Be our guests!

Granton Community Gardeners to share their bumper harvest harvest feast

Weather’s turning wintry, time to gather inside and have some hot food!

YOU’RE ALL INVITED!

Friday 20 November, 6pm Royston Wardieburn Community Centre

No need to bring anything, but message us if you’d like to help organise, set up or bring food. (and RSVPs are helpful for numbers)

Granton Community Gardeners committee member Tom Kirby reports: 

Most things have grown really well in the gardens this year, and there’s been a great regular team of local residents, we’ve all learned a lot from each other!  We still meet up every Tuesday and Saturday at 11am (unless weather is really bad!) at the community garden on the corner of Boswall Parkway and Wardieburn Road. Anyone is very welcome to join us, no prior gardening experience needed!

This Saturday (weather permitting) we’ll be sowing the first of our trial plots of winter wheat!  We are participating in a project organised by Bread Matters, to try growing small scale plots of varieties of wheat that used to be grown in Scotland before cereal production became so industrialised (and before issues like gluten intolerances were such a problem).

We’re already making plans for next year, but it’s good to take some time to relax and celebrate what’s been achieved.

Hope you’re well and keeping warm,

http://www.facebook.com/grantoncommunitygardeners

Epic awards nominations open

The UK’s body for championing participation in creative cultural activities, Voluntary Arts, has launched the Epic Awards

Epic-Awards-hand-pic-2016-460x250

Thousands of people across the UK give up their time to share their passion for arts and creative activities. Leading groups of young and old, these people improve the lives of millions of people across the country.

The Epic Awards offer the opportunity to celebrate and reward these volunteers and groups and spread the word about the huge range of activities enriching our lives in all areas of Scotland.

  • UK and Ireland’s premier award for amateur cultural groups, the Epic Awards opens for nominations.
  • A winner and a runner up will be chosen from Scotland, England, Northern & Republic of Ireland, and Wales.
  • Over 60,000 voluntary arts groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland are eligible.
  • Groups can nominate themselves online at epicawards.co.uk
  • Closing date for nominations is 7 December.
  • The Epic Awards will be presented at a dinner in Cardiff on 2 April 2016.
  • Once the shortlist is announced there will also be a People’s Choice award voted for by the public, a Peer award in which groups vote for each other and additional awards for excellent work with young people and disabled people.
  • The Epic Awards are run by Voluntary Arts to recognise and reward excellence and innovation in the amateur cultural sector.

https://youtu.be/Ncad5dgSv2U

Are you involved in an arts or crafts group that is doing something new and interesting? Have you struck up an interesting collaboration, inspired others or solved a problem in your home town?

From singing to knitting, amateur dramatics to painting, over 60,000 amateur arts groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland are making a difference to lives in their local areas. The Epic Awards shines a spotlight on their achievements.

You can nominate your group for an award by filling in the form on www.epicawards.co.uk and put them forward for national recognition and a range of prizes from financial support to advice, partnership and performance opportunities.

Winning groups have usually run initiatives or activities that involve interesting collaborations, or engage with their local community or beyond, undertake creative activity that inspires others or increases participation, or use new ideas in innovative ways.

Last year’s Scottish winner, Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail (below), is a volunteer-led arts trail which has grown to include over 100 venues filled with work created by over 200 participants attracting audiences from far and wide.

kircudbright

Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail’s Pauline Saul reflected on what winning the Epic Award meant for the group. She said: “We were delighted to be short listed for the Epic Award for Scotland. When the email came saying that we had won we were extremely proud of our achievement, wanting to run outside and tell everyone!

“The Epic Award has given the trail some good publicity through local papers and town folk have been really pleased both for us and for Kirkcudbright. Following the Epic Award we have grown in confidence, and become more forward thinking, planning a Christmas event and our theme for 2016.”

Last year’s runner-up in Scotland DD8 Music is a group run by volunteers in Kirriemuir, which provides free lessons, jams and recording equipment for young people. DD8 Music also picked up the UK wide award for exceptional work with young people.

The public have their chance to vote and award a prize to one of the shortlisted groups through The People’s Choice Award. Last year’s winners were Knitted Knockers UK, a group of over 650 people across the UK who co-ordinate online to create and send 100 per cent cotton breast prostheses to women who have had mastectomies.

