Five star Botanics

story1

It’s been wowing visitors for centuries, but the world-renowned Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is celebrating after being awarded five-star visitor attraction status by national tourism organisation VisitScotland. 

Established in 1670 and famed for its horticultural and scientific excellence, the Garden received VisitScotland’s highest grading award under its Quality Assurance Scheme.

The award marks only the second garden in Scotland to achieve such status with RBGE-run Dawyck Botanic Garden in Peeblesshire in possession of the other.

Everything from visitor welcome, signage, decor, menu, merchandise and cleanliness are judged and graded to give the final scoring.

Presenting the award to the RBGE’s Regius Keeper, Professor Stephen Blackmore, VisitScotland Chairman Mike Cantlay said: “The timing of this award could not be more fitting given the forthcoming launch of the Year of Natural Scotland on January 1. The Year of Natural Scotland is a chance to showcase Scotland’s unique natural environment and grow tourism spend in every corner of the country.

“The five star award denotes world-class status and is testament to the hard work by all staff and the ongoing investment that has made the Royal Botanic Garden what it is today. I would like to congratulate the team on a wonderful achievement.’’

Professor Blackmore said: “On behalf of everyone at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh I am delighted to accept this award from VisitScotland. We know how important visitor attractions and tourism are to the economy of Scotland, we know that expectations are always rising and we are glad we can provide a warm welcome and high level of service to our visitors”.

VisitScotland has operated Quality Assurance grading schemes since April 1995 and these are recognised worldwide. The scheme offers tourism operators an independent quality assurance award for visitor attractions, as well as many other sectors of the tourism industry.

Weight a minute …

Is losing weight your New Year resolution? Here are some faddy diets to avoid, courtesy of the British Dietetic Association: 

The BDA Announces the Results of its Annual Top 5 Worst Celebrity Diets to Avoid in the New Year

The annual and eagerly anticipated list of the 5 worst celebrity/fad diets to avoid in the New Year has been issued by the British Dietetic Association (BDA). When Christmas has come and gone, January signals a UK-wide dieting frenzy. People up and down the country will be scouring the internet, book shops and magazines searching for the magical quick fix, or even a long term solution to undo the damage of the festive season or to achieve their best body ever.

However, with so many diet books and celebrity-endorsed fitness DVDs on the market, it can be an absolute nightmare understanding who is giving good nutrition and diet advice and who, quite frankly, needs a good talking to!

The BDA has heard it all: the good, the bad, the weird and the whacky! The press office receives literally hundreds of calls from the media every year on this very subject. Here, in the opinion of the BDA, are the top 5 dodgy celeb diets to avoid in 2013.

 5. The 6 Weeks to OMG Diet (new entry)

Celebrity Fans: A-list celebrities, according to the diet’s author Venice A Fulton 

What’s it all about? 

To be the envy of all your friends you are told to exercise first thing in the morning after drinking black coffee, then sit in a cold bath to encourage the body to burn stored fat as it tries to keep warm and delay breakfast til 10am (which for most people would mean skipping breakfast). Fruit should be ditched, snacks are off limits and whilst your plate is loaded with protein, it doesn’t matter if carbs come from broccoli or cola.

BDA Verdict:  

OMG indeed! Six weeks of hell and isolation more like it. Seriously, who has the time, let alone the energy to follow this diet? Guilty of being selective with research rather than a balanced view many people’s routine could not accommodate this and a healthy breakfast and exercise should be encouraged to fit in. The ‘rules’ and competitive dieting element encourage extreme behaviour. Support from friends and family is an important part of weight loss as is taking a long term approach. And what about the other 46 weeks of the year?

4. Alcorexia / Drunkorexia Diet (last year number 2)

 Celebrity Fans: It is widely thought that many top models and other red carpet celebrities are fans of this diet.

What’s it all about? 

It’s when people eat very few calories during the day/week and ‘save’ all the calories they have not eaten then use them to binge drink alcohol.

For example, if you favour a VLC diet (very low calorie) to follow the Alcorexia Diet, you could be banking around 1,500 calories a day, which then gives you 10,500 calories to drink during the week. This amounts to:

  • 45      pints of lager (based on a single pint being around 230 kcals). With a      pint of lager being 2 units, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 90      units.
  • 201      shots of spirits (based on a single shot being around 52 kcals). With a      single shot of spirit being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake      of 201 units.
  • 52      alcopops (based on a single alcopop being around 200 kcals). With a single      alcopop being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 52 units.
  • 131      glasses of red wine, or 26 bottles (based on a glass of red being around      80 kcals). With a single glass being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly      alcohol intake of 131 units).

