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They say that the older you get the quicker time passes, but I did not altogether expect November to have disappeared in a flash. Hopefully, it is only because so much has been happening.
Beside the usual meetings in Brussels and Strasbourg, I saw a fair amount of Scotland. This included seafood-processing in Dingwall, a pig farm in Nairn, the Poppy Day launch in Inverness, the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Islands Federation in Mull and a primary school in Ayrshire.
There were numerous events in Edinburgh too — about seven in all, including a debate at Heriot Watt University with topics ranging from the European Movement AGM to a St Andrew’s Night celebration of Scotland’s history.
We had plenty of visitors to the parliament — students from Ullapool High School and Stirling University, a Swedish charity, Canadian parliamentarians, the Confederation of British Industry and the Industry and Parliament Trust.
There were also people with particular issues to discuss: fishermen from Mallaig, representatives of Friends of the Earth and the Shark Alliance, tenants from Cumbernauld and other constituents concerned about social housing and cancer care.
Of course all this has fitted round the usual committees and full meetings of the Parliament both in Brussels and in Strasbourg. Most topically, the fisheries committee has been dealing with the problem of discards. In the regional development committee the concentration has been on the question of territorial cohesion and the criteria for European funding after 2013. One of my concerns here is with ways of ironing out differences within regions, as well as between them, so that we can get rid of black spots in what are otherwise prosperous areas.
As to the full parliament, a whole raft of issues has been discussed, from soil protection through aviation emissions to economic partnership agreements with developing countries.
We have also approved the charter of fundamental rights. I am only sorry the UK has opted out of this, mainly because of what I think is a mistaken understanding of the effects it would have on our own domestic law.
I am not quite sure how but among all this I have actually begun my Christmas shopping.
