This post is being typed up by my charming assistant who married me less than 14 days ago and ALREADY I'm in hospital.
Seriously though - the medics are concerned that I may have a pulmonary embolisim and are keeping me in overnight for observation before tomorrow's tests.
Back soon I hope.
The wife types - he should have worn his socks!!!
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Good week - Bad week
Good week:
Getting back home from our holiday/honeymoon in Barbados.
Barack Obama winning the Presidency of the USA.
Wedding congratulations from lots of family and friends.
Seeing the smirk wiped from Alex Salmond's smug face as the Gnats got thrashed in Glenrothes.
Having a house guest last night.
Catherine's folks offering to host a party to celebrate our marriage (accepted!)
Ros Scott winning an astonishing victory in the Lib Dem Federal Presidential race.
Seeing our holiday/honeymoon photos properly (I got a bit carried away and took over 1000 shots in 12 days).
Bad week:
Drop in temperature from 31C in Barbados to 9C in Carnbo.
10% drop in Lib Dem vote and lost deposit in Glenrothes.
Urgent GP appointment yesterday as left foot swollen to twice normal size and painful to walk on, being referred to hospital in Perth as GP suspected DVT. A 4 hour wait to see medic before having a blood thinning injection in stomach which was repeated today and will be repeated again tomorrow with a scan to follow on Monday. Bah!
Getting back home from our holiday/honeymoon in Barbados.
Barack Obama winning the Presidency of the USA.
Wedding congratulations from lots of family and friends.
Seeing the smirk wiped from Alex Salmond's smug face as the Gnats got thrashed in Glenrothes.
Having a house guest last night.
Catherine's folks offering to host a party to celebrate our marriage (accepted!)
Ros Scott winning an astonishing victory in the Lib Dem Federal Presidential race.
Seeing our holiday/honeymoon photos properly (I got a bit carried away and took over 1000 shots in 12 days).
Bad week:
Drop in temperature from 31C in Barbados to 9C in Carnbo.
10% drop in Lib Dem vote and lost deposit in Glenrothes.
Urgent GP appointment yesterday as left foot swollen to twice normal size and painful to walk on, being referred to hospital in Perth as GP suspected DVT. A 4 hour wait to see medic before having a blood thinning injection in stomach which was repeated today and will be repeated again tomorrow with a scan to follow on Monday. Bah!
Congratulations President-elect Ros Scott from one of the 72%
Baroness Ros Scott has stormed to an astounding victory in the race to become Federal President of the Liberal Democrats and I'm delighted to have backed her from an early stage.
The full result, which is all over the Lib Dem blogosphere, is:
Chandila Fernando 1 799 - 6%
Lembit Opik MP 6 247 - 22%
Baroness Ros Scott 20 736 - 72%
I supported Ros because I firmly believed that she was the candidate who would be the voice of the ordinary member and activist, was not an elected Parliamentarian, has experience in both Local Government and Lords, and has the character to effectively fulfil the onerous duties of the post. Ros will soon be getting an invite to come and visit us in the Ochil Lib Dems on her next trip to Scotland.
It's a particularly nice feeling to be on the wining side for a change as I didn't give my first preference to the winner in either of the last two Federal leadership contests or the last two Scottish Leadership contests. I think the last time I cast a vote for the winning candidate in any of these types of ballots was when Charles Kennedy got himself elected as Federal Leader.
My 1st preference for Ros was cast positively and not a vote against either Lembit or Chandila, both of whom I believe have much to contribute to our party in the future.
Many congratulations once again Ros. I'm sure that you'll be a President to be proud of.
The full result, which is all over the Lib Dem blogosphere, is:
Chandila Fernando 1 799 - 6%
Lembit Opik MP 6 247 - 22%
Baroness Ros Scott 20 736 - 72%
I supported Ros because I firmly believed that she was the candidate who would be the voice of the ordinary member and activist, was not an elected Parliamentarian, has experience in both Local Government and Lords, and has the character to effectively fulfil the onerous duties of the post. Ros will soon be getting an invite to come and visit us in the Ochil Lib Dems on her next trip to Scotland.