To put this in context, the safe weekly alcohol unit intake is 28 units for men and 21 units for women.

BDA Verdict:  

Don’t have a few too many! Following a VLC diet alone is madness, as you will most certainly not be getting the calories, vitamins and nutrients your body needs to survive and function. In addition, you will feel weak, tired, have no energy and could become very irritable. Alcohol has little nutrition other than calories. To avoid food in order to ‘bank’ your calories so you can go a use them on alcohol is absolutely stupid and could easily result in alcohol poisoning and even death.

3. ‘Party Girl’ IV Drip Diet (new entry)

Celebrity Fans: Rihanna and Simon Cowell are reportedly fans of this diet. 

What’s it all about? 

These kinds of IV drips were originally used to treat severely malnourished and clinically ill patients. However, people who are feeling run down are paying hundreds of pounds to have a bag of solution (usually around 250ml) injected, usually including vitamins B and C, magnesium and calcium.

BDA Verdict:

You must be a bit of a drip to do this. There is very little evidence that this even works in well people. Even if it did, as food and drink contains packages of nutrients then eating food and drinking water or other healthy drinks is preferable to having an IV drip inserted into your body? This also carries possible side effects to such as dizziness, infection, inflammation of veins and, ultimately, anaphylactic shock!

2. The KEN (Ketogenic Enteral Nutrition) Diet (new entry)

Celebrity Fans: It is widely thought that many top models and other celebrities are fans of this diet.

What’s it all about? 

The KEN involves eating absolutely nothing at all. Instead, for ten days per cycle a liquid formula is dripped directly into the stomach via a plastic tube that goes up the patient’s nose and is taped on to their face. At the other end of the tube is an electric pump, which works day and night to deliver two litres of the formula over 24 hours. While on the KEN, dieters can go about their lives as normal but must carry the pump and liquid in a bag or backpack and hang it by their bed at night. They are allowed to unhook themselves from the pump for one hour a day and can drink water, tea, coffee (with no milk, sugar or sweeteners) or sugar-free herb teas with the tube in. 

BDA Verdict: 

You KEN not be serious! It is shocking that people are electing to have naso-gastric (NG) tubes inserted in order to lose weight, usually reserved to sick or chronically ill people. Not only that but one of the side effects is having to take laxatives because this diet provides absolutely no fibre! Nice touch!

1. Dukan Diet (last year number 1)

 Celebrity Fans: Carole Middleton, Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about? 

A complicated four-phase diet that starts off with a ‘no carb/protein only’ approach that promotes rapid weight loss.

BDA Verdict:  

Dukan not sustain this! There is little solid science behind this. The diet works on restricting foods, calories and portion control. Cutting out food groups is not advisable. This diet is so confusing, time consuming, very rigid and, in our opinion, so very hard to sustain. Even ex Dr (as of 2012) Dukan himself warns of the associated problems like lack of energy, constipation and bad breath. That sounds lovely!

Speaking about these and other fad diets, Sian Porter, consultant dietician and Spokesperson for the BDA, said:

“As much as we all would love it to be the case, there is no magic solution to losing weight and keeping it off long term. There is no wonder diet you can follow without some associated nutritional or health risk and most are offering a short-term fix to a long term problem. It may be obvious, but if you want to lose weight you need to make healthier choices, eat a nutritionally balanced and varied diet with appropriately sized portions, and be physically active. In a nutshell the solution for most is to, eat fewer calories, make better choices and move a bit more!

“On a serious note, glamorous images of celebrities saturate our daily media in all forms. These celebs have an army of people to help them to keep looking good, which is essential to their livelihood and plenty of money to do whatever they think it takes. You need to remember too, a lot of these images are airbrushed and retouched to give celebrities an unachievable body image that does not exist in real life, yet many aspire to. Some people look at these images and will try anything they think will help them achieve the ‘perfect’ body. If you have some weight you need to lose, then do it in a healthy, enjoyable and sustainable way. In the long term this will achieve the results you are after.”

For more information and tips about healthy weight loss, please visit www.bdaweightwise.com.

