TRAM WORK TO PROCEED

After a heated debate the Edinburgh Council has decided to continue the building of the Trams and include St Andrew's Square.
I had a bet with my better half last night that this would be the conclusion but it really wasn't rocket science to work that out.
If the council had voted to stop the works then so much horrendous upheaval, and costs, would have been in vain. If they had voted to continue with the route but only as far as Haymarket I think we would have seen a riot by the Edinburgh folk.
Waverley Station is the major railway station in Edinburgh situated off Princes St and just a 3 minute walk to St Andrew's Square.
If travellers would have had to make their way to Haymarket in order to get the tram to Edinburgh Airport then they would have been so much quicker getting the Airport Shuttle bus.

One thing is desparately needed though. The leader of the Edinburgh Council, Jenny Dowe, needs to be removed as she shows no understanding of money values or responsibility.
She was on the news last night making a vague attempt to explain her 'little glitch' comments but only succeeded in digging herself into a deeper hole.
She said that the overspend was just in the same line as other major projects that ran over budget so it wasn't really a big deal but in fact just to be expected.
The Scottish Parliament became a laughing disgrace because of the horrendous spiraling costs in building it ( and for what? - a building that looks like an advert for IKEA from the outside and cement work that is already showing distress!!!)
Does Jenny Dowe think that gives the Council the right to have a blank cheque scenario?
Her words showed she thinks that way and for that reason alone we need to have her removed or the Edinburgh rate payers will be carrying the can for her negligence.
Remember if she can be so cool and unaffected by the state she and her fellow motley crew have allowed with the trams, then how can we trust her to make any other decisions that come up?
She has no money sense at all and I wouldn't trust her to look after my grocery shop let alone run the council.

NOT TO WORRY, £200 MILLION EXTRA FOR TRAMS IS A SMALL GLITCH

Year ago I predicted in this Blog that the Trams Project was becoming a fiasco.
I doubted the capability of TIE and worried at the lack of common sense and intelligence shown by ECC.
In December 2009 1st Lady and myself commented on the sudden spurt of work done on Princes St to make sure that the street and City Centre was passable for the Christmas and New Year crowds.
The local talk then was about the rushed job being done, the poor standard of the tar mac and rail fixtures and it was common knowledge that the work would have to be dug up and re-done after the festivities.
How then has it become a surprise that there is poor work to be replaced at additional cost? ( I mention this as only one of the very many expensive delays and problems in the project)
What does the leader of Edinburgh City Council, Jenny Dowe , do with her time? She obviously doesn't have a clue to what a FIASCO she and her buddies have made of this project.
Well , she had time to attend the Royal Highland Show, and also have a nice day out at the Armed Forces Day parade, but last week she left any 'comments' about the tram problem to her lackie! Obviously too low on her agenda to be bothered about.
And now we have heard her statement I realise why she would rather keep her mouth shut on the subject.
She calmly told BBC that the latest information on the cost and situation of the Tram project was nothing but ' A SMALL GLITCH' !!!!!
Now I would call putting a pink t-shirt into a white laundry wash a 'small glitch'. I would call forgetting to charge my mobile phone and be incommunicado for the day a 'small glitch'. I could also call forgetting to buy fish for an ocean pie a 'small glitch'!!
BUT if I spent £200 million pounds more than I had I can only imagine my hubbie's face if I told him it was just a 'small glitch'!!!!
My fear now is that we have a leader of the council who thinks losing such vast amounts of money is unimportant. Does she have that same mentality regarding all other Council issues that come up.
I hope that the Scottish Government will step in ,not to bail them out with more money but to stop them selling off public assets like parklands. We need someone to protect us from the utter madness of this council.
I also think that none of the council members who have been responsible for any of the tram decisions should be allowed to resign.
That seems to be the way out now. People on huge salaries and perks just resign when their incompetence is made visible.
They should be made accountable for their vast mistakes or lets bring back the Stocks in the Royal Mile and shame them publicly!!

JMARCOE

L.Muck has checked herself into rehab, return date to be determined as this is dependant on when the head nurse at JMARCOE institute signs her release papers. JMARCOE is of course short for Jai McDowall Addicts Rehab Centre Of Edinburgh.

Get well soon L.Muck.

STANDING OVATIONS FOR JAI MCDOWELL

My long suffering hubby and I have just returned from the Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh where we have been well entertained by all those taking part in the Britain's Got Talent touring show.

