Bin the Bedroom Tax: public meeting in Muirhouse tonight

Bin the Bedroom Tax!

All welcome to an open meeting to start a local fight-back group in Muirhouse to resist the bedroom tax and the cuts.

7pm Thursday 25 April

Millennium Centre, 7 Muirhouse Medway

We want to create a strong independent local group to:

· stop any evictions for rent arrears due to the cuts : if needbe by defending homes against the sheriff officers

· battle for the complete abolition of the bedroom tax

· fight for all the rent arrears from the bedroom tax to be written off – and for all who have paid the rent increase to be paid back

· support all local people affected in making an appeal against the cut to their Housing Benefit and/or in applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment

· be a way for local people to organise grass-roots resistance: we do not support any political party

· link-up with other groups in North Edinburgh, round the city, Scotland and Britain to co-ordinate our fight-back

· oppose all the cuts – why should we pay for the greed of the rich and for the crisis of their unfair system?

Don’t give up your tenancy – join us to fight back!

CAN’T PAY – WON’T MOVE!

More info 0776 3204906 (Virgin) muirhouseresidents@hotmail.com

www.muirhouseresidents.co.uk/bedroom-tax

www.northedinburghfightsback.org.uk www.edinburghagainstcuts.org.uk

Celebrate World Book Night at your local library

Edinburgh City Libraries are preparing for a day of celebration of books and reading as World book Night kicks off tonight (Tuesday 23 April) when a host (shouldn’t that be ‘chapter’ or ‘volume’? – Ed) of local authors will participate in a series of events in libraries across the city.

The annual World Book Night celebrates reading and books by recruiting tens of thousands of passionate volunteers across the country to give out specially chosen titles in the community and share their love of reading.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “World Book Night is one of the key events in the literary events calendar and it involves tens of thousands of people across the country, putting books directly into the hands of those who might never otherwise engage with reading.

“Here in Edinburgh we’re gearing up for a fantastic evening of celebrations in a number of our libraries and I know many people are looking forward to our headline event – Alexander McCall Smith at the Central Library. It shows yet again that libraries are not just places to borrow books, but a hub of cultural and literary activity in the city, supporting and encouraging the development of reading in the community.”

Local World Book Night events include:

Leith Library (10am – 8pm)

World Book Night – Online Pirates of Leith Treasure Hunt

Solve all the clues about Leith using our fabulous Our Town Stories website (http://www.ourtownstories.co.uk/). Then come and claim your booty from some real live pirates! Successful adventurers will take home copies of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic ‘Treasure Island’. Yarrrr!

Keep an eye on the Leith Library blog at http://leithlibrary.wordpress.com/ and @LeithLibrary Twitter for more details! First clues due around 2pm.

Muirhouse Library (6 – 7pm)

World Book Night with Allan Guthrie

Prize winning Edinburgh based crime writer, author of many gripping stories including ‘Slammer’ and ‘Bye Bye Baby’, will read from and talk about his books. His books have been described as having the power to ‘make you writhe in agony’ while dealing ‘heart stopping suspense’.

To book a place call 0131 529 5528 or email muirhouse.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Blackhall Library (6.30 – 7.30pm)

World Book Night with Andrew Greig

Listen to this Scottish novelist, poet and writer, read and discuss prose from ‘At the Loch of the Green Corrie’ and ‘Found At Sea’, a book-length sequence of narrative poems. The event will be chaired by Ryan Van Winkle, Edinburgh City Libraries’ writer in residence.

To book a place call 0131 529 5595 or email blackhall.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Centipede Big Bash

Grey skies didn’t deter revellers of all ages going outdoors to join in Muirhouse Centipede Project’s Big Easter Bash last Friday. Everybody had a good time – and not a single case of frostbite was recorded!

Woman and child rescued from Muirhouse flat fire

A woman and a child were rescued after a fire broke out in the kitchen of a flat in Muirhouse last night.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze started in a second-floor property in Gunnet Court, within Muirhouse View, when a grill pan caught alight just before midnight.

A spokeswoman for the service said a four-year-old girl and a woman, aged 22, were rescued by firefighters.

They were treated at the scene for slight smoke inhalation but did not have to go to hospital.

Muirhouse set to stage double arts event next Friday

Muirhouse is the place to be for culture vultures next Friday, with not one but two big arts events planned:

North Edinburgh Arts is hosting ‘Echoes’ on Friday 12 April at 7pm

A new version of Mamma Mia has been written by a community group fighting the city council’s plans to close Castlebrae secondary school.

The Abba track IT, will be sung by members of the Save the Brae campaign group during a performance of a play that they have written called Echoes, which will express their opposition to and frustration over the council’s proposals for the school next summer.

Among those taking part in the play is Kevin Finlay, chair of the Save the Brae group, who said: “I think if you go back in history, any local issues like this have been tackled by using arts to get points across.”

Around eight men and women, most of whom are members of Save the Brae will perform the 55-minute play at North Edinburgh Arts on Friday 12 April at 7pm.

Susan Heron, 54, plays Ina in the play – a fictional character who has lived in Craigmillar all her life and doesn’t want the school to close. Susan says the play was a “powerful statement of how Castlebrae school life was and is”.

