Month: October 2016

See Sir Walter’s baffies!

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A pair of slippers worn by Sir Walter Scott have been placed on display at Edinburgh’s Writers’ Museum. The renowned Scottish author, famous for penning Waverley and Rob Roy, was gifted the slippers in 1830 by friends who were ‘saddened’ by the state of the ones they found him wearing at his home in Abbotsford!

A letter from Scott’s friend, Lady Honoria Louisa Cadogan, reads: ‘The only thing we did not admire at Abbotsford was a (pair) of ugly, uncomfortable slippers we saw in (your) study so my daughters hope you will replace them by their’s.’

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We recently refurbished the Writers’ Museum to include a new gallery dedicated to Sir Walter Scott and this loan adds enormously to the existing display of personal books and items belonging to the author.

“It is fantastic to have a local resident step forward with the offer of this loan and I hope it might encourage further donations to the city’s Museums so we can continue to add to the mix of items on display. I have no doubt they will generate much interest.”

The embroidered footwear will be on loan to the Museum for five years thanks to private collector Richard Wiseman. He purchased Scott’s size nine slippers from a collection previously owned by the author Sir Hugh Walpole, who is said to have been inspired by Scott’s writing style.

Richard Wiseman said: “We live in one of Walter Scott’s former Edinburgh homes and we came across these slippers online by chance. We love them, and we want to give other people the opportunity to see and enjoy them too. They are certainly well-worn so you never know, Scott might have sat at his writing desk in Abbotsford wearing these slippers to keep him comfortable as he wrote his later novels in the last two years of his life.”

Gillian Findlay, Curatorial and Engagement Manager for the Museum, added: “Scott’s slippers tell such a human story of the need for creature comforts and the compassion the author inspired in his friends, particularly at this vulnerable moment towards the end of his life. He was still mourning the loss of his wife and struggling to make ends meet since the banking crisis of 1825. He had received advances on books he hadn’t written yet but a kind friend took pity on him and had these slippers made as a gift.”

The City of Edinburgh Council managed museum is free to visit and allows visitors to discover the Capital’s rare collection of first edition books, personal belongings and portraits of great Scottish writers. In August, it was named a top visitor attraction when it was selected as a winner of TripExpert’s 2016 Experts’ Choice Award.

Next week: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Samoan flip-flops?!

Meet up for a local Buggy Walk on Wednesdays

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PILTON BUGGY WALK: Meet outside Royston Community Centre for circular walk 10am every Wednesday until the 30th November.

We have changed the meet up point for Pilton to the community centre at Wardieburn as an experiment as it may be more appealing and we will do a circuit from there, through the streets around taking in a few green spaces and circling back to the community centre for a cuppa, chat and baby changing and so on. Hope to see you there!

You can just turn up or sign up at:

http://www.meetup.com/Buggy-Walks-MeetUp-Edinburgh/events/234836637/

Your walk leader will be Hannah.

It would be great if you could get us a few more new Parents to come along!

Continue reading Meet up for a local Buggy Walk on Wednesdays

Johnstone concern over missed tooth decay targets

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Alison Johnstone MSP, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has expressed concern at statistics showing that half of Primary One children in deprived communities have tooth decay.

The NHS report concludes that “clear health inequalities persist, and reducing dental health inequality must remain a priority.”

The main finding is that in the most deprived communities 55 per cent of P1 children have no obvious tooth decay. The national target is 60 per cent. In the least deprived communities, 82 per cent have no decay.

Alison Johnstone MSP said: “Poor dental health among children in less well-off communities is a tragedy and we must do more to turn this around. Getting children into good habits to look after their teeth is vital and there are good schemes in operation across Scotland, but we need to see greater effort to support parents, carers, school staff and communities.

“On top of that, there are steps that we can take to reduce the income inequality that contributes to poor health outcomes. I’ve already persuaded Scottish Ministers to roll-out the Healthier Wealthier Children project which boosts the incomes of vulnerable families. We can go much further by improving wages and using tax powers to put more money in the pockets of those who need it most.”

