Day: August 8, 2012

Use your loaf!

Use Your Loaf is a new and exciting initiative coordinated by Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) in partnership with CLD Forth Team and North Edinburgh Arts.

‘This is an exciting new development for Pilton Community Health Project. The idea came out of our community research which identified the barriers to healthy eating. The research showed that local people want to develop skills in all forms of eating healthy, cooking and bread making”, said  Lisa Arnott, coordinator of the Community Healthy Lifestyles Project at PCHP. “As a result of the PCHP research we have seen the development of the Yummy Cookbook, the Yummy Food Festival and now the ‘Use Your Loaf’ project. This new project will teach local people how to make some fantastic bread and encourage people to eat more healthily.”

Sammy Dick, one of the women involved in planning the Yummy Food Festival, said: “The Yummy Food Festival 2012 was really exciting and there was such positive a response that we are planning to repeat it 2013. The Use Your Loaf  project is a great idea and we will be learning how to make a simple loaf and planning for the next  food festival.’

Use Your Loaf  will be held at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, starting on Tuesday 28 August, 10am-12.30  and runs for ten weeks.  There are also limited childcare places available.

So if you KNEAD to book a place on ‘Use Your Loaf’, contact Lisa Arnott at Pilton Community Health Project on 0131 551 1671!

Vicki says goodbye to Granton

Vicki Ridley is to leave Granton Youth Centre. Vicki, who has managed the youth centre since 2003, is taking up a new post with Canongate Youth Project.

Granton Youth Centre opened on West Granton Road in 2003 in a building shared with the Pilton Partnership. The new Centre did not have the most successful of starts, however, and it was only with the arrival of Vicki as new manager that the Centre started to live up to it’s potential.

Ten years on, under Vicki’s drive and leadership, Granton Youth Centre has gone from strength to strength: constantly building and developing to offer a comprehensive range of services in a programme that’s always been planned with, and centred around, the needs and requirements of the young people themselves.

Vicki said: “Ten years is a long time to be involved in any organisation, and it’s certainly the longest that I’ve been involved with an organisation.  Granton Youth Centre has been an amazing place to work, often challenging, but never a dull moment and occasionally loads of fun! I have lots of fond memories to take away with me, and I have met some truly amazing people whose courage and resilience, kindness and positivity have blown me away, and kept me, the service and everyone else at GYC going when things got tough.

“Although the choppy waters of local community politics don’t always help with plain sailing, some of the partnerships, networks and local organisations we have worked with have been really valuable.  I hope young people throughout Forth continue to benefit from a range and diversity of provision which meets their needs, and that all the organisations in the area have a sustainable and prosperous future.

“It’s great to see how GYC has become a viable and valued resource for young people where once there was none.  My favourite memories are largely concerning situations where young people do well – they receive certificates, awards, or make a small/medium/large breakthrough.  My least favourite memories will be collated and written up in small novella format for publication at a later date!

I look forward to working with friends and colleagues in my new role as Manager of Canongate Youth Project.”

When advertising for a replacement, Granton Youth Centre’s voluntary Board of Management said they were seeking ‘an exceptional candidate to lead our organisation and take our plans forward’. Interviews take place this month, but Vicki will indeed be a hard act to follow.

Olympic fever grips Craigroyston!

If tickets are hard to come by in London, Craigroyston Community High School’s Early Years Olympics were even more exclusive – by invitation only!

The great event took place today and the NEN was delighted to be there. Thanks to Lorraine Grant for the invitation, the Early Years volunteers for the organisation and attention to detail, the spectators (mums, dads and carers) for creating that unique Olympic atmosphere and most of all to the brilliant wee participants – maybe there’s a wee future Hoy or Ennis in the following pictures!

Water of Leith cleanup

The Water of Leith is flows from the Pentlands through the heart of Edinburgh to Leith, and it takes a bit of work to keep the river looking it’s best. The Water of Leith Conservation Trust organise regular clean-ups along the stretch of water, and Inverleith Community Learning and Development worker Callum McLeod was involved in the latest spruce-up on 29 July.

He said: “I’d walked the route with Ben from the Conservation Trust and there was no shortage of things to do! Thankfully we had a good team of volunteers on the Sunday and we tackled some troublesome Himalayan Balsam, which is a very invasive flowering plant, and there were a number of log jams to clear. There were also some lighter lighter duties – tending to the formal garden areas and there was no shortage of litter all the way along, unfortunately – but that meant there was something for everyone to do.”

