Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher MSP yesterday (Wednesday) launched her Proposed Desecration of War Memorials Prevention Scotland Members Bill for consultation at Holyrood.
The legislation would ensure that attacks on war memorials – which have been on the rise over the last decade – are actively discouraged by amending vandalism law to recognise the desecration of these monuments as a specific offence, which would bring Scotland into line with England and Wales.
The consultation will run from now until December 19.
In the early hours of Monday 14th November the war memorial in front of Edinburgh City Council was vandalised in what was a mindless act of vandalism.
Miles Briggs asked an FMQ at the Scottish Parliament that Thursday describing the incident as an “absolutely appalling insult to our fallen war heroes”.
Groups including the Friends of Dennistoun War Memorial have campaigned tirelessly for this legislation, which has also secured the support of veterans’ organisations, past and present British Armed Forces personnel – including Simon Weston – veterans campaigners, community action groups, and leading veteran charities.
Miles Briggs is now encouraging people to make their views known through the consultation so that Scotland’s War Memorials will receive the protection that they deserve.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said:“I fully support my colleague Meghan Gallacher’s proposed bill to protect our war memorials in Scotland.
“Vandalising war memorials is an abhorrent act and those who damage these memorials should be punished appropriately.
“I encourage everyone in the Lothians to engage with this consultation to prevent our war memorials from being vandalised .”
Winners of the John Lewis Partnership’s Circular Future Fund – one year on
Four projects reveal their 12-month progress: creating ‘lend and mend’ hubs in libraries, helping to make menstrual cups mainstream, redesign children’s shoes to make them last longer and technology to enable polyester to be recycled again and again
The £1 million fund was launched in November 2021, calling for new ideas and innovations to transition towards a more circular economy
The Circular Future Fund was raised from the sales of 10p plastic bags
The Circular Future Fund impact report can be viewed at: hubbub.org.uk
An innovative ‘lend and mend’ initiative in nine Scottish libraries has played a significant role in the success of a new UK-wide circular economy project.
The John Lewis Partnership and environmental charity Hubbub, has this week published an impact report, detailing the progress of four trailblazing projects that were awarded funding as part of the Circular Future Fund, created to find pioneering circular economy ideas.
In 2022, four projects were each awarded grants of between £150,000 – £300,000, from 245 applications, to develop their innovative solutions that challenged the ‘make…use…throw-away’ culture of modern society. The £1 million fund was made possible by the sales of 10p plastic bags through the John Lewis Partnership.
Helping menstrual cups go mainstream, redesigning children’s shoes to make them last longer, creating ‘lend and mend’ hubs in libraries and enabling polyester to be recycled again and again were the winning projects chosen by an independent Grant Fund panel of industry experts. Each winner was then supported by Hubbub to develop and achieve their ambitions.
The successful projects have each reported significant progress with proven results that leave a strong legacy for their respective industries. By sharing their learnings and challenges in the report, they hope to inspire others to follow in their footsteps towards creating a more circular economy.
Key outcomes from each project are detailed below:
SLIC’s project aimed to create a network of lend and mend hubs across Scotland to support communities to repair, reuse, rent and upcycle everyday items.
The difference made:
Nine hubs have been created, with early indications suggest hubs have the potential to reach around 2,000 people per year through sewing and mending classes alone.
All libraries are offering equipment, workshops, and tools free of charge to overcome cost barriers for the public, making everyday circular economy actions more accessible.
The hubs are fitted out with circularity in mind, using repurposed office furniture saving 5 tCO2 compared to buying new and upcycled peg boards that were part of Kenya’s display at COP26 in Glasgow.
SLIC plan to create a toolkit, disseminated through workshops, to share their learnings and help other library services across the UK replicate their approach.
Marion Kunderan, head of programme on the SLIC ‘Lend and Mend’ project team: “With the ongoing cost of living crisis, the Lend and Mend Hubs have the potential to support families to make more sustainable choices.
“Libraries are trusted community spaces without agenda and have an opportunity to provide a space where communities can take action through practical everyday solutions locally.”
The perfect circular sustainable period product, the menstrual cup, has existed for decades, yet it remains a niche product that only 5% of people with periods use. DAME aimed to break down the barriers to using menstrual cups. They gained insight of the barriers to cup use, through surveys and a small user group trial, identifying the main concerns as comfort, leaking, and inserting a menstrual cup, plus cleaning it.
