Grown up, thinking

The essence of the modern political interview

2011-04-08T08:37:00.001+01:00

"Everyone seems painfully aware that my task as interviewer is to catch him out, to get him to say the wrong thing. Clegg's task, like all politicians, is to rattle off rhetoric, to be evasive and as uncontroversial as possible, and to fill up the tape with unquotable patter."

From Jemima Khan's interview with Nick Clegg in this week's New Statesman

#BBCfail will limit their election reach

2011-03-29T08:22:00.001+01:00

The Scottish Election kicked into gear last night as the parties entered the first full week of campaigning following the dissolution of parliament last week. Both the BBC and STV launched election twitter feeds and while STV backed this up with an impressive new election website which integrates video content and a live twitter feed which is far more content rich than BBC Scotland's staid Scottish politics page. But where the BBC will lose out is on Twitter. Because rather than adopting the popular #sp11 hashtag to mark out their election stories, the BBC have gone it alone with one of their own. #sp11 has already been adopted by candidates and political organisations, and has significant use in the Twitter community. For the uninitiated, this is important to the effective use of Twitter, not just to be a happy par of the Twitter family, but because by clicking on the hashtag in a tweet you can follow the wider conversation on the topic. It places your tweets in context, and as part of a wider discussion of an issue. In this case, many Twitter users are already using #sp11, creating a live stream of national and local election news and views from across the country. For news organisations, Twitter presents an opportunity to drive traffic to your website for more in-depth coverage of an issue, gaining you viewers and readers. So, rather than join in this established discussion on Twitter, BBC Scotland has chosen to adopt their own hashtag, #sp2011. Although it's not their own. It's also heavily used by fans of French Canadian singer Seb Lefebvre So if you're looking for occasional updates from the Scottish election campaign from a single news source, alongside very, very regular updates of how Seb Lefebvre's album is going down with a group of VERY EXCITED French Canadians I'd suggest following #sp2011. For those of us who want to keep up to date with the Election, keep using #sp11. #bbcfail, as they say on Twitter. UPDATE: BBC just tweeted to say they are adopting #sp11. Welcome back to the Twitter community!

Scotland's Top Political Tweeters

2010-09-06T08:45:00.003+01:00

In January this year I put together a post containing a list of the top Scottish political tweeters.

Thanks to Total Politics' Blog awards, lists are back in vogue, and so I thought that it would be a good time to revisit the issue. It's been a busy 9 months in politics, and I wanted to see how usage and take up of Twitter had changed over this time, just ahead of the return of the Holyrood and Westminster parliaments after their summer break.

There are a couple of notable changes in the last 9 months.

There has been significant growth in the number of Twitter followers engaged with Scottish political figures since the beginning of 2010. The Top 10 in January had a total of around 12 thousand followers, while the updated list has over 24 thousand, a significant increase.

Secondly, the top tweeters from the SNP list and the second placed tweeter from the Tories have dropped out this particular race. Jeff Breslin (aka SNP Tactical Voting) is no longer eligible as he's moved on to pastures new, while the Conservative's former Westminster candidate Alberto Costa's Twitter account has been discontinued. In there place there have been a number of new entries, in particular from MPs who stood for election esrlier this year.

The rankings below are based on the number of followers on the afternoon of Saturday 4th September 2010. I've considered accounts which have a broadly political outlook, and are based in, or mostly about, Scotland. The number in brackets are the number of followers each user has at the time I checked. Those which didn't make the list last time round are marked as (NEW). I've compiled each party list on the basis of what I understand the general politics of each account to be.

All the twits below (and many, many more) feature in my Scottish Politics list which you can find on my Twitter page.

+++UPDATED+++
I've now added Kristofer Keane to the Greens' list and Lawrence Mills to the Labour list. Sorry for the omissions.

SNP

1. SNP Official 1233 (456)

2. Angus Robertson MP 661 (NEW)

3. Osama Saeed 521 (296)
4. Subrosa 493 (325) ++SEE COMMENTS BELOW+++
5. Holyrood Patter 449 (343)

Scottish Labour

1.Tom Harris MP 5226 (2848)

2. Douglas Alexander MP 4700 (NEW)
3. Eric Joyce MP 2057 (1156)
4. Lawrence Mills 1706 (NEW) +++UPDATED+++
5. Scottish Labour 1514 (859)

6. Jim Murphy MP 1433 (NEW)

Scottish Liberal Democrats

1. Jo Swinson MP 4039 (2672)

2. Charles Kennedy MP 2776 (NEW)

3. Danny Alexander MP 2406 (NEW)
4. Andy Reeves 1494 (1016)
5. Caron Lindsay 1301 (802)

Scottish Conservatives

1. David Mundell MP 978 (622)

2. Iain McGill 893 (NEW)

3. David McLetchie MSP 253 (NEW)

4. Iain Gibson 226 (NEW)
5. Ross Thomson 163 (114)

Scottish Greens

1. Patrick Harvie MSP 1091 (708)

2. James McKenzie 909 (526)

3. Kate Joester 744 (455)
4. Kristofer Keane 581 (NEW) +++UPDATED+++

5. Chas Booth 544 (359)

6. Cowrin 491 (NEW)

Scottish Media

1. HolyroodDaily 1249 (345)

2. Newsnight Scotland 941 (NEW)

3. Joan McAlpine 876 (401)
4. Severin Carrell 699 (283)
5. Torquil Crichton 680 (338)

Which makes the final Top Ten list:

1. Tom Harris MP 5226 (2848)

2. Douglas Alexander MP 4700 (NEW)

3. Jo Swinson MP 4039 (2672)

4. Charles Kennedy MP 2776 (NEW)

5. Danny Alexander MP 2406 (NEW)

6. Eric Joyce MP 2057 (1156)

7. Scottish Labour 1514 (859)

8. Andy Reeves 1494 (1016)

9. Jim Murphy MP 1433 (NEW)

10. Caron Lindsay 1301 (802)

Discuss.

(I may have missed someone out. I’m sorry if I have, so if you leave me a comment, send me a tweet or DM I’ll happily update the list.)

A beginners guide to political tweeting

2010-01-31T10:30:00.001Z

It took me a while to put together my list of Top Scottish Political Tweeters this week. While I was going through them, a few stood out as good, some were not good, and a few were just plain ugly.

So with that in mind, here's my unasked for advice to potential (or the large number of lapsed) Scottish political tweeters.

First - the basics. My top tips for political tweeters who are starting out are:

Tweet often, at least once or twice a day.
If in doubt, make your first tweet about what you did/are doing today, and your second one your view on the big issue of the day.
Follow others to learn (but don’t just follow people you agree with
DON'T TWEET IN CAPITAL LETTERS. SERIOUSLY

Still thinking about it, but not sure why you should bother?

Using Twitter can be like gaining super human hearing – you can pick up everything that is said about you or the things that matter to you. With a couple of clicks you can overhear individuals praising your latest policy, moaning about poor services or just expressing their opinions on the big issues of the day.

This is the sort of information that political parties (and private companies and organisations) pay huge sums of cash for and it's yours for free just by typing your name/your party's name/today's issue into the search box on Twitter, or using a free service like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite.

If you get stuck or want more information, Mashable’s guide to Twitter is clear and informative, especially for beginners.

The other main objection is the good old “What if I say something stupid/unpopular and everyone found out and wouldn't this be terrible?” argument. Well, you're right. But if you just try to be a grown up about it all you should be OK.

Think before you tweet. I know we all sometimes think stuff in the blissful haven of our own minds that if we said it out loud would make us sound weird or get us in trouble. Being real or authentic isn't the same as being crass or stupid. So just say it out loud before you tweet. (Or pretend to say it out loud if you're on the bus, etc.) This will definately help prevent disaster.

Happy Tweeting.

Who's Who in Scottish Political Tweetery

2010-01-27T21:09:00.006Z

Both Tweetminster and Iain Dale have recently put together their own analysis of Twitter use in UK politics.

But who’s who in the Scottish Twittersphere?

Take up of twitter by elected politicians is still relatively low, while the number of regular users is smaller again. This is reflected in the fact that Iain Dale's UK lists of the Top 20 Labour and Conservative Tweeters only contains one Scottish-based entry - Tom Harris MP.

So with no ado, here's my back of a fag packet analyis of Who's Who in Scottish political tweetery. The rankings are based on the number of followers on the 27th Jan. The number in brackets are the number of followers at the time I checked.

All the twits below (and many, many more) feature in my Scottish Politics list which you can find on my Twitter page.

UPDATED: thanks to James, I've revised the Green and Media lists:

SNP

1. SNP Tactical Voting (575) 2. SNP Official (456) 3. Holyrood Patter (343) 4. Subrosa (325) 5. Osama Saeed (296)

Scottish Labour

1.Tom Harris MP (2848) 2. Eric Joyce MP (1156) 3. Lord George Foulkes MSP (859) 4. Scottish Labour (859) 5. Kezia Dugdale (815)

Scottish Liberal Democrats

1. Jo Swinson MP (2672) 2. Andy Reeves (1016) 3. Stephen Glenn (893) 4. Caron Lindsay (802) 5. Willie Rennie MP (495)

Scottish Conservatives

1. David Mundell MP (622) 2. Alberto Costa (597) 3. Ross Thomson (114)

4. Cameron Rose (81) 5. Richard Cook (66)

Scottish Greens

1.NaomiMC (761)

2. Patrick Harvie MSP (708)

3. James McKenzie (526)

4. Kate Joester (455)

5. Adam Ramsey (381)

Scottish Media

1. Joan McAlpine (401)

2. HolyroodDaily (345) 3. Torquil Crichton (338) 4. The Steamie (302) 5. Severin Carrell (283)

And last but not least...

Scottish Government (1068)

Which makes the final Top Ten list, by my reckoning:

1. Tom Harris MP (2848)

2. Jo Swinson MP (2672)

3. Eric Joyce MP (1156)

4. Andy Reeves (1016)

5. Stephen Glenn (893)

6. Lord George Foulkes MSP (859)

7. Scottish Labour (859)

8. Kezia Dugdale (815)

9. Caron Lindsay (802)

10. NaomiMC (761)

(I may have missed someone out. I’m sorry if I have, so if you leave me a comment or send me a tweet or DM I’ll happily update the list.)

Are you a film addict?

2008-12-15T20:40:00.003Z

Film Addict takes the top 250 films on IMDB and quizzes you on how many you've seen. I scored a reasonably respectable 45.6%. Compare your score.

(thanks to Jason)

Yes, He Did!

