Would you like your road repaired?

I've just received the following email... if you have any suggestions please get back to me and I'll add them to my list!

Dear Elected Member

Following the Council’s decision to award a further additional £8M capital to address the road condition challenge in Glasgow we are currently finalising our suggested programme for next year.

Could I, therefore, ask that you provide me with any detail based on local knowledge of locations or schemes that you would wish to have considered in the 2011/12 spend before we finalise this proposal.  Thereafter we will discuss the draft programme with Area Committees and other interested groups.

A response by Thursday 31 March 2011 would be appreciated as it would allow us to consider your priorities with those currently being developed by our Roads Investment Group.

 
Thanking you in anticipation for your assistance.

Regards.


Robert

Robert Booth
Executive Director
Glasgow City Council
Land and Environmental Services
231 George Street
GLASGOW G1 1RX

Riverside Museum

I was invited by Glasgow Life to go on Friday morning for a wee sneak preview of the Riverside Museum, the new Museum of Transport down by the Clyde. Like many folk, I did love the old museum and wasn't quite sure I would like it; I was very pleasantly surprised. 

The museum is a striking building, although close up, it does seem a bit grey. The real treats are inside. 

I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say without giving up any secrets, but I can say that the big vehicles are all in place - trains, trams and cars of all descriptions. Some of the model ships are in place, lovingly cleaned and beautifully displayed. Other ships will get the chance to move as if sailing! There's a new old street, which feels so realistic you feel you could pick up some messages and get a pint while you're there. I can't wait to see the finished article!

According to the website, there will be more items on display than even in the old museum - with lots of interactive displays to put the items in context. I hope, since I asked questions about this at committee some time ago, that these will be built to last. We were told on the tour that museum curators will be able to add information, so there will always be more to discover. 

Part of the reason we got a preview was to spread the word about the Riverside Museum Appeal. All this restoration, preservation and inspiration doesn't come cheap - some £74million in fact. The Appeal hopes to generate £5million towards that total, and has nearly achieved that. They need your help to make it to the target. Please do check out the link, and find out more!

P.S. thanks to @michaels_dad, I now know that there is also an excellent blog for the project! 

January

I can't believe it's been more than a month now since I've posted. I've been so busy! Work is coming in steadily from constituents, I've been meeting groups, and catching up on briefings. There have been meetings of the Board of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, Health and Social Care Committee, and External Governance Scrutiny. Baby Alexander is now seven months old, starting to eat a variety of food and get about more under his own steam. 

Here are a few photos to illustrate what I've been up to! 

Campaigning! With less than 100 days until the Scottish Parliament elections, I've been out working for our candidate for Glasgow Shettleston, John Mason. Alexander has been helping me, and finds our materials quite tasty.

Arguably less tasty, but more nutritious, we've started weaning. I've discovered the butternut squash is hazardous to fingertips when dismembered with a sharp knife.

Committees. It's hard getting time to read the papers these days; harder still to focus and contribute at the meetings while keeping the wee guy entertained, but I think I'm managing. At Health and Social Care Labour were caught acting against the best interests of young people in our schools, undermining their own health messages by selling cakes and crisps (albeit within health guidelines) to make a profit. 

Family. I don't see them as often as I'd like, but my mum and dad did their first bit of babysitting last week. Exciting times. Alexander also attended two more football matches this month. You can tell he's impressed!

Champions! I attended the Community Champions awards, and was particularly chuffed to see the hardworking young people's group PEEK scoop up a prize. Their theatre productions are really fantastic.

Surgeries. Still doing eight a month, which is more than the Labour Councillors (details on the side bar). The one pictured is Bridgeton Library, where I get very well looked after by the wonderful staff!

Buddies. I attended two sessions at the Gorbals Leisure Centre for young people involved in the Active Kids Buddy scheme. They lead their peers in a range of activities in the playground at break time, which should lead to healthier, happier young people! St Anne's, Sacred Heart and St Michael's were all represented. I got a go on the Gladiators inflatable, and also got to play with the big ball pictured!

Burns. Much nervousness and inspiration needed for the Reply to the Toast to the Lassies last Saturday night at the Shettleston SNP Burns Supper. I'm hoping my mix of footie and politics went down ok!