DAME also designed a groundbreaking self-sanitising menstrual cup, removing the need to boil or sterilise cups. Launched in June, the self-sanitising period cup has achieved several ISO standards to prove its safety and effectiveness.
Each cup is predicted to contribute 99 times less carbon over its lifetime[4] (compared to boiling a traditional cup) and avoids the need for 2,860 disposable period products per person over a lifetime of periods.
Next DAME are exploring charity partnerships to see if the cup could be available to those experiencing period poverty, and sharing the user guide content with educators to help more teenagers to try and stick with menstrual cups.
PIP & HENRY – Redesigning children’s shoes to make them last longer
Pip & Henry’s research and development project explored extending the life of children’s shoes. Young children replace shoes every 4 months, while 85% of shoes currently end up in landfill. Pip & Henry’s project aimed to explore two solutions to disrupt the children’s footwear industry.
The difference made:
Over the year period, Pip & Henry actually developed three concepts to work towards their vision of an expandable shoe and shoe that can be more cleanly separated into their component materials and therefore more easily recycled.
They hope to launch a capsule collection in 2024 and are exploring licensing concepts to help scale their circular shoe innovations.
The project has provided in-depth knowledge about the environmental impacts of footwear manufacturing methods and material innovations, plus how to design for better end of life recycling.
Pip & Henry plan to share their learnings and insights with the footwear manufacturing and recycling industries, to help create an industry step change to more circular shoe designs.
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS– Innovating technology to enable polyester to be recycled again and again
Polyester is the world’s most common textile fibre and yet only 15% of polyester produced is made from recycled polyester (mostly from plastic bottles) [7]. Currently there is no true circularity in the polyester industry because the dyes in polyester mean it cannot be easily removed which prevents it being recycled back into new virgin polyester fibre. The University of Leeds’s innovation created new novel ‘switchable-solubility’ dyes that enables them to be switched from water-soluble to water-insoluble to colour and de-colour polyester.
The difference made
The research proves the dyes can be both added to, and removed from polyester, enabling the dye, water and fabric to be recycled with huge potential environmental benefits, needing less energy and water use, and removing the need for auxiliary chemicals in the dyeing process.
The introduction of the new CO₂ technology delivers a truly circular process that has the potential to recycle directly and mechanically some of the 57 million tonnes of polyester fibre produced globally each year[8].
The University of Leeds also made a bonus discovery, in that their technology also works on other fabrics such as denim and existing dyes in polyester.
Next the project plans to scale the technology to test at industrial scale, plus complete a full environmental lifecycle analysis.
The University of Leeds will share their discoveries with the textile and recycling sectors, plus exploring commercialising the technology to maximise its reach and impact.
Marija Rompani, Director of Ethics and Sustainability at the John Lewis Partnership, said: “The Circular Future Fund allowed us to connect and support leading innovators to enhance their circular business models and drive the shift in circularity within the industry and society.
“I’m so excited to share their findings, and hopefully this is just the beginning of the impact that each of the winning projects will have.”
Saskia Restorick, Director at Hubbub, said: “The four projects, while very different in nature, shared an ambition to bring innovative, creative and entrepreneurial approaches to designing out waste in their respective sectors.
“This forward-thinking fund, along with the winners’ hard work and dedication has enabled them to find tangible solutions and gain huge amounts of insight and knowledge. It has been a pleasure working with them and seeing their ideas come to life.
“We look forward to seeing how they develop and to sharing their successes to inspire even more innovation to speed up the transition to a more circular economy.”
The Circular Future Fund aimed to identify innovation and challenge the status quo, to boost the circular economy. The four projects have delivered on their ambitions, leave a strong legacy and offer tangible examples of the circular economy in action.
To find out more about the four projects, their impact and legacy, the Circular Future Fund impact report can be viewed at hubbub.org.uk
Edinburgh Central MSP Angus Robertson and local Inverleith Councillor Vicky Nicolson have obtained agreement from Hanover Housing Association to fix the uneven cobbles—known as setts—of the ‘pend’ access road from the Sheltered Housing complex in Veitch’s Square in Stockbridge.
Residents, many of whom are older and use walking aids, complained about the uneven surface posing a tripping hazard.
