ViewPoint by Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP

Our welcome guests

This week’s papers have reported another sad case of a man in Edinburgh being attacked simply because he is Polish. Thankfully such cases are still rare, however, let’s not kid ourselves into pretending this was a one-off incident. Since the number of Eastern European workers coming to Scotland began to rise a few years ago, there has been a small section of our society who seem to be only too happy to blame these workers for everything from taking ‘our’ jobs to pushing up the price of flats for rent in the city.

It’s a sad imitation of what so often happens when a country sees the arrival of a number of new workers from a new community. Whether that is the Irish back in previous centuries or blacks and Asians migrants in the twentieth century, there are always some who want them to shoulder the blame for all the ills of the day.

There are estimated to be around 25,000 Polish workers in Edinburgh alone with many more throughout Scotland. So what would happen if the knuckle dragging racists out there got their way and they were all ‘sent back to where they came from’? Well that would be the end of our new Polish delis for a start and there would be no more Polish beer for that matter either. More seriously though you may as well give up ever trying to get a plumber, builder or electrician out or getting served in a bar or restaurant any time soon. You can forget picking up local fruits and berries in your local Tescos as well cause there will have been no-one there to harvest them for you in the first place.

But it’s not just the fact that Polish workers are taking up many of the jobs across the city that, let’s face it, others closer to home just don’t want to do. It’s also the attitude and strong work ethic many bring with them that has impressed employers and customers alike. I have heard of some people in Edinburgh who actively seek out Polish tradesmen because they have more faith that they will actually turn up when they say they will and complete a job to a high standard without you having to pay the earth for the privilege. If that is indeed the case then perhaps it is us who have a lot to learn from our new workers and not the other way around.

We pride ourselves here in Scotland for being an open and welcoming people. We feel smug when we look down south and see the heightened racial tension in some English towns and cities, telling ourselves that that sort of behaviour would never happen up here. All true – up to a point. So long as one person gets beaten up in the heart of our capital city for nothing more than coming from another country then it is plain for all who want to face up to it that there are still prejudices which need to be tackled here on our own doorstep.
We all reap the benefit from those who come to our city. The very least we can do is to stand up to those racist locals who still hold some of the most ignorant beliefs imaginable. I don’t care if someone can trace their family tree back to the Jacobite Rebellion or can recite all of the works of Robert Burns backwards. It’s folk like that who contribute nothing to Scotland and not those who have just arrived.

In The City by Karen Murray

Housework is evil!

New research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine says that just 20 minutes of housework or gardening a day can positively improve our mental health. I heard this little snippet of wisdom on the news and initially dismissed it as common sense. As the editor of a health publication I know that regular exercise is good for both mind and body.

However as I was driving to work the statement kept coming back to me and I thought, hang on a minute…there are two factors at play here. One – who gets away with less than 20 minutes of housework a day and two – housework puts me in a very bad mood!
I have to leave gardening out of the equation. Actually I like gardening and I do find it therapeutic, but I certainly don’t do 20 minutes a day and have to confess to having done two half days of gardening only over the last six months which has culminated in me having a garden that is entirely covered in moss where there should be grass and weeds where there should be herbaceous borders!
However, the issue here is mental health and housework. I can understand the relationship between housework and physical health – it is hard work after all, but when it comes to mental health, I have to take issue.

I stand with French feminist Simone de Beauvoir on this one, who one said: “Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition; the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day.”
That’s exactly how I feel. No sooner have I tidied up lego, ninja turtles, power rangers and polly pockets, than they are once more strewn all over the kids’ bedroom and overflowing into every other room in the house! No sooner has the kitchen floor been swept and mopped than someone comes in wearing dirty boots or spills their juice! No sooner has the washing and ironing been done, than the clothes are dirty again! Housework is a godforsaken task. How can anything that is immediately undone be good for your mental health? It just makes me extra cross and extra grumpy which makes for a very inharmonious household.

And housework is supposed to intensify at this time year apparently. It’s called spring cleaning. The weather is better so we fling open the windows and start dusting in all those hidden spots, emptying cupboards and cleaning skirting boards etc. I’m guessing there are some folk who thrive on this. Any Friends fans will know Monica to be a clean-aholic, but I for one am not. No Anthea Turner am I – I do admit that I learned how to fold fitted sheets from Anthea and the fact that dusting with a damp cloth is more likely to keep the stuff at bay – but I am never likely to be seen polishing the cutlery or will certainly never be spotted smiling whilst cleaning the house.
In fact, I am with the folk who think spring-cleaning and general housework may be bad not only for mental health but for your physical health, breathing in all those chemicals used for cleaning this, that and the other.

Maybe it is just the fact that housework for me has to done in one of two ways – alone late at night when the kids are in bed and everything else has been done or with the children in tow and supposedly helping! Even bribery rarely gets them further than putting a few toys in box or waving a duster at the piano. The whole scenario usually requires considerable time and energy as well as a lot of shouting.

Friends smile at the postcard stuck to my kitchen door which reads: ‘Housework is evil. It must be stopped.’ This is so true. I do believe that 20 minutes of housework a day will help your physical health, but I’m afraid that the only way housework is going to improve my mental health is if I can get someone else to do it and that is unlikely to happen given the state of my bank account and the aversion to housework that the rest of the family has. I guess I’d best take up gardening!

Unlimited “free swim” sessions in pools across the city and surrounding area

They say the best things in life are free, well now thanks to a partnership between Kellogg’s, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), and over 620 UK swimming pools, it’s true! From mid April, Kellogg’s is offering a “Free Swim” for everyone - no full paying adult required - with coupons on special packs of cereals. 31 million free swims are up for grabs, redeemable at pools across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Participating pools in Edinburgh and the surrounding area are:
• LA Fitness, Livingston
• Living Well Health Club Hilton Caledonian, Edinburgh
• Edinburgh Marriott, Edinburgh
• Vital Health & Fitness, Edinburgh
• Living Well Health Club Hilton Edinburgh Airport, Edinburgh

Swimming is the nation’s most popular sporting activity with over 22% of adults and half of children going regularly and enjoying its well-known health benefits. Plus, according to a recent survey commissioned by Kellogg’s, it’s seen as great way to spend quality time together as a family; one in five (20 per cent) parents with young children (aged 2-10 years) in Edinburgh rated swimming first when asked this question.

The survey also revealed:
82 per cent of parents with young children in Edinburgh agree swimming is an invaluable life-skill for a child to acquire, but only 35 per cent said their children were strong swimmers.
89 per cent of parents in Edinburgh recognised swimming as a great form of exercise for children and 56 per cent said they thought it was an intrinsic part of childhood.

30 per cent of parents in Edinburgh admitted they themselves were weak swimmers or couldn’t swim at all.
Kellogg’s hopes to encourage over one million additional swims nationally with its “Free Swim” offer, which will also mean great savings for families everywhere. There’s no limit on how many coupons you can redeem and with average cost of a swim session being £3.03 for an adult and £1.75 for a child, a family of four could make a saving of almost £10 by taking up the offer.

British Swimming Sponsorship & Events Director Katie Brazier comments: “We’re delighted to see the results of this survey affirming swimming’s place in the hearts of Edinburgh families. Not only is the sport great exercise, its fantastic fun, so I encourage people to make the most of the Kellogg’s offer. Free Swim coupons can be found on special packs of Kellogg’s cereals, for a list of your nearest participating pool simply go online at www.kelloggs.co.uk/whatson/swimming. It couldn’t be easier.”