National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) Report 2016:
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Dental-Care/Publications/2016-10-25/2016-10-25-NDIP-Summary.pdf

I, Daniel Blake anger spills out of the cinema

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    Campaigners across Scotland are calling on the Scottish Government to do everything in their power to eradicate the draconian elements in the UK Welfare provision. The opportunity  arises as elements of the Welfare Budget are transferred to the Scottish Parliament.
    ‘I Daniel Blake’ shows the impact of the UK Government’s attack on welfare provision. It depicts the disrespect and de-humanisation and the creation of a blame culture on those who find themselves relying
    on welfare provision.
    Following previews of the film across Edinburgh at Friday 21 st October’s opening night over 50 community campaigners pledged to take their distress and anger at the demonisation of those who need benefits to the Parliament.
    Campaigners, organisations and Unions will be outside the Scottish Parliament at 1pm tomorrow (Thursday 27 October) after First Minister’s Question Time.
    We will be asking all MSPs to sign a large ‘I Daniel Blake’ poster to show their support for a radical change to the welfare system in Scotland.
    A meeting is being arranged for Saturday 26th November to mobilise all parts of Scotland to pressure their MSPs to maximise the opportunity that any transfer of welfare provision to the Scottish Parliament allows.
    Community groups throughout the east of Scotland will be holding showings of the film when the DVD becomes available in January to continue the mobilisation.
    Willie Black – Action against Austerity 

Continue reading I, Daniel Blake anger spills out of the cinema

Award for ‘remarkable’ Forth Road Bridge repair

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Used by over 24 million vehicles a year, the repair of Scotland’s longest bridge has been crowned the overall winner of the 2016 Saltire Society Civil Engineering Awards. Established in 1981, the Awards are a much coveted accolade from the Saltire Society and the Institution of Civil Engineers Scotland, recognising excellence and innovation in civil engineering.  Continue reading Award for ‘remarkable’ Forth Road Bridge repair

Secondary schoolgirls inspired to get active

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An innovative project to encourage girls at city high schools to become more active is being launched by the City of Edinburgh Council today.

The first ‘Girls Day Out’ conference has been organised by the Council’s Active Schools team and aims to inspire, encourage and support girls to become more active, raise the profile of successful girls and their achievements and educate girls on the power of sport.

The event, which has been organised in partnership with Youth Scotland and sportscotland, will involve more than 150 girls from S1 to S5 year groups across the city who will gather at Wester Hailes Education Centre, from 10am until 2pm.

It will be an interactive, fun packed day where the girls will hear from inspiring female role-models and learn about the power of sport.  The day will be made up of a number of workshops including nutrition, a mental wellbeing and alternative physical activity sessions including jump rope, trampolining and PiYo (cross between Pilates and Yoga).

Partners Youth Scotland, who will support the delivery of some of the workshops on the day, have also funded for the girls who attend the conference to be put through the Dynamic Youth Awards which is a peer-assessed awards recognising the contributions and achievements of young people in the 10+ age group.

Councillor Cathy Fullerton, Vice Convener for Education, Children & Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Often girls give up sport when they start at high school so ‘Girls Day Out’ is a great way to encourage them to become more active and discover the different and fun ways to achieve this.

“I am sure that the great programme of activities at Wester Hailes today will show the girls the benefits of taking part in PE, sport and physical activity.”

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive, sportscotland, said: “Our aim with Active Girls is to work with our partners to increase participation in PE, sport and physical activity amongst girls and young women. ‘Girls Day Out’ is a terrific way for schools, clubs and hubs to showcase the opportunities available both locally and nationally.

“The Active Schools team here in Edinburgh has put together a very comprehensive and innovative programme to highlight the benefits of an active lifestyle in a fun and interactive way.  I’m sure it will be a great success.”