A Songbook for Big George

Walking up the cobbled stone street the noise of Byres road slowly fades, a busker belts out an Oasis song while a smoker stands at the entrance of a bar, he's looking on in deep appreciation of the street fayre in front of him. The smoker throws a few coins on to the buskers ruffled up leather guitar case before opening the door to head back to his pint, momentarily the sound of a hundred conversations drift out from the packed bar before falling silent again as the door closes keeping in the heat and revelry. For me I’ve only got a few more steps along the lane before heading through the double doors of Jinty McGuinty's and all at once I am content.

The drinkers queueing at the bar behind me 4 or 5 people deep all looking for space to try to shout in another round – bar manager Caroline controlling it expertly as always.

Waiting my turn I take a quick look round to the fireplace where George is serenading the packed pub with his stories and songs, he greets me with a wide eyed beaming smile and a gentle nod, I know I've been welcomed into the pub. He gestures down to his half finished pint, just to let me know he needs another freshly poured beer brought over when I’m ready.

The walls are decorated with the literary gems of Ireland. Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats are remembered through their social commentary from yesteryear. Mixed with the modern score from artists like Christy Moore, Shane MacGowan, Jim Croce and many many more........... It’s all too perfect.

This is where I went for years, this is where I grew up, this is where I go now to remember my brother George. 

Sometimes I close my eyes and for a fleeting moment I hear his voice, I see his smile and feel his warmth again.

There isn’t a day goes by where I don't miss him.

Those years following George from pub to pub across Glasgow, and if I could get the time off work, across Scotland too are cherished memories. They were an education for me, and an opportunity to embrace the beauty within folk music, from it's picture perfect lyrics to the touching melodic arrangements that accompanied every heartfelt tale.  These songs don't just linger in your head, they settle in your soul.

George's wife Carolyn dropped off his gigging guitar to me last year. I had hoped I could maybe pick up the guitar and actually learn to play it properly this time, but so far I haven't got very far. In amongst the guitar case was an old song list that George handed round at the bars and clubs he played so that people could request songs – the list wasn't extensive, probably only covering a small clipping of his regular material.  A very early version of a playbook.

The list got me thinking about the songs George would sing and the variety of genres it crossed over. Digesting the content of the playbook I created a playlist on Spotify of the tunes I would hear George perform in my younger days, like all good playlists it has become a fluid score of not only the songs George sang, but those I would hear in the bars where he played and in the car travelling between venues.

Simply called Big Geo Songlist it has become my go to soundtrack when I am ironing, cooking, driving or spending time with family and friends. The biggest compliment I can give it is that both my children are tuned in to it regularly.

So, I thought I would share it with you to hopefully bring back some memories of your own and help toast my brother and our friend George.

Big Geo Songlist

A year in the life of this Celtic fan 1997 - 98

As the 1996/97 season drew to a close Celtic started to fall out the race for the Scottish title.   The reality of our city rivals equalling our 9 in a row record had just about been confirmed.  A small glimmer of hope remained that some silverware could be salvaged through the Scottish Cup.  A semi-final replay against Falkirk at Ibrox stadium on Wednesday 23rd April 1997 would represent our last chance to maybe secure a token of success for the season.

On a night when the weather conditions were awful Celtic lost 1-0 to Falkirk which pretty much ended our season.   I sat near the front of the Govan Road stand at Ibrox with my future wife Linda that night and  we were both soaked through in the incessant rain.  When I got home I went to sleep hoping to waken up from a bad dream. 

I became un-well overnight with flu like symptoms and I deteriorated over the next few days.   I was admitted to Glasgow Royal infirmary on Saturday 26th April with a suspected stroke, but after multiple tests, scans and examinations the doctors discovered that I had contracted Bacterial Endocarditis which was stopping my heart from functioning properly.  Broken hearted if you like.

For the next 2 weeks, I would drift in and out of consciousness and was given intravenous antibiotics, but it became clear that the drugs were not going to be enough to help me fight the infection. My consultants visited me around the 6th May to confirm that I would need emergency life saving surgery.

