possible take up the opportunities open to them this summer.

East End 5k

Today was the East End 5k, and as last year, I never quite got round to doing any kind of training before the race.

My running buddy from last year, David Linden, was determined to prove that a diet of kebabs, chips and cheese was no hindrance to a faster time and sprinted off into the distance. I was delighted to finish in 31 minutes, an improvement on last year's 37 minutes. I didn't think it possible!

I was also mildly chuffed to find that I'd come in ahead of my ward colleague, George Redmond, and his running buddy Frank McAveety MSP. They finished well ahead of me last year, and since I hadn't seen them on the run, I reckoned they must've been further up the field. I'd collected my banana and goody bag, found Joe (who had given up his Sunday lie-in to cheer me on!) and David, and settled down for a wee rest when I heard their name called crossing the finish line. George is claiming a niggly Achilles' problem, but I'm not so sure! The challenge is on for next year ...

Well done to all who took part - it was an ace day, with lots of people, stalls, entertainment and fun. I chatted to lots of people, and bought some beads from the Happy Club, lovely soap from a lady called Angela who runs "Bubble Beauty", and enjoyed a smoothie and a fruit kebab from East End Kids and Co.

PS - George and Frank chickened out of swapping their football shirts! Sorry to disappoint those who requested photos - you're stuck with my before and after shots!

Sing Out For Peace

Last Saturday, I joined others from the SNP on the Scotland's for Peace march in Glasgow.

I've been to various demos, in Glasgow, Edinburgh and at Faslane, and recently joined Scottish CND.

Trident never made a lot of sense to me in the first place, but in these times of belt-tightening, it's crazy to be splashing out millions on a new nuclear missile system. It disgusts me that at the same time they aim to cut public spending, Labour want to press on with this unnecessary prestige project, renewing a relic of the Cold War. When even Generals are saying it's daft, Labour should be thinking again!

There's a chance to put the brakes on and a good few MPs have now signed an Early Day Motion to that effect. The Scottish Parliament has a majority against nuclear weapons, but the ability to reject them will only come with independence.

If you feel that spending our money on weapons of mass destruction is wrong, please sign the Covenant for Peace: We desire that Scotland should be known for its contribution to peace and justice rather than for waging war.

Firefighters - invite them round!

As regular readers of the blog will know, I’ve been supporting a lot of the work done by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue. While I was visiting Calton Fire Station to see Firereach in action, I offered up my flat as a means of promoting Home Fire Safety Visits, an offer which was met very enthusiastically by the new Area Commander Frank Waters and Stephen McKee, Community Safety Co-ordinator for North East Glasgow.

White Watch came to my flat (as they do with any other Home Fire Safety Visit), along with a journalist from the News of the World and a photographer. The team ran through the Home Fire Safety Visit as they would with any member of the public, checking each room for fire risks such as overloaded plug sockets, candles, and other flammable items.

I live in an older tenement building and a lot of the plug sockets are single ones, so I do use a lot of extension cords. I was reminded that they can overheat, particularly when devices like hair straighteners and hairdryers are plugged into the same one. I learned that the old style plug adaptors are more hazardous than the new bar ones, and I now switch all adaptors off when they’re not in use.

A significant risk factor is of course smoking – cigarettes left burning when people nod off in their armchairs or in bed can quickly cause a fire to break out. I don’t smoke, or allow people to smoke in my flat, so that wasn’t directly an issue for me. It could be an issue for me though if it happens to one of my neighbours. I live in a close with ten other households, and I’m sure a few of them smoke. The fire fighters told me a recent fire where the person had fallen asleep, but the neighbours heard the smoke alarm going off, and called 999. If they hadn’t, their neighbour could have died, and the fire could easily have spread to other houses in the street.

I was shocked to find that my own smoke detector, which had been in the flat since I moved in two years ago, was found to be faulty. The fire fighter who checked it reckoned it was a loose connection. As part of the service, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue will fit a smoke alarm for free. It has a ten-year lifespan, and is smaller and neater than most I’ve seen. You can also press a button to turn off the beeper if it goes off by accident (I set it off soon after while cooking bacon!).

