What would Andrew Reeves do about Steve Jobs cause of death?

One of my first thoughts about the fact that Steve Jobs died yesterday of pancreatic cancer is that I'm sure Andrew Reeves would have used the fact that he too lost his dearly beloved mother to the same disease as a really from the heart plea for people to donate to research into one of the most virulent types of cancer that there is.

How am I so sure, because he chose the day that was his mother's birthday earlier this year to get married to someone else he loved immensely, his dear husband Roger. He even mentioned his mother's disease on that day.

He of course wrote about the first Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week back in 2009. When he mentioned some of the really heart breaking facts:

• Pancreatic cancer only has a 3% survival rate, that hasn't improved in forty years.
• It's the 5th most common cause of caner death in the UK
• Survival rates for pancreatic cancer are extremely low – 4-6 months on average after diagnosis, with the 5 year survival rates less than 3%.

He may of course have told you all how almost a year ago he took part in a 10k race at Hopetoun House, largely because the charity he was being asked to run with Bev, Elspeth, Siobhan and Fiona was Cancer Research. It may have been only 1 hour 19 minutes of his life, and he would have easily rattled off several blog posts about pancreatic cancer in that time, but is was an period of time he was proud to have given to the cause.

However, of course I'm not 100% sure what Andrew would have been doing as soon as he learnt of Steve Jobs death. All I can guess is that he would have made a plea for pancreatic cancer.

That is why most of all and no matter what he would have used today and the sad news of Steve Jobs death to the same disease to highlight two worthy charities dedicated to pancreatic cancer, Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund and Pancreatic Cancer UK.


So as Andrew is no longer around to ask you to do it yourself let me on his behalf say, although the death of Steve Jobs from pancreatic cancer is a terrible loss, so to is the next person to die of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, please give generously and if you are able please give with gift aid as well so that the tax you've paid on your donation is also given to the cause. How to donate.

Vote Andrew Reeves 1

Yeah it is that time of year where I have to decide whether I should be upfront and blatant of like Uriah Heep and ever so humble. This year for the Total Politics Blog Awards I have have no such qualms.

GIVE YOUR NUMBER ONE TO

Andrew Reeves

Yeah I've lost a great friend and the world has lost a great blogger. Many of my readers will probably also have been readers of Andrew's blog either because you follow me since I'm a fellow Lib Dem, spent time in Scotland or are a fellow politico. If you did you should also have been aware of Andrew Reeves' blog. If not Caron has a good summation of what he covered over the last year until his untimely death in early June. As she says "Andrew wrote punchy, pugnacious posts which made their point with all the subtlety of a pneumatic drill." The most fitting tribute I could have for him is to finish behind him for the first time in the Total Politics Blog Rankings.

So follow the link the survey you have to fill in at least 5 blogs for your vote to count but you can vote for 10. Just remember.

Andrew Reeves' Running Blog 1

Of course as you have to vote for at least 4 more a preference for me would be appreciated.

Lib Dems choose Sophie Bridger for Inverclyde

Picture of me explaing something. Sophie is on the arm of the chair

Congratulation to my friend Sophie Bridger who today has been announced as the Liberal Democrat candidate to fight the Inverclyde by election. Sophie is the current President of Liberal Youth Scotland and like her predecessors is a strong voice not just for student issues but Liberal values.

I last saw Sophie on Friday at the funeral of Andrew Reeves the Scottish Director of Campaigns. With Andrew's invovlemnt both with campaigns and Liberal Youth he would be enthusiastically looking forward to, scrap that he'd already be throwing himself into, helping Sophie fight this campaign. He'd be delighted that one of the LYS mob was taking on the challenge.

With a by election pending I promised last Friday to give some time to come over to campaign for whoever was selected. I'm trying to sort out a few things over the next few days to free up some time to make it over to Scotland next week to help Sophie and the team.

