Mums/carers and their under 5s are coming along to @grantoncastle to meet us and @trees_seas for more Play Together Outdoor Activities.
Lots of fun to be had – some of it’s messy but who cares !
BOOKING ESSENTIAL
TODAY (Thursday 17th March) and tomorrow, Friday 18th March, there will be a pop up vaccination clinic from 9am – 2.30pm at the North Edinburgh Community Resource Centre on Pennywell Road.
All vaccines including boosters can be administered.
This Mother’s Day home of female fiction, Rare Birds, has launched the perfect gift for mamas who love nothing more than to curl up and get lost in an good book. The Good, The Bad and The Real, is the brand new three-book bundle (£30) offering the crème de la crème of our favourite mums in literature – but not necessarily the ones you would expect …
Split into three categories – Good Mothers (positive portrayals of mothers in fiction), Bad Mothers (negative portrayals of mothers in fiction) and Real Mothers (non-fiction books about motherhood and its impact) – the bundle will have you laughing, crying and wondering where amongst it all your own mother sits.
So, which mums – and which stories – will this bundle explore?
(Good Mothers) Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
A heart-breaking historical novel about the personal tragedy which inspired Shakespeare’s most famous play. An exploration of what a mother will do to protect her children, and the fracturing of family relationships when this is not enough.
(Bad Mothers) The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante
When her two daughters leave home, Leda embraces her newfound freedom and embarks upon a solo holiday to an Italian coastal town. But a chance meeting with an unsettling family forces Leda to confront her own past, and the choices she has made as a mother.
(Real Mothers) (M)otherhood: On the Choices of Being a Woman by Pragya Agarwal
Part memoir, part meticulous research, this is an urgent and necessary examination of motherhood, identity, and the continuous societal obsession with women’s reproductive bodies.
Bound in a gorgeous Rare Birds branded box with the books elegantly wrapped, the gift is not only thoughtful, but beautiful.
For those who are keen to delve further into the theme of motherhood, Rare Birds has put together a list that you can pick and choose from to help you continue on your reading journey. Following the above themes, founder Rachel Wood, invites you to decide what being a mum really means…
Books for Good Mothers
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Can a trans woman, her de-transitioned ex, and his new straight girlfriend all raise a baby together? A witty and wise examination of sex, gender and contemporary family life.
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto
A hysterical and heart-warming romcom, in which Meddy’s meddling mother and aunties get more than they bargained for when she accidentally kills the blind date they sent her on.
Where’d you go Bernadette by Maria Semple
When her enigmatic architect mother goes missing before a trip to Antarctica, fifteen-year-old Bee will do anything to find her. A funny and heart-warming look at what happens when motherhood upends your sense of identity.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison’s heart-breaking novel tells the story of Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman whose life has been spent desperately trying to protect her children. A raw and ruthless depiction of the horrors of slavery, and the power of a mother’s love.
Room by Emma Donoghue
Told from the perspective of five-year old Jack, this emotional novel details he and his mother’s captivity in a single room. Inspired by true stories, this is a searing portrayal of mother’s love for her child.
Books for Bad Mothers
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Jeanette Winterson’s fierce work of autofiction narrates her choice to abandon the missionary career her adopted mother had planned for her in order to be with the woman she loves. An unflinching depiction of religious zeal and desire.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
In this witty and unsettling novel, the struggling artist mother of a young toddler finds herself undergoing a canine transformation. The only thing is those around her seem oblivious.
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
Sun-drenched and surreal, this novel depicts the strained relationship between Sofia and her mother, Rose, whom she has accompanied to the Spanish coast in search of a cure for Rose’s mysterious illness. A haunting exploration of sexuality, womanhood, and the maternal bond.
Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi
When Antara was young, her mother Tara ran wild – preferring to lavish her attention on the guru of an ashram than her own daughter. Now Tara’s memory is failing her, and Antara bitterly administers the help she needs. This is a sticky, biting novel which asks the question: are we obliged to take care of those who fail to take care of us?
