After sitting down to enjoy Christmas dinner, many of us head straight to the sofa to spend the remainder of Christmas Day watching TV, playing board games, snacking or taking a nap.
It is estimated that the average person in the UK consumes two to three times their recommended calorie intake on Christmas day, so why not get off the sofa, get moving and burn off some extra calories this Christmas?
Get on your bike
In 2020, there was an increase in bicycle sales. If you own a bike, why not get out for a Christmas Day cycle and make the most of the roads being quieter than usual. If your kids got bikes for Christmas, why not join them for a cycle around your local area.
Walk the dog
Dog ownership also increased in 2020. If you or your family have a dog, try not to miss out on your usual walk on Christmas Day. If you normally do two walks, try to stick to the plan and don’t skip one of them. You could even increase the distance of your walk to burn off a few extra calories on Christmas Day.
Dance the day away
Dance floors may have been out of bounds in 2020 due to COVID-19, but don’t let this stop you from getting your groove on! Why not put on your favourite tunes and dance around the kitchen as you prepare Christmas dinner. You could put your favourite 2021 music videos on and get your household dancing in the living room after dinner.
To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website:
A research project at the University of Edinburgh, led by Professor Gillian Gray, has been awarded £88,000 by Heart Research UK. Prof Gray’s team has discovered that a drug originally developed to treat obesity and diabetes also promotes repair of the heart after a heart attack and reduces the development of heart failure.
Now the team will use ‘mass spectrometry imaging’ (MSI) to look in more detail at the effects of the drug on the heart muscle.
Heart attacks occur when the blood flow to the heart is interrupted, causing damage that can weaken the heart and lead to heart failure. The new drug that has been discovered acts early after heart attack to prevent the spread of injury in the heart muscle and therefore has the potential to benefit many patients.
As obese and diabetic people are at higher risk of heart attack, the combined actions of the drug on the heart, fat and insulin make it particularly appealing.
The drug has already undergone safety tests in volunteers, so could now rapidly progress to human trials. However, the research team will first need to show that this new drug offers benefits over existing drugs used to treat heart failure.
To do this, the team will use MSI to further investigate the effects the drug has on the heart. It is anticipated that this will provide unique evidence that the biochemical pathways in the heart muscle affected by the drug are distinct from those affected by drugs already used to treat heart failure.
MSI uses a laser to collect samples from slices of tissues. Levels of substances in the body like cortisol and cholesterol breakdown products, that we expect to change after a heart attack and in response to the drug, can be measured in each spot targeted by the laser. This information can then be used to build a map of where they are found.
The MSI group, led by collaborator Professor Ruth Andrew, have already used this technique to visualise and measure activity of the enzyme targeted by the drug in the brain, liver and kidney.
They will prepare thin sections of heart muscle and use the laser to capture samples from injured areas and compare these to samples from healthy areas. MSI has enormous potential for helping to understand biochemical pathways in the heart but has never been systematically applied to heart tissue before.
Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive of Heart Research UK, said: “We’re very happy to be able to award one of our Novel and Emerging Technologies Grants to Professor Gray and her team.
“This project will generate novel MSI data from heart tissue which will provide vital information on how the drug affects the heart, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
You can read more about and apply for Heart Research UK’s Research Grants here.
Yesterday, on global Human Rights Day, as the UK attends the international Summit for Democracy and the Justice Secretary vows to “overhaul” our protections, over 150 groups across the UK challenged the Prime Minister to secure our Human Rights Act.
As the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, attended President Biden’s Summit for Democracy, over 150 groups issued an open letter challenging him to secure our Human Rights Act and safeguard human rights and democratic accountability here at home.
The organisations include those working with children, carers, people with learning disabilities and mental ill-health, women experiencing violence, migrants, older people, and groups campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights, fair trials, access to justice, decent housing and against racial discrimination and to increase the UK’s democratic accountability.
In our work up and down the country, we see the everyday ways our Human Rights Act helps people across the UK to live more dignified and equal lives; ordinary people whose voices are rarely considered by those in power.
The loud calls to tamper with our Human Rights Act, often by those in government with the responsibility to uphold our protections, does little to reassure civil society groups, and the many people we each support and represent.
