MY GLASGOW 2014 JOURNEY - Part 5: The best Commonwealth Games ever

The sun has well and truly set on Glasgow 2014, but
the memories of the 20th Commonwealth Games will
remain for a long time to come for many people, including
myself.

This final part of my series of reflections on the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city, is an overall conclusion of what has been the most fantastic sporting event to have ever taken place in the country.

Well I hope people reading my thoughts about Glasgow 2014 will appreciate the time that I have taken to put my thoughts on the record and put my feelings on the record. And I want to thank everybody for reading my blog posts and I hope that people reading them, especially who might have volunteered at the Commonwealth Games or who went to an event at the Commonwealth Games or who have any connection with anybody who might have got involved at the Commonwealth Games will appreciate the experiences and maybe relate to some of the things that I have said or shared as part of my blog entries.

I have to say that I am so incredibly proud of Glasgow and Scotland, because I think we have shown the whole world, let alone the Commonwealth, that Scotland is more than good enough to run an event as big as the Commonwealth Games. And I know a lot of people tend to downplay the Commonwealth Games because it is not the Olympics or because it is not as big as other sporting events like the World Cup. But it's still a very major, major event so it does require a lot of investment, time, effort and energy to make the event work successfully. And I have to say that all the stakeholders who got involved and who helped out with the running of the Commonwealth Games did an absolutely incredibly sterling job and did an absolutely amazing job and they should be given full respect for how well they've done.

I think the fact that the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council (an 80/20 split I think) funded the Commonwealth Games solely was just an absolute testament to the fact that devolution has really enabled Scotland to actually take the initiative and bring an event as big as this to Glasgow and to Scotland and to invite the Commonwealth to come to Glasgow and to the other parts of Scotland which held events for the Commonwealth Games to actually enjoy the event.

I had such a brilliant time. I would go as far as saying that it was life changing, because for the first time in my own life, I got to see an event as major as this in my own country and that is just special, because it's one thing to watch an event as big as the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics or the World Cup in another country - and yes it's great, but there's just something special about having it in your own country and that is just marvellous and frankly very inspiring.

I think one of the legacies for me personally as far as the Commonwealth Games is concerned is the fact that I have now taken up lawn bowls as a sport so I'm already thinking ahead to the Gold Coast in 2018 and hoping to compete there at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Now I know some people may accuse me of being delusional, but there is only one life that you live and you have to live it and it's worth seeing how good I can get at lawn bowls and if I'm good enough then I can make it into the Scottish team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and that will be absolutely fantastic, but we'll see what happens. The main thing for me personally is the fact that I have taken up a new sport and the fact that I am enjoying it and I am playing it for fun initially and learning is absolutely superb and I think is already a legacy for me personally.

If Glasgow was not in the premiership of the world's best cities before the Commonwealth Games, it is in there now. It is up there with London, New York, Toronto, Melbourne and many, many more cities. It is just a brilliant city to go and visit, to go and run a business in, to go and get a job in and work in and even just spend time with your friends in and to go and see world class events.

And the fact Glasgow has been able to host the Commonwealth Games in such a positive and such a brilliant and excitable manner - Glasgow is truly world class! And now really there are many, many reasons for anybody to go and visit the city or host an event in the city or to even shop in the city or work in the city or run a business in the city - it's just world class!

And although it's not the capital of the United Kingdom or the capital of Scotland, so what? It's up there in the premiership of the world's best cities - it is world famous! And you know, it was always world famous before the Commonwealth Games and now it's reputation has been enhanced thanks to the success of Glasgow 2014.

This Commonwealth Games took place in my home country. I had an involvement in this Commonwealth Games. I played my part in this Commonwealth Games. I personally got to experience this Commonwealth Games. And that for me was just life changing. That was just so special.

I would say nearly everybody is saying that Glasgow 2014 was the best Commonwealth Games ever - Glasgow 2014 was just world class.

When we allowed Glasgow to flourish, Glasgow flourished.

When we were asked to bring it on, we brought it on.

And when we were asked to gie it laldy, we gave it laldy.

