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Friends and readers. In these days of thunder when many lives have been disrupted and changed forever and our country begins to realign itself under new economic conditions in circumstances completely unknown at any time in our history.

This nation along with other nations are trying to re-assert some form of financial order and pave the way for a new economic destiny. This won’t come easy and much pain is still to come before daylight once more appears and the flood waters of financial armagedon recede to reveal exactly what has to be repaired and rebuilt.

What was none of the peoples doing has come upon their heads as the fallout lays waste to commmunities across the country pushing many into poverty with what appears at the present time to be no reprieve to the misery being influenced on our citizens.

The legend that was built up of Britains prudent financial systems has now been destroyed and lost forever never again to rise in what was a long false dawn built on water and sand.

In reality what we had was the fire sale of peoples quality of life sold cheaply on the bonfire of greed and mendacity and the god of vanity. This dear friends in time to come will be the legacy we inherit and we hand to the next generation, a generation born into massive debt affecting the many caused by the few and certain to last for a long time and in truth we may never again come to the point were this nation once more floats on a sea of prosperity, certainly not prosperity built on fly by night night investments driven by greed and controlled by a handful of individuals seemingly above accountability and free to play the markets on whatever terms they choose.  

Friends and readers. Royston Primary School is to close following a decision made by the City council on Thursday 17-12-09. As many of you will know the decision to close Royston came after much debate within the Council and local Community.

It is never easy to see services in Communities being axed but reality bites hard and difficult decisions have to be taken right across the city. Royston School has been with us since 1937 with some of the original pupils still living in the Community. Existing pupils will now move along the road to Granton Primary as Educational services are brought into line in this economic climate.

We can argue and did that Royston remain open combining local project use and educational services what became of this idea we do not know. We will now be left with a magnificent building which we hope can be used in the Communities benefit and not raised to the ground to build cardboard box type houses souless and without life as we see down Waterfront Way.

Well done to all those who got involved in trying to retain Royston as a School and not to blame yourselves for somethings you might have done differently after all hind sight is a great thing, but take heart from the experience of a campaign and live to fight another day.

Now it’s about making sure Granton Primary delivers the best education possible for our children, and those people and parents who were involved with the Royston campaign can turn their experience to arguing for better and improved services at Granton Primary, and getting this School to deliver for the kids and the whole Community.     

Friends and readers. It has been commented to us a number of times that some of our work has opened doors to subjects that other sites wouldn’t touch, and for which Pilton Sucks has received much praise.

This is gratifying indeed and inspires us to continue knocking down barriers wherever they exist. Information is power so we are told and with holding information is to retain what power particular information has. In our last post about language we touched on how large organisations who have the misfortune to employ an HR department are turned into frightened souls as our labotomised friends prowl the corridors of offices looking for victims to pounce on, that is why we advise all employees to have a sharp stake handy to plunge into their heart Dracula like as these vampires will stop at nothing to hound you and strike fear in you in an attempt to de-humanise and perform black arts on your mind bringing an employee to contemplate Hari Kari or ritual slaughter of the entire HR death squads.

Think if you will dear friends an employee going about their every day business using that valued commodity of humanity to help them do their job. Now dear friends lets look at a possible scenario which could have HR breathing down your neck. At this stage of the proceedings we must issue a health warning, people of a nervous disposition should discontinue reading as even thinking abour HR departments could turn you to a nervous wreck.

Well we have done our legal duty and we did warn you so read on at your discretion. Imagine if you will dear friends a situation were an employee is going about their business doing what they are paid to do and serving who they are supposed to be serving. Nothing in working life as in private life is that simple and problems will arise from time to time. 

This dear friends is when HR smell blood and decide they like the taste, not knowing the fundementals of humanity HR decide to blow completely out of proportion a minor or non existing problem to suit their own self righteous vanity. Next of course our our little inquisition type friends embark on a trail of paper writing up their version of events which of course 9 times out of 10 they are clueless about but that matters not in the discovery of their own closeted world of fabricated truth.

They have a prisoner to torture so their pleasure is almost complete. Next tried and tested dodge in the HR armoury is to cancel at least one of their scheduled interegations saying that,  and this is their classic oscar winning line more time is needed to gather information, which in reality means they have nothing but need more time to cobble some crap together in order to justify their existance.

Our labotomised lab rats huddle together over a boiling cauldren consumed by the need to snare a victim and feed off the carcus presumably boiling it first, after all they must observe proper eating habits, wouldn’t want an investigation would we now.

So dear friends we now know the tactics of our lab rat friends, Cobra like they strike fear into the heart of the victim by cancelling an interegation only to rearrange another meeting at their leisure and conveinience, trying at the same time to un-nerve the victim and force a signed confession.

