Right then, that’s us off to the polls again is it?
The always charming and caring Theresa May has decided she needs a General Election to unite the country in a way that Westminster simply isn’t.
Which is another way of saying “give me a mandate to go even further to the right than Margaret Thatcher would ever have dreamed while creating a Brexit so hard your noses will bleed … oh, and we can maybe get the uppity Jocks to shut up while we’re at it.”
The danger of asking a question like that, Mrs May, is you may not get the answer you like. Fingers crossed on that one, eh?
However, I am not about to rehearse all the arguments about who I’d like to see win. I figure you can work that one out for yourselves.
But what gets me is the attitude towards this snap General Election.
There seemed to be a collective groan of “oh no, not again” about the prospect of going back to the ballot box.
A groundswell of “we’re fed up of voting”.
So, let’s see if I have this straight. We are tired of being asked our opinion?
We are tired of being asked to choose who runs our councils, who runs Holyrood, who runs Westminster, who runs Scotland?
We are tired of all this democracy.
Right now, around the world, there are people who are dying – literally – to have the freedoms we find so tiresome.
There are people labouring under oppressive regimes who can only dream of having a say in who has power over their lives.
They look to countries like ours as beacons of hope.
And all we can do is moan about having to take a few minutes to go to a polling station?
Voting is not just a right, it’s a privilege and we should never take it for granted.
So, next week make sure you go out and have your say in who is running your council.
Next month, put an X next to the name of the person you want to be your MP.
And, when the time comes, decide whether Scotland should be an independent nation or not (controversial there).
These are choices you are free to make in a world where many are silenced and denied.
Our freedoms were hard won. Don’t moan about them … and don’t ever squander them.
Here’s hoping that running boosts my brain power
My running regime has gone to wrack and ruin.
This time last year I had bopped round the 10 miles of the Great Edinburgh Run and loved it.
On Sunday I barely managed to grind out three miles round Stoney without pulling a whitey. My fear is this might be the year when my middle-aged bones say “enough”. However, having read some new research I think I’ll tell my bones to wise up. Apparently 45 minutes exercise a few times a week boosts brain power in the over 50s. So, faced with tight waistbands, coupled with a concern over the history of Alzheimer’s in my family, it’s time to man up and get back in shape.
Great Aberdeen Run, here I come.
It isn’t just motorists who need to think about bikes
It’s about this time of year we start to see the “Think Bike” campaign stepping up a gear.
It’s one we should all pay attention to as motorcyclists can be so vulnerable on our roads. But while I would urge every driver to look out for the safety of bikers, some of them need to be looking out for themselves.
On just one trip over the Netherley road at the weekend I saw two bikes overtaking on blind bends and found one heading at me on the wrong side of the road. I do think bike, but bikers need to think, too.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
