Maureen MacGregor

Like almost everybody else, I was shocked when I heard the news that Nicola Sturgeon was standing down as First Minister.  I had been late to the information as I was working and when I switched on my phone later in the day, I was presented with a series of incredulous texts from my children before eventually working out what had happened.  Over the remainder of the day as the news filtered through to people, there seemed to be a genuine sense of shock at the news even from people who made no secret of their dislike and distrust of the SNP and the onlyRead More →

I’ve recently spent a few days down at Raigmore Hospital while my son was in for an operation.  During a 5 day stay I was in awe of the dedication and care from the staff no matter how busy they were.  Everybody had time for a blether with the patients and visitors and the calm and patient demeanour of the staff was very evident. With no set visiting hours, you were generally welcome anytime and this helped greatly with the flow of people in the wards and made for an easier visiting experience. Raigmore is the main hospital for the whole of the Highlands andRead More →

The youngest had texted me and told me she had something really funny to show me when I got home from work.  As soon as I saw it, I recognised the writing and knew exactly what it was.  She had been intrigued to find a hand written unstamped letter but puzzled why it had come with the post.  As it was addressed to “Dear neighbour” she had theorised that she was quite within her rights to open it and found a lovely Christmas card and a handwritten letter.  Turning it over she found that it was from the Liberal Democrats and the letter from ourRead More →

An article appeared in the local press recently about the council mooting an idea for reducing the size of the general waste bins for households by almost half.  Currently larger households and those with certain medical needs have an increased bin capacity and smaller households have a smaller one; this proposal would see all households reduce to the size of the small households.  The pros were that it would encourage householders to increase their recycling rate and be more careful with what they recycle as they would not be able to just chuck it in the bin like it is currently presumed they do.  TheRead More →

Unsurprisingly, Rishi Sunak is now Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Union.  There was no way that Penny Mordaunt was going to be allowed to follow in Liz Truss” shoes and, even though there have been far more men managing to destroy what they have been in charge of, Liz Truss was the architect of her own downfall playing to the stereotype of a weak willed female incapable of making a decision and the damage has been done for many years now.  Quite how quickly her premiership came to an end was shocking however and there should be manyRead More →

I had been in London at the weekend and took the train to the airport on the way home as usual.  It was quiet when we boarded and found a seat easily behind an elderly well-to-do couple sitting diagonally on a 4 seater.  I soon noticed that the man had edged our suitcase forward and was using it as a convenient armrest whilst reading the paper and wasn’t too happy when the bairn retrieved it suddenly.  As the train began to fill, their empty seats remained free of people  but laden with bags until a young woman got on with a baby and proceeded toRead More →

We have been glued to the TV this week watching the swimming at the Commonwealth Games and feeling so proud of how they have all done.  Swimming is probably one of the few sports where there is not the same sporting rivalry between the nations as it is such an individual sport.  I was a swimmer as is one of my children so I understand only too well the hours of training and discipline that the athletes have put in and to see all the swimmers not only qualifying for the events but reaching the finals is incredible.  Hearing the roar of Flower of ScotlandRead More →

Like everywhere else in the country,  the recent local election results were particularly fortunate for us in Highland Region.  SNP councillors were returned in every ward bar one with the majority being returned on first preference votes and many successes with two candidate wards.  The results were expected in one way as the campaigns had been positive with the candidates putting in a tremendous amount of work but unexpected in the sense that Highland is traditionally seen as Independent and the opposition parties and candidates had in some cases fought personal and hostile campaigns.  As some councils were won outright by the SNP, others beganRead More →

With less than a fortnight to go before the local council elections are officially called, candidates for the different parties are beginning to make themselves known over social media and the local rumour mill is in full force filling in any gaps. There has been an interesting development up here; a Tory Councillor from Inverness has announced that he will stand in our constituency as he feels not enough is done for rural communities.  He has been getting himself involved in local issues for a few months now which seemed strange but now makes sense and in the press release he states that he isRead More →