Month: August 2015

Letter: Time expired

Dear Editor

The system of capitalism under which we live – where resources are mined, extracted, made or grown – are mainly owned by private investors; they even claim ownership of the land itself.

To realise profit on these materials they need the labour of the wage-earning population to turn these resources into items to sell or use. The cheaper this can be done – by keeping wages and conditions of work as low as possible – the more profits are made.

The lives and poverty of the wage-earning population throughout history, including today, shows capitalism is a failed system for the majority, by it’s nature of seeking maximum profit for the few – even to the extent of closing industries if profit is considered not enough, regardless of the devastating effect on workers and their families.

This is why generations of people – men and women – have struggled in their various ways to change the system to one where the wealth of resources and labour power is used for the benefit of all. These generations called the new system Socialism.

The system was, and is, heavily weighed against them in many way. Communication is the only way to start to convince people of the necessity for change, but how to do this when most channels of communication are owned by private companies or individuals? The sheer volume of their support for capitalism blurs the truth and can shape people’s minds. The working population, by contrast, has limited access to alternative socialist communications, they have limited means to promote it – and have limited time to do so.

The working population can make lives better if they seek maximum unity to right glaring wrongs, such as privately-owned essentials for everyday living. These should be publicly owned – electricity, gas, water and sewerage. Rail and bus transport to get to work and/or leisure. These are essential to all, as is the National Health Service.

A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens 

 

Leith Walk candidates confirmed

ballotbox (4)

The candidates standing in the Leith Walk by-election, which will elect two councillors on Thursday 10 September 2015, have been confirmed.
 
They are:

Marion Donaldson – Scottish Labour Party
Mo Hussain – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Tom Laird – Scottish Libertarian Party
Alan Gordon Melville – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Gordon Murdie – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Susan Jane Rae – Scottish Green Party
Natalie Reid – Scottish Socialist Party
John Lewis Ritchie – Scottish National Party (SNP)
John Ferguson Scott – Independent
Bruce William Whitehead – Left Unity

Voters in this ward have until Tuesday 25 August to register to vote or apply for a postal vote for the by-election. To register to vote or apply for a postal vote people should contact theElectoral Registration Office or phone 0131 344 2500.

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm. Voters should check their polling cards carefully to find out where to vote.

Polling Places:

  • Pilmeny Youth Centre
  • Norton Park Conference Centre
  • London Road Church Hall
  • Holy Cross RC Primary School
  • Ebenezer United Free Church Hall
  • Royal Navy & Royal Marine Association & Club
  • Broughton Nursery
  • Pilrig St Paul’s Church Hall
  • Lorne Primary School
  • McDonald Road Library
  • Leith Walk Primary School

The by-election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system where voters can rank candidates in order of preference using numbers rather than a single cross. Voters can choose to vote for as many or as few candidates as they like. The result of the by-election will be announced once the votes are counted after polls close at 10pm on Thursday 10 September.

Unusually, TWO councillors will be elected in this by-election. Former SNP councillor Deidre Brock stood down after being elected as the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith in May, and Green councillor Maggie Chapman resigned her Leith Walk seat in June to focus on winning a Green seat in the North East of Scotland in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.

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For more information on the Leith Walk by-election, visit the Council website.

Grave Talk at North Edinburgh Arts

Time to talk about the great taboo?

DSC00754

Death and dying. It’s a subject many of us prefer not to even think about, let alone discuss – but Ruth Green, Minister of St David’s Espisopal Church in Royston Mains, says it’s good to talk about death and has organised an event to do just that. And it might even be fun!

Ruth explained: “It’s called Grave Talk, and it’s a cafe space designed to talk about death, dying and funerals. I was inspired to start this because in my experience as a nurse, and now as a minister, most people don’t know how to talk about death. This event gives a safe environment, and is a way of trying to normalise such conversation. It is free (with donations accepted for the cake) and is non-religious, so it’s suitable for people of all faiths and doubts. At previous events, strangely enough, it is fun, and there’s lots of laughter, as people are freed up to explore their ideas and feelings.”

GRAVE TALK takes place at North Edinburgh Arts on

Wednesday 2 September from 6.30 – 7.45 

there will be tea and cake

there will be talk, there will be questions

the truth is we are all going to die, but nobody wants to say anything

Grave Talk is a chance to talk about death

think about your funeral

ask questions, air your thoughts

for people of all faiths and doubts

Intrigued? Interested? Like to find out more? Like to go along? Call Ruth on 629 2018 or 07941 552 768 or email liverdiet@hotmail.com

Grave Talk poster

Man dies and two more missing following fishing boat capsize

Search resumes for missing fishermen in Firth of Forth

lifeboats

One man has died and two others are missing after a small fishing boat overturned in the Firth of Forth off East Wemyss yesterday.

A full-scale search involving police, coastguard, RNLI and an RAF search and rescue helicopter was launched by UK Coastguard was initiated  after the men were reported missing in worsening weather conditions

Police said a man was recovered from the water around a nautical mile out to sea at about 5pm but he later died in hospital. The search for two other missing men resumed this morning.

