Happy birthday, Drylaw!

Drylaw Parish Church will be holding a special 60th anniversary service on Sunday (13 May) at 11am. All welcome.

WIG to tackle housing issues at public meeting

Women’s International Group (WIG) is holding a public meeting to discuss housing issues next Thursday evening (17 May) at 6.15pm in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. All welcome.

A spokesperson for WIG said: “A number of housing officials, local councillors and reps from the Tenants Federation will be in attendance to respond to questions/issues from the floor. One of the aims of the meeting is to raise awareness about some of the changes which are going to affect local people currently claiming benefits (e.g. the bedroom tax/under occupancy penalty which will result in any working household with an extra bedroom losing part of their housing benefit; and the benefit cap which will be deducted via people’s housing benefit and universal credit. These are important issues and we hope to see a lot of people attend the meeting”.

The Women’s International Group (WIG) was established at a succesful event organised to celebrate International Women’s Day in March (pictured below).

Grassroots Gala gathers pace

There’s a lot to be done, but organisers of this summer’s Community Fun Day at West Pilton Park remain on-course to make it a day to remember.

Group member Sean Gardiner told NEN: “We have now submitted all our applications for funding, the park and the neighbourhood centre and we are still recruiting volunteers. We’re also looking for traders to book stalls and we ask anyone who wishes to contact us to use wpmcgala@gmail.com. We are also still looking for any pictures taken by the public of previous gala days.”

You can keep up to date with the group’s activities through their website at www.westpiltonandmuirhousegala.co.uk

Food for Thought …

Pilton Community Health Project’s ANITA AGGARWAL tells us about North Edinburgh’s new food forum … and rhubarb!

‘Food for thought’ – Pilton’s community food forum

It’s a winner of a name and an idea that is starting to bear fruit. The newly established community food forum is now called ‘food for thought’. John Muir, who works at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, won the competition to name the group and a shiny new recipe book. We had plenty of other good entries, we thought this one summed up our ideas best.

Lots of people have told us they are interested in food and either want the chance to get involved with food projects or are already involved. The food forum aims to link up work which is already going on and work together to make more ‘foody’ things happen in the area.

At the next meeting we will be planning food events in the summer. Come along if you are interested in getting involved. It will take place on Thursday 24 May at 10am at Pilton Community Health Project. Call Anita on 0131 551 1671 for more information or to book a crèche space.

Watch out for more information from the food for thought forum.

Food things for you to get involved with:

Mondays for 6 weeks from 1 May 7 – 9pm Mexican Cooking course Craigroyston High School 538 7285

Every Tuesday, 10 -12 Barri Grubb’s cooking club Pilton Community Health Project 551 1671

Every Tuesday, 10.30 Granton Community Gardeners Meet at Salvation Army. gardengranton@gmail.com

Every Tuesday, 10 – 12 Food co-op West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre 551 3194

Everyday:

Food blog Drylaw cooking group http://drylawcookinggroup.wordpress.com/

Community Cafes – North Edinburgh Arts, Royston Wardieburn and Muirhouse Millennium Centre.

Rhubarb Recipe

We have still got a way to go before there are lots of good fruit and vegetables growing in Scotland, but I have a friend who lives in Granton who is eating rhubarb from his garden already, so here is a lovely rhubarb recipe from the Love food, hate waste Scotland website http://scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Rhubarb, Apple and Orange Compote

Serve this compote for a delicious breakfast with yoghurt and a bowl of muesli. This recipe also works well with pears instead of apples. Recipe author: Caroline Marson, Banbury.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

250g rhubarb, sliced
1-2 apples peeled , cored and bruises cut away, cut into cubes
50ml orange juice
25g caster sugar
Yoghurt

Method:

Combine the rhubarb, apples, orange juice and sugar in a pan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes or until fruit is tender.
Remove from heat and cool. Serve spooned over muesli with fruit juice and yogurt.

Gardening tips – Rhubarb grows like a weed in Scotland; you don’t even need to look after it and it is happy in a shady corner.

Healthy fact – It’s a great source of fibre, but don’t eat too much as it acts as a laxative!

Strange but true Rhubarb is the only vegetable used as a fruit.

Stroll up for Saturday football coaching

Civil Service Strollers are running football training sessions for youngsters on Saturday mornings at their Telford College Playing Fields home on Marine Drive.

Operating in partnership with Play2learn Sports Coaching, Diamond Football is fast-flowing four-a-side football game that ensures young players get more touches, develops positional awareness and improves first-touch skills – and most important, it’s fun to play!

Sessions are held for children (boys and girls both welcome) born in 2005 or 2006 from 9.30am and it’s a 10.30am start for children born in 2007 and 2008.

