Considerate parking call
I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to all drivers to consider the wider implications of parking illiegally and remind people driving within Bathgate town centre to observe the parking regulations relating to single and double yellow lines and avoid parking in contravention of the regulations, which can result in a financial penalty and potentially points on your licence if the offence is endorsable, such as parking on a pelican or zebra crossing.
On a visit to Bathgate town centre on a busy Saturday with my family I saw a West Lothian Council environmental enforcement vehicle on Whitburn Road parked the wrong way on a single yellow line. The driver was nowhere to be seen.
There are signs that clearly state / mean no stopping or parking on the carriageway Monday to Saturday between 9am and 5pm.
The only people that are exempt from this regulation are disabled people displaying a blue badge and they still have to park sensibily and not cause an obstruction.
How can West Lothian Council and Police Scotland expect the general public to abide by parking restrictions and regulations when clearly the people they employ have no regards for the regulations and parking restrictions?
Support for lonely
A new survey by Independent Age, the older people’s charity, found that more than one in three (35 per cent) of those aged 75 and over in Great Britain say that feelings of loneliness are out of their control, equivalent to more than 1.8 million people, and almost one in four (23 per cent) worry about how often they feel lonely, an estimated 1.2 million people.
To help older people in Scotland recognise why they might feel lonely and to offer a few tips for simple steps they can take to reduce loneliness we’ve launched a new, free advice guide called ‘If You’re Feeling Lonely: How to Stay Connected in Older Age’.
The guide includes advice based on what older people have said works for them during calls or visits from the charity.
It hopes to help those who use it build confidence and learn how to feel better about themselves.
Aiming to help change people’s mind-sets about loneliness, the guide provides information on topics such as how to recognise why you might feel lonely, how to help yourself and the opportunities to look out for.
People of all ages feel lonely sometimes but becoming older shouldn’t inevitably mean that you will be lonely.
By taking small steps and changing one thing at a time it is possible to reduce feelings of loneliness.
If you feel lonely yourself or if you know someone who does ‘If You’re Feeling Lonely’ is completely free to order and download from independentage.org/lonely-guide or can be ordered by calling 0800 319 6789.
For those who would like to help in some other way Independent Age has also just launched its Christmas appeal to raise funds to help combat loneliness.
To donate to the Christmas appeal call 020 7605 4485 or visit independentage.org/xmas.