Fresh Start, with the Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership, are running online events on 12th & 13th May to allow residents to discuss how our services can adapt to fit what matters to you, the people that live and work in the area!
Join the conversation on Wednesday 12th May, 1-2.30pm by registering here:
As nominations close, Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced their list of candidates for Lothian and are pledging their commitment to make recovery from the pandemic their number one priority as MSPs.
Today the Scottish Liberal Democrats submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming Scottish parliament election to be held on the 6th May.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh Northern and Leith will be Rebecca Bell (above). She is also the mental health spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Rebecca Bell said:“People are under huge pressure from the pandemic. There’s a lot of work to be done to recover from this crisis. It will not be easily done and we will need our complete focus on the project at hand.
“As an MSP, I want to focus on cutting mental health waits, a bounce back plan for education, creating jobs and tackling the climate emergency.
“After years of arguing about independence and Brexit, the last thing we need right now is another independence referendum.
“As the MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, I will put the recovery first.”
Willie Rennie said: “This election is about priorities. Liberal Democrats will put recovery first. After the dreadful year we have endured, people want a needle-sharp focus on jobs, mental health, our NHS, schools and the climate crisis.
“With ten years of experience as leader I have won support for areas like mental health, education and nursery education. For me it has always been about investing in people so they can do great things.
“For the next five years the divided nationalists will put independence first, dividing the country too.
“For the next five years I will put the recovery first, cut mental health waits, help pupils bounce back, create jobs and take action on the climate. The SNP will prioritise another independence referendum.
We are abandoning our usual monthly newsletter schedule to send you this advice that there is little time remaining if you wish to become a member of HoNC before our first AGM.
The AGM has now been set for Thursday 29th April and because of the admin work required, you must apply for membership before the 1st April.
New member applications will then be verified and confirmed by the board at their next meeting on 7th April and official notice of the AGM and all that entails will be sent out by the 13th.
Do consider becoming a member. It costs nothing and if you live in our area of benefit it ensures you have a say in who runs the charity and what they do. There is a simple form to fill in on the website under JOIN US.
The AGM may well be rather strange this year because of Covid. Only a small number of people constituting the required quorum will be allowed to be present in person. Everyone else will be invited to an online meeting. It also means that those voting members not present in person will have to send in a proxy voting form, but all that will be explained in the notice of meeting which will be sent by email to members only.
In other news, we are so pleased to report that there was a tremendous response to our initial Crowdfunding appeal which has helped us pay for professional fees. The many supportive comments have also provided welcome proof that we are not working in vain.
Here are some of the things supporters said:
This is a brilliant project that will deliver huge community benefits. It’s well thought-out and is being impressively well-organised.
Amazing project to support the community and get everyone of all ages together!
Great to see this project making progress – all strength to your elbows for what will be a tremendous asset for the community.
Fantastic work, well done to all involved.
Meanwhile our volunteers are working away in the background on greening projects, lending a neighbourly hand in the community and spreading the word, while we deal with preparing for our very first AGM, a momentous stage in our progress.
The trustees are looking forward to seeing you there.
Don’t forget to keep checking the website. There’s always something new. April will see the addition of the first of a two-part blog by Bill Hall about fishing in the Forth.
There will be no April newsletter and the next communication will be with members only, by the 13th April. The next newsletter will be in May, after the AGM.
First of all, sincere thanks to all of you who have contributed to our first Crowdfunding campaign.
We have almost achieved our initial target which will enable us to pay legal and design fees and allow us to move forward with our ambitious community plans. If you have contributed, thank you.
If you have not, then please consider doing so. No matter how small, the donation will be appreciated.
The campaign ends on 13th March. Let’s make one final push and remember that any excess over the original target will be spent on costs pertaining to other parts of the project such as accessibility plans. It will not be wasted.
https://youtu.be/GOasoH0SrW4
Now, following the success of our digital appeal earlier in the year, which helped so many families with children at Victoria Primary School access online learning, we are preparing to launch a new digital campaign.
This time it’s to help the more elderly in the community who are feeling cut-off and isolated because they cannot keep up with the online communications necessary in these difficult times. They may have no digital access or no knowledge of how to use it if they have.
We will be working once again with the Pilmeny Development Programme (PDP) this time recruiting both older and younger members of the community and helping organise digital learning and support sessions in line with COVID-19 regulations.
Can you help us to develop a sustainable, community-based, skills-sharing network? Bringing generations together is what we’re all about! Get in touch through the volunteering page on the website.
If you haven’t already done so, please fill out our membership application form and send it in as soon as possible. Once your membership status has been verified, this will ensure you have a say at our forthcoming AGM, which must be held before 4th May. The date and details will be given out shortly.
