School closures... now I've calmed down

I've waited until now to post so I could do so with a clear head. I was incandescent on Thursday, angry, upset and frustrated at the way in which Labour behaved in the Council meeting. If I had posted straight away, I'd almost certainly have been carted off to the Standards Commission. I am still incredibly disappointed at the stage management of the Labour Group, where they were permitted to move against closures in their own wards, but obliged to support closures everywhere else. This was particularly ludicrous when some of the arguments in each case were so similar.

The way in which Labour acted does a huge disservice to those who campaigned, marched, occupied and petitioned. I spent time in Wheatley House reading each and every response for St James' Primary, Queen Mary Street Nursery and Mile End Nursery. I was moved and impressed by the responses, and they strengthened my resolve. I know from the sign-in sheet in the reception that not many Councillors bothered to read these. As far as I could see, no Labour Councillor had done so. This is a huge derogation of their responsibility to their constituents and the people of this city.

By contrast with my feelings about the callous way Labour Councillors acted, I was very proud of my colleagues in the SNP, and fellow opposition members from the Greens, Lib Dems, and the Conservative. We challenged, we reasoned, we let the world (or at least the public gallery) know why the proposals were flawed and wrong. I've since had emails from those in the gallery, and I know how they saw things. The Save Merrylee Nursery website has a good synopsis.

I met with some staff and parents from St James' Primary on Friday morning and the sense of betrayal was palpable. They know how damaged their community will be; this blow is the last thing Calton needs. The challenge now is to see pupils through to the end of term and ensure their education doesn't suffer as a result of this decision.

I know that all SNP politicians are now looking to find some way of appealing and overturning these decisions. The guidelines for this are narrow, but if there's a way, we will find it.

No more Neighbours on the BBC!

I know it's not the most worthy topic for a Blog post, but it's something I do feel strongly about - I'm absolutely gutted at the news that Neighbours has gone to Channel 5!

Before you dismiss me as some daft soap-watching female, I feel I should make it clear that I've never been one for watching soaps in general - I don't watch Eastenders, Emmerdale, Brookside or Corrie. I can't stand Hollyoaks and never liked Home and Away. Neighbours is like my guilty wee vice, something I can't explain (it's not high class drama, it's not got any kind of deep plot). Those who worked with me in Paisley knew that I even managed to construct my day so that I got to have my lunch and watch Neighbours (they also know how grumpy I could get if I missed it or if someone came in and - the horror - talked over it!).

I've grown up with Neighbours being at a fixed time in a fixed place (disrupted only by inconveniences like Wimbledon, bank holidays and Christmas). Importantly, there are no adverts to irritate devotees.

I don't watch a lot of tv; when I do I turn to the BBC for news and politics shows, HIGNFY, Dr Who, and Match of the Day. Therefore, Neighbours represents a huge chunk of where I feel my licence fee goes. The BBC and Neighbours are so closely linked that I feel it's a huge shame that they have chosen to dump it after 21 years. I think they don't quite realise what they had, and what they have now lost. Michael Grade would never have let it happen!