My last post on here was so long ago that I don’t even remember writing it and that’s not because I have been idle – quite the contrary – I have been busier than ever with things like the Scottish Youth Film Festival. But when I thought of this page the other day I mulled it over and found myself nodding.
‘It’s about time’ I thought.
For reasons too numerous to count and too personal to explain completely I have to make some changes in my life. Which is vague, I know. The short outcome is that I am removing my focus from local politics and that I will be changing this page to better reflect what I am doing from this 
point on.
I will be 50 next year and I have not selected the title of this post by accident. There are still many things I want to do and making the community better is still one of them and if I had all the time in the world I would still do it. But I don’t so a choice had to be made.
Those who know me well will be aware that I became a father late in life and that I have two young daughters whom I love more than anything in the world. My friends also know that I like to write stories, make films and make people laugh through my work or my social life; I like to be on stage, I like to be at the heart of things – where the life is…
Perhaps a younger man would have had the ability to do the community work, run the projects, spend time with the family and still pursue his creative interests – but I am not that young and the time I have left to me for those things has to be rationed carefully.
Add to that the recent developments in the wider world – where ideologies I find utterly hateful seem to be on the rise – and it occurs to me that as much as I would like to leave my daughters a better community I ought also to look at leaving them a better world as well.
So, I have decided that I don’t have the time to pursue the local change I wanted. I’m afraid I don’t have the desire to spend years in dull rooms speaking with dull men about even duller subjects.
Over the past years I have introduced the fireworks, fought for the community centre and created the Scottish Youth Film Festival. Is that enough? No, not by a long shot. Apologies for that. But my shift is done.
I actually have two Facebook pages: One for work and one for personal stuff. One where I could help the community and one where I could be myself. I will be conventrating on the former from now on but to all those who voted for me – or stopped me with a kind word at one of the events. Thanks.
It’s time to spend my days writing and being with my family, following my own dreams and enjoying time with my friends as well as campaigning for a fairer world.
Most importantly I need to be able to do all that whilst being me – creative (I hope), irreverent (polite way of saying it) and unimpeded by the conventions of politics. In short, to be Scott Mackay
I know what many of you will be thinking.
It’s about time.