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In Margaret Atwood’s classic dystopian novel, motherhood is separated from pregnancy, as those women who are fertile are forced to produce children for the upper class who aren’t. But of these, June, longs to be free and reunited with her daughter.
Books for Real Mothers
The Other Mother: A Wickedly Honest Parenting Tale for Every Kind of Family by Jen Brister
A funny and moving look at mothering from the perspective of the ‘other mother’ in a lesbian relationship, addressing everything from IVF to sleep deprivation with the kind of anecdotes that will make you laugh-out.
Motherhood by Deborah Orr
At seventeen, Deborah Orr left Motherwell to attend university against her mother’s wishes. In this gritty and honest memoir, she recounts her girlhood in the industrial town, and the sticky bond between mother and daughter, ultimately asking the question: what does it mean to mother well?
Blue Nights by Joan Didion
Joan Didion’s memoir detailing the death of her own daughter is a gut-wrenching account of motherhood, uncertainty, and ageing. Bleak and beautiful in equal measure, this is a book which will haunt you long after it is finished.
The Panic Years by Nell Frizell
In this poetic and candid book, Nell Frizzel navigates the difficult personal decisions faced by women in their late twenties and thirties. The hardest of all? Whether or not to have a baby.
Mother: An Unconventional History by Sarah Knott
A fascinating exploration of the history of maternity, from medieval royals to 1950s housewives, through the lens of historian Sarah Knott’s own experiences with pregnancy, motherhood, and loss.
For more information visit www.rarebirdsbooks.com
A study carried out by researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) with the James Hutton Institute and the Environmental Research Institute (University of the Highlands and Islands) has delivered the first national assessment of the emerging area of concern around pharmaceutical pollution of Scotland’s water environment, with an innovative Scottish partnership using results to promote practical actions to reduce this globally recognised public health and environmental issue.
Pharmaceuticals (medicines) enter the water environment when people taking medicines go to the toilet (between 30-100% of a dose is excreted) and when partially used or expired medicines are inappropriately flushed down the toilet instead of being returned to a pharmacy for proper disposal.
Information on 60 medicines was added to a database of over 3,000 data points representing 11 ‘types of water’ – such as water in the environment, influent wastewater and treated wastewater.
The study, commissioned by the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) to support the work of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership, combined published and unpublished academic data with monitoring data from Scottish Water and SEPA.
Lead researcher Dr Karin Helwig says: “Pharmaceuticals (medicines) are designed to have an effect on humans so it’s no surprise that they affect water organisms, too, and that could disturb the balance in ecosystems.
“There is still much we don’t know about how serious these risks are, but if we value our environment it makes sense to try and reduce this kind of pollution as much as possible.
“Different organisations collect monitoring data for their own different purposes, so it was a real testament to partnership working that we were able to collate everything together and get a clearer picture of this area of emerging concern for the Scottish environment.”
The study found that nine medicines, including ibuprofen (an anti-inflammatory painkiller) and antibiotics, may pose higher risks of ecotoxicity and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), although the authors emphasise that monitoring is often carried out at higher risk locations.
Dangers to human health are extremely unlikely, but the findings do illustrate levels of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
Wastewater treatment plants were not initially designed to treat pharmaceuticals and are unable to treat some pharmaceuticals. So tackling this complex issue requires “up-stream” actions.
The One Health Breakthrough Partnership (OHBP), which was involved in the design and oversight of this study, is a cross-sector initiative bringing together key stakeholders to develop and implement sustainable interventions in healthcare.
NHS Highland lead and OHBP co-founder, Sharon Pfleger, Consultant in Pharmaceutical Public Health, says: “It is important to try to prevent or reduce the impact of pollution by medicines as much as possible rather than trying to deal with the problem.