It's a particularly nice feeling to be on the wining side for a change as I didn't give my first preference to the winner in either of the last two Federal leadership contests or the last two Scottish Leadership contests. I think the last time I cast a vote for the winning candidate in any of these types of ballots was when Charles Kennedy got himself elected as Federal Leader.
My 1st preference for Ros was cast positively and not a vote against either Lembit or Chandila, both of whom I believe have much to contribute to our party in the future.
Many congratulations once again Ros. I'm sure that you'll be a President to be proud of.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Ouch! That was bloody painful.
Beaten into 4th by the Tories.
Bloody worrying.
Labour's 6000+ majority must cause serious concern for the Gnats.
I suspect that Mr Roy will actually be a good constituency MP.
Sqeeezed badly and a lost deposit with a drop in our vote of around 10%.
A bad, bad night and we must very soon address the issues which surround our party.
Is it time to remove all co-operation with the Gnats in Local Government?
Bloody worrying.
Labour's 6000+ majority must cause serious concern for the Gnats.
I suspect that Mr Roy will actually be a good constituency MP.
Sqeeezed badly and a lost deposit with a drop in our vote of around 10%.
A bad, bad night and we must very soon address the issues which surround our party.
Is it time to remove all co-operation with the Gnats in Local Government?
Is this another Garscadden?
It seems from watching the Gnits and NuLab on the beeb that Lindsay Roy has won the Glenrothes by-election for Labour.
If this is indeed true then I wonder if the waves of the high tide of Gnantionalism have crashed ashore on the jaggy rocks of Scottish sensibility as happened in the Garscadden bye-election of 1978(?).
OK, it seems that we've may have lost our deposit but I'll make the usual excuses that we've been squeezed.
Looks like that the "broon boonce" exists.
Mea culpa that I've not been to help out.
If this is indeed true then I wonder if the waves of the high tide of Gnantionalism have crashed ashore on the jaggy rocks of Scottish sensibility as happened in the Garscadden bye-election of 1978(?).
OK, it seems that we've may have lost our deposit but I'll make the usual excuses that we've been squeezed.
Looks like that the "broon boonce" exists.
Mea culpa that I've not been to help out.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
F1 shamed as Ecclestone panders to racism
F1's head honcho Bernie Ecclestone has embarrassed the sport by saying that those Spanish "fans" who blacked their faces, wore Afro wigs and barracked Lewis Hamilton weren't being racist. He said "It's all nonsense. In Spain people supported Fernando Alonso and in Brazil they supported Felipe Massa." Adding "I don't think it's anything to do with racism."
Well it seems pretty obvious that he doesn't think. He fails to comment on the overtly racist banners on display for 3 days at the Spanish Grand Prix. He also fails to take into account the views of the person who was on the receiving end of this overt racism, Lewis Hamilton, who has been quoted as saying "I didn't see it as a joke."
The BBC website has also reported on a worrying website:
"Visitors to a "voodoo-style" website were invited to drop imaginary nails on a computer version of the Interlagos track, in the hope that Hamilton would suffer a puncture. Many of the posts were obscene, while others referred to Hamilton's colour."
Hamilton's Father has also commented:
"My family have taken a lot of stick this past week, not just this week, but the past few months,"
"I did think that maybe this isn't the place for my family because as a parent you make sure you do right for your family and kids."
"But I never said anything to Lewis. I kept it to myself, even though I was going home and thinking 'I didn't think the world was quite like this'."
Yesterday I thought that the world was moving on with the election of Barack Obama as the first black President of the USA, but today, with Ecclestone's stupid comments, we see that the foul beast of racism still lives. I'm not, of course, accusing Ecclestone of racism himself but I am accusing him of having outdated old fashioned attitudes. All sporting organisations must do all in their power to change attitudes of ignorant and uneducated adherents of their sports.
Surely we should judge our fellow human beings on the words they speak and the deeds they do, not on the colour of their skin.
Well it seems pretty obvious that he doesn't think. He fails to comment on the overtly racist banners on display for 3 days at the Spanish Grand Prix. He also fails to take into account the views of the person who was on the receiving end of this overt racism, Lewis Hamilton, who has been quoted as saying "I didn't see it as a joke."