MY GLASGOW 2014 JOURNEY - Part 2: Becoming a Clyde-sider

This is a street sign indicating one of the most famous parts of
Glasgow. Within just a 10 minute walk from George Square
was the Glasgow 2014 Volunteer Centre, located on Albion Street,
where I got interviewed for the Clyde-sider role.

I am writing a series of blog entries about my Glasgow 2014 experience. In the first of my blogs, I spoke about how I got interested in the Commonwealth Games and how I wanted to become a Clyde-sider volunteer. We continue on from the point where I put my application in to volunteer for the event.

So fast forward the clock to last summer and I remember that the process of the interview or the build up to the interview and the interview itself was very well organised, the place was very well staffed [that was the Glasgow 2014 Volunteer Centre] and there were many, many people from everywhere in Scotland and beyond who came to Glasgow to get interviewed for the chance to become a Clyde-sider and I wasn't too nervous. I was pretty relaxed. I was actually more nervous about another interview that I had scheduled for the afternoon of that day in Highland Perthshire in a place called Blairgowrie and I wasn't really wanting to get too nervous about this morning interview I had in Glasgow.

I got on well with the gentleman who I chatted with (initial person I was interviewed by before my main interview) and they checked my documentation and other things as well and I remember going downstairs to this basement like floor [in the aftermath]. It wasn't like a typical basement. It was quite glamorous and it was well organised and there were a lot of decorations around signifying that the event was coming. And I remember my interviewer (for my main interview) was a lady from Kirkcaldy, where I live, and it was quite incredible actually. I don't know if it was just a co-incidence, it probably was!

I remember she asked me questions along the lines of how would you be suited to becoming a volunteer, what can you bring, are you looking forward to the Commonwealth Games and all that kind of thing. I don't think these were the exact questions that she asked in that exact manner or wording, but it was just questions to try to get to know about me and actually build a picture up of me and whether I was suitable to become a Clyde-sider. So I was basically just doing the usual thing that somebody does at a typical interview saying, "oh I'm enthusiastic and I'm excited and I cannot wait for the Commonwealth Games".

And I was just being all positive and what not. And I thought it went relatively well. So I was quite happy when I left, which is a rarity, because I tend to come out of interviews and start carrying out a post-mortem on how badly I've done. So I was quite chuffed actually and I was very, very happy and I went on to my other interview in Blairgowrie.

It was a number of weeks before I found out that I was offered the chance to become a Clyde-sider. So I accepted the offer and I was absolutely thrilled and very, very chuffed and very lucky as well, because the fact was there were around about 50,000 applications for only around 15,000 places or roles for Clyde-siders.

I felt incredibly lucky and very honoured that I was picked to become a Clyde-sider for the Commonwealth Games.

Interviewing Gary Stewart of The Society of William Wallace

700 years on, do we know enough about the very people
who fought for Scotland's nationhood?

This weekend celebrations have been taking place in Bannockburn to mark the 700th anniversary of one of the most important battles in Scottish history where Robert the Bruce defeated the army led by Edward II to secure Scotland's place as a nation.

The timing of this anniversary has come at a point in Scotland's current history where the country within just a matter of weeks will be voting to decide whether it becomes an independent country. Could we be on the brink of freedom from the union in just the space of a couple of years? History may feel like it's repeating itself in a different and, arguably, a more amicable kind of way to an extent, but the whole timing of the celebration of this anniversary with the referendum in September is notable.

The history of Scotland is enough to fascinate anyone who holds a curiosity behind how Scotland has travelled through time. There is even much debate over whether enough is taught in schools to generations of new Scots about their own country's history.

Earlier on this week, I picked up the phone and had an enjoyable and engaging conversation with Gary Stewart who is part of a group named The Society of William Wallace. I wanted to know a bit more about the group and what they do.

"Basically The Society of William Wallace is there to promote Wallace," states Gary succinctly. And he went on to give a range of examples of where the group goes and what the group talks about in order to enlighten people about William Wallace's life and what he did for Scotland.

In recent times, the group have been pushing to get a memorial for the Battle Of The Bell O' The Brae built in Glasgow, "We are trying to build a monument in Glasgow to a little known battle that Wallace was involved with in 1297 in Glasgow just off Duke Street and that has taken us six years and planning permission has now been passed and we are just trying to get the authority from Glasgow [City Council] to allow us to build the monument there.", Gary explains.