On the 9th May 1997 I made my way to theatre for open-heart surgery, undergoing a pulmonary valve replacement.  I spent the vast majority of the day in surgery as the surgeons tried to repair the damage done to my heart.  The following day my condition worsened and I went into cardiac arrest, I would need to go through further emergency surgery that day to save my life.   My family and my girlfriend Linda were given the news that the next few hours would be crucial.

I would spend another 10 days in intensive care as my condition slowly improved.   I was moved back to a ward in the hospital 2 weeks after surgery and began my post operation rehab, it was then that I found out Rangers had equalled our 9-in-a-row record and that our coach Tommy Burns had been sacked as Celtic manager.

I was discharged from hospital in early June to continue with my recovery; thankfully I had a big family and supportive girlfriend to see me through those early months. 

On the 3rd July the Scottish sports writers started to make some noise on the radio suggesting a new manager was on his way to Celtic Park, I took a trip to the stadium with my brother Benny to see Wim Jansen unveiled as the new boss.  To be honest, I hadn’t heard of him as a player or a manager.

Plenty of players came & went over the course of the next few months, Paolo Di Canio left for Sheffield Wednesday, we made some new signings like Craig Burley and Darren Jackson.   However, it was the arrival of a forward from Wim Jansens former club Feyenoord that helped spark the team. 

A slow start to our league campaign meant we would have play catch up on our rivals..  A battle of Britain UEFA cup-tie against Liverpool seemed to lift the players and the club but it wasn’t enough as we lost the tie on away goals.  

A last minute header from Alan Stubs secured a draw at home against Rangers, a result that would prove incredibly valuable at the end of season.  November ended with a League Cup Final visit to Ibrox, the scene of our defeat to Falkirk earlier in the year & where my serious illness seamed to start.

My brother George managed to secure me a ticket for the match and I watched on as Celtic beat Dundee Utd 3-0 to win the League Cup for the 1st time in 15 years.   The euphoria of winning that day reverberated around the Ibrox stands; a trophy that had been out of our grasp for so long was coming back to Celtic Park, but our main aim must be to stop Rangers reaching 10-in-a-row.

Every match had the feeling of a must win game, none more so than the traditional new year derby with our city rivals.  My brother-in-law gave me his ticket for the match that day.   Celtic controlled the match from start to finish and we were rewarded with a fine two nil victory, both goals superb and both coming from new players signed by Jansen.   Celtic had won their first new-years day derby since 1988 & were back in the race for the title.

As the league season came to an end, the pressure on both teams was beginning to tell.  On the 2nd last weekend of the season Rangers lost to Kilmarnock at Ibrox, a result that gave Celtic the chance to win the title with a win the following day against Dunfermline.  The tension got to the players and we could only earn a draw loosing a goal in the last few minutes to finish the match 1-1.  The League title would be decided one week later on Saturday 9th May – the 1st anniversary of my life saving heart operation.

I didn’t have a ticket for the match against St Johnstone and in the age before wall-to-wall TV coverage, my dad and I were left listening to the radio for updates.   All Celtic had to do was to win the match at home and we would be Scottish champions for the first time in 10 years.

Within the first 3 minutes of the radio commentary we were celebrating the news of a goal for Celtic through Henrik Larsson.  However nerves on the pitch meant that Celtic struggled to add that 2nd goal that would give us some breathing space.

News came through from Tannadice that Rangers were winning against Dundee Utd.   If Celtic slipped up the league would be lost to our biggest rivals.

I’d had enough and couldn’t listen anymore, so went to my room and hoped for the best, I was switching the radio on and off checking for the score and turned on the radio just in time to hear the commentator describe Harald Brattbakk scoring the 2nd goal for Celtic securing our first championship in 10 years.

I went downstairs to see my dad crying with delight and we cheered and sang our way through the final 20 minutes of the match.   When the final whistle blew a huge cheer was heard across the east end of Glasgow as Celtic fans celebrated winning the Scottish title.

