9/11 Remembered

WHERE WERE YOU?

My mum and dads generation had Kennedy and the question where were you when he was shot? For my generation there are a few of them, when I was a lot younger it was where were you when challenger blew up? My answer was in Room one in the Primary School watching the launch on the Television, I remember it although I must have been about 10. When I was older in University the question became where were you when Thomas Hamilton entered Dunblane primary and shot and killed 16 children? My answer I was in my local primary school gym hall with Primaries one to six teaching them the music for the primary three first communion.

Then five years ago yesterday it became where were you when the planes flew into the World Trade Centre? I remember being in my boyfriend of the time's living room getting ready to go get him from work for a late lunch. I remember watching BBC news 24 and seeing the footage of the first tower in flames, I called and let him know and then went back to watching as I got ready, about five minutes before I was due to leave the second plane hit the second tower, by the time we reached lunch the reports were coming about the other planes, the Pentagon and fact that all flights had been grounded. We sat in amazement and watched as the buildings eventually collapsed and we, along with many other people who had poured into the pub when they heard the news, stood and watched the horrific events.

It is good that five years on people still remember and pay tribute to those who have died, and although I didn't know any of those who lost their lives I know that they will linked to all of our lives for a long time.

MOLLY AND BESSIE

BEAUTIFUL RENFREWSHIRE

As you will notice from below I have mentioned my parents dogs before and even put on photo's of them, as the SNP locally are constantly talking down Renfrewshire I thought that this would be a perfect place to show what they are talking down.

The photos show Molly and Bessie in the pond in Renfrewshire, at Erskine beach and of course in the safety of their living room.

I know they look sweet, but they are fiercely loyal and protective of one another, they are also the sweetest dogs on the planet, as long as we think you are OK, or as long as you are not the vet with a big needle! They enjoy barking, fighting with each other and chewing my trousers when they are in a play mood and I am walking across the living room!

FULL COUNCIL

SNP FACE BOTH WAYS

Well it has taken me the weekend to recover from the Full Council meeting on Thursday, it was a marathon agenda and a marathon meeting. The SNP did not put forward their normal plethora of non scensical motions, however there were some!

The two things the parties did agree on were that the council agreed to lobby and do everything possible to keep the identity of Paisley linked to the local University by urging the University not to change it's name. The second motion was moved by Cllr Harkins and Cllr Williams of the Labour group asking that the council donate £10,000 to St Vincent's hospice after their garden was damaged by vandals earlier this year.

The SNP however did not disappoint, when discussing the motion I moved on the Boundary Commission's proposals for the new boundaries in 2007, the SNP deputy leader Cllr B Lawson suggested that the 'Labour Group proposal' (also know as the Council's proposal as it was passed by full council on more than one ooccasion) was and I quote 'a dogs breakfast', his group also suggested (despite my specifically stating the opposite) that I was attacking the Boundary Commission, which as usual is ridiculous. However the best is yet to come, Cllr Martin the SNP candidate for the 2007 First Past the Post election in Paisley South, advised that there was little difference between the SNP proposal and Labour group proposal for the boundaries and that both were just as good and better than what we had been given! What is the official SNP line I hear you ask? Well if you find out let me know, I did suggest they go back and confer before speaking again!

The SNP locally are in tatters! They have no idea which way they are facing, and their behaviour is getting worse! Cllr McKay (the group Leader for the SNP) is letting them run riot, maybe it is because he is too weak to control the likes of Cllr Mylet who was at his worst again! I mean the man cannot even dress himself! He came in jeans, t-shirt and trainers with the t-shirt inside out and tried to suggest it was designer until one of his own group advised that they could see the label on the outside!! He ranted on at the Chief Executive of the Health board and never quite got to asking a coherent question and then for the rest of the meeting made snide remarks at ANYONE who spoke.

It is strange that the majority of the people who vote SNP do it blindly they obviously do not know the people they are voting for, and they obviously do not know their record, I mean would you vote for a local representative who see's fit to attend less than 30% of meetings? Despite only being put on only ONE specific board planning and transport? I know I wouldn't!