Tickets are £3 or £2 Good Neighbours (GN) price. To book tickets please call Box Office on 0131 315 2151

and in the afternoon …

Travelling Gallery visits Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April 1 – 4pm

with ‘feel-good’ art exhibition

The Travelling Gallery will be visiting Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April, with its latest exhibition ‘Turquoise Heid’ on board. This curiously named exhibition is a busy group show of established and emerging artists from both home and abroad.

Working in a broad range of media including drawing, animation, film, sculpture, photography, performance, collage and painting, the exhibition will include artists who use a playful, childlike, feel good essence in their work, sometimes hiding darker depths but more often making us smile. The simplicity and low-tech nature of many of the artworks disguises sometimes complex processes and skills but also makes the exhibition instantly accessible to audiences of all ages.

’Turquoise Heid’ includes work by artists Matthew Barnes, Olivia Bee, Yeodoo Jung, Peter McDonald, Alex Millar, Jock Mooney, Kim Rugg, Yukako Sakakura and David Shrigley.

Visitors can also look out for artist Ellie Harrison’s Early Warning Sign which the Travelling Gallery is hosting in 2013 and which will sit outside the vehicle. Utilising the brazen marketing techniques of capitalism, the sign attempts to grab the attention of passers-by: to remind them of the consequences of excessive consumption and to force climate change back on the agenda. The harder the wind blows, the faster they go! www.ellieharrison.com.

The Travelling Gallery is a custom-built, mobile, contemporary art space inside a big beautiful bus. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Museums and Arts Division of the City of Edinburgh Council, the Travelling Gallery brings high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events to schools and communities throughout Scotland.

North Edinburgh Arts has arranged for the gallery to be open to the public on Friday afternoon at Craigroyston High School. The Travelling Gallery’s visit has been supported by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Children and Families Department.

See www.travellinggallery.com for all the details or ‘like’ on Facebook

Confusing Muirhouse signs in Muirhouse causing confusion!

Muirhouse man Robert Pearson is confused:

Over recent weeks, months and years contractors and Edinburgh City Council have been completing demolition in the Muirhouse area. Other than the odd articulated vehicles going the wrong way through the estate and driving past Craigroyston Primary school at 8.30am, I can say there hasn’t been any real issues.

But now that the contractors have completed their work the diversion, instruction and warning signs still remain in place, many of which now make no sense at all.

Recent high winds have dislodged the signs from there places high up on lamposts and now many are low down causing a danger to pedestrians and others are turning around when it’s windy.

Photographs show Safedem route out pointing in to the estate and others pictures show diversion ends which ended weeks ago. More dangers sign is the Pedestrians warning is at a height which if caught with the wind could easily strike a passerby.

Muirhouse View is still closed according to signage but in fact it has been open for some weeks, albeit it the road is still like a 4 x 4 track.

Hopefully Edinburgh City Council will arrange for these to be removed as soon as possible, but will they leave the large block of concrete which many of these signs poles are housed in?

Robert Pearson

Centipede Big Easter Bash is postponed

Muirhouse Centipede Project’s ‘Big Easter Bash’, which was to have been held on Easter Sunday, has been POSTPONED.

Organiser Linda Dunbar explained: “Given the state of the ground and the snow forecast over the weekend we have taken the decision to postpone the Centipede Project’s Big Easter Bash. It is not the weather for planting or egg rolling. The event will be rescheduled – hopefully later in April, and we’ll be in touch as soon as we have a new date.”

North Edinburgh Arts Director Kate Wimpress added: “I think this is the best decision, and we have circulated this on our Facebook/website/email networks. I’ll look forward to working with you on the rescheduled date.”

The cancellation of the event is a disappointment, but the Big Bash will be something to look forward to when (if?) the sun eventually starts shining again!

Centipede gets set for Big Easter Bash

The Centipede Project’s Big Easter Bash takes place on Sunday (Easter Sunday, 31 March) from 2-3.30pm at the brownfield site on Muirhouse Avenue where we did the original Hollywood-style MUIRHOUSE planting (pictured above).

It will be a great, free, fun filled day for the community – more planting, Easter egg decorating and rolling; children’s activities, community information stalls, free BBQ and hot drinks.

If any groups wants to take a stall, they can get in touch with me at centipedeproject@gmail.com

Linda Dunbar

Scottish BAFTA for Muirhouse filmmaker

Congratulations to Muirhouse filmmaker Garry Fraser on winning a BAFTA Scotland New Talent Factual category for his autobiographical film ‘Everybody’s Child’ last night.

The acclaimed documentary – filmed mainly in Muirhouse and Pennywell – tells the story of Gary’s childhood and his later battles with heroin addiction. Remarkably ‘Everybody’s Child’ was a first documentary for Garry, who studied film making at Telford College.

Muirhouse gets set for Easter

St Andrew’s Parish Church Easter Club

Once again Muirhouse St Andrew’s Parish Church is offering all youngsters from P1 to P7 a place at their Easter Holiday club.

Lots of fun will be had, children will be able to take part in craft activities, play games, enjoy a story or try solve puzzles. A snack will also be provided.

Running from 1st April until the 5th April

from 10:00 to 12:00 noon.

You must register your child, forms are available from the church and Craigroyston Primary, ot click on the link to the form (below):

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzdGFtcGNnYmJvMDB8Z3g6MjliNWRmOGQ3ZmVkM2Y2NA

Robert Pearson