North Edinburgh Arts and Sustrans are holding a bike locking and safety checking session in MacMillan Square on Friday 28th August from 12:00 – 3:00pm.
Bring your bike along to learn how to check it is safe to ride and how to lock it securely to prevent opportunistic theft.
Numbers are limited to 3 households every 30 minutes. Last demonstration will be at 2:30.
See poster for contact details
GMB has this morning (Tuesday 25 August) called on the Scottish Government to bring forward a COVID testing regime for every school across Scotland, after a survey of its members found that two-thirds of support staff in schools and nurseries do not feel safe at work.
The union has written to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education John Swinney MSP, urging him to follow the interventions made in the social care sector by giving workers the opportunity to access COVID testing in their workplace.
Following a survey conducted between Thursday 20th and Monday 24th August of over 1,400 members employed in support staff roles, including cleaners, janitors, caterers and pupil support assistants, the union learned that:
The results are published against the backdrop of increasing concerns over COVID 19 infection and transmission in Scotland’s schools.
GMB Scotland Organiser Helen Meldrum said: “Over a week since the return of Scotland’s schools, it’s clear that many support staff do not feel safe at their work and overwhelming majority of them want to be able to access a COVID test at work.
“If support staff need to book a test, they must absorb the financial costs and time implications to do so, and for a chronically low-paid workforce with many employed on multiple contracts across multiple workplaces, that’s just not credible.
“The failure over the summer months to listen to the voices of school support staff echoes what we witnessed in care earlier this year, and in this case the political focus has been on teachers and pupils while support staff have been forgotten.
“You cannot have a safe return to full-time education if a significant chunk of the workforce needed do not feel sufficiently safe, valued or heard by our decision-makers, and that’s why we urged the Deputy First Minister to intervene now.”
A school in Dundee has been closed with pupils and staff asked to self-isolate after it was linked to 27 new cases in the city.
JUST ANNOUNCED:
Scottish secondary school pupils will have to wear face coverings in corridors and communal areas from next Monday, Education Secretary John Swinney has confirmed.
SafeDeposits Scotland is working with landlords who provide student accommodation to help overcome challenges brought on by Covid-19, as the number of overseas students returning to the UK drops.
During lockdown, the not-for-profit organisation reached out to landlords and tenants to provide advice and information around changes to the sector due to the pandemic. It works closely with all landlords including those that have been impacted by the decrease in students enrolling this academic year.
The Glasgow-based tenancy deposit scheme holds deposits on behalf of landlords and agents in line with government regulations designed to ensure responsible leasing.
As the sector continues to work towards pre-Covid-19 levels of activity, SafeDeposits Scotland is urging landlords to focus on providing the best renting experience for current tenants, while considering options to diversify their future tenant base.
Mike Smith, operations manager at SafeDeposits Scotland, said: “UK universities expect to see a £2.6 billion shortfall in the next academic year due to the pandemic, with 20% of domestic students not returning to university, and 75% of overseas students not enrolling this September.
“Pre-lockdown, demand for student accommodation in Scotland was notably high. Boasting some of the UK’s top universities, it’s no surprise areas including Aberdeen, Dundee, St Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh experienced an influx of students each year looking for housing.
But despite the drop in numbers of students expected to enrol this year, it’s evident there’s faith in the resilience of the sector, with a number of high-profile developments announced in the past month alone.
“Two recent Edinburgh examples of long-term growth within the sector include the new 120-bed purpose built student accommodation complex set to be built at Haymarket, while Unite Student has confirmed plans for a £24 million build of student flats at Meadowbank.”
To understand the concerns of landlords in the private rented sector during these unprecedented times more clearly, SafeDeposits Scotland carried out research to find out how they have coped during lockdown and how they feel about leasing property in the new academic year.
Mike explained: “We’re confident demand for student housing will return, whether it is in the private rented sector or for purpose-built accommodation. However, until we have a clearer picture of what future academic enrolment figures are like, landlords could consider alternative ways to lease properties.
A good example is renting to young professionals that are looking to move away from home for the first time. The demands of these tenants are similar to students in the private rented sector, and it can be a way of keeping properties occupied until we know more about the future of higher education.