“That’s why the OHBP is taking an “up-stream” public health approach, ensuring that prescribers and the public understand that medicines do pollute our waters and how they can help, developing guidance for prescribers on more eco-friendly choices of medicines, promoting the use of green and blue spaces to help physical and mental health instead of using medicines and ensuring that people know how to correctly dispose of unused or unwanted medicines.”
The OHBP (Scottish Water, SEPA, NHS Highland, and the Environmental Research Institute-University of the Highlands and Islands) is committed to working with partners to develop solutions and progress the recommendations put forward in this report. Together the OHBP aims to drive research and innovation and influence policy in Scotland to achieve optimal health for people, animals, plants and the environment.
This study recommends that further environmental research be done for areas of the country where few data are available, and, similarly, for groundwater, lochs, and coastal and estuarine waters.
The study will be used by researchers, environmental regulators, the water industry, and the health service as a baseline to assess whether, and to what extent, future interventions and OHBP activities help to reduce pharmaceutical pollution.
The report and its appendices are available on CREW’s website.
The latest weekly update of Emergency Department activity and waiting time statistics show:
Dr John Thomson, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said: “The data show the stark picture of the health system in Scotland right now and the serious crisis Urgent and Emergency Care is facing.
“There are extremely high numbers of patients being delayed for long periods of time, and we know that these long waits are associated with a high risk of harm or even death.
“This is a critical time. The pandemic is not over. Covid is ever present in the community, with increasing numbers of covid patients in hospital and a high level of covid related staff absences. The workforce is burnt out and overwhelmed, every shift is extremely demanding with staff covering for absent colleagues and managing high numbers of patients, doing their best to keep them safe and minimise harm. The moral injury to our colleagues working in our Emergency Departments cannot be underestimated.
“We welcome The Health and social care: national workforce strategy published last week by the Scottish Government. It is a positive strategy for the next five years. We especially welcome the commitment to grow the NHS workforce by 1,800 WTE staff and increase the number of medical school places by 500.
“However, we are disappointed both not to have been consulted on this strategy and by the limited mentions of Urgent and Emergency Care. We look forward to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care consulting with The Royal College on the meaningful details for Emergency Medicine including staffing and capacity needs.”
Figures released by the Scottish Government yesterday (15 March) show that Scotland’s carbon footprint has increased for the first time in six years.
The greatest increase came from the greenhouse gas emissions from imported goods. Emissions from imports are now greater than the rest of Scotland’s emissions combined.
Scotland’s carbon footprint measures the greenhouse gas emissions from all the goods and services consumed by Scotland in a year. However, Scotland’s Net Zero targets only include greenhouse gases emitted in Scotland. Emissions from imports are excluded from national climate targets and this means they can rise unabated.
The Circular Economy Bill, which is due to be consulted on in May, is a chance for Scotland to reverse this trend and start taking responsibility for its environmental impacts overseas.
In a circular economy, materials consumption is reduced by reusing products rather than burning or burying them after a single use. This means producers need to think about how the product can be reused from the initial stages of design, and choose materials accordingly.
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said: “The rise in Scotland’s carbon footprint is alarming. By only looking at the emissions produced at home, we are ignoring the greatest part of our carbon footprint and failing to play our full role in tackling the climate crisis.
“The climate emergency doesn’t recognise any borders, and by outsourcing the emissions from imports to other countries, the Scottish Government is shirking its responsibility.
“The Scottish Government can reverse the rise in emissions by putting strong consumption targets at the heart of its newly announced Circular Economy Bill – this is the only way to ensure that Scotland reduces its global environmental impact.”
Scotland’s carbon footprint was 70.4Mt CO2e in 2018, a 2.6% rise on the previous year.
– Range includes four new luxury Easter eggs including a free-from choccy orange, cute Leo the Lion Cub and ‘Egg’ on Toast –
– Chocolate donuts are already causing a storm on social media –
– New hot cross bun flavours this year include Blondie, Apple & Cinnamon and Chocolate Orange –
Morrisons customers can get extra egg-cited this week as its new Easter range has now landed in stores.