 

The NEN year in pictures, Part Three: September – December

Muirhouse Housing Association celebrate milestone anniversary
Muirhouse Housing Association celebrate milestone anniversary
The Muirhouse Million Steps challenge took place in September
The Muirhouse Million Steps challenge took place in September
More sport - Hearts beat The Spartans on penalties at Ainslie Park
Hearts beat The Spartans on penalties at Ainslie Park
The NEN's NENgage social media sessions proved to be very popular
The NEN’s NENgage social media sessions proved to be very popular
The Barclays Premiership trophy visited North Edinburgh in September
The Barclays Premiership trophy visited North Edinburgh in September
Another packed SoS meeting in Lifecare House
Another packed SoS meeting in Lifecare House
Local dads take 'In Dad's Shoes' exhibition to Holyrood
Local dads take ‘In Dad’s Shoes’ exhibition to Holyrood
Broughton High School's Septemberfest was a big success
Broughton High School’s Septemberfest was a big success
Rugby star Chris Paterson opened PYCP's new dance studio in September
Rugby star Chris Paterson opened PYCP’s new dance studio in September
1st October - and Edinburgh's Telford College becomes Edinburgh College Granton Campus
1st October – and Edinburgh’s Telford College becomes Edinburgh College Granton Campus
Library Link celebration at Muirhouse Library, the place it all began
Library Link celebration at Muirhouse Library, the place it all began
North Edinburgh's Timebank Temptations find their voice at an October launch event
North Edinburgh’s Timebank Temptations find their voice at an October launch event
Confirmation came that LEAP was to lose it's Stockbridge home
Confirmation came that LEAP was to lose it’s Stockbridge home
Sister Anne said her farewells to North Edinburgh
Sister Anne said her farewells to North Edinburgh
North Edinburgh Young Peoples Forum launch The Matter, their own newspaper!
North Edinburgh Young Peoples Forum launch The Matter, their own newspaper!
Dads Rock opens at The Prentice Centre
Dads Rock opens at The Prentice Centre
Rubbish protest gets dirty in West Pilton!
Rubbish protest gets dirty in West Pilton!
Borja Prada Garcia's 'Welcome to Muirhouse' exhibition opened in November
Borja Prada Garcia’s ‘Welcome to Muirhouse’ exhibition opened in November
Craigroyston High School celebrated the culmination of a writing project with top author
Craigroyston High School celebrated the culmination of a writing project with top author
Top chef Tom Kitchin backed the Fresh Start Cooker for Christmas initiative
Top chef Tom Kitchin backed the Fresh Start Cooker for Christmas initiative
A special birthday celebration for Rowanfield School
A special birthday celebration for Rowanfield School
Talking all things transport at Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership's community conference in Broughton High School
Talking all things transport at Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s community conference in Broughton High School
Granton Youth Centre celebrate their tenth birthday with a civic repection at the City Chambers
Granton Youth Centre celebrate their tenth birthday with a civic repection at the City Chambers
Another top author visits North Edinburgh
Another top author visits North Edinburgh
The Yard is transformed with help from BBC's DIY SOS team and Pudsey Bear!
The Yard is transformed with help from BBC’s DIY SOS team and Pudsey Bear!
Serious faces at December's Anti-Poverty Conference at Craigroyston High School. The event wsa organised by North Edinburgh Fights Back.
Serious faces at December’s Anti-Poverty Conference at Craigroyston High School. The event wsa organised by North Edinburgh Fights Back.
It's a Quangle Wangle Chrsitmas at North Edinburgh Arts!
It’s a Quangle Wangle Christmas at North Edinburgh Arts!
Acrobatics at Broughton High School's Gymfest
Acrobatics at Broughton High School’s Gymfest
Open for business! Pennywell Pork Butcher is reopened as a temporary community resource by the Muirhouse Link Up project
Open for business! Pennywell Pork Butcher is reopened as a temporary community resource by the Muirhouse Link Up project …
... and not a sausage in sight!
… and not a sausage in sight!
A well-deserved MOVE award for Oaklands
A well-deserved MOVE award for Oaklands

 

The Botanics' tallest tree is lit up for Christmas
The Botanics’ tallest tree is lit up for Christmas

2012 was quite a year – I wonder what 2013 will bring?

The NEN year in pictures – Part Two (May – August)

West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre's new food co-op opened in May
West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre’s new food co-op opened in May
Gavin Hastings hosted a final Open Day at Royal Victoria Hospital
Gavin Hastings hosted a final Open Day at Royal Victoria Hospital
There was some Cup Final or other ...
There was some Cup Final or other …
Labour and SNP formed a coalition to run Edinburgh following the May elections
Labour and SNP formed a coalition to run Edinburgh following the May elections
Weather was fine for Blackhall Sports Day in June
Weather was fine for Blackhall Sports Day in June
Jubilee celebrations at Stockbridge Colonies
Jubilee celebrations at Stockbridge Colonies
Granton Primary School wrote, produced and staged their own musical - and it was great!
Granton Primary School wrote, produced and staged their own musical – and it was great!
The weather's taking a turn for the worse ... a decidely dreich D Mains Gala parade
The weather’s taking a turn for the worse … a decidely dreich D Mains Gala parade
Talking about the Total Craigroyston initiative at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
Talking about the Total Craigroyston initiative at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
Muirhouse Library birthday celebrations in June
Muirhouse Library birthday celebrations in June
July - and the wettest summer on record ...
July – and the wettest summer on record …

jul3

Packed public meeting in Lifecare House to discuss Edinburgh Accies plans to redevelop their ground
Packed public meeting in Lifecare House to discuss Edinburgh Accies plans to redevelop their ground
Muirhouse Women's Group win top award during Adult Learners Week
Muirhouse Women’s Group win top award during Adult Learners Week