I feel a good deal safer knowing that I now have a properly installed, functioning, reliable smoke alarm, and I would recommend the Home Fire Safety visit to anyone. The fire fighters carrying out the visit encourage you also to make an escape plan, to think about what you would do in a fire, and to make your own home safer. They pointed out things I wouldn’t have thought of, like the importance of having well-fitted doors to prevent the spread of smoke. It’s also worth recommending to family and friends – we could all be victims of fire, and it’s clear that the best early warning is a smoke detector.

Book your Home Fire Safety Visit today. Call 0800 0731 999, text "Check" to 61611 on your mobile phone or follow the link to fill in the request form.

Photos by Carol McCabe Photography
35 Summertown Road
Glasgow
G51 2QA
Web: www.cmcpictures.co.uk

Poetry

I mentioned in my earlier post about refugee week that Iyad Hayatleh had read his very moving poem Appeal at the launch event.

Graeme Corbett from the Refugee Council has very kindly sent me a copy of the poem and Iyad is happy for it to be posted up. I hope you enjoy it.

Appeal

Leaving my soul behind
memories
life
my very first step
very first lisping
my first alphabet
mother’s tears
father’s supplications
the familial taste of chestnut in wintry evenings.

Escaping death - maybe – for another death
armed with my heart
my passion
my giving
my pride
spreading my sails for art
my wings for poetry
my appetite for love.

I’ve come looking for a new dream
I’ve come to bury the darkness that covered my heaven
in a happy pink morning
to re-sketch my path far away
thousands of songs filling up my eyes
and the lovers longing for kisses
flowing out of my lips.

Oh, land of wind
land of persistent uncompromising rain
land of castles
and the brave heart who never goes astray
grant me a fresh chance
to live
to sing
to restore my broken poem.

Payback time?

I'm absolutely astounded at the news that MPs have paid back nearly half a million pounds, for expenses they shouldn't have claimed. That's even MPs, that's 182 of them.

According to the BBC:

The figures published by the Commons Members Estimate Committee on Thursday also reveal that Barbara Follett - the tourism minister - has repaid £32,976.

It is one of the largest single sums repaid by any MP - the largest is £41,709 by care services minister Phil Hope, who had already publicised the fact he was repaying it in the light of constituents' anger.

Ms Follett, married to best selling author Ken Follett, had defended claiming £25, 411 for security patrols at her London home after she was mugged, saying it was within the rules.

The figures also show for the first time, that cabinet minister Douglas Alexander has repaid more than £12,000.

My own expenses in the Council for last year totalled £1,058.50. I have just enough money in the bank to pay that back if I had to. I can't get my head around people signing over cheques for thousands of pounds as if they were paying for their weekly messages. Is this what real, grown ups can do in their life? Or is it just certain MPs who have been creaming off money from the state for all these years?

My expenses in the Council were for telephone bills - £310.58 for the year - and an annual zonecard - £748.00. I was given the option of a zonecard or a parking space in the City Chambers. I don't think it's fair that while other workers have to pay a premium for city centre parking, we get it for nothing. I also haven't claimed for mileage or taxis.

So you can get a bit of a comparison, I've listed my expenses alongside my ward colleagues.

NAME	Simpson, Ruth*	Redmond, George**	Thewliss, Alison
SALARY	£28,131.02	£28,626.83	£15,797.52
TRAVEL	£2,909.30	£645.83	£748.00
SUBSISTENCE	£1,252.86	£0.00	£0.00
TELEPHONE & ICT	£505.91	£514.88	£310.58
OTHER	£13.00	£0.00	£0.00
TOTAL EXPENSES	£4,681.07	£1,160.71	£1,058.58
TOTAL	£32,812.09	£29,787.54	£16,856.10

*Executive Member for Land & Environment/Councillor (wef March 2009)
**Planning Committee Convenor/Executive Member for Health & Wellbeing (wef March 2009)

PS - sorry, no idea why that's jumped down the page. Thought I was doing well Html-ing myself a table!