Forget any type of fact HR don’t deal in facts they deal in stealth and smoke and mirrors. From nowhere they appear there could be one right beside you now and you wouldn’t know it, your neighbour could be one, your best friend could be one, the guy delivering your tinsel and mince pies could be one,  no-one and no-where is safe from the lurgi of HR. For gods sake don’t sit on the toilet you never know. They can change their appearance to suit any situation or background and can blend in with normal society giving nothing away except for their fear of daylight.

Our blood sucking vampire friends of HR otherwise known as the department of stealth and total obscurity will devour victims whole and with one gulp leaving no trace of human life. Nobody dare enter the santum of this mob of cut throats, if they do even God himself couldn’t help you.

In fact if we recall the sermon on the mount  didn’t Jesus say something about loving your neighbours and turning the other cheek, only to take fright as he heard the rumble of the Roman armies HR department and the rumour they were going to investigate him, the rest as they say is history.                   

Friends and readers. Day to day in our conversations we strive to make our language fit the subject, wheather in committees or in private use. In your place of employment your use of language will fit the role you have, and the duties you undertake. This is a necessary part of everyday life and something which we all learn to adapt to.

Those skilled in the art of talk and conversation have the ability to adapt to all situations, giving them an all round skill within differing spheres. This can be highlighted right here in North Edinburgh and mirror imaged throughout the country where Community members can take on roles which at first sight might seem daunting because they may not have undertaken such roles before and think themselves inexperienced or not able to play the part required of them, but do so in the knowledge that they believe in their own capabilities and want the best for their communities.

And in the main that is the qualifications required within a Community setting. You can grow into the role you undertake and even become good at it showing a competancy you thought you never had. Neighbourhood Partnerships have given the opportunity for local people to get involved in decision making at what ever level they feel comfortable with.

Dealing with officials and officers of the council will require a certain dexterity which will come with that old favourite experience, but probably the most important aspect is to be yourself and not try to jump out of your own comfort zone. Much is changing in North Edinburgh and it is required to be people driven for real sucess to be achieved.

The newly formed Community Councils have hit the ground running and now command respect for the duties they peform and will grow in stature as time goes on. Agendas for the Community have to be written by the Community and this requires a different use of language once again, but when acquired becomes straight forward, it’s the hidden nature of how these things were done made it seem difficult.

Schooled in the black arts of Community deception hidden agendas had a habbit of appearing cobbled together by those that had other interests at heart rather than those of the greater good. This lead to many who might have shown an interest in getting involved put off by the prospect of being drowned in what was in reality shallow water.

The most difficult part of trying to make inclusive a main stay of involvement was the use of language designed it would seem to put people off rather than encourage them, leaving the field clear for changes to be made or indeed enforced with out Community consent, or dare we say without the favoured word of officers consultation, a somewhat over used but under acted on word, so we see right there how language can be used to fit the script so it sounds correct.

This slight of hand is a commonly used approach, expertly used by our old pals the dreaded Halcrowe whose idea of Community consultation was something devised on the back of a fag packet and agreed on by who knows. The practiced use of language is used to fit the agenda devised by a policy document sent out for consultation and then ammended as required and then sent back from whence it came to be reworded to say exactly what it said in the first place only worded differently, the trick is in the use of language, and if you understood that then you have our vote.

So dear friends the real meaning is not only what you say but how and in what context you say it, as your words can always be used against you but never for you, that’s the nature of the beast, and no-where is that better displayed than in the HR departments of large organisations. These labotomised individuals are a breed apart who can conjure up amazing rubbish just with a change of grammer.

The enemy within who like nothing better than to score points of people who are supposed to be colleagues, and have a holier than thou mentality which if not challenged can result in some form of kangeroo court, they can make the Klu Klux Clan seem angelic in comparison.

But the truth is it’s all down to their use of language and how it is interpreted. Into the valley of death rode the brave 2000 but they never came up against HR, the grave yard of organistaions the limbo of progress and the illegitamate seekers of truth which really dear friends they could not care less about, rather more fun in trying to de-humanise a colleague for reasons known only to themselves.

Serving the false god of make believe use of language for large organisations who are so distant from the people they are supposed to serve it’s frightening these self professed seekers of the truth and their language fits their version of the truth have become most organisations worst nightmare, as they troll the workplace looking for their next victim to persecute.

So you see dear friends how what and when you say something and in what context can determine any number of things, the big question is how do you know what to say when to say it and in what forum, simple answer is you don’t every situation is different, but and there is always a but make sure the language you use comes from you and not someone else, nobody does it better than the person themselves even if they get a bloody nose from time to time. For one of these days you may find yourself giving rather than receiving, and experience will then tell you that’s it’s people you are dealing with not numbers or objects.         

