Friday 2 November 2012

Yes Convener

So they said “You should have a blog”.
”Fit’s ‘at?” I replied.
“Well”, he said, never trying to conceal the diplomatic tone in his voice, “Many Councillors of your ..er… generation  have become somewhat left behind in the field of modern communication.  There’s more to it these days than simply issuing a press release or firing off an email”.
“Email?” I replied, “Oh aye…I can dae email”
“Yes Convener, we know you can do email but today’s generation communicates in an altogether different way.  They explore new digital pathways, you know, Facebook , blogging  and twitter”
“But fit wid I wint tae twit aboot?”
“No Convener, you don’t twit, you tweet.  People using twitter, tweet.”
“And so you wint me to bleet?”
“Bleet Convener?”
“Aye, bleet - ‘cos if twitters tweet, bloggers must bleet”
“No Convener!  I don’t think you’re getting the hang of this although, I have to admit, some of your colleagues have suggested that you do tend to bleat a bit. Nevertheless, bloggers blog.”
“So fit am I supposed to blog aboot onywey?”
“Well Convener, blogging’s about giving a personal insight into what you are doing, what you hope to do and what your ambitions for the Moray Council are.  It’s an intimate exchange of information - rather like a family conversation”.
“So I can blog an’ tell them fit I really think?”
“But of course, Convener”.
“Can I tell them fit I really think….. o’ the opposition?”
No Convener - that would be most unwise even if those who read the blog might indeed welcome the occasional reflection on such views”
“So fit wid I blog aboot the day?”
“Well Convener, you could tell everyone about the work that you’re doing on the Community Consultation on Council Priorities”
“Och, awa ye go! That wid pit them right aff!.  I thocht ye said I needed tae tell them  something interestin?”
“Yes Convener, but not everything can be interesting.”
“Aye – mair’s the pity, but come tae think o’ it - I wid like tae get them interested in the Community Consultation”.
“Well the first thing you can do is tell them where and when the consultations are taking place”.
“Well I suppose I cwid dae that.  An’ while I’m aboot it, I cwid tell them fit it’s a’ aboot eh?”
“Yes Convener”.
“A’ richt, I’ll gie it a go.  Here we go .. get this doon ….Stewartie Cree - Blog No. 1
The Moray Cooncil is in a richt sotter ‘cos they’re looking at a £30 million cut back.”
No, no Convener, that’s far too negative.  You need to put it some other way.”
“Oh a richt!.  The Moray Cooncil, like a’body else, is goin’ tae hae tae pull its belt in.  But we need to ken ‘far aboot and foo ticht the belt his tae be dra’an. 
So, seein’ as foo we dinna hae a’ the answers, in fact damn’t few, wir seeking your ideas aboot fit the maist important things are for you and for yer femily and for yer granny and for…. oh!...  jist a’body. 
So if you wint tae mak’ a difference tae the wye the Moray Cooncil spends its siller ower the next fower year, then ye better haud doon tae ane o’ wir Workshops.  There’s a hale list o them at the bottom o this thingymablog  thing.  So haud gaun an’ mak’ sure that you hiv ye’re say. 
We a’ ken it’s nae gaun tae be easy - and I dinna think onybody’ll  be pleased at the hinner eyne.  But the least you can dae is tae tell us fit ye wint - fit ye really - really - wint.  Will that dae?”
“Well, more or less Convener although we could, perhaps, drop the Spice Girls bit at the end!
To find out the dates of the remaining Roadshows and Workshops please visit this link

1 comment:

Rupert Fotheringham said...

Dear Convener

I would firstly like to thank you for taking the initiative to start writing a blog. I follow a number of blogs and feel they are a wonderful resource for getting to know a person or service better. For a member of such standing in the community I salute you for taking such a brave step in bringing the communication from Moray Council forward into the 21st Century.

I am also glad to see you touching on one of the important topics of the day, Moray Council's budget consultation. It is hugely important that everyone in Moray gets involved and has their say on the future spending priorities of the Council.

However, I have deep and profound concerns about the language used within this post. By choosing to use Doric in your writing you are severely restricting the audience for your blog, not to mention excluding members of society that typically feel marginalised by Government and the public as a whole. It also goes against initiatives that you have publicly fronted in making the recently relocated members of the British Army feel welcome in their new home. I know that many of them will struggle to understand Doric; sadly there is no Google Translate available for Doric.

Please do not feel discouraged by this comment. I really do appreciate your moves to step into the future. It is certainly a much better attempt at becoming "social" than many other Councilors and even the Moray Council itself. I look forward to reading many more of your blog posts in the coming days and weeks.

Warm regards

Mr Rupert Fortheringham

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