After working through complex issues about land ownership with the Council and housing association, Angus Robertson, Vicky Nicolson and residents have managed to bring the years’ long campaign to an end – and resurfacing will begin on Monday 2nd October.
Angus Robertson MSP said: “While it seemed like this should have been an easy fix, there were a number of issues to navigate and legalities to sort before the re-surfacing could go ahead.
“I’m delighted that Hanover Housing Association has taken on this responsibility and that residents will be able to go out to the community and back to their homes more safely.’
Councillor Vicky Nicolson said: ‘For far too long people who require walking sticks and other mobility aids to get around have felt trapped and anxious about using the most convenient access to the local shops, doctors and other amenities.
“Both Angus and I are over the moon that with winter fast approaching life for the residents of Veitch’s Square will become a little bit easier.’
A letter from Hanover Housing Association has been sent to residents informing them of the impending works.
A campaign to help protect young children from sexual abuse is being launched in Edinburgh with an online event for professionals who work with children and families in the city.
The year-long campaign is being delivered by NSPCC Scotland, the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee and a wide range of partners across the city to spread the NSPCC’s Talk PANTS message.
Talk PANTS gives parents, carers and professionals advice on how to have simple, age-appropriate conversations with children to help keep them safe from sexual abuse.
With the help of a colourful animated dinosaur, called Pantosaurus, it helps children understand that their body belongs to them, that they have a right to say no and they should tell a safe adult they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried.
Over the coming year, local PANTS champions will be trained to deliver the campaign messages and resources to other professionals and families through webinars and workshops, and awareness raising events will be held across Edinburgh for parents, carers and children.
The online launch, which will run from 2pm to 4pm on Thursday, October 5, will explore how we can better prevent and respond to child sexual abuse, using PANTS, and the next steps of the campaign. The online event is open to all professionals who work with children and families in Edinburgh, and it will take place on Microsoft Teams.
NSPCC Scotland’s Assistant Director Karen Head will introduce the event, and this will be followed with the personal story from a mum whose daughter was sexually abused.
There will also be speeches from Stuart Allardyce, Director of Lucy Faithfull Foundation / Stop It Now! Scotland, Laura Brown, Edinburgh Child Protection Lead Officer and NSPCC Scotland’s Local Campaigns Manager Carla Malseed.
Carla Malseed, Local Campaigns Manager at the NSPCC, said: “Each year in Scotland, Police record more than 5,000 sexual offences committed against children. It is crucial that we do all we can to help prevent abuse from happening in the first place.
“The Talk PANTS campaign is about helping start difficult, but vital, conversations with children from a young age about sexual abuse and their right to be safe.
“We don’t talk about sex or use scary words but focus on rules that help children understand important messages, like their body belongs to them and they should tell an adult if they’re upset or worried.”
NSPCC Scotland’s Assistant Director Karen Head, said:“We are delighted to be launching this campaign in Edinburgh to help prevent sexual abuse and keep children across the city safer.
“The Talk PANTS message and Pantosaurus animation makes it much easier for parents, carers and professionals to tackle this topic in a straightforward, fun and light-hearted way that children can understand and easily put into practice.”
Lillian Cringles, Chair of the Edinburgh Child Protection Committee, said: “This campaign will help families and professionals have these important conversations with children about their bodies and help keep them safe.
“I urge as many professionals, parents and carers as possible to come along to our events in Edinburgh over the next few months.”
The first event for parents, carers and children aged 3-11, will be held at the McDonald Road Library on Tuesday, October 17 from 3 to 4.30pm.
Also, a PANTS coffee morning will be held at the new NSPCC Community Hub in Leith on Wednesday, November 1, from 10.30am until 11.30am.
Other events throughout the year will promote the campaign materials and resources for parents, which includes a British Sign Language PANTS video, a Talking PANTS with Makaton guide which is designed to be used to deliver the PANTS message to children with Additional Support Needs and a Pantosaurus film. There are also resources for teachers to use in primary schools.
Parents and professionals can also find out how to Talk PANTS here. The adult guides include ones for foster carers and parents with learning disabilities.
Anyone with concerns about the welfare of a child can call the NSPCC’s free and confidential helpline on 0808 800 5000 for advice.
Scotland’s largest leisure trust, Edinburgh Leisure, has partnered with ReferAll to manage all its health and wellbeing referral projects.
Edinburgh Leisure, which operates more than 50 first class venues across the city, is now using ReferAll’s data management platform to administer its Active Communities schemes.
