Thoughtful

I went to the Children's Panel this morning. We heard three cases, as usual, and two were fairly typical Edinburgh cases. The middle case was very complicated and, frankly, heartbreaking. I've taken an oath of confidentiality but suffice it to say that this parent had more than one's fair share of troubles and couldn't see a way out. This person's circumstances had traces of my father's experience and I felt a higher than usual amount of compassion. At one point the parent asked us when would this all end and none of us could answer with a date, only advice that this person is not in a place to hear.

After the Panel I cycled over to Bruntsfield to pick up some books. Those of you lovely blippers who know Edinburgh will know that the Grange, Merchiston, Morningside and Bruntsfield are some of the most beautiful, most expensive areas in this already rich city. The architecture appeals to the Hanoverian historian I used to be, the leaves are changing colour and it was a beautiful day. I kept thinking how all this beauty was closed off to this parent. Everything felt like there was a locked gate blocking the way with no one with a key nearby.


"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these." - Gautama Buddha