Notebook

Your tea’s oot, Jonathan

Jonathan McColl and the council headquarters at Garshake.

February 26, 2018 – It is a real shame that West Dunbartonshire Council have not yet learned how to do things in an open, honest and straightforward manner.

Someone should tell our elected representatives that, in Dumbarton, a secret is something you tell one person at a time.

It seems that the people of Renton only found out what was cooking on the council education agenda when they asked if they could to fall heir to an old cooker at the former, sadly neglected and left to crumble Our Lady and St Patrick’s Secondary School in Cardross Road.

The Nigel Slaters or Delia Smiths in charge of the secret recipes for the future use of cookers at the council offices (I wonder do they carry joint UNISON/Equity cards) told the Rentonians the cooker was not available.

Almost unforgivably in the sleepy cloisters of the Secret Service that is the Council, they told them why.

The council producers had other plans simmering away for St Martin’s, which didn’t include cooking school meals.

Suddenly, in Renton, there was the strong smell of burning as word spread like wildfire that St Martin’s would be closing.

The news, quite naturally, went down like a batch of badly burned scones.

And the education department officials and SNP councillors reacted as Alfred did when he was left to watch the cakes.

They woke up with a start after having fallen asleep on the job, distracted by the many other problems they have inherited from their predecessor.

He was that big fellow who left with his very own golden cooker for a seat where they eat high off the hog in the exceedingly good tearoom that is local government in Scotland these days.

Like Alfred, who let the cakes burn in that apocryphal children’s story, and was roundly scolded by the peasant woman who asked him to look after them, the councillors and officials are being rightly given a roasting by the parents and carers of St Martin’s primary school.

Instead of being frank, open and honest and possessing the knowledge and experience that should guide them to come clean immediately on something that is controversial and could be inflammatory, they have cooked up a bourach for themselves.

Instead of throwing insults and accusations around and trying to place the blame where none exists, they should turn down the gas, let matters settle and prepare to eat humble pie.

Some of them though should be allowed to stew in their own juice.

All that nonsense being spouted by SNP leader Jonathan McColl about the councillors’ code of conduct preventing him listening to parents at a public meeting is just that – nonsense.

The SNP should introduce some new recipes and a new chef into their kitchen cabinet at Garshake.

So far as the administration leader is concerned, the brighter people in the SNP – and there are many – should turn up the heat and tell him that his tea’s oot.

What is being served up as SNP political policy in Renton and West Dunbartonshire at the moment is hard to stomach.

BILL HEANEY