Baby. He can now move from one side of the living room to get stuck under this coffee table. Eek. 

Winter update

I've received the following information from Glasgow City Council. I hope it's of some help.

As you are aware, significant snowfalls have wreaked havoc across central Scotland this morning. Although all our priority routes were in good condition at 0800 hrs this morning, the intensity of the snow meant that they were quickly covered.
 
The atrocious conditions have resulted in a suspension of all other operations including refuse collection and all of our available resources are currently deployed on arterial roads and footways. Routes to schools and hospitals continue to be treated as a priority.
 
Most public transport operators have suspended their operations and we are working with them to provide whatever support we can.
 
Difficulties on the adjacent motorway network have resulted in traffic either queuing within the city or attempting to find an alternative route.
 
Our most recent forecast suggests that the snow will move away southwards this afternoon, clearing by 1500-1600hrs. Thereafter, it will be dry with long clear periods, although there is the chance of a few freezing fog patches overnight. It will be very cold once again with widespread ice. Tuesday and Wednesday will remain very cold but mainly dry with lengthy clear spells. During Thursday and Friday, a strengthening north-westerly breeze will bring more cloud and eventually slightly milder conditions with occasional light rain and drizzle too.
 
LES will continue to operate around the clock in dealing with the current conditions and will endeavour to return all services to normal as quickly as possible.
 

Updated information on the adverse weather conditions can be found here: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/adverseweatherupdate.htm

Updated information on school closures can be found here: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/GoingtoSchool/generalinfo.htm

The Council has also been putting updates on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/GlasgowCC

If you do not have a Twitter account you can still get updates via SMS from Twitter using their Fast Follow service by texting follow GlasgowCC to 86444 in the United Kingdom. To stop following text unfollow GlasgowCC to 86444. Standard messages rates will apply.  More details on the Fast Follow service are available on the Twitter site. 

 

Winter update from Land and Environmental Services

I received the following update this afternoon - if any constituents are experiencing particular problems, please feel free to contact me.



As you are aware, widespread and significant snowfalls over the weekend have resulted in considerable disruption throughout the central belt. This unseasonably cold spell has brought falls of up to 6 inches across Glasgow.

Council staff have been working around the clock in order to keep priority roads and footways open. Around 400 Council personnel have been supplemented by 100 from contractors.

A slight easing in conditions today is allowing us to treat secondary as well as priority routes. The refilling of grit bins has also been prioritised.

The weather forecast for today suggests that there will be a few snow showers around this afternoon, interspersed with sunny spells. By dusk a heavier line of showers is expected to move in from the east and some of this snow may affect Glasgow, giving local accumulations. The very cold weather looks set to continue through this week with temperatures remaining below zero both by day and by night. Many of the heavy snow showers will stick to the eastern side of Scotland leaving a lot of dry weather in the west, however, a few will blow through from time to time and could give local accumulations.

Our salt stocks remain at healthy levels at present although these will continue to be monitored closely.

The severe weather is also impacting on our cleansing operations citywide. Over the course of the weekend around 60% of refuse was lifted as normal. Refuse collection of multi-storey flats remains a priority and wheeled bins left on kerbside from the weekend are being attended to today. Local Area Teams are also attempting to uplift refuse from wheeled bins presented on kerbside and backcourt areas. Due to ongoing hazards presented by the snow and ice, additional parks and street cleansing operatives are being utilised to grit roads and footways to allow safe access in advance of refuse collection teams reaching these addresses.

At the moment, bulk and tenement blue bin recycling uplifts are suspended as these resources have been redeployed to assist with the core priorities of refuse collection. Street cleansing operations are also restricted to clearing shop-front areas and gritting of priority footways at this time.

Road repairs

In order to undertake carriageway repairs, Gallowgate (both sides) will be reduced to one lane 50 metres in each direction of junction with Melbourne Street.

During the works road users should expect delays. The work is weather dependent and information will be updated as required.

These works will commence on Friday 19^th November 2010 from 09-30 until 16-00. These works are expected to be complete on the same day. (16.00)

In order to undertake carriageway repairs within London Road, it will be reduced to one lane eastbound between junction with Graignestock and No.543

During the works road users should expect delays. The work is weather dependent and information will be updated as required.