As parliamentarians quizzed the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab on the government’s human rights priorities, the Minister doubled down on his intention to publish plans to change our law imminently, despite not yet having published the report of the Independent Review of the Human Rights Act.
This atmosphere of hostility towards human rights and legal accountability in the UK cannot continue. The organisations are calling on the Prime Minister, and leaders of all political parties to “move from the romanticisation of being human rights pioneers in 1948 and commit to our Human Rights Act protections being a part of everyone’s life, every day, today and tomorrow.”
Sanchita Hosali, Director of the British Institute of Human Rights, the organisation coordinating the letter, said: “As the UK enthusiastically participates in President Biden’s Summit for Democracy, it is time for our Prime Minister to also turn the lens inwards. The hostile environment towards human rights and accountability cannot continue; if we are a nation that values democracy, we must also value the checks on power.”
“At BIHR whether we are working with doctors and nurses, children and parents, teachers or prison officers, women surviving abuse, people with learning disabilities and many others; what we see every single day is the real value and meaning of our Human Rights Act for people across the UK.”
“Rather than hyperbole and rhetoric bordering on dog whistle politicking, we need a government that is willing to stand up for Our Human Rights Act, our way to hold them to account. As we all work hard to mitigate the impact of the pandemic – a crisis in which our Human Rights Act has provided vital protections – we stand with over 150 other organisations calling for a world in which our political leaders move from the romanticisation of being human rights pioneers in 1948 and commit to our rights being a part of everyone’s life, every day, today and tomorrow. It is a challenge we urge Mr Johnson to take on.”
The letter reads:
“Dear Prime Minister and Political Leaders
Every year on 10 December, the world marks Human Rights Day, commemorating the day when, in 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognising the dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
This is the foundation of our Human Rights Act; this is why it matters. Our law here at home, setting out each person’s protections, and the responsibilities of government and those with public power to realise that vision of the UDHR; for us all to live in equal dignity.
Our politicians often proudly recall the UK’s role in setting down human rights law in the aftermath of World War II, standing shoulder to shoulder with nations to affirm our commitment to ensuring that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, that a common understanding of these rights should be shared by every person and part of society.
Now, in the midst of this modern era global crisis, human rights must inform both our responses to the pandemic and our recovery from it. No one has escaped the impact of this virus. And sadly, we have witnessed the disproportionate and discriminatory effects of Covid-19 and government measures among too many, including among black and minoritized communities, for disabled people, and people who live in care homes, alongside significant educational impacts for children and young people, deepening poverty, increased reporting of domestic abuse, and even more difficulty accessing justice.
There is much more than we cannot do justice to in such a short space, but which has been documented by parliamentary committee inquiries and research from our national human rights institutions, academics and across civil society. If recovery is to be resilient and just it must be focused on upholding our human rights.
And yet, here in the UK, rather than renewed commitment to upholding rights we face a hostile environment for human rights. Rather than addressing the inequalities fuelled and exacerbated by the pandemic, we are facing a political climate filled with threats to “overhaul” the very protections we all need upheld. The loud calls to tamper with our Human Rights Act, by those with the very responsibility to uphold them, does little to reassure us, and the many people we support and represent.
Human Rights Day should be an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of human rights in rebuilding the world we want. We call on the UK Government, and all political leaders, to share our commitment to universal human rights, as set out in our Human Rights Act.
As civil society groups working hard to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, we want a world in which our political leaders move from the romanticisation of being human rights pioneers in 1948 and commit to our Human Rights Act protections being a part of everyone’s life, every day, today and tomorrow.”
CEC is also asking people to fold up their cardboard neatly before putting it in the correct recycling bin to make sure they leave enough room for all the extra recycling likely to be generated over the festive season.
If there is no room left, we’d encourage you to make an appointment at your nearest recycling centre and take any extra waste there. If that is not possible, fold it up neatly and place it next to your bin on your collection day.
If you have a large amount of any waste generated please don’t place it next to your bins but book an appointment at your local household waste recycling centre.
The council is also letting residents know there are no changes to waste and recycling collections as Christmas and New Year are on a Saturday this year so they should put their recycling and waste bins out on their usual collection days.
Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Environment Convener, said:“It’s really important that we all do our bit to help the environment and the festive season is a perfect opportunity to get creative and reduce waste by making delicious dishes out of leftovers, making gifts for our loved ones and reusing cards and wrapping paper as festive decorations for future years.
“Many more people are still shopping online due to the current health pandemic which means a lot of cardboard is being used. When clearing up this Christmas, please remember to fold cardboard up neatly and recycle it responsibly and I think it is also important to point out that when shopping remember that while foil and metallic wrapping paper and cards may add sparkle to your Christmas, they can’t be recycled.”
Councillor Karen Doran, Environment Vice-Convener, said:“As well us reusing, buying responsibility and locally where you can, when waste is generated, please help us push up our recycling rates by making sure you clean your plastics before they are recycled to stop contamination and put everything in the correct bin.
“Any food you haven’t turned into lovely leftovers, if you put it in your food waste bin, we turn into energy and fertiliser. Recycling one kitchen caddy of food waste can create enough energy to power a TV for five hours.
“Other fun facts we’re sharing to encourage people to recycle are six clean mince pie foil cases saves enough energy to watch up to an hour of TV and one glass bottle saves enough energy to make 14 slices of toast.
“When the fun is over and you’re taking down your tree, if you are recycling it, check which day we’re collecting trees in your street on our website, remove its base, decorations and cut it in half if it’s over 6ft before popping it neatly on the kerbside on its collection day.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has launched its new, 10-year vision which deepens its pledge to improve the safety of Scotland’s communities.
In its new vision, the SFRS sets out its commitment to meeting the changing needs of communities, recognising the new and emerging challenges they face, including climate change, an aging population and the increased threat from terrorism.
The vision is underpinned by an undertaking to continue to work together with all public, third-sector and community partners for a safer Scotland and to keep a local focus on responding to the diverse needs of communities across the country.
Martin Blunden, Chief Officer of the SFRS, said: “We are a national service with national standards and practices but we absolutely recognise the need to find local solutions to local issues to effectively respond to community need.
“We want to be regarded as among the best fire and rescue services in the world, focused on meeting the shifting needs of our communities, working together to prevent and reduce the impacts of unintentional harm being at the heart of what we do.
“We believe that we will achieve this because we have a highly-skilled, experienced and talented workforce and we know we can offer more to help save lives and keep Scotland safe.”
Chief Officer Blunden added: “We created our vision in partnership through extensive engagement and consultation with our staff, our partners and the public, and we will continue to work together to achieve it. Working collaboratively – particularly with other emergency services – gives us all the best chance of meeting our ambitions.
“From early 2022, we’ll be setting out how we will achieve our vision through our next three-year strategic plan, and we will again be engaging with all stakeholders on this next step of our journey.”
Suzanne Tanner makes FIFTY recommendations for improvement
The findings of an independent review into the whistleblowing and wider organisational culture at the City of Edinburgh Council have been published.
The review was commissioned by councillors in October 2020, with Susanne Tanner QC appointed as independent chair. As with the inquiry into the conduct of the late Sean Bell, published last month, she has been assisted throughout by well-respected law firm, Pinsent Masons.
In her report, which councillors will consider at a meeting next Thursday (16 December), Ms Tanner QC highlights ‘considerable strides’ taken to improve the Council’s whistleblowing and organisational culture since 2014 but also finds that significant work remains to be done, setting out 50 recommendations for further improvements and positive change.
If accepted by councillors next week, Ms Tanner QC’s findings will form the basis of an action plan to be drawn up by the Chief Executive for consideration by councillors in February 2022.
The fifty recommendations are:
Chief Executive Andrew Kerr said: “I want to thank all those who took the time to contribute to the independent review. I know that, for some, this will have been extremely challenging, based on what they have been through, and I want to pay tribute to their courage in coming forward.
“I also want to thank Ms Tanner QC and the team at Pinsent Masons for their forensic approach to their work and the sensitivity and care with which they treated contributors.”
Council Leader Cllr Adam McVey said: “We owe it to our colleagues and to the public to continue to drive improvements and make sure the culture of the Council is the best it possibly can be.
