Glasgow

Edinburgh may be the capital city of Scotland but if you really want a true taste of the Scottish people then visit Glasgow. Glasgow has a saying " People make Glasgow"
Yes the people that live and work in Glasgow make Glasgow an amazing city.
For anyone looking to work or study, then Glasgow offers so much. I agree that Edinburgh is a pretty city and it has a castle but it has no heart ,or soul. In fact its more of a tourist trap.
If you ask anyone in Glasgow for directions, you can be sure they will do their best to direct you. Or if you're at a bus stop, you can be sure someone will talk away to you as if they where an old friend.

Glasgow has amazing architecture and it has a great social history.
Visit one of the many free museums and experience a taste

https://peoplemakeglasgow.com/

Scotland says NO FRACKING WAY

Drilling companies suggest trillions of cubic feet of shale gas may be recoverable from underneath parts of northern England, through a process known as "fracking".

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock. But how does it work and why is it controversial?

What is fracking?

Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.

The process is carried out vertically or, more commonly, by drilling horizontally to the rock layer. The process can create new pathways to release gas or can be used to extend existing channels.

Why is it called fracking?

It is shorthand for hydraulic fracturing and refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high pressure mixture. Experts also refer to a "frac job" and a "frac unit".

Why is it controversial?

The extensive use of fracking in the US, where it has revolutionised the energy industry, has prompted environmental concerns.

The first is that fracking uses huge amounts of water that must be transported to the fracking site, at significant environmental cost. The second is the worry that potentially carcinogenic chemicals used may escape and contaminate groundwater around the fracking site. The industry suggests pollution incidents are the results of bad practice, rather than an inherently risky technique.

There are also worries that the fracking process can cause small earth tremors. Two small earthquakes of 1.5 and 2.2 magnitude hit the Blackpool area in 2011 following fracking.

"It's always recognised as a potential hazard of the technique", says Professor Ernie Rutter from the University of Manchester, "But they're unlikely to be felt by many people and very unlikely to cause any damage."

Finally, environmental campaigners say that fracking is simply distracting energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels.

"Shale gas is not the solution to the UK's energy challenges," said Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Tony Bosworth. "We need a 21st century energy revolution based on efficiency and renewables, not more fossil fuels that will add to climate change."

What are the advantages of fracking?

Fracking allows drilling firms to access difficult-to-reach resources of oil and gas. In the US it has significantly boosted domestic oil production and driven down gas prices. It is estimated to have offered gas security to the US and Canada for about 100 years, and has presented an opportunity to generate electricity at half the CO2 emissions of coal.

The industry suggests fracking of shale gas could contribute significantly to the UK's future energy needs. A report by the Energy and Climate Change Committee in April said shale gas in the UK may help to secure energy supplies, but may not bring down gas prices.

Where is fracking taking place?

Reserves of shale gas have been identified across swathes of the UK, particularly in the north of England. However no fracking is currently taking place, and drilling firms must apply for a fracking licence if they wish to do so in the future.

EDINBURGH NEEDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Edinburgh has no new social housing building planned in the near to medium future.
This is a major concern for those on a very low income or for those termed "working poor."

If you look at what some of the high earners receive

• David Cameron £142,500
• Tony Hall (BBC boss) £450,000
• Mike Rees (Standard Chartered bank boss) £8,986,000
• Wayne Rooney £15,600,000
• Angela Ahrendts (Burberry boss) £16,900,000
• Adele £27,540,000
• The Queen £36,100,000
• One Direction £59,330,000
• Michael Jackson (deceased) £108,108,000
• Crispin Odey (hedge fund speculator) £14,200,000
• Carolyn McCall (easyJet boss) £6,430,000     

Now compare that to some other jobs

• Waiters & waitresses ( £7,654 +8.3%)
• Cleaners £8,067 (+1.9%)
• Florists £8,960 (-6.0%)
• Hairdressers £10,174 (+0.9%)
• Fitness instructors £10,378 (-8.4%)
• Shop-workers £11,174 (+0.3%)
• Cooks £11,346 (-7.4%)
• Nursery nurses £11,163 (-0.4%)

The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

Make no mistake, even if you consider yourself "middle class" you are still in the poor bracket 

The average wage is meant to be circa £26,000 but so many don't earn that much and have to exist on under £15,000.

We need to campaign our MP's to start building more affordable social housing.

Its coming up for the election, so now is the time to write letters, send emails and get them working for your vote

Edinburgh Trams

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There are no excuses for such a dramatic failure in project management. Tram networks run perfectly well in German cities and the new line running from Freiburg-im-Breisgau to the suburb of Vauban was built without fuss.

The minutiae of what went wrong in Edinburgh and who is at fault will be discussed for a long time, but there are bigger lessons to learn. The main lesson to be learned from the Edinburgh tram project is that £776m spent on one route from the airport to the city centre is not good value for money if it doesn't get more people walking and using other forms of transport.

There are good examples out there of how trams can slot into a city's transport system as part of a wider push to get people out of their cars. A visit to Vienna, Freiburg, Bremen or Zurich will show how this can be done well. But this hasn't happened in Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh tram fiasco shows a failure to grasp the basic principles of network planning and integration. Buses, pedestrian routes and cycle paths all need a clear and consistently delivered network objective. The transport network must link homes, places of work, education and healthcare seven days a week at all times. Trains must be met by buses and vice versa.

Buses must link up with other buses and should not always take passengers through the city centre when they just need to go from one part of the city to another. All these things are built up each year so car use feels like a bad option.

A tram project in Edinburgh designed as part of a bigger approach with the aim of getting people out of their cars makes a great deal of sense, but this hasn't happened.

Edinburgh has one of Britain's best located and well-known railway stations at Waverley. It would have been possible to run the tram directly into it copying the German success at Kassel where trams run into the railway station.

This adds value to both trams and trains and delivers real integration. Similarly, the Edinburgh trams will not allow bikes to be carried on board. It is normal in mainland Europe for bikes to be carried on trams eg in Basel, Frankfurt and Kassel.

The lesson to be learnt from Edinburgh is that large, expensive tram schemes that are not integrated into all aspects of planning and transport will not change the way people travel around cities or reduce congestion. Ten years from now Edinburgh will still have the same transport problems and it will not have the relief that totally integrated approaches in Zurich, Vienna and Freiburg have resulted in

Drop off/pickup charges at Edinburgh Airport

The cost of picking someone up or dropping them off at Edinburgh Airport is nothing more than robbery.
http://www.edinburghairport.com/edinburgh-airport-parking/dropoff

The website even tries to make it look as if they are magnanimous but its blatantly obvious that they are ripping you off.

If you want to beat them, get coins that look like a £ pound coin and drop that in or even try dropping in a penny........worked for me

Better still start a protest and email Edinburgh Airport telling them that you refuse to fly from there until they get rid of the charges.
Glasgow Airport doesn't charge you for dropping anyone off

Once again Edinburgh fails as a city