Each player receives quality coaching, chances to win medals and prizes and can have a lot of fun too. For further information call Shane at Play2Learn on 07952 147 577, email Shane@Play2Learn.info

Gavin Hastings to open closing hospital's open day!

Last chance to visit the old Royal Victoria Hospital

Scots rugby legend Gavin Hastings will kick off an open day at the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) on Craigleith Road tomorrow. Saturday’s event has been organised to celebrate the history of the landmark hospital which has provided healthcare services to the local community for over 128 years.

Saturday’s event takes place before services at the hospital are relocated to the new Royal Victoria Building at the Western General and will be a chance for the local community to bid a fond farewell.

The RVH, established in 1894 by Sir Robert William Philip, was originally created as a tuberculosis sanatorium before it evolved into a care of the elderly hospital. A special display of memorabilia and photographs taken throughout the ages will take centre stage during the day, along with attractions including a magician, bouncy castle, tombola with prizes and even a falconry display.

The event takes place on Saturday from 10 – 4pm, with the official opening by Gavin Hastings at midday.

Gavin, who won 61 Scottish caps during an outstanding rugby career, said: “The Royal Victoria Hospital has held a special place in the hearts of the local community for a long time. Being part of this community myself, it is a great opportunity for me to get involved and I would encourage everyone to come and celebrate the history of this landmark hospital.”

The new Royal Victoria Building, built nearby on the Western General Hospital site, has been designed to provide the highest quality healthcare services in a modern setting. It will become a new landmark in healthcare history when it opens, as the first of its kind in Scotland to have all the patient accommodation being single en-suite rooms.

Construction company Laing O’Rourke, who are responsible for the construction of the new Royal Victoria Building, will also provide a display for the open day to show the future of healthcare services for the elderly.

The new building was officially handed over to NHS Lothian last month and the first patients are expected to arrive in June. A second open day will be held to give local residents and interested groups an opportunity to see the facilities in the new Royal Victoria Building.

The Royal Victoria Hospital site will be put on the market this summer.

Gavin Hastings to open closing hospital’s open day!

Last chance to visit the old Royal Victoria Hospital

The event takes place on Saturday from 10 – 4pm, with the official opening by Gavin Hastings at midday.

The Royal Victoria Hospital site will be put on the market this summer.

Source – a healthy appetite for info at PCHP!

It’s been a hectic time at Pilton Community Heath Project (PCHP). Over the last few months the project has recruited a new coordinator, organised a successful Food Festival and then launched Source, an exciting new information room at their Boswall Parkway office, during an Open Day!

New coordinator Jen Richards (pictured below) took up her new post in March – one of her first tasks was handing out Yummy Food Festival flyers in the pouring rain in Pennywell Road, and it’s been full on ever since!

“There’s nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end!” she said. “The weather was awful that day but we were really delighted to see so many people attending the Food Festival – it really was a great success.”

Jen had previous experience at PCHP when she worked with the Barri Grubb project, so she knew what to expect when she returned to Pilton.

“It’s a small but very motivated team, and it’s sometimes a case of all hands to the pumps! Like everyone else we’d like to have more resources but we make sure that we make the most of what we have. PCHP has a proud history, a very good reputation and is well known in the local area and beyond. It’s great to be back in North Edinburgh, meeting up with former colleagues again and I’ll be making contact with a wide range of community groups and organisations in the weeks ahead. Yes, we’ll continue to face challenges but we have a dedicated and very committed team and I’m very excited about our future”.

Since the Yummy Food Festival, PCHP has gone on to open Source, a new community health information resource, during their Open Day on 29 March (the highlight of which was a cookery demonstration and tasting sessions with North Edinburgh’s own Yummy Mummies!)

PCHP senior project worker Anita Aggarwal said that the Source idea had come from local people themselves. She explained: “People who live locally told us that they want access to clear, accurate, information about health issues, and Source is our answer to this request. Source is our new health information resource, where our friendly volunteers can help you find information about health and community issues. We have a wide range of leaflets and books, as well as internet access to make sure you can get the information you need, and if we don’t have it ourselves, we know someone who does! We want local people to come in and check us out. It’s a great opportunity to get clued up and become confident about dealing with health issues.”

The new Source room is a really welcoming and comfortable space, much appreciated by staff, volunteers and visitors. The room was created with the help and hard work of Edinburgh’s Telford College students (pictured). Emma Castle, Learner Development Tutor of Woodwork and Masonry Trades, said: “Our students thoroughly enjoyed their work at Pilton Community Health Project and got a lot out of it. We’d like to thank Mark Smith Glazing, who kindly donated the glass for the project, and we are all delighted that the resource is being enjoyed by the local community”.

Source is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to midday.