News from Millennium Community Centre

All the latest from Muirhouse by JAMES McGINTY

Update on Ongoing projects:

Muirhouse Mini’s (above): The first sessions after the Summer Recess takes place in 2 sessions tomorrow 10.30-11.30 & 12.30-2.00pm. The committee have been working all week with Paula (Making it Work) to put a new programme for this group. See you all tomorrow. 50p per session (for snack + coffee & biscuits) Just come along. For information on this group click HERE.

IMP (Improving Muirhouse & Pennywell) are holding a meeting in the Centre Boardroom on Wednesday (26 August) from 2 -4pm.

Matthew Bakewell’s computer class run by MHA (for MHA tenants only) will restart on 7 September.

Saluting our Volunteers:

Last week our Centre manager Peter regained the reins after his 3 week holiday and his participation with the Summer Programme residential visits; we at the centre would like to give our thanks to the Volunteers who kept the Centre running smoothly despite having to deal with the increase in the kids (on their summer holidays).

Special mention must be made of our Chairperson (John Davidson) and Board secretary Eileen Carr for their dedicated approach not only during this period, but indeed all year. Welcome back Peter, and thank you John and Eileen and to our young volunteers who worked so hard in the cafe and the gardens.

And finally …

Many thanks to the ASDA Foundation (Granton) who donated £50 to Muirhouse Community Centre!

Canonmills campaigners fired up for final week

Actress Hayley Mills supports Canonmills campaign

The Save 1-6 Canonmills Bridge team kick off the final week of their campaign with a public meeting tonight.

The city council’s Planning Committee hearing is set for Wednesday, when a decision will be made on the proposed demolition of the building currently occupied by popular restaurant and organic produce store Earthy.

After weeks of campaigning and signature-gathering the team will conclude their efforts with a public meeting tonight at 7pm in Canonmills Baptist Church.

The meeting is an opportunity for the general public to hear those who will be speaking at Wednesday morning’s hearing and also offers the chance to air opinions and put questions to the team.

Speakers include campaign leader Jan Anderson, Marion Williams (Cockburn Association), urban designer Ross McEwan, Pam Barnes (Stockbridge & Inverleith Community Council) and Councillor Nick Gardner.

With the hardcopy petition at over 2000 signatures and the online campaign nearing 5000 the team was also thrilled to receive the backing of film and theatre star Hayley Mills.

Ms Mills said: “Good luck with your campaign to retain the heart of Canonmills. The loss would be a sad one for the local community and part of Edinburgh city.”

With those good wishes campaigners hope that council members will take notice and do the right thing by halting the demolition.

Lothian ladies live it up at the Fringe!

Meet Edinburgh’s senior Fringe reviewers!

Mary Ferrie (80) from Bathgate and Helen Orr (81) from Harthill took it in their stride when 50+ health and wellbeing website Living it Up asked them to join its crew to review the Fringe.

The pair – from West Lothian 50+ Network – got their glad rags on and joined Living it Up’s researcher and cameraman to do some schmoozing at the press launch, before reviewing three shows and grilling the performers to camera.

Mary and Helen first met in 1976 – when Helen was lecturing on nursery nursing – and they’ve been firm friends ever since.

Mary said: “When the Living it Up team contacted us about being guest reviewers, for their coverage of the Edinburgh Fringe, we jumped at the chance! Their website is for people like us who want to keep their independence, try new experiences and just have fun.

“The best act we reviewed was Victoria Wood and Me, by a lady called Mo Shapiro. It was excellent and we told her we thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Helen added: “The press launch was great fun too. We haven’t done anything like this before, so it was a good laugh. One of the acts said ‘laughter’s the best medicine’. That’s true; no matter what age you are.”

The budding reviewers were given chalk boards to mark each act they saw out of 10. They later sat down for face-to-face interviews behind the scenes with the actors, which were recorded byLiving it Up’s sound crew.

Click here to view the video

livingitup.org.uk is a digital service with health, care and wellbeing tools and information for people over the age of 50 in Scotland. It’s supported by NHS24 and the Scottish Government and covers Forth Valley, Highland, Lothian, Moray and Western Isles, including remote areas.

A spokesperson for Living it Up said: “Mary and Helen did us proud! It’s great for us to feature people like them, as they’re a true example of what older people can be and do, if they have tools and inspiration at their fingertips.”

She explained: “Our website has four strands: DISCOVER, SHINE, CONNECT and FLOURISH – all of which have different health and wellbeing themes and resources.

“For example, in our website’s FLOURISH section, we have experience guides. These are written by real people to shed light on living with specific conditions and to highlight coping mechanisms for life experiences.

“In our SHINE section, there’s inspiration to re-ignite an old hobby or skill, perhaps in a voluntary capacity. Our CONNECT part teaches people about the latest technology, with step-by-step-instructions. It also inspires some ‘upskilling’ by highlighting local classes for like-minded people. By clicking on our DISCOVER section, users can type in their local area and find activities and resources relevant to them within reach.”

