Working Lunch

Monday's normal routine was broken with a little working lunch at Blackaddie. It was an opportunity for local business people to meet Alex Ferguson, David Mundell and Annabel Goldie and voice concerns over issues affecting local business in Mid and Upper Nithsdale

Top of the agenda was the shifting of the map for European Regeneration funding and the potential impact to this area's larger employers - while bureaucrat's massage statistics and change funding boundaries, we need to be sure we are heard. People of Nithsdale are living in an area needy of regeneration efforts - statisticians appear to consider car ownership a luxury, not a necessity, so the higher the car : population ratio, the more wealthy they perceive a community to be. That may be fine for an urban home counties area - but not here. More thought needs to be given to which measuring sticks are used.

Green Issues were another discussion point. The causes and effects of global warming will put energy conservation at the forefront of policy making of any party and I have no doubt green taxes will bring in lots of money ... what we need to hear is how that money will be used ...

It was interesting to put faces to the names - thanks everyone

ps I was feeling a little out of my comfort zone but thankfully had no major problems with my jerks

Monday Morning Kisses

What a great start to the day - kisses from Eddie

Eddie is Alison's shetland pony - 30 inches tall with a big heart and hair like mine! He's so cute I want him in the bookshop with me

What have you done with your extra hour?

British Summer Time is officially over and we Brits gained an extra hour today when the clocks went back

What have you done with the extra hour? Me - I used it to catch up on what's happening in the world and visit the blogs I missed during the week ...

Small World Big Love

Been another busy session in the bookshop - times goes so quickly! Especially if you blether like me. Simon came in - he enjoyed the quiz last night and is going to organise a murder mystery night sometime. Ken from the Post Office called in too and was happy with last nights results.
Met a sweet family from Holland - from Haarlem - that took me back a few years - I went on a few hockey tour to the Terriers Club in Haarlem ... when I think of Haarlem I'm reminded of Louise and Sarah and the drunken hockey tours we went on - oh and the bruises too. I remember Louise trying to take my photo one night - she had her camera in her hand and was walking backwards to get a better shot - she fell over and her head cracked on the pavement - I ran up to her and as I bent over her, the camera flashed - she had no idea she landed on her head. That was the same night Sarah fell out of the minibus. The sliding door wasn't closed tight and when the bus went round a corner, the door slid open and Sarah was gone. We went back for her - she was fine - a bit stunned but fine!

Special mention to Joyce and Beverley

Isn't it cool when special people walk into your life? I love it. Today I met Joyce from East Peckham, Kent and her daughter in law Beverley. They are both special women. Joyce is 82, an artist and has a story inside her just bursting to get out. I think we'll stay in touch - hope so - she wants to get her story out and I'd like to help her achieve that ... just think of all the memories she could preserve - have a feeling it'll be a touching story ...

Sanquhar Business Forum Quiz

We had the first Sanquhar Business Forum Quiz in the town hall last night - it was great fun - all the local intelligensia turned out - many should have turned themselves in ;-)

It was good to get so many local businesses together - everyone is so busy daytime - nice to see folk out of the workplace.

The team from The Glendyne took the trophy, closely followed by Penny Black - the Post Office team ... third place went to Neanderthals and the Whizz Kids collected the wooden spoons!

Thanks to Douglas from Sanquhar Tiles for being a Bookmark and to Carol Baker and her committee for arranging the event - looking forward to the next one

National Theatre of Scotland

Cool! The National Theatre of Scotland's Touring Ensemble rolled into Sanquhar this week - most of them managed to make it into the bookshop between shows and it was lovely to meet them. Special thanks to Georgina who kept coming back and probably had to hire an extra truck to get back to London!
Caught the last performance of Mancub on Wednesday evening - it was fast, funny, passionate, moving and tender. Three actors playing a string of different characters, switching characters fluidly with the most amazing skill. Mancub was aimed at over 12's and captured the moods and torment of a teenage boy dealing with adolescence - full of angst and with lashings of humour, it was a real treat - well done NTS!