Video Killed ...

... One of Scotland's Members of the European Parliament.

"The cross-party campaign to retain Scotland's representation in the European Parliament has been snubbed by the UK Government, with the suggestion that the falling number of MEPs could handle the extra workload by more video-conferencing."

Mr Smith liked the Eighties. He suspects that one of Scotland's MEPs won't. But it is probably the first recorded case of political assassination by video-conferencing.

Human Football.

From the Herald Diary, "So, while our MPs are filling their boots with expenses, what are our Members of the European Parliament up to, a reader asks. Well, Scots Tory MEP Struan Stevenson, this week played for Germany in a game of human table football. Imagine a large inflatable version of table football where, instead of spinning wooden players on a rod, human players are attached by straps to rods and stumble across, rather than up and down, the pitch, on the rods. The German MEPs, with Struan playing for them, lost 7-1 to Austria. Said a sweaty Struan afterwards: "We were robbed. The Austrians, with their mountaineering skills, were much more sure-footed." Yes, just another day at the parliament."

So that is what Struan Stevenson and our MEPs are up to these days. It doesn't sound like much fun to Mr Smith.

Hi-Ho.

So, when one of their careers is at stake it appears that Scotland's seven Members of the European Parliament are happy to forget their political differences and are happy to keep flogging a dead horse to stop the number of Scottish MEPs being cut by one.

"A CROSS-party group of MEPs will travel to Westminster today to press the case for Scotland not to take a reduction in numbers from seven to six. All seven current MEPs believe the cut, caused by the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, is unfair and the group will meet Bridget Prentice, deputy to Justice Secretary Jack Straw, to try to avert the reduction."

That's dedication for you. But they should just give up and get on with their day jobs. Blame it on the Bulgarians.