Power Struggles at Holyrood

Power Struggles at Holyrood

Last week saw a great battle waged between the parties at Holyrood. However, this time it was not fought out in the Debating Chamber but on a very different terrain – the tug o’ war field. Each party came out in great sport to take part in a tug o’ war event in Holyrood Park in aid of Barnardo’s Scotland. The event was sponsored by Halifax Bank of Scotland who donated £250 for every team entered to help Barnardo’s continue their vital work with vulnerable children in Scotland. The evening was a huge success, raising over £4,500 for children and young people’s support services.

I had the great honour of officially opening the worthy event which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. All kinds of people, both men and women, pulled together for the event, from MSPs and parliamentary staff to representatives from the Press and the Civil Service – indeed even Jack McConnell turned out in style dressed in sporting shorts to lend his weight to Labour’s resistance. For my part, I left it to some of my more robust colleagues to make up the SNP side. After many amusing struggles, comically commentated on by the BBC’s Brian Taylor, the brawn of the well-built Tories triumphed in the end. The SNP’s two teams put up a strong fight however, and immensely enjoyed the fun and games of the light-hearted evening. After all, it was all in the name of a bit of fun and an excellent cause. And to be fair, after winning the election in May we in the SNP can happily watch the other parties take pleasure in some sporting glory.

Celebrating Our Local Maritime Tradition

I had the pleasure last week of attending the launch of the fourteenth annual Scottish Traditional Boat Festival in our local burgh of Portsoy. The festival has one of the largest collections of traditional boats in Scotland and is always a fantastic family weekend for local people and tourists alike. Each year it pulls in thousands of visitors, greatly contributing to tourism in the area and thus the local economy. The financial impact of the festival on the vicinity was estimated last year at about £2M so it is clearly of enormous value to our region.

This year’s festivities saw a spectacular flotilla of thirty small boats arrive at Portsoy plus more than 100 historic and modern boats on display. There was far more to the festival than just boats however, with a host of amusements available to be enjoyed by all. Amongst other activities these included maritime activities, craft demonstrations, live music, dance and drama, a food fayre and a road run. The Festival works throughout the year to teach people, particularly young people, of the rich traditional culture and skills of the North East and to encourage them to participate in, appreciate and enjoy this wealth of culture that we have at our disposal. The weekend was not without ceremony either with the Earl of Wessex on the scene to launch the festivities. Indeed there was something for everyone at this festival which celebrated not only age old Scottish maritime tradition but also the many cultural attributes, old and new, of our local area of Banff & Buchan.