The 9th May will be etched in my memory forever.  In the space of a year my damaged heart had been repaired thanks to the commitment of NHS staff and my broken heart had been mended with the delivery of an unexpected title victory thanks to the management of Wim Jansen.

I may not have known much about Wim Jamsen prior to his arrival at Celtic, but by the time he left the club in 1998 I knew he had joined a long list of Celtic legends, to go along with his already legendary status the earned as a player and manager with Feyenoord.

Leaving of Liverpool

With my son being a bit sport crazy, it can be difficult keeping up with the various conversations relating to transfers, touchdowns, goals and home runs that he has caught online on any given day.   I'll hold my hands up, the fascination with different sports is quite possibly my doing.    We've gone from watching the Red Sox throw away a more than decent chance of winning the world series in the autumn of this year to being glued to game day coverage once the NFL season started (I'm a Patriot, he's a Green Bay fan!), we now find ourselves frantically trying find a stream to watch NCAA college football in the hope that the Michigan Wolverines maybe, just maybe win the championship this year.

These are extra innings interests that help pass the time when our true sporting love are not playing at home or we aren't travelling around Scotland for a Celtic away match.  I would say I have little to no interest in football south of the border, the EPL just comes across as too commercialised for me (even more than NFL & MLB).  However, Gabriel has grown a real appetite for Liverpool in recent years, his interest started to grow when Brendan Rodgers was in the dugout at Anfield - the Liverpool team that agonisingly slipped at the final fence in the title race.  A champions league & premier league title since then has made up for that in his eyes.  So, when I won tickets to a Liverpool match at Anfield, I only had one person in mind to take with me on the road trip.

Travelling down to Merseyside on the Friday night meant we would have all day Saturday to look around some of the places of interest in the city.  We stayed in the town of Waterloo which looks out on to the mouth of the river Mersey and the boats travelling to and from Ireland.    A frequent train service from Waterloo station means it is only about a twenty minutes from the buzz of central Liverpool.  Our first port of call had to be Albert Dock just to get a glimpse of site where “This Morning" was filmed many moons ago.  We then made our way through shopping precincts to the famous Cavern Club and the birthplace of The Beatles.

Perhaps it was because I had been starved of any live music due to the various Covid restrictions, but as soon as we walked into the Cavern Club we were spellbound.   With live music from 11am onwards I felt like a regular Day Tripper as musicians took us all on a magical tour of the artists who have played at the Cavern over the years.  We could only stay for the first 2 of the resident artists performances, Gabriel lapping up Johnny B. Good from Gary Murphy & I was delighted to hear Working Class Hero performed by Richard Batty.   I cant stress this enough – the Cavern Club is somewhere every music fan must go to experience the magic of it all.

Now, it was on to the main point of our venture into England, the world famous Kop & Anfield was only a few miles way.   We got a train from Liverpool central to Sandhills station where we caught the connecting “soccerbus" to Anfield.   Even though we were about 2 or 3 hours early there was still a steady stream of fans making their way to the match.   A walk around the stadium showed the sheer scale of the new main stand as it dwarfs the closely bunched houses standing in its shadows.   The murals on the walls in the streets around Anfield are a striking nod to former glorious victories and the hope for more silverware to come.

Gabriel & I paused for a few moments of reflection at the Hillsborough memorial and said a few silent prayers in memory of those fans who tragically died supporting their team on the 15th April 1989.

Our tickets were in the new level of the main stand, thankfully the construction team had folk like me in mind when they built this towering structure by adding escalators taking fans to the very top.   The concourse was packed with fans watching the 3pm results come in from Soccer Saturday.   I could enjoy the novelty of a pint of lager in the stadium before we took our seats for the match.

