Extended opening to see (smell?) ‘New Reekie’ at The Botanics!

It’s not particularly pretty and it stinks like a rotting corpse – meet the plant they’re all talking about at the Botanics … !

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Our Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum), one of the world’s biggest and smelliest blooms, is set to flower and could look like the one (above) at Basel. It’s a first for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and for Scotland.

There was great excitement at the Garden this morning when horticulturists discovered the bud had started to unfurl to reveal a flower. The plant is currently 137cms in height and getting bigger by the day.

It is expected that our titan arum, which is housed in the Lowland Tropics House, will be of great interest to visitors. So, when it is in full bloom, and at its smelliest, the Garden will be open from 9am until 9pm.

Visit our website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for details and to check its progress.

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‘Scotland must unite against austerity’

‘We need to present a united front against these measures and I would encourage every organisation working to tackle inequalities and fighting poverty, to add their voice to this debate’ – Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil

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Third sector organisations need to stand united to fight Westminster’s proposed £12 billion cuts, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil told conference delegates yesterday.

Speaking at the Child Poverty Action Group  Scotland’s annual conference, the Cabinet Secretary encouraged delegates and welfare workers to work together to bring the UK Government’s austerity agenda to a halt.

He said the first of the cuts is the UK Government’s Full Employment and Welfare Bill which will freeze the main rates of the majority of working age benefit tax credits and child benefit for two years from 2016-17, and reduce benefit expenditure in Scotland by around £130 million.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimate that 11 million families in the UK, including an estimated one million families in Scotland, will be affected by the plans to freeze benefits.

Mr Neil said: “The UK Government’s proposed £12 billion cuts will have a detrimental impact on Scotland and will do nothing to tackle the scourge of child poverty.

“We need to present a united front against these additional measures and I would encourage every organisation working to tackle inequalities and fighting poverty, to add their voice to this debate.

“Through our Child Poverty Strategy we are already working with partners to reduce levels of poverty amongst households with children and to break inter-generational cycles of poverty, inequality and deprivation.

“The Scottish Government, alongside CPAG and others wants a more equal society, we want to create jobs and lift people out of poverty, and we will continue to listen to the advice of organisations who are working directly with families across the country.

“However if we are having to fund mitigation then we have a much harder challenge ahead of us. Our resources should be used to take positive action and tackle existing inequalities, not fight just to keep people at a standing position.

“The Smith Commission proposals gave the Scottish Government limited powers to make real inroads into child poverty outcomes. We will work with all concerned to make sure that the new powers we have will lead to better results for people in Scotland.”

John Dickie the Director of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said: “With key areas of social security set to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament today’s Child Poverty Action Group conference brings together over 180 frontline advisers to get the latest details on what exactly is being proposed and share ideas on how new powers might be used to improve benefit support and tackle poverty more effectively.

“The discussion is crucial coming as it does against a backdrop of rising child poverty and the threat of further cuts to the UK benefits that families both in and out of work rely on.”

Party like a Mad Hatter and celebrate ten years of MoonWalking

‘Have I gone mad? I’m afraid so, but let me tell you something: the best people usually are!’ – Alice in Wonderland

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Thousands of women, men and children across Edinburgh can be excused for having a leisurely lie-in this morning – they’re saving their energy for tonight’s big Moonwalk event at Inverleith Park!

This is the tenth birthday of The MoonWalk Scotland, and this year’s special theme is The Mad Hatter’s Midnight Tea Party. And, although the MoonWalk itself is fully subscribed, you can still enjoy the party!

Highlights include Radio Forth presenters – and hosts for the evening – Grant Stott and Arlene Stuart and Scotland’s very own fabulous Red Hot Chilli Pipers. The fun kicks off at Walk the Walk’s Pink Palace in Inverleith Park from 8pm

While the night’s sure to be a lot of fun, there is of course a serious point to MoonWalk too. The MoonWalk Scotland has raised over £18 million to date, with most of the money raised staying in Scotland to help improve the lives of people with cancer.

So to those thousands of people who will traipse through the streets of Edinburgh at midnight – many wearing Walk the Walk’s trademark brightly decorated bras – whether you’re walking New Moon (6.55 miles), Half Moon (13.1 miles), Full Moon (26.2 miles) or Over The Moon (52.4 miles) – we salute you!

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For more information go to www.walkthewalk.org/moonwalkscotland