Mayoral Procession in memory of Andrew Reeves

Having got up at stupid o'clock, a time normally reserved for polling day*, on Friday to get to Belfast International for the 7am flight into Edinburgh. The reason of course as we know was the funeral of a dear friend, Andrew Reeves.

Of course Andrew's footprint is all over Edinburgh if you know where to look. Touching down in Edinburgh Airport I immediately FourSquared my location. Of course all through the week those of us who use that Social Networking tool have often been touched by on our friend's list seeing "Andrew R. Last seen at Platinum Point", now being in the same city that message came higher up my list of friends, under those in the same city.

It was a place where I very famously while out canvassing for Kevin Lang got no reply from a Mr A Reeves on the canvass card. So while I proceeded to make my way down the stairs I got out my phone and rang one of my favourites in my phone. The recipient answered and I said:

"Good evening, is that Mr A Reeves of X Platinum Point?"

The answer came back, "Yes."

"Thank you, my name is Stephen and I'm calling on behalf of Kevin Lang your Liberal Democrat candidate in the Westminster election. I was calling this evening to enquire if Kevin can rely on your vote."

The deadpan response came back.

"I can assure you that Kevin will get my vote, and I'd like to make sure that as many people in my constituency do likewise."

We left the conversation at that and said our farewells. Next time I saw Andrew he told me about the very thorough canvassing team that Kevin Lang was using. If they failed to get someone in on the doorstep they would call  them immediately to check. Kevin who was also present, said "Huh?" and looked at the two of us then the penny dropped.

But of course that wasn't the only footprint Andrew still leaves in Auld Reekie.

As I came in on the Airport Bus past Haymarket I decided that I had to mention that I was passing 4 Clifton Terrace and the Offices of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, where Andrew's now empty and far from its usual busy desk has sat for a week. Or course when I checked in it was only appropriate that Andrew was the Mayor on FourSquare.

After grabbing some breakfast I was determined to fill my time productively. First step was to take a picture of Edinburgh Castle from an angle another blogging friend with the same first name as Mr Reeves hadn't used last week. I took a couple here is one of them.

Edinburgh Castle between the Galleries

However, on the way to here as I checked in at the Scott Monument I got a FourSquare tip from Andrew Reeves about BHS. I only wish I'd seen this before taking my breakfast so I could have followed up on his advise, next time in Edinburgh I will.

However, it got me thinking. I knew Andrew was Mayor (ie most frequent visitor) to a number of Edinburgh locations, so I decided to see how many and where. In total there were 15, and a number of them in the New Town. I decided as a tribute to follow the footsteps of the Mayor in a Mayoral Procession in his memory. This is that trip.

Had to start here at 4 Clifton Terrace and the Office that brought Andrew to Scotland to work in the first place.

Just around the corner on Haymarket Terrace was the little bakery Zea. Not that us Lib Dems are used to a little pastry from time to time.

West Maitland Post Office was next, just up the road from Clifton Terrace. I cannot think why a post office would feature in a campaigners most visited places.

Paper Tiger on Stafford Street, which as I tweeted at the time shows that the man has taste. It is also a matter of not just going for any old stationery to meet his personal needs.

Along to Shandwick Place and we stumble across Sugacane. This might come as somewhat of a surprise to all of Andrew's friends. We would never say that he had a sweet tooth, well at least not to his face.

Final location is on Hanover Street, on the corner with Queen Street (rather appropriately). It is City Alterations a tailoring and dry cleaning business. One suspects if Mark Pack is truly looking for the secret of Andy's constantly pressed shirts this might be a location that was let in on the secret.

I was heading to the Burn Monument on Regent Terrace, when Caron tweeted she was on a train on the way in to Waverley, so I stopped my procession there and met up with her and then a growing clowder of waifs and stray Lib Dem cats. The rest of the day is told by her, Mark Pack and Mark Cole elsewhere, so read there for more details.