We only went to cheer on Jai but we thoroughly enjoyed the variety and newness of many of the acts. I often fall asleep at the theatre but tonight was just great and went by all too quickly.

I have to say here and now that the highlight of my night was the Edinburgh audience itself!

The MC went out of his way to shove the young runner up Ronan Parke down our throats and although we gave him the applause he deserved, as we did with the other entertainers, we knew who was the No 1 and only WINNER - Jai McDowell and he was the only one to have the whole theatre on their feet for him, not once but more than 3 times.

The catty and ignorant remarks of Louis Walsh and several others were shown for the snide and unfounded drivels they are, as Jai showed himself to have an even better voice and stage presence than appeared on TV.
His voice was pure, strong and emotional and had us all on our feet to show our great appreciation for his talent.

I hope that Glasgow will equal Edinburgh in showing that the people voted for Jai and we were not wrong in our choice.

JAI McDOWALL - NICE GUY - TREATED BADLY

I said in my previous post that I do not watch reality shows or ones like the X Factor or Britain's Got Talent, but I had watched the latest winner Jai McDowell.

However I have now been proven right in my viewing habits, but BGT has also made a fool out of me.
Why? Well I believed that because the final voting was all down to the viewing public then the panel and BGT organisers would respect the views of the voters and give the winner the attention and accolade he deserved.

Silly me. I now realise that Simon Cowell had set his mind on one act winning and his sour grape attitude is clear to see.

It is very unfortunate that poor Jai is the one Simon is venting his frustration out of, by keeping him waiting for 'discussions' as to Jai's future whilst the young 12 year old who came SECOND was signed up immediately.

I would love to see a recording company with integrity and foresight take Jai under their wings as soon as possible and deny Syco ( Simon's company) the future profits from the successful career that Jai will definitely have.

It is most unusual for me to bother about anything spoken or shown on TV as so much is nonsense and boring scandal but injustice will always have me running for a soap box and to see a nice lad like Jai be treated in this manner is definitely injust.

JAI McDOWALL SENSATION

Ok Ok I know I hate all these type of shows and Britain's Got Talent is one I never watch BUT I am so glad that 1st Lady told me about Jai McDowall who went on to win the competition.

Not only is he a lovely kind gentle young man ( and a very good looking lad who reminds me of my sons, she says with a mother's pride) but his voice is really beautiful and haunting. I get goose bumps every time I listen to him on Youtube !!!

I could also relate to him as when I ever sang solo at church my knees would shake and knock together. Having legs like two thin sticks I am amazed I didn't start a fire!!

Anyway, back to Jai. I hope with the support and advice of his very loving family he will follow the right paths and not be hi-jacked by celebrity PR who will only want to make a fast buck out of him. Also if he was to make a cd I would buy it tomorrow, so come on studios, don't hold back!! And how great would he be in a musical? ! If he can act as well as he can sing then I will buy tickets here and now.

WELL DONE TO OUR BONNIE SCOTTISH LAD!!!!

TRAM LATEST

DAVE ANDERSON who is Director for City Development says that there was little disruption last time Princes Street was closed to lay tram lines and he foresees no problems this time.

Not only that but the works are due to start in July , just in time for the Edinburgh Festival which brings in huge amounts of revenue to Edinburgh and Scotland in general.

I hope he has had the sense to check that the extremely disruptive Gas roadworks at the West End along Queensferry Road have been completed by that time ( they are due to last 6 months) as this is the cause of many traffic jams all the way back to George Street - the very street which will be used to divert the Princes Street traffic!

Also if he has such a bad memory that he cannot remember the extremely frustrating situation caused to drivers when Princes Street was last closed then I suggest he reads back editions of the Edinbugh Evening News or just asks members of the public to refresh his memory.

Does he live in cloud cuckoo land? I say he must do. Does he not think the noise, the dust and the diversions even for pedestrians will affect the tourists? Is the Council and TIE intent on not only wasting even more vast quantities of money on this project but on destroying our tourist business too?

And the very latest is that TIE still cannot guarantee that the trams will run from Princes Street so why is there the rush to do this part of the work now?

I feel it is now time that charges of neglect and incompetence were put against leading figures in this ongoing fiasco.

Lady Muck Kick Started into Posting!!!!

