When indisposition strikes
It was a day for indisposition at Holyrood. The first minister, Alex Salmond, is . His deputy Nicola Sturgeon duly deputised.
Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson is recovering from keyhole surgery on his knee following an injury. His place in the chair was taken by Alasdair Morgan.
My sympathies to both the FM and the PO. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
And did this outbreak of illness result in quieter, more contemplative exchanges in the chamber? What do you think?
Certainly, the chat between Nicola Sturgeon and Annabel Goldie was notably consensual.
But then they were discussing the problem of youthful abuse of alcohol and wisely chose to abstain from political barracking.
Coming unstuck
By contrast, the discourse between Ms Sturgeon and Labour's Wendy Alexander was as sharp and argumentative as anything witnessed when the FM is present.
Ms Alexander was doing a fair job of pursuing her rival with claims of cuts in education, despite Ms Sturgeon's assertion that the claims were untrue.
However, the Labour leader came rather unstuck when the Deputy FM disclosed that Ms Alexander's press aide, Simon Pia, had phoned the head teacher of a Paisley school where there is concern about future provision.
The clear implication was that Mr Pia was deliberately fomenting discontent in order to stand up claims due to be made at Holyrood by his boss.
Mr Pia insists he was merely phoning the school out of politeness to alert them to the fact that they were to be mentioned in the chamber.
Perhaps the most effective intervention came from Nicol Stephen of the LibDems.
He reflected upon remarks made by Alex Salmond in a conference webcast interview with myself; in particular, exchanges on the subject of student debt.
Clever point
Mr Stephen noted the FM said then that the government had instigated a consultation on the topic of student debt, the contents of which could be read.
Was, Mr Stephen inquired, that statement true?
Ms Sturgeon averred that everything said by the FM was truthful. However, she rather spoiled the effect of that by going on to indicate ministers will consult on debt.
Future tense. It will apparently emerge later this year.
Mr Stephen, she conceded, had produced a "clever debating point", just the sort of stuff she used to chuck at Jack McConnell.
PS: On the subject of the former FM, an earlier post on this site asked me whether Mr McConnell had made other contributions in parliament since losing office.
He has indeed, most notably urging ministers to restore funding to an organisation which helps with youth employment training.
I'm 
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