Friends and readers. Armaments, universal debt and planned obsolescence are the three pillars of western prosperity, not much to crow about in our less than free and sometimes democratic society. The other pillar was Lots wife who turned around and became a pillar of salt, something we are all in danger of doing if we turn around and face what has become of our world.

We sell bullets and bombs to any despot dictator who can borrow the money to buy them so they can turn them on their own people, and if they don’t have the cash to buy them then credit facilities are always available to valued customers. Western society has lead us all on a road which is not of our making but which we are all walking on and a perilous path it is. Not only is our financial systems in a mess not of our making but untold misery is in store for many as Goverments bail out failed institutions but refuse to help the very same people who have and will become victims of this insane greed which caused this mess.

We look now towards a new year with built in optimism that our nations can come through this calamity which brought us to the brink of financial armagedon and has left the poorer countries of our world in dire straits. Optimism built on a faith that never again will trust be placed in the hands of those that would sell us to the highest bidder and then plead innocense before running away.

Optimism that when we all turn around that no-one will be turned into a pillar of salt.    

Friends and readers.  You may see Lara Croft in the most unexpected places,  still but life like armed to the teeth ready to repel invaders of this inner sanctum. Truth be told this computor generated character who dominates proceedings is strange company with it’s silent stare.

This leads us nicely to our next port of call, the distinction between deviating from what is fact and what is conjured up from the mind to fit the facts. Examine the facts good words indeed not adding conjecture to the facts as that’s not in the script. Our bureaucratic friends who love their policy and proceedures and understand little else have robotic tendencies which their entire lives are lived by.

We have contact they say but not with humanity as that little word with the huge meaning is not written down in the book of rules which govern their every living breath. A modern day Spanish Inquisition designed to dehumanise you and implant a rigid code alien to most natural to few.

The path of the inquirey is a well trodden one using underlying threats to force their will on another, using the Chinese whispers scam. But wait dear friends this kangeroo court has no basis in fact other than the age old tired out hear say routine second hand and worthless as in reality our bureaucratic friends know only to well but will never admit for fear of looking stupid.

Safety and duty of care are lost in all this and that friends is the real issue, not some jumped up nonsense built on sand and water. Our bureaucratic system is a soul eater condeming those who practice it to a lifetime of one upmanship and  back stabbing, for what ends we ask. Who knows and really who cares, for in the greater scheme of things the inquisition matters little for a life worth living.        

Friends and readers. The reindeer are on the starting blocks, ready to roll with trashy gifts a plenty stocked high on the double decker sleigh. The cost of this yuletide splash is enormous and begs the question why?

Great pressure is exerted on parents to deliver the latest gizmos regardless of the cost and this at a time of economic slowdown. Xmas has been turned into a show of strength between advertisers and consumers, with the consumer usually coming off second best. It is understandably difficult to ignore the spending spree and the madness which accompanies it so most don’t even though they may know the obvious society pressure to keep up with the pack.

Bombarded from the TV with xmas this and xmas that it is hard to keep your head when all around are losing theirs. Hibernation would seem a good alternative or like the birds migrate to warmer clims, or just sleep in that day. Never mind though come xmas day the TV sets will be singing the summer holiday songs and we will only have to wait another 364 days to the next one.

Friends and readers. We all know the story we have all seen the Tom and Jerry cartoons, as the cat stalks the mouse in an attempt to overpower it. But what happens when the mouse turns the tables and fights back.

It is unexpected,  for so long the mouse has been fighting to get out of the corner, running and hiding to avoid the clutches of the cat, looking for sanctuary in a world controled by the cat. But the mouse is smarter and has avoided the ultimate clash only it’s time to stand firm by outwitting and outsmarting the cat.

The cat only knows one way and that’s attack, dosen’t even contemplate that the mouse can or will be able to turn the tables and gain the upper hand. But thoughful planning and staunch resistance brings the mouse out into the open, to face the cat down.

This dear friends is where the cat shows his stupidity. His attitude is clear, now the mouse is out in the open and seemingly vunerable the cat can use his strength advantage to bring the mouse to heel and easily overpower it. But dear friends as those that think further than the end of their nose will realise brain will always overcome brawn, and the mouse is infinatly smarter, only the mouse didn’t know it or simply forgot it while trying to avoid the clutches of the cat.

So while the brawn tries the bull in the china shop method something that has worked for a long time the mouse sets about laying the trap. Once laid the cat walks straight into it almost lemming like refusing to consider defeat in any form, such is the cats brick like brain. The trap once sprung has only one conclusion the cat looses, and while at first refusing to accept defeat comes to realise the futitlity of the hunt which has become a downward spiral.

