We wanted to share our latest news regarding Dads Rock Fife, our new South Edinburgh venue, 1st Birthday Party, and our short film. The film was made to show what Dads Rock is all about; please take a few moments out of your day to watch it and feel free to pass it on..
Neil Forbes, Scottish Chef of the Year 2011, met up with the women of PCHP’s Use Your Loaf group last week. The women are making bread and organising this years Yummy Food Festival on Friday 15 March. Neil will be there on the big day too, joining local people to do a cooking demonstration and workshops.
From Forthview’s superheroes to a French Spiderman … sacre bleu!
Edinburgh Leisure-managed Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA:Ratho) is preparing to welcome internationally renowned ‘French Spiderman’ Alain Robert on Friday (8 March) for an evening of stories from his career in urban climbing.
Having conquered many of the world’s tallest and most recognisable buildings without the use of safety equipment,Alain has been described as one of the greatest daredevils of all time.
In 2011, Alain completed the assisted ascent of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – the World’s Tallest Building at 828m/2717ft. During his career in urban climbing, the Frenchman has also climbed unassisted to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, Sears Tower in Chicago, the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, both Petronas Towers in Malaysia and One Canada Square in London’s Canary Wharf.
EIFFEL TOWER – done that!
On the 8 March, EICA:Ratho will host an evening with the legendary climber, during which Alain himself will tell stories from his incredible life of climbing. He is set to fascinate and amaze the audience through tales of fears and injuries he has had to overcome, and he will share photos and memories from some of his most famous climbs. There will also be a chance for the audience to ask Alain any questions they may have.
Marc Stalker, Events and Hospitality Supervisor at the EICA commented: “It truly is an honour to be able to welcome someone of Alain’s stature to the EICA, and it has been amazing for our centre to attract such a world-wide star. It will be a great night, and I’m sure everyone in the audience will leave amazed at some of the stories that Alain will tell!”
Alain’s spectacular career has been widely shared via social media, notching up several million views via video sharing site YouTube.
Tickets are available directly from the EICA Reception priced at £18 – either in person or by phoning 0131-333-6333. More information is available via www.eica-ratho.co.uk or by emailing events.eica@edinburghleisure.co.uk
It’s often a worry for parents when their wee ones make the step up to ‘big’ school, but even more so for the parents who choose to send their child to a school outside their catchment area. It’s not always possible to get a place at the school you’ve chosen for your child, and many face an anxious wait over the coming weeks …
The City of Edinburgh Council is warning parents who have applied for primary school places outwith their catchment that they may not be met due to the pressure of rising rolls.
A report to the Education, Children and Families Committee on Tuesday (5 March) will list the schools where placing requests may not be met.
The number of P1 registrations has increased by 3.5 per cent on last year to 4632 and the Council has received more than 700 placing requests so far for the next school year.
There has been a decrease in the number of these requests following a concerted campaign to encourage parents to learn more about their local catchment school and the benefits of their child attending there. This has led to a 15 per cent reduction on the number of requests received last year.
Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, said: “Parents who have submitted a placing request should be prepared for the fact that they may not get the place they were hoping for and recent experience has been that appeals are unlikely to be successful. However, their child will be registered with their local catchment school and will start next August alongside other local children.
“Historically, Edinburgh has had a high rate of placing requests when compared with other parts of Scotland. However, since I became Convener of Education I have met a number of parents who faced similar situations in the last few years. Happily, they report things have worked out and that their local catchment school is providing very well for their child. I would encourage all parents who are thinking about placing requests to reconsider their catchment school and perhaps pay it a visit, as it is becoming clear many requests will be refused this year.”
To help ensure there are enough places for catchment children, planning permission has now been received for extra classrooms at three city primary schools – Wardie, Trinity and Granton, all of which need of more classroom space due to the large number of registrations. These extensions will be in place by August, and a planning application for new classes at Victoria Primary is also being considered.
A working group made up of parent, officer and school representatives has been set up to look at the challenges facing city schools in light of rising rolls and an increase in population.
On 28 February Forthview Primary’s I-BIKE crew organised a Superhero Day as part of the The Big Pedal, a national competition to see which schools in the UK bring the most bikes and scooters to school.
There will be three Big Pedal days at Forthview, where the numbers of children, parents and staff bringing their bikes and scooters to school will be recorded. Superhero Day was the fantastic first day, and this will be followed by further Big Pedal days on Friiday 8 March and Wednesday 20 March.
Primary 7 pupils from Davidsons Mains Primary School were delighted to show some of the equipment that the school bought with vouchers from the Sainsbury’s Active Kids 2012 scheme.
Active Kids is a voucher collection scheme that enables nurseries, schools, Scout and Guide groups and sports clubs to collect vouchers and redeem them for sports, cooking and gardening equipment and active experiences.
Vouchers can be earned for every £10 spent in main stores, in petrol stations and when you buy groceries online and for every £5 in convenience stores (exclusions apply). Vouchers will be issued until 22 May.
David Bainbridge, Sainsbury’s Blackhall Store Manager said: “It’s important to help keep children enthused about all different kinds of activities – from play to sport – and we’re confident that Active Kids 2013 will help achieve this goal.”
The North Edinburgh News is looking for someone to help us put the paper on a secure financial footing. We would like to hear from anyone who is interested in a short-term contract to identify and contact potential advertisers and sponsors in the north Edinburgh area, who would be willing to advertise in the paper and thereby provide us with an income stream.
Previous experience is not essential, but would be useful. The main requirement is for someone who is enthusiastic, conscientious, well-organised, committed to supporting the voluntary sector and able to work on a freelance basis without close direction.
For further information, contact Martin Hinds – mhinds@blueyonder.co.uk or phone 07590 406 019
Mark Lazarowicz, MP for North and Leith, visited a ‘pop-up’ food bank outside the Houses of Parliament this week, and earlier today he at the Kirkgate collecting signatures for a petition to highlight the issue of growing poverty and the increased reliance on food parcels across the UK.
Mr Lazarowicz said: “Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK are now forced to get support from food banks. Leith is the latest area where a food bank is being set up. I have enormous respect for the dedication of staff and volunteers who are helping through food banks to meet the growing need for food aid but that need is a clear sign of Government failure.
“The depressed state of the economy combined with cuts in welfare support have led many people, both in and out of work, to turn to food banks as a last resort. The growth of food banks is stark evidence of the failure of Government economic and employment policy. Food banks show just how much people in our community care for the most vulnerable but they shouldn’t have to be a substitute for Government action. That’s why I am supporting this petition, which calls for the government to ensure there is an accurate count of the number of people using food banks in Scotland and for Government action to ensure that no families in the UK go hungry.”
Before Christmas, the North and Leith MP took part in food collection drives at local supermarkets and he recently attended a meeting at South Leith Parish Church Halls to look at setting up a food bank in Leith.
Britain’s largest network of food banks, the Trussell Trust (which is involved in the proposal to set up a food bank in Leith), estimates that they will need to support in excess of 260,000 people over the next year.
A fifteen year old was knocked over by a car on Ferry Road at lunchtime on Friday. The boy was taken by ambulance to the Royal Infirmary for treatment and was later discharged.
Given the damage to the vehicle it appears the boy had a lucky escape.
![Mark_Lazarowicz[1]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mark_lazarowicz1.jpg?ssl=1)