Suicide Prevention Week

Choose Life

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Walk for hope this morning in Paisley, it meant that I had to for go visiting any of the doors open day attractions but it was worth it. I met among others a young girl with her dog called Milly, the workers in the choose life project and people who had been affected by suicide. I was greeted by the project managers one of whom used to be a geography teacher in my High School, so it is a MAJOR struggle to call her by her first name (sorry Rosemary!) but the day went swimmingly! There were around forty participants and in my welcome I pointed out how important the issue of suicide is, it shouldn't be a taboo one of the women who had been affected by it told me, if it saves ONE life it is working!

The walk took place through Paisley town centre with a piper, balloons and leaflets being given out to the sometimes bemused public, but I am sure once they were aware of the reason for the walk they were in full support. suicide

I would urge anyone who is thinking about suicide to speak to breathing space, Choose life or someone, it is not always the end, someone may be able to help, even if it is just to listen!

TOO MANY MEETINGS

WHAT I HAVE DONE TODAY

Well as a Councillor you get days where you are basically running around chasing yourself for the entire day! I left this morning about 8am and was lucky enough to visit the Charleston Centre in Paisley for the Choose Life Renfrewshire open information day. The team of people who run this project are absolutely amazing, they not only help those who feel as though they cannot go on, but they also teach others how to deal with people who disclose suicidal thoughts. Further to this they also help those who self harm and help those dealing with young people who self harm to understand that it is a coping mechanism and not attention seeking or a phase they are going through. This week is suicide prevention week and I will be at the walk for hope on Saturday morning 10:30am at Paisley Town Hall and EVERYONE is welcome!

Also on the agenda is preperation for the Full Council meeting tomorrow morning, I am moving one of the motions on the agenda and seconding another as such it takes a bit of time to prepare what I am going to say, at least this time I have remembered that I am summing up as well, the first motion I moved I forgot all about it! Just as well I can think on my feet. The first motion is on the Boundary Commission changes and the second on the Renfrew Health Centre. You have to put yourself into the position of the opposition and think about what they will say in response to your comments, I know what they will say to the latter! But the first is a little more tricky and so preperation is the key.

I also had constituent enquiries to chase up and calls to make, all this using my dad's laptop because mine broke during the week and I needed to give it back to allow the IT people to scrub the hard drive and re install all of the software! ALL of my letters and preperation work for the meeting tomorrow had to go through my excellent right arm - namely the two admin assistants in the office who I could not do my job without - both the girls are always great but they have been especially great this week as I keep coming in and saying 'can I ask someone to ...'! After this there was the rest of the reports on the full council including one on Free Personal Care which comes under Social Work, and I am the Deputy Convernor for this board so I HAVE to know it inside and out regardless of whether or not I come in on the debate! Luckily I moved a report to the full council on the issue of Free Personal Care and food preperation at the last full council meeting and my Convenor has been great at keeping me involved and informed of what is going on, that always makes it easier.

I had about twenty minutes of quiet and then the Standards Commission for Scotland put a spanner in the works with an ill timed email for quite a few Councillors about an issue we had sought guidance on. Then two of my colleagues who had been away most of the week at a conference came back and I led them through the order paper for tomorrows meeting, in terms of who was doing what and what was being amended and what wasn't that type of thing, brought them up to speed on a number of issues from during the week and then scampered over to one of the Primary Schools in my area for a School Board meeting and Cheese and wine. Unfortunately I had to leave the Cheese and wine section in order to go to the PTA meeting for the local high school to advise of the grants on offer.

I eventually got home around 8 O'Clock and needless to say I could not have survived without my personal driver (my mum who is an angel!) who ferried me between my evening meetings and then home, and missed the beginning of Holby City to do so!

Right now it is more preperation for tomorrow, more constituency work, maybe some dinner and then bed!

Youth Unemployment

HOW FAR HAVE WE COME?

Last week I was given a report written in 1984 by Strathclyde Regional Council, on the issue of working with young people, and I found some of it startling. As someone who grew up in the 1980's I remember the difficulties experienced by many of the people around us especially the mining communities. Part of the report states ...

'2.2 Youth Unemployment

2.2.1 Unfortunately, all thought about youth work is overshadowed by the spectre of mass unemployment which hangs over young people. There are areas within Strathclyde where the true level of unemployment for school leavers is approaching 100%, with the overall figure for Strathclyde being around 60%.'

