Month: May 2012

It’s Jubilee party time!

The Bank Holiday weekend will see Diamond Jubilee parties across the country and you won’t have to travel too far to join in the celebrations.

Granton Baptist Church are having a barbecue, fun and games at Crewe Road West on Sunday from 11 – 4pm, all welcome

Also on Sunday, Holy Cross Church in Davidson’s Mains is holding a picnic with music and games from 12.15pm – again all welcome, bring your own picnic but no dogs please!

Next weekend, St Serf’s on Clark Road are holding a Jubilee Fete on Saturday (9 June) from 2 – 4pm. Games with the Air Cadets, Stockbridge Pipe Band, many stalls and afternoon teas are all on offer along at Goldenacre.

Seems like North Edinburgh’s going Jubilee crazy!

If you know of any other Diamond Jubilee celebrations, or would like to publicise your own event, let us know!

Mike moves on and Alex takes the chair

Alex Dale is the new chairman of Drylaw Telford Community Council. The Wester Drylaw man was elected unopposed at last night’s annual general meeting held in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre.

Alex (above left) takes over from Mike Clark (right), who was chair of the community council for three years. Choking back the tears (!), Mike explained that he now had just too many other commitments and that he felt it necessary not only to step down as Chair, but also to resign from the community council.

Thanking Mike for his sterling service, Jackie Brown said: “Mike has been a very popular chair and we’ll miss him. We all wish Mike all the very best and hope he’ll come back to join us for the occasional meeting”.

Following the election process – conducted by new Inverleith SNP councillor Gavin Barrie – the other office-bearers remain in place: Jackie Brown (treasurer), Dave Pickering (vice-chair) and Ian Greenhalgh (secretary).

Guest speaker at the meeting was local historian Ian Moore (pictured below), who gave an entertaining talk on the history of the area, in particular Drylaw House.

Drylaw House was built in 1718, and perhaps it’s most infamous inhabitant was James Loch, who was born there in 1780. Loch is best known for his role in the Highland Clearances, and during research for the North Edinburgh Social History project Ian was so incensed by Loch’s actions that he wrote a song about him.

Ian sang the song at last night’s meeting, and in the process made his own piece of local history – by being the first man ever to sing at a Drylaw Telford Community Council meeting in it’s long and august history!

Ian Moore guest speaker at Drylaw Telford AGM

The history of Drylaw in fifteen minutes! Local historian Ian Moore is making a quick return to Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre as guest speaker at Drylaw Telford Community Council’s annual general meeting tomorrow evening.

An enthusiastic member of North Edinburgh Social History Group, Ian was presented with DTCC’s annual Thomas Tierney Award just last month. He’s a real character and his contribution should make a refreshing change from the usual old balance sheets and dull reports!

The annual general meeting starts at 7pm – all welcome.

Fire crews tackle Muirhouse blaze

Firefighters spent two hours battling a fire in a derelict building in Muirhouse Avenue last night.

Three fire appliances from Crewe Toll attended the incident after the alarm was raised at 9.20pm. Crews discovered a fire in the ground floor of the derelict domestic property and two firefighters in breathing apparatus used high-pressure hose reels to tackle the blaze.

The fire spread to the first floor, but was put out with a high-pressure hose reel and crews using a short extension ladder. Following further safety inspections and damping down fire crews  left at 11pm.

The Muirhouse Avenue building is one of two due for demolition as part of the Muirhouse Pennywell regeneration programme.

Royal Victoria Building Open Day today

The new Royal Victoria Building is holding an open day this afternoon to give local people, patients and relatives the chance to look around the new building at the Western General Hospital. It’s an opportunity to see Edinburgh’s state-of-the-art facility before it swings into operation next month.

The RVB, which has been built on the Western General Hospital site, has been designed to provide the highest quality healthcare services in a modern setting for older people, dermatology and rheumatology patients. It will become a landmark in healthcare history when it opens, as the first of its kind in Scotland to 100 per cent single en-suite rooms.

Along with the rest of the team, project director Dave King will be on hand to take guided tours of the building and point out some of the innovative features and designs. He said: “We are really proud of this facility and we are looking forward to taking people around the building and letting them see it for themselves. The open day will give our neighbours, locals, patients and relatives the chance to see the future of healthcare services for the elderly on Scotland”.

You can see the future for yourself today from 1 – 4pm.

The open day follows the recent handover ceremony from the contractor to NHS Lothian, when NHS Lothian Chairman Dr Charles Winstanley, joined by children from St David’s Primary School, sunk a time capsule in the grounds of the new facility to mark the occasion.

The new Royal Victoria Building was commissioned following a review of older people’s services in January 2002 and an extensive public consultation two years later. Approval was granted in early 2010 for medical services for patients over 65 years of age to be moved and provided in a new facility.

