SNP MEP Alyn Smith who spoke at the SNP Conference in Aberdeen last year (picture from SNP Flickr page)

I am delighted to confirm that I will be backing Alyn Smith MEP and his bid to become the next Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party.

Alyn is one of our most formidable political talents within our party and is a formidable representative of our country. Alyn is the embodiment of the Scottish National Party – he literally represents the nation in his elected position, does so on an important continental stage at the European Parliament and brilliantly.

In the build up to that dramatic vote on June 23rd last month, he successfully pursued a nationwide tour to talk to lots and lots of people about the benefits of Scotland within the European Union before the nation went on to decisively back a Remain vote by 62% to 38% last month. He is not one for sitting back and being complacent and I had the pleasure to see him speak in both Kirkcaldy and Alloa.

And had it not been for Alyn’s selfless determination to get the message out about how important the EU is to Scotland then I do not think the result of last month’s vote north of the border would have been that decisive. He should not underestimate how significant his contribution was to that important result in Scotland, despite the overall United Kingdom outcome. And his speech to the European Parliament in the week after the referendum (via Guardian Wires on YouTube) vindicated why he deserves to be rewarded for his hard work not just in recent times, but throughout his whole political career.

I want to also pay tribute to the other three Deputy Leadership contenders who have declared their interest in the position so far in Angus Robertson, Tommy Sheppard and Christopher McEleny. They are all genuinely great people as well and I would not be bitter for a moment if any of them won the contest. This contest must be a good spirited one with a sense of healthy competition and an exchange of ideas in how to take Scotland forward to independence within the European Union.

But as far as Alyn is concerned, I could not be more proud to belong to the same political party as a gentleman who really knows what the SNP is all about – a team game, as former Highlands and Islands MSP Jim Mather once said. I will be more than happy to help Alyn in any way possible to advance the case forward for him becoming, God willing, the next Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party.

Let’s make it happen for Scotland and for Europe!

After trying out some podcasting last year without continuing success, here we go again as 2016 comes to a close.

In this pilot episode of Official Anas Hassan Podcast:

• Should Fidel Castro be honoured in the Scottish Parliament?
• The results of a poll I conducted over on my own Twitter page over which was preferable – Planet Earth II, The X Factor or neither.
• Is it time for Scotland to have it’s own talk radio station?

Enjoy!

I have launched a survey to seek people’s opinions on whether there should be a new hovercraft crossing between Edinburgh and Fife.

I was prompted to seek public opinion following the full closure of the Forth Road Bridge on the morning of January 11th 2017. I have previously Tweeted my support for a hovercraft crossing between Edinburgh and Fife. On a separate note, there is also a campaign in support of the idea at http://www.forthhovercraft.co.uk

I am very sympathetic with the idea of a hovercraft crossing between Edinburgh and Fife. I think the benefits are overwhelming and it will provide an alternative means of transport between our capital city and the Kingdom.

The closure of the Forth Road Bridge this Wednesday morning made me develop this survey. I am inviting anyone who travels over the Forth to complete it.

What I am particularly looking out for is on where public opinion stands with regard to the idea of a permanent hovercraft between Edinburgh and Fife. My own opinion is my own opinion, but I want to know what other people’s honest opinions on this idea are.”

The survey is available here.

I was working in Dumfriesshire last Friday. It was a cold day, but there had hardly been any sign of snow during the day in southern Scotland.

However, the drive home to the central belt was going to prove to be on edge. My first leg of the journey proved to be free of any issues and naturally boosted my confidence for the rest of the journey. However, I was aware not to allow any complacency to set in.

I then left the A74(M) and took the A702 to Edinburgh. A bold move, particularly given the fact that I encountered the snow on my way to work that morning in the Kingdom of Fife. But I was just about confident that the wintry weather had eased. But about ten miles in, I encountered trouble.

On my way to work earlier in the day, I had to clear the snow from my windows in Fife. But on my drive home, snow had become a visible and unwelcoming presence again. And sleet fell and given the direction it was falling in, I felt like I was viewing a repeat loop of Star Wars without credits.