Active Communities operates 18 different projects city wide, which aim to break down barriers to physical activity and help people to lead healthier, happier and more active lives.
Edinburgh Leisure currently supports more than 10,000 people affected by health conditions, disabilities, inequalities and poverty to get active and stay active every year, with projects such as Healthy Active Minds – which uses physical activity to support adults living with mental health conditions – and Steady Steps, supporting adults who have had or may be at risk of a fall.
ReferAll’s easy-to-view dashboard offers Edinburgh Leisure a real-time overview of all its Active Communities projects and their status, including details such as referrals received, uptake and completion rates.
The Reporting Solution enables the Active Communities teams to analyse service performance and patient outcomes. Ultimately, this means Edinburgh Leisure can clearly demonstrate to commissioners and stakeholders the positive impact they’re having on participants’ physical and mental health.
Ryan Martin, Wellbeing Referral Manager at Edinburgh Leisure, said: “We been working with ReferAll since July 2023 and already have 2,500 referrals on the system. With the ongoing challenges of securing funding from different partners, we needed a much more robust and seamless data platform.
“We were searching for an accurate way to measure our participants’ outcomes and record the positive impact we’re having on people’s health thanks to their involvement in our Active Communities projects; ReferAll does just that.
“Having the ability to clearly see the number of non-starters and record reasons for non-participation has been especially helpful. Our Active Communities team has a big role to play, working with partners and focusing on individuals and communities who need extra support and ReferAll helps them to do that easily.”
From the iconic Royal Commonwealth Pool and the brand-new purpose-built Meadowbank Sports Centre to its Victorian Swim Centres and six golf courses, Edinburgh Leisure’s facilities are based right in the heart of communities. They are committed to harnessing the power of physical activity to tackle inequalities and combat the negative effects of inactivity.
Jerry Saddington, Sales and Account Manager at ReferAll, adds: “During Edinburgh Leisure’s onboarding we’ve been thrilled to help their teams map out key points in their pathways using ReferAll’s automated features. This swill save their team so much time in managing referral-based health and wellbeing schemes, as well as prioritising GDPR security.
“Our data management platform was designed and built by industry experts to reduce workloads for service managers and their teams. It simplifies and standardises service delivery, as well as the ability to report on specific Key Performance Indicators and outcomes, offering real-time visibility of programme performance providing confidence to commissioners and stakeholders.”
Bank of Family support varies regionally and isn’t closely aligned to house price differences – recipients in the East of England are receiving most support (av. £32,100), while those in the West Midlands receive the least (av. £19,800)
Affordability issues are universal but most Bank of Family support goes to urban home purchases (216,500), compared to 100,500 rural homes
According to the survey, just 39% of Bank of Family recipients will benefit from professional advice from a mortgage broker or financial adviser before accepting help this year
Housing affordability is worsening across all UK regions, forcing many aspiring homeowners to depend on financial gifting from relatives – the Bank of Family – to step onto the ladder, according to new data from Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).
The report reveals that Bank of Family recipients may receive varying amounts of support depending on where they live. Surprisingly, levels of gifting don’t closely align to house price differences – according to the data, borrowers in the East of England are receiving the most support (av. £32,100), while those in the West Midlands receive the least (av. £19,800).
Huge gulf between the UK’s urban and rural markets
The data also indicates that the volume and individual size of Bank of Family gifting varies depending on whether the borrower lives in an urban or rural area. In 2023, the Bank of Family is expected to support the financing of 216,500 urban home purchases. Meanwhile, the number of rural homes bought with support from the Bank of Family will be less than half that total, at 100,500.
Homebuyers in towns and cities are not only more likely to lean on the Bank of Family to buy a home, but they often need to borrow more than those in rural areas. The Bank of Family is estimated to gift £5.7 billion towards urban home purchases in 2023, accounting for 70% of the value of Bank of Family support and more than two-thirds (67%) of the transactions it facilitates.
That equates to roughly £82bn worth of housing in 2023. The average gift or loan size for an urban home is also higher at £26,200, compared to £23,900 for a rural property.
Bank of Family propping up purchases up and down the country, but with huge regional variations
Although house prices appear to be softening, homebuyers are still facing worsening affordability across the UK property market. The Bank of England base rate increased from 0.1% in December 2021 to 5.25% in August 2023, significantly increasing mortgage costs, with the average repayment for a semi-detached house rising by 61% across all UK regions from 2022 to 2023.
