Get set for Inverleith's Christmas Charity Festival

The Christmas Charity Festival returns to Inverleith Park on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December.

The festival is an annual event which looks to raise lots of money for many local and national charities ranging from Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home to Simpsons Special Babies Unit. Councillor, Lesley Hinds will open the proceedings on the Saturday morning, while MSP Malcolm Chisholm will start off the proceedings for our Santa Toddle at 1pm.

This year’s programme includes:

Santa arriving on his sleigh pulled by real Reindeer to open the Festival.

On Sunday afternoon Santa and his reindeer will lead the Santa Toddle Parade from Stockbridge into Inverleith Park, where all the kids can get involved.

Choirs, brass bands and groups will entertain throughout Saturday whilst the public can browse the many charity and gift stalls or rest awhile in our refreshment area.

Come along to our annual Carol Service at 3pm on Saturday and afterwards be our guest and have free glass of warm mulled wine with a hot mince pie in our main marquee.

Santa’s Grotto will be open all day Saturday & Sunday. Book early as it tends to sell out fast, especially as Santa will have his real reindeer with him. Last year many said, “It is one of the best Grottos in Edinburgh!”

Our new “Toddle Tent” will be open all day Saturday & Sunday. Providing lots of things for the wee ones including; soft play area, card making, ginger bread decorating, storytelling and lots, lots more.

Brand new for this year, Santa’s Reindeer! Bring the little ones to see Santa and his real reindeer in their pen. Open from 10am Saturday & Sunday.

On the Sunday, Adults can also run in our 5K, walk or stroll in our 6mile Christmas Walk, for your chosen charity.

For more info visit www.christmascharityfestival.com or give us a call on 0131 208 2500

Edinburgh Airport to strengthen Scandinavian links

Edinburgh Airport is to strengthen the city’s link with three Scandinavian capitals next Spring. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced that it will launch a new service between Edinburgh and Copenhagen next March, and this will be followed by the return of services to Oslo and Stockholm later that month.

Services between Edinburgh and Copenhagen will fly five times per week and will then increase to daily between 29 June and 9 August, before switching to six times per week until the end of October. Flights to Stockholm will be on a daily basis and those to Oslo will operate twice a week on Thursday and Sunday.

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “We’re committed to growing through choice and this is at the heart of everything we do at Edinburgh Airport. We want to make sure our passengers are able to choose from the very best range of flights and services.

“Scandinavia is an important destination for us to serve and is a popular choice for passengers travelling for both for leisure and business. We’re delighted SAS will be joining us again with these new services which will link us into the impressive connectivity options available from the hub in Copenhagen.”

Copenhagen

Denise Hill, Head of International Marketing at VisitScotland said: “Scandinavia is a lucrative market for Scotland and we are delighted to welcome yet more visitors with the introduction of these exciting new direct routes into Edinburgh Airport.

“However as we work to extend Scotland’s international network, adding major international hubs and attracting airlines which are part of the world’s great airline alliances is key. SAS is a key partner of the important Star Alliance, the leading global airline network.

“Creating as many links as we can with Star Alliance partners increases Scotland’s connectivity with the world, enabling visitors to reach our stunning country from every single corner of the planet. This really is excellent news for Scotland.”

Colin Keir MSP for Edinburgh Western welcomed today’s announcement. Mr Keir, MSP for Edinburgh’s Airport, said: “I am delighted to welcome this new direct flight to Copenhagen. I congratulate Scandinavian Airlines and the management at Edinburgh Airport for establishing another direct flight from Edinburgh.

“This is good news for passengers and the economy of Edinburgh. The provision of this direct connection to Copenhagen will allow passengers’ connectivity through SAS’ extensive route network. Direct flights, such as this one, reduce the cost for Scottish passengers caused by connecting flights and higher Air Passenger Duty costs.”

Get your tickets for Worbey and Farrell!

Tickets are still available for Thursday evening’s Worbey and Farrell benefit concert for LifeCare – see poster for details:

Contact LifeCare on 343 0940 or call in to LifeCare in Cheyne Street to get your tickets!

Broughton students to stage Human Rights Day ceilidh

On Friday 12 December (6 – 9pm), Broughton High School’s Amnesty International Youth Group are holding a ceilidh to raise awareness of Human Rights Day. Put on your dancing shoes and come along to the school’s assembly hall for an evening of ceilidh dancing accompanied by a live ceilidh band and highland dancers!

There will also be the opportunity to buy a selection of delicious home baking and win some great prizes in the raffle. The ceilidh will focus on ‘Write for Rights’, Amnesty’s annual global letter writing marathon. Throughout the night, people will have the opportunity to write letters in order to raise awareness and take action for John Jeanette, a transgender woman denied legal gender recognition in Norway.

All ages are welcome, although primary school children must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets will be available to purchase on the night, but will also be on sale in the school – £3 for a concession and £5 for an adult.

All the money raised will go towards helping Amnesty International carry out their vitally important work protecting human rights worldwide.

Katherine Wright, Broughton High School student

Living in Harmony double-date

The Living in Harmony Forum meets tonight

Tuesday 25 November from 5.30 -7.30pm

at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.