There is one final thing about my trip. Following the music from Andrew's funeral when I arrived in the Departure Lounge of Edinburgh Airport, the first piece of music I heard was the last piece that was played at the cremitorium. Some people were concerned when I FourSquared that quirk of fate, don't be. Just as this was the music we said goodbye to Andy, so it was the music I would associate with saying goodbye to Scotland this time. As I tweeteed yesterday the last words he said to me in person were, along the lines of go on and win this thing (that thing being the referendum) so that is the feeling I took with me.

Indeed as the words of another of the songs on the day says

There is progress now where there once was not (none)

where there once was not (none)

then everything came along

Although no-one understood

we were holding back the flood

learning how to dance the rain.

There was more of them than us

now they'll never dance again.

We will meet you where the lights are

the defenders of the faith we are

when the thunder turns around

they'll run so hard we'll tear the ground away.

From The Flood by Take That

Yeah it does seem that there is a task to be done to hold back the flood. Those gathered from all over the UK who are Liberal Democrats went away from Edinburgh charged with defending the faith and making sure the thunder turns around and we once again hear the sound of Liberal Democrat gunfire sounding loud and clear to the voters of the UK.

*Actually it did seem rather an appropriate time to be up for Andrew Reeves.

Andrew Reeves the farewell music #AndrewReeves

I'm sitting at Callum Leslie's after Andrew Reeve's funeral service. For those who couldn't make it and those of you who could here is hte choice of music for the day. So very Andrew and best have the tissues ready.

First we came in and fill Warriston Cremetorium to this.



We then moved on to this after Michael Moore and the celebrant managed to sum up Andrew very well and had us in laughter as well as tears.



There was a time of reflection to this, many of those present were in tears. Some afterwards said the lyrics could almost have been written for the Lib Dems.



Then finally, and this was the one that led me to tears, we exited to this.

Farewell fellow MacSketeer #AndrewReeves

The three MacSketeers welcomed fellow bloggers to an Unconference at 4CT
Picture courtesy of Helen Duffett

I'm in Edinburgh typing this. This time last week I didn't expect to be here, that was until I started to see a whole stream of my Lib Dem friends tweeting or putting on their Facebook how they had lost a dear friend.

This there was on tweet about Clifton Terrance, the party's Scottish Head Quarters not being the same as a result. That made me very anxious to find out who. A DM to one friend told me to ask my very good friend Caron. So I went to the favourites in my phone and rang, she picked up straight away, which I later found should have been a shock as she was calling around candidates and agents, and all I asked was "Who?".

We of course all now know that the person in question was Andrew Reeves. Part of me this morning imagined that Andrew would be saying don't be stupid coming on a plane just to say goodbye to me, get somebody to Skype you in, or follow the open thread  that Caron has set up.

But of course wild horses couldn't keep me away from Edinburgh today. I have to be with my Lib Dem family to say goodbye to a dear friend, fellow blogger, one of the three MacSketeers of the Scottish Lib Dem blogosphere. I have to be here to give Roger a hug and a face to put to the blogpost that made his laugh and cry both earlier this week.

Coming past Clifton Terrace on the bus earlier I was going to check in on Foursquare, of course the Mayor is still Reevesy. I think nobody is ever going to want to steal that off him, we may have to start checking into the Scottish Liberal Club or something.

As one MacSketeer to another here is the only song that seems appropriate



Farewell dear friend.

Drinks for Andrew Reeves - Belfast Edition

Cross post on Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland

 I'm just in from Liberal Drinks in Belfast. Ian Walton from the Welsh Liberal Democrats so it was a reason to meet up, but part of the evening was a memory of Andrew Reeves of which four of the five present had something in common.

Myself you know about from the recent time we both spent in Scotland, Pam Tilson from her time in London, Ian also from his time there and of course in his current role in Cardiff, and Michael as he and Andrew both were part of the stewarding team at Federal Conference. The other person present was of course Michael's Andrew.