These wider affordability currents are reflected in Legal & General’s report, which investigates the amount of property transactions in each UK region that received funding by a loan or gift from the Bank of Family. Buyers in London are by far and away the most likely to receive financial aid from family members, perhaps unsurprising with the average house price standing at almost double the UK average (£534,000 compared to £286,005 in April 2023).
In fact, the survey suggests the Bank of Family supported two-thirds (67%) of recent homebuyers in the capital, more than double the proportion of the second-placed region (the North West at 36%).
Legal & General also recorded the average size of Bank of Family financial gifts across all UK regions.
London, the South East, the East of England and the South West see the greatest contributions from the Bank of Family. However, there is not always a direct correlation between regional house prices and the average size of a Bank of Family gift. The East of England leads the way across all UK regions for the highest average Bank of Family gift or loan at £32,100 despite its lower house prices, trumping even London gifting at £30,000.
Find out more about the regional variation in Bank of Family lending with Legal & General’s interactive map, here.
Kevin Roberts, Managing Director, Legal & General Mortgage Services, commented: “Up and down the country, the Bank of Family is making significant financial sacrifices to help family members onto the housing ladder.
“Support is concentrated in urban and southern areas, where house prices are the highest, but is prevalent across the UK. While a brilliant lifeline for those able to draw on it, many people will not have access to such generosity and this widespread support is indicative of deep, underlying affordability issues affecting the UK.”
Significant gender split in borrowers seeking professional financial advice
Despite the Bank of Family being set to support a record number of home purchases in 2023, Legal & General’s survey also found that many recipients are not seeking professional advice.
Aspiring buyers who draw upon family support largely do not speak to an adviser before accepting family help, with just 39% of borrowers seeking guidance from a mortgage broker or professional adviser during their Bank of Family transaction. More than a quarter (28%) did not seek any advice at all.
Gender also plays a crucial role in borrowers’ decisions to seek professional advice. At 46%, women are far more likely to speak to a professional adviser than men (30%). In comparison, men (42%) were much more likely to depend on advice from friends than women (29%). Overall, 35% of all respondents asked friends and acquaintances who had similar experiences for advice.
Kevin Roberts, Managing Director, Legal & General Mortgage Services commented:“The Bank of Family has not only become a major lender – the ninth largest in the UK if it were a formal entity – but also a significant source of financial advice, with less than 40% of financial aid recipients seeking professional guidance before their transactions.
“The gender dynamics at play are also fascinating. At 46%, women are far more likely to speak to a professional adviser than men at 30%. In comparison, men are much more likely to depend on advice from friends than women, at 42% compared to just over a quarter (29%).
“In such a challenging economic climate, buyers must not overlook the insights that an adviser can bring to even the most complex of property transactions. Failing to do so could prove a very expensive mistake later down the line.”
Read the full report on the Legal & General website here. Find out more about how families can support each other when it comes to homeownership in the Legal & General Guide to Gifting here.
Thursday 28 Sep 2023: 18.50 for 19.00 on Microsoft Teams
Item 1: Low Carbon Heating in Edinburgh; here, and now.
Bill Roger, Trinity Community Council, and Antoine Reguis from Edinburgh Napier University, members of the Clean Heat Edinburgh Forum (CHEF).
Low carbon energy and heat technologies are a central part of Scot Gov’s energy transition programme. This is change that is going to happen. Community councils need to be up-to-speed.
Item 2: Open Floor
a] The Community Council Scheme Review; b] Locality Improvememt Plans; c] Struggling community councils; d] The big development programme for West Edinburgh; e] Energy-saving residential housing retrofits; f] The move towards a Scottish Forum of Community Councils; g] How to strengthen EACC; h] The upcoming 23 November AGM.
Got an opinion to share on anything there? Something else on your mind?
I. Remember: The West Lothian Joint Forum of Community Councils (WLJFCC) is moving forward with its initiative to establish a Scottish Forum of Community Councils.
You’ll find the full background and a subscription-of-interest form on this link to the first Scottish Forum Newsletter: https://gem.godaddy.com/p/eb6537
The Steering Group met on 20 September and has offered this report
Here is the pitch, directed by WLJFCC to every community council in the country:
“We would be grateful if you could discuss this at your next meeting and decide if your Community Council would like to be involved”.