The cat may try to enlist the help of other creatures to enable him to enforce his will and may make minor headway but the script has been written and the mouse with it’s new found vigor finds a determination that never again will the cat try to control the mouse, the hunter becomes the hunted as the mouse exerts it’s will and uses it’s superior thinking power to banish the cat from it’s life breaking the chains of control as if made of paper.

Friends and readers. Dear friends summer is long gone and just a memory as we awake to cold mornings and scraping ice from glass. Underfoot conditions can be fun and games and they call this the season to be merry. Not ones to be party poopers but drat here it comes again this yuletide excess with the cash registers ringing out to the sound of next please.

The tramworks are in hibernation as our lady of Edinburgh Princess Street comes back to life with over expensive gifts that nobody needs but may get anyway. Ladden down with goodies the punters fight their way along this war that is Princess Street looking for just one more useless present like half price extra large tee shirts in purple or bright orange.

Yes friends the runners and riders are at the starting post for this exhausting marathon which has already started and will probably end somewhere close to Xmas Eve. The shops are packed with the best trivia money or credit cards can buy and the shop assistants are primed to ignore any questions from the shopper and just get them to buy everything and anything.

Slippers with Santa’s face on them socks with all sorts of strange creatures printed on them, clothes that don’t fit because you or your loved one dosen’t know what size you are and has a bad guess. Half price CDs from artists that nobody has heard of but because it may have a loose referral to Xmas on it shove it on the shelf anyway.

Every bloody shop you go into has these dreadful meaningless festive tunes playing, with the heating turned up so high you can’t breath and you are in danger of fainting. Perfumes so strong you need an oxygen mask to get fresh air if you dare enter Boots. Rows and rows of smelly stuff for both gents and ladies, heaven help you if you have a cold or worse and you want to buy askits or some other wonder cure, no chance our people friendly shop assistants only want to deal with the fit and well not the sickies they just spoil the party atmosphere.

And then dear friends just as you think you have survived the mad insanity you reach the check outs, and that is a sight to behold. Queues stretching as far as the eye can see and only two of the eight checkouts working, makes Scot Mid look efficient. But never mind dear friends you can stand in the queue and get shoved from side to side by the panic buyers trying to get their hands on the last bottle of  Posh Spice perfume as worn by former chief wag Victoria Beckham.

The light of the day fades and it’s time to return home battered and bruised by the Xmas experience, and you try to get on a bus ladden with god knows what. This is a wonderous sight. Both hands full and you can’t find your purse anywhere. Down go the bags to the frustration of the punters behind you and search for £1.20p bus fare. Even better if the driver starts heavy breathing with you already in a state.

The bus will always be packed so you are standing trying to hang on for grim death as the bus driver plays dodgem with the traffic only to aware you are struggling with goodies a plenty. LRTs offering to our happy shoppers is to have a liitle fun at their expence, well makes the day go quicker.

Ah you make it home and the cat needs fed and so do you. Kick off your shoes throw down your bags and aim a kick at the cat blaming it for all the days fun and frolics. Yes peace in our time as you relax in the knowledge that you overspent buying needless rubbish got kicked punched and generally abused by your fellow shoppers, but you made it home in time to catch your favourite soap.

Yes friends as you sit around your plastic tree watching some Xmas show that was filmed in summer you can always console yourself with the fact that come Hogmanay, you can enjoy once more the delights of Jackie Bird grinning her way through yet another dreadful Hogmanay show. Will somone please bring back Johnny Beatie, at least we knew what real crap was with jokes we heard the year before and the year before that and in some cases the jokes our parents heard.

Yes so this is Christmas and what have we done another year over and a new one just begun. Bah humbug.        

Friends and readers. Yes dear friends it’s that time of the year again, when the xmas deckies in all their glory get hung up and put on show for all to oggle at.

As you know dear friends we ran a competition last year for the tackiest xmas deckies on view. We had a number of nominations, some really tasteless but the winner was our friend in Royston Mains Crescent with his version of Santas grotty.

So this year we will run it again and give our readers a little festive frivolity. All you have to do is watch out to see who has a climbing santa going up their wall or plastic reindeers in their gardens, or other such sights that tickle your fancy.

If you see anything that you reel back in shock with  let us know and we will put it in the nominations list. You can nominate as often as you like just make sure they are really tasteless and lower the tone of the neighbourhood.

We had 36 nominations last year and it was hard to choose the winner such was the competition, so the result came by the number of nominations we received. Last years tackiest xmas deckies winner received 22 nominations beating his nearest rival by 11 who incidently lived in the Salveson area of the Community.

So watch out Santa’s about and all his little helpers lighting up the neighbourhood and distracting the planes.