 

The welcome return of the West Pilton Gala in August
The welcome return of the West Pilton Gala in August
Members vote to close CORE, (formerly BCDP) one of North Edinburgh's long-established community projects
Members vote to close CORE, (formerly BCDP) one of North Edinburgh’s long-established community projects
Malcolm Chisholm MSP received the Laidlaw Rose Bowl at Pilton Central Association's AGM
Malcolm Chisholm MSP received the Laidlaw Rose Bowl at Pilton Central Association’s AGM

The NEN year in pictures – Part One

Some highlights, lowlights and memorable moments from  January to April:

Lord Provost opens refurbished Fresh Start
Lord Provost opens refurbished Fresh Start
Owners of the Raeburn House hotel sought community support for redevelopment. They got it - work begins soon.
Owners of the Raeburn House hotel sought community support for redevelopment. They got it – work begins soon.
The NEN print ediiton relaunched in February. Royston Wardieburn Community Centre reopening was the front page story
The NEN print ediiton relaunched in February. Royston Wardieburn Community Centre reopening was the front page story
Demolition of Pennywell continued, but February also saw the launch of the Muirhouse Centipede Project
Demolition of Pennywell continued, but February also saw the launch of the Muirhouse Centipede Project
March saw the launch of Forthview Primary's brilliant Pathways to Pilton project
March saw the launch of Forthview Primary’s brilliant Pathways to Pilton project

 

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland visited Muirhouse St Andrew's
The Moderator of the Church of Scotland visited Muirhouse St Andrew’s

 

Graduation day at Craigroyston Primary School!
Graduation day at Craigroyston Primary School!
North Edinburgh's Yummy Food Festival was held at North Edinburgh Arts in March
North Edinburgh’s Yummy Food Festival was held at North Edinburgh Arts in March
Craigroyston Primary's annual art exhibition was held in March - in a Stockbridge art gallery!
Craigroyston Primary’s annual art exhibition was held in March – in a Stockbridge art gallery!
Pilton Community Health Project held a successful Open Day in March
Pilton Community Health Project held a successful Open Day in March
Easter Drylaw residents launched their speed awareness campaign in April
Easter Drylaw residents launched their speed awareness campaign in April
With local government elections looming, hustings were organised - some better attended than others!
With local government elections looming, hustings were organised – some better attended than others!
Local project Community Employability closed down in April
Local project Community Employability closed down in April
Scott Hastings opened new fitness circuit in Inverleith Park
Scott Hastings opened new fitness circuit in Inverleith Park
Drylaw's Ian Moore  received the Thomas Tierney Award at an April presentation
Drylaw’s Ian Moore received the Thomas Tierney Award at an April presentation

 

May – August to follow soon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEN: That was the year that was

There were 956 new posts in 2012

Our busiest day was 16 January with 2220 views

In 2012 our site has been visited by readers from 108 countries!

Month by Month:

January 5055 (January 2011 – 77)

February 881 (754)

March 1092 (343)

April 2730 (294)

May 4118 (1378)

June 5043 (322)

July 9391 (296)

August 8343 (307)

September 10307 (666)

October 10381 (2262)

November 10496 (901) – our best ever month

December 5736 (1374)

Our most-read stories in 2012 were:

1. Seventy-Five year old woman mugged in Drylaw (pictured below)

2. Police appeal for witnesses o Pilrig Park attack

3. Carnage following high winds

4. Welcome to Muirhouse photographic project and exhibition

5. Fire destroys Hanover Street travel agent

6. Billy Anderson obituary

7. Edinburgh College announces First Principal

8. Body discovered on Silverknowes beach

9. Size DOES matter sy Stockbridge campaigners (Save Our Stockbridge)

10. Mosque fire under investigation

A Happy, Healthy and Peaceful 2013 to all our readers

Attack victim Evelyn Crawford has made a full recovery
Attack victim Evelyn Crawford has made a full recovery

Resolve to give the gift of life

Scots are being urged to make it their New Year’s resolution to become a organ donor. The Scottish Government is calling on more Scots to join the NHS Organ Donor Register in 2013 to build on the milestone of having 40 per cent of Scots on the Register – the highest percentage in the UK.