New products in the range include four luxury easter eggs:
· The Best Chocolate Collection Dark Egg – an indulgent rich Belgian dark, chocolate, with a creamy milk and white chocolate marbling
· The Best Chocolate Collection Raspberry and Belgian White Egg – a creamy Belgian white chocolate, studded with tangy freeze-dried raspberry pieces
· The Best Chocolate Collection Milk Egg – luxurious and smooth Belgian milk chocolate decorated with blue, red and white speckles
· The Best Chocolate Collection Free From Seville Orange Choccy Egg – a chocolate orange egg, hand dipped in crunchy cocoa nibs with rich Belgian dark chocolate and Seville orange truffles, deliciously vegan and free-from gluten, wheat, egg and milk.
Morrisons has also been working to reduce plastic across its own-brand range and all of The Best Eggs this year will be completely plastic free.
Morrisons will also be offering a chocolate ‘Egg on Toast’ and adorable Leo the Lion Cub, a toffee flavoured white and milk chocolate with dark chocolate decorations, which will be a ROAR-ing hit with families with kids.
In addition, Morrisons has launched the UK’s first hollow Donut. It is toffee-flavoured and comes in with two toppings, white chocolate & pink drizzle or white chocolate & crispy pearls.
The new donuts are already causing a stir on social media with a post by @helenjtea amassing over 4,500 likes and comments from fans including “insane”, “Wow they look incredible” and “omg I actually thought this was a donut”.
From this week, Morrisons customers will be able to pick up hot cross buns in four new flavours – Blondie, Apple & Cinnamon, Chocolate Orange and a fun savoury option Cheese & Jalapeño.
Customer favourites Extra Fruity and Lemon Drizzle will also be back on shelves for a second year.
Sarah Newton, Senior Product Developer at Morrisons, said: “We’re proud of this year’s Easter range, it features delicious treats our customers know and love plus some fun new flavours for the whole family to enjoy – all without breaking the bank.”
Morrisons Easter range is available in stores nationwide now with selected products available online.
For more information visit:
https://groceries.morrisons.com/browse/easter-confectionery-186013
Young people from across Edinburgh have been announced as finalists in this year’s Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards in recognition of their incredible achievements.
Jordan Stewart and Amaranta Laing, both from the capital, have been nominated in the Arts category for their work in creating Fusion – an organisation which aims to amplify the voices of young people through the power of music.
By partnering with Children 1st, Jordan and Amaranta have helped 10-year-old Sophie to produce ‘Sophie’s Song. Sophie created the track in the hope of influencing the justice system for victims and witnesses of crime.
26-year-old Rhys Gilchrist joins Jordan and Amaranta in the Arts category.
The talented musician regularly facilitates interactive sessions at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children to bring joy, fun and creativity to young people going through difficult times. Rhys also recently organised an orchestra visit to offer patients a distraction and hosts a song writing group to support those undergoing treatment in writing and producing their own music.
Fergus Crawley, 25, has been nominated in the Wellbeing category for his work in encouraging young people to open up about their mental health struggles.
Fergus, who works as a personal trainer, has been fundraising since 2018 to raise money for a host of men’s mental health charities, including going up and down Ben Nevis for 11 consecutive days, squatting 125,000 kg in 24 hours, and embarking on a 94-mile run.
His efforts have seen him raise a total of £100,000 in just four years, which Fergus hopes will go a long way to helping to break the stereotypes surrounding men’s mental health so that less people suffer in silence.
21-year-old Connor Muir has been nominated in the Volunteering category.
Connor, who lives in Leith, has been dedicated to making a difference to his local community for years, having volunteered with the Citadel Youth Centre since he was just 16. Connor helped to set up the centre’s intergenerational café, New Spin and often runs errands for a lot of the older members.