The air of excitement grew for Gabriel with a rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone.   A slow match came to life after thirty minutes when Jürgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta squared up to each other on the touchline, the passion and noise this confrontation created pushed Liverpool into a greater sense of urgency and by far the better team.    At half-time the hosts were 1 nil up over Arsenal , but I was running back to the concourse to check the score in the Celtic match against cup holders St. Johnstone in the cup semi final at Hampden.

In the second half Liverpool completely outplayed Arsenal and ran out deserved 4 nil winners, the red fans on Merseyside left the stadium with a spring in their step, as did Gabriel & I with news of the victory for Celtic at Hampden.  Honestly, it was good to watch football match without moaning at the referee, centre back or striker.   Although, I think Gabriel kicked every ball sitting next to me.

We returned to Anfield the next day for a stadium tour and while it was an experience to see the stadium so empty, the tour did feel a bit hollow.   Maybe I just expected too much, or maybe listening to a recorded audio guide is just not my thing.   I would much rather hear the passion of a fan telling me the stories of great victories or historic moments.   

With that our breath-taking weekend on Merseyside was over.   Some fabulous new memories created for us both and a three and half hour drive back home in time for the 6pm match-ups on NFL Sunday.

Declan Welsh & The Decadent West - Live

Declan Welsh & The Decadent West - Live

SWG3 

Monday, 22nd November 2021

After what seemed an eternity, I managed to get along to my first gig since March 2020.  In a near perfect moment of symmetry from our last “Pre-Covid” gig my daughter & I retraced the walk from Partick train station to the SWG3 campus hidden behind the railway arches that run along the north side of the Clydeside expressway.  It had been a long 620 day wait since our last concert together, so even on a cold Monday night in late November a live set from Declan Welsh & The Decadent West was definitely one that we were looking forward to.

With the lights dimmed & the level of anticipation rising, Declan, Ben, Murray and Duncan strode on stage in front of a fully charged and expectant crowd.  The Glaswegian indie rockers produced a flawless night of entertainment and passion as they seamlessly powered through tracks from their 2019 debut album Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold as well as their EPs All My Dreams are Dull (2018) and It's Been a Year (2021).

Opening their set with No Fun the capacity crowd were rushing to the front to get involved in the party centre stage.   From the energetic pogoing in front of the band to the synchronised dancing amongst friends near the back if the hall, everyone was caught up in the animated performance.   From start to finish there was no let up in the synergy between the crowd and band.

Almost every song focuses your thoughts on everyday conversations and interactions that we tend to overlook, but Declan and the band shrewdly make the ordinary seem exceptional with an expressive dialogue that pierces both verse and chorus.  Recent single Another One demonstrates impeccably how the group capture the mood and moment of the isolation we've all endured lately and the challenge of embracing each other again.

By the end of the night we had been treated to a hip-swaying and boisterous 16 song set which included Absurd, Times, Parisian Friends and Do What you Want.  When the lights came up after the last song there was a healthy mix of young and old making their way to the exits, exhausted but positively buzzing.

The strength and depth within the Scottish music scene at the momient is nothing new, historically our wee country has produced some of the most iconic bands and songs across the decades.  The new generation of artists galvanised by potent riffs and social commentary are lighting the path towards a return to live music for a voracious fan base.  This was perfectly on show when Declan Welsh & the Decadent West wowed the sell-out crowd at SWG3.

2019 Sporting Tourist

Almost 2 years have passed since I first penned this piece.   I never shared it before , but news of a “European Super league” means its probably as good a time as any to share it.

Sporting Tourist August 2019:

The last 9 weeks have  witnessed football fans searching to fill the void with other summer sports.  The women’s world cup kicked off the regular footballing post-season to encouraging crowds, but with much controversy around VAR & a deserved win for Team USA.    The cricket world cup culminated in a “Super Over" where England came out on top in a dramatic day of sport.    Wimbledon served up its customary fortnight of action, back hands & power strokes & the Tour de France has just been won by a Colombian for the first time & its youngest competitor since World War II.

