Quangle Wangle brings Christmas magic to North Edinburgh Arts

Licketyspit and North Edinburgh Arts will be presenting Licketyspit’s acclaimed Christmas production

The Christmas Quangle Wangle

at North Edinburgh Arts

from Thursday 6 – Saturday 15 December

The Christmas Quangle Wangle is a hilarious, musical adventure for families, friends, schools and nurseries, inspired by the poems and stories of Edward Lear. It is presented at North Edinburgh Arts by its newly appointed Theatre Company in Residence, Licketyspit. The production is written by Virginia Radcliffe and developed in collaboration with Johnny Austin.

“On top of the Crumpetty Tree, the Quangle Wangle sat………”

Stella and Stan are waiting for Christmas. They find a mysterious parcel which leads them to the Quangle Wangle, sad and alone in his Crumpetty Tree. But the arrival of an array of colourful characters changes his and their lives forever.

Join Stella and Stan on their adventure and spend this Christmas at North Edinburgh Arts on the Quangle Wangle’s Hat with the Orient Calf from the Land of Tute, the Dong With the Luminous Nose and the Jumblies as they sail to sea in a sieve! Children will delight in this nonsensical world of make-believe and storytelling, limericks and madcap songs. The Christmas Quangle Wangle is the perfect festive introduction to theatre for younger audiences, from ages three upwards and their grown-ups.

Stella and Stan are played by Scott Fletcher and Ashley Smith, rising young performers in Scottish theatre. Scott is best known for his role as Charlie Smith in Gary: Tank Commander and his many theatre roles include performances in Black Watch for National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Lyceum’s production of Peter Pan.

Ashley has worked extensively in Scottish theatre since graduating from RSAMD and appearances include Sex and God, Magnetic North; Magic Spaghetti for Licketyspit; 27 for National Theatre of Scotland and Hansel and Gretel with Catherine Wheels.

These performances celebrate the development of a new partnership for North Edinburgh Arts and Licketyspit. North Edinburgh Arts is establishing Licketyspit Theatre Company as Theatre in Residence, supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland, to specifically engage and to further develop an Early Years and families audience. North Edinburgh Arts received £50,000 from Creative Scotland’s Public Engagement programme to establish Licketyspit Theatre Company as Theatre in Residence.

Laura Mackenzie-Stuart, Portfolio Manager for Theatre at Creative Scotland, said; ‘We are delighted to have invested in The Christmas Quangle Wangle. We hope the magical experience of going to the theatre will spark a lifelong passion for theatre in younger audiences and their grown-ups.’

North Edinburgh Arts and Licketyspit are excited to be presenting The Christmas Quangle Wangle during 2012, the bicentenary of the birth of Edward Lear.

Crumpetty Tea and Orient Calf Noodles will be available in the North Edinburgh Arts Café where children can make Quangle and Jumblie pop-ups and draw Quangle Wangle’s Hat for a North Edinburgh Arts and Licketyspit exhibition.

The Christmas Quangle Wangle is written by Virginia Radcliffe, around Edward Lear’s poems, and developed in collaboration with Johnny Austin. The production is directed by Johnny Austin; design is developed from the original Catherine Lindow design by Ali Maclaurin; music is by Tim Brinkhurst & Virginia Radcliffe.

“Quangle Wangle…captures its audience’s fiery imagination… a pyrotechnic telling of Lear’s poems” – The Stage, 2004 production

LISTINGS:

Licketyspit and North Edinburgh Arts present

The Christmas Quangle Wangle

North Edinburgh Arts, 15a Pennywell Court, Edinburgh EH4 4TZ

Thursday 6 – Saturday 15 December 2012

Monday – Friday: 10am and 1pm; Saturdays: 10.30am & 1.30pm

Tickets: Forth Ward Residents £2, all other tickets £6.

Box office: 0131 315 2151

www.northedinburgharts.co.uk

Quangle Wangle was first produced by Virginia Radcliffe for the Wee Stories Early Years Project in 2003 and again for Licketyspit for Christmas at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre in 2004 directed by Matthew Zajac. It was also produced for Derby Live for Christmas 2009 with a new design by Ali Maclaurin. It was first created in collaboration with Johnny Austin and designed by Catherine Lindow with original Music by Tim Brinkhurst.

The Yard is primetime TV tonight

Don’t miss the live broadcast of BBC’s DIY SOS The Big Build at 8pm tonight – the hour-long DIY SOS special in support of BBC Children in Need features The Yard, the Eyre Place Lane adventure playground for children and young people with additional support needs.

The BBC intro says: ‘Emotions run high as Nick Knowles and the team enlist local tradespeople to come to the aid of a centre in Edinburgh for children with additional needs.

‘The Yard is a unique indoor and outdoor centre that helps 1,500 young people and their families each week. They provide a space where families can gain much-needed respite while their children make friends, develop their confidence and learn vital life skills.