The road hadn’t been well gritted to my own satisfaction at the time so I ended up crawling up the road at thirty five to forty miles an hour – we’ll below the standard national speed limit for a single carriageway, with exceptions of course to certain parts of the road due to being in a residential area, for instance.

As I drove towards Biggar, things really did get bad and I was very precautious. I was terrified of using the brakes more than I really had to incase I potentially skidded off the road. My stress levels were rocketing, yet I had no choice but to remain calm. Panic would have finished me off, literally.

When I reached the South Lanarkshire town, I found a safe place to park my car and stopped. I got out of the vehicle and took my smartphone out and told people on social media on video to put safety first if anyone was thinking of travelling that evening. You can never take anything for granted, particularly when the weather is volatile.

I was initially bemused that snow occurred in February, but later realised that this isn’t necessarily unusual. There had been times in previous years when it’s falling and settling had caused mass chaos for commuters and disrupted many people’s lives.

After about over half an hour later, I set off again when the sleet had stopped. But the road remained treacherous. And the sleet was back and causing me more unease. It’s bad enough driving on a single carriageway in the dark on any normal night, but a night like this was even worse.

However, after what felt like a near eternity, I eventually reached the Edinburgh City Bypass. The rest of the journey was much less dramatic. But delight wasn’t the resulting emotion of my brutally tough drive home. It was just utter relief. Scotland has many of it’s benefits being resident here, but one of them isn’t bad weather!

Safety first!

Generally, a night out involves the use of alcohol.

But what if you are a teetotaller? Dry Edinburgh opened it’s doors to the public in January 2017.

What can this dry bar offer to the public (regardless of whether someone drinks alcohol or not)?

Today is St Valentine’s Day.

Today is the day when many couples will understandably harbour the spirit of the saying, “ignorance is bliss”.

Today might feel like a lonely experience, if you are single.

But let today be the very day that single people never drag themselves down, because they have no partner.

We are individual human beings in our own right. We have a right to our own personal individuality. And thank goodness we are all not the same, otherwise we will lose our right to our own individual personality and thinking. Our uniqueness as individual human beings makes us special. And our individuality is there to be defended, nurtured and preserved.

Singles, for one reason or another, are made to feel inadequate either consciously or subconsciously, because they don’t have a lover in their lives. Some people view them as abnormal as a result. This is absolutely callous and all single people must never think lower of themselves, because of what some other people happen to think.

For sure, life can feel difficult without love. Some single people might find someone special to fall in love with one day. Some might never find anyone at all, but let that not become a depressing prospect.

Life can also be difficult without your own space at all times. And whilst human beings remain independent to a certain extent when in love, they can never truly enjoy the uncompromising gift of independence that single people have the privilege to truly experience to it’s fullest potential.

I’m not suggesting that independence is necessairly compromised to a severe degree when in love. Couples are still two independent people in loving union. But the one gift a single person really has is independence that has the potential to flourish to a strong degree, if positive thinking is applied.

So while many couples all over the world enjoy the romantic fruits that Valentine’s Day has to bring and may nobody deny them their romantic enjoyment, February 14th should also be the date that single people stand up, shrug off any feelings of hopelessness and unapologetically celebrate their independence. And let this self-determination continue all year long as well.

As a single, heterosexual man, I feel no bitterness nor resentment about being independent. I used to and sometimes still do get frustrated about being alone, but my frustration is actually misplaced. Sure it would be a lovely thing to find that special lady out there, but the fact is that it will not happen any moment soon.

There is no point wasting my own energy on thinking about a hypothetical situation of being in love when that sort of aspiration is unnecessary at this time, especially in the kind of dynamic world that is all around today. And I would advise other single people to follow suit, regardless of who you are and what your background is.

Let us see a change of culture around us and show the rest the world that we are strong and in no need for other people’s validation. Single people of all kinds should see a date like February 14th in a positive manner.