“We recently carried out research with our landlords that are renting to students. This revealed that almost half (43%) secured new tenancies during lockdown while almost three quarters (73%) of this group expressed concerns around what this academic year will look like for them.
“To alleviate concerns, we’ve been working closely with landlords to ensure the tenants they do have in place now have the best experience. To support, we’ve moved our face-to-face workshops online to offer free advice and information. Our Charitable Trust has also recently announced its funding towards research being carried out by the University of Stirling. This research is exploring the benefits of allowing tenants more flexibility to make a house a home.
“We believe having happy tenants leads to longer tenancies, creating more vibrant communities where people want to live. This boosts local economies and helps increase demand for rental property in that area.
“The property sector has been resilient during past economic challenges, but the full impact of the pandemic is yet to be seen. We know the government is working hard to support international students hoping to return to Scotland to continue their higher education studies. This will have a hugely positive impact for our landlords who rely on overseas students to rent their properties, and hopefully we will see the results of this work.
“In the short term, we urge landlords to implement safety guidance from the Scottish Government and manage risk wherever possible, while tenants adhere to the measures put in place.”
New data from the Centre for Cities High Street Recovery Tracker reveals that Eat Out To Help Out is helping the high street, but workers are resisting the Government’s calls to get back to the office – with average weekday city centre footfall showing no change at all since early July.
Using mobile phone data, the tracker shows that the Eat Out to Help Out scheme has encouraged more people to visit city and town centres. On average on Monday to Wednesday evenings in early August visitor numbers were 8 percentage points higher than in late July.
But the scheme has been less effective in large cities. In London, the number of city centre visitors on Eat Out to Help Out nights was just 3 percentage points higher than the same nights in late July – one of the lowest increases in the UK. In contrast, average footfall on Eat Out to Help Out nights in small cities was on average 10 percentage points higher than in late July and in medium sized cities it was 14 percentage points higher.
Seaside towns appear to have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the Eat Out To Help Out scheme and the good weather. With a 23 percentage point increase in Monday to Wednesday night visitors, Bournemouth has had the biggest Eat Out To Help Out boom. Meanwhile Southend, Blackpool and Brighton have also benefited.
| Where is the Eat Out To Help Out Scheme encouraging city and town centre visitors? | ||||||
| Rank | City or town centre | Biggest percentage point increase in Mon-Wed night visitors from late Jul to early Aug | Rank | City or town | Smallest percentage point increase in Mon-Wed night visitors from late Jul to early Aug | |
| 1 | Bournemouth | 23 | 1 | Aberdeen | -3 | |
| 2 | Southend | 22 | 2 | Basildon | 0 | |
| 3 | Dundee | 21 | 3 | Aldershot | 3 | |
| 4 | Doncaster | 20 | 4 | London | 3 | |
| 5 | Peterborough | 19 | 5 | Barnsley | 4 | |
| 6 | Swansea | 19 | 6 | Blackburn | 4 | |
| 7 | Ipswich | 19 | 7 | Sheffield | 5 | |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 18 | 8 | Wigan | 6 | |
| 9 | Milton Keynes | 18 | 9 | Manchester | 6 | |
| 10 | Blackpool | 18 | 10 | Mansfield | 6 | |
| UK city average: 8 percentage point change from late July to early August (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)Source: Locomizer | ||||||
Workers are showing no signs of getting back to the office…
The number of workers heading back to the office has increased in fewer than half of the UK’s biggest city and town centres.
In central London and Manchester, early August weekday footfall rose by just one percentage point compared to the early July. While Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham all saw no change and in Birmingham city centre the number of workers has fallen this summer.
The persistently low numbers of workers going back into city centres, particularly in big cities, reinforces the concerns for the future of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars that depend on office workers for custom.