2008-11-05T10:09:00.001Z

President-Elect Barack Obama's speech last night in Chicago.

The picture that speaks a thousand words (and 250 billion dollars)

2008-10-15T09:01:00.003+01:00

(from Boing Boing)

Presidential Debates 1.0

2008-10-14T08:42:00.001+01:00

This week see the final of three televised debates between Barack Obama and John McCain ahead of the US Presidential Election on November 6th. Obama has shaded the two events so far, although McCain has had a couple of moments in each that would give his support something to hang onto. With previous research suggesting that many US voters watch all these events before finally deciding who to vote for, Thursday will be vital to both candidates. The fact remains though that the candidate that all politicians should aspire to be is Bill Clinton. It’s not just a matter of his politics, because as this paper published in the Scientific American sets out, he was a master of communication to a degree unsurpassed by any other living politician. Having an impressive natural ability is one thing, but using this to its full potential by having an eye for detail and a commitment to preparation is simply extraordinary. To understand greatness in most fields of life is understand that most of the single actions of great people are easily understood, but the greatness comes from an ability to put them all together and have an understanding of the entire context of your work and how individual actions contribute to it. I’ve had the honour to see Clinton once in person, when he was at Westminster at an event with Nelson Mandela and Tony Blair. I was outside on the rope line with a huddle of devotees ranging from cleaners to junior Ministers, and there was a real sense of excitement about their appearance together. Blair, as usual, was charismatic and radiant, and Mandela, even though he was by this point an elderly man who needed a little assistance to his car, Clinton had the presence of a real superstar. The fact that he worked on this type of presentation over and above employing his natural abilities is why he’s the greatest politician of his generation.

FrankenBurger

2008-09-27T17:51:00.002+01:00

This is just scary.

The burger on the left is 12 years old.

(pic from bestwellnessconsultant.com)

Crisis? What Crisis?

2008-09-21T20:47:00.004+01:00

Debbie and I have been discussing at great length what course of action we should follow around getting our house move sorted out. My house has been on the market since the end of May, and as we hadn't had a single viewer at one of our open viewings (Thursdays 7-8, Sundays 2-4, or contact our solicitor for an appointment) we've reduced the price we want by over 15%. So things haven't been going well.

Following a turbulent financial week, and everything that's been happening in the financial markets and the banking world in the last few days, I wouldn't have thought that things were looking up for the wider economy either.

So I'm not sure what to make of the fact that we've had two viewers round to see the flat today.

Crisis, what crisis? ;)

My emotional track record

2008-09-11T08:39:00.004+01:00

My emotional track record is fairly well established. I'm a greeter.

Sob-stories on the X-Factor, the wedding scene in Father of the Bride, the bit at the end of the Undercover Millionaire when they hand over the money. I've cried at them all.

But there are only 3 times that I can recall in my life when I've been moved to tears by music:

1. When John Squire played the opening chords of 'Waterfall' at his last gig before he left the Stone Roses at Wembley Arena. We were supposed to be in some of the worst seats in the venue, but skipped into the VIP area, then managed to get into the crowd at the front, and got right up to the barrier. They started with 'I Wanna Be Adored', then did 'She Bangs the Drums', then 'Waterfall'. I cried, and embraced the guy next to me, who was in an equally emotional state. Greetin' and hugging strangers. That was the 1990's for you.

2. When Sheena sang 'My love is like a red, red rose' at my wedding last year. 'Nuff said.

3. On Tuesday on the No. 5 bus going up Leith Street in Edinburgh at 7.30am on my way to work. Listening to Glasvegas sing 'Geraldine'. I have listened to nothing but their album for three days now, it is truly awesome.

Kirk Broadfoot: Scotland Hero

2008-09-11T08:22:00.006+01:00

"Limited ability" now seems to include an ability to play at both right back and centre half for your country in the same game, make a series of decent runs and crosses, and score with a header from a corner......

But last night may have lasting ramifications for Scotland beyond the short-term of this qualifying campaign. All over Scotland, I can imagine our football mad youth waking up and saying:

"Mummy, when I grow up, I want to be just like Kirk Broadfoot".

Reality Check

2008-09-06T22:14:00.001+01:00

Affter reading this article in Wired, I thought that Leland Chee had the coolest job in the world.

This was the antidote.

Hypocrites

2008-09-06T19:58:00.003+01:00

I'm a huge fan of Jon Stewart and the Daily Show, and this video is why:

Sometimes politicians and politics get an unfair hearing from the media, but most of the time they deserve it. Everyone on this video deserves it.

For Sale

2008-09-03T08:55:00.001+01:00

I’m currently trying to sell my house. After we got married last year, Debbie and I made plans to move somewhere bigger, and so we redecorated her one-bedroom flat in Gorgie and got it on the market last spring. After a flurry of interest, culminating in three offers it sold in three weeks, and the deal concluded on the last weekend in May. In the interim period, we redecorated, de-cluttered and cleaned our house. We painted, grouted, and polished, then hoovered, sealed, pollyfiller-ed, then scrubbed, scraped and finished. Our flat was ready for the market. It was advertised in the Edinburgh Solicitors’ Property Guide on the first day of June. On the first weekend on the market, one person came to see it. She lived in the flats next door. The next three weeks saw one person a week come to view our flat. In fact, until last Wednesday, when we were visited by a friendly, well meaning but ultimately disinterested viewer who hadn’t even decided to buy any property and was just ‘seeing what was available’ we had had no one express any interest in over two months. Three months down the line we’ve had four viewers round to see our clean, tidy, competitively priced flat (near to Sainsbury’s, Meadowbank Stadium and on good public transport links to all parts of Edinburgh. White Meter Heating). We’re in a decent financial position. We’re not overcommitted and we have an above average annual income. There are people in the current financial crisis that are in a far worse position than my wife and I. But if Gordon Brown and Alasdair Darling honestly believe that a time limited stamp duty holiday will have any great impact on our quest to find a buyer for our house (which would be within the price limits of the Stamp Duty freeze) they will be mistaken. Only increased confidence in the economy at large can help, and with OECD predicting that the UK, and the UK alone amongst the G7 countries, will face negative growth and a recession, combined with the fact that property prices in Edinburgh have dropped for the first time in almost four decades this doesn’t look likely soon. Short-term, spin inspired, measures will not inspire increased confidence in the economy and turn the country’s fortunes around. It will not sell my house in the near future, and especially not to a first-time buyer. I’m told that this measure could cost £600m, but it will not work. That’s bad news for my wife and I, bad news for the first time buyers who can’t get on the property market, and bad news for the economy in general. But it’s exceptionally bad news for the Government. We reduced the asking price on our flat yesterday by 7%.

The glamour of life on the ocean waves

2008-08-01T08:30:00.006+01:00

I went to a meeting in Dunoon yesterday, and was delighted to be able to travel by ferry. It's the first time I've arrived at a meeting by boat, and it certainly beats the London Underground as a method of travel. On the way back I thought that I'd capture the view of the Cowal peninsula for posterity: I'll remember this the next time I've a meeting on a wet Tuesday night in faceless Municipal Buildings somewhere.

The falling standards of Scottish journalism.....

2008-06-27T15:57:00.004+01:00

Now that Douglas Fraser is leaving, the standard of writing really has gone downhill fast in tHe Horeld.

Football Genius

2008-06-27T08:50:00.000+01:00

Resolutions Update

2008-05-22T08:37:00.003+01:00

My new year resolutions were:

Set up a new home with Debbie (In progress. I feel a bit like the Queen this last month - there always seems to be a smell of paint.....) Get fit (Patchy progress....) Blog regularly (Check!)

and, [drum roll]:

Get a golf handicap below 20 (CHECK!)

I hate it when I think I'm missing out on an underground subculture

2008-05-20T10:24:00.003+01:00

A list of all available Bluetooth devices in the front carriage of the 8.30 train this morning from Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street: 8 Nokia 6300 Unknown Device JOHNLAPTOP Whore Unknown device Nick Barley’s Computer

Infinite Monkey Theorem So far Unproved

2008-05-19T08:21:00.003+01:00

The internet is great, anyone can use it. Think of this site like a greatest hits, so you don't ever have to read the comments on The Herald's politics stories ever again. (With thanks to doctorvee)

Kaizen in practice

2008-05-17T10:45:00.004+01:00

Continuous improvement must be the watchword of every successful business. That's why I was delighted to see that the best off-licence on this side of Edinburgh has taken it to heart......

Vader Strikes Back

2008-05-13T20:26:00.001+01:00

This is why the BBC is the world's best news gathering service: A man has been given a suspended jail sentence for attacking two Star Wars fans while posing as Darth Vader.

It has come to this

2008-05-12T21:23:00.000+01:00

Wendy Alexander is set to announce a new challenge to the SNP about the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Scheduled for 2014, she is to tell Alex Salmond to "bring them on" – arguing that if the SNP is genuine in its enthusiasm for staging the Games in Glasgow, it should legislate for them to take place the year before then, in 2013. Nice.

Amazing Photos

2008-05-11T17:51:00.001+01:00

With thanks to Jason Kottke: Amazing photos of the plume from Chile's recently reactivated Chaitén volcano merging with a lightning-infested thunderstorm .

Coming to terms with my inner middle-class self

2008-05-06T09:13:00.002+01:00

The first in an irregular series:

1. It’s been impossible to live my middle class lifestyle while keeping my green guilt in check, so one of them has to give. I’m therefore going to buy a new car at the first available opportunity. The Car Club isn’t working for me: the cars either don’t work or aren’t available when I want them. What’s the point of walking 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back to hire a car for 2 hours?

2. And I’m going to buy the biggest car I can afford so I can keep my golf clubs in the boot.

3. The Edinburgh Golf Club is not great, as the greens on the public courses are crap and I’m blaming them for the spate of 3-putting. I will work out how to blame the quality of the course maintenance on my hook later. I want to join a private golf club and am willing to pay for the privilege.

4. I’m looking forward to living in a big house with a garden and dining kitchen. Probably in Perth. We won’t be out partying in the big city at the weekend, but will be able to host fabulous dinner parties. I can invite people from the golf club.

5. I’m not adversely affected by the abolition of the 10p Income tax band.

6. We’re going on holiday to a villa in Tuscany.

7. My biggest pleasure in life is going for dinner with friends. A nice dinner, in a good restaurant, with a carefully chosen bottle of wine. And then leaving in good time to get home at a reasonable time as we’ve got to get up early and clean/de-clutter/decorate the house because we want to get it on the market in June as then we can use the capital to put down a decent deposit on a new place because we reckon that being able to put in quick, low offers is the best way forward in a slowing market and anyway we can use the opportunity to try out the commute from Linlithgow/Perth to see if it’s manageable, Debbie’s already raised it with her boss and so she’ll probably be able to work more flexible hours and it won’t be much of a difference to me as I commute from Edinburgh to Glasgow every day anyway.

