£3000 bike theft in Newhaven Road

Police are appealing for witnesses following the theft of a high-value mountain bike. The crime happened around 4.30am on Monday (16 April) at an address in Newhaven Road, when a property was broken into and the 36-gear ISSAC hard tail bike worth £3,000 was stolen from inside.

Officers are now urging anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward.

The bike is described as black, with an 18-inch frame, DT Swiss 240 silver-rimmed wheels, white forks, Continental mud tyres, Shimano XTR break discs, Bon Trager carbon stem and a triple Physic Gobbie saddle.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Given the time at which this incident occurred, a number of residents in Newhaven Road may have been awoken by sounds of a disturbance, as those responsible gained entry to the property. Similarly, members of the public who were up and out in the area in the early hours of Monday morning may also have seen something suspicious and are asked to contact police immediately if they have information that can assist officers with their investigation.”

Divided We Fall? Exciting forum theatre event in Leith next month

Divided We Fall event flyer

Living Together in Difficult Times …

We live in a diverse society in terms of ethnicity, class, ability and many other factors? But what do Identity, Diversity and Integration really mean? How can diverse communities such as Leith find ways to develop interconnections and build solidarity especially in the context of cuts to public services, the Welfare Reform Act and other divisive policies and influences from above?

Over the past three months a group of Leith residents and visitors have been working with Active Inquiry to develop pieces of Forum Theatre exploring these questions for this event. Forum Theatre encourages an audience to become involved by enabling them to change the action onstage!

We hope to encourage as many people as possible from many diverse groups to attend this event and enjoy the performances, food, music, exhibitions and workshops to help develop an Action Plan for moving forward.

Highlights over the two days include:

• Forum Theatre performances by local people

• Debates and Action Planning

• Jock Tamson’s Bairns exhibition and work from local groups

• Food from Out of the Blue Café and World Kitchen

• Music performances from Edinburgh’s Got Soul and Wildfire Choirs and others as part of Out of the Blue’s Bruncheon event.

• Special performance of Hotel Europa – a play exploring the effects of the European crisis with a cast from across Europe including France, Portugal, Spain, Croatia and Germany

When: Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May 2013

Times: Saturday 11am-7pm, Sunday 12-7pm

Where: The Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Cost: Free! (although donations will be appreciated!)

For catering and room capacity reasons it is essential that people book for this event. Please register and book tickets at:

dividedwefall.eventbrite.co.uk

or email

dwf@activeinquiry.co.uk

Divided We Fall event flyer

Total Craigroyston updates planned

The Total Craigroyston initiative was launched last summer and the team will be sharing what they’ve learned and achieved so far at a series of local events over the coming weeks:

What’s it all about??

Find out all about Total Craigroyston, what we’ve been doing over the past 6 months and where we’ve got to since we published our Road Map

The Total Craigroyston team will be in the community shop in Pennywell Road on Monday 29 April from 8.30 – 12.00 and Tuesday 30 April from 2 – 5pm

See our exhibition in Muirhouse Library on

Wednesday 1 May and Thursday 2 May

Come to our feedback and ideas session in North Edinburgh Arts Centre

on Fri 3 May from 10.30 – 12.00 (lunch and crèche provided)

Open to local workers and local residents

Please book a place for the Friday session by emailing info@totalcraigroyston.co.uk or by phoning the Total Craigroyston Team at 529 3032 or 529 7054

Going Forth Together

Lararowicz: ‘Good employers have no interest in Government attack on rights at work’

Mark Lazarowicz MP has strongly criticised Government plans for employees to trade in basic rights at work such as statutory redundancy pay in return for shares in the business they work for.

In a Westminster speech yesterday the North and Leith MP (pictured below) said: “I am a strong supporter of employee share schemes to enable them to benefit from the growth of their company and participate in the way it is run. However, these Government plans would produce exactly the opposite result since employees would lose basic employment protection in return for shares that can always go down as well as up in value. A number of leading businesses have already said they want nothing to do with the scheme – good employers realise there are much better ways to motivate their workforce than a bribe to give up basic employment rights.”

The Government proposes that in return for shares in the company they work for, employees would lose the right to statutory redundancy pay, request flexible working and training, challenge unfair dismissal (apart from where this relates to anti-discrimination law) or be required to give longer notice to return from maternity or adoption leave.

Mr. Lazarowicz was the author of the Employee Share Schemes Bill which became law in 2002. That sought to encourage employee share ownership and long term involvement by them in the running of the business, but he believes these latest plans would make it easier to sack them.

The House of Lords initially voted to delete this part of the The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, with several former Conservative Ministers voting against the Government. However the Government reinserted the proposals for the Bill to be debated in the House of Commons and won yesterday’s vote. The Bill will now return to the Lords for further discussion.