| Where are people heading back to the office? | ||||||
| Rank | City or town centre | Biggest percentage point INCREASE in worker footfall between w/c 29 Jun and w/c 3 Aug | Rank | City or town | Biggest percentage point DECREASE in worker footfall between w/c 29 Jun and w/c 3 Aug | |
| 1 | Ipswich | 8 | 1 | Blackburn | -15 | |
| 2 | Dundee | 5 | 2 | Basildon | -10 | |
| 3 | Swansea | 5 | 3 | Plymouth | -7 | |
| 4 | Cardiff | 4 | 4 | Northampton | -6 | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 3 | 5 | Gloucester | -6 | |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 3 | 6 | Barnsley | -5 | |
| 7 | Bournemouth | 3 | 7 | Aberdeen | -4 | |
| 8 | Newcastle | 3 | 8 | Blackpool | -4 | |
| 9 | Glasgow | 2 | 9 | Wakefield | -4 | |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 2 | 10 | Slough | -4 | |
| UK city average: 0 percentage point change from w/c 29 June to 11 AugustSource: Locomizer | ||||||
But, again, overall footfall in bigger cities is much weaker than in smaller places. Central London’s overall footfall increased by just five percentage points since early July, and Manchester and Leeds’ by 7 percentage points. On the other hand, footfall in small cities increased by 14 percentage points and medium-sized cities by 18 percentage points over the same period.
| Where has had the biggest increase in footfall? | ||||||
| Rank | City or town centre | Biggest percentage point increase in footfall between w/c 29 Jun and w/c 3 Aug | Rank | City or town | Smallest percentage point increase in footfall between w/c 29 Jun and w/c 3 Aug | |
| 1 | Bournemouth | 59 | 1 | Blackburn | -5 | |
| 2 | Blackpool | 51 | 2 | Basildon | -1 | |
| 3 | York | 35 | 3 | Bradford | 0 | |
| 4 | Dundee | 32 | 4 | Northampton | 3 | |
| 5 | Southend | 31 | 5 | Luton | 4 | |
| 6 | Brighton | 31 | 6 | Aldershot | 4 | |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 30 | 7 | London | 5 | |
| 8 | Swansea | 26 | 8 | Mansfield | 5 | |
| 9 | Plymouth | 22 | 9 | Wakefield | 6 | |
| 10 | Exeter | 22 | 10 | Aberdeen | 6 | |
| UK city average: 11 percentage point change from w/c 29 June to 11 AugustSource: Locomizer | ||||||
Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said: “Good weather and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme have helped increase the number of visitors to city and town centres.
“But a question mark remains over whether the footfall increase that we have seen this summer can be sustained into the autumn without the good weather and Government incentive – particularly with so many people still working from home.
“Shops, restaurants and pubs face an uncertain future while office workers remain at home. So, in the absence of a big increase in people returning to the office, the Government must set out how it will support the people working in city centre retail and hospitality who could well find themselves out of a job by Christmas.”
Designed for people managing long term health conditions but also useful for those have gotten out of the way of being active, find activity challenging or have trouble getting started, this resource from the ‘We Are Undefeatable’ campaign is excellent.
The attached ‘Five in Five’ booklet presents a simple template: choose 5 exercises from the activity library and do each one for 1 minute, adding up to a 5 minute mini-workout.
Have a look and please share it with anyone you think might be interested.
There’s more info at https://weareundefeatable.co.uk/
John Brennan | Senior Health Promotion Specialist (Physical Activity) | NHS Lothian Health Promotion Service |07776 225 778
Investing in THESE Toys Can Make You a Millionaire
Over the past 6 months, we’ve all had a lot of extra time on our hands and have been using that time to clear out all the nooks and crannies in our homes that have been untouched for years.
These clear outs have filled our hearts with nostalgia, as we go through old photo albums, clothes that no longer fit and childhood toys.
Although toys might not seem likely contenders for items to invest in, if you are able to come across the right ones and keep them in perfect condition, you may have hit the jackpot!
The experts at OnBuy’s Toy Department decided to look into some of the most valuable toys and games that could earn you a fortune.
| ITEM | NUMBER OF MONTHLY SEARCHES | HIGHEST RECORDED AMOUNT SOLD FOR ($/£) |
| Comic Book | 284,200 | $3.2m / £2.4m |
| Trading Cards | 20,800 | $3.8m / £2.9m |
| Toy Cars (Hot Wheels) | 894,500 | $175k / £134k |
| Dolls (Barbie) | 675,000 | $303k / £231k |
| Beanie Babies | 153,800 | $600k / £458k |
| Board Games | 560,900 | $147k / £112k |
| Disney VHS Tapes | 6,500 | $15k / £11k |
The Highlights
With a monthly search of 20,800, the highest amount recorded for the purchase of a Trading Card is said to be £2.9m ($3.8m) for a Honus Wagner 1909 card.
