Ho! Ho! Ho!

I wish to register my disappointment in the ‘Boycott Scotland’ campaign you are currently running. Not because I believe that the release of Abdelbasset Ali al-Megrahi was right, but more that you are attempting to penalise the people of Scotland – most of whom were against the release of this terrorist – myself included.

I believe that Kenny MacAskill should not have had the power to take this decision in the first place. Matters such as this should never be in the hands of politicians, as they will always be politicised. This descision should have been made by our Law Lords, and I will be writing to my MSP regarding this matter.

I believe that there is a lot more to this disaster, but the British and United States Governments have both resisted calls to hold a public enquiry. You may wish to add to your website, an appeal for a public enquiry, as this is really the only way the families will get the justice and closure they deserve.

Finally, I wish to state: “THIS WAS NOT DONE IN MY NAME”.

Yours faithfully,
Stewart Priest
Glasgow, Scotland

Today, I’m calling on the readers of my blog to help a charity which is very personal to me: No Strings Attached (Scotland). The reason I’m using my blog to promote this charity is because I’m trying to drum up enough votes to enable them to be appointed as the official charity of the Glasgow Twestival. What’s a Twestival? It’s a Twitter Festival. Basically, there will be an evening of music and fun at a venue in Glasgow city centre which will hopefully raise lots of money, and I’d love for No Strings Attached Scotland to be the recipient of the proceeds. It’s a very worth charity.

No Strings Attached (Scotland) aims to help children and young people with asthma better control their condition through playing wind instruments like the flute, clarinet, etc. It helps increase lung capacity and stamina, and I know from personal experience that it works. They also aim to educate children and young people about their condition, and steps they can take to help themselves.

Please vote for No Strings Attached (Scotland) here, and you can listen to my personal plea on the charity’s website here.

So it appears that everyone around me is coming down with Swine Flu. My sister, last night, was one of the latest to become a confirmed case, and my mum was swabbed last night by a nurse – we’re now waiting for the results of that test.

I’ve been lucky – so far. I’m not displaying any symptoms, and I don’t really intend to put myself in harm’s way. I’m currently working from home because I’ve become the office leper (you see, I’m not ill, but they don’t want to take the chance), so I’m holed up in my bedroom with my laptop, TV and Xbox. I could do with a small fridge and a microwave – then I’d be truly self-sufficient. I’m pretty much ready for a nuclear holocaust – my room has become my own personal nuclear bunker – now, where did I put my shortwave radio?

It’s pretty bizarre being thrust into the middle of a Swine Flu zone. Up until now, it was something which was happening to other people. It was happening in other parts of the country, other parts of the city, but it wasn’t happening to anyone I had met or anyone I knew. Until Sunday. If you’ve read my last blog entry, you’ll know that I went to Glasgow’s West End Festival. It was there that I came into contact with someone who’s now been confirmed as being H1N1 positive. Unknown to me, my sister had been in this person’s company a lot over the previous couple of days, and I suspect that’s how she ended up with the virus. In turn, it would seem logical that this is how my mum ended up with symptoms.

I feel a little let down by the public health authorities in Glasgow. I understand that this pandemic is a living, breathing, evolving entity, but NHS Scotland (via NHS24) and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde don’t appear to be singing from the same hymnsheet. My GP informed me that it was my decision whether I attended work or not. He also stated that they were no longer conducting swab tests for suspected cases. This was directly contradicted by the NHS Scotland nurse who came out to test my mum last night. This, coupled with the fact that other GPs in the same area are testing patients, etc., I am forced to ask the question: If different public health agencies are not approaching the pandemic situation in a uniform way, how do they plan to minimise the impact it has on the country? In other words, how do they plan on minimising the risk of me getting it?

So, I await the results of my mum’s test, and we’ll see whether I eventually succumb.

Image by rumpleteaser on Flickr. Used under licence.

It all started when Mrs. Stewart said “let’s go to the West End Festival”. At this point, I thought that was a good idea. We’ll walk along to Byres Road, have a nice brunch at AdLib, and then head along to Kelvingrove Park for the Mardi Gras parade.

So, we set off at 12:30 and enjoyed said brunch. I had the All-American Breakfast minus the tomato and mushrooms, if you’re interested. I also got baked beans as a substitute for that less-desirable veg. All-in-all though, Ad Lib is a very nice place to brunch. Particularly on a nice day like today.

Once we were done with the brunch, we made our way along to Kelvin Way and Kelvingrove Park. There were plenty of stands, fast food places and ice cream vans, but my favourite stand was at the skate park. They had a BMX stunt display which was very, very impressive. A true testament to the skill of the riders - I want to say artists, but I’m not really sure if BMX stunts can be defined as art - and to the technology employed to build the bikes these guys ride. Death-defying leaps from platforms showed that not even these guys are able to escape the forces of gravity.

The Mardi Gras parade was only OK – it wasn’t great. There were loads of colourful costumes, and the band leading the parade, like last year was outstanding, but overall, it was average. There weren’t as many groups in the parade, and in my opinion, the organisers made a mistake in having the parade proceed down Kelvin Way. If anyone from the organising committee happens to be reading this, please switch back to Byres Road. There was much more of a community spirit in previous years.

We finished off the day sitting in the park before stopping for a drink in The Goat. It was at that point that I realised my foot was sore. However, not being one to remove my shoes and socks in a pub, I elected to keep my feet in my trainers until I got home. Which is now.

My feet are swollen, and I have a H-U-G-E blister on the heel of my left one. I suspect that this may be due to the fact that my trainers are completely done and ready to be thrown out, but I love them so. I’m not one to complain too much though, so let’s just leave it at that.

I’ve had a great day, and I appear to be a bit burnt (in a Close Encounters of the Third Kind) sort of a way, so I think I may be keeping a low profile for the next few days.