More children’s activities at Stockbridge Library this week:
Tuesday 14 April – 2.30-3.30pm
Sweet Easter baskets – craft suitable for 5-12 years.
Friday 17 April 2.30 -3.30pm
Celebrate Vaishaki the Spring festival ! Colourful stories and crafts for 5-12 years.
well, one’s a Leither!
Edinburgh-based writer Lynsey May (32) and poet and playwright Michael Pedersen (30) have been named by Scottish Book Trust as two of four recipients of a 2015 Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, involving a month-long writing residency in France (above).
Lynsey, a previous Scottish Book Trust New Writer Awardee, lives in Leith and will attend the residency in June. She has placed fiction in a variety of journals and publications and has read at a number of literary festivals across the country. During the residency she will work on a new novel set in Leith. Lynsey has lived in and around Edinburgh her whole life, attending university and starting a career in the city.
Lynsey said: “I couldn’t be more grateful for the wonderful gift of time, space and inspiration the RLS Fellowship offers -and plan to make the most of every minute! I’m particularly looking forward to briefly disengaging with all of the stresses and distractions of everyday life and completely immersing myself in the novel I’m working on.”
Michael, who will attend the residency in November, has published two celebrated chapbooks, and a debut collection Play with Me with Polygon. He is a Canongate Future 40, a 2010 Callum McDonald Memorial Award finalist, the John Mather’s Charitable Trust Rising Star of Literature 2014; as well as a budding playwright and lyricist, and co-founder of the Neu! Reekie! collective. During the residency he’ll work towards a second collection of poetry and on sculpting a feature film script – a collaboration with Scottish Director Robert McKillop.
Michael said: “I’ve had my lasers set on the RLS Fellowship for a couple of years now but 2015 (for a veritable swarm of reasons) is the paragoning point for it – there’s something more tectonic at play.
“As well as my poetry taking on fresh shapes and forms, I’m exploring a new medium in script writing. Sequel collections and inaugural scripts are both formidable endeavours and what more inspiring a place to tackle such literary behemoths than Grez-sur-Loing. Not only to tackle but to have an arsenal of anointments behind you – those being the RLS Fellowship and its history of lustrous literary and artistic visitants – steam to the engine and then some.
“I was elated to receive the call. There may have been a jump and some sort of rhythmical shimmy that resembled a cumbersome dance-move from decades beyond.”
The Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship was initiated in 1994 by Franki Fewkes, a Scottish RLS enthusiast, and is supported by Creative Scotland. Intended to give writers a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of their everyday lives to devote time to their writing, it provides residencies for four writers at the Hôtel Chevillon International Arts Centre at Grez-sur-Loing. Travel and accommodation are paid for, and there is a grant of £300 per week to cover living expenses.
Grez-sur-Loing is situated at the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau (top), and was chosen because of its connections with Robert Louis Stevenson who first visited in 1875. It was there, at the Hôtel Chevillon, that he met his future wife Fanny Osbourne. Stevenson found both the place, and its community of writers and artists, highly attractive and he returned to Grez-sur-Loing for three successive summers.
Caitrin Armstrong, Head of Writer Development at Scottish Book Trust, said: “We’re delighted to offer this fantastic opportunity to such talented, engaging writers. These residencies are a great opportunity for writers to spend time on their work without the distractions of everyday life. I look forward to reading the work Lynsey and Michael produce in such inspirational surroundings.”
The two other successful 2015 Fellows are writer, director and translator Alan McKendrick and debut author Malachy Tallack.
A May Date for your diary …
Redhall Walled Garden is holding an Open Day on Sunday 24 May from 12 – 4pm. The main focus will be around a Plant Sale.
To summarise what’s on offer :-
Redhall Walled Garden
97 Lanark Road, Edinburgh EH14 2LZ
0131 443 0946
The garden is open to the public Monday- Friday 9am -3:30pm
To find out more about Redhall see our video on Youtube click on www.youtube.com/watch?v=VglRmOglZis or attend our Information day on the first Wednesday of every month – phone to book.
