South Ayrshire Council

Ward No 1 : TROON

IT'S A NEW YEAR

Welcome to 2012, and I wish you all a happy and successful year. I would like to thank everyone who sent me Christmas cards, especially the lady whose card included a lovely thank-you message for assistance I had provided earlier in the year. I mention this simply to highlight how gratifying it is for a Councillor when someone is appreciative enough to put their appreciation into print. That message cheered me up enormously. As Leader of the Council I receive cards from all over the country, including the Prime Minister, the Cardinal, the Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, MPs, MSPs and lots more. Interestingly, no card from the First Minister. Ah, well!

I would like also to say a big thank you to everyone who sent me good wishes and get-well cards following my recent knee surgery. My new knee and I would like to thank you all for your support, and you can now see us both hobbling about the streets of Troon, and getting quicker by the day. On the day of my operation, as I lay on the trolley waiting for the anaesthetist to knock me out before surgery, I was chatting with the medical staff who were waiting around to play their part. "Are you retired, Mr McIntosh?" " No, I work in the Council." "What's your job in the Council?" " I'm the Leader." That started their moans about potholes, the price of special uplifts, litter and all the rest, and there is no point in fighting back when you are lying there in a gown and the medics have absolute power over you.

Still on a personal note, just before Christmas Santa brought us new next-door neighbours, so I'd like to welcome Jack, Charley, Victoria and Paul to our wee bit of Troon, and I hope they'll all be very happy in their new home.

Though I have been hobbling around slowly, it has been a normal busy January in Council land. Despite the fact that we Councillors are all moving into electoral mode with the Council elections in May, we still have a Council to run. The plaudits we have received from a number of sources about the progress we have made as a Council are all very well, but we need to move onward and upward to maintain the progress we have made. There is a national and local commitment to working more closely with local communities, and we shall see and hear more of this. As money gets tight, it is vital that we all work together to achieve the best results we can.

I mentioned in last month's article that the Scottish Conservative Party Conference is coming to Troon in March, and I am delighted at this. I did not mention that my wife is perhaps slightly less delighted, as the conference coincides with her birthday, and my offer to take her along to a Tory bash to celebrate seems not to have been the treat she had in mind. So you might find that instead of knocking doors seeking your votes, I may instead be asking if you have any room at the inn.

Councillor Bill McIntosh

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