Neil McIntosh Editor of The Scotsman

Dear Voornaam,

I don't want to shatter any illusions. But it may surprise you to learn that the life of The Scotsman's editor is not entirely a life of long, garrulous lunches, witty literary soirees and impassioned debate on the newsroom floor.

Not entirely. Indeed, not to paint too much of a picture, but things can often be less Jason Robards in All The President's Men, and more Ricky Gervais in The Office. Budgets. Desks. Travel insurance. And who's nicked my pen?

But it has its moments. And so it was on Monday evening when, with a small group of industry colleagues, we wandered the largely deserted Houses of Parliament, drinking in the atmosphere, ducking into the chamber to listen to a debate, and chatting to House staff full of knowledge and passion for the building and its traditions.

Earlier, we'd been meeting Scotland's MPs - of all political hues - to hear their views and their gossip, and to remind them we have reporters devoted to what they are doing, in Scottish voters' names, writing for an engaged, intelligent and questioning audience back home.

My main takeaways? One was a timely reminder many of our elected representatives, whatever their political views, offer so much more than the terse TV soundbites and tweets they serve up for our relentless 24-hour news cycle.

Given time (and a glass of wine) I learnt a lot about the potential for innovative energy policies, our future in Nato (or not) and Britain's (and maybe Scotland's) role in a rapidly changing world.

The issuing of penalty notices to - so far - 20 anonymous individuals, and Boris Johnson's continued insistence no rules were broken, brings the political system into disrepute, and ensures one can't get too misty eyed about higher purpose. As Joyce McMillan writes today, this can appear "an age in which many of our leaders seem dedicated to taking us all for fools, and getting away with it".

But we must continue to work hard to capture - when we can - less of the heat, and more of the light, from our elected representatives in Holyrood and Westminster. Actual policy matters because, whatever your view of their politics and their qualities, what they really think about matters of substance will have a huge bearing on all our lives.

Elsewhere in our coverage this week:

• Professor Marc Weller - who, as a former UN mediation expert advised on a number of international peace negotiations - wrote a widely-shared piece for our Scottish Perspective pages on what Vladimir Putin's real goal in Ukraine might be. It's an interesting read.
• The Steamie, The Scotsman's politics podcast, took a look at the Ferguson Marine ferry debacle, and Nicola Sturgeon's defence.
• And we all started to get a bit excited about the World Cup draw, which will include Scotland (even if we have to win a couple of games before we get to go).  We have all the details here.

Looking to tomorrow's Saturday Scotsman, we'll be marking the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict with a very powerful piece, we'll have a cracking weekend magazine with recommendations for good food, outdoor pursuits, and great crisp, dry white wines.

There'll be a review of the latest blockbuster on Netflix and all the other delights of our arts and entertainment package. Plus, in sport, you'll find a preview of Sunday's Old Firm clash, which is likely to be central in deciding who wins the title race.

Lots to look forward to, then. From all of us here at The Scotsman, we hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Yours sincerely

Neil McIntosh