Not many people have represented Glasgow at the City Chambers, Holyrood and Westminster.
Patricia Ferguson joined that club in July when she was elected as MP for Glasgow West.
Previously, the Labour politician had been a councillor for Drumchapel/Anniesland and was among the first historic intake of MSPs at the Scottish Parliament in 1999, representing Maryhill.
So how does Westminster with its national focus and pomp and circumstance compare?
Ferguson, a former Scottish Government minister, is no stranger to a heavy workload but she was surprised by the immediate volume that landed in her inbox.
She said: “The volume was, and still is, absolutely huge, much more so than Holyrood.
“I've not been an MSP for eight years now and I suppose these things build momentum over time, but it was nothing like what I see here. That was the first thing that hit me.”
The distance is an obvious difference but with practical difficulties too.
She added: “You are so far from home. There is no packing up and getting the train home at night.”
Ferguson said: “When I was an MSP it was much easier because you could be in the constituency on Fridays and Mondays usually, and you could also come home in the evening to go to a community council or a public meeting or even a school concert. Those opportunities don't exist in the same way.”
It lends itself to a longer working day, as she added “You're there, so you'll work on a bit later. I don't have a television in my flat at the moment. So, I go back and I'll maybe do an hour or two and then go to bed when I get home. But everybody finds different ways of working.
“It's just nice to be able to get a bit quiet time and get things done.”
Being the MP for Glasgow West, a large area, from Partick out to the boundary with Clydebank taking in Drumchapel where we meet, she feels an emotional tie.
The area is where Donald Dewar, Scotland’s first First Minister was MP for many years, then MSP, leaving a legacy still felt more than 20 years after his death.
Ferguson said: “Above all, Donald was a really good friend and he was my MP when I joined the Labour Party.
“He was also somebody I admired hugely. There's been nobody like Donald. There have been big names, big personalities, but to me, Donald was probably the best.
“I think if he'd had more time at Holyrood, things might have been very different there.
“So, it's a huge honour and I’m very conscious of the fact it's not exactly the same constituency but in essence it is, and he clearly stamped a big mark on this constituency.
“People still mention him to this day and show you letters he's written, that kind of thing.”
Today, Ferguson is excited about the prospect of UK government Levelling Up money coming to Drumchapel.
She said: “The important thing about £15million coming into Drumchapel is it’s a lot of money, but in the scheme of things it's not a huge amount of money.
“So, it's important that it's used properly and I think it will be in Drumchapel because the plans are around leveraging in more funds and more activity.
“A lot of it will be about putting together packages of land for new housing and for developing new facilities, having a town hall, which I think would be great to have a focal point, with services within it.
“It's also an opportunity to talk to the organisation that owns the shopping centre and try to encourage them to be a bit more ambitious as well.”
More than a quarter of a century after her first election and more than 40 years after joining the Labour Party a question has to be what keeps her motivated for the campaigning, the travelling and the workload.
Ferguson said: “I just think public service is important. It’s important to me. Almost every job I've ever had has been in the public service in some way.”
She tells of working in the health service before elected politics, then in international development in between MSP and councillor roles.
She added: “You don't always get it right and you don't always manage to do what you want to do, but if you can help somebody. If you manage to get something done and you know that it's maybe helped somebody, maybe made a difference.
“It's just a really nice feeling.”
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