This is not a complaint. I’m just guilty and thankful at the same time.

From an election spectator

2008-05-02T01:18:00.002+01:00

I’m currently in London, where I now go to take my orders ;) A few personal reflections about the election here today:

I went to the bookies to put money on Boris and couldn’t do it. Partly because of the economics of the short odds, partly because of the moral implications of betting on someone you wouldn’t vote for. Will those who thought they’d vote for Boris when they woke up today face a similar dilemma? Is his vote weak?
I put £20 on Ken to win. YouGov got the gap between SNP and Labour wrong by about 6% in last year’s Scottish election, and today predicted a similar gap between Boris and Ken. Given this, and the Ken lead shown in the other polls in the past week I think it will be within about 2% on first votes, so well worth a punt on Ken.
Likely Labour voters – folk my age who have probably always voted for Ken – talked of their motivation today in terms of what a disaster Boris would be rather than how good Ken was/is/will be. Will the lack of positive motivation for Ken and Labour voters harm him and make a difference to voting?

Goodbye to an friend I’ve never met

2008-04-28T18:09:00.001+01:00

I’ve always said that one of the greatest gifts that my mother ever gave to me was the gift of BBC Radio 4. My life at home was punctuated by the authority of the Six o’clock News of an evening , the drama of the Archers omnibus on a Sunday morning and the warm laughter which accompanied The News Quiz, Just a Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. So while this morning’s obitiaries of Humphrey Littleton focus on his undoubted (but to jazz philistines like me) unknown musical talents (I didn’t know he played on a Radiohead album either), my memories of Humph are for his deadpan delivery in the funniest comedy show on radio.

No-one does filth like an old Etonian talking to a middle class audience. And many of his radio monologues were just that – hilarious and filthy. It’s a sad state of affairs that at thirty-two years of age the very thought of discussing sex with my parents makes me feel nervous and wary, but we have always been free to share a laugh at a particularly dirty double entendre.

When I listen to the shows I bought last year on CD I can give or take many of the middle rounds, and can easily skip by some games of Mornington Crescent played under some of the more obscure rule books, I never skip Humph’s parts. Genius’ are often respected and admired, but this one was loved my many, including me.

Listening to I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue reminds me of happy times and places. Listening to CDs on honeymoon while driving through the Arizona desert, or sitting in the kitchen with my mother listening in to the Sunday repeat. I will miss Humphrey Littleton.

It's the power of the hat

2008-04-14T08:19:00.002+01:00

Jason asked 'what's the play count on your most played song in your iTunes library?' Well, given my new laptop and ipod I've only got records going back to December last year, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It seems that my visit to Memphis and Nashville at that time was more influential that I thought. My top 5 is: Lovin' Pretty Women by the Steep Canyon Rangers, 24 plays Handle With Care, Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, 22 plays Bloody Mary Morning, Willie Nelson, 22 plays Time is Tight, Booker T and the MGs, 17 plays If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time, Willie Nelson, 16 plays My top play is a song I heard live at the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville, while I spent a long afternoon in the Stax Museum poring over the genesis of the Memphis sound, backed by Booker T and the MGs. On the back of this trip, I've persuaded Debbie to come with me to see Willie Nelson in Glasgow next month. In the last 4 months, I've listened to 1699 of the 4920 in my library, which is not bad going I think. Thankfully for my musical credibility as an indie-kid at heart Morrissey, Paul Weller and The Beta Band all feature in my top 10.

(Not) my new car

2008-03-21T10:29:00.002Z

At long last the Car Club have delivered their car to my parking space outside the flat. All the convenience of my own car without the attendant hassle – and if one other person in the street gives up their car too we’ll start to see some progress in dealing with the chronic parking problems in the area. Result!

Five years ago the war in Iraq began.

2008-03-20T18:14:00.001Z

It was a war justified to the public and world audience on the premise that Saddam Hussein’s regime had successfully developed a weapons programme which could kill human beings on a biblical scale. If successfully deployed, these weapons of mass destruction would cause untold levels of harm to thousands in the Middle East and, thanks to the missile system he was developing, even directly to the fringes of the European continent. If these weapons were to get into the hands of terrorists, the danger posed by Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons arsenal would be spread worldwide.

Today’s newspapers carry countless facts about the war and this country in turmoil. The financial cost of the war. The number of Iraqi civilians, soldiers and journalists who have died in the five years of conflict. Iraqi inflation.

There also are stories today about defiant statements made by those politicians who took us to war, declaring their continued belief that victory, one day, will be theirs and how those who criticise the actions of the UK and US Governments in taking us to war implicitly support the return of a dictatorial regime in Iraq and the return of Saddam Hussein from the dead.

The important fact remains that this is a war based on a lie. There were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. Saddam Hussein had no links to Islamic terrorist organisations.

Iraq is a tragedy. It is a tragedy because thousands have died, and millions displaced, while many more continue to live in fear. It is a tragedy because the world is not now a safer place because of these actions. It is a tragedy that because of the actions of the US and UK five years ago it is now impossible to see a peaceful solution for the population there in either the near or distant future, with or without the continued presence of foreign troops. It is a tragedy because of the crisis in the international community caused by this bilateral action without the support of the United Nations without a basis in international law.

But when our leaders lie to us to justify war, it is beyond a tragedy. It is a fundamental challenge to the social contract, the underlying principles of our civilisation. And that’s why it’s important to remember, to challenge, and to change.

Another nail in the coffin of youth

2008-03-18T18:45:00.002Z

Today I repaid my final instalment of my Student Loans.

I now look forward to spending the monthly savings on slippers and cardigans as my wife and I contemplate our move away from the bright lights of the big city..........

PS - My new geeky web toy

2008-03-18T08:46:00.003Z

I'd been thinking of having a regular 'link dump' here setting out stuff I've read and thought others should read. Rather than having to take time out to blog on a set of links each day, I found that Google Reader allows you to share links instantly, and that they have a Blogger widget for this task. So from now on, please consider the new links to the right as the things that I've read today that have caught my eye. ---> Enjoy.

Not the time to worry

2008-03-18T08:35:00.001Z

Although I’ve been a fairly regular air passenger in the past, I’ve always been a nervous flyer. On my way West across the Atlantic last year I got a decent case of the jitters mid-flight (not related to my wedding two days before!), but landings have always made me a bit nervous.

Well, it looks like I’ve been worrying at the wrong time.

It appears that forty-five percent of the crashes happen on landing, but remarkably these crashes account for only 2 percent of all the fatalities. The worst crashes are those when you are climbing or cruising (14 percent of crashes, but 37 percent of fatalities).

So that should put my mind at ease.

“I want to gaze at sunsets”

2008-03-17T18:30:00.008Z

This is a beautiful and thought-provoking piece of radio.

I believe in a work ethic, and that my work is not only important to me but is an integral part of who I am. But after five years of knocking my pan in for the job, my boss and (hopefully) the greater good I now have a different perspective on my work, my life and politics.

When I was drunk enough at my stag night last year to seek answers from my father on the most important emotionally driven issues men always have trouble asking each other, I asked him for one piece of advice to help me as a married man. He told me to always put my family first. Not his family, or my mother’s family. My new family.

That simple advice helped me complete the journey I’d been on since I left my previous job.

I’d learned to appreciate my life, and understood that it wasn’t only OK to do things that I enjoyed, like playing golf and getting home in time to eat a meal with Debbie, it was essential.

So here’s to putting your priorities in order. Gazing at sunsets, and putting your family first.

£77.50 - the benefit of a clear green conscience

2008-03-17T08:55:00.003Z

I read this announcement this morning, which made me think of the number of sustainable transport initiatives operating in Scotland already, including the one I recently joined – the City Car Club in Edinburgh.

My trusty Renault Laguna went for its MOT last month and didn’t return. If I’d have known the Scrapyard was going to give me £77.50 for it based on its weight I definitely wouldn’t have spent an hour clearing out 3 years of accumulated crap from the boot ;)

So I joined the Car Club. It cost £75 upfront, and £5 a month to bring the insurance excess down from £500 to a more manageable £100, and costs me £4.50 an hour to drive, which includes tax, insurance and petrol. It’s currently working out slightly cheaper than running my old car, but I’d expect it to save me in the medium term as I don’t have repairs to pay. I’ve booked on the phone and online so far with no problems.

The best thing about it is the fact that after a couple of quick emails to the Car Club, they are due to put one of their cars in my private parking space outside my flat. The car will be available to all members, so anyone can hire it, but it’s going to be pretty handy to have immediate access to a car at my doorstep. I’ve already found that I’ve been able to book the car I want in the location I want every time of asking, so although I don’t expect a 100% record forever, I know that it’s likely that I’ll be able to book it when I need it. If having the car on my street acts as an incentive for more members, they’ll look at putting new cars in the area to cope with demand.

So I’m driving a smaller car, reducing my own emissions. I’m also driving less, as having a direct hypothecated cost for stepping into a car stops unnecessary journeys, and I’ll hopefully also help to reduce the parking chaos in the streets around me as more people nearby get rid of their own car to take advantage of the new Car Club vehicle on their doorstep.

So this is a win-win-win: for my pocket, for my neighbours, and for our environment.

The challenges of power

2008-03-15T12:34:00.003Z

I was sad to read this week that both the Tartan Hero and Granite City blogs are to, albeit temporarily, stop blogging. I know both Mark and Grant and they've both produced some good work, some funny, some interesting and some thought provoking. I always wondered why it seemed to me that supporters of opposition parties semed to be far more active (and effective) in the blogosphere in Scotland and England. Think about it - Iain Dale and Guido v Labour Home or Recess Monkey. No contest if you're looking for quality blogging. In Scotland, Labour only really seems to have Kez and Terry Kelly who are read widely by non-supporters (for wildly different reasons!), or am I missing someone? Perhaps if the election of Mark and Grant as Councillors last year has put paid to their blogging, perhaps opposition will mean a new wave of quality Labour and Lib Dem blogging in Scotland?

What's the best mobile broadband? Not 3.

2008-03-11T08:46:00.003Z

The Guardian ran a short piece yesterday morning of the relative merits of the various 3G broadband services which have become available in recent months. It’s a decent overview, but fails to mention the service that I use , 3 Mobile’s Pay As You Go service.

