So young to be so cynical..............

I popped down to the Farmers Market in Kinross on Saturday morning. These are great opportunities for local or small producers to advertise and sell their wares; it's important to support private enterprise and the range of quality produce is always good at these events.

We have an excellent local independent Councillor in Kinross, David Cuthbert. He was busying himself on Saturday, ensuring the market was properly organised and managed. Dave was telling me that both the SNP and Tories had enquired about having stalls at the event but that their requests had politely been refused. Seems fair to me really; politics is like a bad case of Japanese Knotweed at the moment - you deal with it, think it's gone away but here it comes again....

Not to be deterred though, further up the High Street, away from the market, both the SNP and Tories had stands. Both seemed to attract a few interested passers-by, or more likely, some friends stopping to say hello enroute to the Farmer's Market (as I had done).

As I was chatting to some old pals, there was a flurry of excitement at the SNP stall; celebrities had arrived in the form of Tasmina Ahmed-Sheihk and Roseanna Cunningham (plus an entourage of flunkies). A selfie was then taken by Ms Cunningham including Taz, their travelling entourage and two or three local SNP worthies. I smiled later, browsing twitter and finding the photo doing the rounds with the comment "wow - great crowd in Kinross!". That's politics though and I'm not naive enough to think that every single party doesn't do the same, cynical though it is.

"Meet the gang coz the boys are here, the boys to entertain you"

Roseanna, Taz and the entourage disappeared quickly but I was to stumble upon them again down at the Farmer's Market. Absorbed in some great cheeses, stuffed olives and plants for sale, I didn't really think too much about the glad handing with happy market shoppers - there's elections coming up, that's what politicians do.

As I was leaving though, I did see the Fair Maids of Perth standing for another photo op, outside our (also excellent) local butchers. The butcher collects for a fighting fund, which we hope will buy a de-fibrillation unit to be kept on hand for emergencies at the southern end of the town. I say "we" because my change on a Saturday morning invariably ends up in the collection tin too; it's a good idea.

The collecting tins had been spied by (presumably) one of the flunkies and they were siezed upon and carefully choreographed into the mits of Perthshire's political elite. Another photo op, not to be missed, showing just how munificent our illustrious SNP representatives are. We are such lucky cubs indeed.

Before you ask, I have anticipated your questions:

1. No, I didn't witness them put any cash in the collecting tins.

2. Yes, I am getting cynical in my old age.

3. Yes, I did eat all the cheese and the olives.