The call is backed by transplant patient Kirsten Harrold, aged 43, from Portobello.

Kirsten was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age 16 but a New Year’s gift of a transplant on January 1, 1990 not only give her back her life, but allowed her to go on to be a mum of four healthy kids.

Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said: “I don’t think there is a better New Year’s resolution than to become a potential life saver by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register.

“We know the festive season is an important time for people to spend with family and friends, but I’d like people to spare a thought for the Scots who are waiting for an organ,  hoping that they get to spend another Christmas with their families and loved ones.

“For them, the most admirable New Year’s resolution would be for more people to join the NHS Organ Donor Register. Stories like Kirsten’s show the incredible impact organ donation can have on not just one person, but a whole family. Simply letting your loved ones know your wishes about organ donation could make all the difference to those desperately waiting.“

Since receiving her kidney transplant, Kirsten has had normal kidney function and is leading a full and busy life, raising her children Peter, 13, Matthew, 8 and twin girls Charis and Gracie, aged five.

Explaining how her illness affected her from a young age, Kirsten explained, “I was unwell for a while before I was diagnosed, feeling really tired, fainting regularly and suffering from headaches. I’d been back and forward to the GP, but by the time I reached 16, I weighed around five stone and was really ill. After having bloods taken, I was admitted to hospital immediately.”

Kirsten suffer from kidney failure as a result of a condition which meant she couldn’t keep salts or minerals in her body. The fainting was due to dehydration and Kirsten spent the week in hospital where she was stabilised, put on medication and told to maintain a low protein diet.

Kirsten said, “Although I looked after myself, when I was around 18, the medication wasn’t enough and I was put on dialysis.  Because I was so young, I was quite naïve about it all and didn’t realise what being on dialysis meant, or how serious it was. At this time I was also assessed for going on the transplant list.”

Visiting the hospital three times a week, for up to two and a half hours of dialysis per session, Kirsten’s condition started to take its toll, “I was on dialysis for around 18 months which had huge implications for my family as my dad had to take me to and from the hospital.  As a dialysis patient I was quite well, but compared to any normal 18 year old, I was really pretty ill.”

The call to say a suitable kidney had been found came on Hogmanay in 1989 whilst Kirsten, aged 20, was celebrating the turn of the year with friends. Twenty four hours later, on the first of January, Kirsten’s life had been changed forever.

She explained, “Everything went really well with the transplant and my recovery.  It was amazing, I didn’t know how ill I was until I felt better.”

In the July of that year, Kirsten met her partner Pete and as the years passed the pair started to look to the future and the possibility of kids.

“Having a child wasn’t a decision we took lightly. By my late twenties, my transplant was well established and there were no problems, but obviously due to the medication I was on and the pressure a pregnancy would put on my body, it takes a bit of thinking through.”

Kirsten attended pre-pregnancy counselling where she found out more about the risks and what would happen with her medication if she became pregnant.

After a textbook pregnancy, Peter was born by caesarean section and Matthew, Kirsten’s second son was born four years later.

As Kirsten’s experience of pregnancy had been so positive, and she was keeping well with healthy creatinine levels, they decided to try for a third baby – and got the news it was twins.  They welcomed identical twin girls Charis and Gracie into the world in August 2007.

“Being a mum and being able to do all the mum things like breastfeeding was amazing.”

Almost twenty three years on from her transplant, Kirsten is under no illusion that she wouldn’t be enjoying the life she has if it wasn’t for the decision made by her donor and is still so grateful.

She said, “What do you say to someone that has made that decision? It’s not just my life it has changed, it changed the lives of my family and gave me the chance to have a family of my own.  If I’d still been on dialysis, I wouldn’t have been able to sustain four pregnancies or be fit and well to raise small children.

“My transplant allowed me to make decisions and choices that everyone else takes for granted, such as working full-time and having kids. We’re a really active family and my kids wouldn’t be leading the full lives they have if it wasn’t for my transplant and my excellent kidney function.

“It’s not just the recipient that benefits from the NHS Organ Donor Register, it’s everyone around them which is why it’s so important that people sign up to help those waiting. I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to have this life and my family. I always will be.”

Scotland reached the milestone of having 40 per cent of the population on Register earlier this year.

In Scotland, there are around 600 people needing a life-saving transplant.

In October this year, the Scottish Government launched a campaign designed to get people talking about organ donation, to make their wishes known to their loved ones and to join the Register.

Join the NHS Organ Donor Register by visiting the Organ Donation Scotland website.