Cats, Cars and Toads - Caring Conservativism in action

It's been some weekend on the campaign trail. 

Whilst my namesake from Fife once claimed to have saved the world , I've saved a couple of potentially catastrophic calamities whilst out delivering my resident's survey over the past 48 hours.

Down in South Gyle on Saturday, I was met by a young mum with her wee kid & whilst discussing the issues surrounding dog fouling in the area, something caught her eye.  "Is that car moving?" she enquired...

Like Ussain Bolt out of the blocks, this retired rugby prop forward made an emergency dash to halt the runaway motor from careering into a park car.  I made it with inches to spare!  Phew. 

A grateful resident came out to secure the handbrake and off I went to finish my delivery run.

Today, it was the turn of the Toad.

Yip, there was a toad on a wee Sunday sojourn to the Craigmount part of the ward.

Blissfully unaware of the dangers around it, our wee amphibian friend just sat there minding its own business.

Thankfully, lets call him Tory Toad, was grateful for the assistance in getting him back onto the grassy verge away from danger.

Regular viewers of my Twitter feed will also recall a couple of weeks back when I saved a cat from being the cause of a certain crash and a potentially poor outcome for the moggy.

The big question is - will I carry this luck with me to the ballot box on May 3rd?

I'll be out on the hunt to cross as many black cats over the next 53 days of campaigning....

Four seasons in one canvassing day...

As the old saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in Edinburgh, hang around 5 minutes".

That was certainly the case in Craigmount, Wester Broom and South Gyle today as I experienced hail, snow, sunshine and freezing cold conditions during a positive day on the campaign trail.

It was an interesting and educational day, discussing issues such as schools, elderly care (I was actually horrified at one particular story relayed to me), potholes and parking on pavements with 100's of residents.  I even had one resident tell me that she put a fence round her garden as a result of finding two youths having sex in her garden!! 

It is abundently clear that a lot of people are looking for change at the Council come May 3rd.

Now, I am not as deluded as some to suggest that everyone is voting for me.  That would be foolish and unwise.  Indeed, I still chuckle at the level of activists and candidates who proclaim on Twitter etc to have had a cliche-tastic 'great day on the doorstep'. 

However, with my growing record of action delivered in the ward since my selection, together with more positive outcomes to be announced shortly, I believe that I have made and will continue to make the case to encourage residents to come out on May 3rd and vote Conservative for a change.   

Craigmount Residents Association AGM

Tonight saw the third local meeting in as many nights and it was in the back room of the Mid Yoken pub that the residents of one part of Craigmount Brae met for their AGM.
It was good to see over 25 folk in attendance to discuss matters from fees for the landscaping levy to setting up a No Cold Calling Zone.

Neighbourhood Watch is also in operation and the meeting was informed of a couple of potential door to door scams that been thwarted in the area over the year and also that residents should be careful of online scams in their emails.  Very wise words indeed.  Remember folks, if it's too good to be true - it generally is!!

This kind of community spirit and engagement is to be commended and I'd like to see more parts of the ward and the City form Residents Associations.

Meeting up with the ladies of the Craigmount Community Wing 'Thursday Club'

This morning, I was delighted to accept the invitation from the ladies of the Thursday Club, who meet in the Craigmount High School Community Wing, to go along and speak about my campaign and why the electorate of Drum Brae / Gyle should vote for me.

In what was a bitter morning, the heat was on - but thankfully not on me! 

After letting the ladies know of my achievements so far on the campaign and what I hope to bring to the ward should the votes go my way on May 3rd, it was a chance for our very own version of Question Time! 

The lovely Thursday Club ladies were gentle and I came out of it relatively unscathed - I am not 100% convinced some of the incumbents would have been afforded such a luxury....

Several fundamentally basic provisions for a safer, cleaner and better area were brought to my attention and these will be relayed back to the Council to allow them to make good and rectify.

A fantastic group of ladies, so much so that I was invited to their Burns Supper next Friday!

Canvassing in Craigmount

It was time to hunt out the winter woolies and the clipboard and pen on Saturday.  Yes, time to hit the streets of Drum Brae / Gyle for a canvassing session.

Today's session saw me take in several parts of Craigmount in what was a bitterly cold day in the Capital.

However, nothing warms your heart than a welcome at the doorstep from residents - even the ones with the big barking dogs! (It warms your heart even more as it beats a lot faster!)

Engagement with residents so far has been a very positive experience on the campaign trail, with new activists, new voters & members being picked up along the way.

As far as election cliches go, yes it really was a 'great response on the doorstep'!