Edinburgh riding high among world’s top universities

The University of Edinburgh is among the leading lights in the world of higher education, featuring 27th on the list of the world’s top learning establishments.

The University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of St. Andrews, University of Dundee and the University of Aberdeen remained in the top 200 universities for 2016-17 in the world’s most comprehensive global league table of higher education.

The new rankings mean Scotland has more institutions per head of population in the top 200 than any other country except Luxembourg.

The THE rankings examine a university’s strengths including research, knowledge transfer, international outlook and the teaching environment. Oxford University tops the league and both Cambridge and Imperial College London also feature in the top ten.

Minister for Further Education and Higher Education Shirley-Anne Somerville said: ““I welcome these figures which underline our strength in higher education and the value with which the Scottish approach is held globally. Credit is due to the staff and students at all five universities for their hard work to achieve this.

“Scotland continues to punch above its weight, having more institutions per head of population in the top 200 than any other country except Luxembourg. This continued strong performance is against a backdrop of other European universities suffering in the rankings due to the ascent of Asian institutions.

“The Scottish Government is investing over £1 billion in our higher education institutions in 2016-17, ensuring that all of our institutions receive financial support to enable them to deliver high quality teaching, world class research and knowledge exchange and remain internationally competitive.”

The five Scottish universities are ranked:

University of Edinburgh – 27^th

University of Glasgow – 88^th

University of St. Andrews – 110^th

University of Dundee – 180^th

University of Aberdeen – 188th

End of summer and time for new faces at Trinity CC

Here’s your first update of the autumn together with details of how to join Trinity Community Council. It’s really very simple. Just get two other residents who haven’t already nominated someone to sign the attached form (below) , fill in your own details, sign the second side of it and return both to Cllr Allan Jackson at Edinburgh City Chambers by 4pm on Monday 26th September.

nomination-form-side-1

nomination-form-side-2

Sainsburys cyclists go the extra mile for chosen charity

Colleagues from Sainsburys Blackhall store recently took part in the BIG BIKE RIDE Challenge, cycling from Nairn to Blackhall and visiting Sainsburys stores on the way. Colleagues from Blackhall were taking part to raise money for our Local Charity of the Year – Health in Mind.

Three local boys from the Davidsons Mains Pipe Band gave their time to pipe the cyclists into store and the 170^th Girl Guide company also gave their time to Bag pack for the charity.

Colleagues from Blackhall would like to thank everyone for their support and also the customers who donated.

We have raised a total of £1,700 for our charity, Health in Mind, so far.

Gail, Sainburys Blackhall

Uncover Edinburgh’s lost past on Doors Open Days

Public invited to see ‘the Edinburgh that never was’

Historic Environment Scotland is throwing open the doors of the National Record of Scotland this weekend to reveal the hidden gems of Edinburgh’s past. Leith’s Trinity House Maritime Museum will also open its doors as part of the Scottish Civic Trust’s popular Doors Open Days programme, assembled by the Cockburn Association.

Edinburgh residents are invited to John Sinclair House on Saturday to explore the national records of architecture, design, archaeology and industry. There they will have the chance to see Edinburgh as it has never been seen before with behind the scenes tours, talks and exhibitions.

Highlights include a never before seen exhibition of Edinburgh’s historic cemeteries taken by American art curator Robert Reinhardt, and an exclusive preview of HES’s new Paul Shillabeer collection, which captures Edinburgh in the 1950s and 1960s.

Exclusive talks include ‘Unbuilt Edinburgh’, an opportunity to see how an alternative Edinburgh may have looked. The talk will focus on unbuilt projects for central Edinburgh, starting with designs by Robert Adam in the 1780s’s and travelling through to the present day.

Neil Gregory, Architecture and Industry Operational Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “We’ve been curating the Scottish National Record of the Historic Environment for over a century, and it comprises over 5 million photographs, drawings and manuscripts. Doors Open Day is a great opportunity for members of the public to come and explore what we’ve got to offer. This year, we’re excited to be giving people a trip down memory lane to see photographs of how Edinburgh used to look, architectural models that have never before been on public display, as well as talks exploring plans for buildings that never made it from the drawing board to our streets.”

HES are also inviting members of the public to get hands on with history by using and adding to the National Record. Demonstrations of the Scotland’s Places and Scran websites will show visitors resources that they can use when conducting their own historical research, and the team from Scotland’s Urban Past will be on hand with information on how to become an Urban Detective.

Meanwhile in Leith, Trinity House Maritime Museum will also be opening its doors to the public. In its bicentenary year, visitors are invited to gain insight into the stories and voyages of Leith’s seafaring past with self-led tours, object handling sessions, quizzes and a free stained glass craft activity.