The BBC website has also reported on a worrying website:
"Visitors to a "voodoo-style" website were invited to drop imaginary nails on a computer version of the Interlagos track, in the hope that Hamilton would suffer a puncture. Many of the posts were obscene, while others referred to Hamilton's colour."
Hamilton's Father has also commented:
"My family have taken a lot of stick this past week, not just this week, but the past few months,"
"I did think that maybe this isn't the place for my family because as a parent you make sure you do right for your family and kids."
"But I never said anything to Lewis. I kept it to myself, even though I was going home and thinking 'I didn't think the world was quite like this'."
Yesterday I thought that the world was moving on with the election of Barack Obama as the first black President of the USA, but today, with Ecclestone's stupid comments, we see that the foul beast of racism still lives. I'm not, of course, accusing Ecclestone of racism himself but I am accusing him of having outdated old fashioned attitudes. All sporting organisations must do all in their power to change attitudes of ignorant and uneducated adherents of their sports.
Surely we should judge our fellow human beings on the words they speak and the deeds they do, not on the colour of their skin.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
An unconsidered downside of rustic life
Mutterings, mumblings and sotto voce cursing.
Tonight's one of my two favourite celebrations in the year, being Guy Fawkes night when I normally have fun with fireworks. The other night which I particularly enjoy is Halloween with all it's ghosties, ghoulies (note correct spelling) and hints of Samhain (note potential spelling disagreements).
Sadly there's been a marital bull issued against my pyrotechnic proclivities due to the assorted coos, horses and sheeps in the vicinity - can't scare the livestock says she. OK, says me, fair enough. Can we have some over at your Mum & Dad's says I hopefully? Nope - too many overhead wires. Bah!
Cunning plan for next year is to buy fireworks that are only pretty colours and don't make nasty bangs. Sorted!
Tonight's one of my two favourite celebrations in the year, being Guy Fawkes night when I normally have fun with fireworks. The other night which I particularly enjoy is Halloween with all it's ghosties, ghoulies (note correct spelling) and hints of Samhain (note potential spelling disagreements).
Sadly there's been a marital bull issued against my pyrotechnic proclivities due to the assorted coos, horses and sheeps in the vicinity - can't scare the livestock says she. OK, says me, fair enough. Can we have some over at your Mum & Dad's says I hopefully? Nope - too many overhead wires. Bah!
Cunning plan for next year is to buy fireworks that are only pretty colours and don't make nasty bangs. Sorted!
McCain Palin into insignificance - Obama a victory for hope
It's stupid o'clock in the morning and I should be thankful for jetlag, however, it would seem that the next President of the USA wil be Barack Obama and that victory truly will be a victory for hope in this benighted world. A great taboo has been broken in America today.
Yes, I know that he's got faults - hey, who is perfect? This win though is a ray of light in a world with too many dark corners. maybe he'll let us down as New labour did but at least we know he'll be really trying for a better world and trying his very, very best for the people of the US.
As a matter of history; what was I doing when the news came through? discussing how to get port out of a cat and a sofa!
Yes, I know that he's got faults - hey, who is perfect? This win though is a ray of light in a world with too many dark corners. maybe he'll let us down as New labour did but at least we know he'll be really trying for a better world and trying his very, very best for the people of the US.
As a matter of history; what was I doing when the news came through? discussing how to get port out of a cat and a sofa!
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
We got married in Barbados!
Catherine and I would like to announce that we were married on Monday the 27th of October 2008 in a ceremony held in St Matthias Magistrate's Court, in the Parish of Christ Church, Barbados.
We deliberately kept the nuptials quiet and our respective families, friends and mutual friends were not told until after the event. This was because we wanted a simple and private ceremony which was an affirmation of our love for each other. We intend to further celebrate with a party here in Kinross-shire at a later date.
The holiday in Barbados was originally booked as Catherine was attending a Soroptimist conference in Bridgetown from the 30th October to the 1st of November.
Happy!
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