We enter this planet alone. We will depart this planet alone. That is not negotiable. But whatever positive achievements that can be made in between is down to the energy and spirit of individual human beings, irrespective of whether they are in love or not, and their willingness to get results in order to improve their own livelihoods and the livelihoods of their family, friends and other people they know.

God willing, may February 14th be Independence Day for single people.

Hello and welcome to the new look anas.scot!

With a shiny new look website, I hope to bring you a great range of different content from interesting stories to personal opinion. And not just in written ways.

With a drive for multimedia, I intend to bring you the best from me in audio and video, as well as in writing.

You can also interact through my presence on social media on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Normally, unless there is an exception, my web address should appear on screen on any video that I personally produce and publish for here (either throughout or at a point or points during a video).

Thank you for visiting and please feel free to visit anytime!

A weather warning was issued by the Met Office earlier this weekend for wind predominantly in much of eastern Scotland.

The warning was put in place to run until tomorrow morning. It warned of wind speeds up to seventy miles per hour and stated that heavy rain might cause an additional hazard.

Areas affected included Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Perth and Kinross and Stirling.

Winds gathered speed and strength as the afternoon progressed on the Kirkcaldy coastline in Fife. However, a bit of blue sky was visible at one stage.

It is the second time this week that Scotland has faced poor weather. On Thursday, Storm Doris resulted in high speed winds and snowfall which affected commuters across the country.

A majority of people want to see a hovercraft service operating between Edinburgh and Fife, according to the results of a recent survey.

Nearly four out of five people wanted to see politicians act to bring about a hovercraft. Past closures of the Forth Road Bridge have caused problems for commuters.

Respondents were asked questions about their commuting habits, reasons for travelling and whether they wanted a hovercraft to provide an alternative travel route.

Around 70% of respondents said that there weren’t enough ways to make an efficient journey across the Forth. Just over 20% said that enough methods were available to cross.

Seventy five percent of the respondents were from Fife and nearly 73% said they made their journeys for leisure purposes whilst the business option and work option in the survey received just over 11% each. A total of 57% said they make a journey over the Forth once a week and just over half of the total respondents use the car to travel.

A trial of a Forth hovercraft was run 10 years ago. But the service was subsequently ditched after Edinburgh City Council refused permission although Fife Council did give the green light to the plan.

Forty four responses were made between the dates of January 11 to January 31. The survey was launched following the aftermath of the closure of the Forth Road Bridge on January 11 when a lorry travelling northbound blew over onto the southbound side of the carriageway in the early hours of that morning.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “The Council has carried out a number of studies and market testing with partners, including Fife Council, exploring the possibility of a cross Forth passenger service, both traditional ferry and hovercraft.

“To date no commercially viable service has been identified but we are happy to engage with any prospective operator and there have been discussions with representatives of Forthfast about their proposal.”

John Mitchell, Service Manager for Asset Management and Sustainable Transport commented: “Fife Council is supportive of, and would welcome, a hovercraft between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh or any other ferry service along the Forth where it was viable for a private operator to provide the service. Any new public transport provision would need to be owned and run as a self-sufficient business, offering services to the public.”

A spokesman for Transport Scotland said:  “An earlier trial of this hovercraft service involving Stagecoach and Fife Council was not continued following an unsuccessful application for funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which was rejected partly on the basis of concerns about commercial viability.

“It would be open in the future to commercial operators or the relevant local authorities – Fife or the City of Edinburgh Councils – to reintroduce a service if they felt it would be commercially viable or offer good value for money to do so.

“The business case for any service would have to take account of competition from other means of travel across the Firth of Forth, including the new Queensferry Crossing which is due to open in May.”

The success of budding television and film makers was celebrated at the Royal Television Society Scotland Student Awards last night.

The event was held at the Hub in Pacific Quay. Students from different educational institutions across Scotland were nominated in a variety of categories. It was presented by Henry Eagles.

Eric Romero is a writer director from Barcelona, but is based in Edinburgh. The Napier University graduate had a very successful evening winning two awards. The mockumentary Native Immigration won the award for comedy and entertainment and drama Lethe was the winner in the drama category.