These works will commence on Sunday 21^st November 2010 from 09-00 until 16-00. These works are expected to be complete on the same day. (16.00)

Changing the City Chambers

When I've popped into work with Alexander thus far, I've changed him in my office (sorry colleagues!).

It was because of this that I only realised a couple of weeks ago that the Glasgow City Chambers complex had no baby changing facilities whatsoever. None!

I was pretty surprised - the City Chambers is a sizeable building, with public tours twice a day and a range of events held in the Banqueting Hall and Satinwood Suite. Mothers and babies often visit to have documents witnessed in the Councillor's corridor, or to visit their elected representatives. I immediately took the matter up with the City Chambers duty manager, who admitted that it was probably something they should consider.

The Duty Manager quickly sourced a fold-down changing table, and I can confirm it is now installed in the disabled toilet - located on the ground floor entrance hall, next to the front doors. As you can see, Alexander approves!

I also asked for a chair to be placed in the 'outer room' of the toilet so that those who wish to breastfeed more discreetly can do so - although if people prefer to use the nice sofas in the lobby, that would also be absolutely fine!

If there are any other Council facilities that aren't up to scratch, please let me know and I will pursue the matter with officials.

Baby on Board!

I've not disappeared, and the Total Politics blog awards hasn't been an excuse to rest on my laurels - although any kind of rest would be nice. In general, things have been too hectic to be able to compose my thoughts and get them into the blog. I've been trying instead to update my twitter feed as much as possible, so you can get a flavour of what I've been up to in the absence of a blog post.

Anyhow, I'm very chuffed to have been voted number 25 of the top 50 Scottish blogs in their annual awards, particularly as I didn't ask for any votes and I didn't even vote for myself! Thanks to all readers of Bellgrovebelle, I'm very grateful for your support.

Despite aiming to take things a bit easier since Alexander arrived at the start of July, I feel like I've still been running around as much as usual, only with much less sleep. I've still been attending my surgeries (times and places to your right...) as well as various things in the Council and in my ward.

Alexander has had a very interesting first twelve weeks, now having been with me to three football matches (two Motherwell, one Scotland), a Full Council meeting (he was better behaved than most of the Councillors!), the Calton Area Committee and Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Board. He attended an SNP branch meeting, the regional list hustings and a Maryhill race night. He's been to the opening of the refurbished Bridgeton Cross, the new shop for Starter Packs Glasgow, a meeting of Pensioners Action Group East and a public meeting about the Olympia in Bridgeton. On Thursday he came along with me to attend the Papal Mass in Bellahouston Park and yesterday we visited the City Building Glasgow House project.

All of which events were very interesting, and worthy of blog posts in themselves. I will endeavour to update you as I'm going about, but please be assured that even if I don't have time to fit in regular blog posts, I'm still out there working hard!


PS - this blog post should've had photos, but photobucket isn't cooperating. Hopefully, normal service will be resumed!

Let them eat cake?

Not only are Glasgow Labour getting rid of free fruit to save cash, they now want to bring back cake in school canteens. Mixed messages? Undermining their own public health initiatives? That'll be Glasgow Labour at work...

Fruitless!

I was disappointed to see reported in the Evening Times that Glasgow Labour intend to cut free fruit for school children. Glasgow's health problems are well known, and this initiative was a positive step to try and turn things around.

I know from visiting schools and nurseries in the city, and from the various gala days over the summer that children in the East End are now getting used to the idea of eating fruit regularly; they know and like the taste. Organisations like East End Kids 'n' Co, who provide fruit kebabs and smoothies at fun days, could barely keep up with the demand!

There are always new mouths to feed though, and while this current crop of youngsters have adopted healthier habits, those who follow need to be encouraged too. Sadly, not every parent will choose to have fruit at home, or can afford it; parents might not be in the habit of eating fruit themselves. Schemes such as this can make a difference, and use the 'pester power' of children for good.

