A ray of light

Not all doom and gloom
While GB2009 PLC seems in dire straits, across the Pond our American cousins were able to put their financial woes behind them - for a while at least - when the new President was sworn in. Little more than a generation ago it would have been unthinkable that a black man could become the leader of the free world, but it's happened and there is a palpable sense of hope, of new beginnings and an opportunity for the United States to become a force for good. That is a huge weight of responsibility on the President's shoulders, but his announcement that Guantanamo Bay will close is a good first step.
Incidentally, the President may not only be the first African-American president, he may also be the first Irish African American. This has not been confirmed, but a taxi driver told me that Mr President's real name is in fact Barry O'Bammer and he had family connections in County Mayo, where his descendants were potato farmers. I'm amazed that the press hasn't picked up on this; perhaps further corroboration is required. I will investigate this - I feel an 'exclusive' coming on ...!

Some hae meat ...
But I hae meetings. Policy & Strategy Committee again this week, and if the politicians and officials are sick of the sight of deputations from North Edinburgh I can assure them that the feeling is mutual - in the nicest possible way of course. There was a glimmer of hope for Forth projects following that meeting - it seems that officials will be asked to investigate the possibility of using some of the funds 'top-sliced' for strategic, city-wide programmes to support beleaguered Forth projects. The devil, as ever, will be in the detail and the interpretation of this Motion, but perhaps it's a sign that there may be some movement from the administration. Time is not on our side, though, and there is a pressing need for urgent action before jobs are lost and services suffer.
Other meetings this week included Forth Voluntary Sector Forum, a meeting with a lawyer to discuss Fairer Scotland, a staff team meeting and a particularly bruising meeting of the Edinburgh Unionist Club's committee.
Like many pubs and clubs across the country, the Unionist Club is suffering - too much expenditure (costs constantly rising)and not enough income; people are just not going out so much and are reining back on what they spend. The Club's situation is concerning, and the scale of the financial problem and how we tackle it was the main subject of last week's meeting. It was a particularly heated and acrimonious affair and there was too much heat and not enough light. Nothing was agreed, there is much to be resolved and a meeting will be held in the near future to take a cold, hard look at the Club's finances - some tough decisions lie ahead.
Despite the Club's financial woes, though, we did manage to stage a very successful Burns Supper on Friday. It was well attended, proved very popular with Members and guests and everyone went home happy (probably because most were "fu'")! The Burns Supper was arranged and organised in record quick time and it shows just what can be achieved when Members pull together and put in a bit of effort. Such was the success that a Valentine's Night is now being planned. The Elvis jumpsuit may just get an airing, although the elastic waistband is coming under increasing pressure and could go at any time ...

Book of the Month
Yes, I've read one! Suffering from the excesses of Friday night (and with the internet down) I spent yesterday reading Mark Blake's excellent 'Pigs Might Fly', the inside story of Pink Floyd. A tale of titanic personality struggles, superhuman drug use and yes, even some discussion about the band's music, this is a 'must read' not only for Pink Floyd aficionados but anyone who is interested in the history of rock music. Like them or loathe them, Pink Floyd will always be considered one of the world's truly great rock bands and theirs is a fascinating story. For a band that's been on the scene for forty years there's an awful lot of story to tell, but Mark Blake tells it so well.