We toasted our mutual friend, told stories of times we shared with Andrew and thought of what Andrew would have done, plus got on with catching up with each others news.

Even though we couldn't be at the Joseph Pearce in Edinburgh we were part of the outpouring of lovce for Andrew. At this point we could  all almost hear Andrew saying, "That's enough sitting around, get up, get out and get on with telling people why we're Lib Dems." as he would often be heard to say on any campaign he was involved with. And that is what the five of us intend to do.

Two Heart Attacks in Edinburgh on the same night

Yesterday of course everyone of us Liberal Democrats heard the tragic news about Andrew Reeves. Before I'd gone to sleep the night before I was chatting away to one of my friends from Edinburgh who was at home looking after his convalescing father, after himself being the victim of a vicious attack in recent weeks.

At about midnight he said his father was starting to suffer the signs of yet another heart attack, his third it turned out, and would have to go. I was  getting occasional messages from him at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary until the small hours. Little did I know that while his father was using the cardiac facilities at that hospital another friend would be heading there too. As far as my friend told me there were only two cardiac cases in the A&E that night, by a bizarre quirk of fate I knew both.

So it was that yesterday morning though I was preparing myself for bad news it wasn't the news that we all received. But when my friend finally contacted me later in the day it was to say that his father had made it through the night and was demanding some fresh pyjamas, a new toothbrush and the paper. But he also said he may well have seen Andrew as he was rushed into another room by the cardiac team.

Yesterday was a truly bizarre day and one of mixed emotions, made none the less worse than two people I know being there in the same small part of the ERI going through different outcomes of the same event.

Andrew Reeves in ten Blogposts

Is it possible to sum up a man in just 10 blog posts, all his passion, vigour, emotions and concerns? No of course not and I'm not even going to say I will. However, what I have done below is put together a collection of ten of Andrew Reeves's blog posts that show the depth of the man, he wasn't all politics and campaigning.

Many of us who knew Andrew always heard of Roger, his husband since January 28th and partner for many years before, but very few of us ever got to met Roger. I even canvassed for Kevin Lang at their front door and got no reply, so called Mr Reeves from my mobile to be sure we could rely on his vote. However, I'm sure the proudest moment of Andrew's life was the day he an Roger got married so I have to start with his report on that day.

Of course in recent months we know that Andrew had another man in his life, Richard Kerrigan, his personal trainer at the David Lloyd gym just down the road from his flat. Those of us know knew Andrew were impressed by the progress his health regime was making. We along with him were convinced it would lead to him having many happy years left with us. Anywhere here is Andrew's blog about that first glance across the sweaty gym.

His mother meant a lot to Andrew. Her sad loss in 2009 was a spur for him to raise money for charity. But it also gave him an empathy with David Cameron when his father passed away last year.

Like me Andrew loved his sports, like me he was a sports fan who, as the header to his blog reads, "happens to be gay". He was a fellow football fan, if one who supported Chelsea can be called, and like me was rather annoyed at  what Sepp Blatter, recently reinstalled dictator of FIFA, had to say about gay fans going to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, where having man to man sex is illegal.

Andrew loved it when he was asked to write up match reports for the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team. Sadly a passion we shared but never got to go see a game together, there was always talk of going to a Capitals v Belfast Giants match. Next time they are in town I will go in honour of my friend. But here is a match report of a game we would have been supporting opposite sides.Victory for Capitals in close match

Andrew would love the fact that his death caused him to trend on Twitter in the UK, especially in light of the fact that just before Christmas the service suspended his account when he retweeted and erroneous ITN staffer's tweet from the business account. Back then the support was immense and no wonder that his sudden passing led to similar outpourings. This is almost like a thank you to all of us for the love we showed him again today.