I signed up a couple of months ago in order to use the service on my daily commute from Edinburgh to Glasgow. I thought that it would be useful to be able to catch up on the papers and a bit of work on my travels, but wanted to dip into the service, rather than committing myself to a 12 month contract.

The ‘dongle’ cost £95 and I can but top ups from £10. The software works fine, no problems there, but it’s in the service levels and cost that the problems begin.

Despite the reassurance of the shop assistant, the 3G service is not universally available on the journey to and from Glasgow Queen Street, so you be often ‘dropped’ from the service on route, which is both irritating and time consuming. But my main gripe is with the cost of the service.

I used it the other day to do some work on my way back from a meeting. I stopped for about an hour and went through my emails, firing off a few short replies. I downloaded three or four short Word documents and a small Excel file. I ran up £10 worth of charges, making this service far more expensive than even a regular hotel’s broadband service, which usually provides unlimited downloads in a set time period.

My dongle is now consigned to the bottom of my briefcase – for emergencies only. I’m posting this from the train – on a far more reliable, free service.

10 good reasons not to blog in a week:

2008-02-26T17:27:00.003Z

1. Football Manager is too addictive When you manage, against all expectations, to take Sheffield United to the Championship title in your first season, then guide Man City to the top of the Premiership and the quarter finals of European competition the following season, who wouldn’t want to slip an extra couple of hours in? 2. It’s Barack Obama’s fault Having decided to have a second go at reading ‘The Audacity of Hope’, it’s a lot better than I remember the first time around. So when I’m not Guiding Man City through a tricky away tie in the League Cup to Derby, I’m catching up on the thoughts of America’s favourite next president. 3. I’ve been ill It’s a chest infection, I’ve got antibiotics. Nobody argues with the “I’m ill, I’ve got antibiotics” excuse for general lethargy..... 4. Not redecorating a house you want to sell The “I’m ill, I’ve got antibiotics” excuse even works on sceptical wives who’ve invited their brother through for the weekend to help with painting the house. Too ill to paint = too ill to blog. 5. I’ve sold my car For £77.50. But joining a Car Club at long last seems to be working out OK, at least in the short term. Although the idiot who did some gardening in the front seats of the car in Waterloo Place last weekend put a slight dampener on my first hire. 6. I took a Jungian psychology test for work Apparently I’m a fairly classic ENFP (Extrovert-Intuitive-Feeling-Perceptive), but with an out-of-preference Questioning rather than accommodating type. I blame my old job ;) If only someone had told me that I can be “typically tactful, but can be sceptical, confrontational, and outspoken” in addition to the fact that I “may find that your questions are sometimes misinterpreted as oppositional and contentious” before my appraisal at work last week, and then I could have used it in my defence....... 7. I’ve been watching the Sopranos Thank God More4 and Sky+, a combination of sheer wholesome goodness. It’s still as good the second time around. 8. And ‘The Wire’ Thanks to ‘Call the Cops’ in the Guardian Guide for this. This is how TV is supposed to be. 9. My three mobile USB internet card thing is rubbish It just eats data, so a £10 top-up runs out in a few days of surfing on the train. And the service is not as reliable as they promised. So coupled with the fact that FirstScotrail are not as enlightened as National Express East Coast when it comes to free WiFi, I’ve not had the chance to blog from the train as much. Which is a shame, as occasional moments of sunshine like this morning’s visit by Mark, the world’s happiest train conductor, (seriously, it’s amazing how others around you perk up a bit when you’re just outwardly happy and nice to people) definitely deserve recording. 10. Who remembers their own New Year resolutions by the end of February anyway? I didn’t. But I do now.

If in doubt, write a list.....

2008-02-18T09:23:00.001Z

From Love and Garbage, a meme:

A) Four jobs I have had in my life (other than current job): Door-to-door Book Salesman, Golf Ball Collector at a Driving Range, Rodie for Celine Dion, DJ B.) Four movies I would watch over and over: Goodfellas, Star Wars, Zulu, Fight Club C.) Four places I have lived Edinburgh, Brixton, North Dakota, Wishaw & Bellshill D.) Four TV shows that I watch The Wire, The Sopranos, Prison Break & Entorage E.) Four places I have been: Florence, Nashville, Skye & Cornwall F.) People who e-mail me (regularly): My wife, my mother, my media monitoring service & the automated press release service at my old work (despite repeated requests to unsubscribe!) G.) Four of my favourite foods: Ribeye Steak (medium rare), a nice juicy burger, quail, proper chorizo sausages H. ) Four places I would rather be right now: In bed (in the arms of my wife), in bed (fast asleep), on a golf course, playing high stakes poker J.) Four Things I am looking forward to this year: Continued married bliss, our holiday in Tuscany, playing more golf, watch politics from the outside K.) Four favourite authors: Irvine Welsh, Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Hemmingway

Today was a good day

2008-02-12T22:55:00.000Z

Today was a good day for many reasons, including:

The weather was good. Who doesn’t feel better on a sunny day?
I had a good meeting at work. Imagine, a meeting that actually served its purpose and was attended by people you respect, with some clearly defined outcomes that will help me in my job
I got to the final 2 players in a big poker game online
Debbie and I are still definitely in the honeymoon period....
BT’s customer service improved significantly, with the reconnection of my home phone
I got a letter from BT (how 20^th century!) confirming that I was to receive the £5 off my bill Debbie was promised on the phone last week.

So thank you to Ben and Janet at BT for resolving my situation, and sorry to the BT Customer Services person Debbie spoke to last week who I thought was just useless. She clearly did what she said she’d do. All BT need now is the systems to match the people and everyone will be a satisfied customer.

So, did I mention that it took me 25 minutes on the phone to book my car in for a service this week.............

This is not good. BT's Customer Service is still crap.

2008-02-12T08:57:00.000Z

So, top marks from Sam at BT's press office, who responded to my email within an hour of arriving at work yesterday, and at least sounded like she/he could/would help. I'm not sure if it was Sam's intervention which prompted my first contact with BT's Customer Complaints staff, but if it was this brave work was in vain. Here's the email the eContact Customer Service team member sent me (in full): Dear Sir/ Madam Thank you for giving me opportunity to assist you. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience you may have been caused and my thanks for your patience and co operation in this matter. This is in response to your query dated 10/02/08, regarding BT account. I understand that your are enquiring about your BT account. I will be more than happy to assist you, but I am sorry I am unable to understand your real concern. I would like to inform you kindly, elaborate your query . The moment you throw light on issue in question, I will reply to the query accordingly. If you should have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us again via e-mail. Thank you for contacting BT. Yours sincerely, Dxxx Mxxxxxxx eContact Customer Service (I've just spent 5 mintes staring at my computer screen, trying not to swear.) Seriously, is this the best BT can do? So, for the benefit of BT Customer Services, here's the story so far: My phone does not make outgoing calls. That's my real concern. I have paid my bill. I have contacted the automated service, which promised me that I'd be reconnected within 24 hours. I spoke to several customer services reps, some of whom have apologised, and all of whom have promised that my service would be reconnected imminently. I have even been promised a £5 discount on my next bill for the poor service that I've received. So what's the chances of my phone service being fixed today? I'm not sure, but perhaps my email to the Chief Executive will help?

BT’s Customer Service is crap

2008-02-10T21:04:00.000Z

Everyone appreciates good service. If I get good service in restaurants I tip well, and I’ll gratefully recommend services to my friends and others if they merit it. It makes me feel good to be able to pass on my good experiences to others. Right now, I can heartily recommend:

· National Express Trains from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central (£5 cheaper and less crowded than FirstScotrail, with Free WiFi)

· Compass, North Charlotte Street, Leith (the food and service are great, and there’s a always a good atmosphere inside)

· Sky+ (this is one of the best things ever invented. Never miss an episode of any of your favourite programmes and always have the option of watching something good you’ve recorded, rather than whatever’s on at the time)

What I can’t recommend to my friends is BT.

It’s not that their product is poor, their wireless broadband service has always been reliable and has never caused me any problems. It’s their customer service. It’s shocking. We’ve not had the use of our phone for outgoing calls a couple of weeks.

I’m not entirely sure of the source of our problem. I recently moved to paperless billing to pay online, as we were a few weeks late with a payment that was due when we were away on honeymoon. So we have no outstanding balance with BT. But our phone still does not work.

I called BT and used their automated service, which confirmed that I’d paid and said we’d be reconnected within 24 hours. 48 hours later I called again, managed to negotiate the automated service to speak to a real human being, and explained my situation again. They promised to reconnect me within 24 hours. Last Thursday, and still no phone, Debbie called. They were in trouble now. She secured a £5 discount on our bill for their poor service and a promise from the lady at BT that the line would be reconnected “in 3-4 hours”.

That’s my girl, I thought. No-one messes with Debbie.

Next morning – still no phone. Debbie calls again. BT Customer services were “very very sorry”. They would “sort it out in a few hours”, he said. I called again tonight to find no customer service staff at home, but a kindly computer who confirmed one again that I had a zero balance and could have my line reconnected ASAP.

BUT STILL NO PHONE SERVICE. NUMEROUS CALLS, SEVERAL APOLOGIES AND A COUPLE OF PROMISES, BUT STILL NO SODDING PHONE. I'VE BEEN PAYING LINE RENTAL THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, BUT STILL NO SERVICE.

So, I am doing what a good friend would do, and pointing out BT’s shocking service to you all. I hope that the muppets who have been dealing with my request to date receive the service that they’ve been given to me in every bar and restaurant that they frequent. And I hope that the poor customer service that BT have been displaying is sorted out more quickly now I’ve posted it on Facebook and onto my blog for all the world to see.

What I've read today (Wednesday)

2008-02-06T14:27:00.000Z

1. Someone defending journalists 2. A journalist defending himself, his colleagues and his profession 3. The politics of resignation 4. The US Primaries, from a Scot in DC 5. What Super Tuesday's results really mean for the Democrats

Suffering Addicts

2008-02-04T12:49:00.000Z

You can pick them out quite clearly in the bus queues and on the trains this morning as these functioning addicts trudge to work in the biting cold. It seems as though their collective consciousness has somehow been pervaded by the desert heat, deepening the effects of the freezing North wind as it sweeps in over the Firth of Forth. Their eyes and limbs are heavy as they slog through the crowds to their trains and buses, or sit sedated in the queuing traffic. They are outsiders, who view their own odd, antisocial obsession as a badge of pride even as it takes its inevitable toll on their personal and social lives. 'I remember that from the 80's' is the standard office putdown, a sign of feigned interest and thinly veiled pity for those still stricken by yesterday's phenomena. This morning they seem especially detached as they consider the events of last night. They long to share their bewilderment of their situation, to talk it through with others, but without a way of expressing their feelings and opinions they can't properly crystallise their thoughts and emotions for an external audience. Why? How? And the lack of sleep is not helping. The working day is glaring at them from the near distance, threatening the slumbering drones and they drag themselves through their commute. They'll leave on the dot tonight, as afternoon meetings have been deliberately curtailed or called off. There will be no working late today. The buzz has worn off and the consequences of their addiction have settled on them. The morning after the Superbowl is a bittersweet moment for American football fans from Edinburgh. I’m knackered.