But it isn't just Glasgow where they are seeking to have a memorial built as Gary went on to explain, "One of the things that we do in conjunction with that is we also built the monument in Falkirk for the Battle of Falkirk. We obviously look after that and we obviously funded that within ourselves. We are also involved with the Stirling Trust which are looking to try to build a monument in Stirling."

Gary also took me back to 2005 which was the 700th anniversary of the death of William Wallace. He also enlightened me about the Wallace Letter and there is an excellent section about it on this page from The Society of William Wallace website.

As the interview went on, I wanted to explore the broader picture with Gary. The rest of the interview was an opportunity for him to personally express how he felt about how much (or little) we know about our own country's history and what the referendum means for Scotland's future. It is worth noting that Gary's opinions are his own and not that of any organisation or group he represents.

"Do you think we as a Scottish nation do enough to celebrate William Wallace's life, his legacy and our history in general, particularly with regard to that period of time when Scotland was very much fighting for it's status as a nation?", I ask him with curiosity. He responded without ambiguity, "No I don't think we do."

He rues the fact that Scotland as a country doesn't do enough to embrace it's own heritage and culture. He also states that the country is gifted with a lot of things such as the country's history, it's heroes such as William Wallace, shortbread, kilts and tartan and that these are things that Scots shouldn't run away from, "Every other country in the world would die for that," said Gary with passion.

"No matter where you go whether its Moldova, Macedonia or Slovenia, they know you are Scottish because you've got a kilt on. And that to me is something that we should be embracing. We shouldn't be trying to get away from that. We should be embracing that and incorporating that into the marketing campaign from a tourism point of view." continued Gary.

Forgive us both for going into other areas which some may argue isn't directly related to the whole work of The Society of William Wallace, but there was a reason for doing so. The whole purpose of the group was to raise awareness of the life of one of Scotland's most notable heroes.

"If I am speaking to somebody that is willing to help us achieve what we want to achieve and you can see that same passion as what we've got then I think that makes a massive difference," states Gary. He also said to me that the group he is part of is a non-political group and does not participate within politics.

Gary and his group have had to work extraordinarily hard in order to secure the memorial in Glasgow and in other places and he expressed to me some of the frustrations in terms of making substantial progress in a swift period of time, "It has taken us six years to get a monument built in Glasgow to William Wallace," he told me. Six years is not a small amount of time by anybody's standards.

We ended our conversation taking about the legacy of a particular Hollywood movie which has arguably raised awareness about the man that Gary and his group work hard to make people aware of. Braveheart, which starred Mel Gibson, is much talked about to this day for bringing light on his life and for altering Scots' own perceptions on identity. Surely everyone, regardless of their identity or politics was affected by the success of the movie?

"When that film came out, I would say 20% of the population in Scotland knew who William Wallace  was. I would probably hazard a guess that wouldn't be far off it. After Braveheart came out, you are probably looking at 99.9% of Scottish people who knew about William Wallace.", quite a transformation some would say and this was Gary's analysis of how Braveheart impacted upon the awareness of Wallace. There is no doubt that the movie had a major impact. Despite this however, there seems to be still much work to do, although the movie's success has played a major role.

For the purpose of this article, I wanted to specifically focus on William Wallace and Scotland's fight for independence in the early 14th century. As far as my own opinion is concerned, we as a country need to do far more to appreciate and know about our ancestors who fought for our nationhood and the work Gary and his team do is crucial in many ways and worth knowing about.

And we should also ask ourselves as to why we don't know enough about William Wallace and the history of Scotland during those crucial years when the whole existence of the country was on the line. It was a defining moment for Scotland and it's a part of the country's history that must never be forgotten.

Three cheers for the arrival of STV Glasgow on TV

Myself standing in one of my favourite parts of the world at
Pacific Quay, Glasgow.

This week, the arrival of the brand new STV Glasgow television channel marked an important milestone within Scottish broadcasting.

For the first time, a Scottish city has a unique TV channel of it's own that reflects the news, life and people of it's own area. You will not be at all surprised as to what tone I'm going to adopt for this blog post.