To mark the Year of Architecture, Innovation and Design, Trinity House will also have a temporary exhibition for visitors to enjoy, exploring 200 years of Leith’s nautical heritage. There will also be opportunities to meet painting conservators and find out more about the work they do to care for HES’s significant collection of paintings.

John Sinclair House is open on Saturday 24^th September, 9.30am – 4.30pm.

Trinity House Maritime Museum is open on Saturday 24 & Sunday 25^th September, 10am – 4pm.

For the full programme of buildings opening across Scotland, visit the Doors Open Days website http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/

And here’s one that’s very close to home …

Ends

Get fashionABLE at Waverley Station tomorrow

COMING up tomorrow on the Scottish fashion scene this autumn: ‘fashionABLE‘ – a new fashion event demonstrating that diversity in life does not mean exclusion from the catwalk and designs.

The first fashionABLE event will be hosting a range of models from all walks of life and showcasing Asian, African and Scottish designers and models supported by Models of Diversity, lead model and founder Angel Sinclair; Tania Pramschufer from LocalMotive Markets and Network Rail.

Model line-up includes TV chef Tony Singh; comedian and TV personality Hardeep Singh Kohli; Stacy Paris from Face of Diversity; Raygan Bold from UpMo and Albert Mkony from Karibu Kilimanjaro.

Celebrity kilts specially hand-made by new-in-town design company, Braw Kilts. Local team UpMo has created a new range of stylish umbrellas, parasols and clothing specially for the event and many more designers involved.

The event will take place on a specially-created ‘accessible’ catwalk designed in ‘3D chalk’ at Platform 2 in Waverley Station in Edinburgh. The staging will have a distinct ‘jungle’ theme with bold colours, lively floral decoration and with sounds of Scottish pipes and African drum music to capture the lively mood.

Global founder of Models of Diversity, Angel Sinclair, who has championed diversity in fashion for many years, will be making a special appearance at the fashionABLE event and is giving her backing with a chance for one person to win and attend a photoshoot in London with a top stylist*.

Founder, Angel Sinclair, said: “It’s important that people with disabilities see themselves represented in fashion. Models of Diversity calls on all High Street fashion brands and retail outlets to employ models with disabilities.”

Running for the very first time in Scotland, this new fashion event is set to show how diverse styles and fashions reflecting the diversity in society in race, shape, age and ability with local, ethnic, ethical and international designs with a distinct catwalk range of Asian, African and Scottish styles.

Tania Pramschufer, director of LocalMotive Markets, said: “This event is all about inclusion and putting people at the heart of fashion making it about them and their identity – not solely the amazing fashions they will be wearing.

“The audience will see for themselves the confidence and energy that these dynamic people demonstrate as they showcase exciting and bold styles with panache.”

Giving her time and support to the fashionABLE event, Face of Diversity at A.C.E and Equal Fashion, Stacy Paris*, said: “Society is a beautiful melting pot of all different types of people, yet media and fashion doesn’t always represent the diversity we see walking down the street.

“What’s fantastic is that there seems to be a movement starting that sees more diversity across the board.

“Whether it’s disabilities, ethnicity, size or body art, these are becoming more celebrated and incorporated into mainstream marketing. This isn’t to say ‘out with the old and in with the new’, not at all!

“Inclusion and diversity is the key here! Seeing everyone represented and rubbishing taboos and the belief that people don’t want to see that is, I believe, such a massive step towards a fairer and more tolerant society on the whole and I am so excited and proud to be part of that, however big or small my role may be!”

Commenting on her involvement, Raygan Bold, UpMo, said: “I’ve got so many words about this event. It’s making me feel really positive about the future and hopefully I will get a career path out of this.”

Young business entrepreneur, Jack Hope, Braw Kilts, added: ““It was a real surprise to be asked to make the kilts for the celebrities Hardeep Singh Kohli and TV chef, Tony Singh, and we are totally delighted to be involved in this new and diverse fashion show.”

Also backing the event, Juliet Donnachie, manager of Waverley Station, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Models of Diversity to Edinburgh Waverley Station.

“The fashionABLE event on 23 September is being organised as part of our Friday Market activities as a new PLATFORM for fashion that promotes inclusivity and diversity.

“We are really looking forward to this positive, inspirational event developed through working with a number of great organisations, including Upward Mobility, an Edinburgh-based mobility support organisation.

Designers will include BRAW Kilts, Covet, Catherine Aitken, Kuma, Rachel Nutini, Selenite, UpMo, Karibu Kilimanjaro, Barakah Designer Collections, Bill Baber knitwear and make-up by Re Make Up – with more exciting designers and models to be announced.

Fashion events run at midday and 2pm

Samba and salsa at Septemberfest this Saturday

Septemberfest 2016

Community Festival at Broughton High School

East Fettes Avenue, Comely Bank

Saturday 24th September 11am – 4pm

Free Entry and lots of free activities for all ages

Fun for all the family. This years Septemberfest has a Brazilian Olympics feel to it, with lots of sports to try out, and all the usual bouncy castles, inflatable assault course, gladiators, bubble football, sumo suits and climbing tower.

