A hard fecht!

Let`s face it - standing in any election in Scotland as a Conservative is a bit of a challenge. Going round the doors the government of Margaret Thatcher is still thrown in your face . . .  and that`s going back decades! Scots have long memories - particularkly of the dreaded polltax.

However on a local level as councillors we have a good record; in the past five years we`ve turned South Ayrshire Council around from running at a loss to having healthy reserves and we
have a good message to put out - so why does the national government (Westminster)seem hellbent on making life difficult for us?

First there was the `granny bashing` in the budget - and dare I say it a lot of our supporters qualify for the bus pass -  rapidly followed by the kitchen suppers at Dowing Street, hints of buying influence, then we had the wonderful Francis Maude.


We are panicked in buying up petrol because of a strike that hasn`t taken place,with queues at filling stations and some running dry.  Then it is suggested a we should hoard petrol in containers, against all the advice of the Fire Rescue Services.  And I am not even going to get into the fiasco of the VAT on hot pasties!  What will happen to all those queues at Greggs waiting for sausage rolls?

The government looks hapless and is widely portrayed in the press as being out of touch with the electorate.

Fortunately the same cannot be said about your local Conservatives who are all about working with the local communities, giving people more responsibility for their own lives.

A message I will be trying to put out as the campaigning for the local elections steps up a gear.

Perception`s the thing

One of the first things I learned when I became a councillor almost five years ago was how important perception is.  The late Gibson Macdonald was the first to ram the message home to a very green councillor, but how important it is has become clear over the past years.

It`s not so much what you do . . .  it`s what the public think you are doing.

What do I mean?  Well being on the planning committee (regulatory panel) it is vital to remain impartial, so if a planning application is coming up you can`t discuss it with anyone connected to the project. And you can`t even be seen in the company of anyone connected with the project.

You might be talking to the managing director of a building company about the price of bread . . .  but what anyone witnessing the conversation thinks can come back to bite you. So you keep your distance. Common sense really for a politician.

Seems a bit drastic?  Maybe but that`s how it is and it is what our parliamentary representatives seem to forget when they get to Westminster - or Holyrood for that matter.  Witness this week`s hoohah about kitchen suppers at Downing Street.  They may well have been perfectly innocent but that`s not the perception.

They could do well taking up the South Ayrshire motto `Ne`er forget the people`- because they`re watching you!

Was interested to see the first local newspaper tack on last week`s Conservative Party Conference in Troon.  Apparently the town was brought to a standstill by the arrival of the Prime Minister on Friday. Not true but don`t let the facts spoil a good story. It is true there was a strong police presence (understandably) but when I arrived Troon seemed to be moving as usual.

However the event did provide a good conversation stopper.  Speaking to my daughter on Friday evening.... `And what did you do today? .... I met the Prime Minister!

Torchlight express

It seemed like such a great idea . . .  the Olympic torch being carried round the UK by a series of local runners.  Exciting for those taking part, their families and friends.  Something to remember all their lives.

When the idea was announced, names were sought of worthy people to carry the torch. And with it coming up through most of South Ayrshire a number of runners would be needed - 29 in fact - who  would each run around 300 metres before handing on the torch to the next person.

And 29 we have - but only nine of these are local and none are running in the area they come from. And to add to the confusion the remaining runners don`t just come from the rest of Scotland, there are a few runners from abroad! It goes without saying the choices were made south of the border!

However I`ll try not to be a spoilsport - like the local papers.  Let`s look on the positive side.  Plans are underway to make sure all  South Ayshire`s schoolchildren get a  chance to see the torch on its way up the A77 on June 8. And it is the children who are most likely to be excited about the whole idea.  A South Ayrshire song has been written to celebrate the occasion and will be sung by various groups as the runners pass through.

And there is an added bonus.  With worldwide press coverage SAC won`t want to see a runner falling into a pothole! So look out for some essential road repairing over the next few months

Curtain up at last?

Things are moving at last on the GaietyTheatre. . . .   how many times have we thought that over the past four years?

However this time it looks as if we might see - note I still use the cautionary `might` -  the curtain rise at the Ayr theatre before the end of the year and probably more importantly before the local operatic societies go out of business.  They have really missed the theatre - the Town Hall and Citadel are just not suitable for theatrical productions.

But I digress

The specail council meeting last week saw members approve £150,000 a year for the next five years to help get the theatre up and running - on top of cash from the Scottish Government provided specifically to get the curtain up before Christmas.  (Again I am being cautious - everybody else is talking about the autumn, But I`ve been here before! I will be delighted to be proved wrong)

And credit where it`s due, if the government minister Alex Neil hadn`t stepped foward in a blaze of publicity, (naturally just before the local elections!)  providing the cash and thus the momentum, we would still be talking round in circles with ifs, buts, maybes.

But now it looks as if the theatre will open; the cafe/bar is ready, just waiting for the right operator and two high profile companies seem to be interested; there`s cash for  the rehearsal rooms/ studios which can take small productions and the government money will go to the main auditorium. A `manager` has been appointed, so it looks set to go.