Looking through Andrew's posts I recall how much his loved the Eurovision Song Contest. Here is what he said about the first time that Graham Norton hosted the show. His Tweet Paper the Andrew Reeves Daily came out today and included this Eurovision song listening to it today the words are somewhat appropriate for Andrew, not that he ever ran scared but listen closely.



Of course there was always a cheeky side to Andrew and he was never one to big up a salacious headline. He would even ejaculate it over and over again on Twitter to make sure you came to have a look at it, including this bit of good news for the men of Glasgow.

But of course Andrew was a campaigner and put his heart and soul into it 110%. You have any doubts about that read this account of just one 12 hour part of his life during the campaign last year. It shows he was human after all.

And finally I'm returning a compliment here. Shortly after I moved to Northern Ireland the top 75 Scottish Blogs for last year were announced. Andrew wrote "Stephen Glenn leaves a great legacy in the Macblogosphere - and although only over the sea, we miss him loads." The same to you Andrew, the same to you. Sadly you are not just over the sea, so our missing of you is more permanent than my transient one.

Fittingly On this saddest of weeks there were three blogs (including this one) dedicated to Andrew in the Lib Dem Voice Golden Dozen top 7 as well as his last blogpost.

Update: Although this made the Lib Dem Voice Golden Dozen and was a sign of how much Andrew was loved and will be missed by many, via Facebook I recieved this comment from his partner Roger, which made me shed a tear when I read it, but made the tears of going over Andrew's blog worthwhile to create this post.

Stephen. Thank you so much for this. I have cried and laughed at it. I never used to read Andrews blog much. But this was fantastic. He loved to blog. He even said on Wednesday he should blog more, but he didn't have the time. Thank you again Rogx

Andrew Reeves - Gone too soon

I woke up this morning to hear the tragic news that the man who changed the course of my life 7 months ago had tragically passed away.

It was Andrew Reeves who when asked did he know of any good campaigners who could front up the Yes! to Fairer Votes campaign in Northern Ireland immediately thought of me and told me to apply. Of course in the three all too short years that I have really gotten to know Andrew much of that time was spent on the campaign trail, it was his job after all and my passion (until recent months when thanks to him it became my job too). It started in Glasgow East, when I myself was just returning to full campaign mode. Yet somehow I still managed a day of tenement mountaineering without any adverse health issues. That was the campaign that Stephen was back, yet Andrew had arrived.

There followed Glenrothes, Glasgow NE, the European Election and last years General Election of course. The late night strategy meetings in Glenrothes always happened around the dart board. I was sometimes there waiting for Caron to give me a lift back, aware that the achieving a score wasn't always as important as throwing the dart as hard as possible in the general direction of the board.

 Andrew had set up his blog as Andrew's Running Blog before he had come to Scotland. The aim was to get him into shape to run the Great North Run. Health was an issue that Andrew would visit time and again on his blog. Having lost his mother 6 weeks after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009, he chose her Birthday this year to be the day that he got married to his long time partner Roger.



But his own health was also something he fought hard for. He knew that having a sedentary life wasn't helpful to him, so when he could he would get to the gym, walk (preferably with a bundle of leaflets in his hands). It was his approach that even though he was leading the campaign he still needed to get out and walk to keep some motion going that led me to do just the same at least once a week during the Yes! campaign. I even was on a conference call once while out and about delivering off the Falls Road in the rain.

For a while there were just three regular prominent Scottish Lib Dem bloggers, him, Caron and I. We could on occasion all take the same story and tell it in a different way that was our styles. We also could each get away with saying things in certain way because of our positions in the party and occasionally one of us knew that one of the other two was the better person to put something out there, so the idea was spread. Many of the rest of the Scottish blogosphere knew that while there only the three of us that didn't lead to a lack of quality or quantity. Yesterday he was on about the E.Coli in Spanish and German cucumbers in a typical Andrewesque way. It seems strange to think that I will never again read a new blog post from him again.