Other specific Trading Cards of value include Magic: The Gathering Alpha Black Lotus card, Yu-Gi-Oh Black Luster Soldier card and a Pokémon Holographic First Edition Charizard.
Having the fourth most monthly searches with 284,200, Comic Books are big in the investing game too.
In 2014, a first edition of Action Comics from 1938 sold on Ebay for just over £2.4m when the bidder had only put it up for 99 cents (76p). Other comics of similar value include Detective Comics, Amazing Fantasy and Marvel.
With 153,800 monthly searches, the most expensive sold bundle of Beanie Babies in the world, that went for £458,000 ($600,000), was a large Wallace, two regular sized Wallace’s, Cashew and Huggy.
Other valuable Beanie Babies include Rainbow, Valentino, Princess the Bear, Bubbles and Piccadilly Attic.
Having the second most monthly searches at 675,000, the most expensive Barbie doll ever sold was the Stefani Canturi doll, which went for £231,000 in 2010 due to the necklace the doll sported having been designed by Stefano Canturi and featured emerald-cut pink diamonds.
Other dolls worth value include Original Barbie (1959), Marie Antoinette Barbie and Pink Jubilee Barbie.
Hot Wheels cars have the highest number of monthly searches standing at 894,500 and one of the rarer finds is said to be worth £134,000 the 1969 pink, rear-loading Beach Bomb.
Currently standing at 560,900 monthly searches, the original Monopoly game made in 1933 was sold at an auction for £112,000.
Lastly with the least amount of monthly searches, the most successful Disney VHS tape was sold on eBay for £11,478 ($15,000) – it was the Beauty and the Beast Black Diamond.
The official society studying the life and work of Winston Churchill has published an edition of its journal Finest Hour dedicated to Churchill and Scotland with a foreword by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The society is also launching an appeal for more information about Churchill’s many associations with Scotland to enable further study about how the famous wartime Prime Minister and the Scottish people affected one another.
The International Churchill Society (ICS), the official Churchill society founded in 1968, is among the first to collate and consider Churchill’s numerous but not always well-known connections to Scotland.
Churchill said that the three most important things he received from Scotland were his wife, his constituency, and his regiment.
During the First World War, he commanded the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front in 1916. His two leading officers were both future Scottish political leaders. Andrew Dewar Gibb, a founding member and subsequent leader of the SNP (1936–1940) was Churchill’s adjutant, and Archibald Sinclair, a future leader of the Liberal Party (1935–45), was his second-in-command. Both men are pictured seated next to Churchill with the other officers of the battalion in May 1916 (above).
Churchill was the Liberal MP for Dundee for fourteen years. First elected in 1908, he was re-elected to the seat four times before finally losing (to a Prohibitionist candidate!) in 1922. The same year Churchill was elected to Dundee, he married Clementine Hozier, a granddaughter of the tenth Earl of Airlie.
In 1912, Churchill was among the first senior British politicians to call for Scottish home rule and UK federalism. He received his first government appointment from Scottish prime minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in 1906. He was close friends with the former Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, in his time a highly regarded Scottish politician.
Despite Churchill having had many other personal and professional connections with Scotland, there is little in the country today to mark his presence. Two plaques to his time in Dundee were erected in 2008, and there is an outstanding portrait of him by Scotland’s Sir James Guthrie in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. Otherwise, there are merely a handful of busts around the country including a miniature sculpture in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Museum.
The International Churchill Society is launching a fresh appeal for new stories, facts, photos, and diaries about Churchill’s time in Scotland to expand the field of study further. The team is looking to publish a book in the coming year.
Gordon Brown, former British prime minister (2007–10) said:
“So much has been written about every aspect of Winston Churchill’s life that it is surprising that one important area—his relationship with Scotland—has commanded so little attention.
“That is why this set of essays in Finest Hour must start to rectify this and rescues Churchill’s Scottish connections from the condescension of posterity.”
David Freeman, the editor of Finest Hour, said:
“It’s so rare to find something new to say about Churchill and lo and behold it was right in front of us. There’s a compelling case that England’s greatest Englishman should also be a celebrated hero in Scotland.