Well, there I was with my Ovaltine, knitting and listening to The Archers on BBC Radio when I had a phone call telling me that the SNP had achieved a fantastic victory at the polls!!! I nearly dropped a stitch and spilt some Ovaltine on my 80 denier beige tights I can tell you!!!

I so nearly came out of retirement there and then but the lure of watching Nora Batty on 100 repeated episodes on 'Last of the Summer Wine' was just too much for me.

Fortunately this sleeping beauty ( don't you laugh!!) was finally brought to renewed Blog life by the actions of . . . . . many of you will have guessed it . . . . THE TRAM FIASCO latest!!!!!

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!! Digging up Princes Street yet again, scrapping the Link to Leith and I have not heard that the chaos will NOT start in the summer season.

From what I have learned of the TIE mentality I can quite easily see them destroying our tourist industry now! They certainly know how to ruin life for the poor citizens of this bonnie town so I am sure that it will be simple for them to ruin the holidays of those who help our economy so much.

I call for at least one head to roll!! Who, just name me one person, has actually been brought to account for the years of misery to the Edinburgh citizens? I also want to know what extra debt the council is going to bring upon the good Edinburgh folk?

Is the Council going to sell off the people's parkland and green areas as they are trying to do at Inverleith Park ( through a sneaky back door agreement I fear they started several years ago)to pay for the debt and additional costs which do include the wonderful salaries of council members and TIE workers who have achieved. . . .???? what for Edinburgh???

Oh dear. I better go and lie down for a wee while BUT Edinburgh Council and TIE beware!!! I will be looking at your actions very clearly and I WILL be taking names of those involved. Name and Shame will be my motto from now on.

I better go and defrost 1st Lady now as she has been in hibernation too long and I need her bullying tactics!!

Lothian Buses - Bless their wheels

Apart from the day last week where I, and about 8 other people, remained in a broken down bus, blissfully unaware that our bus (which had pulled in at a bus stop behind a Lothian Buses maintenance van which was parked behind another broken down Lothian bus which all added to part of our stupidity confusion) had engine problems, blissfully unaware that the entire lower floor had disembarked, that our driver was standing outside, obviously forgetting she had a double decker, and that by the time I went downstairs to check out the situation it was an engineer that I talked to behind the wheel, yes, apart from all that, and apart from it being that if it were not for me going back up the stairs to let the remaining passengers know we were switching buses, for they would surely still be sitting there to this day, yes apart from that too, I have to say that Lothian Buses have been super, they saved Edinburgh during the snow storms. The drivers have been superb, they've had to drive in the most horrid of road conditions, but they kept going, and kept all of Edinburgh going.


A Lothian Bus heading for Princes St.

DEALING WITH SLIPPERY MATTERS!

This is the Lady Muck guide in how to deal with slippery icy pavements.

1. Wear at least 2 long length woolly jumpers over thermals, and make sure you have a thick padded LONG LENGTH jacket or winter coat on. It will not stop you falling but at least it makes a great padding if you do fall. ( Tried and tested by yours truly)

2. Try holding on tightly to the arm of a partner, family member, total stranger or just someone you fancy. If you slip they will steady you again, but make sure that if they slip to let go quickly just in case they take you down with them.

3. Walk behind the 6 -man team of council road clearers. ( 1st Lady and I watched a team of them yesterday. 1 man drove the little pavement snow clearer, 2 men had shovels and helped clear the debris left behind the machine, and 3 men watched the whole procedure - perhaps they were on a training course?) It may take your journey of 200 yards at least 30 minutes but on the plus side you are walking on lovely clear pavement.

4. Wear socks over your shoes/boots as this gives more hold on the ice. ( 1st Lady suggested this to me yesterday. Strange one this. I think it will only work until either the sock actually adheres to the ice or until the melting snow saturates the sock. I have to say I have only taken her word on this idea and not actually road tested it! I look forward to hearing from anyone who has tried this)

Lastly - use skis. I have actually never skied before but come on, how difficult can it be? I could ski all the way down Frederick St ( hopefully cross Queen St avoiding traffic?) on down Howe St and into Stockbridge. I am only slightly anxious about the stopping part?

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL AND TAKE CARE

PS. Just a thought. How many cyclists have you seen recently? I have seen none!!
( whistling into the distance the sound of ' Always look on the bright side of life,tatum tatumtetumtetum)