Rabbit ears, cousins and great nana

Spent a not so quiet day with Susan's family in Edinburgh. Her nephew and his wife came with Ella who has appeared in a blip in July and her niece with her husband came with Alba who was born on 1st September this year. The rabbit ears could not be avoided. This was the first time Doreen had seen Alba, her second great grand-daughter so it was a special occasion for her. We hadn't seen Ella since July and it was amazing how much she has developed in the intervening months. In the morning we went down to Balerno Farmers Market to see what was going on. Lo and behold we discover that Gladman Developments are proposing to build on green belt farmland on the edge of the village overlooking the Pentland Hills. This is the same Gladman's who are proposing to develop land around my parents old home in Wellington, Shropshire. I said earlier that this sort of development is happening all over the country. Speculative building on countryside is the easy way out and up and down the country protest groups are fighting wave after wave of attempts to build over the countryside. Companies such as Gladman's have no scruples, their leaders driven purely by avarice and personal greed. Nationally a coordinated response to fight off such developments is needed enabling groups to collaborate and share experiences and expertise, strategies and policies. Yes, houses have to be built but not over the countryside. Brownfield sites must be used up first, even though they may be more expensive to develop or be in places that are not the most picturesque.