The MSP Factor

Lack of sleep and meeting some desperately worried people today has made it a day where I'm having to actively go find the joy! Just as well then that I have X Factor to lift my spirits. And as I'm watching it a thought has crossed my mind that I thought I'd just run by y'all! I've been spending time with the police and ambulance service amongst other people - I'm doing it for a number of reasons, one being to get an idea of what pressures other people face. That, and my post last night written as I managed to catch a little of X Factor, got me thinking that maybe I should head along to next year's X Factor auditions. Purely to be able to properly empathise with the auditionees obviously. Just a thought ...

Remember all those zombies films?

Well that's what I feel like right now. I guess it's what I look like too but too scared to look in the mirror. I've had 4 hours sleep after the ambulance night shift last night and I'm heading out to a meeting with some constituents who went to visit their family trapped in the IDP camps in Sri Lanka. I am pursuing some issues around the conditions in the camps and the return of people to their homes. Unfortunately the Sri Lankan government doesn't allow journalists or independent monitors to truly see what's going on so I'm speaking to anyone who has had ANY direct contact themselves. Anyway that's where I'm going but I really don't know how these ambulance guys do it - last night was a brilliant experience that I'll blog about later but night shift is definitely NOT for me!

To hear ourselves as others hear us

Just caught a bit of X Factor before I head out for my ambulance shift and I saw this girl Jade. She's 17 and she sang "And I am Telling You" unaccompanied, a song that's not easy to sing with the music never mind on your owney-o! She was very very good but you can see why you get so many delusional folk on (like the French guy who's just about to get a roasting from Simon). The trouble is you never sound in your own head, like you do in reality. I mean I'm sitting listening to Jade thinking "yeah that's how I sing it". Now either I'm a superstar in the making or I'm just not hearing what everyone else is hearing. So let's not laugh at them too much, they can't help it. And let's not TOTALLY discount the possibility that I am, indeed, a 'superstar in the making'!

Don't worry, you're safe in my hands!

You may remember a few weeks ago myself and David Kerr the SNP candidate in the forthcoming by election went out on a 3 hour shift with Springburn Ambulance Crew. It was a fascinating experience but I felt it wasn't long enough and I felt I wasn't getting to see just how highly pressured the job can become.

So I thought it would be a good idea to go back and do a full night shift the first Saturday after payday. And it IS a good idea. But now that the day has arrived .... I've not even thought about what I might witness, I'm just wondering how I'm going to stay awake from 9pm to 7am! I tried to sleep late today in preparation and I'll maybe have another little sleep at teatime. The last time I worked any kind of nightshift I was an auxiliary in a psychiatric ward and they sent me home when I fell asleep twice before midnight (once standing up)! Hmmmm, wish me luck!

The Cheek

My 17 year old niece is working as an (unpaid) intern 2 days a week for me and today we were working from the constituency office. We had a 2 hour meeting followed by a half hour meeting followed by a 1 hour meeting followed by another 400 million emails followed by a destitute asylum seeker needing urgent help followed by a 2 hour meeting with 5 people which has just finished.

She's dying to go home and I'm just finishing off letters but I can see she's starving so I'm trying to go quickly. She tells me she NEVER wants to be an MSP and I understand (from today's experience) why she's saying that. I tell her I sympathise with her plight and I'm really not sure why she EVER wants to come and stay with me due to the continual neglecting of her most basic needs. She says nothing. I tell her "when you look back you'll be wondering what on earth you were doing coming here" to which she replies "I don't have to look back. I can just look"!

So to punish her I tell her I must update my blog before I can leave. That'll teach her!

Quick roundup

First full week back at parliament and I've remembered why I look like this most of the time! Don't get me wrong, I love it but it's hectic and my two committees haven't even restarted yet! It's like you go in there on a Tuesday morning and don't emerge AT ALL till late on Thursday by which time you come out with that Friday feeling only to realise that it's not quite the weekend yet! Of course you do emerge at some point but I know I was in my office till 10 the other night and I wasn't the last to leave.

It's hard to explain why it's quite so tiring but I think it's down to the intensity and the often highly charged atmosphere. It's not just the MSPs who feel it, it's everyone. Whatever our jobs are we all leave there on a Thursday feeling whacked. On the positive side, you leave feeling ALIVE. It may be tiring but it's also very exciting at times.

I've had some interesting experiences this week. I met Michael Russell, the Minister for External Affairs (amongst other things) to update him on my trip to Sri Lanka. I went to the launch of the Scottish Mental Health Film & Arts Festival, I sat through the debate on Al Megrahi on Wednesday morning and listened to Labour make political capital out of the situation despite news emerging during the debate that Gordon Brown had just said he respected the decision! And I had to spend the afternoon in the Chamber too as I was speaking in the debate on the School Consultation bill. I got my first intervention (!!!) from George Foulkes of all people. But I warned him to be gentle with me and he was!

Thursday saw the government launch its "programme for government" and there was so much to be proud of in the 13 bills that were outlined.

So there was all of that, 400 million emails at least, dozens of constituency cases to catch up on with the team in Glasgow, articles to write and finally, when I left on Thursday I had to race to get the train back in time to chair a meeting of Glasgow SNP!

Now I'm off for a full day of meetings, the last of which ends at 7pm. I'm thinking the most exciting thing I'll have the energy for tonight is watching Corrie!

Nelson Mandela backs MacAskill

Front page of the Sunday Post today carries the story that Nelson Mandela is backing Kenny MacAskill's decision to release the Lockerbie bomber. If it's good enough for Nelson Mandela, it's more than good enough for me!