The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Date night in Italy is simply bellissimo
If you read last week’s column you will be aware that I was bravely – or stupidly – stepping into an arena where I might have been fed to lions but, somehow, I survived unscathed.
Talking politics is always a bit dangerous, whether at the dinner table, in the workplace – or on TV!
But yes, I had that moment of madness where I said “yes” to appearing on Debate Night on BBC Scotland and I was writing last week’s column while heading up to Elgin for the show.
At that point, who knew whether I’d still be employed by The P&J this week or whether I would be cancelled for saying something controversial?
Safe to say I will never be a politician – it must be terrifying to know that every word you say can be scrutinised by the press and, more importantly, dissected by the opposition and possibly be taken out of context and pounced upon.
Thankfully, I managed to remain relatively neutral on the night and didn’t cause great offence to anyone.
However, one of the questions was about something I do have strong views on, as did the members of the audience – namely the delay in making the A96 a dual carriageway.
I care deeply about the people who live in our wee part of Scotland and the fact that the main road between Aberdeen and Inverness, two of Scotland’s biggest cities, is a single carriageway is actually pretty unbelievable.
There are so many reasons why this is disruptive for people, causing delays in getting to work or appointments on time, but it’s surely the safety aspect that should be addressed by the Scottish Government.
As I said on the show, if the Scottish Government doesn’t want to be accused of only caring about the Central Belt, it needs to quash this accusation by making sure this vital piece of infrastructure is built as soon as possible.
How many lives will be lost before this project is prioritised?
Anyway, I’m back down off my soapbox and won’t be getting back on it any time soon!
I just want to say, though, that the rest of the panel on the show with me were highly experienced at debating, and so accomplished and concise with their answers.
I enjoyed hearing their arguments and Stephen Jardine presents the show incredibly well, respecting all opinions.
I felt like I was in safe hands with Stephen at the helm.
He is one of those Scottish presenters who you feel you know when you meet them because they are so familiar to you, having been constantly on-screen over the years.
All in all, it wasn’t nearly as scary an experience as I had thought it might be.
Anyway, I’m back to the day job again. Music festival season has begun and I’ve been to Jelling in Denmark this week and Dundee for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
The sun shone on Dundee and I think it’s wonderful when a national radio show comes all the way to Scotland.
I’m friends with a lot of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 DJs, but I had never met Greg James before. What an absolutely lovely guy he is.
I had to laugh when he photobombed my selfie. He was loving his time north of the border.
I’m now in Milan writing this – if you are old enough to understand this joke, and know who she is, I think you should call me Judith Chalmers from now on, as I seem to be doing my own little travel show.
Gordon popped over to Milan to see me, he is certainly making the most of his cheap staff travel.
We went to a pasta restaurant for dinner and sat outside, feeling like we were on holiday.
You really notice how expensive the UK is when you come to Italy and eat out for so much less than we do at home.
Don’t get me started on the difference Brexit has made to us.
I promised I was off that soapbox but knowing that it was cheaper for Gordon to come to see me in Milan and have dinner than it would have been to get the train into London and eat dinner is a bit of a sad realisation of what is going on in the UK.
Anyway, as you know, in our busy schedules we like to prioritise date night – and who knows where the next one will be!
Have a good week,
Yvie x