Children in Need provides support, but the Yard is housed in a building that is in desperate need of a complete overhaul. There are just ten days to complete the build and make sure these children get the future they so richly deserve.’

Did the team complete the challenge? We’ll find out tonight, but The Yard’s Chief Executive Celine Sinclair said:

“The programme will highlight the highs and lows that went into transforming The Yard into the spectacular space it has become, as well as focussing on the importance of The Yard as a place to play for children and young people with additional support needs. So if you haven’t managed to visit us since the Big Build, don’t miss tonight’s programme and be sure to visit soon – you will be as amazed by the transformation! Once again I would like to say a huge thank you to all the parents and families, Nick Knowles and his team and all the tradespeople involved in the build.”

For further information about The Yard visit their website at www.theyardscotland.org.uk

To donate £5 to CiN, text DIYSOS to 70705. Text messages will cost five pounds plus your standard network charge, and five pounds will go to Children in Need. For full terms and conditions visit bbc.co.uk/pudsey.

Murder in Blackhall!

Blackhall St Columba’s Parish Church is the place to be for murder mystery fans this month when the St Columba’s Dramatic Society performs ‘Curtain Up On Murder’ from 21 – 23 November.

Tickets are now on sale for the comedy murder mystery, which is set in a theatre at the end of a pier.

Performances are on Wednesday 21, Thursday 22 and Friday 23 November at 7.30pm, doors open at 7pm.

Tickets, which cost £6, are available from the Church Office, cast and Drama group members and also on the internet from their website www.scds.co.uk

Lottery cash extends financial inclusion project

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) is one of five Edinburgh housing associations to benefit from Big Lottery Funding to continue the Financial Inclusion Project (FIP) until 2017.

FIP is a partnership project between Port of Leith, Castle Rock Edinvar, Dunedin Canmore, Hillcrest and Margaret Blackwood housing associations and the Edinburgh Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The programme, which enables the CAB to second money advice staff to the housing associations to provide financial and debt management advice, was established in January 2007.

Fiona Neilson runs the programme at PoLHA. Last year she helped over 130 tenants bringing them almost £75,000 of additional income. She said: “It is fantastic that funding has been secured to continue with this programme which has already helped hundreds of Edinburgh families manage their finances and bring a positive change in their lives. The project will now be funded until it celebrates its milestone tenth birthday – this shows what a success it has been and we are confident will continue to be.”

PoLHA, which has over 3000 tenants in North Edinburgh, also works with energy charity Changeworks to help tenants manage energy costs and efficiency, as well as a number of other support services.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive at PoLHA, said: “This programme has been a major success and I am delighted this can now continue for a further four years. The changes effective money management can bring to families will help to ease pressure and worry and build confidence and skills.”

Erin McNeill will walk Challenge Scotland for The Fire Fighters Charity

Erin McNeill will walk Challenge Scotland for The Fire Fighters Charity.

via Erin McNeill will walk Challenge Scotland for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Edinburgh goes Dutch for cycling lessons!

bikes — BIKES but this is Bruges not Broughton …

Edinburgh must look to the Netherlands for inspiration in meeting its goal of boosting cycling rates, city council cycling leader Councillor Jim Orr told delegates at the annual Cycling Scotland Conference today.

The event at the COSLA Conference Centre in Haymarket was hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in collaboration with Cycling Scotland, Royal HaskoningDHV, Cycle Nation, Sustrans and the Dutch Cycling Embassy.

Cllr Orr, who is Vice Convener of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Transport and Environment Committee, delivered the opening address to delegates.

He said: “The catchphrase for this year’s conference is “Love cycling, go Dutch” and, like me, I’m sure all those from Scotland are looking forward to learning how our Dutch colleagues have succeeded in building high cycling levels in that country and working out how we can follow suit here.”

Cllr Orr outlined Edinburgh’s ambition of having 15% of all journeys to work being made by bicycle by 2020 – up from the current level of around six per cent, and he acknowledged the positive publicity for cycling generated by Edinburgh Olympian Sir Chris Hoy and Tour de France victor Bradley Wiggins.

He went on to say that Edinburgh’s budget commitment for cycling is currently five per cent of the transport budget, but added that there is still plenty of work to be done if Edinburgh is to emulate the Dutch model.

“Transport culture is still dominated by the private car and the local bus company, and the majority of people don’t yet feel it’s safe to cycle on our streets. I’ve only been involved in cycling policy for six months and I know how complicated it can be. But personally I am an optimist and confident about our chances of meeting our targets for 15% of journeys to work by bike in eight years’ time.”

Who cares? North Edinburgh Arts to host carers event

The Edinburgh Carers Team is hosting a series of events for carers across the city to review the service – and one of the ‘Carers Supporting Carers’ events will be held at North Edinburgh Arts next week.