Greens urge government to ensure school leavers can cook

Green MSP Alison Johnstone has urged the government to respond to a survey which shows a strong appetite among Scots for the Government to set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

By contrast the major supermarkets, who already control three-quarters of our grocery spending, are encouraging the growth of the ready meals sector through advertising campaigns, broadcasts and billboards. The UK ready meal market, which has been at the centre of the horsemeat scandal, continues to grow at five per cent a year and is now worth £1 billion a year.

The Panelbase survey for the Scottish Greens shows 79 per cent of 1,000 Scots agreed with the need for a target for school leavers, while only 7 per cent disagreed.

Other research suggests the majority of 18-25 year olds leave home without the ability to cook a simple recipe such as Spaghetti Bolognese, with many relying on ready meals and takeaways.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and spokesperson on food and education for the Scottish Greens (pictured below), said: “We have a growing problem with obesity and ready meals are nutritionally haphazard. It’s time the Scottish Government challenged the big manufacturers and retailers. The inconvenient truth about many convenience foods is they make big firms big profits while public health pays dearly.

“Curriculum for Excellence has great potential and I would urge the government to recognise the appetite there is for ensuring school leavers are able to cook. As more people question what’s in the food they’re buying due to the horsemeat scandal it’s important we establish a balanced food culture from the start.”

The survey, carried out online by Panelbase in March, asked:

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The Scottish Government should set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

The results were:

Agree Strongly 48%
Agree Slightly 31%
Neither Agree/Disagree 15%
Disagree Slightly 4%
Disagree Strongly 3%

Centipede Big Bash

Grey skies didn’t deter revellers of all ages going outdoors to join in Muirhouse Centipede Project’s Big Easter Bash last Friday. Everybody had a good time – and not a single case of frostbite was recorded!

Botanics CLOSED

At least the sun's brought the blooms out! — At least the sun’s brought the blooms out!

The Botanic Gardens are currently closed due to the high winds, although The Gateway remains open and this evening’s Adult Education Open Night goes ahead as planned.

I can vouch for the power of those winds – I’ve just seen my blue recycling box flying past the window and off down the road!

Growing demand produces allotment consultation

Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has launched a consultation to consider the shape of future allotment legislation following the announcement of Government plans to simplify and overhaul Scotland’s allotment rules.

Among the questions being asked are: should councils be required to provide people in their area within a specified timeframe? And should councils have a duty to provide a specific number of allotments in their area per head of population?

Mr Lochhead said: “Growing your own food is continuing to grow in popularity in Scotland and this goes hand in hand with an increasing desire to know where our food comes from. Allotments provide a range of benefits including better health, an opportunity to learn new skills, and an understanding of where food comes from – not forgetting the chance to eat the fruits of your labour.

“We’re committed to helping people to grow their own food and this consultation will consider what changes should be made to the existing legislation to make it simpler and fit for today’s community needs. Many communities have expressed a desire to get back to nature and more involved with growing their own food and that’s exactly what we’re working to make possible.”

The consultation runs until Friday 24 May.

Woman and child rescued from Muirhouse flat fire

A woman and a child were rescued after a fire broke out in the kitchen of a flat in Muirhouse last night.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze started in a second-floor property in Gunnet Court, within Muirhouse View, when a grill pan caught alight just before midnight.

A spokeswoman for the service said a four-year-old girl and a woman, aged 22, were rescued by firefighters.

They were treated at the scene for slight smoke inhalation but did not have to go to hospital.

Anti-‘bedroom tax’ activities – North Edinburgh and beyond

draft flyer local bedroom tax meetings 2

Tuesday 16th April (today!)

DEMONSTRATE

Rally at 9 – 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday 16 April outside the City Chambers. This is when the motion about the Bedroom Tax is going before the Council’s Policy Committee, which starts at 10am.

Show your anger – bring drums and banners, whistles . . .

SPREAD THE WORD

Meet at North Edinburgh Arts Centre (by library at Pennywell) 6.30pm to collect and distribute flyers and posters to publicise the public meeting on 25 April to form the Muirhouse anti bedroom tax group.

Sunday 21st April

EDINBURGH-WIDE ORGANISING MEETING

– to support formation of anti bedroom tax groups city-wide

St Augustine’s Church, George IV Bridge at 2.00 p.m.

All welcome

Thursday 25th April

OPEN MEETING IN MUIRHOUSE

To form the Bin the Bedroom Tax group in Muirhouse

7pm The Millennium Centre, 7 Muirhouse Medway

All welcome

There will also be meetings coming up to form groups in Pilton/ Drylaw and Royston/Wardieburn/ Granton

Draft flyer for distribution to advertise the Muirhouse meeting is attached – it has been updated slightly to reflect opinions voiced at the organising meeting on 11th April – please post any comments or suggestions asap, thanks.

Saturday 4 May

MAY DAY

The May Day march and rally. Assemble 11.00am on Johnston Terrace.

A major theme of this year’s event will be the ConDem cuts to welfare, including the bedroom tax.

North Edinburgh Fights Back