Editorial

At the LOCAL NEWS we always have more good stories than we have space to publish them.  Our mission has always been to provide a platform for local information to be shared, examined, discussed, aired and debated. The two LOCAL NEWS titles  – LOCAL NEWS SOUTH and LOCAL NEWS northWESTeast –  continue to do that South of the River Clyde where we have been since 1997 and to the communities on the other side of the river in the West, North and now the East of Glasgow. There is some cross-fertilisation of stories. We believe that the good things and achievements in one area, could be useful in other areas if only people knew about them. What is useful to note this month is that the serious warning of a mental health epidemic forecast by professionals – on the Southside – concerned with people who are in danger of becoming homeless – needs to be taken seriously in every quarter. So we’re using the benefits of our website as well as our traditional LOCAL NEWS papers to spread the word.

Editorial – Janaury 2009

There was a time when a man’s word was his bond. There was no going back from the commitment. No matter the inconvenience, hardship, cost or effort involved, that honest man would keep his promise.

In today’s casual climate things are not so certain.  With technology able to make silk purses out of sow’s ears and fools out of all of us, even the camera cannot be relied on to reveal the truth.

So it is refreshing to find that a culture of integrity still exists and indeed, on occasion, is recognised and rewarded.

In the New Year Honours List, people such as Aileen McGlynn, the blind cyclist and her pilot guide Ellen Hunter, set us a shining example. Their trust in each other’s commitment has won them gold several times at the Beijing Olympics and now they have been made Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Previously they were humble Members of that Order.

And it is worth keeping in mind they make those promises on training, training and training entirely for themselves. There is no public pressure for them to commit to the punishing schedule to attain and stay at that high level of endeavour. And there is no public salary to do it either.

Editorial – December

While bankers shed crocodile tears as people sweat blood to keep home and hearth together, the multi million pound war ships are well into production, securing thousands of jobs on the Clyde and elsewhere.

No one has answered the question – who will they be used against?

But as this is a time of year when Christians and Muslims are expected to show peace and goodwill to everyone, let’s not be churlish. Let’s concentrate instead on working out how Christmas lighting up gatherings have brought together larger crowds than ever before;  how more neighbours  and communities are volunteering and organising their own local clean ups more readily and how children still have faith that the big man in the red suit will make their dreams come true.

Yes, put cynicism out with the rubbish! Bah humbug be banished! May all our readers enjoy a  Happy Eid, a Merry Christmas and find hope in the New Year to come.

Editorial – November

November is a time to remember. Not just Guy Fawkes whose legacy is a spectacular fireworks display done superbly well by Glasgow City Council, but other people who fought for what they believed was right and died in the process.

How many war memorials will be visited this month by bands of dedicated people who lay wreaths of red poppies and white ones for peace? And how many of those places will not receive another visitor till the same time next year. Most of such memorials are dying of neglect and vandalism.

Is there no band of volunteers willing to refresh these monuments to brave people?

Or is it something Clean Glasgow should add to its already extensive duties? Since there is no comprehensive register of public and private war memorials in Glasgow we invite readers to let the LOCAL NEWS know of any local war memorial you think needs to be remembered.

 Just email us on: newsdesk@localnewsglasgow.co.uk with MEMORIALS in the subject box or write to us at MEMORIALS, The LOCAL NEWS, Yam Publications Ltd, 73 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8QD.