An opening for the people

After a hectic few weeks following the election in May, the Scottish Parliament began its summer recess at the start of this month. Over the coming weeks I will be taking part in events and meetings across the country in my capacity as Minister for the Environment and Climate Change and also be taking my annual surgery tour of the constituency in August to give people who might otherwise not have the chance an opportunity to raise their concerns with me.

However, before the recess officially got under way there was one final piece of business in Holyrood; the official opening. While it might initially seem odd that the opening is the final thing that happens before Parliament goes into recess, it is the entire five year term of the Scottish Parliament that is being opened and officially gotten under way.

As on previous occasions, the Queen addressed the chamber and gave us all food for thought with her reflections on how the Scottish Parliament has developed since it reconvened in 1999. There were also outstanding speeches from Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick and the First Minister Alex Salmond as well as a host of musical performances throughout the day for MSPs and members of the public.

The highlight of the day though, as in previous years, was the riding. An updated interpretation of the ceremony which used to take place before the Treaty of Union in the old Scottish Parliament, the riding sees groups from all over Scotland take part in a highly colourful and musical procession down the Royal Mile to Holyrood. Each MSP was asked to invite a “local hero”, an unsung member of the community who has worked to improve the lives of people in their area.

It was my privilege to invite Stephen Bruce to take part in the procession in recognition of the outstanding work he has done for JogScotland Peterhead. He has done fantastic work over the last four years in encouraging people in the area to take up jogging and become more active, successfully recruiting over 300 people in that time and last year raised over £17,000 for charity with a series of fun runs. Peterhead JogScotland also set a Scottish record for the highest attendance at a JogScotland event last year when 276 people took part in a night time jog on the streets of Peterhead. He is also currently arranging Peterhead Running Festival which takes place this September and I’m sure will be another fantastically well attended event.

Encouraging people to have a healthier lifestyle is more important than ever given the strains on NHS budgets and I am sure that under Stephen Bruce’s leadership more and more people in Peterhead and the wider area will take part in JogScotland’s events in years to come.

Portsoy Boat Festival

Recent days have also given me the opportunity to take part in another fantastically successful and well attended event; the Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival. With fantastic weather for this year’s event, an estimated 16,000 visitors came to Portsoy to take part in the activities taking place.

The festival is going from strength to strength and the large numbers and sheer enthusiasm from those who took part is a testament to the work that goes in to organising it each year. I was delighted to once again attend and alongside my colleague Eilidh Whiteford MP held constituent surgeries during the event.

Anyone who attended this year will know that next year’s Boat Festival will have to go a long way if it is to beat this year’s event!