The really frustrating thing is that, according to the Herald this morning, the SNP Scottish Government, anticipating that free oranges could be squeezed by budget cutbacks, applied to the EU to be part of a free fruit programme. Success looked likely until Westminster indicated their intention to claw back 72p of every £1 we would save by participating. This is absolutely farcical; in these circumstances, the Scottish Government is penalised for trying to be innovative and fiscally efficient. EU money is out these, but under devolution it doesn't pay us to apply for it.

Independence would allow us the freedom to manage our economy - from school fruit to high finance - for the benefit of our people. We shouldn't have to ask permission for this basic principle.

Shopping local

I'm pretty lucky to live within walking distance of Duke Street and Alexandra Parade, home to lots of small independent shops - butchers, bakers, candlestick sellers(!), card shops and cafes.

In the normal course of a working week it's difficult to make it to these shops to buy fresh local produce and, like most people, I would usually end up buying food at the supermarket. I've really been enjoying being on more flexible hours in the past few weeks as I've been able to buy more of what I need locally instead.

Shopping locally is great but it really just caters to people who can be at home during the day, and local shops thereby lose a significant customer base. It makes me wonder if local shops might consider opening just a wee bit later to catch people coming home from work. If you're off to work before they open and back after they shut, you'll never get the chance to see what local shops have to offer. Supermarkets can open 24/7 and small businesses can't possibly match this, however an extra hour or two might make a difference.

Celino's deli and restaurant on the Parade seems to have realised this and now open later on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you haven't been, you should; the staff are enthusiastic, ambitious, and the food is fantastic. It's always nice to go in for dinner, but there's also the option of getting some tasty ingredients to cook something or picking up one of their nice takeaway meals (which are made on the premises). Much healthier than going home and nuking something tasteless made in a distant factory.

I feel a question to the Council coming on - is there some way of encouraging later opening, to make our local shops and communities more sustainable and our people healthier?

PS The photo comes courtesy of a new fruit shop - Fruit on Parade - which opened recently. My gran fell and broke the top part of her arm a couple of weeks ago, and I'd been thinking of sending her a fruit basket. Most of the ones I've seen online were pretty expensive for what was in them, so when I saw one outside the door of the fruit shop, I just had to pop in and ask how much it was. For the bargain price of £10, I bought the lovely basket in the picture! My gran was delighted, and the very enthusiastic shopkeeper was chuffed to make a sale (apparently £10 was considered too dear by the wee wifies of Dennistoun!). It would make a nice gift if you're visiting at the Royal Infirmary too!

Time Capsule

On Friday afternoon, I attended the placing of a time capsule on the Glasgow 2014 NISA and velodrome site.

Local children had chosen a number of items, including the t-shirt from Dalmarnock Primary School you can see in the photo, to put in the capsule. The staff from contractors McAlpine had inserted a concrete shaft with a lid to make sure it'll be kept safe and dry until the day comes when it is rediscovered.

I read recently about a time capsule being recovered almost one hundred years since it was placed. The idea fascinates me, that these children have created their own small piece of history. They were keen to tell their own story of Dalmarnock now, and their hopes for the future.

I wonder if they'll be around when the capsule is re-discovered, and what will have changed.

He will be missed!

I popped into the City Chambers last Thursday to attend the retirement do for Steve Inch, Director of Development and Regeneration Services.

Steve has served in Glasgow longer than I've been alive, and his leaving do was a fitting tribute - as you can see from the photo, many people came to see him off.

Since I came into the Council, I've been hugely impressed with Steve's warmth, professionalism, and deep knowledge of everything going on in the city. I really enjoyed the occasions where I got to meet with him; he was generous with his time, and you always went away knowing more, feeling that your opinions had been listened to and your questions answered.

I understand that Steve will now be able to dedicate more time to his family, but will also be getting more involved in the projects he feels are important to him and to Glasgow. His retirement doesn't mean he won't be busy, but I will certainly miss having the benefit of his advice in the Council.

Cems and Crems

I didn't think cemeteries and crematoria would be something I would ever get exercised about, but being a Councillor is indeed a strange job.

For some time, the bereavement services which Glasgow City Council provide have been making a loss. Partly, this is due to the opening of new services in neighbouring local authorities, as well as competion from private facilites. Energy and staff costs were also an issue.