The joys of technology
It should have been so simple, but I guess I knew the reality would always prove more complicated. For months now I've been having problems with my mobile phone - it's become so hard to hear what callers are saying that it seems that everyone is calling from deepest Uzbekistan - so last weekend I resolved to deal with it (and also put a tick against at least one item on my ever-growing 'To Do' list).
My mobile contract, and also my internet service provider, is with a large and very well-known communications company - let's call them, say, ET - and I called them last week to request a new phone. Quite straightforward, you may think, but wait - it seems that ET no longer 'do' simple mobile contacts, but instead offer a new super-duper all singing, all dancing solution to 'all my communications needs, both at home and on the move'. New phone? Perish the thought - what I should really be doing is upgrading to Option 3 of ET's broadband service and then I can receive not just a run of the mill old mobile phone but - a PDA! Yes, I can keep my existing number, and all this for less than I am paying at the moment!! Of course I accepted this once in a lifetime bargain offer - what could possibly go wrong?
The equipment arrived early last week - the boxes (yes, plural)were ominously large, and when opened I found them filled with a dazzling array of cables, electronic boxes and, oh yes, I nearly forgot my new phone - sorry PDA.
Some days (and one two hour phone call to ET) later, I found that, while I do indeed retain my mobile number, a new SIm card means all of my contact telephone numbers have gone and an awful lot of inputting names and numbers will be required. My internet service has also been up and doon more times than a hoor's drawers (as Rabbie Burns might have said, but probably didn't) but at least I have learned at last how to turn on my new phone - sorry, PDA. I can now be contacted wherever I roam - assuming, of course, that I learn how to answer a call on this new device. An old banger 'Pay As You Go' mobile has been retrieved from the back of a drawer and is charging, ready for action, as we speak - meanwhile the new PDA sits blinking at me in a silent, threatening manner; a malevolent, brooding presence.
If you do call, don't expect an answer anytime soon - I've got a hefty manual to study first!
See you next week, when - Option 3 permitting - I should be posting again.

This week's picture is the East End of Princes Street, taken through a window in the City Chambers. Edinburgh can be fairly bleak in January, but not quite so colourless - this is a black and white image!

Absolutely Bankers

Bailing out the Banks
With bank shares dropping through the floor, it seems another bail-out will be announced tomorrow. The figures being talked about are mind-boggling - ten billion, twenty billion - and it seems the level of our nation's debt (we're now talking trillions) is getting perilously close to outstripping our Gross National Product. What all this will ultimately mean for us, who knows? Whether the toxic debt underwriting scheme will inspire more confidence in our banking system, or get the banks lending again, does anyone really know? I spoke to one finance expert last week, and his thoughtful insight into our current woes was particularly gloomy. "We're up shit creek without a paddle", he declared. Actually he was a taxi driver, but profound words indeed ...
The only thing that is certain is that it's you and me who will pick up the final bill - and looking at the scale of the tab it's a burden that will be borne by generations to come too (or our children's children's children, as the dear old Moody Blues would have it).

Still Talking
Lots of meetings again over the course of the week, and if it wasn't meetings it was phone calls or emails about meetings. I won't bore you with the details of them all, but suffice to say that Fairer Scotland and Neighbourhood Partnership activities took up a lot of time. Thursday also saw a joint NEN staff/board meeting to look at the future of the community paper. Again, I won't divulge any details here but I don't think it's giving away too many secrets to say that we will be unlikely to remain in existence if we continue to rely on council grants. Time to start thinking 'outside the box', then, and my own view is that we should at least investigate the possibility of becoming a social enterprise. I came upon a story of a community newspaper in Arran who recently went down that route with some success, so for longer term sustainability I think it's worth a look.

