Report to the People

I am assuming that if you are reading this then everything is done. The bun is sliced, the shortbread out, the ginger wine in the decanter and the good whisky hidden away... (more)

For many of us, Christmas is a time for family. It is a chance to spend time (not to mention money) with those with whom we seem too busy to catch up the other fifty one weeks of the year... (more)

Working is, in the main, good for your health. A job equals more money, which equals better diet, a warmer house, less stress, better mental health and more.... (more)

In the weeks since taking over as Scotland’s First Minister, Jack McConnell has wasted no time in underlining the fact that the interests of Scotland’s children and young people will be at the heart of his administration... (more)

You may recall that at the end of September, your Greenock Telegraph and the national press was full of headlines like "Inverclyde is Top of the Class" and "Breaking Down Class Barriers." ... (more)

The doctor directs you to the chair in front of his desk, as he puts on his reading glasses and opens your file. You take your place and sit uncomfortably, trying to ignore the cold knot in your stomach by examining a poster reminding you to get your flu jab... (more)

If politics really is showbiz for ugly people, then last week MSPs must have been in a soap opera... (more)

Henry McLeish's resignation as First Minister last Thursday and the events which led up to it, give us plenty of food for thought... (more)

We would all, I am sure, agree that every child in Scotland has the right to a decent education. But, while advances are undoubtedly being made - as we saw recently with Inverclyde's excellent HMI report - some young people still have unfair, extra hurdles to clear... (more)

The tragic case of murder victim, Surjit Singh Chhokar and his family has again focussed our attention on the justice system... (more)

The two murders which have been committed in Inverclyde in the past fortnight are as shocking as they are senseless... (more)

When you hear the word "lobbyist" what comes into your mind? A slick-talking, sharp-suited spiv, offering politicians brown envelopes in car parks? Or a glittery reception where businessmen are offered access to Cabinet Ministers in return for vast sums of cash? ... (more)

I have long thought that our aversion to exercise in Scotland may come from unpleasant memories of school sports... (more)

Last week’s report which showed that the quality of education Inverclyde’s young people receive is among the best in Scotland is something of which we can be justly proud... (more)

Last week saw something which is sadly all too rare in Scotland – a week of European football... (more)

The scale of last week’s appalling atrocities in America is so great as to be near incomprehensible... (more)

Drugs do not only damage addicts. If your car or house insurance goes up every year to cover the claims from habit feeding crimes; if you’re scared to set foot outside your font door at night for the fear of being mugged; if you watch your son or daughter slip away to a drug-ridden shadow – you are also a victim of drugs... (more)

The death or serious illness of a loved one is always a terrible experience. But imagine how much more painful this would be if you believed it was down to negligent treatment... (more)

I am sure you'll have heard the saying that moving house is the second most stressful event we experience in our lives... (more)

Why are so many people of a certain age terrified of the dentist? It probably comes from the fact that, because our mothers were convinced they could cut our hair just as well as any barber, they assumed the same applied to dentistry... (more)

If you're neither a school student nor the parent of one, then voting in June's General Election was probably the first time you had set foot in a school in years... (more)

Once again, the future of the Rankin Maternity Unit is dominating the headlines... (more)