Jemma Neville, director of Voluntary Arts Scotland, said: “The Epic Awards demonstrate the scale and diversity of self-led creative cultural activity in Scotland. From volunteer-led festivals to community radio stations, and poetry groups to choirs, there are creative people across the country with the passion and initiative to provide opportunities for people to take part in voluntary arts activity. I strongly encourage groups thinking of applying to do so.”

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslopsaid: “The Voluntary Arts Epic Awards showcase excellent examples of inclusive and local participation in the arts and the initiative and drive of many dedicated volunteers across the country who set up and run thousands of arts and cultural groups.

“Voluntary arts contribute much to Scotland’s rich and varied cultural life and Voluntary Arts Scotland’s support helps enable more people to get involved in creative activities.

“These awards demonstrate an ongoing commitment to ensuring that communities across Scotland are supported to create and participate so that all the hard work and imagination that contribute to the cultural life of our communities, often undertaken by volunteers, is recognised.

“I’m looking forward to hearing more about the exciting work taking place the length and breadth of Scotland in the run up to this year’s awards and encourage Scottish nominations to be put forward.”

The Epic Awards are supported by Spirit of 2012, an independent trust created to sustain the spirit and opportunities from London 2012, and are themselves supporting BBC Get Creative. Spirit has also helped to create two new categories of Epic Award as well as the Epic Places project. Voluntary Arts also acknowledges funding from Arts Council England, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland and Arts Council Northern Ireland.

Debbie Lye, chief executive of Spirit of 2012, said: “We at Spirit are delighted to be supporting the Epic Awards again in 2016. I was blown away by the sheer breadth of high-quality award nominations last year – it’s clear we’ve got a voluntary arts scene to be proud of.

“The Epic Awards really do showcase the cream of the UK and Ireland’s amateur artistic and cultural crop, and I am eager to see who’s in the running in 2016. Best of luck!”

Remember that closing date for nominations: Monday 7 December

Letters: a decent life for all

global-world

Dear Editor

Throughout history, systems under which people worked and lived have changed not automatically, but after long struggles.

The capitalist system, under which we now live, has changed from a national to an international one, where massive amounts of money are moved around the world daily, seeking the highest rate of profit, closing down industries regardless of where they are and the devastating effect on peoples’ lives.

International investors owe allegiance to no one, people or the planet: both are suffering in the name of ‘free markets’ (which is their slogan for ‘we are free to do what we like, anywhere we like’.) This global capitalism is incapable of solving problems; it is greedy and selfish, working only for the benefit of already wealthy people.

There is no law or rule that says things can never change: history has shown only people of nations can do that.

We here in the UK have made efforts over many years to show there is a better way, where the resources – both material and human – are used not to create wealthy individuals here or abroad but to create a decent life for all, and to leave a guaranteed future for coming generations.

Socialism can replace capitalism, because it is a system that works for all people, not just the few.

A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens

 

 

Dozens die in Paris attacks

State of Emergency declared following multiple attacks in French capital

front page

More than 120 people have died and hundreds more injured following a series of bomb and gun attacks across Paris last night. The dead toll is expected to rise today as the enormity of the outrage becomes clearer.

Four restaurants, a concert venue and the Stade de France national football stadium all came under attack in an evening of horror. So far, no group has claimed responsibility but there is strong eyewitness evidence to suggest that Islamic extremists were responsible for the atrocities.

The deadliest attack took place at the Bataclan concert venue when gunmen opened fire during a gig by rock group Eagles of Death Metal – the 1,500-seat venue was sold out. It’s believed that up to eighty people died in a shootout as security forces acted to end a hostage situation.

President Hollande was attending the friendly match between France and Germany at the Stade de France stadium, which was being broadcast on TF1, one of the country’s main TV channels. The game was abandoned when two explosions were heard – at least one of which is now known to have been a suicide bomber.

Police say all eight gunmen involved in the Paris attacks are now dead but the country’s security forces remains on full alert. Four were killed in the Bataclan concert hall, three by activating suicide vests and one shot by police. Three more died near the national stadium and a fourth was killed in a Paris street.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I am shocked by events in Paris tonight. Our thoughts and prayers are with the French people. We will do whatever we can to help.”

President Obama called the attacks in Paris an “outrageous attempt to terrorise innocent civilians” and an “attack on all of humanity”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “deeply shaken by the news and pictures that are reaching us from Paris”.