There's no Smoke without Fire

We did think that this morning might not have been the best time to have had a house fire in central Edinburgh, when we passed this line of parading firemen, out in force behind their banner and protesting about something which I guess from recent news could be the new pension proposals.

Whatever the cause, it was very low key affair with no police marshals, pipe bands or road closures. I doubt that it turns out to be effective.

If I could protest, it would be about the NHS in Lothian routinely scheduling operations and other surgical procedures for Edinburgh City residents in St John's hospital in Livingstone, 17 miles away, necessitating a long bus journey there, or if unable to travel by bus, a taxi which costs a minimum of £50 return.
For our elderly neighbour in her eighties this will cost just under £100 in taxi fares for her and her equally elderly husband providing he doesn't visit during her during her stay.

One might be forgiven for thinking that the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary should have been built with enough capacity to treat patients within a 5 mile radius instead of shunting them out to West Lothian.

I have no doubt NHS lothian will be able to exonerate themselves if confronted.