West Pilton, Monday lunchtime – and the fleeting glimpse of a man looking suspiciously like Father Christmas – but not on his sleigh, on a trike! A trial run before the big event, maybe?
Month: December 2014
Fayre's fayre – PoLHA thanks community for Christmas support
Port of Leith Housing Association’s (PoLHA) sheltered housing complexes raised nearly £2,800 at their Christmas fayres – over £1,000 more than last year.
St Nicholas Court, based on Ferry Road, raised £1,797 and Jameson Place took in £1,000.
All funds raised will go towards supporting activities for residents including day trips, theatre trips, exercise classes and lunch clubs.
The complexes had an array of stalls including a raffle, tombola, home bakes and some of the residents knitted and crafted Christmas gifts and created gift sets.
Maureen Tait, Sheltered Housing Services Manager, said: “We’re over the moon to have raised such a fantastic amount. The turnout was fantastic and supported by the local community. We want to thank everyone who came along.”
Forthview Fair this Friday
Forthview Primary School Fair is on Friday 5 December 12 noon to 1pm.
There will be toys / home baking/ bottle stall/ tombola/raffle.
Santa will be available to visit, hot-dogs & soup will be on sale.
Granton CC to hold Drop-in Day
Granton & District Community Council are holding a Drop In event:
Royston Wardieburn Community Centre
on Tuesday 9 December
between 10 am – 7 pm
We will be there so that people can drop in and comment on the budget proposals that the council are discussing. To support this we are in the process of undertaking a partial leaflet drop of the area that not only advertises the event but provides details of our web site, twitter and telephone contact number. This forms part of our engagement strategy going forward.
Dave Macnab
Secretary, Granton and District Community Council
http://grantonanddistrictcommunitycouncil.com/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantonDistCC
The vicar of Drylaw!
Drylaw’s White Church welcomes new Minister
Drylaw Parish Church has been without their own for over a year so they were delighted to welcome new Minster Jayne Scott last month. Jane brings considerable community experience to Drylaw and she’s quickly settling in to her new surroundings.
Jayne, who was born in Stockport and brought up in Port Seton, has been an ordained Minister for 26 years but she has worked in a number of roles – she’s been Principal of a theological college, chief executive of Safe Space, a Fife charity that supports victims of sexual abuse and the Director of Community Development Network. She was also parish minister at Culross and Torryburn in Fife. That wide experience will be valuable as Drylaw church faces an uncertain future.
“I have a great interest in community learning and exploring possibilities for communities to get better and stronger. The threshold between church and community should be an easy one to cross – church shouldn’t feel like an alien environment”, she said. “I have been appointed as transitional Minister for five years. It’s fair to say the future of this church is very uncertain – clearly, it’s an open-ended future and my role is to uncover the potential we have here. Our church is right at the heart of the community and communities need facilities that can bring people together. Church, when it is done well, is where you have that intergenerational intersection.”
“Drylaw only has three public buildings – the church, the school and the neighbourhood centre – and what happens in those three buildings is key to helping Drylaw thrive. I have already had very positive discussions at Ferryhill and look forward to meeting Roy Douglas, the manager at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre. I hope the connections we can make will benefit the local population as a whole: initial conversations suggest there is a lot of scope to look at working in a collaborative way.”
Jayne has made some changes already – the church sanctuary (above) has been reorganised to become a more welcoming space – the regimented rows of pews have gone, replaced by a warmer, more informal circular seating arrangement, and a ‘junk room’ is being cleaned out, painted and converted into an office. You get the distinct impression that this won’t be the last of the changes to life at Drylaw Parish Church.
“I’ve been here a month now and that’s really been getting to know folk and settling in, but I have a lot of plans and ideas. I’m very much looking forward to my time here,” Jayne continued. “We have a number of activities planned in the run up to Christmas (see below) and I’ve arrived at a very busy time, which is really good. I’m looking forward to meeting more people: offering support when life is difficult and welcoming people to Drylaw church – a safe and welcoming place”.
Good luck, Jayne – and Pepper the dog!
Coming up at Drylaw Church:
Sunday 7 December
Vigil time in the Sanctuary from 4 – 5pm. A quiet time to reflect and remember loved ones.
Sunday 7 and Sunday 14 December
How would you like to sing in the church choir on 21 December? Now’s your chance – practice and rehearse from 10 – 10.30am for the performance during 11am Sunday service on 21 December. Open to all!
Tuesday 23 December
Christingle from 11 – 11.30am
Christmas Eve – Wednesday 24 December
Watch Night Service 11.30pm. All welcome.
Christmas Day – Thursday 25 December
Morning Service 10.30am. All welcome.
Tree-mendous! Heartfelt Tree rekindles Christmas spirit
Two local social enterprises – Run Native and Gorgie City Farm – are working together in the run up to Christmas in a bid to spread the message that ethical shopping and community enterprise make sense.
Run Native is a collective online marketplace that helps customers find ethical buys and ethical producers find customers, while Gorgie City Farm is a long established farm and family attraction in the heart of the Edinburgh.