Gnome triumped as the winner in the Animation category. The production team was Ben Cresswell, Tuomas Kytöniemi and Athos Tsiopani. It is the second time that Ben has won in this particular category. In 2016, he scooped the top prize for The Armadillo and the Earwig.

The Cornerman, a documentary which focused on boxing coach Rab Bannan, triumphed in the factual category. The production team consisted of Jamie Sutherland, Kate Galbraith, Calum McIntosh and Sean Hayman.

There were also other awards for craft. The camera award was won by James McAlpine. For sound, Marsaili Stewart-Skinner succeeded. Production Design saw Aurora Gibson take the top prize.

Yesterday, James Wilson stepped down as Chair of RTS Scotland after four years in the post. He is currently the Head of Faculty of Creative Industries Industry Academies at City of Glasgow College.

Jane Muirhead has become his successor. She is a co-founder and the managing director of Raise the Roof Productions.

RTS Scotland will be holding their fourth nationwide awards at Òran Mór in Glasgow this coming May.

ANIMATION

WINNER: Gnome

Edinburgh College of Art

Ben Cresswell, Tuomas Kytöniemi and Athos Tsiopani

NOMINEE: Illusions

Edinburgh College of Art

Dominica Harrison

COMEDY AND ENTERTAINMENT

WINNER: Native Immigration

Edinburgh Napier University

Eric Romero

DRAMA

WINNER: Lethe

Edinburgh Napier University

Eric Romero

NOMINEE: Greylag

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Ben Hunter, Lisa Ferguson, James McAlpine

NOMINEE: Reaper

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Amber Simpson, Lily Olley, David McMahon, Kirsty McNeil

FACTUAL

WINNER: The Cornerman

University of Stirling

Jamie Sutherland, Kate Galbraith, Calum McIntosh, Sean Hayman

NOMINEE: Man on Layby 52

The University of Edinburgh

Beth Woodruff, Ruaridh McIntosh Turner

NOMINEE: Ups and Downs

University of Stirling

Laura Beaton, Jemma Campbell, Andrea Linhova, Gemma Miller

CRAFT AWARDS

CAMERA

WINNER: James McAlpine, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

SOUND

WINNER: Marsaili Stewart-Skinner, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

PRODUCTION DESIGN

WINNER: Aurora Gibson, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Pro-EU supporters in Edinburgh joined with comrades across a number of other cities in Europe on Saturday to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the document that established the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957.

The march came days before the United Kingdom Government is expected to trigger Article 50, commencing a two year run of negotiations with the European Union (EU).

The march commenced at Waterloo Place near Princes Street in the city centre, making it’s way down Regent Road before turning onto Abbey Mount and Abbeyhill. It marched past the Scottish Parliament before settling outside the building.

A range of speakers addressed the crowd, including politicians from different parties and non-political figures. The Chairman of Young European Movement Edinburgh Jean François-Poncet expressed a defiant tone, “We have chosen to get together today under the blue and golden flag, the European flag.”

Vanessa Glynn is the Chairwoman of European Movement in Scotland and proudly asserted her identity, “English by birth, Irish by ancestry, Scottish by choice and European through and through.”

The pro-independence Scottish National Party are currently the party of government in Scotland. Their Westminster representative for Edinburgh South West Joanna Cherry QC MP established the Scottish Government’s willingness to keep Scotland within the European single market, “The Scottish Government offered Theresa May a compromise.

“They suggested perhaps that one way forward would be for Scotland to stay in the single market and they produced a detailed proposal to that effect. And as yet, they have not had the courtesy of a written reply.

“When a second independence referendum is held in Scotland, as before, EU nationals in Scotland will be given a vote. We will not deny you a vote.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are pro-UK, but are also pro-EU. Their Scottish Parliament representative for Edinburgh Western Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP hailed the impact of the crowd and said it was important for political institutions like the Scottish Parliament to hear the willingness of the crowd to retain their rights within the EU, “Edinburgh, you look amazing today and you are in fantastic voice.