The craft fair has loads of fantastic handcrafted goods. Have a go at drumming and listen to the samba band. There will be magic shows from Gary and Stone the Crow, Mr Puffins fantastic balloons, face painting, samba dance workshops and displays, music, archery, bikes, hula hoops, judo, fencing, crazy science, Ron Ray street magician and henna tattoos. Come and ring the siren on a heritage and a real fire engine. There will be lots of craft activities to try. Get your bike fixed for free with Edinburgh Cycles. Tea and cakes, BBQ, pizza, Indian food, Paella, Tango Iceblast, smoothies and ice cream.

Septemberfest 2016 is partly funded by Active Edinburgh and the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership and is supported by Active Schools and Community Learning and Development.

Free entry and many activities are free.

Facebook @septemberfestbhs

Born To Fail? Barnardo’s to launch ‘Believe in Me’ campaign

Wake up call for parents as 87% of young people in Scotland today say they lack confidence and doubt they will succeed in life.

That’s the stark findings from the UK’s number one children’s charity, Barnardo’s.

87% of 11-18 year olds lack confidence.
Only 20% feel confident about the future
64% say grown-ups are ‘not very good’ at telling them they believe they can succeed.
45% of parents agree there’s more pressure on young people today than when they were young, while 65% admit their expectations of children range from high to too high.

The new research is a wake-up call for parents and adults about the importance of expressing belief in children and young people. The majority of children asked said that a supportive adult – be that a parent or other family member, carer, teacher or employer – is the most important thing to help them pursue their goals and have a bright future.

64% say grown-ups they know are ‘not very good’ at telling them they believe they can succeed. And almost two thirds of the parents questioned accepted that their expectations of children are high or too high.

The survey on behalf of Barnardo’s shows that British youngsters feel increasing pressure to perform in all aspects of their lives, but don’t necessarily have the support they crave to help them cope.

Martin Crewe, Scotland Director of Barnardo’s, said: “Barnardo’s has been supporting children for 150 years, and today we help 248,000 young people and families every year. We know how vital it is our young people believe in themselves, and much of our work across our 996 services hopefully gives them the confidence to believe that anything is possible.”

Four thousand secondary school children and parents were surveyed and the results were announced as Barnardo’s unveils its new Ten Year Strategy to help 300,000 more vulnerable children and their families across the country. At the heart of the strategy is the Barnardo’s founding ethos that no child that needs help is ever turned away.

Barnardo’s is setting out its ambitious ten year strategy to transform the lives of millions of young people from every background across the country in front of an invited audience at the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood later today. It will also launch a major new marketing campaign, called ‘Believe in Me’, to support the strategy and stress the importance of believing in children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wodHu-I5Xg&authuser=0

Brock calls for pension reforms rethink

Edinburgh North & Leith MP Deirdre Brock has called for the UK government to rethink the accelerated timetable for pension change. The local MP’s call comes as the SNP launch a report into the impact of state pension age changes on women born in the 1950s. Continue reading Brock calls for pension reforms rethink

Road rage in Auld Reekie!

EDINBURGH IS HOME TO SOME OF THE UK’S MOST IMPATIENT DRIVERS

Poll of European motorists reveals a third of Scots regularly feel angry when driving, with Edinburgh home to the third most impatient drivers in the UK
Drivers across the UK say they are angrier, more stressed and more impatient than many of their European neighbours
Swedish motorists say they are least likely to feel angry at the wheel, whilst Italians say they are the most likely to suffer road rage reveals Ikano Bank

Two thirds (69 per cent) of drivers in Edinburgh confess to feeling impatient when driving, while more than half (55 per cent) said they regularly feel stressed. Almost a third (30 per cent) also admit to regularly suffering from road rage, according to new research released today by Ikano Bank.

The Swedish bank commissioned the Europe wide survey to explore the differences between attitudes to driving in different nations.

Just under half (45 per cent) of Scottish drivers say they’re stressed behind the wheel and over half (57 per cent) saying they feel impatient.

The survey also covered the UK’s 14 biggest cities. Drivers in Newcastle declared themselves the angriest with four in 10 (41 per cent) drivers admitting to regularly feeling cross, followed closely by Sheffield (40 per cent) and Manchester and Cardiff (both 39 per cent) tied for third.

Liverpool led the way as the calmest driving city, with one in six (16 per cent) regularly feeling angry, followed by Bristol (27 per cent) and Nottingham (31 per cent).

Sweden topped the Europe wide table for the least angry, impatient, anxious and stressed drivers. A third of Swedish drivers (30 per cent) said they regularly got angry in the car and less than half (48 per cent) said they sometimes felt impatient. Stress levels are also lower, with half of women and just a third (37 per cent) of men affected.