Tons of rubbish cleared from the water and riverbanks tidied up!

It does take a lot of work to keep the Water of Leith looking good, but you can do your bit as a volunteer – check out the website at www.waterofleith.org.uk Among the rewards – apart from the exercise, companionship and fresh air – is a chance to see birds like sparrowhawks and kingfishers up close, and an amazing variety of wildflowers along the banks. It’s like being in the country in the middle of the city!

Police warn of laptop scam

Lothian and Borders Police are once again warning the public of an ongoing laptop sale scam that has hit several people in Edinburgh. Between last October and February this year, criminals targeted 12 people, offering to sell electrical goods for discount prices – only for the buyers to then discover they’ve been duped. Now it appears that the crooks are up to their old tricks again.

Officers urged the public to remain vigilant for this con and come forward if they believed they had been a victim.

A further five individuals have now been approached by fraudsters in the past three weeks and offered the opportunity to buy a laptop on the cheap. Once a fee is agreed, the customer is taken to a nearby vehicle and handed a bag, which contains what they believe to be their new goods. However, when the victim opens the bag, they discover it is filled only with cardboard and bottles of water.

Since October, £5300 has been taken during the incidents, which happened in areas including Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, Clerk Street, St Leonard’s, Meadowbank Retail Park, Gorgie Road and ASDA at the Jewel.

Detective Sergeant John Graham said: “This is not a new scam, but it continues to catch members of the public out, resulting in several thousand pounds of cash being conned from the victims. Our advice remains the same on this matter. If an offer seems to good to be true, then it probably is. Anyone wishing to purchase a laptop or other electrical goods should go to a recognised retailer.

“We are now in the middle of summer and the Capital is getting busier every day, which provides criminals with greater opportunities to scam people out of their money or possessions. Anyone who would like advice on crime prevention can visit their local policing team or visit the Lothian and Borders Police website. Detectives would also urge anyone who believes they’ve been affected by this scam to contact police immediately.”

Anyone with any information can contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or the charity Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.

In your dreams: Postcode Lottery launches Dream Fund

Edinburgh-based People’s Postcode Lottery today announced the launch of the Dream Fund, a £400,000 funding pot that encourages charities and organisations across the country to work together to secure vital funding.  

The Dream Fund is an awards programme which offers financial support for groups looking to work together to realise the project of their ‘dreams’. Made possible only by the ongoing support of People’s Postcode Lottery players, this new funding round will mark the Fund’s third year and a collective total of £1 million invested in innovative projects all across Scotland.

This year, Trustees chose to increase the funding pot available for the applying charities and projects by an additional £100,000, so that it can also help tackle youth unemployment. With unemployment rates for young people (aged 16-24) in Scotland hitting 22.9%, 1.6% higher than the rest of the UK*, it has never been more important to invest in projects that increase the life opportunities of the long-term unemployed.

Clara Govier, Head of Charities People’s Postcode Lottery, said, “We are opening the fund again today with the existing three categories; encouraging active living, bringing communities together and tackling climate change.

“However, this year in response to the continuing bleak economic outlook and the declining number of opportunities available for young people, we have decided to increase the support available to £400,000 to specifically help expand life opportunities available for our young people.”

The Trust is encouraging all charities and organisations to apply for up to £100,000 and join the list of projects that have already received support from the Dream Fund. Previous winners include Alzheimer Scotland and The Scottish Football Association Museum Trust, who together were awarded over £75,000 through the programme last year to run a Football Memories Project across the country.

Alistair Fergusson, Development Co-ordinator, Alzheimer Scotland said, “The support from the Dream Fund has just been invaluable. It has enabled us to achieve so much more than we had ever expected, we’ve been able to reach out and help groups that this time last year we simply wouldn’t of thought possible. We would really encourage all eligible organisations to apply to fulfil their organisations dreams too.”

Full application information, including eligibility criteria, can be found at www.postcodetrust.org.uk.  The closing date for applications is Wednesday 31 October.

The People’s Postcode lottery launch their 2012 Dream Fund

Pictures: Alzheimer Scotland’s Alitair Fergusson with three year old Izzie Berry tie ‘dream tags’ to a tree in the Botanic Gardens