Getting around the constituency

Last week was a "recess" break from Parliament, and I was able to use the time to get around to a lot of groups and events in the constituency, and around Edinburgh. I think I went to around 20 events during that week, and it would take up too much space to list them all here. There are a few which I would make special mention of, though. One was the 70th anniversary celebrations for St Davids Primary School in West Pilton - an enthusiastic gathering of schoolchildren and teachers (present and past!), and families and friends - and in a fine new building, a good reminder of the fact that is one of 7 schools in my constituency built or refurbished under the Labour government. Another, very different meeting, was an event organised by the HIV/AIDS project of the Church of Scotland, which very powerfully highlighted the scale of the AIDS crisis in India.

A different problem was highlighted in the excellent DVD produced by the youth group at the "Junction" who looked at alcohol-related problems in Leith, and what needed to be done about the problem (a nation-wide issue, of course). They showed it to a large audience of Leithers and others at Ocean Terminal - a very effective message in the DVD, which deserves a wider audience which I will try to help the group to get

Last, but not least, I'll mention the AGM of the PROP Stress Centre in West Pilton - a group which has undergone a remarkable and positive transformation in the last couple of years, and has what I think is a really effective community mental health programme.