As my wife will attest, I am a bit of a sport addict, so I put on my best tourist hat & t-shirt & ventured down to London to take in the “Biggest Rivalry in Baseball" as the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees slugged it out for 2 days at the home of West Ham United in the “London Series".   The old Olympic stadium looked fabulous shining in the hot summer sun.    The less said about the view from the very back of the stadium the better, at over £60 per ticket you expect a lot more for your cash.     Day one of the series honestly seemed to be populated by corporate ticket holders more interested in inflated merchandise stalls & crazily price food & drink.     I was fortunate enough to get better seats for day 2, still at the same price & the fans on day 2 seemed a little more focused on the ballgame.   As a weekend of sport I thoroughly enjoyed it & the interaction with visiting fans is always a great experience.   Trading stories & drinks into the small hours.

My son attends every Celtic match with me, but he has taken a shine to Liverpool over the last 4 or 5 years.    The extensive accessibility of EPL football means he can watch highlights on a Saturday night, Sunday morning & maybe even on the Iplayer if it takes his fancy.    So, when the European Champions announced a match at BT Murrayfield I promised to take him along to watch the match against Napoli.    In truth the trip to the capital was great a wee change of scenery & again a chance to mix with fans from Liverpool & beyond.    As a sell out crowd made there way to the stadium the flag sellers were making a roaring trade in the half & half scarf market.

The match itself was a typical pre-season friendly with Napoli exploiting the standoffish Liverpool midfield.    The calm  possession in defence when under pressure & the passing range from the Naploi midfield was the highlight of the day.    Less so was the ooohs & aaaahs of a crowd happy to applaud a Napoli goal while trying to keep hold of their YNWA hat, scarf, t-shirt, poster & souvenir cup.    At that point I realised I had become a football tourist, is it a low or high?   - I just don’t know.

Footballing authorities have being toying with the idea of playing a regular season match outside the ruling bodies jurisdiction & we got a sneak peek of this when the 2nd leg of the Copa Libertadores was played in Madrid a couple of years ago.

The sell out crowd at Murrayfield would no doubt turn up again in the same numbers & probably pay more for a match that actually meant something in terms of league positions.     The summer schedule for Europeans teams is turning into a world tour, world club Cup, with the club & organisers winning every time.

The associations that run Scottish football needs to rekindle its own love of the game, football fans across the country turned their back on competitive football to watch a friendly at the home of Scottish rugby.  How does this happen in a country that holds the historic attendance records for domestic, international & UEFA matches?

With European qualifying taking part in the early weeks of July Scottish teams can no longer afford to play or even pay for big glamour friendlies against European elite.       Our governing bodies & club owners need to work together & find a way to stop selling our game short & getting more investment in the beautiful game here before Scottish football is left behind financially forever.

A Quick chat with Nichola Dougan - The Scarlett Fund

I have been really fortunate to meet some incredible people as part of fundraising activities over the last few years.   You can't help but feel inspired listening to the unique stories from people from all walks of life, and how it impacts them or those that they care for.

Attending a BHF function a number of years ago, I was introduced to an incredible family who fundraise on for the BHF Scotland and The Glasgow Children's Hospital charities.  The Dougan family (Peter and Nichola) were left in shock when their daughter Scarlett was diagnosed with an extremely rare and serious heart defect when she was only 5 months old.   Watching the dedication and skill of the hospital staff caring for their child inspired the family to focus much of their efforts on raising funds and awareness of the phenomenal work of both charities.

I chatted with Nichola Dougan to understand how she has navigated 2020

Q. How did you cope with home schooling in your dual life as a parent & teacher during the initial lockdown period?  

A. I have to admit that I am pretty rubbish at home schooling. Peter was far better. He took on most of the fun research activities. I actually think our children did really well. Their school was great at providing a variety of lessons every day and keeping the children engaged. They all worked really hard and I think they have improved a lot in some areas.  As a teacher, I found teaching virtually a real struggle. It was so hard to gauge how the children in my class were doing. I really, really missed seeing them. 

 

Q  How have you been keeping yourself busy?  