The group has also set a date for a Chat Café at Granton Youth Centre next month – see below

community chat cafe poster december

Rachel Farrier (Development Worker, Living in Harmony)

Pilton Community Health Project

December NEN

Missed Friday’s deadline? Don’t despair!

If you want to contribute an article or you’d like to book an ad in the December NEN, email your community newspaper at:

northedinnews@gmail.com

Police seek witnesses to South Queensferry accident

Police are seeking witnesses to an accident that resulted in the death of of a bin lorry driver in South Queensferry on Saturday afternoon. The 58-year old man died after being crushed by his own truck when he tried to stop it rolling out of a car park.

The man, who has been named as Maurice Willis, was pinned against a wall by his lorry which then hit a parked car and mounted a pavement before ploughing through a fence and coming to a stop on Hawes Pier. He later died in hospital.

Police Scotland’s Sgt Brian Smith said: “This tragic accident happened as the driver tried to stop his lorry from rolling out of the car park of the Hawes Inn.

“He was crushed against the wall by the lorry, which then hit a parked Jaguar car before rolling across the road and mounting the pavement. demolishing a bench and fencing before it came to rest hanging over the edge of the pier.

“Although this is a busy road, with a number of pedestrians in the area at the time, fortunately no-one else was injured. We are carrying out a full investigation and I am appealing for any witnesses who have not already spoken to us, to call Police Scotland on 101.”

Food for Thought Forum meets on Wednesday

‘Run by the community, for the community’

Food for Thought Forum (supported by Pilton Community Health Project) exists to link and increase local community food activity in the Greater Pilton area.

Whetted your appetite? The Forum is meeting at Pilton Community Health Project on Boswall Parkway this Wednesday (26 November) from 9.30 – 11.30am.

For more information visit www.foodforthoughtforum.org.uk

Free books for P1s to mark Book Week Scotland

Today marks the start of Book Week Scotland 2014, the national celebration of reading, and to mark the occasion Scottish Book Trust is to gift three free picture books to every Primary 1 child in Scotland.

The books, all by Scottish authors or illustrators, will be gifted in the Bookbug Primary 1 Family Pack and comprise the Bookbug shortlist for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2015.

The titles include: Robot Rumpus by Sean Taylor and Ross Collins, Princess Penelope and the Runaway Kitten by Alison Murray and Lost for Words by Natalie Russell.

Also included in the Bookbug bag will be a Scottish Children’s Book Awards pack full of games and activities, along with a voting slip to enable children to declare which of the three picture books is their favourite. The pack will also contain Ziggy and Maggie Start School, a children’s book about road safety created in partnership with Road Safety Scotland.

Marc Lambert, Director of Scottish Book Trust, said: “The beginning of school is the point at which books start to become associated with learning in a child’s mind. This pack has been designed to help teachers, librarians and parents show children how pleasurable books can be, at a crucial point in their learning journey.

“This association of books with enjoyment will in turn lead to a more positive educational experience for the child, helping them to get more out of school and hopefully inspiring them to seek out and devour more and more books.”

For more information about Book Week Scotland 2014 visit

www.bookweekscotland.com

where you can find information about all the events taking place in your local area, vote for your favourite character from a Scottish book, make a Reading Pledge and discover a whole host of resources and ideas to help you celebrate and share whatever it is you love to read.

Follow @Bookweekscot on Twitter, check out#bookweekscot or like the Book Week Scotland Facebook page.

Initiated by the Scottish Government and supported, along with a Readers in Residence programme in libraries, by £250,000 from Creative Scotland, Book Week Scotland will be delivered by Scottish Book Trust, the lead agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. For more information on Scottish Book Trust go to www.scottishbooktrust.com.

Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. For further information about Creative Scotland visit

www.creativescotland.com

Follow @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland

Book Week Scotland in libraries is funded by The Scottish Library and Information Council.

Community Health's in safe hands

Scotland’s senior community health project still forging ahead

PCHP chair Tom Kirby and Cllr Lesley Hinds, who chaired the meeting

The oldest community health project in Scotland, Pilton Community Health Project has played a key role in promoting healthy lifestyles in North Edinburgh for thirty years. And if their recent annual general meeting is anything to go by, PCHP will be at the forefront of community health initiatives for a long time to come!

Annual general meetings can often be fairly dull affairs, but Pilton Community Health Project used their AGM to showcase the many elements that go into making a very successful community project.

Yes, there was the tedious but necessary business, but then the packed meeting was treated to the highlights of the past twelve months, courtesy of PCHP staff who gave presentations on the wide range of activities that are taking place at the Health Project’s Boswall Parkway base and, increasingly, out in the wider community.

Food development workers Memes Molina and Joe Jones kicked of the presentations with the launch of a new educational toolkit, then Women Supporting Women development worker Alison Hughes gave an overview of the PEEP programme.

Lianne Pipskyj and Clare Symonds shared the news of the Physical Activity Project’s ongoing success and Carol Targett, who leads PCHP’s counselling team, focused her contribution on the team’s work with young people in North Edinburgh.

As you can imagine there was a lot of information to take in – but fortunately you don’t have to! The morning’s other presentation saw PCHP manager Jen Richards launch PCHP’s bright new website, which contains all the information you need on everything that’s happening at PCHP!

Read all about it at www.pchp.org.uk

And here’s the Annual Report:

pchp-annual-report-2013-14