At the same time, Glasgow charged a premium for people outside the city to use our crematoria, while these same facilities were getting a bit older and less attractive. People's needs weren't being taken into account either; I had been asked by a minister in my ward whether it would be possible to extend the time allocated for services at our crematoria from half an hour to forty-five minutes to allow families greater time to grieve.

The Council's response to this loss-making but important service was to explore whether a partnership with a private company might turn things around. I had asked a few times at Committee whether we could take any action to improve the service, but on each occasion, I was told that we had to await the end of negotiations.

Today, some two years or so after the Council decided to explore the partnership option, it was decided that this may not be the best deal. Negotiations continue, but at present, it looks like the private company wants all of the profit, the Council takes all of the risk, carries all of the investment, and provides an operating subsidy.

The interim solution is to make those from Glasgow and outwith the city pay the same (incidentally the higher rate!), and offer an extended 45-minute service. I'm really disappointed that it has taken the Council two years to do something they could have easily done in the beginning - continuing to lose money and probably discouraging people from using the facilities in the meantime.

It's important to listen to what people want, especially when the service is as sensitive as bereavement. For families who have been rushed through saying farewell, this decision has come too late; I hope a better service can be provided in future.

Glasgow Labour think scrutiny is a waste of time

Yesterday's Full Council meeting was always going to be a tetchy affair - since their new leader was elected, Labour have been foutering about with spokespeople, committee places, chairs, and places on arms length organisations. It's all internal stuff, but it has an impact on how the Council operates, and how the administration is held to account.

As the main opposition party on the Council, we were unconvinced by some of the plans - and in particular the decision by the Labour administration to nominate two Lib Dems and one independent to chair the Scrutiny committees. Labour nominations are in practice unchallengeable given the mathematics of the Council.

The principle of freezing out the main opposition (we have 19 Councillors to the Lib Dems 6) is a bit iffy; to add insult to injury, Committee chairmanship comes with extra money. Labour also decided to reduce the size of the Executive Committee, reducing the SNP places to four, while the Lib Dems have two and the Greens (with 5 Councillors) only one.

The SNP group had also been disappointed to learn via the Sunday papers that Glasgow's Lord Provost appeared to have been using Council cars inappropriately.

Our response to these issues was a sensible one - to ask as many difficult questions of the Labour administration as we could. Among these, we asked about the appointees to Committees, we asked why two more Labour Councillors were being given paid positions on the board of Cordia, we asked about contradictions in Council policies (such as the Air Route Development Fund and the Carbon Reduction commitment).

All of this clearly rattled a few cages amongst the administration - and at one point the Lord Provost accused the SNP of wasting everyone's time. Scrutiny is never a waste of time. The point of the exercise is that we don't get answers when we ask them politely elsewhere. I personally feel as though I've been fobbed off in the past on several occasions - more on that in another post.

The issue of the Lord Provost's car bills is not a matter we can easily raise anywhere else - yet Labour took the very questioning of this as an attack on the office of the Lord Provost. They seem to genuinely believe that the Lord Provost's expenses should not be subject to scrutiny. One Labour Councillor was even heard to call us "sewer rats" for asking whether public money had been used appropriately. We seek higher standards - to pull Glasgow out of the gutter. It's disappointing to see that those with the most to lose don't agree.

Planning for the weeks ahead

Regular readers will that know I'm pregnant and, all being well, due on the 27th of June. I've still been doing my best to make it to events in my ward and committees, and hope to continue to do so until the baby arrives. Clearly, it's impossible to tell when that will be, but I will put the news up on here (or at the very least on the twitter feed in the wee box above my photo) as soon as I can!

Afterwards, I hope you'll not hold it against me if I'm not able to deal with your enquiries personally and instantly - I will however have support from a secretary in the City Chambers, who can help with most Council matters. I'll still be able to respond to emails and calls on my blackberry, and will have a laptop set up so that I can work from home. I hope to pursuade some of my colleagues to help with surgeries in the first few weeks til I find my feet.

I don't intend to take 'formal' maternity leave - I just can't imagine taking six months away from the hustle and bustle of the Council. There's also no-one to cover for me in my absence as there would be in a 'normal' job, and I don't want to let my constituents, my colleagues and my party down.