I was wrong

2008-02-01T09:15:00.000Z

Twice. Firstly, on the US election, just like Joe Strummer, I was wrong - Rudy can fail. Although my post Iowa bet on Hillary to win the nomination looks depressingly accurate......... The mainstream media have had their way and forced both contests down to a straight choice: McCain v Romney and Clinton v Obama. Roll on Super-Duper tuesday! Secondly, my default position on Big Brother contestants has been that they will be self serving arseholes who deserve contempt from the society that they crave recognintion from. Maybe the majority are, but that John Loughton from Big Brother's Celebrity Hijack is a genuinely nice, thoughtful guy. I met him last night at a work event and he was self-effacing, polite, and used the event to promote others, not himself. Despite my preconceptions, I liked him. Good on the big guy, he's an inspiration to the larger man interested in politics!

What to do with a former England captain and football legend?

2008-01-30T09:24:00.000Z

He’s a footballing legend with an international pedigree. He’s won winners medals on the pitch at the highest levels of European competition and has achieved success as a player outside England. Many may think that this record of achievement, and at times downright adulation, by both fans and the media would mean that he has worked to earn the respect of all the football community. But within the next few weeks decisions will be made which to will have to use both the heart and the head, and will begin the new process of defining the new manager of the international team.

Terry Butcher and David Beckham require need to be dealt with in a similar way if George Burley and Fabio Capello are to build respect and achieve success in their new posts.

Capello needs to use his head and put aside the public clamour for a token place in the England team for Beckham in their next match against Switzerland. It is, no doubt, a temptation for the new England manager to use the LA Galaxy player as a human shield from the often rabid English redtops, a measure to avert attention from the inevitable challenges he’ll face on the field as he builds and shapes his own team from the smouldering wreckage Steve McLaren has left behind. But as the first act of significance of a new managerial post it would send out unhelpful messages which will prevent future progress for the England team. Capello cannot afford to send the message that he will be swayed by media hype or player pressure. He must be guided by a belief in his own abilities and the desire to win and to realise the huge, and as yet unfulfilled, potential of English football to regularly compete at the World Cups and European Championships.

David Beckham, for all his undoubted skills on the pitch, is the past and not the future for England. Beckham didn’t move to LA to maintain his position at the peak of on-field prowess, he know himself that the game’s up. His inclusion will be an impediment for England and cannot contribute to the development of the team or the confidence of any of his likely replacements in Lennon or Wright-Phillips. Capello, who dropped Beckham at Real Madrid, must do so again if he’s to succeed with England in the long-term.

The imminent appointment of Terry Butcher as an assistant to George Burley at Scotland has raised the hackles of a few of the Tartan Army, and several of Scottish football’s many bigots. Butcher has through his past success managed to put out both the anti-Rangers and anti-English elements of the Scotland support, and so will inevitably face a mixed reaction in his early period in charge. But the fact remains that the vast majority of Scotland fans yearn for success on the pitch to match the spectacular achievements in the bars and city squares of Europe that our fans have achieved over the past twenty years. I’m not a fan of Berti Voghts, but that was because he was rubbish, not because he was German.

I don’t want Butcher to wear a kilt for a double page Daily Record spread the day of our game against Croatia. I don’t want some faux patriotism from him, or to see him belt out ‘Flower of Scotland’ because it will make the bigots hate him less. I don’t want him not to be an English football legend.

I want him to provide inspiration and sound advice to Scotland’s up and coming talent. I want him to help make Stephen McManus and Andy Webster half the player at an international level he was, because it that’s the case we’ll have a great chance to qualify for the next World Cup. I want him to do the job he’s been asked to do by the new manager, because George Burley, like Fabio Capello, deserves a fair chance to make his own mark at international level, and if that means Terry Butcher then so be it. His appointment has to be a footballing decision, not an emotional one.

The same Scotland fans who cheered Nigel Quashie’s goal against Trinidad and Tobago and laughed with him as he kissed the badge for the fans as we sang ‘You’re Not English Any More’ will also accept Butcher if he demonstrates professionalism off the pitch and shows real commitment to the team. I hope Terry Butcher is the most popular Assistant Manager in Scottish football history, because if he is I’ll be watching the team in the World Cup finals in 2010.

Debbie's campaign against my cowboy hat is getting out of control........

2008-01-29T22:01:00.000Z

Daily Mail Headlineator. Hours of endless fun.....

The brightest jewel in my crown.....

2008-01-25T15:14:00.001Z

With a mother from Ayr,and being well within school-trip range of Burns' Cottage, I'd have been hard pressed not to have an interest in Scotland's national poet. When Debbie and I thought about what sort of wedding we'd like to have last year we wanted the poetry and songs of Burns to be part of it. My sister Rachel's reading of 'O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast' was one of the day's highlights for me, and Debbie and I were so happy to have her mother's friend Sheena sing "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose" in the church. She was wonderful too, as you can see from the picture of me (above) listening from the side after we signed the register. I don't recall ever seeing this Burns poem before I saw it in Lizzie MacGregor and Liz Lochhead's wonderful book of Scottish readings for weddings, so today seems like an appropriate day to share. Enjoy!

Robert Burns: O, Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast O, wert thou in the cauld blast On yonder lea, on yonder lea, My plaidie to the angry airt, I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee, Or did Misfortune's bitter storms Around thee blaw, around thee blaw, Thy bield should be my bosom, To share it a', to share it a'.

Or were I in the wildest waste, Sae black and bare, sae black and bare, The desert were a Paradise, If thou wert there, if thou wert there. Or were I monarch of the globe, Wi' thee to reign, wi' thee to reign, The brightest jewel in my crown Wad be my queen, wad be my queen.

Gordon Strachan Quotes

2008-01-24T08:33:00.000Z

Thanks to Iain Dale, via Danny Finkelstein - Gordon Strachan's Greatest Quotes.....

Congatulations George Burley!

2008-01-23T19:54:00.000Z

George Burley's imminent appointment as the new Scotland manager is good news for the National team. He's well respected (although does Craig Brown hate anyone - he seems such a reasonable man), has a track record of achievement in management and hates Vladimir Romanov. What more could a Scottish football fan ask for? Mark McGhee's generous praise for Burley, especially given that he was told the news while being interviewed on Sky Sports, is just another reason why the Motherwell manager is held with increasing respect by fans. The longer Motherwell can hold on to him the better. Now, if only the SFA would hurry up and send me a new renewal form for the Supporters Club.....

Don’t Write off Rudy

2008-01-20T19:57:00.000Z

His late starting strategy means that the Republican hopeful’s poll ratings were bound to fall.

While some UK commentators have already started writing off Rudy Giuliani’s campaign for the Republican nomination, it’s far from over for the former Mayor of New York. Giuliani’s strategy was clear from the start; he would let the other candidates fight it out early on in the campaign while he concentrated on the big ticket states which go to the polls later in the campaign.

With none of the others able to build real momentum by winning two of out of two in Iowa and New Hampshire, neither Romney (who now has most delegates - see left) nor McCain (who is topping the national polls for the first time) can be said to be leading the charge.

Given the focus on the state by state races, it would be expected that Giuliani’s relative lack of profile would have a short-term effect on his national polling numbers, but those who write him off do so at their own peril. ‘Super Tuesday’ brings Florida, California and New Jersey to the polls, and so can still be a launchpad for this candidate. McCain’s stated lead in Florida is within the margin of error making the race neck and neck, while Giuliani’s local credentials must put him in the driving seat in New Jersey. Although McCain looks ahead in a close race in California, if Giuliani can win two out of these three significant states he’ll be up and running and may be able to put real pressure on the Huckabee and Romney campaigns.

There are four strong candidates still in the Republican contest with the vast majority of states still to choose their candidate. It’s not over yet for Giuliani.

A backward step for Cheeky Boy?

2008-01-19T13:20:00.000Z

Scottish coverage of James McFadden’s move to Birmingham has been almost entirely positive and uncritical. His genius displays for Scotland (and especially that goal) have cemented his good reputation in the minds of the Tartan Army, and so it’s definitely the case that his move has been seen as a positive move which will guarantee him the regular first team starts the English Premiership he richly deserves, or so seems to be the prevailing opinion.

I’m not so easily convinced, however, that this is the right move for him right now. While he has acknowledged the inconsistency in his form, Everton fans also seem to be of a mind that although he will be missed by fans getting £6m for a ‘luxury player’ who scored 18 goals in 136 games for the club has been good business.

Although they haven’t set the heather on fire, Everton have been a consistent force in the Premiership in the last few seasons with decent finishing positions in the league. Birmingham, on the other hand, are hovering above the bottom three on goal difference. The main question must be whether, given his inconsistency at club level, are McFadden’s talents better employed in a team going forward or one who have to grind out another 20 points before the end of the season to avoid the drop? I’ve not seen a great deal of Kenny Miller’s games for Derby, but although it’s clear that he’s doing the best he can, it’s impossible to fulfil your full potential as an attacking player when playing for a team who are constantly forced onto the back foot.

So fingers crossed for Cheeky Boy, and here’s hoping he can produce the same kind of match-winning performances for McLeish in the Premiership as he has delivered for Scotland. At 24 he needs to be playing top-class football, not in the English Championship.

Scotland Shortlist: My Verdict

2008-01-17T09:02:00.001Z

This week the SFA will be interviewing their chosen four candidates for the Scotland Manager's job.  I  don't envy their task, as their choice will be not only between these four individuals, but what style of management we'll have for our resurgent team, and how that will shape the development of international football in Scotland.

So what's the verdict so far on the shortlist?

Graeme Souness:
First class pedigree as a player as captain of Liverpool and Scotland, mixed fortunes as a manager. Even Rangers supporters who flocked back to Ibrox during his reign recognise his reliance on the chequebook as a management tool, sometimes with mixed results – e.g. Terry Butcher and Colin West were 2 of his first signings.  Since leaving Glasgow, Souness has failed to reproduce anywhere near the impressive results seen at Rangers at a string of clubs across Europe.  His recent track record as a manager seems to be to confined to leaving the club before too much long-term damage has been done.

