Everyone a critic

EVERYONE`S a critic these days!

That`s something you discover if you`re a councillor - and we of the South Ayrshire variety have had a particularly hard time over the past few months. I think only the MPs with their expense claims havE had it harder.

And fair enough we probably deserve some of it, but not all. But the armchair critics have had a field day, particuloarly the anonymous ones who write to the local papers handing out the criticism yet don`t have the courage of their convictions to add their name and address at the end.

And there`s the made-up letters - yes they do extist. The ones created by political opponents who add non-existent names and addresses to their billets doux. Yes it happens more than you realise.

But that said, a busy Letters Page is good for democracy and for the local press sales and in the past few weeks I have been called self-centred, arrogant, po-faced,
greedy, amonst other things.

The self-centred and arrogant were diected at me personally by an anonymous critic who berated me for voting for the closure of the Girvan pool and implyong I was also happy to vote for the Gaiety closure. The first I could take - I did vote for the Girvan pool closure fully aware that its demise more or less guaranteed that Maybole Pool would stay open. I have a duty to my constituents.

But I stongly objected to the claims re the Gaiety considering I have been at the forefront of the campaign to save the theatre from closure and not only helped organise the mass meeting in January but masterminded the press campaign through December and January. But the letter writers in the main are not interested in dealing with facts just their own interpretation of events. Why bother with the truth - it might spoil a `good` letter.

The po-faced accustion came not from a letter-writer but a journalist who should have known better - this is opinion slipping in amongst facts which is all too common these days. This journalist claimed the Licensing Board were po-faced for clamping down on dating games and poles in licensed premises. If the same reporter had bothered to find out the information we had in front of us about the date games and the vile, abusive and sexually explicit words that were being posted on the date game boards in the bars, he would not have been so quick to critisice. Likewise what was happening with these poles!

But again why let facts spoil a good story.

As it happens the Licensing Board are meeting this week to look at our policy on so-called adult entertainment in local licensed premises - to see if there is any case for easing up on our current blanket ban. Will keep you posted.

And on the Gaiety, there is a consultation meeting in the County Hall this week with all the local interested groups (invitation only)- the latest stage in the process towards saving and re-opening the theatre under a new management structure.