It's fair to say that times have been rather regressive in recent years as far as the broadcasting industry is concerned north of the border. Yet there is hope that the tide is changing direction for the better. The main thing that impresses me so much about this new television channel is the emphasis it places on serving it's main audience. The viewer knows without any doubt that Glasgow is the main focus and it's headline programme, The Riverside Show, reflects this point really brilliantly.

It's main presenters David Farrell and Jennifer Reoch symbolise what the programme and channel is all about. You can hear it in their accents and see it in their personalities. I cannot confirm for certain whether they were both born or brought up within Glasgow, but I can certainly say that the Glaswegian character in both of them is well and truly alive. It's also worth adding that Storm Huntley and Colin Stone have proven to be excellent members of the presenting/reporting team on the main STV Glasgow evening programme.

The only drawback I can think of at the moment is the lack of new programming that is available. I was expecting more than the main evening programme and the football phone-in that follows. But to be honest, I'm being a bit harsh here. It's only early days and already there seems to be a diverse range of programming from comprehensive news coverage throughout the day to the return of Take The High Road (although it's past episodes of the famous soap) and that football phone-in with Peter Martin and Alan Rough. There seems to be something for everybody.

Viewer and channel must understand each other and, despite only launching on Monday, STV Glasgow gets the people of the city. I'll conclude by saying that I am seriously impressed with how the team who produce The Riverside Show manage to fill in two hours of on air time with a diverse range of guests, features and stories. That is not an easy task to fulfil, particularly if it is for a programme that goes out daily.

So a huge congratulations to each and every one of the team at STV Glasgow and STV for making this new channel work well within it's early days - I wanted to name every single member of the team, but I'm fearful that I'm going to miss somebody out so I'll just lavish my praises upon everybody! Long may this new channel stay alive within our TV listings.

FOSIS Scottish Independence Debate: Civilised and a big win for Yes

The debate took place in Glasgow on Sunday evening

People calling for a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence celebrated an emphatic victory on Sunday night after a majority of people who attended the Federation of Student Islamic Societies Scotland debate on Scottish independence backed the idea of Scotland becoming independent.

Two polls were held, one before the debate commenced and one after the debate had finished. In the pre-debate poll, out of the people who voted, 52% voted Yes and 41% voted No. 7% were undecided. Then a debate was held for approximately two hours where issues such as the economy, education and immigration were discussed. The panellists who took part in the debate held inside the McCance Building at Strathclyde University in Glasgow were Humza Yousaf MSP, Shabana Naz, Yvonne Ridley and Anas Sarwar MP. Na'eem Raza chaired the debate.

There was a lot of passion in the room and many issues were explored and discussed. I had never attended a debate like this in Glasgow until last night and I have to say I was so impressed with how civil everyone was with one another. Disagreements maybe, at times (but with an issue as fundamentally important as this, anyone would expect differences of opinion), but there was support amongst the panellists and audience for everyone to make their point heard and, if anything, that is something that should be celebrated and commended.

In the final poll, out of all the people who voted after the debate, the Yes side surged to 68% - a gain of 16 points. No dropped to just 28% - a drop of 13 points. The number of people who were still undecided dropped by three points to just 4%. 

A major thank you to FOSIS for putting in all of the effort and time to organise the event and I also have to admit that my attendance there was just out of personal interest and a last minute commitment. I was at a conference in the city centre earlier in the day and only just decided an hour before the debate to come along. An engaging debate and there's no doubt more of those kind of events will be happening before September.

In loving memory of Madiba

Glasgow was the first city in the world to honour
the former President of South Africa

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Around 24 hours ago, he left this world leaving an impact on it which, in future, will be impossible to match.

Many people from all walks of life have paid tribute to the former President of South Africa. Never again will we ever see a politician or a figure of public life ever make as significant a difference to the world than him. I could go on and lavish my cynical opinion about the state of politics today but, in my opinion, that would not be respectful towards a man who's life was all about dignity, humility and making a difference through constructive solutions.

As a Scotsman, I totally recognise the strong links and affection that my home country has towards Mr Mandela. Glasgow was the first city in the world to give him the freedom of their own city (St George's Place in 1986 was renamed to Nelson Mandela Place in Scotland's biggest city). Aberdeen followed with a similar honour and Dundee also granted the former South African President with a similar honour also. Edinburgh had a room named in his honour inside the City Chambers.