North Edinburgh hosts ‘International’ sports carnival

Forthview and Granton Primary Schools became Australia and China for the day when they took part in a Sports Carnival organised by facilities management giant ISS at The Spartans Community Football Academy yesterday.

The local schools were joined by Bannockburn’s St Mary’s School and each took part in three different elements on the day – the themes being education, fun and competition.

The event was supported by a wide range of agencies: British Heart Foundation and Coca Cola sponsored the event, while Lothian and Borders Police, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service and Lothian Buses were all there, providing information and advice at the education section. SELEX Galileo apprentices were among the volunteers who staffed the popular fun section which included inflatables and mini-football.

Highlight of the day was a series of sports challenges and competitive races – sprints, hurdles, relays and fun runs – all enthusiastically supported by cheering supporters.

And continuing the theme in the finest Olympic tradition there were also award presentations and a closing ceremony to bring a memorable day to perfect end.

Some images:

Scottish Opera comes to Oaklands

Come with us to a magical, night-time world – take a train ride through the jungle and meet a friendly lion who sleeps under the stars …

Scottish Opera came to Oaklands yesterday – in their pyjamas! The singers were performing SensoryO, a brand new interactive performance rich in sound, rhythm and music – and just ideal for the Oaklands children.

SensoryO’s warm and inviting set introduces young people to live music in a relaxed and intimate environment. The performance features a mix of live and recorded vocal music with percussive sounds, and uses smells, textures and actions along with striking visuals to inspire the imagination and bring the adventure to life.

The performances were hugely enjoyed by Oaklands children, carers and staff, and the SensoryO tour ’s now moved on. As Scottish Opera celebrates it’s 50th birthday this year, here’s hoping that the talented company performs to many more appreciative and enthusiastic audiences over the coming months.

Gala Committee to hold open planning session

Organisers of the West Pilton and Muirhouse community gala are to hold an open day next month. The gala committee is inviting local groups along to a two-hour session on 19 June to meet with local groups and organisations, establish what they require for this summer’s gala at West Pilton Park and an opportunity to sign up for the big day.

West Pilton and Muirhouse Community Gala chairperson Sean Gardiner explained: “The gala committee are holding an open day at Muirhouse St Andrews Parish Church on Tuesday 19 June at 11am, when the church has kindly given us use of the hall for a couple of hours. What we aim to do is gather all local groups and organisations into one room and establish what involvement you as a group would like in the upcoming gala – this could be in the form of a free information table inside one of the marquees, or perhaps an activity; really anything that promotes what you do in the West Pilton and Muirhouse areas.”

He added: “Getting everyone in the one place not only provides the gala committee with great feedback but also gives you the chance to fill out any of the relevant paperwork there and then, getting your place in the new gala confirmed.”

To confirm your attendance at the 19 June meeting, or for further information about the Gala, email wpmcgala@gmail.com

Telford students – building and supporting local community projects

As part of a new course development at Edinburgh’s Telford College, Career Option Joinery and Painting and Decorating students have been carrying out citizenship projects in the local community by carrying out work for charitable organisations. Recent projects have included building and designing bespoke units and cabinets to create a health information library at Pilton Community Health Project and refitting office space, creating storage and building additional worktops to create an area for staff and clients to work together at Stepping Stones Project. The students have also built a fence at North Edinburgh Childcare to create a safe area for the children to play in. The work carried out by students has complemented their course work by providing learners with on the job experience and helping build key essential skills.

Feedback from projects has been extremely positive. Stepping Stones manager Marilyn Keilloh said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Emma, Colin and all the students who have done such great work for us in the last few weeks. Our new desk space and storage facilities will make a very real difference to how we work in the office. They have also been very accommodating, and have come up with some really innovative ideas to solve some of our space problems. As a small project with a very limited budget it has been a great help to us to get this work done. Also, we provide support services to very young parent families and pregnant teenagers so it is good that your students are able to help a project which supports people from their own age group. I would be really grateful if you could pass on my thanks from everyone here at Stepping Stones.”

The students themselves felt they gained new skills and experience by participating in the community projects. Dale Horribine, Career Option Joinery, said: “I think our class worked really well as part of a team in the projects. I would like to do more of these types of projects; it gives us the opportunity to gain new skills and to put our skills into practice in and around the community. It was the perfect work experience.”

Telford’s Head of Construction Sharon McCue-Livingstone fully supports the initiative within the department and now hopes that this can be extended to all areas of Construction within the college. “This is exactly the type of project that enhances what we believe is core to students’ experience, that of real working environment. My hope is to enhance and extend this activity as much as possible into all areas of Construction to provide essential employability skills for our students.”

Edinburgh’s Telford College are keen to become involved in more citizenship projects for charitable organisations in the future. If you think our students could work with your organisation please contact Keith Swann via keith.swann@ed-coll.ac.uk or Sharon McCue-Livingstone (Head) on sharon.mccue-livingstone@ed-coll.ac.uk