The haunted hub and a confused nation

Sunshine over East Kilbride! Hurrah for summer! So what if it's still barely double-digits in temperature. The lack of sideways rain, sleet or howling wind goes down as a win in my book. I'm sure it won't last. 👀

So it was a very pleasant walk to the library on my lunch break to return some books (I came back with the latest Alex Cross novel from James Patterson and a book on how to start running - hah!). 

I was however, a bit sad to see the state of East Kilbride's supposed 'The Hub'. With Costa Coffee having packed up, it leaves the place feeling a tad desolate what with the other empty units giving some serious ghost town vibes. Not even the cheekiest of Nando's, which is still running off some lingering hype, could inject some life into the place. Not so much a 'hub' as a 'haunt'. 🥁

Confused priorities

On the news, two stories caught my eye at either end of my working day.

The first, from Florida, on how a head teacher at a school was pressured into resigning. The teacher allowed sixth graders (equivalent to an S1 here) to view the statue of David. The statue does of course depict David with his boaby oot as he heads off to battle Goliath. Far from viewing it as a symbol of David's faith in God as he goes to battle his nemesis, some outraged parents thought it was a bit too suggestive for their delicate children's innocent eyes.

The second, coming out of Nashville, is the still developing story of yet another school shooting in that dumpster fire of a country. Three kids shot dead. And to make it even more mind-blowing, the Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee actually voted in 2021 against adults requiring a permit to carry firearms. You honestly couldn't, and would never want to, make it up.

You really have to wonder what has to happen in the United States to force a collective multi-state change in attitude to guns. I fear it'll never happen. Not without some kind of serious consequence and radical shift. But that's a much bigger topic than I know how to talk about. We can just await the next shooting and accompanying batch of prayers. 😔

Finally (we hope, at least)

Oh yes, and over here we got a new First Minister. To mostly nobody's surprise, Humza Yousaf got the nod and will at least for a while hold the top job in Scotland. But I honestly don't care today. They are all as uninspiring as each other.