Special powers – the moustache.  Tackling Steaua Bucharest players.

Tommy Burns:
2 words – Berti Voghts.  He was there and is complicit in the failure.  While he redeemed himself slightly under Walter Smith, this proves that he's better as a No. 2 rather than his own man.  As a manager in his own right, winning a single Scottish Cup in three years at Celtic is not a successful record.

Special powers – Ginger, speaks some German.

George Burley:
A solid player with European success, Burly performed managerial miracles at Ipswich in 1999-2001 taking them from the English Championship to Europe. In the space of 10 unbeaten games made Hearts favourites for the Premier League, before leaving in the face of Vladimir Romanov's interference in the team. His fair performance since at Southampton has not been up to his previous standard.

Special powers – hates Vladimir Romanov.

Mark McGhee:
Played under Ferguson at Aberdeen, successful spells at Celtic and in Germany . Solid record in management, but has not managed a team at the highest level. Even as a Motherwell fan I can't argue that that this has changes this season. What he has a track record in is building up teams with limited resources to achieve relative success. Good with the media, his teams play exciting attacking football.

Special powers – Likeable, plays 3 up front.

I think it's a straight choice between Burley and McGhee, much as it hurts to nominate a manager who may take Motherwell to Europe next year. Both have all the required experience and a good record in management, and would have the support of fans (or at least, neither are hated by one side of teh Old Firm).

We'll know soon enough.

Free Wifi on the train

2008-01-16T18:35:00.001Z

If I'd have known about the free internet access on the National Express East Coast train from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh, I may have spared myself the £100 I spent on this. :(

Ah well, happy days! All I have to do now is work out why Google now thinks that I'm in Sweden, when I'm actually travelling through Wishaw at 70 miles an hour......

Why all the polls are wrong

2008-01-16T18:19:00.001Z

Opinion polls are political heroin. You know they're no good over the long term, but they provide a short-term hit for political junkies and despite their inherent, and significant, problems it's possible to function with them from day to day. And they cost a lot of money.

But the problem with opinion polls is that no individual poll is reliably accurate.

The 1992 General Election was seen as a watershed in political opinion polling in the UK, when the professionals got it (very) wrong and predicted a victory for Neil Kinnock's Labour Party even up to the exit polls carried out for that night's TV coverage. More recently, polls in New Hampshire which showed a clear advantage for Barack Obama left many commentators on both sides of the Atlantic with egg on their faces. In Scotland, there have been wildly different results for political opinion polls carried out in roughly the same time.

Significantly, the manner in which the UK polling organisations subsequently tightened up their act and tried to introduce a greater degree of 'science' into the way that they interpreted the raw data they collect is the reason that we can't infer any great significance in a single opinion poll. Because different organisations have different systems for presenting, for example, an individual's likelihood to vote, (some only count respondents who rate their likelihood to vote as greater than 7 or 8 out of 10, while some don't ask this question as a matter of course) or a slightly tweaked demographic model (or none) which they use to plug the statistical gaps in their data collection, it's a fact that different organisations would present different headline 'results' using the exact same questions and answers. Polls carried out by the YouGov for the SNP the Telegraph, in November 2006 in the run up to last year's election which were carried out at the same time had different results, mainly because the questions asked were slightly different.

When you then factor in the relative merits of phone polling (generally less accurate) versus internet polling (YouGov produced the most accurate polls for the last General Election, but was out in last year's Scottish Election), and the often different questions posed to try to examine the same issue it's even more apparent that polls can't all be 'right'. That's why they're all wrong.

So, as an aide memoir, here's a short checklist on what to look for if you want a poll that's less inaccurate than others:

1. Any poll by an organisation which isn't in the British Polling Council should be immediately discounted. Member organisations are required to publish their full data of any questions released to the media if asked, so it can be held up to independent scrutiny. Scottish Opinion is one company which does not do this in Scotland and so it's not possible to compare their methods against other operators. Scottish Opinion polls of voting intention in Scotland in the last year have been the most volatile of all the polling organisations over this period and appeared to show wild swings in opinion when other polls showed steady trends.

2. A poll with a small sample is not reliable. You need a big sample (<900>

3. Don't look at the snapshot, look at the trends over time. Even a poll with a dodgy methodology will, if applied consistently, show trends over time. You may not be able to say with 100% confidence that polling levels for Political Party A are at X percent, but you will be able to say whether support is rising or falling over time if the questions are the same.

4. Beware of shy voters and the 'spiral of silence' Research has shown that there is a tendency for some voters not to want to reveal a party preference they perceive to be unpopular or unfashionable. So in the UK voters have been less inclined to declare their support for the Conservative Party, while there has been some discussion of whether in New Hampshire, Barack Obama 'suffered' from an inflated support rating as voters did not want to be perceived as having a racial bias against him when asked to choose between the candidates for the Democratic Presidential nominee.

So, polling is not an exact science, governed by arithmetical certainty. It's a social science, shaped by opinions and affected by direct interaction with fallible human beings. And that's why all opinion polls are wrong.

McGhee or not McGhee.....

2008-01-10T22:05:00.000Z

.....that is the question.

As a Motherwell fan, I’m delighted at the performance of Mark McGhee since his appointment last summer, and know he’s our best bet to secure success in the coming years as he builds his team. But as a Scotland fan, I know that he’s the best in a mediocre bunch who have been shortlisted. None of the other candidates, Craig Levein, Joe Jordan, Billy Davies, and Jim Jefferies, have the track record of success that McGhee has at club level, who has achieved tangible success with every team he has managed.

So today’s interview with Graham Spiers in The Times gave a reassuring message. While it looks though he would want the Scotland job if offered, he’s not going to leave Motherwell in the lurch if it comes about. While some football managers seem to be more concerned with financial gain than delivering results on the pitch, this is a football man with principles.

Who wouldn’t want a manager like that?

Stuff I like today

2008-01-07T08:37:00.000Z

(for wildly different reasons.....) How journalism works. Journalists get a hard time, and sometimes it’s justified, but often it’s not. I too, such as, know that we should believe in children. The BossHoss - Toxic (Britney spears) German country band sing Britney. It’s a fitting tribute to a troubled heroine.

Clinton and Giuliani: down but not out

2008-01-06T21:17:00.000Z

I’ve always been interested in American politics, so being in the States for most of December and having a closer view of the run up to the Presidential nomination process was like being a kid in the political sweetie shop. Now Barack Obama has won the Iowa caucus, the UK media has gotten a hook to start following the race to be President with gusto. He is dynamic, young(ish), a different colour from the other candidates and has developed a easy to understand narrative about Change. The bandwagon has left the building, and is currently trundling through New Hampshire. The fawning media should try to read his book, 'The Audacity of Hope'. That would knock the shine off their coverage by sending them hurtling to the land of nod..... Despite their great starts, I’m not 100% convinced that either winners in Iowa, Obama and Mike Huckabee, can go on to with their respective party’s nominations. My favourite factoid from the weekend’s papers has been that only two Democrats have won both Iowa and New Hampshire since 1976, and neither Al Gore nor John Kerry went on to become President. Winning early is not a bad thing, but it’s not essential, especially in these three and four horse races. In the Democrat race, the problem with Hillary Clinton so far is that she’s been seen as the establishment candidate. Now she can compete as the underdog, which can be the change that her campaign needs. If I were her I’d spend more time campaigning with Chelsea and less time standing in front of old Clinton allies like Madeline Albright. Also in her favour she will have a more experienced campaign staff, and she has money and a consistent significant and substantial lead in the national polls. While this weekend’s polls have it too close to call in New Hampshire, she has around a twenty point lead in both Florida and California which go to the polls within a month. By comparison, New Hampshire and Iowa together send 77 delegates to the Democratic Convention, while Florida sends 185 and California sends 370. Hillary needs to hold her ground in New Hampshire and this campaign will still be wide open as we move to Super Tuesday. The fact that Edwards will still be in the race in a month should help Clinton, as it should help to split the 'anti-establishment' vote. Compared to the Democratic race, the contest for the Republican nomination has been largely ignored by the UK media, but it’s a far more interesting contest in electoral terms. It still seems like a real 4-way contest between a former fat preacher who does not believe in evolution, a flip-flopping Mormon, a man who is even older than Menzies Campbell, and the former Mayor of New York. I still think that Rudy Giuliani has a great chance of winning. His stated strategy has been to focus on larger states which poll later in the contest like Florida, so even his sixth-place finish in Iowa was no cause for concern. If the other Republicans pick each other off early, currently Romney seems to be the villain-de-jour, then Rudy would be well-placed to come through the middle as the least-hated candidate. He’s still the narrow favourite on Betfair from the likely winner in New Hampshire, John McCain. So with one Primary down and twenty-eight to go, I’ve put money on Clinton and Giuliani to win the nominations.

Long time no see.

2008-01-06T20:08:00.001Z

Long time no see.

Since my last post I managed to get married, go on an amazing honeymoon and survive Christmas and New Year. I thought blogging while on honeymoon would be a little beyond the pale.....

So better late than never, here's my review of my goals for 2007 and my thoughts and plans for 2008.

2007 was a good year. My main goals for the year were to (in no particular order):

Get married
Have a better work/life balance
Play my part in helping the SNP win the election
Improve my range of professional skills

Married – check. New job means weekend working is a thing of the past and I can for the first time in 5 years make plans to go out midweek without worrying about work. The SNP are now in Government in Scotland, and the expanded range of responsibilities I have with my new job means that I'm still learning new things at work while keeping my hand in with writing and media/PR work.

So this year, I've a lot to live up to. Given the life-changing 2007 I had it would be difficult to set new goals which are as challenging, but I reckon that while my work goals will be set at a high level I want to spend the next year enjoying my new life with Debbie and my friends and family. So, for posterity's sake, here are my personal goals for 2008:

Set up a new home with Debbie
Get a golf handicap below 20
Get fit
Blog regularly

So – here's to a successful 2008 for us all!

the better team

2007-11-17T17:32:00.001Z

we look better than them and that's the first real save by buffon.

atmosphere is still upbeat and we're making some amount of noise.

the only freason the linesman gave that offside was because he was in
so much space he couldn't miss it.

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pressure

2007-11-17T17:20:00.001Z

if we can get a goal from this we can go on and win it.

craig gordon is a fan- he thought we'd scored then too......

