More than five centuries donated by St Columba’s volunteers

St Columba’s salutes ‘great team of volunteers’

Volunteers

St Columba’s Hospice has been celebrating its many volunteers with special long-service awards ceremonies. In total, the people who have been recognised for their long service have given a massive 560 years to the Hospice! Continue reading More than five centuries donated by St Columba’s volunteers

College construction students raise the roof!

Edinburgh College construction training awards celebrate student achievement

ICBC

Edinburgh College’s construction department raised the roof as students who have proved they are built of the right stuff were celebrated at the college’s annual training awards. Continue reading College construction students raise the roof!

Change is coming …

An invitation to a community Open Space discussion event for Northern Edinburgh and Leith

Tuesday 1 December McDonald Road Library 6 – 9pm

Leith mural

Change_is_Coming

I would like to draw your attention to a community-focused event coming up shortly which I think will be of interest to you and to your contacts living and working in Northern Edinburgh & Leith. Continue reading Change is coming …

Rally to the call!

St Andrew’s Day rally call beamed across Scotland

Tron Kirk Edinburgh

Famous Scottish landmarks – including our own Usher Hall and Tron Kirk – provided a dramatic setting to poignant lines from Scottish poet Mary Symon’s poem ‘Hame’ (St Andrew’s Day under the Southern Cross) to stir the heart strings ahead of St Andrew’s Day on November 30. Continue reading Rally to the call!

Craigmillar: a Reading Community

Congratulations to Edinburgh’s first Reading Community

Claire Askew pictured with fellow Reading Champions, Donny O'Rourke and Alex Patience.
Claire Askew pictured with fellow Reading Champions Donny O’Rourke and Alex Patience

Edinburgh’s Craigmillar has been named as one of Scotland’s first ever Reading Communities. The new initiative, which was announced by Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop at Craigmillar Library yesterday, also kicked off local celebrations for Book Week Scotland 2015.

Set up by the Scottish Book Trust, special “reading champions” will lead the country’s four Reading Communities and will be tasked with delivering innovative projects with local communities to encourage interest in books from all ages.

Claire Askew, a poet, writer and creative writing teacher, has been appointed as Craigmillar’s champion and will take up her post in March next year. Claire said: “I am so pleased to have been selected and I’m especially pleased that I’ll get to work alongside the brilliant team at Craigmillar Library – I can’t wait to get started!”

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Craigmillar being named as one of the first Reading Communities in Scotland is excellent news – congratulations to our new champion. This is a fantastic initiative and I am sure that it will help us to encourage people to make books an even bigger part of their everyday lives.

“Reading is such a wonderful pastime and thanks to the Capital’s public libraries, you can take books home free or read them online, I would encourage everyone to visit their local library today and find out just how much they have to offer people of all ages.”

Edinburgh’s libraries will host an array of authors throughout Book Week, who will be giving free talks about their work – times and places are on the website. Writer Cathy Rentzenbrink and Douglas Lindsay will be reading copies of Journeys, which is being given out free during the Week, on a tram at Edinburgh Airport this Friday.

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, added: “I am delighted to announce our Reading Communities for 2016. We had a really high standard of applicants but I am sure the four areas we have chosen will deliver some really creative and collaborative projects with their dedicated Reading Champions, to involve and inspire their local communities.

“Scottish Book Trust also looks forward to working with the Champions and the libraries to engage local people with our programmes including our annual story gathering campaign and Book Week Scotland.”

The four Reading Communities, each to be led and nurtured by a dedicated Reading Champion and supported financially and practically for nine months by Scottish Book Trust, are Craigmillar in Edinburgh, Dalmuir in West Dunbartonshire, Thurso in the Highlands and Shetland.

Book your tickets for events at www.edinburghreads.eventbrite.co.uk