Nelson Mandela shares many of the qualities of us Scots. Compassion, kindness and a sense of tranquility. I was hardly five years old when Nelson came to Glasgow in 1993, but I can tell you that it felt like he was really one of our own. I would even go further and regard him as an honorary Scotsman.

The uncompromising love shown to Madiba tonight in Glasgow, London and Soweto (and no doubt in many other parts of the planet) was heart melting. It is really sad that he has left this world for good. But let's also be honest, he really did live his life.

His legacy should teach us all that there is no time in this life to procrastinate and play yourself down, regardless of what you do. Life is so short, so never underestimate yourself and always maintain a sense of humility. Yet at the same time, fulfil your potential and always achieve success.

Nelson Mandela, thank you for being such a heart warming influence on this world. May God bless you.

In memory of those who have lost their lives in Glasgow

Most of you reading this blog entry do not need me to remind you what hit Scotland's biggest city last night. It was a horrific night and the last 24 hours have been very somber.

I would like to pay my personal respects to all of the victims of last night's helicopter crash and may God bless their families with mercy and support during this difficult time. At the same time, I want to lavish praise upon everyone who came to the rescue of those affected last night, whether it was the civilians of Glasgow, all of the emergency services and everyone else involved. They have shown that Glasgow is a city of loving humanity. They did everyone proud for the way they reacted in the face of adversity.

Rest In Peace to the victims of last night's awful tragedy.

REVIEW: BBC's The Big Questions in Glasgow, January 2013

Glasgow's Clyde Arc

Well can you believe it? Today marked probably my dozenth ever appearance on a television screen. You couldn't make it up!

The BBC hit show, The Big Questions, is produced by Mentorn Scotland and came to one of Scotland's most prestigious schools - Hutchesons' Grammar School, located in the south of Glasgow. Back for its sixth series, the show continues to be a successful hit with viewers across the UK and is full of lively, and sometimes, controversial debate.

After being full of nerves and being unable to sleep until nearly 1am this morning, I woke up just before 6am, beautifying myself before making my way to appear on BBC One this morning. Backstage in the waiting room I went on to my second cup of tea of the day and it was hardly just past 8am. But what I loved about today was how incredibly friendly everyone was. There's a strange yet sweet sense that we're all like a little family.

Because lets be honest the size of the audience on the programme isn't actually that big. We're talking about approximately 50 people (count the number when you watch the show), a crew of about 15-20 people including producers, the directors, researchers, studio runners and of course the ever canny Nicky Campbell.

After a briefing from Nicky and his colleagues we then had a warm up debate to get us all going. Particularly regarding the fact that it was bitterly cold outside so having a more than warm studio was much welcome.

10am, showtime! Hyped up and ready to go, there is no doubt that nobody can say that I was anything less than excitable. Clapping vigorously like a crazy football fan watching his team winning 5-0, the lights, music and the atmosphere were enough to overwhelm myself inside. And I say that being passionately interested in broadcasting.

To my surprise, even to this minute, Nicky was brave enough to let me speak on not one but two occasions. Firstly, by accident. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson MSP made one of the best points of the show when she said that successful male role models shouldn't be the alpha male stereotype but instead courteous, polite gentlemen.

I agreed with that so much that I went "hear, hear" and it provoked Nicky to turn the microphone onto myself. Rather than writing my opinion of what I said on here, I'd rather you saw it for yourself (from 29:00) but what I will say is - chivalry rules.

And then my second contribution (from 47:15) was regarding whether it should be legal to get high. Now when I watched this back earlier this afternoon, I cringed. I have to admit it wasn't my finest hour at the dispatch box.

However, it wasn't completely bad. But, on the negative side, I would have rather used the word "preparations" and not "stuff" and actually wish I had answered Nicky's last question more directly. My adrenaline rush took control and drove me in the wrong direction when it came to getting the right words out. A learning experience gained I think.

On a separate note from the running of the show, I wanted to clear one or two things up from the show. I have to admit I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of pharmacies supplying "legal highs" because I think it sends the wrong message to the public. We are responsible healthcare professionals and frankly we are talking about substances like cocaine, ecstasy and even LSD - they are extremely dangerous.

