THE LAST FEW DAYS

Tuesday 26 February

WMESB™: The D7 was on time and I got the X57 but it was the grumpy driver so I had no chance of getting off at the Learmonth Hotel.

Thankfully I’m back in my own office today.

Last night’s telly consisted of Brainbox Challenge, Mastermind, University Challenge and Damages. The GLW watched “The Palace”, which is “so bad, it’s good”. I’ll take her word for it.

Still no sign of the three outstanding competition prizes yet, which is a worry. Most of the time I’ll have a prize before I know I’ve won it or where it’s come from. I never normally have to wait more than 28 days, at the most.

A horrendous journey home tonight as only cars were allowed over the Forth Road bridge. Tricia was almost involved in a road rage incident. Someone who had tried to cut in earlier tried it again and she refused to budge. the guy in question tried to go back into the other lane to overtake us but our liane suddenly sped up and we lost him.

Monday 25 February

WMESB™: Never a dull moment on Stagecoach! This morning I get my usual D7 to the Ferrytoll. Now the D7 then changes into a 53 to Dalgety Bay and one little old man gets on. However, this morning I was surprised to see a whole line of people queuing to get on. As I walk along this queue I turn round to see the sign on the side of the bus, which reads “53 Edinburgh”. Somewhat confused I join the end of the queue and wait to get back on the bus I’d just got off. When I get back on I say to the driver that I’m slightly confused because this bus normally turns into a Dalgety Bay bus. He says, no, the route is right. “Fair enough” and I sit down. At this point I start wondering if this will be a new direct service from the my house to Edinburgh and compose a congratulatory e-mail to the Operations Manager in my head.

Any euphoria is short-lived because the bus leaves the Ferrytoll and just as I think it’s on its way to Edinburgh it goes all the way round the roundabout and comes back into the Park and Ride. The driver then stops the bus, gets out of his seat and announces that this bus doesn’t go to Edinburgh. I resist the temptation to sing the “Told You So” song as a light and get on the waiting X57.

The sorry doesn’t end there because I see that the X57 driver is the grumpy one I’ve crossed swords with before. I also see the girl from my work, who also gets off at the Learmonth too. My money’s on him not stopping for her and I’m proved right. She’s confused by this and no wonder. Maybe the bus isn’t supposed to stop there but it has for the last few weeks. She walks back to work form the West End and I get a bus. I try and see her coming into work so I can explain the long-standing problems with the bus but I miss her.

The rest of the day is spent in a Review Panel. Over a hundred people have applied for promotion and they’re looking to half that before inviting successful candidates for interview. My job, such as it is, is to distribute the papers to the three pairs of assessors and then, well, that’s it! Thankfully, I only have a day of it.

“Brainbox Challenge” starts on BBC 2 tonight. I don’t know when I’m on but it’ll be fascinating to see all the people I met when I was there, especially Hannah, Ben and Jenna, who were all really friendly.

Sent off another Top 5 for the Recommends section of The Scotsman. It relates to Mother’s Day but I’ll say no more than that. I have a few others in the pipeline. I’ve also sent off my application to present a show on Kirkcaldy VRN, a hospital radio station, which also broadcasts to Kirkcaldy.

Sunday 24 February

After a great sleep, I join the others who are already up. Dave and I take the girls for a walk to get some fresh air and the Sunday papers. All manner of twisting roads, stairs and paths take us to Colinton village. Not used to walking so far I’m knackered when I get back and I have shin splints. The Flickster is unphased and has another shot on the trampoline. Where do kids get their energy?

The rest of the morning is spent doing the crosswords together and eating cake. Life doesn’t get any better. Dave and I then have another wee jam. I say, “jam”, it’s more of Dave showing me something and me trying to learn it! Dave kindly lends me a little amp and a tuner.

We say our goodbyes, after a wonderfully relaxing weekend and head home. It almost felt like a holiday, even though we only went over the bridge.

Saturday 23 February

What a day. I bump into so many people that I know. Before I even get on the D7 I meet Martin who I know from Edinburgh. He’s now in Dunfermline and not far from me. We exchange tales of our kids before I head into Edinburgh. I get off the bus and before I can decide where I’m going to get my hair cut I bump into Julie, a regular visitor to out house and an ex-colleague of the GLW’s. She recommends a barber down the bottom of Broughton Street and head off purposefully. My £1 a minute haircut takes 8 minutes then I head off to Easter Road to meet Dave, my co-conspirator in the Jock n Roll website.

As I wait for Dave yet another person I know and haven’t spoken to since I worked with him says hello. It’s a small world and I wouldn’t like to paint it. Dave and I head off to the guitar shop to get me a lead before adjourning to Robbies for a small libation or two. Not unsurprisingly, we bump into someone else we know, Kev.

At 2.30 we head off to the game. It’s pay at the gate (£21) and we settle into our seats in the East Terrace. No sooner has the game begun than Hibs take the lead. Three minutes later and the lead is doubled. Any thoughts that this may prove to be a rout are worn away soon enough as the following 85 minutes are absolute dross.

Happy enough with the win we leave the ground, only to walk right past Malcolm Ross, who had featured on “Caledonia Dreaming” last night. Pity we didn’t get a chance to speak to him about the programme. I wonder what he thought.

It was back to Dave’s for food and board games, after our daughters had been put to bed. Miracle of miracles: not only did I win at Trivial Pursuit but I beat the GLW in front of witnesses! It’s not often I beat her so I’m going to gloat as long as possible! We also played a good game called “Chronology”.

Friday 22 February

It’s already been discussed elsewhere but I’ll repeat how disappointed with this programme. What was supposed to be about Postcard Records and its influence turned into a party political broadcast on behalf of SNP/Independence. With the exception of The Go-Betweens, who only released one single on the label, Postcard Records was essentially Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera. OJ and JK were featured heavily in the first 15 minutes but Aztec Camera merited only the briefest mention in the commentary by Edith Bowman.

The documentary then drifted off into a revisionist look at the political “influence” of the Artists for independence movement fronted by Elaine C Smith, Pat Kane and Ricky Ross. The GLW was politically active around this time and she doesn’t recall this “movement” having as much influence as intimated in the programme. It might have meant something in Glasgow but nobody else in Scotland would listen to the ramblings of Rab C Nesbitt’s “wife”. This part of the show took up too much time and distracted from the apparent aim of the show. There were no interviews with Alan Horne or Roddy Frame and Malcolm Ross, who played in all three Postcard records, wasn’t given much time.

This was a wasted opportunity and resulted in a mess of a programme. Was it about Postcard Records or was it a history of Scottish rock and pop? Either way, it failed spectacularly and was a ramshackle hotchpotch of a programme