FF#43: Have tea at the City Chambers

Today was a lovely birthday treat - tea and cake at Edinburgh City Chambers with my friend and local councillor Gordon Munro.

Edinburgh City Chambers is a magnificent building in the heart of Edinburgh's old town, a few minutes walk from Edinburgh Castle. I've been there for a wedding reception and the odd meeting or two but had never really had a proper look around.

The main entrance to the City Chambers, on the Royal Mile.

 It was a damp and windy morning and after being thoroughly soaked at school running club earlier in the morning, I was ready for a warming cuppa. As soon as I walked into reception I was greeted by a deafening alarm. I assumed it was me setting off the awesome detector, of coure - but it turned out to be the weekly fire alarm test.

City Chamers selfie

Gordon kindly surprised me with pain au chocolat and patessierie, so it properly felt like a birthday treat. We sat in the Member's Lounge and had a lovely chat, catching up with family news, Leith and the Independence referendum.

Birthday elevensies!

I first met Gordon in 2000 when I was Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for the Edinburgh West Constituency. That election campaign was very difficult (despite the great result we achieved in the constituency) and it put me off political involvement almost entirely - but Gordon was a supportive and dependable beacon during that campaign and I was really pleased when he became councillor for Leith, where I live. The 2001 election seems like a very long time ago - before I had children, and when Gordon's daughters appeared on my campaign material. I found this lovely photo in my memories folder.  Many leaflets have been delivered since then!

Next, Gordon took me on a bit of a tour - the main chamber with its lovely zodiac dome and its public gallery (I refrained from heckling or pinging bits of paper to the dinner ladies gathering below for a meeting); the European room; the Golden Jubilee Room; works of art and stained glass, and Gordon's office.

The view from Cllr Munro's office - including some of the Leith Ward

Vertiginous central staircase

Beautiful stained glass commemorating the first female Provost of Edinburgh

It was lovely to have a wee bit of birthday celebration in October - thank you Gordon!

FF#25: Finally visit The Scottish Parliament

Debating Chamber selfie

I used to be into politics. Quite heavily. Student politics to start with, and I went on to be a Westminster candidate in 2001. I worked for a Member of Parliament and went to on be a Parliamentary Officer, lobbying the Scottish Parliamentarians for the interests of enviromental organisations and later, community pharmacy. I was seconded to the Scottish Parliament as a political party researcher.

But until the end of July 2014 I'd never been to visit the purpose-built Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood. Back in my day, the Parliament met in the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall on the Mound and kept it's offices round about George IV Bridge. I went on maternity leave in 2004, the new Parliament building opened later that year and I never went back to work. And kind of lost my enthusiasm for all that stuff (but not my enthusiam for social justice, feminism or the Labour Party, I hasten to add).

So what do I think? I like it. It's an irregular, unpredictable kind of building - it make me think of the irregular, unpredictable nature of well-executed politics, addressing problems as they arise and avoiding cookie-cutter solutions. There was an exhibition of a tapestry showing Scotland's history, which I really liked. The staff were helpful and fairly friendly. The debating chamber was shiny. My lovely hubby visits there with work and could give us directions, which helped.

Scott and Helen quite liked it.

Parliament visited! Another one off the list!