Throughout lockdown, Connor volunteered to take supplies and meals to vulnerable families and young people and would often spend time with isolated people in the neighbourhood – offering them much-needed friendship during a lonely time.
Addie, Hannah and Jo, all from Edinburgh, have been nominated in the Equality and Diversity category for their work in setting up Whatever Next? – a multi-media platform that explores their experiences as Chinese adoptees, and adoptees in general.
Through a monthly podcast, the three discuss the varied experiences they have had as adoptees, and how it has impacted the different areas of their lives – covering areas like the ABCs of adoption, food, adoptive parents and dating as an adoptee.
In doing so, they aim to open up a conversation around adoption – busting myths and providing relatable narratives to other adoptees. The work of Whatever Next? has won acclaim and the chance to speak on bigger and bigger platforms – with the trio having appeared on BBC Radio Scotland, LBC, and in the Herald.
Their work also won them the Creative Edinburgh Student Award in 2021.
The finalists all impressed an esteemed panel of judges with their outstanding contributions to their communities. The Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards aims to recognise and inspire extraordinary young people from across the country who are making a real difference to the lives of others.
Now in its sixteenth year, the awards highlight the triumphs of young people in a range of categories – from sport and the environment to enterprise and volunteering – and shine a light on the invaluable contributions made by remarkable young people across Scotland.
The results will be announced on 27 April 2022 at a star-studded red-carpet awards ceremony hosted at Edinburgh’s International Conference Centre.
The winners will join a prestigious roll call of previous recipients including RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Lawrence Chaney and social media star Jamie Genevieve.
Charitable duo Jack Mullen and Alfie King were crowned 2021’s ‘Young Scots of the Year’ for their work raising donations and keeping community spirit alive during the pandemic.
Kirsten Urquhart, Chief Executive (Interim) at Young Scot, said: “The inspiring work of these remarkable young people is a testament to what the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards are all about – recognising, championing and celebrating the achievements of Scotland’s young people.
“Congratulations to all of the 2022 finalists!”
The latest on the city council’s response and how you can help
Russia’s horrific and unprovoked attack on Ukraine hits very close to home. Not just because of the proximity of this war, but because of the family and civic connections between our nations and, in particular, between Edinburgh and our twin city Kyiv.
There has been a characteristically caring and generous response from the people of Edinburgh since the invasion began, with countless individuals and organisations coming forward with offers of support and donations.
How can I help?
From speaking to the Ukrainian community and the volunteers supporting them here in Edinburgh, they have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of donated goods.
If you want to help, please consider giving a monetary donation instead. There are many options available, but we are recommending the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Can I volunteer?
We are working extremely closely with EVOC and Volunteer Edinburgh to help coordinate our response to the crisis. If you want to find out more about volunteering opportunities and how to register, please visit the Volunteer Edinburgh website.
Can I take refugees into my home?
The UK Government has just launched its Homes for Ukraine scheme, which will allow households to sponsor and take in refugees who are fleeing the war.
The first phase, which began taking registrations of interest yesterday, is aimed at individuals who are able to make offers to a specific person/people.
Those arriving will have met standard security checks, and all sponsors and all adults in the sponsoring households will be required to do the same.
A monthly payment of £350 will be offered in exchange for accommodation (spare room/self-contained accommodation) for a minimum six months. This doesn’t include meals or living expenses.
Initial details of the scheme, FAQs and how to apply are available from the UK Government website.
What is the Council doing?
As a Council, and as a City, we have shared our condemnation for Russia’s actions and are holding out the hand of friendship to the people of Ukraine, committing to doing whatever we can to help.
The Ukraine flag continues to fly above the City Chambers as a symbol of our solidarity with the Ukrainian people, while the Granton gasholder remains illuminated in Ukraine’s colours.
The Lord Provost has written to the Major of Kyiv and delivered a video message to the Eurocities anti-war demonstration in Florence (38 mins in) which also featured a live address from the President of Ukraine.
At their meeting on Thursday, councillors are set to award the Freedom of Edinburgh to President Zelensky and Mayor Klitschko, in recognition of standing heroically by their country and their citizens.
We are in regular touch with the Mayor’s office, as we are with the Mayor of another of Edinburgh’s twin cities, Kraków, which has already welcomed well over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
They have provided us with a list of the goods they desperately need, and we are working closely with our partners to arrange shipments for those who have made it to Krakow and those who remain in Kyiv.
Our plans for incoming refugees are developing quickly and we’re in daily meetings with the Home Office, Scottish Government, Edinburgh Airport, third sector and other agencies to ensure we provide the warmest possible welcome from the moment they land. They have had their lives torn apart and will be traumatised and afraid. Some will be extremely young and/or vulnerable and will need urgent care.
This involves coordinating support and ensuring we make the best use of the limited resources we have available – whether that be arranging short and longer-term accommodation, transport, interpreters, access to GPs and healthcare support, counselling, education or any of the other basic services that we all rely on. We have set up a dedicated helpline for Ukrainian arrivals, which will be manned 24 hours a day by our Customer Team.
While this is ongoing, and assuming agreement by councillors on Thursday, we will write to the Home Office encouraging unrestricted refugee visas and local working to source host families to house refugees, with a focus on those most able to support unaccompanied children.
We also plan to write to the MOD to request access to unused temporary accommodation for those travelling to Edinburgh from Ukraine, and to provide £100,000 in Council funding to help coordinate local humanitarian aid.
Other useful links:
Researchers have called for Ukraine’s organisations of persons with disabilities (OPD) to have a bigger role in the country’s decision-making processes.
The Edinburgh Napier-led team were finalising their report on the impact of Covid-19 on the country’s almost three million persons with disabilities just as Russia launched its first attacks on its eastern European neighbour.
Their investigation, carried out with partners in Ukraine, documents how the pandemic created many new barriers while also amplifying existing ones.
Covid-19 limited persons with disabilities’ access to healthcare, social services and transport, increased their social isolation and undermined their economic security.
Digital poverty meant many could not access online portals for government departments or online learning, and the study also highlighted concerns about decreasing levels of cooperation from public bodies.
Now war with Russia – in which 15 per cent of the civilian population caught up in the conflict will have a disability – is presenting new and even more complex challenges.
Initial reports suggest persons with disabilities are struggling to access safe zones, medical services or reliable information on top of the other challenges faced by a population under attack.
Principal Investigator Dr Kiril Sharapov, from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Applied Sciences, said: “Organisations of Persons with Disabilities remain one of the last remaining systems of support for the people they have been taking care of within the context of the pandemic and now within the context of this catastrophic war.
“They continue, where and when they can, to provide support to the most vulnerable individuals and their families. Their knowledge and expertise must inform all current and future relief efforts provided by the Government of Ukraine and by the international donors and humanitarian agencies.”
The research report calls for organisations of persons with disabilities to have their unique roles recognised at legislative level within Ukraine, and for the Government to support their activities.
It also recommends that public bodies consult with and give OPDs a say in decision making, and that OPDs should be actively involved in monitoring the quality of social services delivery.
There are almost three million people registered as having a disability in Ukraine, with actual numbers likely to be higher due to the lack of reliable statistics.
Dr Sharapov researched the impact of the pandemic on them in partnership with the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine umbrella group and local organisations. The study was funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund and the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council.
A total of 108 organisations responded to a survey co-designed by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine, making it the largest to explore the views of the disability movement on the effects of the pandemic. The findings were presented to disability experts and activists who were asked to comment and make recommendations.
The research report says it is “essential” that public authorities in Ukraine at all levels recognise and support OPDs as key actors in ensuring and protecting the rights of people they are caring for.
It also recommends that an up-to-date register of all OPDs is kept, and that the Government cooperate with them in developing a rapid response protocol for circulating information during any future public health emergencies.
