I should know better

......and that`ll teach me to joke about storms. I thought the roof would come off. And I stood watching branches fly off trees waiting for my cousin to come and collect me in a distinctly high-sided vehicle, waiting for the message that they had overturned on the motorway.

Nevertheless, he made it, and we did party hard.

Catching upon some blogs, I learned from Doctorvee (don`t shoot the messenger) that Radio Footie - sorry, Radio Scotland is bewailing the lack of Scottish political blogs - evidently the only kind that matter . It seems they would make a great difference in the run up to the next election....

Oh really? Political blogs, unless they have some great relevant secret to reveal, are simply cirulators of hot air. They are always preaching to the converted - I don`t make a habit of searching out BNP or Tory ones, for instance. So the hot air is familiar and comforting, and goes round and round, warming the faithful.

You want to influence the vote in the coming election?

You won`t do it by blogging.

You could become a prominent policymaker in the party of your choice....

But the guy who really makes a difference to the vote in your area is probably the little party worker who starts his aged Astra early on polling day and runs around ferrying the old and infirm to the polling station, actually getting the votes in.

Politics means action.