My frequent visits into Scottish Headquarters at Clifton Terrace in recent years were always greeted with some sort of put down from Mr Reeves. For years before I was actually selected again for Linithgow and East Falkirk he would refer to me as the Potential Prospective Parliamentary Candidate PPPC rather than PPC for the seat. The case being that if Gordon Brown were to suddenly want to secure a mandate I would be willing to stand again for the seat. I was one less seat for them to worry about in a hurry. While of course he wouldn't always have a smile on his face, he did sometimes have to be serious after all, there was always a sense that he would or could crack a joke to lighten the mood at any point.

Andrew was only a little over a year older than me, taken at the tragically young age of 43. The last words he said to me as I was leaving Scottish Conference in March were, "Go back there and win this thing, then we can talk about it next time your over." sadly that chat will not be taking place. He was a man with an immense heart for the party, for campaigning, for those he knew. Sadly this morning that heart gave way.

My thoughts are with Roger, who had to work in the recent days off that Andrew had been enjoying, therefore missing too many of what were unknown to be some of the last quality hours for his husband. Also to all the team in Clifton Terrace who have lost someone who's motivation and passion will be hard to replace. To all my colleagues, friends and fellow campaigners, not just in Scotland but everywhere who were touched by this man that so many of us today know we have lost a dear friend.

Read also

• MarkPack on Lib Dem Voice
• His former boss Lynne Featherstone
• Caron the other of that blogging trio and so much more
• From the Youth of Callum Leslie and the rest of Liberal Youth Scotland
• Though the candidate that is Alex Cole-Hamilton
• Those who he never meet but had a kind and timely word for like Spidey
• To those who knew his my reputation and brief encounters Michael and Gavin
• Even the BBC and STV
• Plus colleague Graeme Littlejohn's obituary in The Scotsman
• Tweetdeck trending even used by descriptor of the Trend. "Director of Campaigns for the Scottish Liberal Democrats who died suddenly aged 43 on 3 June 2011"
• Plus I attempted to sum up Andrew in 10 of his own blogposts.

It has been rather a bizarre day.

Andrew with Katy Gordon and me out campaigning in 2009

My Rollercoaster Year

Those of you who know me ought to be aware that I love a big, fast rollercoasters. I really need to go back to the States and experience some of the new rides since last I was there (1996). However, this year has certainly been one hell of a rollercoaster ride with its highs and lows and switchbacks and unexpected turns.

This time last year I was sitting in Bathgate, looking forward to kick starting the local Lib Dems into the General Election year, then onwards to the Scottish Elections and the council elections beyond. The same old routine as laid out by the election cycles. Or so I thought.

Sure enough the year started out in just that manner. On St. Patrick's Night I was selected as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) again for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, with Charles Dundas once again my colleague in the other seat for the local party, Livingston. In the end I came third once more, was agent to Kieran Leach in neighbouring Falkirk (in which campaign I met some new friends). But I was very disappointed on the night that Kevin Lang in Edinburgh North and Leith and Fred MacIntosh in Edinburgh South had done exactly what the party thought was required to win only to no get elected as MPs.

Well eight days after the General Election I had my CV in to start the selection process for the Edinburgh Central seat  for the Scottish elections next May. So there wasn't any real rest between the elections cycles as I started to plot and plan just what I would have to do, first for the seat and then for the list. In the end after another solid 2/3 months of planning and canvassing local members it wasn't to be, but Alex Cole Hamilton had been selected.

So as I started to work for Alex and was settling down to work on the list selection process, which overlapped with the end of Edinburgh Central, I was brought to a sudden halt. Somehow in all the activity of the previous months I had managed to not notice that certain bills were not being paid, kind of major expensive ones. I tried to get finance from the bank but that wasn't happening. I then felt that the only way to deal with this was to return to Northern Ireland and proposed to work that I could continue to work for them from here. With time running out and me having a letter of notice to hand over if there was no decision on that day I was finally given the go ahead to be a home-worker.

