Month: August 2019

Granton Community Day cancelled due to dates clash

Community event rescheduled for Spring next year

On behalf of Granton Parish Church we are getting in touch with an update on the Community Day planned for Saturday 7th September. 

We have taken the decision to postpone the event until Spring 2020. Two other similar events have been planned by other community groups and rather than run a competing event where we invite different community groups to choose which one to support we chose to push ours back to the Spring.

This will allow the wider community to concentrate its resources and offer a better experience to those attending the other two events. They are a Community BBQ at the Old Kirk and Muirhouse Parish Church and a Community Day at Wardie Bowling Club.

We encourage you to throw your support behind them!

We know that you had not been able to attend on 7th September anyway, and we hope that we can find a date in the spring of next year that will be more suitable. We will be back in touch in a few weeks with a save the date for the Spring.

On behalf of all in the church we thank you for your commitment to making a stronger community here in Granton.

Norman Smith

MPs call for tougher restrictions on phone use in cars

The Government should consider tougher restrictions on driving while using a mobile phone and stricter enforcement of the law to prevent the ‘entirely avoidable’ tragedy of deaths and serious injuries from related crashes on the roads, MPs say.

‘Receiving and sending data equally dangerous’

In Road Safety: driving while using a mobile phone, the Transport Committee says the evidence is clear: using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

MPs call on Government to overhaul current laws on using hand-held mobile devices while driving, to cover use irrespective of whether this involves sending or receiving data.

As evidence shows that using a hands-free device creates the same risks of crashing, the Committee also recommends that Government explores options for extending the ban on hand-held devices to hands-free phones.

In 2017, there were 773 casualties, including 43 deaths and 135 serious injuries, in collisions where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor. The number of people killed or seriously injured has risen steadily since 2011.

Tougher enforcement needed

However, the rate of enforcement has plunged by more than two thirds since 2011. Enforcing the law is essential to ensuring that motorists do not illegally use their mobile phone while driving.  While the Committee welcomes the Government’s review of roads policing and traffic enforcement, the report calls on the Government to work with police to boost enforcement and make better use of technology.

The penalties for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving were increased in 2017 but still do not appear to be commensurate with the risk created and should be reviewed and potentially increased so that it is clear there are serious consequences to being caught, says the Report.

Chair of the Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP, said: “Despite the real risk of catastrophic consequences for themselves, their passengers and other road users, far too many drivers continue to break the law by using hand-held mobile phones.

“If mobile phone use while driving is to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving much more effort needs to go into educating drivers about the risks and consequences of using a phone behind the wheel. Offenders also need to know there is a credible risk of being caught, and that there are serious consequences for being caught.

“There is also a misleading impression that hands-free use is safe. The reality is that any use of a phone distracts from a driver’s ability to pay full attention and the Government should consider extending the ban to reflect this.

“Each death and serious injury which results from a driver using a mobile phone is a tragedy that is entirely avoidable. We need tougher restrictions, better enforcement and more education to make our roads safer for all.”

Win afternoon tea for two with Home Store + More

Retailer thanks local community for going the extra mile

To celebrate this year’s national Afternoon Tea Week, Home Store + More, Your Quality Homeware Specialist, is inviting members of the public to nominate people in their local community they think deserve a treat.

Nominations can be submitted for friends, family, work colleagues or local people who have gone the extra mile for their community. Winners will receive a £50 voucher to spend in Home Store + More’s Craigleith branch, along with a luxurious afternoon tea for two at The Waldorf Astoria (Caledonian) Hotel.

Rachael Neill, store manager at Home Store + More’s Craigleith branch, said: “There is a wonderful community spirit in our area with so many members of the community helping each other every day to make this a fantastic place to live and work.

“At Home Store + More, we want to give back to our local community and thank those who have gone above and beyond with a special celebration during Afternoon Tea Week.

“We will be encouraging our followers to nominate anyone they think deserves a treat. Winners will enjoy a relaxing and tasty afternoon of treats as well as a complimentary gift voucher to redeem in store.”

It’s quick and easy to nominate someone in your community who you think should enjoy a little indulgence. Simply find us on Facebook where nominations will open at 8am on Friday 9th August 2019 and close at 3pm on 12th August 2019 – that’s this afternoon!

With an array of baking, cake decorating and cookware supplies in store, Home Store + More has everything you need to host the perfect Afternoon Tea party.

Full competition details can be found on our Facebook site.

Coronation Street to air historic sex abuse storyline

Coronation Street is to explore the devastating effects of historic child sexual abuse within a family.
Gemma Winter’s world is set to be torn apart when it is revealed that her twin brother Paul was sexually abused by their stepdad Kel.

Continue reading Coronation Street to air historic sex abuse storyline

World Elephant Day: UK Government supports iconic mammals

A major UK Government-supported project has helped over 70,000 people and hundreds of elephants live side-by-side peacefully in Myanmar.

The Asian elephant’s habitat ranges across 13 countries in Asia, but it is an endangered species with less than 40,000 remaining worldwide – less than one-tenth of the African elephant population. Continue reading World Elephant Day: UK Government supports iconic mammals