Each year Christmas trees are sold at Gorgie City Farm to raise funds for the farm. This year they have teamed up with Run Native to dress a one-off festive tree with hand-crafted hearts sourced from Run Native’s supplier One World Shop, making it the first “heartfelt” tree in Edinburgh.
Run Native Marketing Executive Deborah Rees said: “We are delighted to be working with Gorgie City Farm to highlight our social enterprises this Christmas. The aim is to highlight the difference between us and the high street – all the profits are reinvested back into the community. So, in a nutshell, it’s business with a big heart.”
Deborah added: “Our Run Native online store attracts shoppers from across the UK and beyond with a wide range of luxury goods as well as smaller items to suit all budgets. We make it easy to find cool and covetable products that may be difficult for the average shopper to find on the high street from snowboarding beanies, hand-made macaroons, bespoke furniture with the added benefit that they are supporting and strengthening communities when they shop with us.”
Roz Angus, Manager, Gorgie City Farm, said: “We recognise the benefits of working with other social enterprise businesses like Run Native and getting the ethical message out there that social enterprise is creative and fun. We have been at the heart of the community here for 30 years and like to bring some festive fun to the farm, so the “heartfelt” tree definitely contributed to that.”
St Paul's: do you have information?
Police keen to speak to group of youths
Police are appealing for witnesses following the fire at St Paul’s church in Muirhouse on Sunday night. A joint investigation by police and specialist fire investigators took place yesterday and the incident is being treated as ‘suspicious’.
Inspector Alan Carson said: “This was an appalling attack on a religious building which, despite its closure, was still of importance to the local community in Muirhouse. It was a reckless act which could well have resulted in serious injury or worse.
“We are eager to talk to anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious around the church on Sunday night.
“We are particularly keen to trace a group of youths who were seen near the church less than an hour before the fire was reported. Tracing these young people would significantly help us with our enquiries.
“Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Police Scotland immediately on 101 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service crews from Crewe Toll, McDonald Road, Tollcross, Sighthill and Marionville attended the incident at9.30 on Sunday evening and brought the blaze under control just after midnight. No-one was injured.
St Paul's smoulders as investigation begins
‘What we had feared and predicted has happened tonight’
St Paul’s lies a blackened ruin this morning following a major fire at the former RC church in Muirhouse last night. An investigation has been launched and an expert forensic team is expected on the scene at first light. The fire is being treated as ‘suspicious’.
Emergency services were alerted at 9.30pm last night and at one point seven fire engines were on the scene. Police also closed off a section of Pennywell Road as firefighters battled to control the blaze.
One Pennywell resident said: “I was making a cup of tea when I noticed there was a weird red glow in the sky. I was just going to ask my wife to have a look when she came through and told me that my son had been on the phone to say St Paul’s was on fire.”
A crowd of onlookers gathered and flames could be seen shooting high into the air through the roof of the church. It’s though the building will now be demolished for safety reasons.
It’s a tragic end for a building that’s been at the heart of the Muirhouse community since the 1960’s. St Paul’s closed in October despite a community campaign to keep the church alive, and the building was quickly put up for sale – described by the selling agents as a ‘Re-development Opportunity’.
The fire has come as no surprise to some members of the local community. George Reavley was one of organisers of the Save St Paul’s campaign. Speaking last night, he said: ” Over forty years of history and fond memories for local families has been desecrated in one night by mindless, thoughtless creatures.
“What we had feared and predicted has happened tonight. St Paul’s Church was torched and went up in a huge blaze. We told the Parish Priest NOT to board the church up when it was closed. He told the Archdiocese this as well but they went ahead and boarded it up anyway. It was always on the cards. This is what happens when you don’t heed local advice.”
Unfortunate accident or foul play? We’ll find out more once investigators get to work.
Letter: Green spaces of Edinburgh
Dear Editor
The foresight of past generations assured us of many beautiful areas of green spaces: parks, area greens, woodlands and walkways and the green belt around our city. They also left us other social facilities: football and rugby grounds, golf courses and sports centres. The value of all these to the quality of life and good health is immense.
Over many years a backward trend in protection of these assets has been allowed by governments and local authorities, selling off green spaces as building sites and closing other social facilities claiming they are too costly to maintain.
Two questions arise: What about the quality of life? What are we leaving for future generations?
A value analysis has been carried out for the council on Edinburgh’s 140 green spaces. It shows for every £1 spent, £12 is returned in social, environmental and economic benefits. For an annual outlay of £9,684,000 nearly £114, 191, 000 is realised. This sum is from:
- Good health and wellbeing
- Local economy, arising from visitors and users
- Schools and Colleges providing outdoor education
- Awareness of environmental protection
- Impact of social inclusion of the community
Every citizen in every area must become aware of protecting our green spaces and support local groups and organisations involved in this important work – not just for ourselves but for future generations too.
Tony Delahoy
Silverknowes Gardens