By John Knox Political reporter, BBC Scotland

Actually, this week there were signs of more than just plant life, even among the backbenches.

While everyone else in politics is debating the clash of the Titans at the Labour and Conservative party conferences, the humble backbenchers of Holyrood have been fulfilling their oft-chanted mantra of making a difference.

Bill Butler, the hard talking Labour MSP for Anniesland, used question time to blast the immigration service for "completely ignoring" the agreement with the Scottish Executive over deportations.

No "lead official" had been appointed to liaise with school and health authorities over a dawn raid carried out on the Benai family in his constituency on Wednesday.

Ousama Benai is being held in a detention centre with his family

First Minister Jack McConnell said he had not yet got to the bottom of who was to blame, the local authorities, the Scottish Executive or the Home Office.

"But in my view insufficient progress has been made on this point," he said.

John Swinney was the next hero of the backbenches.

The tall, suave ex-leader of the SNP, has been gnawing away at the finance committee on a promise made by the Finance Minister Tom McCabe to publish a report about the Scottish Executive's budget by the Howat committee of independent experts.

It was originally to have been published this autumn, then it was promised for the spring of next year, now it appears it won't be published till next September, well after the Scottish elections.

Slapped down

"What exactly is in this report?" asked the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, during First Minister's Questions.

"What is it the finance minister doesn't want the Scottish public to see?"

The Conservatives have slapped down a request, under the Freedom of Information Act, to have the report released. "We've had enough of this wriggle, squirm and prevarication," said their leader Annabel Goldie.

The first minister said the Howat Report was part of the current spending review and it would be published at the beginning of the budget consultation process next autumn.

Roseanna Cunningham and Jackie Baillie are our next two backbench prize-winners.

Ms Cunningham led the SNP's debate on Thursday morning on replacing Britain's Trident nuclear weapons.

The decision on Trident is likely to be made in the next two years

"It may cost �76bn, but it's not really a question of money alone, it's a question of morality," she said.

Jackie Baillie, for Labour, said the SNP had not thought through how they would rid the rest of the world of nuclear weapons and what would replace the 7,000 jobs dependent on Trident in her constituency in Dunbartonshire.

When it came to the voting, Jackie Baillie's amendment was defeated, by 57 votes to 56, a significant defeat for Labour.

But then the SNP's motion was also defeated, by 72 votes to 44, which left the parliament stalemated.

But it was a fiery debate, led by two formidable women.

In his kilt

Dennis Canavan and Jamie McGrigor were the two most colourful men of the week.

Mr Canavan, the independent member for Falkirk West, appeared in blue shirt sleeves to claim victory for his bill to make St Andrew's Day a national holiday.

The executive has been persuaded to support his bill after a compromise was hammered out under which firms, councils and voluntary organisations would drop one of their local holidays in favour of a national holiday on 30 November.

Jamie McGrigor appeared in his kilt to promote his bill to establish an official register of Scottish tartans.

There are thought to be 4,500 tartans but there's no official register or Keeper of Tartans who will decide when a new design qualifies.

St Andrew's Day was a focus of debate in the parliament

Robin Harper, the Green MSP, jogged past me on Monday wearing a white t-shirt.

"World Harmony Run" it said across the chest.

It turned out that he was to carry the torch for a worldwide relay for peace, supported by top athletes such as Carl Lewis.

The torch is being carried through 48 countries in six continents to promote greater understanding across the political borders.

Mike Pringle, the straight talking Liberal Democrat MSP, had a week of mixed fortunes.

His bill to impose a 10p levy on every plastic bag handed out at the supermarket till was rubbished by the environment committee.

Leaking information

But he got a brief holiday, when the parliament voted to suspend him from his duties for five days for leaking information from the McKie fingerprint inquiry to a Sunday newspaper.

Karen Gillon, the even more straight talking Labour MSP, has been looking glum all week.

It appears that she's lost her battle to bring a bill before the Scottish Parliament to create a new criminal offence, corporate killing.

It follows the tragic case of the Findlay family in Larkhall in her constituency when their house was blown up in a gas explosion in 1999.

Ministers were set to support her bill but they have run into problems of parliamentary time and clashes with similar legislation at Westminster.

Mike Pringle's proposed bill would levy a 10p charge per bag

Elaine Smith, another feisty Labour backbencher, demanded changes to the right-to-buy regulations.

It was a Tory policy she said that was undermining the ability of working people to rent good homes.

The minister said that's why restrictions on the right-to-buy had been brought in areas where there was special pressure on housing.

Since the policy was introduced in 1980, 500,000 council homes have been sold to sitting tenants and 67 per cent of Scottish households are now owner-occupied.

George Reid, the presiding officer, once again dazzled everyone with his command of foreign languages this week.

New building

He was speaking on Tuesday, European Languages Day, welcoming the 12 teams from across the UK which have won this year's European Award for Languages.

They included two Scottish teams, one from Heriot Watt University and one from Shawlands Academy in Glasgow.

He also brought out the parliament's annual report.

It reveals that 775,600 visitors have now crossed the threshold since the new building opened two years ago.

Last year they bought 50,000 postcards. And the second most popular item in the parliamentary shop? Whisky.

Pigeons have been a problem at the parliament since it opened

Margo MacDonald, finally, completes our week of Holyrood personalities.

The ever independent member for the Lothians was horrified to discover that the parliament's pigeon reduction strategy includes the payment of �250 for a pest control firm to drive all the way up from Ayrshire to remove a young pigeon, found in a nest above the public entrance, and take it all the way back to an animal sanctuary.

"I'm prepared to wring its neck for nothing," she said.

Of course, she was joking. She hopes the pigeon will fly away of its own accord.

What she really means is that she will happily wring the neck of the man who drew up the pigeon strategy.