“It’s so important, because those words need to be heard in this building they need to be heard in Westminster and they need to be heard in Brussels. We matter, we are united and we are citizens of the European Union.

“For the price of a latte, each week we get the ability to live where we want, work where we want and retire where we want and I know that every one of you want to retain those rights and we will do exactly that.”

Scotland voted Remain with 62% of the vote, but over a million voters north of the border did back leaving the EU. The campaign group Business for Brexit backed Brexit. Mev Brown is their former spokesman in Scotland, “I hope and expect common sense to prevail.

“I do appreciate and understand that and I’m sure British negotiators will also understand that European Union feelings have been hurt by the Brexit vote. Most of them have been shocked, most of them have been upset.

“Like any other loss, it’s something that they’ll have to work through in their own way and hopefully beyond that point, common sense will prevail in the negotiations with Britain and the European Union negotiators.”

In June 2016, voters across the UK who participated in the EU referendum backed Brexit by 52% to 48%. Northern Ireland also backed staying in the EU, but England and Wales opted to leave.

On 13 March 2017, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told journalists at Bute House that she intended to seek a section 30 order from the UK Government to hold a second independence referendum by spring 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May told the Political Editor of ITV News Robert Peston in a television interview that ‘now is not the time’ for such a second plebiscite.

This coming Tuesday, the Scottish Parliament is expected to back a second independence referendum. The following day, the UK Government will trigger Article 50 meaning that two years of negotiations between the UK and the EU will begin.

In 1993, the EEC became the European Community (EC), before it largely absorbed into the modern day EU. The EU consists of twenty eight member states, including the UK which is soon expected to leave by 2019 after last June’s EU referendum.

Raith Rovers sealed a crucial win after defeating play off contenders Greenock Morton by two goals to nil at Stark’s Park this afternoon.

The Kirkcaldy side felt the pressure early on from the away team, but the home side took the lead after 27 minutes. Craig Barr headed the ball in from a corner kick. Around five minutes later, Ryan Hardie nearly handed the home side a two goal lead. 

The relegation battlers retained a one goal lead going into the second half. Kudus Oyenuga of Morton hit the post after receiving the ball from a cross by Jamie McDonagh. 

However, Ross Matthews doubled the lead for the home side on the 58th minute. With under twenty minutes left, Danny Handling nearly put Raith three goals ahead.

Morton’s John Scullion hit the post after taking a free kick from outside the eighteen yard box. Raith’s Rudi Skacel went wide for the home side with around fifteen minutes before the end of the game.

Raith Rovers’ win this afternoon meant the pressure eased off them in their battle to beat relegation to Scottish League One. The Kirkcaldy side are now seventh in the Scottish Championship table tonight and one point above ninth placed Dumbarton. Morton remain fourth and are still widely expected to participate in the play offs for a place in the Scottish Premeirship.

ATTENDANCE: 1720

GOALS: Raith Rovers – Craig Barr (27 mins) and Ross Matthews (58 mins)

KICK-OFF: 3:00pm (UK time)

STARTING LINEUPS:

RAITH ROVERS: Pavol Penksa, Jason Thomson (C), Kevin McHattie, Jean-Yves M’Voto, Chris Johnston, Ross Matthews, Iain Davidson, Rudi Skacel, Danny Handling, Ryan Hardie, Craig Barr 

GREENOCK MORTON: Derek Gaston, Lee Kilday (C), Ricki Lamie, Thomas O’Ware, Gary Oliver, Ross Forbes, Kudus Oyenuga, Jamie Lindsay, Aiden Nesbitt, Jamie McDonagh, Andrew Murdoch

SUBSTITUTES:

RAITH ROVERS: Conor Brennan, Mark Stewart (79 mins, on for D Handling), Bobby Barr (57 mins, on for C Johnson), Jonny Court, Kyle Benedictus, Jordan Thompson, Declan McManus (63 mins, on for R Hardie)

GREENOCK MORTON: Jamie McGowan, Michael Doyle, Michael Tidser (63 mins, on for J Lindsay), John Scullion, Lawrence Shankland (77 mins, on for G Oliver), Mark Russell, Luke Donnelly

REFEREE:

Alan Newlands

ASSISTANT REFEREES:

Andrew McWilliam

Steven Traynor

Life is a hill. Persistence matters. The summit is spectacular.