A CHANCE TO WIN

Living it Up has been given tickets for the Fringe, thanks to festival host Gilded Balloon. To be in with a chance of winning, check out the competition on Facebook.

Now Doogie’s mixing with the luvvies!

Watch out for Doogie Goodstuff – festival reviewer with a social enterprise twist!

For those people not yet acquainted with Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network’s mascot Doogie Goodstuff – you will have a chance to meet him as he reviews shows from some of festivals exciting social enterprise venues across Edinburgh.

Doogie Goodstuff is now taking his message to out to festival goers to buy from the 200 social enterprises across the city, as it gets into full festival swing. And for a bit of fun Doogie has turned his hand to reviewing three festival shows at social enterprise venues in the city.

Doogie’s festival reviews have been arranged with the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Out of the Blue and the Just Festival who are members of Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network.

Land of the Dragon by PuppetSoup at the Scottish Storytelling Centre

I was thrilled to hear about the magical adventures of my fire-breathing Welsh cousins at Land of the Dragon in the Scottish Storytelling Centre. It was a thrilling tale, with stunning sets and puppetry, from Welsh social enterprise PuppetSoup. I was scared to get too near the red and white dragons in case they melted my fur while they were fighting but I did befriend the sheep who was a lot less frightening!

This is Not a Magic Show by Vincent Gambini, part of the Forest Fringe at Out of the Blue (pictured)

My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw the astonishing tricks that Vincent Gambini performed with coins and cards. His patter and sideways look at magic made the show come alive. I felt a little sad that my fingers would always be too fluffy for prestidigitation but Vincent cheered me up by showing me how to make a playing card pop out of my mouth!

Afropella Night by Alabaster Box, part of the Just Festival at St John’s Church

The acoustics of St John’s Church brought out the wonderful voices and beats of Alabaster Box who had travelled from Ghana to take part in the Just Festival. I was a little blue that there wasn’t any room for me in the group, as they already have a baritone. My mood soon lifted when they encouraged me to come out into the central aisle of the church to show my monster moves as I danced along to the music. They also told me that my Ghanaian name is Kwame because I was born on a Saturday.

Linsay Chalmers, Network Coordinator at Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network said: “We welcome all the support we can get, so if festival goers meet Doogie Goodstuff please feel free to ask about our “Buy the Good Stuff” campaign and check out Doogie’s reviews on our website www.buythegoodstuff.co.uk “

Low pay: have your say

Have your say on minimum wage rates

The Government is making changes to the UK minimum wage rates and has asked the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to report and gather evidence on these new arrangements.

It has asked the LPC to report on the future level of the existing UK minimum wage rates, by February 2016. It has also asked the LPC to report on the future level of the new National Living Wage (NLW), which will be introduced in April 2016 and applies to workers aged 25 and over.

As part of evidence gathering a public consultation has been launched including a short survey which runs until 25 September 2015.

Tomorrow is Living Life Day

Emotional wellbeing is the focus of Scotland’s first ‘Living Life Day’, which takes place tomorrow (Tuesday 25 August).

With the theme ‘Make your day different’, Scots are being encouraged to take steps to improve their wellbeing, whether that’s through exercise, relaxation or time with family or friends.

National Living Life Day will also raise awareness of NHS Living Life, a free service providing over-the-phone therapy for anyone in Scotland experiencing mild to moderate stress or anxiety. It will be 7 years since the NHS Living Life service was launched, which offers free telephone appointments with a Self-help Coach or Therapist.

Tony McLaren, National Coordinator of NHS Living Life, said: “One in four people in Scotland will experience a diagnosable mental health problem each year. Living Life Day helps turn the spotlight on the importance of looking after your emotional wellbeing at an early stage. Services such as NHS Living Life are an empowering and practical way for anyone feeling stressed or anxious to get information, access resources and learn coping skills.”

Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said: “I’m delighted to support Scotland’s first Living Life Day. It’s so important that we all start think about looking after our mental health in exactly the same way we think about caring for our physical health. Physical activity, relaxation and spending time with family and friends are all excellent ways to improve mental wellbeing and reduce the likelihood of problems developing. Living Life Day is a chance for people to think about how they might be able to devote more time to these things.

“NHS Living Life is a tremendous service that helps thousands of people every year. It’s there for anyone experiencing stress or anxiety, and gives them the chance to talk about their feelings and get some practical advice on how to cope. This service is one of the many steps the Scottish Government is taking to improve Scotland’s mental health, reducing the number of people who develop more serious illnesses.”

To find out more about NHS Living Life visit www.livinglife.scot, or phone 0800 328 9655 (lines are open Mon-Fri, 1pm-9pm). Follow @NHS24 to find out what’s happening across the country for #LLDay