A. We are never “not busy”,  4 children will always find a way to keep you busy  

And home improvements! So chuffed with some of the projects we have managed to complete. I have to admit though that as much as I loved getting the house in order in the beginning the novelty has well and truly worn off. 

Q. What has been your biggest challenge?  

My biggest challenge has been trying to make celebrations special. We like a good celebration in our family and we have traditions that we look forward to. Scarlett's First Holy Communion is the perfect example- How do you make the day as special as it should be when it happens at 7pm on a dreich Wednesday evening?  I have to say, I think we managed it. Each celebration has been great in it's own way. I think it's just the feeling of not being able to share it with others that makes it so challenging.    

Q. Where have you found strength at difficult times?  

My family. Whenever I have found things difficult, I have found comfort in taking a step back and realising what a privileged position I am in. We have so much to be grateful for, not least our health and financial security, something that is so uncertain for many, many others. When I think about it like that I feel incredibly lucky, I pick myself up and get on with it!!  

The children always entertain, and they keep me going. We have had loads of invaluable family time and I am so grateful to have had this. I have also enjoyed attending Mass virtually, which has surprised me as I usually avoid technology when I can.   

Q. If you could go back to March & give yourself some advice - what would it be?  

A. I would tell myself that this will be a marathon not a sprint. Oh and I’d make much more of an effort to keep the children practising the piano!!!!

 

Q. What have you learned about yourself?  

A. Even when it feels like I have all the time in the world there are some tasks I will avoid, mainly ones that involve using the computer!  

Days don’t need to be crazy busy, sometimes doing very little is exactly what I need. Allowing the children to have a “lazy day “ isn’t the end of the world!  

I’ve also realised that I am much more social person than I thought.

Q. Did you pick up any new skills?  

A. I had loads of plans to get stuck in to our charity website and get it updated, I am ashamed to admit I haven't. Technology really isn't my strength. I get bored with staring at a screen and lose patience easily! Not sure I picked up any skills successfully, I did try out lots of bits and pieces. Having more time at home meant teaching the children new skills (does that count)?

 

Q. What have you missed most?  

A. Without a doubt, my family and friends are what I missed most. I wouldn't have described myself as someone who was out socialising a lot however I do have lots of fabulous people that I pop in to see, go for a coffee with, meet for lunch or dinner. Actually, even just stopping for chats when I am out and about in my area too is something I have missed. I would always be pottering about at weekends, popping into local shops and passing the time while dropping/picking up children from clubs. All that has stopped, everything feels very rigid and distant.  

Q. The Scarlett fund has made significant contributions to the British Heart Foundation and Glasgow Children's hospital charities over a number of years, with an uncertain future around large scale fundraising events - how do you see this affecting charities and fundraisers hosting marquee events?  

A. I am worried about the future for charities. We host Scarlett's Ball each year and it really is like one massive party. We fill the room with lots of supporters and party all night. I honestly can’t see it happening again any time soon.  I am generally a very positive and motivated person however I don’t feel like that these days. My motivation is driven by thoughts of my daughter’s future and so I worry, hugely, that if I have lost my motivation then there really is not much to hope for.  

That said, I do see wonderful people doing amazing things for charity, I don’t believe people have changed and so I know that if the events are there then the support will be too.

I think that the charities need people that can think outside the box in order to hold events that fit into today’s world. The way we live today is unrecognisable from how it was at the beginning of the year so in reality this way of life is really very new and requires  huge adjustments for everyone. I am hopefully that as this becomes less new, things will become clearer and less complicated, future will be less uncertain, people will once again flock to help and support charities just as much as they did in the past.  

A Quick chat with David Linden - MP for Glasgow East

I contacted my local MP David Linden a number of weeks ago to chat about the impact of the pandemic on his parliamentary work and the effects in the local community.    I've got to admit I was surprised at how quickly David got back to me and how open our chat was about local life and the many good deeds and amazing initiatives that go unnoticed by many in the city.

