I throw down the gauntlet to council
Vow to quit column over £40m leisure hub
I don’t think I’d be contravening the Official Secrets Act if I let it slip that this page isn’t entirely popular with our elected representatives on South Ayrshire Council.
Well, most of them anyway. When I got my first column in the Daily Record, the marketing people generously billed it as “Bob Shields – the page you can’t put down”.
With our local councillors, it appears I’ve come full circle. I now write the page they can’t put up with! Yes, it’s full circle right enough. I used to regularly level both barrels at council leader “Wild Bill” McIntosh and his Tory cadre. And I’d condemn them almost weekly for their belligerent treatment of the SNP councillors who were denied a voice . . . and sometimes even council documents.
Through it all, Labour were the Tory’s bedfellows, keeping them in power in exchange for the provost’s chain and a few portfolio chairs.
Now . . it’s the belligerent Nats who get the stick – and they treat the Tories with the same irrelevance they once hated themselves.
And not much has changed with the Labour party. Faced with five years on the sidelines, they decided to support the Nats . . .in exchange for the provost’s chain and a few portfolio chairs!
Well – this week I might have good news for ALL of the above.
Just imagine it councillors – NO MORE Bob Shields in the Ayrshire Post. No more wisecracks, no more put downs, no more critique, cheeky comments or condemnation.
And how would you reach this rapture, this dreamland, this cloud nine in the nebula of nirvana?
Well, all you need my councillor comrades, is a little faith and belief ... in yourselves.
And let’s face it – it’s what you ask voters to do. All the time. “Have faith in us”. “Believe in us”. So here’s the deal. In a swathe of publicity, SAC has promised to deliver us a new £40 million town centre leisure complex – to open in 2023.
And I’m saying - they won’t! Not for £40 million . . . not by 2023... perhaps not ever.
In my challenge, I’m willing to put this job on the line. And all I’m asking is for every councillor who votes for this madness to do the same.
Let’s start at the top – with council leader Peter Henderson.
How about it Peter? You deliver on time and on budget – and I’ll walk. You don’t – and you walk.
And take every camp follower who supported this madness with you.
Over the next few weeks, the Nats who control our council will crank up their election machine in a bid to get two of their number – Councillors Siobhan Brown and Laura BrennanWhitfield – elevated to members of the Scottish Parliament.
Neither has done me any personal disservice – and good luck to them.
But we’re going to hear a lot of phrases like, “I promise”, “I pledge” and “I will”.
We’ll hear the same amount of “trust us”, “believe in us” and “have faith in us”.
All I’m asking is – do the Scottish Nationalists “trust”, “believe in” and “have faith in” their own local administration? Being an elected councillor comes with responsibility. That’s why they get their allowances topped up every year with thousands of pounds of “responsibility” extras.
But responsibility should come with accountability. The shambles of the recent rent “consultation” alone – with a response rate of a shocking 4.7% - should have led to a head rolling . . . or at least a public apology.
Instead, we have a local authority whose powerbrokers seem to have adopted the scruples of Donald Trump. Never apologise – never admit you’re wrong – never back down – never take blame.
When this leisure club fantasy all goes pear shaped – or is completed with a final bill that would shred your Speedos – nobody will be responsible. The “selling” of the £40m pool complex is already underway. Last week, I’m told, one prospective MSP said that a swimming class ‘waiting list’ of 300 people highlighted the need for a new pool. Well . . . would a £10 million refurb of The Citadel, more staff and longer opening hours not do the trick? It’s cheaper than £40 million. And there are 300,000 people on the ‘waiting list’ to see the next Scottish International Air Show. That £40 million would guarantee its future for half a century!
Already, I can hear voices at Castle Grayskull saying my challenge is “showboating” or “grandstanding” or a “cheap gimmick”.
Well, putting the end of a 50- year career on the line is one hell of a gimmick. I’ve put my money where my mouth is.
I challenge SAC’s ruling councillors to deliver this project on time and on budget – and put £40 million of our money where their mouths are.
The family of a murdered a schoolgirl are back on TV next week sharing their beloved girl’s story with thousands of viewers in a compelling new documentary.
The Stewart family will highlight the story of teenager Michelle , pictured right, who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in November 2008, on Channel 5star’s Countdown to Murder series.