I thought I would check it out to see how much of an improvement the Labour Government has made in this regard! The Scottish Executive have released figures that show that for young men the unemployment rate averages at 7.4% and for women it is 3.9%. From close to 60% to at most 14% (with those young men with minimal education) this is a startling achievement by the Labour Government and a damning indictment of the Conservatives. It shows the positive future for our young people under Labour.

The fact that many young people from deprived backgrounds now think that it is a natural progression to go from high school onto higher education shows how much of a difference a real education policy backed up by a higher level of funding than ever before can make to society and specifically to the future of our young people.

Scottish Labour Fight for Paisley

UPDATE NUMBER 2

I know that this is going to be an ongoing saga but I thought that I would put updates on here about the change of name for the University as and when they are needed! I checked in on the University's student union website and they have had quite the discussion on the general forum about the name change, most of the students are against it and the only positive voice in the whole forum who seems overwhelmingly FOR the name change is the very person who is Supposed to represent the views of the students .... the deputy president of the Student Association. I kept thinking things have really changed since I was there at least our student representatives acted on our behalf and not in the best interests of the lecturers and the University Court! To be fair the Deputy President may not be aware of the information you get here so give them the benefit of the doubt they will get it eventually.

Today there was also a story in the Paisley Daily Express regarding the consultation they sent out a reporter to the Community (more than the University is doing) and asked them for their opinions the response was overwhelming against the change of name, only one person in the article suggested it was a good idea and that was a lecturer who lets be honest will probably gain from the name change in some way! I cannot help but think that the lecturer in question has ideas of granduer, this person is thinking what sounds better and bigger? I work for the University of Paisley? or I work for the University of the West of Scotland?

A name change will change the reputation of the University but not for the better, the staff will remain the same, the procedures will remain the same, the issues they have will remain the same, the only thing that will change is what they call it!

KEEP IT PAISLEY UPDATE

Well as it turns out the SSP are not the only party who are in turmoil this week, the SNP in Renfrewshire don't seem to know what each other are doing. On Saturday in the Paisley Daily Express the readers were advised that the perennial candidate Mr Doig has decided that if they are changing the name of the University they should change it to Tannahill, not Tannahill Paisley University, just Tannahill University. Mr Doig was speaking on behalf of the local SNP yet in today's paper the SNP are quoted as saying they are putting up their own motion to full council on September the 7th. When I say 'their own motion' that is a bit of a stretch because they are actually using Mr McFee's motion, so much thought and time was put into it! His motion states, as I have outlined below, that IF the University changes it's name we should keep Paisley in the title.

Why are they facing both ways? Only they can say but they have been caught out yet again!

Scottish Labour Fight for Paisley

KEEP IT PAISLEY CAMPAIGN

Recently in the Paisley Daily Express there has been coverage of the local elected members mobilising the community over the proposed change of name for the University of Paisley, to the University of the West of Scotland. It should be noted here that it is the Labour MSP's and MP's that are fronting this campaign, to date the other parties have not commented, the SNP don't even think it is important enough to put onto their website! While the Local MSP Wendy Alexander has lodged a motion with the Scottish Parliament...

'S2M-4696 Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab) : University of Paisley— That the Parliament notes that the University of Paisley is holding a consultation exercise on the future name of the institution; further notes that Paisley is Scotland’s largest town and has given the university its original existence and identity; acknowledges that other established universities have been able to expand and open up new campuses in other parts of the country without sacrificing their names; also acknowledges that the University of Paisley is already very successful in attracting students not only from other parts of the United Kingdom but also from overseas, particularly the Far East, and believes that the university can build on its reputation and strengths gained over the years as the University of Paisley and that a change of name would be a mistake for the university and Paisley. '

To be fair Mr McFee of the SNP has also lodged a motion asking that the university bosses include the name Paisley in the name change! So for the SNP the University of the West of Scotland and Paisley would be fine!! Taking the mick much Brucey? While the SNP motion has one supporter (another SNP member) the Labour motion has support from the Liberal Democrats as well as other Labour Members!

Let us challenge the SNP to get involved and I don't just mean putting up a non sensical motion to Full Council on the subject, that might mean something if they were actually involved, sign the petition and encourage others to do so! And if you are going to put up a motion to full council try making it mean something, have an action not just a rallying call!