A coalition of children’s service providers has launched a petition, calling on the Scottish Government to plough its £25m share of additional UK Government spending on mental health services from the Budget to improve mental health services for vulnerable children and young people in Scotland.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) – members include Falkland House School, Mindroom, Spark of Genius, Who Cares? Scotland, Young Foundations and Kindred- has launched a petition on the 38 Degrees website, calling for Scotland’s share of the £250 million extra for mental health services in England announced by the UK Government in the Budget for this year (£1.25bn over the next 5 years) to go towards Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) north of the border.
Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, in evidence to the UK Joint Committee for Human Rights (JCHR) this week, raised several concerns about both access to clinical mental health services and the quality of treatment that children and young people in Scotland receive.
The petition is available to sign on the 38 Degrees website at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/p/investinmentalhealthscot
The SCSC believes that extra funding for CAMHS, which are under increasing pressure in Scotland and have seen a 60% increase in referrals over the last 2 years, could help address and improve significantly key problem areas like:
Diagnosis and treatment wait times
Half of Scotland’s Health Boards are failing to meet an 18-week Scottish Government waiting time target for treatment from CAMHS which came into force in December 2014 and five are failing to meet a 26-week target dating from March 2013.1
This is set against a background of a 10 fold increase in waiting times for those waiting more than 13 weeks to access services from 20 in December 2013 to 226 in December 2014.
An increased number of children and young people being sent to non-specialist units
According to figures from the Mental Welfare Commission (MWC) the number of children and young people being admitted to non-specialist units such as adult and paediatric wards has increased from 177 last year to 202 (174 adult and 28 paediatric) meaning that they may not be getting the appropriate support they require.2
This situation has been worsened due to a lack of inpatient beds, 42 in all of Scotland, a totally inadequate figure, reinforced by a 60% increase in the number of those being referred to CAMHS over the last two years.
There is also no secure/locked provision in Scotland for under 18s – all 3 adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Units are open wards and there are no units for those with a severe learning disability.
Thus those with challenging behaviours and learning disabilities are oftenbeing treated in unsuitable adult or paediatric wards, or being sent miles away from their families to England, a clearly distressing situation.
SCSC Member and Director of Kindred Scotland Sophie Pilgrim said: ““We would urge people to really get behind this campaign and sign the petition to ensure that this £25m in additional funding is put into mental health services north of the border.
“At the moment mental health services in Scotland are at breaking point, with 20% of children and young people having a mental health problem in any given year, and about 10% at any one time. This is putting medical professionals are under incredible pressure, with the number of referrals for specialist child and adolescent mental health services increasing by 60% over the last two years.
“Our health professionals do fantastic work to help people suffering from mental ill health, but this is often seen as a poor relation when compared with physical health. A lack of resources in the face of dramatically increasing demand means that we are often asking medical staff to work with one hand tied behind their back.Due to a lack of adequate provision hundreds of vulnerable children and young people are being treated in unsuitable adult or paediatric wards, or being sent miles away.
“We urge that the Scottish Government takes this opportunity to go that extra mile and ensure that we have a range of mental health services available in Scotland for those who so vitally need it.”
Thursday night’s first session of the Circuit Class attracted seven people with a further 5 older people turning up and putting themselves forward for next week’s session.
The Metafit formula was changed to allow older users to take part and, with more elder people joining the group, we are sure that the decision to ‘re-shape’ Metafit – as reported as reported in the NEN, our own website & and North Community Newsletter and Facebook – was the correct journey to make.
As word of mouth goes round we think we’ll get even busier so thanks to all who supported our news and to the participants – see you all next Thursday!!
James McGinty
PEOPLE seeking information about waiting times in Scotland can now access this via Scotland’s national health information service, NHS inform. Queries can be directed to the national health information service on 0800 22 44 88.
The extension of the NHS inform service builds on the ‘Your Health, Your Rights‘ resource at www.nhsinform.co.uk/rights which brings together information for the public about their health rights, access to health care and national waiting times.