The Scottish capital looked fantastic on 3rd May 2017.

Politics’ elasticity in the western world, as we have known it for the last few decades, has and still is being put to the test like never before.

Nearly a year ago, over 17 million voters in the United Kingdom backed leaving the European Union. Their vote was a cry for help combined with a serious dissatisfaction with the way the UK was governed and a f**k you salute to politicians and their poor performance in general. Months later, Donald Trump became President of the United States, because of the failure and sanctimony of mainstream politicians on the other side of the Atlantic. And France came a not too considerable distance away from the possibility of Marine Le Pen becoming President until today. However this time, a candidate of her kind failed.

I voted to Remain in the EU last year, albeit the referendum was one of the most disgusting experiences in my lifetime. The Remain side lacked patriotism and passion in defending the UK’s membership of the EU whilst the Leave side lacked any credibility in making the case for an independent United Kingdom outside the EU. If I were an American voter, I would have refused to support Mr Trump, but I would have also been very unhappy at the prospect of supporting Hillary Clinton at the same time (I’d have voted for her, but very reluctantly). Both candidates last November were low quality choices of political candidate to become the leader of the free world. However, as far as France is concerned, if I had a say there, I’d have been happier backing the courageous, creative and smart Emmanuel Macron, but with some reservations.

Emmanuel Macron has disappointed me in the last couple of weeks. He has left open goals for Marine Le Pen to score. For example, at a factory in Amiens (Macron’s hometown), he was given a frosty reception by workers who were on strike (link via Bloomberg). She arrived at the same place and had photographs taken with the workers (link via The Guardian). Macron should have summarised a plan for what he wanted to do to help the Whirlpool factory as opposed to wasting time scoring a political point over his opportunistic rival. An adrenaline induced situation would cause for such an occurrence, but he didn’t handle the situation there well.

However, when it came to the televised debate earlier on TF1 this week, he made a better impression of himself whilst his rival lost the plot (link via The Guardian). It would have been a sickening shame if he had undone his extraordinary progress by having a flop of a final two weeks before the second round. But thankfully, he avoided disaster. His rival however, albeit has done better than her father in 2002, still failed abymassbly on this occasion. France has avoided a similar path to the UK and USA.

Emmanuel Macron must not celebrate too hard. Instead, he should get straight to work without delay. Any naïvity on his part must be removed and quickly. France has massive issues and the world as well as his nation depends on him being a truly successful leader. Politicians’ biggest weakness is bathing themselves with too much self-joy upon being victorious and showing too little in the aftermath. 

Results matter and he must address the economic issues facing the country including the country’s unemployment rate which stands at 10% (link via OECD). He must also make France more secure and restore French national pride with a view to truly reaching out to all communities. And most importantly, he needs to make sure that France’s membership of the EU really does work for the people of France, as opposed to the other way round. Just because Macron defeated Le Pen by almost two to one in the final vote (link via Sky News), it doesn’t mean that the whole country is enthusiastic about EU membership. He needs to win people over beyond those who voted for him.

If Emmanuel Macron does not achieve positive results for the people of France, then he will have truly failed his country and the world. The globe is watching carefully.

Le président élu Macron, veuillez fournir.

Featured Image from Mutualité Française (CC BY-NC 2.0)

A cyber attack has reportedly affected much of the NHS in Scotland and England.

I have worked as a community pharmacist for a time of well over the last four years.

Please take a look at a video I published this morning with some important information for patients north of the border.

Please listen to the above clip for my package for Kingdom FM News on the morning of the results of the UK General Election 2017 where I reported specifically on the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency.