So with that then came the task of packing up 9 years accumulated stuff and with the help of Michael completed Operation Evacuate at the end of August. I'd a week to settle in before I started work, but I was also looking for something a little more permanent over here because work, as close friends can attest, was getting me depressed in a major way, even before I moved over.

There then came an email from a friend saying "Have you seen this job?", I applied and found myself up against Michael for what were probably the most angst ridden two weeks in either of our lives. Until I finally was told the position was mine within an hour of a Nationwide conference call for Yes to Fairer Votes as the Northern Ireland Organiser. I just had time to talk to Michael before that call, and he has been a great help and support from that time on.

Since I've got back I hadn't been completely politically inactive, along with Michael we as local Liberal Democrats wrote a couple of responses to consultations from government departments. I've also been involved in the LGBT consultative forum, help establish Delga within the local party, been back across for Scottish conference. As well as attending two party conferences and meeting with others as part of the Yes to Fairer Votes drive.

This year I attended three Pride Parades Edinburgh, Glasgow and Foyle. Somehow I found the time and a person to fall in love with, though sadly that didn't go as I'd hoped. I've also been elected unto my new local party's executive committee as well as keeping up my record of being a conference rep, Sheffield and Birmingham here I come.

So what does 2011 hold?

For a start there is an referendum on May 5th, not the campaigning I expected to be taking up every waking and quite a few of the sleeping moments of my life. But there you are I'm working towards that and looking forward to getting back into the phonebank as people carry on talking to people across Northern Ireland about fairer votes.

After May, who knows. I have no idea what comes next.

Last year I felt that I'd love to find someone I could really connect with that didn't abhor the time I spent with politics and maybe settle down. Seeing as how intermittent my love life has been in the last twelve months it is almost like I am saving myself for that person. Maybe I might get lucky this year and find what I'm looking for in that department. My love life has been a bit of a roller coaster in recent years maybe I just want it to be a gentle punt down life's river from here on. But then knowing the passion I put into things maybe not.

After May I'll be looking for a new job. No idea that that will actually be yet, have an idea what I'd like it to be just need to see if there are openings that I can fill, it may mean a move once more, it may mean staying right here, I just don't know and nobody is able to tell me the answer to that right now. So it looks like 2011 might be another roller coaster year as well.

Stay tuned I'll return to blogging full time in May.

Belfast Giants Days of Christmas

On Tuesday my second cousin and his bride who had minutes before stolen the name of one of his triplet sisters walked down the aisle as man and wife to a live rendition of Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is You.

My friend, and fellow blogger, Andrew Reeves and I are both big ice hockey fans indeed he writes up match reports on the Edinburgh Capitals games. Every day getting to work I pass the Odyssey Arena home of the Belfast Giants. They are a sports team that has done a lot to reach across the divides in the new Northern Ireland. So here is their version of the same song, promoting their Christmas games schedule.

Is Group Blogging the New Black?

I was having a little joust with James Mackenzie (aka Two Doctors) on Twitter last night, I mockingly said that I wasn't going to say the nice stuff I was planning to say about his, Jeff and Malc's new venture Better Nation.

I jest of course because I have enough in common with all three of them to make our disagreements just that, a disagreement, a point of contention and not full blown out warfare. It'll be interesting to see how their group dynamic develops as co-editors having seen them together over the odd pints. It would be a shame to lose any of the three of them from blogging and that was the danger that Malc and James were facing over recent months so this new impetus may be the boost to revitalise their creative juices.

Of course I'm also embarking on a new collaborative project, not as James thought with Caron and Andrew as he suggested; like Freedom Central is for the Welsh Lib Dems but for Scotland. No instead I'm getting together with Mícheál setting up the Lib Dems in Northern Ireland blog.

Not of course there hasn't been talk of setting up a Scottish equivalent of Freedom Central. Stephen Tall editor of Lib Dem Voice talked to me about it at conference last year and I talked to Alison Goldsworthy about it there too. So why haven't we got around to it in Scotland?