As an alumni of the University of Paisley and a Local Councillor for Renfrewshire Council I am appaulled by the University Court's suggestion and I have written to the Vice Chancellor to ask him to reconsider, I would urge all of you who are graduates of the University to do likewise!

Bessie and Molly

This is Bessie and Molly!

As per a previous post I am putting on a photo of my mum's dogs Bessie is a pedigree Lakeland Terrier although I have heard her referred to as a Lakeland terrorist (she barks at everything and nothing!) and Molly is a rescue dog, a Labrador/Staffy cross and she is the sweetest most adorable dog in the world! I cannot imagine why anyone would have wanted to let her go! Staffy's get a bad reputation but they are commonly known as the 'nanny' dog because they are so good with kids. I would encourage ANYONE who wants to get a pet to go to their nearest animal shelter and ask for advice you never know you might even get one as cute as Molly!

Labour Party

LABOUR PARTY BLOGGERS

I have just found a new site which is called bloggers4labour it is an excellent site which allows you to see the blogs from a full range of Labour Politicians.

Scotland is under represented so if you have a positive Labour Blog get it submitted, I have!

As a Local Councillor I will be putting more and more posts on here that are positive news stories for the Labour Party, the reason? Because locally the press are all about if it bleeds it leads and as such they are not interested in printing good news stories they do not want you to know about the positive things that the Labour Administration on Renfrewshire Council is doing, good news doesn't sell as many papers!

My Loves and Hates

I LOVE MY PJ'S

Someone at work today was going through a list of their pet hates and it made me think of how positive a person I really am! People tell me this all the time but I never believed them until I thought about what my pet hates are and the only thing that really annoys me is when my political opponents attack me on a personal level because they can't think of anything political to attack me on! Actually that is nonsense I actually quite like that because it just shows that I have won the argument! Drivers that go along the inside lane of the motorway when they know fine well it is closing and then indicate to get in annoy me! But that would come under the common courtesy!

My favourite things in the world? My PJ's there is nothing better than coming home and knowing that you don't have to go back out again, getting into your PJ's and settling in for the night! I also love it when you get caught in the rain and are soaking wet and get in put on your PJ's and sit in front of the fire! I LOVE my mum and dad's dogs Molly and Bessie (I will add a photo on a later post) and the way they are so happy to see you when you come home! Even if you were just out at the car to get your coat!

I would urge everyone to make their own list of things that they are thankful for and the things that you like most!

Loca Journalists

Local Journalist in Paisley

I probably shouldn't write this but as it is a personal opinion I can't see how it will affect anyone really. I have noticed that locally in Renfrewshire there has been at least one journalist who has been pretty much losing the plot! All of the articles this journalist does are against the Labour Council, all of them are based on a press release by a single issue group (it changes week to week which one it is) and each article they write are purposefully one sided and incorrect.

For instance you only have to look at the coverage of the Parking scheme in Seedhill written by this journalist, or the coverage of the Seedhill Playing fields situation, in which they constantly misrepresent the truth but print it anyway.

I always thought that journalists were supposed to be impartial, it doesn't matter which side is right you report what you uncover and let the reader decide! OK a bit naive I know but more or less that is what journalists do as long as you know their bias you can figure out what is real and what isn't! Locally some of the journalists have lost the way in this regard but ultimately it is down to the editor and herein lies the problem.

National Politics

PROFILING

There is a lot of talk on the national media about the airlines starting to use racial profiling as a tool for searching people at the airport. When they say they are going to start using it as a tool it gets me a little confused, they have been using it as a tool unofficially for a number of years, the fact that if you are Asian you are more likely to be stopped and searched at an airport is well documented, the fact that if you are black and in America you are more likely to be pulled over by the police is similarly documented.

I admit to having a problem with the use of racial profiling as an official or unofficial tool for stop and search inside or outside of our airports, why? I believe that using this as a tool plays into the hands of the terrorists, if the Muslim community feel that they are being victimised (which they would be by this action) the terrorists are more likely to recruit more people who feel a genuine grief towards the society they live in. I have nothing against criminal profiling in the physiological sense there are times where it is helpful, for instance in a local case here in Renfrewshire seven years ago a young woman was abducted, raped and murdered and in order to find the killer the police force used a number of these physiological tools and they were right every time. Racial profiling was not used as it is not useful in detecting crime it is racism plain and simple.