Thursday 2 December 2004

Winter arrives

Four years ago Scotland's first First Minister slipped on an icy pavement outside his official residence at Bute House in Charlotte Square. Sadly, Donald Dewar died from the resulting injury.

This morning saw Edinburgh's first real blast of winter. People were scraping frost from their windscreens and the ground appeared to be slippery. My wife warned me to be careful when walking to work. All was well as I proceeded from Haymarket, through Shandwick Place and into Queensferry Street. I went through the alleyway and on to the north side of Charlotte Square. Then I saw the ice. Someone had chosen this morning of all days to wash down the steps of, yes, Bute House and both the steps and the pavement outside were highly slippery. What are we to make of this? Of all the buildings in all the streets this one was dangerous. Are the civil servants incompetent or are they trying to get rid of another First Minister?

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comments made on previous template:

Stuart
-"Are the civil servants incompetent or are they trying to get rid of another First Minister?" 
 
The former. 
 
If the latter were true, who on earth would they replace him with?

6 December 2004, 09:51:00 GMT
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rebbiker
'Wee Johnny Major', at 5'11", would be known as 'big man' in Dickson's endomorph-ridden hometown of Glasgow,which incidentally, like Boston and Liverpool,is one of the most Irish cities in the world.

5 December 2004, 23:40:13 GMT
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Stuart
Scots don't care much for pretty politicians. 
 
Mind you, neither do the English. Just take a wee keek at Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher or wee Johnnie Major! Yeeeuch!

5 December 2004, 19:58:01 GMT
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rebbiker
A torn-faced old miserly cuckold with a voice like a constipated corncrake as First Minister? Good going Scotland! Dewar was the creme-de-la-creme of Caledonia.

5 December 2004, 11:33:36 GMT
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CA
If Scottish local councils want to be sued for permitting their citizens to slip and injure themsleves, then they can knock themselves out as far as I'm concerned! 
 
Isn't it the duty of a local council to grit and salt major pavements/roads?

4 December 2004, 23:14:16 GMT
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David Farrer
Stuart 
 
You may well be correct _ I had always assumed that DD slipped on ice. He certainly slipped outside Bute House. But it was very odd to see that one stretch of pavement being the only part of the city centre that was dangerous yesterday.

3 December 2004, 08:07:49 GMT
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Stuart
My recollection is that the street was perfectly clear. I cannot remember the exact date, but from your link it seems to have been early October. 
 
No way was an Edinburgh pavement icy in early October.

2 December 2004, 23:01:25 GMT
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Shooting Parrots
Might it be a start? 
 
Kidding!!!

2 December 2004, 20:47:11 GMT