A Tough Week ...

It's been a helluva week, one way and another; one of those weeks where I've been constantly chasing my own tail to try to get everything done that needs to get done. Anyway, here's a lightning review of the week just gone ...

Community

I learned on Tuesday about the death of Jenni Marrow, one of the giants of activism in North Edinburgh for all the years that I've been on the scene. Housing and regeneration were Jenni's passions and she battled away on these and other issues for years. She got hugely frustrated sometimes - particularly with politicians and officials - but she battled away and never gave in. She was one of the leading lights of the successful Anti Stock Transfer campaign and was a passionate believer in the need - and tenants rights - for good quality council housing. Activists like Jenni are becoming increasingly thin on the ground and a huge wealth of experience has been lost. She will be a massive loss to community campaigns, both in North Edinburgh and much further afield; I came into contact with Jenni so many times on different issues over the years and I will miss her. Her funeral is next Wednesday.

The Drylaw Telford Community COuncil newsletters were finally delivered last weekend so it's been a mad rush to get them out before Wednesday's AGM. Thanks to the usual small band of willing helpers we've just about managed it, but the whole process has been somewhat soured by one so-called 'activist' going in the huff because she couldn't do her own wee patch and wouldn't leaflet anywhere else. So much for overcoming the age old problems of boundaries and territorialism!

As well as delivering newsletters much of the weekend has been taken up with writing up and collating all of the papers needed for next week's meeting, when I will be standing down as Secretary next week after 20+ years. To save a rainforest or two I am lucky that most of our members are on email now - to think that when I started taking Minutes I used a quill and bottled ink and worked by candlelight!

More information on the Fairer Scotland Fund, but more confusion too - and ridiculously tight timescales that mean that some serious mistakes could be made. I will be part of a deputation going to the City Chambers next week to argue for a relaxation of these timescales. Our argument seems common sense to me, but whether the new Administration politicians can be persuaded is another matter ...

Sport

The football season came to a climax this week when everything was finally decided. Rangers were beaten in the Eufa Cup Final and also lost the SPL to Celtic in the final game, but had the consolation of picking up the Scottish Cup after overcoming a very spirited Queen of the South team in a final that was much closer than I would have expected. Rangers massive fixture list may have been their undoing, but losing two Old Firm games in quick succession was really their undoing - they were never the same formidable side thereafter. The Eufa Cup adventure was undoubtedly a distraction too - few would have expected them to get as far as they did, and while their tactics were dull to watch they undoubtedly worked, losing only two goals on the way through to the Final. I always feared for them if they lost a first goal, and so it proved in Manchester - the way they set out their stall doesn't make for an easy tactical switch into an attacking formation. Throwing on strikers toward the end just wasn't enough, and I would have thought that Walter Smith could have adopted a more positive attacking approach in a one-off Final.

They'll be stronger next season though, and I hope I can say the same about Hibs. I attended the (very flat) final home game of the season at Easter Road on Thursday night - Motherwell had already claimed the last European place so there was nothing at stake. Hibs were awful and Motherwell gave them a football lesson which was quite embarrassing at times - the 'Well fans had a great time with their sombreros and beach balls and they were they highlight of an otherwise miserable night. The current Hibs squad just isn't good enough and there have got to be changes before the new season starts. Mind you, we are in rather a better place than Hearts, I think. It seems that Steven Frail is on the way out and Romanov is trying to lure Mark McGhee to Tynecastle! Now Mark McGhee is many things - a talented manager, a good communicator, almost certainly a future Scotland boss - but being daft isn't one of them, and I'd be amazed if he took up any offer from Mad Vlad.

Incidentally I'd be more than happy to settle for finishing second in the League and reaching the Champions League Final - but that wasn't good enough for the Chelsea oligarch, who has just sacked his manager. What is it with these Eastern European money men - they'll be fixing the Eurovision Song Contest next!

Congratulations to Manchester United, though, on their magnificent double (despite being outplayed by Chelsea for large parts of the Final). I always felt it was their destiny this season, being 50 years since the Munich Air Disaster. The problem for Sir Alex is - how do you top that next season?

Politics

As universally predicted Labour took a hammering at the Crewe and Nantwich by-election and there have been calls for Gordon Brown's head. Whoever decided on the 'Tory Toff' campaign strategy needs a serious kicking - metaphorically of course, well ... - but, given all that is going on just now with falling house prices, risisng fuel and food prices, etc. etc. - defeat was inevitable from the day the by-election was called.
It's not a new leader we need - it's a return to core value socialist policies and a purge of the New Labour arrivistes. Dare I say 'back to basics?' However there is the stench of decay about this government and it seems we are witnessing an inexorable slide to a resounding defeat at the General Election. Brown won't go - nor should he, and honestly who would want the job right now? - and any cabinet reshuffle is going to look like an exercise in rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's looking increasingly bleak, and time is not on Labour's side.

Meanwhile, over the Pond, Hillary Clinton refuses to accept the democratic will of her party and battles on, regardless of the damage she is causing and the advantage she is handing to who should be her real opponents - the Republicans. However I've always believed that Hillary's real commitment is to, well, Hillary, and so it's proving. Staring defeat in the face, she's now questioning the technicalities of the process in a hope of bending the rules and, predictably, has now raised the spectre of 'sexism', surely the last throw of the dice of a desperate woman. Admit it Hillary, it's over. Have some dignity and, if you really care about your party, concede now. Accept the decision of your Party members and then you may retain at least some credibility. It's going to be a bit of a headache meeting those campaign bills, though ...

And Finally ... Bright Sparks!

If Bill and Hillary may have to tighten their belts a bit to meet a few bills, they are not alone - we are all struggling to make ends meet. However there is light at the end of the tunnel, as I can now exclusively reveal ...
As a 'loyal customer', I received a pack of four free energy saving light bulbs from British Gas last week. These arrived a few days after my new, revised gas bill dropped heavily through my letter box - another massive hike in my direct debit. Still, free light bulbs, eh? That makes it all worthwhile! Rejoice!