It might help if I explain that Councillors aren't 'employees' in the normal sense, in that we're not technically required to turn up to work every day. Obviously, a Councillor would be doing a pretty poor job if that were the case, and I can't think why in the normal course of events you would do that. The penalty for not showing up for an extended period of time is disqualification - dealt with in Section 35 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which states:

"if a member of a local authority fails throughout a period of six consecutive months to attend any meeting of the authority, he shall, unless the failure was due to some reason approved by the authority, cease to be a member of the authority."

The Council seem to be quite prepared to allow me to work flexibly, bringing the baby in with me to work, and I hope that community organisations will allow me to do the same.

I want to be available to my constituents, and I would like to reassure people that I'm not going anywhere - I live in Dennistoun and will still be out and about!

World Cup

At the last Full Council meeting, we agreed to fly the South African flag for the start of the World Cup. The motion agreed read as follows:

“Council notes that this week marks the sixteenth anniversary of the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first democratically elected President and welcomes the achievements of South Africans since 1994 as they have worked to overcome the legacies and injustices of apartheid.

Council recognises the very important links that exist between our city and the South African people, reaffirms its commitment to the work of Local Authority Action for Southern Africa (LAACTSA) and applauds South Africa as it prepares to play host to the 2010 Football World Cup, the largest international event ever to be held on South African soil.

Council hopes that the focus of the World Cup will lead to a continuation of the South African Government’s commitment to an open, fair, free and democratic government, to freedom of the press, opposition to human rights abuses in the region, and the equality of all South Africans.

Council resolves to fly the South African flag over the City Chambers on Friday, 11th June, the opening day of the World Cup, as a show of our solidarity with the South African people.”

M74 visit

Yesterday afternoon, I joined my colleagues George Roberts and David Turner to visit works on the M74 extension.

I've been watching the progress as everyone else has so far, from a distance - it was nice to get the opportunity to see it up close and learn more about the challenges and technical aspects of this massive engineering project.

The project is at different stages of development along the route - some parts are actually having tarmac laid at the moment, some of the viaducts are still being launched on others. The scale is impressive; at Carmyle, the world's biggest crane is preparing to shift chunks of steel across the Clyde. At Rutherglen, the viaduct is inching it's way across the railway line. At Kingston, work is going on high above the ground, with sections rolling into place. The prefabricated parts have been slotted together perfect to the millimetre.

It's also worth noting that the project is worth £445m - with 87% of the cost being met by the Scottish Government. It has kept apprentices and workers in employment, and is a significant investment in Glasgow and the wider west of Scotland. I found out also that a lot of the rubble for the road is coming from demolitions around the country - materials which would normally have gone to landfill. So, while road building isn't usually great news for the environment, the M74 does involve some recycling.

I've posted a few pictures below to show the scale of the development.

Shining more light on the Calton

It's taken a long, long time, but I finally recieved confirmation this morning from Land and Environmental Services that the crumbling street lights in the Calton will be being replaced.

This issue started for me with the election campaign in 2007, where local people identified the dim lighting in the area as a problem. People didn't feel safe walking about at night, as they couldn't see other people, or indeed the ground beneath them, clearly. Older people had tripped and fallen, and for my own part, I kept getting my heels stuck in the cobbled bits!

I managed to get the more modern street lights in the Millroad Drive and Chalmers Street areas upgraded with brighter bulbs, but improving the older lights in Stevenson Street, Green Street Millroad Street and Tobago Street has been more problematic.

During the storms at Christmas 2007-January 2008, a street light was brought down on Millroad Street. Luckily, it fell on to the road, so no-one got hurt and no property was damaged. Nevertheless, I asked officials in LES if it would be possible to replace the lights in the area as a result. They're all of a similar age and condition, so I reckoned it was a fair bet that if no action was taken, this could happen again. I got agreement for the works to be carried out, but due to various budget issues (and despite my chasing LES on the matter), nothing happened between then and now.

Out of the blue this morning, I recieved an email saying that works will start next Monday, 7th June, in Stevenson Street, Green Street, Millroad Street, Tobago Street, Tobago Place, Drake Street, and Arcadia Street. These works will result in new white light sources being deployed as outlined in the Council’s lighting strategy and the Lighting Network Renewal (LNR) project framework.