An e-mail, phone call and a (socially distant) face to face chat only confirmed to me the passion David has for the local community and his focus on delivering a better future for his constituents.

Hope you enjoy my Q&A with David Linden MP for Glasgow East

Q. know you're a football fan, so my first question has to be around fans in stadiums - how can this be progressed to help big & small clubs to welcome fans back & provide much needed input into the local economy?

A. Good question!  For my sins, I’ve been an Airdrieonians fan for the last 19 years and it feels totally alien not to be in my usual season ticket seat in the Jack Dalziel stand these days.

The reality is, the spread of the virus is still rising just now – so now would not be the time to return fans to stadiums en masse.

We have, however, seen areas where the prevalence rate is lower able to open smaller stadiums, e.g. Elgin City FC in Moray, and I think we are all hoping that we can end up in a similar situation at some point but realistically, I’m not expecting to be back at football any time soon.

Q.  How have you been keeping yourself busy away from Parliament?

A. Work!  The challenges Glasgow East faces are well known and documented, e.g. an unemployment rate that runs at roughly double that of the UK national average – even at the best of times/pre-pandemic.  Unfortunately, at its peak around 12,000 folk locally were furloughed and that has led to a number of job losses already.  So even when I’m not in Parliament, I’m almost certainly only the phone speaking to a local business and trying to protect jobs.

I’ve tried to carve out a bit of time on Sundays to go walking with my best mate, Dougie.  He’s a fellow long-suffering Airdrie fan so what in effect is meant to be a relaxing walk tends to end up with us getting worked up about the woes of Airdrie’s performance the previous day!

Q. What has been your biggest challenge?

A. Like a lot of people, I found the initial and most stringent part of lockdown really tough going in terms of my mental health.  I was used to travelling a lot for work and being stuck in the house – albeit working from home – 23 hours a day was quite a challenge.

Q. Where have you found strength at difficult times?

A. My faith has helped me through a lot, no doubt about that.  Hope is one of the central parts of the Christian faith, so I’ve been clinging to that a lot… and praying for a vaccine!

Q. What have you learned about yourself / local community?

A. I always knew the people of Glasgow East were pretty generous and kind hearted but the community response has been absolutely phenomenal. 

Literally at one point of the early days of lockdown, there was actually some frustrating levels of duplication in terms of providing food parcels being delivered to people but that’s probably a measure of how well-meaning folk are.  It’s true: East End = Best End.

Q.      Did you pick up any new skills?

A. I wouldn’t say operating IT was always my strong point but I’ve become a little more confident at using technology during lockdown, though I won’t be sad to see the back of Zoom!  I much prefer meeting people face-to-face…

Q.      What are you looking forward to most when it's safe to do so?

A. Giving my Mum a hug.  It’s simple things like that I’ve missed and our family has been through a pretty tough time so I’m definitely looking forward binning the social distancing when it’s safe to do so!

Q.      What are your political hopes when the country begins to move out of restrictions & faces a new norm/ world?

A. At the moment, if I’m being honest, I just want to get to the other side when folk aren’t being diagnosed or dying from this awful virus.  Politically, there are big questions to be asked about where we go next but I think most politicians – on a cross party basis – are genuinely just trying to get us through this.

Q.      hopefully you are allowed to give an honest opinion on this one..............Recent polls have support for Scottish independence at an all-time high, do you think this is in light of the leadership shown by our first minister Nicola Sturgeon or the perceived lack of governance from Downing street?

A. I’ve been asked this question before but I don’t think it’s just the First Minister’s handling of the pandemic which has shown a difference with Downing Street (though I think Nicola has probably communicated better than Boris which has been a big factor in winning public trust).  A lot of this, I think, goes back to Brexit and even beyond – people had a glimpse in 2014 of what independence might be like.  I understand folk were a bit cautious and voted No but I think the glimpse they’ve had into Brexit Britain since 2014 has probably led to many people changing their mind.

And when the facts change, people should have the right to change their mind! 

In my view, Scottish independence is now when – not if.