Meanwhile, good news on the environmental partnership initiatives some of our volunteers have been helping with.
There’s been no public fanfare because of Covid, but the Little Birdhaven at Western Harbour, a collaboration with The Shoreline Project and a mini orchard for Victoria Park in collaboration with Friends of Victoria Park, have both received funding and support because of the hard work put in by the volunteers.
You can inspect the new information banner (illustrations courtesy of pupils from VPS) at Western Harbour (between the wilded plot and the John Lloyd Centre) and watch the currently tiny trees growing steadily.
Over in Victoria Park, funding has been secured from the Alpkit Foundation to expand the mini orchard by the beech hedge with suitable fruit trees which will be planted by pupils from Trinity Academy and Trinity primary School in the autumn. You can read more about all this on our social media pages.
Special thanks to volunteer Lucy Metcalfe for leading the way on this.
If you would like to join in with any of our projects, sign up on the volunteering page of the website and watch out for further news of yet more greening projects coming up soon.
Finally, as always, a reminder to watch the website for news and blogs and don’t forget our social media platforms.
Check out Instagram for example, where there’s a “new” picture of “old” Newhaven posted every week.
Heart of Newhaven Community’s Crowdfunding campaign goes live today, St Valentine’s day. What better day to launch what we hope will help us all fulfil our ambition of creating a vibrant Heart, full of life and vitality and shared and used by the wide, ever-growing community?
You can help us bring the Heart to life as soon as possible, by making a donation.
You can find out all about it on our website and following the link, or by going direct to the Crowdfunding website. You’ll find FAQs and get some idea of what the first funds are needed for.
You can remain anonymous or choose one of our rewards depending on the amount you give, but remember that it doesn’t matter how small or how large it is. It all adds up.
You know all about the ambition, now help fund the reality as we move closer and closer to creating the living, beating heart of the community.
Please look at the poster button at the bottom of this newsletter. They are the posters that will soon be appearing in the area. If you can possibly print out one or two of your favourites, and put them in your windows or send them to friends or colleagues that would be wonderful.
The better the coverage, the better the response and the quicker we can get the Heart beating.
First of all, we have had a magnificent response to our digital appeal which we launched so recently on 25th January.
Thanks to all who have very kindly donated old laptops or tablets to help families in the community who needed help to access online learning. We have already dealt with around a dozen such items, some of which are being wiped and processed while others are awaiting collection and soon they will all be winging their way to Victoria Primary School. Please continue to get in touch.
We understand that others have been delivered directly to the school following our appeal and if you would still like to help but have no old machines you no longer need, you can also donate funds to enable the school to buy more.
An average laptop or tablet suitable for home-schooling could cost around £200 but any smaller contributions that could go towards that would be most welcome. You can contact the school directly below:
This is such an encouraging example of the community helping each other, just what Heart of Newhaven proposes to expand on once we’re fully operational.
The main news for you this month however is about the launch of our CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN.
This will go live on 14th February. It’s all about the Heart of course – it seemed a very suitable date for obvious reasons.
While we have applied to the Scottish Land Fund for the purchase cost of the site, we still need immediate funds to pay our legal advisers, currently working on the contract with CEC. Then there are the essential repairs to such things as windows and the roof, as well as fire and safety features.
There is also the preparatory work we have to do in the way of design costs to enable us to move into the buildings and get them going with our “meanwhile use” plans to bring the centre “online” stage by stage.
The campaign will go live on Crowdfund Scotland and there will also be links from our website and social media channels.
Please consider donating something, no matter how small, to enable this ambitious project to go ahead – and don’t forget to spread the word among neighbours and friends!
Finally, may we remind you to visit our website regularly. There’s always something new, including several blogs being posted on the different pages, that you might enjoy.
This month for example, the Culture & Heritage page is hosting a contribution from one of our many volunteers, who talks about the Hispanic community in Newhaven and how they’ve adapted and settled in to the local community.
On our new Intergenerational page, there’s not only an explanation of what intergenerational means, but a blog from trustee Judy Crabb.
Of course our regular blog from the chairman will be along soon as well.
A care provider which operates care homes across the country has completed its Covid-19 inoculation programme – with residents already talking about how their lives are set to be transformed.
Mansfield Care has successfully offered the vaccine to all of its frontline staff and residents, and have carried out the procedure to all those who have requested the vaccine.
Edinburgh homes Haugh House, Craighall House, Eildon House, and Belleville Lodge are among 11 care homes operated by Mansfield Care to have completed the vaccination programme.
Resident and journalist at Haugh House, Michael Fry, found the vaccine to have no physical impairment on him.