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groove

2007-11-17T17:16:00.001Z

not good start.

we could all see the gloal coming a mile off.

now they seem to be fi.nding their stride.

PENALTY!

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teams

2007-11-17T16:49:00.001Z

our guys warmed up in front of us. they look ready.

italian fans to our right look a bit quiet. it is pandemonium in here now.

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My view

2007-11-17T16:37:00.000Z

at the game

2007-11-17T16:27:00.001Z

arrived at hampden.

i can honestly say that i've never seen an atmoshere like that in
Glasgow before any football match, it was absolute madness. 45 minutes
to kickoff and thbe ground is half full. half full, and entirely
pished.

this is going to be special.

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The Tortoise and the Hare

2007-11-15T09:37:00.000Z

The pressure is mounting as we edge closer to the big day. Everywhere I go I’m reminded of it, and it’s the one thing that everyone wants to talk about. The logistics of the event are fast becoming a nightmare as plans change at the last minute and the associated costs mount up. I have family issues to deal with about it, trying to keep everyone happy, but knowing that the only outcome is one where no one gets their preferred option. The stress is building up too, and I’m beginning to feel properly under pressure for the first time. With only 9 days to go until I get married, I’m still more worried about Scotland playing Italy on Saturday. The wedding will be a doddle in comparison. Debbie’s in charge. I’ve got tickets, but not for behind the goal at the Rangers end rather than in the North Stand as before. I’m going with my Dad, but know that my Mum/Brother/Sister/Finance all want to go in his place. I’m going early to take in the atmosphere get pished, but am worried about the fact that I need to get packed for the Wedding/Honeymoon. And that’s before the football starts. Alex McLeish should have faith in his team and his own ability. Previous, almost abortive, posts have set out the reasons that a 4-1-4-1 formation will suit Scotland’s needs best, and we should stick to this on Saturday. McLeish picked a team to win in Georgia and we got comprehensively beaten by a team with two 17 year olds in it. We need to stick to what we’re good at and that’s staying organised and taking advantage of set-pieces and the counter attack. There’s room for both McFadden and Miller in such a formation, although Lee McCulloch may have cause to feel hard done by. We can’t chase the game against Italy, we’ve got to contain and frustrate them and be ready to take our chances. Easy does it. We need to be like the tortoise, not the all too eager hare. Only 56 hours to go.

And the winner is.......

2007-11-09T16:43:00.000Z

We spent an hour or so setting up the event. My office houses the only TV in the building, but was too small to accommodate the expected numbers, so we relocated it to the Boardroom. We had to buy a TV ariel, as there was no socket in the room, and spent a good 25 minutes trying to achieve a watchable signal. We eventually managed to get a grainy picture with perfect sound, and called it quits at that. We emailed the whole office with an invitation to witness the big event, and we gathered, about half of the office expectantly waiting, listening and squinting quizzically at the fuzzy outlines of Jackie Bird, John Beattie and Michael Kelly. We chatted expectantly amongst ourselves, expressed our hopes for those in the room who had recently bought houses in the East End and waited. The atmosphere built slowly and steadily as we moved towards decision time. Pictures of grainy chaos and confusion. Unexpected silences as hesitant presenters pondered while the gallery shouted in panicked voices in their ears. BBC Scotland only went and missed the bloody announcement didn't they? Good grief. We all trudged back to our desks to check on the internet to check whether Glasgow had actually won. Show over. I hope they're already planning for the start of the 100 metres by 2014 or they might miss that too. Muppets.

Scotland's Last Sporting Bid

2007-11-07T21:16:00.000Z

Glasgow's bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games has been impressive in its professionalism and scope, and although I have sympathy with Abuja's case for an African games, I really hope we're sucessful on Friday. Perhaps Glasgow has learned from previous Scottish efforts.....

The View From Platform 15

2007-11-07T21:13:00.000Z

The usual follow-up to the information that I live in Edinburgh and work in Glasgow is - is that not a terrible commute? To be fair, it's OK, but the best bit for me is to walk to the end of Platform 15 and see the National Gallery and Edinburgh Castle lit by the rising sun. For my first job, I used to catch the 7.10 train to Glasgow from Motherwell. The view was not as nice.

My Top 10 Channel 4 Programmes

2007-11-03T09:37:00.000Z

Given Channel 4's birthday this weekend, I thought a list would be appropriate. Here's my Top 10 Channel 4 Programmes of the last two and a half decades: 1. Channel 4 News The best news show on TV. Better presented, and more informed coverage of the widest variety of stories from all over the world. 2. Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights I can watch the DVDs over and over again. In slow motion. With director's commentary. 3. The Word It was the epitome of cool. Nirvana debuting 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on international TV. The time when Kim Deal from the Breeders dropped her trousers during 'Cannonball'. Mark Lamarr becoming a liberal icon by telling Shabba Ranks that he was 'talking crap' when he came up with homophobic nonsence. 4. Teachers We all knew the characters. They were our friends and they were living our lives. And it was funny. And had cool tunes. 5. Drop the Dead Donkey Did for journalism what LA Law did for the legal profession. 6. Father Ted Catchphrase TV. The mainstreaming of non-sweary swearwords. Feck. 7. Shameless Sick and wrong. And brilliant. 8. Brass Eye Chris Morris is a genious. This was has last truly accessable TV series before Jam. 9. The Sopranos I know this is cheating because it's an HBO series, but the Sopranos was event TV in my households for years. I have watched every episode, and loved them all. Even the last one..... 10. West Wing Everyone in politics wants it to be like the West Wing. Fact. I wanted to be Toby.

The light at the end of the tunnel

2007-11-02T18:32:00.001Z

I woke up this morning with a nostalgic feeing about London. I left my hotel and took the short walk to Blackfriars Bridge, looking to reacquaint myself with the wide open spaces of the river.

I missed my morning run on a Routemaster 159 from the edgy goings on around Brixton Hill down to cultural explosion on the bustling High Street culminating on the great majesty that is the crossing of the Thames at Westminster Bridge, with Parliament to the left and the London Eye to the right, but my view today down the river past the Oxo Tower to the South Bank and across to the Tate Modern was an inspiring start to the day.

The one niggling point was the need to travel underground again to get under the junction to the banks of the river, beneath the sunshine and the bustling streets. London is best above ground, but the subterranean way of life: through underpasses and tunnels, down escalators and passageways to tense, often silent and overcrowded trains drains the soul. Above ground Londoners are vibrant, different and unique in the world, but down below we are all reduced to the lowest common denominator, differentiated only by the experienced (Oyster Card ready, purposeful striding between ticket barriers and platforms) and the novice (rucksacks scattering commuters while fumbling for a map and a paper ticket).

My nostalgia lasted until I boarded the plane to Edinburgh. Surely for £150 a seat we could get enough space for my entire row to sit upright at once? Would the pioneers of aviation really view plastic cutlery and soggy sandwiches as progress?

My day started so well in the sunshine lit streets of the city, but ended up crushed under the weight of an overpacked overnight case and a cramped economy class seat. I'm now in a taxi home to Debbie and dinner with her Mum. I just couldn't face two buses now.

Supermarkets v the people?

2007-11-01T18:04:00.000Z

The Competition Commission’s verdict that rather than posing a threat to humanity and the Great British way of life, and given the opportunity to compete with each other on a level playing field, supermarkets can in fact be A Good Thing has been met with a puzzled reaction by the media this morning, and an angry reaction by smaller retailers and environmental and community groups.

The well-worn argument is that the general public, who love their local retailers more than capitalism itself, are being denied real competition on their Main Streets because big nasty supermarkets come along, sell cheap groceries and clothes (god forbid!) sometimes in an unfair way by marketing loss-leader products, and unjustifiably drive the little guy out of his local business.

On the key point, the Commission and today’s critics agree. It’s not healthy or fair to have a market in which 75 percent of the market share is held by just three companies, or towns like Dundee, Perth and Inverness which have over 50 percent of the market controlled by Tesco alone. But while the unlikely alliance of the Federation of Small Business and Friends of the Earth believe that this situation can only be resolved by restricting the market and favouring small/local businesses, the Commission want to free the market to provide increased choice for consumers. Time will tell who is right.

But there are two points that spring to mind for me about this.

Firstly, it’s not simply the predatory and restrictive business practices of the big supermarket chains which are having an adverse impact on small retailers on their own. There are wider changes in our society and within our communities also do not spell good news for this sector. More and more of us are working longer hours, further away from home, coupled with a greater proportion of women in the workforce mean that the small local shop, open from nine to five with a limited range of goods available is a less attractive and convenient option for modern families in particular. Society is not to blame for supermarkets buying up land to prevent their competitors expanding into a particular sales territory, but these changes mean that traditional small business cannot exist in its previous form.

But supermarkets are popular. That’s why they are successful businesses and why Tesco’s share price reached new highs yesterday. People choose to go there to shop for a range of reasons including convenience, price and quality.

When Tesco was planning to build a new store in Banff in the Northeast of Scotland a couple of years ago there was some localised uproar. Protests by local people, petitions and lobbying of local politicians prevailed. The store was to be built over existing playing fields, in a beautiful established park, next to a historic building and serious art gallery, so Tesco had offered to build an all-weather football pitch at the other side of the town as compensation. The local MSP, Stewart Stevenson, maintained a neutral stance over the issue, so decided to use his access to the local voters’ roll to organise a referendum on the issue. The turnout was around 60-70 percent, higher than that for the local parliamentary election.

And the result?

The locals voted in favour of the new Store by two-to-one.

There are pros and cons to the domination of big supermarkets in our communities. But we need a combination of major factors to change,, both within the retail environment and in society at large, if we are to make everyone in this debate happy over time.

I'm on the train....

2007-10-29T09:31:00.000Z

The supreme irony of reading the news story in the Metro this morning depicting a new level of hell for commuters while on an Edinburgh to Glasgow train which has been inexplicably cut from 6 to 3 carriages in the middle of the rush hour was not lost to me, but unlike the significant numbers who boarded (those who could board) in Haymarket, Linlithgow, and Falkirk High at least I got a seat.

Spiralling house process in our cities have made it inevitable that suburban flight has meant an increase in journey times to work for many of us, so the TUC’s new figures that show that there has been a 22 percent rise in the number of commuters in Britain who take over an hour to travel to work in the past 10 years has confirmed the trend most rather than acting as groundbreaking news.

In my 2 months of intercity train journeys the service has, by and large been good. It’s regular, so you don’t have to wait about at the station. Today’s sardine tin-like exception aside, it’s far more reliable than trying to dive down the M8 ever is (thank God I don’t have to cross the Forth Road Bridge every day). But there are 2 things that we should improve on the train.