“The connections are innumerable and substantial, and we’re thrilled to be among the first to bring these together formally. Finest Hour, our subscription magazine, is free to view this month to kick start this conversation. If you’re sitting with old photos or other memorabilia from one of his many trips to Scotland, please get in touch.”
Allen Packwood, Director of the Churchill Archives, said:
“Churchill is often thought of and referred to as a quintessentially English figure, but this overlooks a multitude of Scottish connections. I am certain that there is new material awaiting discovery in attics and basements that will shed more light on his reception, connections and activities in Scotland.
“We’re delighted to start that process with our dedicated team of academics and enthusiasts, and this is a conversation that we’re delighted to begin with Scotland and, indeed, the world.”
Please get in touch at Scotland@winstonchurchill.org if you would like to learn more or have information on Churchill and Scotland you would like to share with the team.
The Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB) and Unite the Union have welcomed the launch of a consultation exercise which it is hoped will lead to the introduction of a Member’s Bill calling for regulation of electricians.
Both organisations are supporting the proposed Bill, which MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston plans to put forward following the new consultation announced last week.
The Bill by the Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands is calling for the introduction of protection of title, which would ensure that only properly qualified and experienced professionals could call themselves an electrician.
Mr Halcro Johnston said: “Poor quality work has potentially dangerous consequences and presents a risk to neighbours and a financial cost to insurers, as well as placing our emergency services unnecessarily in harm’s way.
“The proposed Bill would ensure that electricians undertaking work are qualified to do so and effectively registered. This will not only benefit the end consumer, but also the electrical industry, which depends on the trust of the wider public.
“Unfortunately, due to restrictions on parliamentary time, my Bill won’t be able to get through during the current parliamentary session. However, by doing this, we have started a process which could lead to an historic and long overdue change after the 2021 election.”
The launch of the consultation was endorsed by the SJIB, which is one of the many organisations backing a rapidly-growing campaign for recognition of electrician as a profession.
Fiona Harper, The Secretary of the SJIB, said: “This consultation is the first part of a very important journey to ensure that only those who are appropriately qualified and experienced are allowed to call themselves an electrician.
“It adds further momentum to the industry’s commitment to improve consumer safety and is another important milestone in protecting people and businesses across Scotland.
“We would like to thank Mr Halcro Johnston for his hard work in getting this important matter to this stage and we look forward to seeing its development.”
Pat Rafferty, Unite Scotland Regional Secretary, added: “This announcement is another step on the road to protecting the reputation of properly qualified electricians, both now and for the next generation.
“Ensuring that skills, qualifications and competence are properly protected will underpin the future of our industry and help raise the bar across our profession as a whole.”
However, Fiona added: “Momentum is everything, so it’s vital that regulation happens as soon as possible. Every day we spend debating is another day that the public are exposed to shoddy and sub-standard electrical work, performed by so-called electricians with no qualifications at all.”
The SJIB and Unite are among the organisations supporting the #BackTheBrick campaign spearheaded by SELECT, Scotland’s largest trade association.
The association has been pressing the Scottish Government for regulation of electricians and has received significant support from MPs, MSPs and major organisations. In May, Liberal-Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton and SNP MP Alan Brown added their names to the SELECT Wall of Support, following in the footsteps of the 32 MSPs who vowed to support the campaign in November 2019.
The issue has already been debated in the Scottish Parliament, with an Electricians Working Group convened to explore the challenges of ensuring the safety of electrical installations and protecting consumers.
TOGETHER is Pilton Community Health Project’s new support service for men!
Upcoming events include walks & mindfulness sessions, as well as one-to-one support.
Find out more:
Website: https://buff.ly/2Yb1lZK
Facebook: https://buff.ly/334vdtX…
The Scottish Community Development Centre has been commissioned by Sustrans to research how and why communities engage (or don’t engage) with active travel projects
SCDC wants to hear from all types and sizes of community and voluntary organisations across the country.
Wherever you are on your active travel journey your experience matters: from those who have never even considered an active travel project to those that are thinking and planning on to those who have successfully completed one.
It doesn’t matter the focus of your organisation – Sustrans would like to know how they can work with all sections of our communities to deliver the benefits of active travel to everyone.
Complete the short (ten-minute maximum) survey by clicking on the link below. Closes Friday 28th August at midnight:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/communities_and_active_travel