The City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Community Health Partnership is reviewing the joint strategic action plan on support for carers, and they want to know what carers think:

‘Towards 2012′ was the joint strategic action plan for Edinburgh from 2007 – 2012. Has it made a difference to the lives of carers?

What should the priorities for carer support be for the next five years?

These events are one way to feed in your views, and are also part of a project to develop ways for carers to get more involved in planning the types of carer support that will be provided in the future. Come along to find out more.

The events offer the opportunity to:

Meet others who are carers for a relative or friend
Come for tea, cake and complementary therapies
Share your ideas and thoughts about services for carers
Hear ways for carers to shape services
Find out what support there is for carers in Edinburgh.

The local event takes place at North Edinburgh Arts Centre

on Friday 23 November from 2 – 4pm.

To book your place or to find out more contact:

Nina Anker Petersen, Outside the Box, Unit 23, 150 Brand St, Glasgow G51 1DH

Tel: 0141 419 0451 Email: nina@otbds.org

flyer for carers events november 2012

Community councillors needed

The decision to postpone community council elections this year is causing problems for some local community councils. Drylaw Telford and West Granton West Pilton Community Councils are just two who are looking to co-opt new blood to fill gaps until new community councils are formed at elections next year.

Alex Dale, chair of Drylaw Telford CC, said: “Our particular problem is that we only had one member who lives in the Telford area, and she no longer attends our monthly meetings. Telford has it’s own problems – inconsiderate parking is a big issue there – and it would be good if our community council had some ‘local knowledge’ of what’s going on there, from someone who actually lives in Telford. Our community council has some vacancies so we’re looking to co-opt a member from Telford to fill a gap that really needs to be filled before next year’s elections – Telford is not being adequately represented on our community council and we want to put that right as soon as we can”.

If you are interested in becoming a member of Drylaw Telford Community Council – the group meets on the last Wednesday of the month in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre – or you’d like to find out more, email chairman Alex Dale at alex.dale@blueyonder.co.uk

West Granton West Pilton Community Council has also found it difficult to retain active members, and they’re on the lookout for new volunteers too. A spokesperson said: “There was some initial enthusiasm when our community council was first established but interested waned very quickly and we’ve had problems almost ever since. We recently had leaflets printed and delivered across the area to encourage residents to get involved but the response has been disappointing. We’ll plod on, but we could really use enthusiastic new members – realistically, we’re not expecting a mad rush, though. Community councils have not caught the imagination here.”

If you’re interested in getting involved in West Pilton West Granton Community Council call West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on 551 3194 or the Prentice Centre on 552 0485, leave your details and the community council will contact you.

Edinburgh’s community council elections should have been taking place around now but the city council decided to delay the elections until October 2013.

What can be done to make community councils more relevant?

Do you attend your local community council meeting – are they just talking shops or do they get things done in your area?

Let us know!

Shipshape initiative targets litter in Leith

A community project to improve the appearance of Leith’s streets got underway today. Shipshape Leith is a three-week initiative organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and Lothian and Borders Police following consultation with local residents and businesses.

The initiative will see graffiti, stickers, posters and cable ties being removed from bins, lamp posts, street signs, bus stops, post boxes and telephone boxes. Streets being targeted are Leith Walk, Easter Road, Bonnington Road, Broughton Street, Duke Street, Newhaven Place to Salamander Street, North Junction Street, Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.

Local residents can play their part too – as part of the initiative a Volunteer Day has been organised for this Friday (16 November) in Constitution Street which will involve residents and representatives from the business community joining council staff and police in a clean up.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener, said: “The community spirit on display in Leith shows what can be achieved when everyone comes together with a common goal. At the end of the day the winners from this initiative are going to be those people who live and work in the area. No one likes seeing their streets looking untidy so I am sure the work planned over the coming weeks will have a positive impact. It is something everyone can take immense satisfaction and pride from. One of our key partnership commitments of the Capital Coalition is to maintain and improve the quality of life in Edinburgh and Shipshape Leith is a fine example of this in action.”

Sergeant Gordon Duff, from Lothian and Borders Police, said: “This initiative is a fantastic example of just some of the joint working that is being undertaken around the Kirkgate and Great Junction Street areas of Leith. Lothian and Borders Police is committed to identifying young people who are carrying out antisocial behaviour in the area, working with partners to address their behaviour and use solutions such as diversionary activities to ensure a long-term and sustainable change.”

Anyone wanting to take part in the Shipshape Leith Volunteer Day in Constitution Street should meet at the Kirkgate Victoria Monument at 9.30am on Friday 16 November.

People taking part in the three-week initiative include Council staff from various departments, the Leith Police Safer Neighbourhood Team and Community Payback offenders.