Sport and Recreation
Not a lot of time for recreational activities this week, but called in at the Jinglin' Geordie after a late afternoon meeting in town on Wednesday. It was very quiet, but you're almost certain to meet up with an old friend when you call in and so it proved - my old friend Jimmy Burnett was there at the 'Last of the Summer Wine' end and I enjoyed a plesant hour of good 'non-meeting' conversation. I also enjoyed more than enough pints of lager, and felt the better for it (at the time at least).
Back to Easter Road on Saturday, although I would admit that if I wasn't a season ticket holder I wouldn't have been there. Like many Hibs supporters I have been fairly scunnered with the performances over the last few weeks, and I can't say I was looking forward to yesterday's gamw with St Mirren, who hve been on a bit of a roll recently. As it transpired Hibs did show signs of improvement (although honestly, after recent performances, they just couldn't have got any worse) and picked up a welcome win. There were some encouraging signs - Rob Jones was majestic at the back, our new keeper did what keepers are supposed to do and there was a new sharpness up front. However Hibs are far from the finished article and the midfield is still a concern. For too long in the second half Hibs gave up the middle of the park and defended too deep - better teams than St Mirren will punish us for that. Thank heavens for small mercies, though, an Riordan's exquisite finish to tie the game up lit up a dark, wet and windy afternoon.
Incidentally my superb tipping skills have seen me rise into the top 4000 of the BBC Scotland Predictor competition and my Jinglin' Geordie fantasy football team is climbing steadily up the table (I accept that I start from a low base). I usually find that, within hours of submitting my fantasy team selection, a fair number of my players either (a) lose both legs in an accident with a can opener, (b) give up football to concentrate on other activities, or (c) suddenly just become crap. It seems I now have eleven players who are at least still alive, which is a welcome development.
Still on entertainment, we're now into the Awards season and Kate Winslett must have already secured her place among the panoply of all-time great acceptance speechea. It was absolutely excruciating, gut wrenching, apalling, dreadful. No, I didn't like it much. She should be made to watch it on an endless loop for 24 hours or so. This should never be allowed to happen ever again.
If young Kate's speech made me cringe, I also had the misfortune to catch some of Caroline Quentin's new sit-com (an oxymoron, perhaps?) 'Life of Reilly'. Dire. Not funny. Is there anything new or amusing that can be done in a 'sit com' format? Not on this showing - as I say I didn't see it all, but a lengthy Neighbourhood Partnership meeting discussing street names would have had more laughs.

The Week Ahead
Meetings, delegations, more meetings and a Burns Supper at Edinburgh Unionist Club. Who said life is dull?
Meanwhile, Obama will be sworn in and one can only hope that he can bring his presence to bear to bring an end to the horrific suffering in Gaza. As a write there is supposedly a fragile cease fire in place, bringing some respite, but a lasting solution has to be found. The United States has got to play a key role in finding a resolution, and let's hope that a fresh start in America can mean fresh hope in the Middle East.

Back to work

The holiday's over, and it was back to work last week. A sense of deja vu about it all; you return to a desk where all the old problems are waiting for you. Top of the pile: yup, Fairer Scotland! Papers from the December Full Council, with Motions, amemdments, counter amendments, addendums - you name it, I've got a copy of it. What it all means - what was actually eventually agreed during the course of the COuncil meeting - takes a bit of working out (that's true to form, as nothing about Fairer Scotland has been anything like straightforward). The upshot, as I understand it, is that officials have been instructed to look at ways of finding transitional funding for the 16 projects affected by funding cuts in Forth. On the face of it that's quite a positive step, but experience has taught me to be cautious and I won't be breaking open the bubbly just yet.
A meeting of Forth's Voluntary Sector Forum on Tuesday resolved to refer our case to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, and to seek legal advice over the way Forth has been treated under new funding arrangements. Another letter to senior Services for Communities officials has now been sent, and yet another deputation - this time to Policy & Strategy on 20 January - to prepare for. Happy New Year!
The paper went to print on Thursday - front page lead is an update on Fairer Scotland. If I'm getting increasingly tired about writing about it, goodness only knows how our readers feel about reading it. Here's hoping there's something good to knock it off the front page next month (and I can confidently predict that there will be a February NEN!)
One nice wee story I covered this week was the planting of some young apple trees at Ferryhill School as part of the Commonwealth Orchard project. Some nice pictures despite the weather, and Green MSP Robin Harper was his ever-helpful cheery self. Robin was ably assisted by Inverleith councillor Tim McKay and Ferryhill's enthusiastic Eco-Committee, and the trees should be bearing fruit by the time of the Commonwealth Games. I hope the NEN's still around to cover it when that day comes.
The other, altogether less wholesome, story to intrude on our patch was the arrival of a team of police officers and forensic staff who descended on the patch of waste ground by Lidl/Iceland off West Granton Road on Friday morning. They combed this area and two other local sites in the search for more body parts in the ongoing investigation into the recent grisly 'Head in the Bag' incident. I understand that more remains have indeed been found.

