Boycott Heinz

If anyone wants to complain to Heinz about their decision to pull the gay kiss advert after a paltry 200 people complained that two men kissed here are the details of their UK contact person;

Nigel Dickie, Director of UK Corporate and Government Affairs
Telephone: 020 8848 2726
E-mail: Nigel.Dickie@uk.hjheinz.com
Heinz’s free phone number: 0800 528 5757

There is also a newspaper article, if anyone wants to look that up, it’s at www.one80news.co.uk

And Nick Clegg, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats is the only political leader to complain to Heinz - well done Nick - http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8129.html

First Ministers Questions

Arrogant posturing, grandstanding or just being his true self once again.

That was my verdict after watching First Ministers Questions live at Holyrood today.

Day by day the teflon is coming off Alex Salmond and given the amount of broken promises he and the SNP should hang their heads in shame as re-reading their 2007 manifesto you do wonder what they will actually deliver on - very little.

Wendy Alexander, did actually turn up, despite a bad sore throat and started FMQ's off, and the way Alex Salmond responded you thought, whoa he's back, no, just grandstanding to the audience and especially Sean Connery, fresh in from the Bahamas or some other super star area of the world.

Alex Salmond's behaviour is completely unacceptable.

However, Nicol Stephen was amazing, I did wonder where his question was leading but pow, wham, he lands a punch and you could just see the effect his question had on Salmond, he wasn't happy.

Nicol - keep up the good work and fighting for the people of Scotland, exposing the SNP's weakness and constant stream of broken promises.

The view from the train

This is the life
------------------

The view from the train

This is the life
------------------

Off to Dingwall

This is strange - I now have a job where I'm paid to visit some of the most beautiful parts of the UK.

Today I'm off up to Charles Kennedy MPs office in Dingwall, bizarrely I've been to Dingwall many times before but as a holidaying tourist.

I will try and add pictures as I go along today of my journey from Edinburgh to Dingwall via Perth and Inverness.

Just passed Kirkcaldy and seen a seal with two cubs - is that what a baby seal is called?
------------------

National Express (trains) are absolutely rubbish

So, day after major rail troubles - approx 15 cancellations - and their own advice, "go home and travel tomorrow" they forget to mention there is no space.

6.15am service - around one carriage of unreserved seats, but by the time I got there, they'd all gone.

So, I aim for the 7am service - but thank goodness I was fast - just 2 seats per carriage in standard class were unreserved - absolutely pathetic.

To the managers of National Express - why did you not put an extra carriage on the trains today to at least part compensate? Your management of the situation yesterday was nothing short of rubbish and your management of the follow up today was also rubbish.

There were no managers around yesterday and strangely they were all absent again today leaving your frontline staff to take the strain.

If I could take my custom elsewhere I would but under this stupid Government I can't.
------------------

Oh what a beautiful morning

Didn't get to bed til really late (for me) as discovered Facebook groups for my old Primary and Secondary schools which brought back memories, happy (ish) ones.

The alarm went off this morning at 3.50am although I'd had a fairly broken nights sleep, Zennor was in her usual place when I'm home, nose pressed against the bedroom door trying to get in.

The birds were in full dawn chorus and the sky lit up with wisps of red clouds dotted along the horizon.

As I'm laden with various bits of luggage I have a cab booked for 4.20am so I can catch the 4.46am train to London Charing Cross, which I'm sat waiting for now.

Although I nearly missed the train as Zennor who loves being fussed and stroked (you really can't fuss her too much) decided on delay tactics today.

I opened my case to put in the laptop power cable and wham, she was in, curled and up and comfy - see picture.

I put down more biscuits for her but she was having none of it, so I nudged her a bit and she curled up again so I had to be the nasty daddy and pick her up and move her out - sorry Zen.

Well I'm on the train and now about to start reading my book, Commando by Chris Terrill - a great read!
------------------

Kings Cross and National Express

I've arrived at Kings Cross in plenty of time for my 2.30pm train to Edinburgh.

Unfortunately the 1pm, 1.10pm and 2pm are still here and have serious delays due to overhead power lines at Welwyn Garden City.

The advice is travel tomorrow!

Not the most helpful advice I've ever heard and little or no compensation.

To say it is utter chaos here is somewhat an understatement.
------------------

Oh my god I ache

This will be the first time in 10 years I have not attended a by-election and it feels really strange knowing all my friends and colleagues are down in Henley fighting for Stephen Kearney.

But, I will be hitting the telphone for them all next week.

However, I have in my new job already hit the ground running here in Scotland and yesterday was on the tug of war team - but oh my god am I paying today, as the day has gone on I ache more and more.

Lib Dems winning here

Well, I can honestly say tug of war is not as easy as it seems.

I was on the Lib Dem team for the Holyrood Parliament annual tug of war competition (opened by Alex Salmond).

There was Jenny, Polly, Matthew, David, Jim Hume MSP and I on the team with Craig and Callum as the cheerleaders in mini skirts - I kid you not, they breed them hard up here.

Our first draw was against Labour, best of two. Labour won the first and we the second.

Next we were drawn against the skippers (I think) and we won two nil.

Round three we drew HBOS - oh my god - everyone was a bodybuilder or head of security, no way was there an ounce of financial advice in that team and they won two nil.

That meant in group four we had tied second with Labour and the top two were due to go through to the quarter finals so a play off was due.

We whooped Labours ass two nil and our best performance all evening.

So then we were up against The Scotsman (newspaper) - we lost two nil, we were out so then it was team photo time - see an upcoming Lib Dem News its bound to make it in.

The cheerleaders were awesome getting us all pulling together although Craig had to watch how much he kept bouncing around the skirt was a tad short lol.

Great team effort!

All this on a day when Bruce Crawford, SNP Minister completely cocked up taking a Bill through.

Bye bye Mr Crawford!
------------------

Travelling and oooooooooo!

Well, finally our Dartford flat has gone on the market http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-21817562.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

It is quite strange seeing it on t'interweb

I am furnishing the Edinburgh flat slowly but tastefully.

The new job is amazing, I am working with some exceptionally talented people and that just makes the job so much easier.

The travelling around the country is hardly a chore, although there was a funny moment when I said to Michael Moore MP, "how far away is the nearest train station?" Mike replied "at least five years".

I got the bus instead :-)

So far I have visited Dalbeath to deliver leaflets (Willie Rennie MP & Jim Tolson MSP), Inverurie to deliver more leaflets and brainstorming (Malcolm Bruce MP & Alison McInnes MSP), Cupar (Sir Menzies Campbell MP and Iain Smith MSP), Galashiels (Mike Moore MP and Jeremy Purvis MSP) and every evening I return home which is in the target seat of Edinburgh North & Leith (Kevin Lang).

Next week I am off to Dunfermline, Inverness and Glasgow.

I'm back!

Well, that's my first seven days in Scotland sorted, I'm back down in Dartford until Sunday to see Rog and Zenbo and then tomorrow we get to see little 'un. That's Aaron Watts to you lot.

I've got a lot done this week and I'm in a great position to have Charlie Mollison and Charles Dundas with me and then on top a great team of organisers - come on bring it on.

I've set some plans out of where I'd like to take the campaigning and everyone seems to agree which is fantastic.

------------------