Watching the debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton convinced me more than ever that the final vote is going to be too close to count – but in my opinion Hillary won the first round.

She kept her cool which obviously annoyed her rival who threw away the chance of winning the debate by not pushing Hillary on the e-mail scandal

It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens in the final two live debates and with less than 40 days left one of the protagonists is going to have excel.

One thing’s for sure if Donald wants to win he’s going to have to do better than in the first debate and come out fighting which he’s been renowned for during the primaries.

The US electoral system tends to give support to the two big parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, ensuring no one else has a chance of winning, which is a real shame because Independent candidate Gary Weld, former governor of New Mexico, is a far better option for many Americans than either Donald or Hillary.

One of my American friends feels that US voters who are either confused or uncertain who to vote for should move away from their party of choice and vote tactically to keep the main contenders out.

If I were a betting man, basing my choice of either a rather brash but successful businessman with no political experience and a woman who has had years to bring change in the US and has failed miserably, I would probably go with Donald Trump.

Of course if Donald gets in and wants to visit his Trump International Golf Links at Balmedie, Aberdeen International Airport will have to once again lengthen its runway in order to allow the presidential plane, Air Force One, to land.

Unnecessary speed restrictions for AWPR work

It’s a long time since I’ve seen so many diversions in and around the city, with the majority of them relating to work being carried out on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).

Most of the comments I receive relate to what many motorist see as unnecessary speed reductions on roads close to the construction work for the new route and particularly the road from Parkhill to the airport.

I must admit, driving that road occasionally, I tend to agree with them and really wonder why the contractor finds it necessary to impose these restrictions. I totally understand in the case of road safety where men are working close to the road, but there are long stretches which I’m sure don’t really warrant a 30mph limit.

Not right man for England top job

You would think that having a regular job and an income of £3 million should be enough for anyone, but apparently not for Sam Allardyce.

The England manager was sacked following a newspaper sting.

Why can’t people on good money, which the vast majority of us can only dream about, be satisfied with what they’ve got instead of trying to get even more.

Many of my friends argued Allardyce should never have got the top England job and now they’ve been proven right.