Sport
Two big events this week. One - the Embassy Darts at The Lakeside. You know the New Year's really arrived when these gladiators take to the stage for the annual event, and while I didn't see as much of the tournamnet as I usually do I did see both semi-finals at most of the Final itself. Ted 'The Count' Hankey was the victor this year, winning a classic final over the amiable Tony 'Silverback' O'Shea. Apparantly Ted has cut his pre-match intake from eight pints to a just three pints, and this draconian fitness regime has clearly worked wonders! Must try it myself!
The other big event - or, sadly for Hibs fans, non-event - was the Scottish Cup tie against Hearts at Easter Road.
The day didn't dawn brightly - howling winds and heavy rain ensured this was never going to be a great exhibition of silky football - and a 12:15 kick off did nothing to lift the spirits either. As for the game itself - well, it was dire. A pernickety referee, atrocious conditions and a Hibs team that once again failed to rise to the ocassion. Then you had Steven Fletcher's moment of madness, getting sent off for a lunge that admittedly looked worse than it was, but nonetheless a challenge he should never have made.
Take nothing away from Hearts, they came to do a job, adapted well to the conditions and scored the all important opening goal. A one goal and one man advantage was more than they could have expected before half time, and they were always very comfortable after that. Hibs gave the impression that they could have played for the rest of Sunday and Monday too without scoring, and it was the lack of guile once again that was most worrying. Mixu had a full squad from which to choose, any number of different options, yet this was the best that they could produce. It was lamentable to watch, embarrasing at times and the season is now effectively over. Whether or not Hibs finish in the top six is really of little importance (admittedly you would prefer to see the Old Firm and another game against Hearts)so there's little to look forward to over the coming months. And Spartans got beat by Airdrie so I can't even follow them in the Cup.

Next Week
I'm taking a day off on Monday to catch up with just a few of the chores that have been neglected over recent weeks, and the NEN board and staff are having another Planning Session on Thursday. Monday night's Unionist CLub committee meeting has been postponed for a week (delighted to hear that) and the Edinburgh Association of Community Councils hold their first meeting of the year on Thursday night. Two weeks into the New Year and it's back into the old familiar routine of meetings, meetings, meetings - I haven't made any resolutions this year but I am adamant that I will try to drastically cut back on some of my voluntary duties. I am involved with 12 different groups, and while some are more demanding of your time than others it's still far too many. There's got to be time for life outside meetings too. Hasn't there?

This picture was taken when I was on my way into Ferryhill School the other day. Bleak midwinter?

Hello 2009 - and it's Derby Day

Derby Day - and the first of two games that will go a long way to determining the course of Hibs' season. I was at last week's game with Kilmarnock, and Hibs were truly awful - if they prove to be so totally inept today I predict a serious 'doing' at Tynecastle. The loss of Rob Jones is also a worry - there is no natural cover at centre half and it's a weakness that Hearts are more than capable of exploiting. There are few glimmers of light, though.
One - Hibs' inconsistency has been their one constant theme this season, with no consecutive performances the same, so they are unlikely to play quite as badly again today.
Two - on occasion, our 'big game' players turn it on in these encounters and raise their game. For Shiels, Riordan and Fletcher - they'll have to.
And three - Hearts are missing some key players, Aguiar in particular, so are not at full strength.
Only a fool predicts the outcome of these Derby games - so here goes! I've jut seen the respective line-ups and Hibs look desperately weak in midfield. Hope I'm wrong, but Hearts to win by two clear goals with at least one sending off (Bamba is a confident choice here). We'll know the outcome soon enough, with a crazy lunchtime kick off to suit TV.