 

You need Friends …

Community Council to set up Friends of Easter Drylaw Park group

Easter Drylaw Park

Does Easter Drylaw Park need Friends? Drylaw Telford Community Council certainly thinks so, and is looking for local residents to get involved in setting up a new group to support the area’s green space.

Community councillor Mhairi Curran confirmed: “We are looking to hopefully set up a Friends of Easter Drylaw Park and we are currently seeking people who might be interested in finding out more or becoming part of the group.

“We have invited a guest speaker from The Friends of Parks Group to give a short presentation at our next community council meeting, where we will discuss the benefits of setting up a Friends group here to support our local park. It will be the ideal opportunity to find out more about how Friends groups operate and what’s involved. It would be great to see more local residents coming along – we would like to hear their views on the park.”

The meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 August at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre. All welcome.

Take a walk down Memory Lane … in Leith

Leith mural

A mural art map of Leith has been produced for residents and visitors to take a tour of mural art in the area as part of the LeithLate Festival15.

The map, funded by the City of Edinburgh Council, will feature the following murals and artists:

· Leith History Mural by Tim Chalk & Paul Grime, by Leith Library

· Swanfield Mill Mural by David Wilkinson, Bonnington Road

· Eduardo Paolozzi Mural by Russell Ian Dempster, Henderson Street

· Untitled Mural by Tim Chalk, opposite Links View House, Tollbooth Wynd

· Leith Dockers Club Mural by Tom Ewing, Academy Street

· The Leith Aquatic Mural by Blameless Collective, Halmyre Street

Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “This is a great opportunity for residents and visitors to learn about Leith’s mural history, past and present.

“We are supporting this project as part of our work on our ‘Building Stronger Town Centres’ programme and we are committed to the economic growth of Leith which includes nurturing it as a creative hub. I would encourage anyone interested to pick up a map and go on a tour as Leith is steeped in history, has many other hidden gems and is packed full of interesting shops, cafes and restaurants.”

Mural Tour map_bold

Morvern Cunningham of LeithLate, said: “I’m thrilled to present these tours as part of the LeithLate15 festival, which aims to bring more contemporary art onto the streets of Leith. The tour includes two modern murals facilitated by LeithLate, as well as one not by us, alongside a number of historic murals that were produced in Leith in the 1980s. We’ve researched the background to all the murals involved and hope that participants find the information contained in the guides interesting and useful.”

*Please note that the organised tours with the artists are now sold out.

Supermum Lisa’s special delivery

Lisa raises funds for Edinburgh’s Sick Kids 

Lisa Quarell - Accu vein finder

Lisa Quarrell, a mum-of-two, visited the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) in Edinburgh this week to hand over a state-of-the-art piece of equipment to help reduce children’s fear of needles.

Lisa, who’s from East Kilbride, is a familiar face at the hospital after her brave son Cole was admitted to the Paediatric Neurology ward at just two years old to receive treatment for epilepsy. Now three, Cole was just three months old when he first started taking seizures.

Cole was admitted to the RHSC in Edinburgh to undergo a lesionectomy on his left temporal lobe. During this time, little Cole had bloods taken twice a day, every day. On top of epilepsy treatment and examinations, these examinations proved to be extremely stressful for baby Cole, mum Lisa and dad David.

Lisa said: “It was very difficult to find Cole’s veins as they would collapse a lot of the time. The trauma of this made Cole extremely needle phobic. Twice a day, we would have to hold him in place for up to 20 minutes, until we could find a vein and get the blood sample that the nurses required.

“It was heart-breaking for me to watch Cole experience this level of fear over the needles and I was desperate to do something to help the nurses and other patients have an easier time when it came to this essential treatment. When the Ward 7 nurses told me about the AccuVein device it seemed like the perfect solution and I knew I wanted to fundraise for this great piece of kit.”

The state-of-the-art AccuVein device, worth more than £3,500, shines a special light over a child’s body to reveal the veins located underneath the skin. This technique allows nurses to carry out any needle-based procedures more quickly and accurately than ever before, vastly improving what is a traumatic experience for so many children.

The Sick Kids Friends Foundation (SKFF), which exists to transform the experiences of children visiting hospital, has also invested almost £5,000 to fund this vein illumination device and other innovative equipment to help reduce children’s anxiety around needles across the hospital.

Lisa continued: “It’s amazing the difference one small instrument can make to a child’s experience in hospital and I’m so happy to see the first AccuVein device I fundraised for go to good use in Ward 7. I’m hoping to fund a further four devices in the next few months so that more children than ever before can benefit.”

Roslyn Neely, Chief Executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: “At the SKFF we believe that nothing should get in the way of being a child, this includes small procedures like injections, blood samples and cannulation which can be extremely stressful for young children.

“We’re extremely grateful to Lisa and her entire family for their help in bringing this equipment to the ward floors – we’re already seeing the positive impact it is having for patients, families and the nursing staff across the hospital.”