Still rushing around - but Ma Piggy just paced herself.

Thursday

How time flies, and getting nowhere fast, or it feels that way.

Back to the Mercat Bar this morning, and a serious shock when I arrived at the NCP Car Park, Morrison Street. I had my £7.10p clutched in my hand but discovered that they had changed scale of payments and had removed the 6 to 8 hour slot so now I have to pay £9.50p in the 6 – 24 hr segment for my 7 hours – a daily increase of £2.40p which equates to a 33% increase – what a robbing shower of thieves, for the privilege of parking in a goods yard with inadequate lighting which has not worked for nearly a year, full of potholes, and which floods regularly. What more can I say?

Into Dewar Place and obviously far too much to expect an improvement in the tramworks - now a year after the start and the hole on the road there is bigger than ever, it must be costing hundreds of thousands on this one small section of the project. I believe that yet another article appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News saying that the whole project is now nearly two years behind schedule.

Bar was busy all morning so I was kept on the trot till time to head home. Then it was a very quick change and off to do one of my own jobs, it was fascinating as I was able to watch a pregnant sow giving birth to her piglets. While watching two of the piglets popped out and within a couple of minutes were wobbling about on their little legs and trying to find a teat to suckle on – just a marvel.

Now in Dalkeith waiting for the lodge No 10 to open where there is a meeting of Esk 42 Cryptic Council due to start shortly. Last night’s meeting of Esk 42 RA was fairly quiet , not helped by the fact that the building was very cold.
The Lodge is next door to a kids nursery and for the last half hour there has been total chaos as parents have been zooming in and out to pick up the kids – the parking is shocking with cars being abandoned, then there are some wonderful exhibitions of reversing.

Just home after the meeting - small number present , but with five candidates it turned out to be a great night with everyone present getting involved.

Up sharp again for another session in the Mercat, but bigger day on Saturday with Scotland playing Fiji at Murrayfield, and me having an OSM meeting at Bonnyrigg in the middle of a shift.