Sandra Dick: Cushy council job would suit me

IT'S never been a job that I particularly fancied, but suddenly I rather think I might take the bull by the horns and submit my CV.Oh yes, Edinburgh City Council, elected representative thereof, sounds like a pretty cushy number to me.

Of course I don't see myself as one of the hardworking "doing it for the electorate" types. Goodness me no, it's the top job I'd like.

Personalised £500,000 number plate, chauffeur driven Lexus car, trips abroad – business class, of course, as my lardy posterior, achieved through countless free lunches, needs a little more room than most. I might even revive those fluffy ceremonial robes and twin the capital city with the Bahamas. Well, Edinburgh has Portobello, Grand Bahama island has Xanadu Beach – why, we're practically identical!

And so what if a few community organisations and schools go without for a bit. After all, it's not every day you get to lord it over everyone else. Might as well enjoy it.

Cheap jibes aside, there's not much to laugh about when it comes to the latest dispatch from the City Chambers – news that Lord Provost George Grubb, his wife and a so-far secret number of council officials will indeed trot off to India next year to grace the Kolkata Book Fair with their divine presence.

The Edinburgh delegation has been invited as part of the Indian City's bid to join Edinburgh as a Unesco City of Literature. They'll spend five days in the city as guests of the British Council, apparently helping to promote the Scottish capital at an exhibition stand.

Exactly what they will do, who they will meet and whether Edinburgh will reap any firm benefits from the trip, well who knows?

The worth of the trip in itself is questionable enough. But it's the ludicrous timing of it – while families struggle to pay vital bills, businesses consider laying off staff and even the council itself admits it is facing a funding crisis thanks to the credit crunch – that smacks of astonishingly poor judgement.

But should we be particularly surprised that George and company are off to India? After all, Edinburgh City Council does seem to be pretty good to itself when it comes to splashing around our money.

Never mind the fact they point-blank refuse to consider getting rid of the snobby S0 number plate and pumping the £500,000 it could make into the good of the city. In the past there have been trips to New York for the Tartan Week knees-up, fact-finding missions to Dublin to watch people smoking outside pubs in preparation for the smoking ban and various jaunts abroad, parties, mountain bikes and various other luxuries via the publicly-funded Waterfront Edinburgh.

Just last month it emerged that its new £80 million Market Street headquarters has been treated to £23,500 of our money to buy, among other things, more comfy furniture and some nice lights (Ikea must have been closed the day they went shopping) – all bought at a time when, in the real world, many businesses are wondering whether they'll have enough funds to pay their workers' wages, when local voluntary organisations are in deep financial crisis, local community centres are losing staff, crèches are closing and schools face budget restrictions.

Of course the council will argue that certain budgets are provided for certain needs and they simply can't delve into one account to bolster another – and what a splendid excuse that one is. Because for the public who simply want to know that their money is being spent cautiously and correctly, splurging on foreign jaunts, first class travel, comfy furniture and mood lighting is never going to wash.

Because there is nothing less attractive than elected individuals suddenly acting as if they are of a higher status than the rest of us simply by virtue of the fact we put them there.

Whether it's feathering nests with nice furnishings at our expense or George Grubb's comment that he'd consider switching his business class ticket for a standard class if he could be guaranteed reasonable comfort, it all smacks of becoming just a little too big for their boots and a little too easy money.

While council leader Jenny Dawe argues that foreign trips are key to enabling Edinburgh to continue to develop its "international reputation", there surely comes a point when everyone has to take a step back and ask if there really is anything in it for us.

And when everyone is facing tough financial decisions, George's Indian getaway could well be one that, like a dodgy vindaloo, comes back to haunt him.

Not out of the wood
How bare and sad the Grassmarket has looked since its glorious, mature trees were finally given the chop.

The five poplars were axed as part of what has felt like a never-ending £5.1m regeneration plan that should breathe new life into one of Edinburgh's most fascinating yet under-used areas.

The trees were branded diseased and axed last month, allowing work to upgrade the area to finally move ahead. Whether they were sacrificed simply for being the wrong kind of trees for the new paving area – as some suspect – or because their lifespan was already limited, no longer matters. They're gone.

The work is due to be completed on December 8. With plans to capitalise on its grisly history and improved facilities for visitors, the new-look Grassmarket should bring comfort and joy at last for struggling local traders.

Hopefully the new crop of replacement trees will thrive in a revitalised, lively Grassmarket where visitors gather for much more than simply shady respite.