As I said at the council meeting it has been a long haul and we are `stuck with` (I used the phrase advisedly) the Gaiety Partnership who have been trying to get the project off the ground for more than three years.  They were the preferred bidders and although the make-up of the partnership has changed over that time they at  last have a business plan - one that has been approved by the government, thus the cash - and things should start moving and soon

The public - you out there - have loudly supported the campaign to have the theatre re-open.
Once it is, your job isn`t over . . .  you have to fill the seats.  That will be the real test.

Apathy rules

I WAS at church this Sunday morning (November 8) and I have to admit this is not my usual activity on the Sabbath - unlike when I was a kid and church and Sunday School were part of my weekly programme. No way would I be allowed to miss either. Bible Class and Church Choir followed as I got older and continued until I worked away from home. How times have changed.

The kirk was Kirkoswald and I was attending in my official capacity as councillor - it was my privilege to lay the council poppy wreath at the war memorial.

What surprised me - no I will strengthen that - what shocked me was that there were so few in the congregation. Around 20 attended the service, most of whom would not see 60 again. I found that surprisingly depressing paticularly on Remembrance Sunday and when our young soldiers are being killed every week and the debate about the Afghan War is so high on the national agenda.


After the service we walked down to the war memorial which edges the busy A77 and there was something so inappropriate about cars and lorries whizzing by as we were remembering the dead of all recent wars.

But hey the church wasn`t the only barely attended event of the past week or so. Another example of public apathy was the council`s big `Conversation` in Maybole which managed to attract barey 20 local people, despite being advertised all over North Carrick - the target audience.
The aim of the Converstion was for the Chief Executive and Council Leader to advise people of the diffricult times ahead and the cuts that might have to be made. There was also a chance to ask questions and air beefs - everybody has some beef against the cooncil. But few decided to take advantage of the opportunity. More such events are being held - each ward in South Ayrshire will host one - so it will be interesting to see if they attract a bigger audience.

Then there was the night with John Cairney in Maybole Town Hall which struggled to attract an audience and the organisers of the Homecoming event had sleepless nights in case they faced the embarrassment of a half empty hall. It was a close call but eventually they managed a respectable audience - all of whom I may add enjoyed a great night`s entertainment. Cairney may be in his 80the year (he looks and sounds a good 20 years younger) he has lost none of the charm, personality and acting prowess that has seen him through a lifetime of being or speaking about, Robert Burns.

After an evening of anecdotes on his life as Burns he happily answered questions from the auidence. As I said, a wonderful night of live entertainment which I would have thought would have had House Full signs up. As one organiser asked - What do you need to do to get folk out?

French connection

I COULDN`T help but smile last week as I read of the squeals of `unfair`coming from Glasgow Airport when the Scottish government cancelled the plans for a rail link from the city centre to the airport. Now they know what it feels like. Twenty or so years ago they were happily conspiring to see the closure of Prestwick Airport and turned deaf ears to our cries of unfair practice.

Of course the success of Prestwick is a subject close to my heart (the book is The Dream that Wouldn`t Die on is still on sale from the website of the same name!) and I was interested to see how busy or otherwise it was last week as I tragelled to Beauvais, one of the routes Ryanair have left untouched (for the moment at least).

And I couldn`t help but ponder on how while making cheap travel to Europe accessible to us all Mr O`Leary is gradually taking the joy out of the journey. This was the first time I was dealing with the new luggage restrictions - carrying on my case with a weight restriction of 10kilogrammes.

The conversation in the transit lounge, I kid you not, was all about the weight of our cases, whether our cases were too big to pass inspection, and the acceptance of the sad fact we could bring few if any souvenirs home. It turned out we were lucky as two flights were leaving around the same time and the luggage police were concentrating on the hapless Frankfurt-bound passengers. I watched astonished as a woman, picked at random, had to open her case, put on a cardigan, a shawl and her husband took on another item of clothing. They were then allowed to board the plane -with the same weight of clothing though some of it now on the body instead of in the case. Madness.

Next thing Ryanair will be introducing body searches not for contraband or explosive devices but to see hoew many layers of clothes you are wearing!

On the way back I fell foul of the not enough make-up items in the plastic bag regime and watched in horror as the attendant considered whether to discard a bottle of Chanel No 5. It could have led to violence - but I was lucky and it went back into my case though a tube of moisturiser went into the bucket.

My weekend was to St Germain-en-Laye the Ayr Twin Town (a private visit I may add - no council cash involved) and a lot of the discussion there was around the future of twinning in the 21st century. This trip was more like a pensioners` outing than a vibrant exhange! In St Germain some young families have joined their association and this is what we need to attempt here or the movement will just fade away, which would be sad after 25 years. Twinning has as lot to offer. You learn so much more about your Continental neighbours living in their homes than you ever will sitting round a swimming pool, competing for deck chairs or talking in cafes.

While there we talked of youth exchanges through schools - sports tournaments, golf and rugby matches and music was also a suggested means of increasing the interest of children and through them their parents in twinning. Time will tell.