Day 20

I am woken by the phone which is a request to do radio interviews about Seafield sewage. I do two and then discover that my statement is on the front page of the Sunday Herald . I spend time before church talking with our staff about what's happening over communications including having environmental wardens patrolling the beaches. We’ve had a team patrolling from 6:30am and I will number about 20 once we get to peak times. The texts and messages continue during the service. By lunch time its the top story on Radio 4 but the view from the environmental agencies is that its been handled as well as it could have been, but there's lots of questions that need answering and I will be pressing for an early meeting with the chief executive of Scottish Water on Monday. I spend the afternoon doing direct mailings. Its very Labour intensive but is probably more effective than mass leafleting although I have no doubt that if we didn’t leaflet that would be held against us. One of my colleagues says that if he gets in again he is going to spend four years identifying his supporters and staying in touch with them so he never needs to climb a stair, get through a door entry system or have his hand bitten by a dog as he puts a leaflet through a letterbox! I have some sympathy with that method but as the pile of direct mail sits I wonder if it is in fact any easier!