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June 05
June already and here we are still talking about the weather. Weather records have been broken recently, but not high temperatures as we’d all hoped for. Aviemore recorded a -5 frost on the 18 May.
Grass growth as a result of the cold, wet weather has been very slow. Many farms have been held up planting turnips, kale and potatoes as a result of the ground being too wet to travel on. Crop yields will be affected by late sowing if this weather keeps up for much longer.
At this busy time of year it isn’t always easy to get away from the farm, however the members of the Highland Perthshire National Farmers Union Branch had their annual trip on the 26 May. This year we decided against the usual farmers day out to another farm or agricultural show, instead we took up an offer made by John Swinney our local MSP to visit the Scottish Parliament.
The cost of the Holyrood building is the one thing everyone remarks on but in my humble opinion, don’t pass judgement until you’ve seen the building for yourself. We were given a comprehensive tour by John, who went into great detail about all the different parts of the building. He also spent time explaining about all the different committees, staff, researchers and general workings of the Parliament. The role of the MSP was also looked at during our tour, Mondays and Fridays are usually constituency days, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are normally spent in Parliament. Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday is kept for debates and votes in the Debating Chamber. On the morning of our visit, John was pleased to point out that he had tabled a question in the Debating Chamber about the proposed wood fuel bio-mass boiler for the new Breadalbane Academy.
The building itself really has to be seen to be believed. There doesn’t seem to be a right angle anywhere and each area flows into the next. I certainly wouldn’t like to have the cleaning job for the building, it must be a bugger to dust. The saltire features everywhere in the building. The pre-cast bare concrete ceiling at the entrance hall with saltires cast into it, not to everyone’s taste, was designed to be dungeon-like and it certainly feels like it until you start climbing the stairs to the committee rooms. The large windows and use of oak window frames makes the upper floors seem airy and full of light. Television pictures of the Debating Chamber just don’t do it justice. The feeling you get in the chamber is that of an open-air amphitheatre. The only disappointing feature of the day was that there was only ever a maximum of 42 MSP’s out of a possible 129, in the Debating Chamber for the afternoon themed question time.
As farmers we have to watch closely what goes on at Holyrood as agriculture, forestry and the environment are devolved matters. Since the first meeting of the Scottish Parliament on the 12 May 1999, NFU Scotland has worked hard to influence policy and build up a good relationship with Ministers and officials. As a Scottish industry, we seem to be having more luck than our English counterparts.
Since the new Holyrood building opened, many thousands have taken the opportunity to visit and it is fast become a major tourist attraction. John Swinney made an excellent job of showing us round and if he ever tires of politics, a career as a tour guide beckons.
So, whilst the building itself is a pretty inspirational piece of architecture, it’s the policies and legislation that comes from it that really affects us as a nation. All current and future MSP’s should read the stone plaque on the wall outside the building. The plaque reads “Say but little and say it well.”
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