Michelle, 17, was minutes away from her home in Drongan when blade killer John Wilson, who was 20 at the time, ambushed her and carried out his brutal attack - stabbing her 10 times with a 10-inch blade - in front of her friends.
Wilson, who was sentenced to 12 years minimum jail time in 2009 after pleading guilty, was due for parole last November but his hearing was moved to March 2021.
Countdown to Murder, by Crackit Productions, will take viewers through Michelle’s story, the moments leading up to her death and the aftermath told by her family, police officers and journalists.
Michelle’s sister Lisa told the Post: “We really want to highlight how premeditated and vicious his attack on Michelle was and how lenient the justice system was against him for such a violent attack.
“It gives people the chance to see how Michelle was as a person. His parole hearing has been moved to March and the programme could not be aired at a better time. If released, the authorities are looking to quietly relocate him back into society and people need to know that he could be housed next to you in your street or village.
“He will not necessarily need to disclose what he did and could strike up a relationship with someone and when things don’t go his way could very easily do the same again.
“People deserve to know if this coward is living nearby and know his capabilities.”
The Stewart family have tirelessly campaigned to see Michelle’s Law introduced that would see changes to the justice system, including the setting up of ‘exclusion zones’ upon an offender’s release, prompted by Wilson being spotted in and around Ayr many times while on supervised leave since 2018.
The family received news from the Justie secretary Humza Yousaf that changes have been made to the Parole
Board Scotland rules, effective from March 1, with a full rewrite of the rules to follow towards the end of this year
Lisa said: “This is brilliant news as it covers what we have pushed for in Michelle’s law.
“There is still a long way to go.
“With the current justice system and lenient sentences being handed out for violent crimes, people have no faith in the justice system and change is needed.
“We will not give up. People should not have to fight for justice.”
The Post has backed the family’s fight for justice. and our reporter Abi Smillie is set to feature in the programme highlighting the local media’s role in helping the Stewart family’s campaign.,
Abi said: “Losing a loved one is hard under any circumstances but for Michelle to be taken so young and in such a brutal way is just devastating.
“Michelle had her full life ahead of her.
“She never got to live out her goals and future plans because someone else cruelly took that away from not only her but her family too.
“When I was approached by Crackit Productions to be part of the documentary, I knew I wanted to do anything I could to help the Stewart family in their fight for justice and ensure Michelle’s story isn’t forgotten about.”
Watch Countdown to Murder - Michelle’s story on Tuesday, February 16 at 9pm on Channel 5star.
A tattoo artist has shared her amazing artwork transformation, proving that hard work and dedication pays off.
Hannah McQue, 21, pictured left, of Ayr, joined in on the Twitter trend of artists sharing their work from aged 14 until now – and the evolution of her work is astonishing.
Hannah compared her 14-year-old self’s pencil drawing of her and her mum alongside a highly detailed A3 portrait of American actor Danny Trejo.
It took the Body Art Ayr tattoo artist 24 hours to draw
Danny , who retweeted the photo when Hannah originally posted the finished piece in October last year.
Hannah, who is currently not working as covid restrictions prevent tattoo parlours from opening, said: “Because I’ve had all this free time, this is the longest I’ve ever spent on a drawing.
“It was over so many months but all in it took me about 24 hours’ work.
“I’ve never done anything with this much detail before.
“He [Trejo] ended up seeing it on Twitter and retweeting it – I was buzzing.”
The former Prestwick Academy pupil says she has been drawing since she “could lift a pencil” and “loves the challenge” of featuring every detail.
Hannah said: “As I got older I started to focus more on people and portraits.
“I just absolutely love the amount of detail in them.
“I love the challenge.
“I love trying to make it look as much like a photograph as possible.”
Hannah later got into tattooing aged 18 after leaving school, first practising on grapefruits and pig skin.
She shadowed a tattoo artist before he became her first customer to ink.
Hannah, who only has two small tattoos herself, said: “One day I went in and the guy who was showing me what to do said ‘right you’re going to tattoo me today’.
“I was terrified. It was just the thought of it – I’m actually scarring this guy for the rest of his life.
“But I really enjoyed it once I started doing it. I have a lot more confidence now but there’s still so much to learn.”