I was very intrigued to hear from all the other contributors about the issue and can completely understand their points. However, I still think the bottom line is - these substances are intoxicating and can have some extremely serious negative effects for an individual and their health.

But of course, on another separate note, there are drug rehabilitation programmes involving methadone dispensing in pharmacy, permitted under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, where patients are normally monitored on their level of consumption and then work is done to ensure that they can reduce their need and dose until they are drug free.

We should all aim to eliminate the problems that illicit drugs cause and I strongly support well co-ordinated rehabilitation programmes in the NHS and healthcare plus education as well, particularly for our young people. But that does not mean the law should be liberalised to a degree where it sends out the wrong message to people about drugs.

However, I was relieved to have made the point outlining a pharmacist's responsibilities and opening up in saying that there is a lot of debate going on in pharmacy and beyond regarding addiction to over the counter medicines.

Overall, it was well worth travelling on a 100 mile round journey to Glasgow and back to be on the show. I absolutely loved it. Being on such programmes, getting involved in the broadcasting industry and championing pharmacy's cause is what wakes me up in the morning.

Scotland are the Hogmanay world champions

Scotland's world famous capital, Edinburgh, from Calton Hill

Scotland was, is and always will be, with the grace of God, the greatest nation in the world when it comes to bringing in the New Year. And you'd have to be very churlish to dispute with that.

While Edinburgh will understandably be top of the global league when it comes to ringing in the bells, lets not just not forget, but celebrate the contribution that every village, town and other city brings to Scotland's stunning success at this time of the year.

I've just come back from Scotland's newest city, Perth. The atmosphere in town was one of excitement. With the bagpipes dominating the city in combination with the Scottish sunshine and the inevitable soaking up of the beautiful and tranquil views of the crisp of Scotland's longest river, who couldn't feel a sense of excitement about tonight? You'd have to be a bitter and stubborn individual not to feel anything.

Scotland's newest city, Perth, earlier today

Hogmanay is Scots for the final day of the year. It is a time of happiness, hope and forward looking reflection to the future. And even if you aren't in Scotland tonight, regardless of who you are or where you are from, Scotland will never be far away from you. Auld Lang Syne, quite probably Robert Burns' most famous poem ever, will be recited in every last home, street and party. The poem is symbolic about everything that is good about New Year, Scotland and the Scottish people.

Tonight tens of thousands of people around the world will be firing up a stunning atmosphere in the Scottish capital and thousands more will be lining the streets of Glasgow and Aberdeen with more celebrations taking place all over the nation. And it would be very terrible of me not to mention the traditional and much loved fireball ceremony in Stonehaven.

I couldn't be ever more grateful for being Scottish. Its one of the most beautiful blessings in my life.

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!

Glasgow Celtic have proven that money doesn't buy you success

Tonight, my tartan bonnet is going to be taken off to Glasgow Celtic football club after yet another sweet result in the Champions League which has now seen the Scottish champions advance to the final sixteen of the competition.

Whilst the majority decided to laugh off any possibility of Neil Lennon's side making it anywhere near the 3rd place Europa League spot, let alone qualification for the last 16 of the tournament, I, on the other hand, was optimistic that this was the best Celtic side in nearly ten years and had more than enough of a chance to pull off qualification to the knock out stages of the competition. And my goodness I was right.

Celtic proved that you do not need to spend millions upon millions of pounds on new players to make your way through European competition. And unlike certain clubs down south where their football minds are clouded with banknotes and nothing else, Celtic have not just done Scotland proud. They have done the whole world of football proud. It is so reassuring to see that you can still be a success in the world's most prestigious football club competition despite not having anywhere near the financial muscle that other football clubs have.

After what has been the worst year for Scottish football since the formation of the Scottish Football Association in 1873, Celtic have done this nation proud. And make no doubt about anything. This victory is a lesson for anybody, no matter what their career is or who they are. Flashing banknotes in people's eyes will never guarantee you success. Only a special characteristic called humility will.

Tonight Celtic triumphed. Tonight Scotland have become victorious. Tonight real success prevailed.

And tonight, football well and truly is the winner.