Developed by NHS 24 in partnership with the Scottish Government, the zone was launched in 2013 with the aim of making it easier for patients to access the information relevant to them in one place.
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Patients have an entitlement to be treated as quickly as possible but also at a time that fits in with their lives. The helpline provided through NHS inform will continue to give patients a single point of contact to find out more about their rights and how long they can expect to wait for treatment.
“Waiting times continue to be amongst their lowest ever levels in Scotland, and we want to make sure that patients know what they are entitled to. This information line will also help ensure that waiting times are open, transparent, and that patients receive help and support if they need it.”
NHS 24 Head of Health Information Services Lynne Huckerby added: “Our health information team are trained to answer health information queries on a wide variety of subjects from people throughout Scotland. By contacting NHS inform, people are accessing reliable health information from a trusted source.
“Directing their waiting times queries to the NHS inform phoneline will make it easier for people to access clear and accurate information on their rights and responsibilities. It allows people to access all the health information they need from a single trusted source.”
For more information, visit www.nhsinform.co.uk/rights
The NHS inform helpline is available on 0800 22 44 88, 8am to 10pm, seven days a week.
Still time to respond to Education Scotland survey …
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Over 200 organisations, large and small, have now responded to the national survey of who does community learning and development in Scotland. In response to demand, we are keeping the online survey open on the Education Scotland website for one more week. The final closing date for responses will now be Friday 17 April. If you haven’t had a chance to respond yet, then please don’t miss this opportunity to contribute. |
Drop-in event for older people at Broughton High School next week
Come along to our free drop-in event between
11am -3pm on Thursday 16 April
at Broughton High School, East Fettes Avenue.
Tea, coffee and cake will be served.
Free transport is available if booked in advance.
Call 0131 529 6552 or email rachel.howe@edinburgh.gov.uk
Police are reminding football fans that a ‘robust policing operation’ will be in place at this weekend’s derby match to identify anyone in possession of alcohol, fireworks or flares.
Over 15,000 spectators are expected to attend Easter Road Stadium for Sunday’s Hibs v Hearts clash, and fans are being warned that anti-social drinking in the surrounding streets will not be tolerated and the relevant by-law will be enforced.
Police will also assist stewards to carry out searches outside the stadium to prevent illegal or prohibited items being brought into the ground.
Superintendent Liz McAinsh said: “Like any derby day, this Sunday promises to be a great atmosphere with thousands within the city coming along to the match or watching it in the city’s pubs.
“The vast majority of supporters demonstrate exemplary behaviour and are a credit to their clubs – however, we will have a number of resources in place to target the minority of individuals whose behaviour can put both themselves and others at risk. This includes officers visiting local pubs and areas where groups gather.
“Officers and stewards will be carrying out searches of fans entering Easter Road and anyone found with illicit or illegal materials will be prohibited from entering and may face further police action.”
‘This was an appalling attack’ – DCI Stuart Houston
Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses following the attempted murder of two men in Wardieburn. The incident took place at around 6pm on Wednesday evening in Wardieburn Place West. The area was busy at the time and police are hopeful that potential witnesses will come forward.
The men had travelled down from the Aberdeen area to buy a car, but on arrival they were attacked and stabbed after being lured into a common stair by two men. The suspects, who may also have robbed their victims, made off, possibly via the large grass area at the rear of the block.
Both victims were left with serious injuries and one – a 43-year-old man – is in a critical condition.
Officers are eager to speak to any witnesses who may have seen the two suspects.
The first suspect is described as a white man aged 17-19 years old, with a local accent. He has light coloured short hair which is shaved at the sides and was wearing a light coloured sky blue hooded sweatshirt and grey jogging bottoms.
The second suspect is a white man in his mid-twenties with a stocky build. He was wearing a striped top.
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Houston said: “This was an appalling attack on two men who came to the address in good faith. This attack happened in daylight and we believe there may be a number of witnesses who may have seen the suspects in the area. Anyone with information that can help with our enquiries is urged to contact police immediately.”
Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
