Nordic Horizons
Hello everyone, welcome
to another week in my life as the MSP for Hamilton,
Larkhall & Stonehouse.
At the beginning of the
week, I had the pleasure of welcoming John Brown
from the chamber of commerce, Jim McCaffer of South
Lanarkshire Council and Ronnie Smith of Business
Gateway into my office in Hamilton, for our take on
the ‘Job Summit’. A proposal I put to the groups a
while back, in a bid to tackle the lack of
employment oppotunities in the area I represent.
After all, the current job situation in Hamilton,
Larkhall & Stonehouse is not where any of us
believed it should be and I, personally believe –
working alongside the Scottish Government’s
employment strategy guarantees (25,000 new modern
apprenticeships every year the SNP are in
government, until 2016) and the proposals to help
small business’s flourish across the nation (The
small business bonus being introduced and secured
until 2016) - we have an opportunity to work
together to ensure we make a lasting, positive
impact on the level of employment in my
constituency. You can also rest assured that this
will not be the last meeting of this nature and I
hope to welcome other representatives of job
promoting groups back into my office in the near
future.
After the ‘Job Summit’
on Monday evening, I attended Hamilton Sports
Performer of the Year Awards held in the Banqueting
Suite of South Lanarkshire Council. An event
attended by athletes, families, community activists
and elected members alike, giving us all the
opportunity to congratulate the outstanding
achievements of , not only the award-winners but
everyone else that has taken part in the various
sporting activities represented on the night - after
all it’s not the winning, it’s the taking part that
counts. The event was supported by my good friend
and colleague, Councillor Graeme Horne, rounded up
with a vote of thanks by another friend and
colleague, Councillor Bobby Lawson and prizes were
presented by myself among other representatives of
the sports council. The wonderful Cathy Bennett got
the Rosebowl as reward for the tireless effort she
puts into sport in the Hamilton area. Well done
Cathy.
On Tuesday, I had the
chance to meet with a Danish School -Arhus
Marseliseorg –who were over visiting the Scottish
Parliament. They embarked on their visit early in
the morning, touring the Debating Chamber, Garden
Lobby and Committee Room’s, focusing mainly on what
happens in the Scottish Parliament, for example, the
work of MSPs, debates, votes and committees as well
as providing information on the Parliament building
itself.
As you can see by the
picture below, the group were sporting shorts,
t-shirts and sun hats and were eager to get out and
enjoy this unexpected early appearance of the
Scottish sunshine.
Tonight I, along with
the Embassy of Iceland, will be sponsoring an event
held in the Scottish Parliament as part of the
Nordic Horizons programme. The event will also be
attended by the Ambassador of Iceland and should
kick off at around 6pm. Following the financial
crash of Iceland in 2008- which made it clear that
the 1944 Constitution (written at the time of
gaining independence from Denmark) was no longer
sufficient for today’s needs- the group have toured
countries discussing their reason for independence
and why they still believe in it. The main speaker
will be Dr Thorvaldur Gylfason, (Professor of
Economics at the University of Iceland) and will
discuss the new constitution and how it came to be
written by the people themselves. It will be chaired
by Lesley Riddoch, the writer and broadcaster,
Professor David McCrone and Professor Emeritus
Elizabeth Meehan will make up the discussion panel
among other MSP’s that wish to attend. So, as you
can imagine, an exciting night ahead, and one I am
sure I will update you in next week’s addition of my
blog. In the meantime, visit their website and see
what they have planned in the future.
www.nordichorizons.org
Anyway, I’m off to get
myself ready for the evening ahead. Look forward to
catching up next week.
Yours Sincerely
Christina McKelvie MSP
for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