I just called one of the community activists who had been calling for this, and she's delighted. It's been a long time coming, but the new 'white lights' will definitely be an improvement in the Calton area.

Out and about

I love going out and about and meeting people in my ward - getting an insight into people's lives is one of the great privileges and pleasures of this job.

Today was particularly busy, but kicked off with me lying in bed this morning, sniffling and whimpering, waking after a poor night's sleep with a heavy cold. It was so tempting to call off the many things I had scheduled, but I hate to stand people up.

First on the agenda was a meeting of Pensioners Action Group East. I love this group - they're so committed to helping other pensioners, and society at large. Many of the members volunteer time to help with other groups and work a lot with young people. The Chair, Andy, does so much, and even found the time to do a bit of hillwalking to raise funds for PAGE. I hadn't been to see the group for a wee while, so it was good to catch up. I was really touched that they had gotten me a present for the baby. Lovely people.

Next up was a quick visit to Tots Bots. While researching real nappies online, I noticed this company were based in the East End in Carntyne. I decided to nip in, and found them very welcoming. I'm quite keen to avoid contributing to the landfill waste that disposable nappies create, and after having seen the products Tots Bots produce, I'm seriously thinking of giving them a try. It's also nice to know that the nappies are produced right here in the East End, rather than in some remote factory. I aim to go back once the baby is born - I don't have room to store things in the flat just now!

I attended the weekly maternity exercise class at the Princess Royal at lunchtime. It's reassuring to know that the exercise I'm doing is appropriate and supervised. The class is a small one, but I've enjoyed the social aspect of meeting other pregnant women. I would recommend it!

After the class, I rushed off to meet with housing, GCSS and LES officers, and my fellow ward Councillor at a site in Barrowfield. Residents have been complaining for some time about fly-tipping, which has reached epic proportions. The site is owned by a private developer, and local people cut across the site as a short cut. It's been a tricky one to resolve, but enforcement officers hope to be able to get the site cleared, and charge the owners accordingly. Owners should take responsibility for their sites, but all too often, they are left for years without any kind of maintenance. The effect of this is a blight on communities; it's completely unfair to those who take care of their properties and try to improve their area.

Attending the class and the site visit meant that I couldn't be at today's Finance and Audit Committee. I'm loathe to miss Committee meetings; over the past three years I think I've only missed one or two and only when it's been completely unavoidable. It's difficult to get so many officers together for a site visit at any one time, so this time the Committee had to take second place.

I headed over to London Road Nursery to hand in some Tesco vouchers for clubs and schools. I try to share around the vouchers I collect, and this year some have also gone to St Anne's Primary and Elba Lane Nursery. It seems to take a lot of vouchers to get anything, so I hope my wee contribution helps a bit. If you have any stashed at the bottom of your handbag, please hand them in to your local school as soon as possible! It was nice to catch up with the head teacher at the Nursery, and see what's been going on since the last time I was in. I was already aware that nusery places are still oversubscribed in this part of Glasgow - as expected, the closure of Queen Mary Street and Mile End have only made this more difficult. I'm not sure how this can be resolved; it's a serious problem for families, especially those who work.

After visiting St Anne's last week, I popped back in again to see their parent-child cookery classes in action. In this pilot programme, parents and children participate in a series of classes, run by staff at the school, which teach them about cooking and nutrition. Basic cookery might sound simple, but many people have never made a meal from scratch, and have little idea what goes into the food they eat. Roasted vegetables, macaroni cheese and muffins were all on the menu tonight; the parents were amazed at how easy, cheap and tasty the meals were, and the children really enjoyed working together with their mums and dads as well as their teachers. I heard from the parents how much they valued the experience, and the staff spoke about the changes they had seen. The course has proved to be an important step for some, and has really broken down the barriers between school and community.

I also heard about the early progress being made by the Triple P programme. It's early days, but from what was said, it sounds as if it's already making an impact on some parents.

I finished my day with a surgery at Dalmarnock Primary. It was quiet tonight, so I got a chance to catch up with emails and prepare for tomorrow. Pretty tired, but it was a really interesting day!