The Festive season is upon us once again. It means different things to different people. For some it’s a time of great joy, an opportunity to take days off work and catch up with friends and family. For many it is work as usual and that includes fire, police, ambulance and coastguard. Our hospitals shall remain open and our transport systems will continue to run. But for others it’s a time when economic hardships are stretched to breaking point. Loneliness can crush people living in isolation and feelings of rejection are magnified. The media driven pressure to be happy can have the opposite effect. The constant need to consume and enjoy can be unhealthy. Please remember it’s OK not to be OK. The perfect Christmas is depicted time again in movies and TV, but it doesn’t exist. The festive season does present us with the opportunity bring joy to others and as the saying goes ‘what goes around comes around’. A small gift, a simple act of kindness, a thank you or a smile can make someone’s day. And that is true every day of the year not just at Christmas. I have just emerged from a General Election campaign which, because of the nature of the beast, centred around me. I am only too aware that the job is about serving the community. We do our best work when we don’t seek personal gratification from it, when we can genuinely work for the betterment of others. I would ask that we all remember that there are people in our community that are worse off than we are. As I look towards the coming year, I shall serve Inverclyde to the very best of my ability and respect the trust that the electorate have put in me. My office will be open on the 23rd, 27th and 30th of December and 3rd of January. We shall be accepting donations for the foodbank.
Peace, love and understanding throughout 2020 and beyond.
Samaritans: 116 123 free from any phone. My office address is 20 Crawfurd Street, Greenock, PA15 1LJ
Ronnie Cowan MP 