Michael said: “The vaccine had no physical effect on me, but made me happy in thinking I’ll be able to get out and about all the sooner. I have been in lockdown since March 2020, so I’m hoping the vaccine will let me get out again so I can see my family.”
85-year-old Craighall House resident, Jean McMillan, opted to take the vaccine to keep the infection rates down.
Jean said: “I received my first dose of vaccine on January 20. I didn’t feel a thing and felt fine afterwards. I decided to have the vaccine to help keep the rates down and because I have missed being able to see my daughter, Caroline and my great grandson Murray.”
Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Hume said: “It’s been a difficult year for everyone, so to have the vaccination programme fully completed with the full support of our staff and residents has been an incredible lift.
“Our philosophy that ‘small is key’ has been integral to keeping our residents and staff safe, while maintaining an optimal level of care throughout the pandemic.
“At this stage we cannot predict how the virus will mutate, and what impact that will have on our community, but we are determined to cover all bases and maintain the safety of everyone in our care homes.
“Again we would like to thank our incredible staff who have worked tirelessly over this turbulent period, and our residents for their continued diligence and patience.”
Mansfield Care has also implemented a regimented and rapid lateral flow testing process which swab tests staff two to three times per week and provides test results within 30 minutes, to ensure the safety of residents and staff alike.
In addition to its rigorous testing, the provider has also focused on creating new activities to combat the boredom and loneliness caused by social distancing and restrictions, including personalised activity boxes for residents and a creative conversation ball game designed specifically for residents with dementia.
Mansfield Care specialises in small, friendly, residential care homes across Edinburgh, Borders and West of Scotland, providing individualised care in state of the art facilities.
The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care many would wish for later in life – positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.
Following the latest coronavirus guidelines announced on Monday, Granton Information Centre staff are working from home and our office on West Granton Road will remain closed for the foreseeable future – BUT PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT WE ARE STILL OPERATING!
You can contact us by email at info@gic.org.uk or by calling 0131 551 2459 or 0131 552 0458.
Any messages left on our answering machine will be dealt with as soon as possible – please ensure you clearly leave your full name and telephone number when leaving a message.
Let’s all play our part in keeping each other safe, stopping this terrible virus and getting life back to normal!
Trinity Academy pupil kicks off 2021 facing 1042 miles on the road
#Bens100days
My name is Ben Liddall and I am 17 years old. I am attempting to run a total of 1042 miles in the first 100 days of 2021 for MND Scotland and the My Names Doddie foundation.
On July 15th, 2020 I was involved in a cycling accident and as a result, received a serious concussion. It was made clear to me that it could have gone a lot worse and I got off incredibly lucky.
As part of my recovery, I was confined to bed for 2 weeks, with no technology, no exercise, and no strain. This gave me a lot of time to think without distraction and I decided that within 4 weeks of my recovery I would run my first marathon. I had never run long distance before, my main form of exercise was rugby, but after intense training, on August 25th, in amongst a storm, I ran my first marathon.
I then realised this was something I was passionate about and that I enjoyed, but also something I realised I could use to help others. I decided to set myself a new goal – run 1042 miles in the first 100 days of 2021 in support of the My Names Doddie foundation and MND Scotland.
Why 1042 miles? Well, one of my main passions is rugby and I would be running this distance around the time of the 6 Nations and also in support of Doddie so I decided to run the distance of Murrayfield, to the Aviva in Dublin, to the Principality in Wales, to Twickenham in England, and back to Murrayfield which is … you guessed it, 1042 miles!
This means I will be running around 10.42 miles every day, sometimes more sometimes less, and finishing on April 10th, 2021.
I would appreciate any donation no matter how big or small to help the ongoing battle against MND.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is the general name given to a group of illnesses which affect the body’s motor nerves – these are called motor neurones. MND is a progressive, incurable illness.
In a healthy person, the motor neurones carry signals from the brain directly to the muscles. However, MND stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. Therefore, over time muscles weaken and eventually stop working.
It is important to remember that not everyone is affected by MND in the same ways. Every case of MND takes its own course, but the disease may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided.
Some people may also experience changes in their behaviour, personality and the way they think. This may affect their ability to plan tasks on a daily basis and how they communicate with others. A small number of people may experience severe changes which are associated with a type of Dementia, called Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).
Any money donated to either MND Scotland, or My Names Doddie will be used to help people affected by MND in Scotland, and will help fund practical, financial, and emotional services throughout Scotland, including; one-to-one counselling, benefits advice, complementary therapy, a loan of our communications equipment, support groups and more. You’ll also be funding vital research, in Scotland, to help take us a step closer to finding a cure for this devastating illness.
