Category Archives: Community

69: Centenary School

Posted on February 25, 2011 by davidsberry

Off to Dirleton School last night to meet with two dozen parents, teachers and locals. This was not the normal enthusiastically attended School Parent Council (I attended one where two in three pupils had parents there) but a gathering called … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Education | Leave a comment

71: Parliamo Politico III

Posted on February 23, 2011 by davidsberry

Let’s Talk Pencil-Pusher: Lesson III—Disabling Envelopment (Third of a series, translating bureaucrat-speak into what it means for folk in East Lothian) “Enabling Development” is a phrase used by planners in councils to allow things to be built they would not … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community, Politics | Tagged | 4 Comments

72: Round in Circles

Posted on February 22, 2011 by davidsberry

Starting in 2007, Haddington had a one-way system imposed on the town centre for months while the jewellers was reconstructed. That was barely done last year when the huge John Gray Centre conversion of the historic Sinclair-McGill building and Procurator … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Transport | Tagged | 1 Comment

73: Archaeology of the Mouth

Posted on February 21, 2011 by davidsberry

I was flattered to be asked by Paul, a budding local director, to do a brief Q&A on the whale’s jawbone atop our Law. He had decided that his assignment from Telford’s Digital Media course to document a statue lacked passion and … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Education, Environment | Tagged | Leave a comment

75: Feel the Beat

Posted on February 19, 2011 by davidsberry

I regard it as a great privilege to chair East Lothian’s License Board, especially as the staff have now steered several hundred premises through the vagaries of implementing the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and its huge differences from the previous … Continue reading →

Posted in Community | Tagged | Leave a comment

76: Where There’s Muck, There’s Brass

Posted on February 18, 2011 by davidsberry

Despite still being Europe’s muckiest power station (5m tonnes of carbon p.a.) things have gone quiet around ScottishPower’s proposal to coin more millions for their Iberdrola masters by adapting the coal-fired station at Cockenzie into a CCGT (Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine) … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community | Tagged | 1 Comment

77: Belters’ Pelters

Posted on February 17, 2011 by davidsberry

There is nothing wrong with exercising a good pair of lungs on behalf of other people; it’s at the heart of democracy and community. Any councillor worth their salt gets it tight on a regular basis, using the ear-drubbing to … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community, Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

80 Days to Decide

Posted on February 14, 2011 by davidsberry

Plenty of time, then, in which to make up your mind. Perhaps a table of comparison between the two main contenders—Labour and SNP—at our local council level would help. After all, Labour had long experience running this county for thirty … Continue reading →

Posted in Commerce, Community, Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

81: Parliamo Politico II

Posted on February 13, 2011 by davidsberry

Let’s Talk Pencil-Pusher: Lesson II—Beancounting for Beginners (Second of a series, translating bureaucrat-speak into what it means for folk in East Lothian) Our UK-wide BBC has focussed on horror stories of English council cuts, ranging from 8.8% in poor Hackney, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Education, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

83: Bob’s Been Busy

Posted on February 11, 2011 by davidsberry

With pressure off after ELC budget-setting on Tuesday, I took a tour of some of the local projects we’ve been funding across the county. Since our Labour opponents in the council and Holyrood both threw their toys so emphatically out … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment