It’s getting to a the busy time of year for us and we could really use a few extra hands to help.
Please get in touch if you have a few hours a week to spare for this very important and rewarding volunteer position.
You can email me on Linda@friendsofseaview.org.uk or send us a Facebook message.
POLICE are appealing for information following a hit and run on Gilmerton Road on Tuesday, 27 February, 2024. The incident happened around 4pm between Walter Scott Avenue and Redgauntlet Terrace.
A 12-year-old boy was struck by a small silver or grey coloured car that stopped initially but then made off. The boy was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
Police Constable Claire Mitchell said: “Our enquiries are ongoing to trace the car involved in this incident and we are asking anyone with information to come forward.
“The area was busy at the time with both traffic and pedestrians so anyone with information is asked to call us.”
“In particular, if you have dash-cam or private CCTV footage that could assist officers with their enquiries then please get in touch.
Anyone who can assist should call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 2551 of Tuesday, 27 February, 2024.
As you may know, this year is FetLor’s 100th birthday!
We are keen to connect with as many former members as we can this year.
On 24th May we are having our Centenary Dinner at Fettes College. As part of that evening, we would like to show some short interviews with former members. We are keen to hear about your favourite FetLor experiences and what you are doing now.
Our Chief Executive, Richie Adams, would love to chat with you. Richie would be delighted to welcome you to the club for a coffee and chat at a time to suit you or he’ll happily come and meet you at a place that suits you both.
Alternatively, if you’d like to make a short video telling us your favourite FetLor memory, when you were a member and what you’re doing now and, perhaps, wish us a happy birthday, we can show that on the night too. Just send it to Richie and he’ll do the rest.
We are really keen to make this a fantastic year and very much hope we can reconnect with you.
If you would like to come to the Club or meet with Richie somewhere else, please either message us here or drop Richie and email at richie@fetlor.org.uk
Looking forward to seeing you!
Police are appealing for information after two bicycles were stolen in Edinburgh.
They were stolen from a garden shed at an address in Buckstone Avenue around 6.45pm on Thursday, 25 January, 2024.
The first is a green/bronze coloured Ragley Mountain Bike with purple handle bar end caps and the second is a blue coloured Giant Fantom Mountain Bike.
Inspector Keith Forrester said: “One of the bikes holds a great deal of sentimental value to the family as it belonged to their 18-year-old son who died in February 2023.
“The family are distraught and described the bike as their late son’s pride and joy and provided them with many fond memories.
“We are appealing for anyone who has any information to come forward. If you were in the area and have private CCTV or dash-cam footage which could help, please get in touch.
“If you have unknowingly bought one of the stolen bikes recently, it would mean so much to the family to get the bikes back.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting reference incident 3430 of 25 January.”
An Open Letter from Pamela Tulloch, chief executive officer of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)
It’s no secret that Scotland’s libraries, along with the rest of our world-class culture sector, are currently embroiled in a perfect storm: budget pressures, reduced income generation, and rising costs have created a potent force for our services to contend with.
That’s why we’ve written to councillors across the City of Edinburgh, ahead of final decisions being taken on 2024/25 public spending, to not only remind them of the vast benefits a thriving public library service can provide, but to highlight those who stand to lose the most if our services are cut even further – communities across Edinburgh.
The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) is the advocacy body for Scotland’s network of over 500 public libraries – celebrating the creativity, commitment, and value that libraries offer the communities they serve. A lifeline of support for so many.
Our latest research, Scotland’s Public Library Survey, helps to demonstrate the immense value, trust, and appreciation that people across Edinburgh place in their library service. With over 93 per cent of respondents agreeing that using the library improves their quality of life, the pivotal role they play is clear.
This is best evidenced by:
This is supported by the poignant feedback shared by library users across Edinburgh. When asked about the positive impact library use had had on their life, one local commented:
“The library is a busy meeting place for groups, acting as a hub for all sorts of activities, including groups of parents and children who meet here to play. Staff at the library are very helpful in recommending books that suit my tastes.
“The library is a very social place with a lovely atmosphere and is welcoming place to go. It always cheers me up.”
This sentiment is common and is underpinned by a strong economic case: for every £1 invested into our libraries, there’s a return on investment of £6.95 for the local economy.
And it is to the credit of our public libraries that this is the case, despite budgets having been hollowed out over the past 14 years which has resulted in reduced opening hours and staffing levels.
Indeed, Scotland’s libraries remained the most frequently visited cultural places in 2022, and also enjoy the highest customer satisfaction rate of any local authority cultural service, at 89 per cent.
Now is the time for the City of Edinburgh Council’s elected members to give libraries the financial backing that they need – that they deserve – to continue delivering the public services which have become vital to communities across the country.
This is more than a bid for culture funding – it’s a plea to prioritise community wellbeing. We hope that all elected members will consider both the financial and social cost of not maintaining these essential services and use the upcoming budget period to protect the services that matter most to their constituents by ensuring continued investment in our libraries.
Pamela Tulloch,
Chief executive officer of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)
POLICE enquiries are continuing to locate 35-year-old Khasha Smith, missing from Calder Grove in Edinburgh. Officers have been distributing and pinning up posters in the local area.
Khasha’s family is extremely concerned for her and are hoping the posters remind people she’s still missing and that we are still looking for information which could help us find her.
As enquiries have progressed, police have established that the last known, confirmed sighting of Khasha was Tuesday, 10 October, 2023.
Khasha is around 5ft tall, with a slim build. She has blue eyes and long, blonde hair. She also has tattoos, one which is visible on her right wrist and says ‘Forever’.
She often visits the Gorgie, Broomhouse and Wester Hailes areas.
If anyone has seen Khasha or has any information on where she may have gone, please call Police Scotland on 101, quoting reference 3915 of 5 January.
Retail trade union Usdaw is asking customers to ‘keep your cool’ as the busy pre- Christmas shopping gets underway, which will culminate in what the retail industry has already dubbed ‘Super Saturday’, with 23 December being the last full shopping day before Christmas.
Shocking statistics from Usdaw’s annual survey of shopworkers shows there are still far too many incidents of violence, threats and abuse against shopworkers. Interim results from over 3,000 retail staff responses show that in the last twelve months:
· 65% have experienced verbal abuse.
· 42% were threatened by a customer.
· 5% were assaulted.
· 71% of verbal abuse was caused by customer frustration.
Scottish voices from the frontline:
These are some of the comments Scottish shopworkers shared when responding to Usdaw’s survey:
Central Scotland: “Customer wasn’t happy about something and took it out on me with shouting.” – “Most abuse when asking for ID for age identification.” – “Customer wasn’t sold alcohol and became verbally aggressive, they left but I felt shaken.”
Glasgow: “Shouting at me, getting in my face, calling me names, saying I’m useless, swearing, using derogatory female terms.” – “Pregnant member of staff got assaulted with a solar light.” – “Attacked in the car park finishing shift.”
Highlands and Islands: “Have been pushed and punched.” – “Called horrible name and barged past by a customer who I asked to leave because he is barred for shoplifting.”
Lothian: “Threats to stab us, wait for us to finish etc.” – “Customers who are drunk issuing vague threats, personal insults.” – “Touched by a male customer, he got angry, called me a rat and a lesbian because I didn’t want to be touched.”
Mid-Scotland and Fife: “Verbal abuse daily, at Christmas get threats.” – “Threatened to get punched and verbal abuse.” – “Challenging shoplifters on a daily basis and dealing with anti-social behaviour.” – “Grabbed me from behind.”
North East Scotland: “Customer said they liked my hair then pulled it.” – “Intentionally swung his basket at me after being told the alcohol aisle was closed.” – “Swearing directed towards me when asking shoplifter to leave the store.”
South Scotland: “Abuse from youths on a daily basis – threats and violence from shoplifters under the influence of drink and drugs.” – “Customer spit in my face after assaulting security.” – “Hit with packs of cakes and called a fat lazy cow.”
West Scotland: “Hit in the face by a drunk man with a basket.” – “Someone tried to hit me with a bottle.” – “Shouted at about queues, items not in stock or wanting a refund on an item that has been used and no receipt.”
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “It is heart-breaking to hear these testimonies from Scottish shopworkers who deserve far more respect than they receive. Our latest survey results clearly show the scale of the appalling violence, threats and abuse faced by retail staff.
“It is shocking that two-thirds of our members working in retail stores are suffering abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. Seven in ten of these incidents were triggered by customers being frustrated with stock shortages, lack of staff or problems with self-service checkouts.
“All of these problems are largely outside the control of retail staff, but they are the people who bear the brunt of shoppers’ anger. Our members tell us that incidents of verbal abuse are much worse in the run up to Christmas, when shops are busy, customers are stressed and things can boil over.
“That is why we are asking customers to ‘keep your cool’ and respect shopworkers, to make the Christmas shopping experience better for everyone.”
Almost forty people could be sleeping rough across Edinburgh in the run up to Christmas according to Scotland’s largest provider of homeless support services, Simon Community Scotland (SCS).
The charity, known as Streetwork at Simon Community Scotland in Edinburgh, is currently responding to over 500 support requests per week at their Edinburgh Hub, which is open every day.
In Edinburgh, the charity is also supporting a dozen women who are experiencing homelessness by providing emergency accommodation. Around 30 people are currently in Simon Community Homes, and many more are supported through outreach services.
Simon Community’s emergency winter appeal ‘A Safe Place’ is aiming to raise £200,000 this year with funds directed straight to people being supported through their Holyrood Road Hub, SCS Homes, Streetreads Library, Outreach and Accommodation Services and Street Team.
Following the announcement that Edinburgh is now facing a housing emergency, and amid ongoing cost of living challenges, Simon Community Scotland has written an open letter to businesses around Edinburgh calling for support.
Lorraine McGrath, Chief Executive at Simon Community Scotland, said: “This week alone we are providing safe places and support to well over 500 people who find themselves homeless in Edinburgh. People who are tired, cold, on the streets or in temporary accommodation.
“The winter months are particularly hard and we’re doing all we can to help. But we need support from businesses across Edinburgh to allow us to keep people safe and supported this winter, through Christmas and beyond.
“We urgently need donations to our emergency winter appeal to cope with an increasing demand for our services. From employee fundraising, volunteering and charity partnerships, we’re keen to work with as many local businesses as possible.
“Scotland’s housing crisis is a problem which won’t be solved overnight. Our Street Teams and hub staff are on the frontline, delivering support to as many people as possible. We have seen an increase in the number of people sleeping rough and visiting our hubs. We urgently need support to help provide safe places and support and we promise that all donations will be put to immediate use.”
According to Scottish Government figures, Edinburgh saw an additional 723 homeless households between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.
As of 31 March 2023, over 15,000 households were living in temporary accommodation in Scotland – 46% more than a decade before.
Donations made to Mary’s Meals this winter will be matched, up to £1 million
TV stars and siblings, Scarlette and Stuart Douglas, are encouraging people across Scotland to support Mary’s Meals’ new appeal, Double The Love.
From 22 November 2023 to 22 January 2024, all donations made to Mary’s Meals will be doubled by a group of generous supporters, up to a total of £1 million.
Funds raised will help to provide nutritious school meals for children in some of the world’s poorest countries including Malawi, Haiti and South Sudan.
Popular double act Scarlette and Stuart are celebrating the launch of the campaign, which is a cause close to their hearts. Mary’s Meals, which was founded in a shed in Argyll, currently feeds more than 2.4 million hungry children every school day. The promise of a meal attracts these children into the classroom, so that instead of working or looking for food, they have the energy to learn.
Scarlette, a campmate on the 2022 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, says: “Stuart and I are so impressed by the incredible work of Mary’s Meals. To serve a daily school meal to 2.4 million children is an amazing feat, as is the fact that Mary’s Meals can feed a child for a whole school year for just £19.15.
“And with Double The Love, £19.15 will feed two children for a school year, so there’s never been a better time to donate!”
Stuart, who hosts Channel 4’s Worst House on the Street with Scarlette, added: “I have four children, so Mary’s Meals’ work resonates greatly with me; no child should go hungry. Mary’s Meals provides a daily school meal alongside an education, which is so important to give children a chance at a brighter future.
“Double The Love gives everyone who donates the opportunity to have their kindness reach even more hungry children with Mary’s Meals, and that’s something we should all get behind!”
Matt Barlow, Executive Director of Mary’s Meals, says: “Scarlette and Stuart know a thing or two about being a great double act, so I’m really grateful to them for backing our Double The Love appeal!
“Mary’s Meals is built on so many little acts of kindness – from those volunteers in our programme countries who rise with the sun to cook and serve Mary’s Meals to their children, to those in the Scotland who support our work in so many incredible ways. By donating to Mary’s Meals this winter, your kindness can go even further in helping us to reach the next hungry child waiting for our nutritious school meals.”
Double The Love runs until 22 January 2024. For more information please visit marysmeals.org.uk/double
Fanta and Jebbah’s story
Like Scarlette and Stuart, Fanta and Jebbah are a great double act.
Fanta, 15, and Jebbah, 14, are best friends who met when they started to attend Quadafi School in Liberia. The girls are in sixth grade and are inseparable both in and outside of school. They dream of becoming doctors and helping people in their community, inspired by their mothers, both of whom are nurses.
Every day, the girls walk for an hour to get to school on an empty stomach. When they arrive, they most often feel tired and sleepy because of the long distance they have walked. But after eating their portion of Mary’s Meals, the girls have the energy to learn and enjoy school with their classmates.
Thanks to Mary’s Meals’ incredible supporters, Fanta and Jebbah are able to gain an education and work toward their dreams of a future where they can help to lift their community out of poverty.
Letter to editor
Waiting times for cardiology appointments in Scotland are at record levels and have more than doubled since before the Covid pandemic.
Between September 2016 and June 2023, the number of people waiting for an appointment rose from 10, 496 to 22,720. In the last year alone, the waiting list has grown by 6,000.
The British Heart Foundation is deeply concerned by these figures, not least because deaths from heart and circulatory diseases are also increasing in Scotland.
Last year, 18,073people (around 50 a day) died from heart and circulatory diseases – this is the highest number of deaths since 2008.
At the BHF we know that delays in the diagnosis and treatment of a heart condition can have devastating consequences.
As also understand the human impact behind these figures – the families dealing with grief and loss, worry and anxiety.
That’s why we are asking members of the public who have been impacted by cardiology waiting times to get in touch with us.
If you are willing to share your experience of waiting for a cardiology appointment in Scotland with the BHF please e-mail scotland@bhf.org.uk or call 0131 555 5891 to speak to our team.
David McColgan
Head of British Heart Foundation Scotland