This is despite Swedish drivers spending the most amount of time stuck in traffic than any other nation. Almost half (46 per cent) of Swedish drivers said they spent more than four hours in traffic jams each week and one in ten (11 per cent) said they spend more than 10 hours. This compares with just 13 per cent and one per cent respectively in the UK.

Italy’s drivers admitted to being the angriest (45 per cent), most impatient (67 per cent) and most stressed (60 per cent). The UK was second in the table with Spain in a close third.

Simon Ripton, Head of Direct to Consumer at Ikano Bank, said: “In the UK, we have long been famous for our capacity for waiting patiently in queues, but these results show that we could learn something from Sweden.

“With one in 10 Swedish people saying they sit in traffic for more than 10 hours per week, it’s obvious that they are not having an easier time of it on the roads – so it’s clearly something to do with the Swedish attitude towards driving.

“Sweden is often cited for offering an excellent work-life balance with fewer people working long hours and more of an emphasis on family life as a priority, and this could have a lot to do with the way people feel when they get behind the wheel.

“At this time of the year, when the new car registrations are released, we see an increase in applications for personal loans from those looking to buy new cars. With our Swedish heritage, we want to make things as simple as possible for our customers, hence we were interested in comparing the experience our customers are having on the roads.

“We think there’s a lot to be said for the Swedish way of life. With that in mind, we’ve launched our ‘Drive Like a Swede’ competition, where we’re giving away advanced driver courses to 100 motorists with the aim of making their experience on the road just that little bit better.”

For more details on how to enter to win one of 100 advanced driver courses with IAM Roadsmart, please visit www.ikano.co.uk/like-a-swede.

Research overview:

UK Cities

	Liverpool	Nottingham	Dundee	Sheffield	Aberdeen City	Leeds	Edinburgh
Angry	16/100	31/100	36/100	40/100	36/100	31/100	30/100
Impatient	60/100	46/100	59/100	62/100	67/100	62/100	69/100
Stressed	47/100	49/100	44/100	43/100	47/100	51/100	55/100
Anxious	35/100	47/100	39/100	35/100	31/100	37/100	30/100
Average	39.58%	43.22%	44.49%	44.64%	45.14%	45.44%	45.70%

	London	Birmingham	Cardiff	Greater Manchester	Bristol	Newcastle upon Tyne	Glasgow
Angry	34/100	33/100	39/100	39/100	27/100	41/100	35/100
Impatient	62/100	59/100	68/100	66/100	70/100	68/100	71/100
Stressed	50/100	56/100	52/100	52/100	61/100	59/100	64/100
Anxious	40/100	43/100	37/100	41/100	41/100	40/100	40/100
Average	46.39%	47.67%	48.81%	49.33%	50.00%	51.84%	52.60%

	Dundee	Edinburgh	Cardiff	Sheffield	Glasgow	Liverpool	Aberdeen
Relaxed	95/100	94/100	92/100	95/100	87/100	92/100	86/100
Happy	97/100	94/100	92/100	88/100	96/100	90/100	94/100
Average	95.76%	93.75%	92.06%	91.67%	91.56%	90.83%	90.28%

	Bristol	Greater Manchester	Leeds	London	Newcastle upon Tyne	Birmingham	Nottingham
Relaxed	88/100	87/100	85/100	86/100	87/100	80/100	80/100
Happy	89/100	89/100	91/100	87/100	81/100	82/100	81/100
Average	88.28%	88.00%	87.96%	86.11%	83.82%	81.01%	80.51%

Countries

	Sweden	Germany	Netherlands	France	Spain	UK	Italy	Wales	Scotland
Angry	30/100	30/100	31/100	38/100	43/100	38/100	45/100	31/100	33/100
Impatient	48/100	56/100	52/100	61/100	57/100	62/100	67/100	59/100	57/100
Stressed	43/100	46/100	35/100	43/100	51/100	50/100	60/100	45/100	45/100
Anxious	18/100	18/100	19/100	35/100	37/100	41/100	47/100	36/100	34/100
Average	35.13%	37.76%	39.06%	44.51%	47.05%	47.92%	54.53%	42.89%	42.15%

Morrisons hand over charity cheques

You may recall Morrison’s local stores Granton and Ferry Road took part in a local derby at Spartans recently and the keenly fought football match raised over £1200 for charity.

Morrisons staff nominated two local charities to receive a share of the money raised, and last week representatives from St Columba’s Hospice and SIMBA (Simpsons Memory Box Appeal) called in to the Granton store on the Waterfront to collect their cheques.

Congratulations to the sporting staff who took part in the big game and well done too to all who generously supported the event.

Thanks to Morrison’s Dorothy Thomson for the pictures