Firstly, the time it takes to travel is inexplicably excessive. While I know that SPT are touring Scottish journalists around the Maglev trains in China ( I’ve been told that the magnetic train system goes so fast that they would have to knock down Falkirk in order to get a track without highly dangerous high speed bends, so pros and cons there then.. ) it’s currently possible with existing track and trains to reduce the journey time significantly. Only last week my 15 minute late train made the journey from Waverley to Queen Street in about 40 minutes to arrive roughly on time after we cancelled all stops on the way. This must be a no-brainer, but as yet there are no express Glasgow-Edinburgh trains on the timetable. Am I missing something?

The second challenge is the price. £16.90 return? I’s be cheaper commuting from Perth. If there are many higher fares for the journey time/milage in the UK I’d be very surprised. Opening up the train network to all commuters would assist those struggling to get on the property ladder by providing the option of moving out of town and commuting in. This would be good for house prices, and good for the development of our central best commuter towns.

As we pull into Queen Street it’s clear to me that the main problems facing commuters around me are easily quantifiable and eminently solvable. Can anyone else see the benefits of more people getting of the roads and travelling by train while at the same time getting the chance of an extra 15 minutes in bed every morning?

Happiness is....

2007-10-21T16:14:00.000+01:00

....finding your fiancee's engagement ring! (Under the desk in the spare room) Phew!

Today's Winners

2007-10-21T00:09:00.001+01:00

Watching the aftermath of the Rugby World Cup final tonight, a couple of things caught my eye. The first was the graciousness that Nicolas Sarkozy showed towards Thabo Mbeki at the presentation of the trophy in letting him take centre stage when the Springboks recieved the trophy. Sarkozy has taken some flak in France over his supposed attempts to make political capital from the World Cup. For someone that was supposed to be placing himself at the centre of attention, he made quite sure that the enduring image of the presentation was of the South African President and winning captain John Smit. That showed real class. The second point was the sight of Mbeki at the centre of the celebrations, to the point that he was lifted shoulder high by some of the Springbok players. To put this in perspective - can you imagine the Prime Minister or First Minister recieving the same treatment from a Scotland/England/British team?

Lost and Found

2007-10-19T13:42:00.001+01:00

Debbie lost her engagement ring on Wednesday.

We were getting ready to go to bed and she had just finished fixing the sheet on the bed when she realised that her ring wasn't on her finger.

We searched the bedroom. We checked under the bed. We stripped off the bedsheets and pillowcases and ran our fingers over the seams to check that nothing was stuck inside. We moved the bed and then emptied the drawers in the chest next to the bed and went through all the clothes that were stored in case it had fallen in.

We checked the living room. We looked down the back and sides of the sofa and through the wedding debris on and around the coffee table. We checked under the rug, and on the windowsill amongst her makeup and examined the folds in the documents in the box under the window. We looked around the rubber ring inside the washing machine and down the back of the cupboards and through the washing that had been dumped on the spare bed and in the small piles of jewellery in on the chest of drawers and in our pockets and bags.

Two hours of looking and no ring. We got up the next day and called the police lost and found, the bus company and searched around Debbie's desk at work.

We came home last night and did the whole thing again.

Debbie has lost her engagement ring. We get married in five weeks, so then she'll have another ring to wear, signalling the progress through the journey of our relationship.

And she cried and had nightmares and lost concentration at work looking at her temporarily bare hand, thinking of when I got down on one knee on an Ayrshire beach under the stars and moon and asked her to be with me always while crying like a lost child. And I'm sad too, because that ring was special because it was there when she said yes.

But what saves me from despair is the fact that this ring wasn't another piece of jewellery, it is a symbol. It says "I'm in love with John" when she's out with her friends in the pub after work, and "John loves me" when she shows it to her family with that glow on her face, that undeniably glorious sign of warmth and true happiness that is so unique to her. The ring is because I love her, not why I love her. It's a reminder of our relationship, not the embodiment of it. She still loves me when she's out with friends, and I still love her.

That's why, even if we don't find this ring, I'll put another one on her finger at the end of November and promise in front of all the important people in our lives to love her forever. And we'll be sad for a while because she's lost the ring, and happy forever because we've found each other.

Back of the net!

2007-10-18T22:31:00.000+01:00

Technorati Stuff

2007-10-18T22:09:00.000+01:00

Technorati Profile

oh dear....

2007-10-18T12:39:00.001+01:00

It's probably a fair reflection on how yesterday panned out for me vis-a-vis the football (worked late so missed the first half, had to sit outside in the freezing cold in a pub's smoking area to watch while drinking out a plastic glass) that the post I wrote on the train to work (WHICH WAS 45 MINS LATE!!!) was based on a false premise...... and also failed to appear.

oh dear.

here it is in it's full glory anyway:

CHRISTIAN DAILLY: AN APPRECIATION

Christian Dailly is what Scottish football is all about. He is an honest, talented, hard working, adaptable player who is absolutely committed to winning.

We know that he's one of us, who'd be in the North Stand at Hampden if not on the pitch. No-one can doubt the commitment of a man who is vocally disappointed about being beaten away from home by Germany with only ten men, an off-field performance which merited an unsuccessful campaign to get him on the shortlist for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. I love Nigel Quashie and Jay McEveley as much as the next Scotland fan, who can doubt big Nigel's commitment to winning, but there is a real affinity between Christian Dailly and the Tartan Army.

He has 17 years of international experience with Scotland, and has played regularly at both centre half and right back. But it's his technical and tactical awareness has made him the choice of three Scotland managers to take on specific tactical duties in key games.

Craig Brown may have looked as though he was playing him out of position as a left back against Brazil in Paris in 1998, but the effectiveness of Brown's tactics were such that we were only denied a draw by a painful Tom Boyd OG. On Saturday Alex McLeish brought him on later in the game as a holding midfield player to provide an additional line of defence against the Ukrainian forwards' penchant for dropping of the line to take the ball 30-40 yards out. I'm sure I'm not alone amongst Scotland fans to be nervous about tonight's game. I'm a realist, not a defeatist and so I know we're still not favourites to qualify from Group B. What I do know is that if we had 11 Christian Daillys on the pitch in Tbilisi tonight I know we'd have all the guts, drive and determination we need to do our best.

postscript:

Alex McLeish changed his mind before kick-off and played Shaun Maloney wide on the left as opposed to Dailly as a deep midfielder. Scotland were beaten 2:0).

Alex McLeish: A Revised Opinion

2007-10-14T16:31:00.000+01:00

James McFadden has been inspirational for Scotland in our internationals this season. 3 goals in 3 games has made him the hero de jour. But Scotland now has another hero. He's been fearless, flexible and adaptable under pressure and adversity, and has led Scotland from the front and to the top of Group B. When Alex McLeish managed Motherwell he inherited a strong team from Tommy McLean, and although he had an amazing start in his first season, coming second to Rangers in the Premier League, I wasn't the only Motherwell fan who thought that he had been trading on past glories. But his tactical acumen since he took over from Walter Smith has been absolutely spot on. His management of Scotland has been characterised by adapting both his formations and team perfectly to suit the game and a series of well-timed substitutions. His classic 4-4-2 formation against Lithuania last month was followed by the nous to play McFadden alone up front against France in Paris in a 4-5-1 (rather than the more obvious choice of Gary O'Connor), while yesterday saw him switch again to a 4-4-1-1, dropping Graham Alexander (who has played in 7 games in this campaign - more than anyone with the exceptions of Gordon, Weir, Hartley and Fletcher) for the better attacking option of Naysmith on the left. His substitutions have also been employed effectively. He brought on Craig Beattie late against Georgia and he got the winning goal. Introduce Maloney against Lithuania, his first touch was an assist for the goal to put us in front. Yesterday saw another good tactical move when he replaced a semingly injured McCulloch with Christian Dailly to allow us someone to sit in front of the defence rather than making a straight swap on the left side with Maloney, which effectively negated Ukraine's tactic of allowing one of their three forwards to drop deep to recieve the ball. If our manager can pick the right team with the correct tactics in the last two games our players have shown that we have the ability to qualify, no doubt about it. Over the past year McLeish has shown he is definately the man for the job.

Fantastic expectations, amazing revelations!

2007-10-11T17:59:00.000+01:00

It was like a fanclub reunion, a cultural celebration, rather than a gig in the normal sense. But although an atmosphere of excess permeated the venue, unlike run-of-the-mill cultural events such as the Edinburgh Festival or Cannes, this one was fuelled by Stella Artois and not Dom Perignon, while the labels on show were more Lacoste than Lacroix .

The lone wine drinker I met in the queue for the main bar summed the unique atmosphere up:

“For three quid fifty a pint I’ve just as well getting a bottle of wine. My husband reckons you can get most of it in two plastic glasses and I’ll just drink the rest at the bar.”

The venue was filled to capacity with refugees from the 1990’s. Those fading (or more often filling out) stars of the indie disco who’ve moved on from prowling the second-hand shelves of Avalache and downing shots of cheap tequila with large groups of mates to processing loan applications before heading home for a microwave meal in front Coronation Street with the other half. This lot were now counting their pennies, not mis-spending their youth.

While Soccer Casual chic was the theme of this particular fancy dress party, you could feel the lingering presence of smart suits and bulbous tie knots as you looked around the crowd. The room was swarming with couples, the few groups of polo and check shirted thirty-somethings were lairy but lacked the air of swift but casual violence that no doubt characterised previous Saturday nights after the football.

Despite no support act to speak of, the atmosphere built steadily until the grand entrance.

He was relaxed and in control of the gig, posing for pictures for fans down the front as he sang and making jokes about the last (abortive) gig in Edinburgh. It was a greatest hits set, leading off with his early singles. He did a couple of songs from the new album, and them the moment.

The opening snare drum beats of ‘I am the resurrection’ are an indie call-to-arms. There is no dance floor immune to it. The place went nuts. The air filled with spare lager and gaps opened up in the floor as the crowd surged to the front.

‘I wanna be adored’ followed, the place erupted and the mood changed as if we’d all come up together again. We were together, united and happy. Young again.

Imagine how good it would have been if he could actually sing.

Now I am almost grown up..........

2007-10-08T21:42:00.000+01:00

Just over a year ago, I set about encouraging a group of collegues I was working with to start blogging. The experiment worked, and now several of them are still blogging, some with great impact. I thought that, given that I am now a grown up, with real opinions and thoughts of my own, that now would be a good time to start blogging myself.