[DavidnChris]

  It was a shotgun wedding..........with the English holding the shotgun.
That was then this is now. I'm proud to be English but I've had tears in my eyes at the Edinburgh tattoo.

[jameslindsay]

But will Scotland ever get Independence??? Personally I doubt it... and hope not.

[jameslindsay]

Brilliant news! Today we received word from Building Control that they wll not insist we put the damned lift in - £30k saved!!!

James

[sandy]

Better work quick before another new law is past.

[rustyme]

yes and before the next letter comes , stating that have to convert your building to a bungalow !!!
 

Russ

[jameslindsay]

The whole system is a farce!

[doganjo]

I've just heard that the man who bought my old cottage has got permission to change the barn into a house - but there is a restriction on the percentage increase in the hamlet (20% of current stock in any 5 year planning period) he's got the go ahead and and I was told I had to wait till 2011 when the next period starts!  I am SOOO mad at him as well because when he moved in he buried all the beautiful plants we had that hadn't yet come through in weed fabric and 3 inches of gravel.  Hundreds if not thousands of pounds wasted and plants murdered!  I had them all charted and if he'd told me what he wanted to do I could have rescued the plants.  URRGGHH

[jameslindsay]

My GP's surgery has 2 surgeries, 1 in Leuchars and the other in Balmullo. It has 3 full time Dr's and both units dispense the presciptions on site. However, about 6 months ago the tiny post office in Leuchars applied to open on site a chemist dispensary. The entire community went to war against this idea as the post office is far too small, offers no privacy, has no car parking and no disabled facilities. Our Dr's organised a massive campaign against the proposals, their objections being that due to the new dispensary being opposite one of their own surgeries it would have to close down. If the Dr's lost the revenue from the prescriptions they would have to close down one of the surgeries, pay off one of the Full Time Dr's and several receptionists and dispensing people would also loose their job.

However, the Board that makes the decisions to "grant" licences to dispense drugs through the Post Offices application out and both our surgeries were safe. Then, wait for it, the same Glasgow based company that applied for the license the first time, changed  their name and reapplied and low and behold yesterday they were granted their licence!!! This beggers belief. One of the partners of the surgery is a friend of ours and he is gob smacked that this has happened. Why?

The Leuchars surgery will have to close, if this madness goes ahead. Balmullo is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and to get a bus there is not very easy so the elderly will really struggle to go see a Dr. Plus if they loose a Dr you will have approx. 10 days to wait for an appointment it is estimated. This country is pure mental and I am sure that the s**t will hit the fan in our community once people learn what has happened this time.

[gavo]

Funny that the same thing happened in our village GP dispensing meds but then a pharmacy was allowed to set up virtually next door to the surgery. It was stated at the time by the GPs [3] that they would not be able to continue our satelitte practice and that a GP .would have to go without the revenue from the dispensing .Yes a GP did leave he retired but was back within a few weeks doing only a few less hours a week than before. As for the chemist the locals didn't want it but now it's here they love it and the owner although not living in the village has become very much a part of village life joining in with many activities and helping to organise many more.Don't forget the very substantial salaries GPs earn and that they get money for prescriptions no matter who dispenses.

[Hilarysmum]

Surely the answer lies in people power . .. just boycott the new chemist

[clumbaboy]

With regards to the scottish notes down south, it may just be my childish attitude, one supermarket in particular refuses to except them, so while visiting folks fill up large trolley, after going through checkout hand over my hard earned scottish notes and get told we dont accept those here, my cheery reply, enjoy putting that lot back on the shelves then!! Gives me a chuckle every time.

[Troubled Waters]

That's just the sort of bloody mindedness that really appeals to me! Now eveyone in the office is wondering why I am laughing to myself.

As to planners, there is nothing worse than a jobsworth that can't see the bigger picture.  My ad does kitches, staircases, floor boards and windows for conversion and the times planning has been lost because a barn is listed.  This means instead of being sensitively preserved the thing falls to ruin, is that the point of lising a building...?!?

James, great news about the lift!!! As you say, there is a distinct lack of common sense around these days!

[jameslindsay]

With regards to the scottish notes down south, it may just be my childish attitude, one supermarket in particular refuses to except them, so while visiting folks fill up large trolley, after going through checkout hand over my hard earned scottish notes and get told we dont accept those here, my cheery reply, enjoy putting that lot back on the shelves then!! Gives me a chuckle every time.

Ha ha ha,I love it...

[doganjo]

I've done that at an English petrol station(not deliberately though) - £42 of petrol and I'd left my card at my friend's house but had cash in the car.  They refused to start with but called the manager, he had to come from another garage 20 minutes away and everyone in the petrol station was being held up after me. They finally accepted the notes.  If anyone refuse tehm I just tell tehm theya re worth more than the ones they ahev down there.  Our banks have gold reserves, theirs have gone bust! 

[Hilarysmum]

We had a group of well non french, in a superstore brico place near hear who held up the queue at lunch time for so long arguing about currency that finally they got to walk with all their shopping ...