I think firstly and the three of us have talked about it at times. We are very strong as individual bloggers. By that we are all prolific, hard hitting and bring a personal slant to the issues even if all three of us post on the same subject you will get three very unique perspectives. Secondly such a tool would be to encourage the other Scottish Lib Dem Bloggers. With the notable exception of Fraser Macpherson one of the top 10 Councillor bloggers in the UK, that is in a constant state of embryonic flux. There are some good ones out there like James Taylor, and Paul Edie, but the youngsters Ruaraidh, Callum and Kieran have all given up.

Whereas with Mícheál and me there is a challenge to highlight the Lib Dem brand over here. With a wealth of experience gained in different areas and fields. There is also the obvious media face and the backroom organiser between the two of us. Yes the deal has been struck that if/when I stand in Northern Ireland we know who the agent will be. There are two different styles yet similarly to with Caron and Andrew compatible. I think the boost of my returning has got Mícheál's creative juices running which I hope Better Nation will also do for Malc and James. We'll see how both those projects pan out

As for the Scottish Lib Dem collaboration it remains loose Alliance, with interlinkage and retweeting of stories. Plus, and this is a little secret, occasionally feeding one of the others, in the big three, a story because they would do it more justice because of the way they write.

Blogging May be Light Over the Weekend

Hopefully right about now I'm taking off from Edinburgh Airport bound for Belfast, although this evening I will be sleeping in my bed in Bathgate again. Yes today is the first day of the big move.


Though as Andrew Reeves has had in his highlighted posts on his blog since I made the announcement last weekend is it "A sad day for Scottish Lib Dems and Scottish Blogging"?

It is somewhat strange to be heading back. I've spent over 17 years including the last nine years and four months firmly ensconced in West Lothian. I'm a fully paid up NIPPLE* yet I'm heading back.

I don't feel like I really belong in Northern Ireland so much anymore, I've only spent 5 years since my A'levels actually living there. What is more strange is that the room that I will be setting up to work from home in was the room that I sat in to revise for those same A'levels 22 years ago. I will however, be sleeping in the room next door. So yeah I'll not be able to ad hoc pop into Clifton Terrace to hand in my various forms, ballot papers, or to rescue Kieran Leach for a drink.

Yes there is family and friends to catch up with both from before and through the joys of the internet ones I didn't even know 9 years ago. There are some good friends like Caron, Andrew and many others who I've got to know over the past nine years who will be a gapping hole, as I suspect I may be for them, over the time I'll be away. Also there are several (tens of) thousand leaflets that probably had my name on for delivery in the 2011 Holyrood campaign. Plus a few thousand doors that I'll not be knocking on. So in a sense Andrew is right for the Scottish Lib Dems.

My blogging may well take on a different focus being away from the Scottish political buzz day in day out. Actually getting to see BBC Northern Ireland's Hearts and Minds on a Thursday night rather than Sunday morning will seem strange again, but may well act as a catalyst.

Two things my blogging will still be is liberal and eclectic. It will still focus largely on politics both nationally, locally and undoubtedly also on Scottish matters (hard to totally take me totally out of that pond). There will be my usual diversions unto other subject matter whenever I feel like it too. One thing that somebody has commented on since the General Election was over and again once I was no longer contesting Edinburgh Central or the Lothian List was that there has been a little more freedom in my posting again. There maybe isn't that fear of stepping too far off party message for fear of voters (or more likely the press) reaction.

So we shall see. I think I've over the last 12 months had a pretty strong year of blogging, obviously the General Election and subsequently seeking selection meant the volume at time petered off. There has been some hard hitting posts where I haven't spared the punches aimed in all sorts of directions. I'll keep them coming don't worry.

Although having said that blogging will be light I have a few things scheduled.

* Northern Irish Professional Person Living Elsewhere.