“I’m grateful to the independent review team for outlining points that need further work and for setting out strong and thorough recommendations on how to sustain the positive path the Council is on. The report highlights the significant progress and improvements made to the Council’s whistleblowing culture in recent years and this should give all of us encouragement that further improvement can be achieved.
“It will take a lot of work to implement these independent, robust and constructive recommendations, but I’m confident these will be adopted in full by Councillors and delivered by the Chief Executive and wider management team to make sure the Council is in the very best position it can be to support our colleagues and deliver the best services for the people of Edinburgh.”
Depute Leader Cllr Cammy Day said: “It was crucial that our colleagues – both past and present – and others with a connection to the Council, felt empowered to come forward and share their views and we went to great lengths to ensure they were aware of the process and how to get involved.
“This resulted in a greater than expected response to Ms Tanner’s call for evidence and, ultimately, supported what is a detailed and thorough examination of our culture.
“We will now carefully consider the findings and recommendations and agree an action plan for how best to take these forward.”
While we were celebrating our 35 Years of Play and planning our Christmas celebrations, we didnt know we had yet another challenge coming our way this year.
On the 7th of December, The Yard Edinburgh was a victim of vandalism. On Tuesday, a fire was deliberately initiated in the boardwalk, damaging the grounds, outdoors electric systems and the door of the Solar Dome.
We are devastated and currently doing our best to have affected areas repaired as soon as possible, which will be a costly process. Luckily, no one was harmed and damage was contained.
Services were suspended on Tuesday, but we reopened the following day. We are still going ahead with our Christmas celebrations as scheduled, but families will not be able to access some areas for a while which will reduce the quality of play experience we pride ourselves for at The Yard.
Despite this heartbreaking news, we are confident that we’ll come out to the other side stronger, as we always have.
Please support us today if you can and donate as much or as little as you can. Every donation will help us rise stronger and continue to be there for the families that use The Yard.
Following a full meeting of Council Leaders yesterday (Friday) COSLA said it cannot accept the essential services provided by Scottish Local Government being once again overlooked by the Scottish Government in yesterday’s budget announcement.
COSLA described the budget as a bad deal for communities and warned that serious financial challenges in key service areas lay ahead for Scotland’s Councils.
Speaking this afternoon COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Councillor Gail Macgregor said: “My initial feeling is one of real disappointment for our communities. Once again Local Government has been treated as the poor relation of the public sector.
“This settlement represents £100m cut to our core Settlement, before any other pressures such as National Insurance costs, pay or inflation are taken into account.
“We wanted a Budget for Local Government that enables people to Live Well Locally – what we have is a budget that barely allows Local Government to survive.
“We are left in a position where we do not have adequate funding to provide our range of essential services and support recovery from COVID.
“Many essential services provided by Scottish Local Government are in a fairly precarious position as a result of cuts to Councils’ core budgets and direction on spend towards Scottish Government priorities over the last few years.”
Councillor Macgregor continued: “In terms of Council Tax- whilst we welcome the removal of the cap and the recognition that this is a local tax that should be decided locally – we cannot put the burden of a poor settlement onto hard pressed families. That is simply not fair.“
Council Leaders were unanimous today that we need to work together, with one Local Government voice, to raise our concerns at the highest level of Scottish Government.
COSLA President Councillor Alison Evison said that it was beyond frustrating that Local Government’s ambition to enable people to Live Well Locally has been totally disregarded.
Councillor Evison added: “Whichever way you look at it, the reality of the situation is that yet again the essential services Councils deliver have been overlooked by the Scottish Government. There is no recognition that these very services are the bedrock for additional policies and priorities which the Scottish Government wants councils to provide.
“It is beyond frustrating that the importance of Local Government’s role in enabling Communities to Live Well Locally across Scotland, has not been reflected in the Budget announcement.
“The Scottish Government has to realise that cuts to our core budget hit the most vulnerable in our communities the hardest and are damaging to our workforce. That is why Council Leaders were unanimous today that we must fight for a fairer settlement.
“The consequences of us not doing this would be disastrous for our communities and workforce.
“It adds insult to injury the fact that the NHS in Scotland has been compensated for the increase in their National Insurance costs whilst we haven’t. So unlike Councils in England who have also been compensated for these our costs will once again have to be taken from frontline services.”