Please click here for my article on Kingdom FM’s website reporting on the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath result.

Twelve months ago, Jo Cox was murdered in Birstall, West Yorkshire.

I remember exactly when and where I was when I learned of her death. It was sometime after 6pm when I finished my pharmacist shift and I was driving home listening to BBC Radio Scotland’s Newsdrive. The moment I tuned in, I suspected something major had happened and was absolutely repulsed when it became apparent to me what had happened.

I am guilty to admit I hardly knew anything about Jo prior to that day. But since this time last year, I realised why she was a beautiful human being. I came to realise why she was one of the greatest parliamentarians in UK history, despite only being elected to the House of Commons for just over a year until she left the world. And I very quickly worked out why the grief amongst many was so powerful.

The killing of Jo Cox happened whilst the whole country was in the middle of one of the most disgraceful referendum campaigns of all time. The EU referendum, alongside this year’s UK General Election, represented the worst of politics. Gutter politics was rife. People’s conduct was well below the par. And the political atmosphere was literally poison.

Jo Cox represented the gold standard in politics. For example, in an article for The Observer, the former Labour MP shelved party politics to unite with Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell to courageously put a constructive solution forward to easing the humanatarian crisis in Syria and rightly condemned the vacuousness of the international community when it came to the lack of action to try and put a stop to the conflict (link via Guardian online).

That example is a definition of Jo, alongside a political colleague of a different party, having the decency to bin party political tribalism in order to potentially achieve a greater good. It’s a pathetic shame that we don’t see more examples of this kind in our politics today, because life is too short to erect barrier after barrier from your political opponent just for the sake of either playing to the crowd or protecting your own self-interest in securing re-election in the future.

On a slightly different subject, I was in despair listening to First Minister’s Questions yesterday. I really thought it would have been a far more dignified and somber occassion, particularly given the awful events at Grenfell Tower in London earlier this week and of course given that today is the anniversary of Jo Cox’s murder. Too often, I switch on my social media apps to find nothing but cheap jibes made, santicmony rife and downright rudeness so apparent. And the lack of proper leadership and positive results in terms of delivering real change and policy is far too obvious these days. If there is anything people should take from Jo Cox’s legacy, it is to up their game when it comes to political practice.

Politics and democracy is ill at this time. It is infected with soundbites, political parties possessing an unhealthy obsession and disdain for rival parties and a real lack of insight into the real issues affecting people’s lives on a daily basis. As someone who’s been involved in politics before, if there’s anything that makes me sick to my stomach it’s the cheap shots at rival candidates or parties in order to play to the crowd or fellow political comrades. Yes I know we’ve all, even myself, been dragged down into the undesirable business of scoring political points. But it’s frankly nauseous.

Since last summer, I’ve tried hard to maintain as diplomatic a nature as possible when it comes to providing my own opinion on what’s happening in the world. Yes of course just because I despise tribalism, it doesn’t mean constructive criticism cannot happen. But if one is to criticise, then that criticism needs to be coherent, fair and free of any self-righteousness. I think a lot of people need to understand this, especially on an anniversary like this, otherwise the quality of our politics will remain poor for a very long time to come and jeopardise the future of democracy – it cannot be taken for granted, especially at a time like now.

The murder of Jo Cox was truly one of those moments that stopped me in my tracks. Today will have been a day for people to reflect. But from today onwards, politicians, political activists and everyone else should make an intention within themselves and others to drive the quality of politics upwards, for the greater good.

Can the step up to the mark be made? God willing, let’s hope so.

Image from Garry Knight via Flickr under CC0 1.0 licence (picture cropped from original photo, in accordance with terms of licence)

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

On Tuesday, I had the honour of receiving an MA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of the West of Scotland. This represented my second graduation ever following on from achieving a Masters in Pharmacy from the Robert Gordon University in the early half of this decade. My graduation in Troon earlier this week was one of the most enjoyable moments of my entire life and will be a time I never forget.

The achievement at UWS came around 18 months after I decided to take an essential change in direction in my career and life. I always wanted to complete a journalism qualification for many years and last summer saw me reach a major crossroad in my life journey. In my late 20’s and having built up some life experience and learning how to become a resilient individual in an ever dynamic and volatile world, it was a ‘now or never’ moment.

I didn’t give up being a pharmacist and still work within community pharmacy, but it was time to finally make a start on fulfilling my ambitions as a broadcaster by ensuring I received professional training to become a competent broadcast journalist. I have past experience of hospital radio and doing various work experience at places such as STV and felt it was time for me to build upon that.

The main attraction to the MA Broadcast Journalism course at UWS was the fact it wasn’t like a traditional degree. It is designed to help aspiring broadcast journalists gain all the essential skills required to excel in the real world. Broadcast journalists have to be well equipped to do the job of reporting and informing the public about what’s going on all around us.

And doing what you really love is very important. By not pursuing your genuine passions, you waste your time, you lose your self-respect, you don’t gain respect from others, your life becomes mundane and you can never be truly successful. This life is too short to render it pointless.

The reaction to the news of my graduation earlier this week on social media was wonderful. I thank every person who has congratulated me on my achievement. I want to thank every single person for their encouragement, love and support. And I especially want to say special thanks to all of my family who have been very tolerant and understanding of me, always. I couldn’t be more grateful for their love. And thank you to my brother for the photograph he took of me on Tuesday as featured on here.

I want to especially thank the University for welcoming me. Gaining approval for me to study for the MA was hugely appreciated and meeting Ewan Crawford at the start of the learning experience was a pleasure. It was sad I didn’t see much of him during the year as he moved on from UWS to start work at the Scottish Government around a year ago. I hope he is well.

I want to thank all the staff, guest speakers and other people who taught, helped and gave me advice over this past year or so. Whilst regrettably I cannot list every last member of staff (please do not feel hurt either, you are definitely not forgotten for your good), I want to pay tribute especially to Elizabeth McLaughlin, James Mahon, David Holmes, Shona Wallace, Peter Geoghegan, Christine Jardine, Blane Savage, Tony Grace and Alison Bell.

I want to thank everyone else I met on campus, especially my fellow comrades within the same cohort I was within who were aiming for the same successful outcome. Some went on to either achieve an MA award, a postgraduate diploma or are continuing to aim to achieve their qualification in the near future, God willing. I will miss many good people and hope not to lose contact with people who, in spirit, are my comrades and could be people I work in collaboration with elsewhere within professional environments in the future. Major congratulations to all of my fellow graduates and best wishes to everyone pursuing their career aspirations.

I also want to thank Chemist and Druggist, Common Space, Global Campus Network, Global Newsroom (Glasgow) and Kingdom FM News for allowing me the opportunity to further my development as a broadcast journalist. I also thank everyone involved with my MA project during the past summer.

Also, thanks must go to Stagecoach (East Scotland and West Scotland) for their excellent standard of bus service which I made use of to commute to and back from my campus in Ayr. A daily commute from home in Fife to Ayr was around three hours each way. I opted not to re-locate west as that was financially unaffordable.

One of my big highlights of 2016/17 was anchoring Scotland’s coverage of international online television programme ‘From Where We Stand’ on Global Campus Network which previewed last year’s US Presidential Election. Presentation is my major strength in journalism and my favourite aspect of being a broadcast journalist, especially live. But’s it’s important to realise there are many more important activities and tasks like production, research and writing, the latter of the three where I’ve grown a much enhanced appreciation over the last year or so.

Ultimately, I thank God for granting me the opportunity to be bold enough to start properly pursuing my dream career direction. Hard work, passion and a determination to win are essential ingredients for success and without them over the last year and a bit, I would have not achieved my MA qualification.

God willing, may I and everyone else continue to self-develop professionally and elsewhere in life to the best possible standards. This is not a time for anything less than excellence. Without doubt, there will be challenges and mistakes to learn from, but this is human. But it is important to always improve. And it is always important to strive to win.

All praise is due to God alone.