II. Locality Improvement Plans (LIP) 2024-2029: CEC’s Helen spoke to EACC on 31 August about the new LIP programme. Tommy McLean from Corstorphine CC has had a long involvement on this area. In the attachment to this email, he offers his thoughts on how community councils can best respond to the invitation they have to participate in this programme.
It’s about helping to improve the community in which we live. It’s not about having all the answers or about doing all the work. It’s about taking part. Please read what Tommy has to say.
III. EACC will meet again on Thursday 26 October. By way of Queensferry & District CC, Jane Iannarelli, CEC Senior Planning Officer, has asked to talk to us about the development of Local Place Plans in the context of the current 20 Minute Neighbourhood Strategy.
To refresh the context, go to the EACC site Front Page and to the 16 August reference to the Planning Democracy Blog. There is a very interesting piece there on Local Place Plans. If your local community is seeing big development, big change, on its doorstep, then time perhaps for some place planning by locals. Could your community council do something here?
Whisky fans are invited to scale new heights as the UK’s first vertical distillery, Port of Leith, opens its tour bookings and reveals first-look images of the finished interior ahead of opening to the public on Wednesday October 11th.
More than a decade since the ‘pipe-dream’ idea was first conceived by wine merchant Ian Stirling and finance director Paddy Fletcher over a dram in Milroy’s whisky bar, London, the £12m nine-storey distillery is complete and ready to welcome visitors.
Bookings are now live for Port of Leith’s tour and tasting experience, with tours running 12-8pm Wednesday to Friday, 11am-7pm on Saturdays and 12pm-5pm on Sundays.
Over the course of 90 minutes fans will be guided through the story of the distillery’s unlikely conception, fill their own miniature bottle of new make spirit and taste their way through the distillery’s production process in its purpose built Quality Control Tasting Laboratory.
Reservations are now also available for the top floor mezzanine bar, also opening on October 11th, a one of a kind space boasting panoramic 360 views over the city, a floor to ceiling back whisky bar and a menu of small plates designed to showcase Scotland’s world class ingredients.
Ian Stirling, Co-Founder of Port of Leith Distillery said: “Building a distillery of our own has been an ambition of Paddy and mine for over 10 years so to see the project finally come to fruition is a surreal moment for us.
“We never set out to build a vertical distillery – the shape and size of the building is a product of the tiny site we were able to secure. We wedged our distillery tower into Edinburgh’s historic harbour to make our building as accessible as possible to people who, like us, love whisky.
“We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the Port of Leith tour as special as we possibly can and look forward to welcoming fans across the globe to a whisky experience like no other.”
Port of Leith is set to be the biggest tourist attraction to be built in Leith for decades, with a projected 25,000 visitors in its first year, increasing to 160,000 by 2025.
Paddy Fletcher, Co-Founder of The Port of Leith Distillery added: “Coming from Edinburgh, we were always confused as to why there were no single malt distilleries operating in the city.
“Being able to build something modern and different has been an enormous treat; hopefully it will encourage people to take a second look at Scotch whisky as there’s huge amounts of innovation and excitement going on within the industry.”
The distillery is creating up to 50 long term local jobs, with the capacity to produce one million bottles of whisky per year.
Priced at £26 per person, Port of Leith Distillery tours will be available from Wednesday 11th of October. They can be booked online here.
The Port of Leith Distillery Bar can be booked separately online here.
An exclusive documentary screening alongside a Q&A session with artist Peter Howson will take place this Friday (September 29) to mark the closing of the exhibition ‘When the Apple Ripens‘.
Hosted at the City Art Centre, ‘When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65: A Retrospective’, traces the illustrious career of Peter Howson, from his early days to the present, featuring over 100 works over three galleries, painstakingly assembled from both public and private collections across the UK and Europe.
Directed by Charlie Paul, and produced by Lucy Paul, Prophecy is an evocative exploration of a single oil painting and the first major film to reveal the motive and techniques behind each stroke of paint as the artist creates.
Released in 2019, the 90-minute feature documentary transports the audience into the darkly comic, obsessive mind of Peter Howson, seeing directly through the artist’s eye. What begins as a blank canvas, emerges as Howson’s monumental oil painting, ‘Prophecy’.
Prophecy reveals what it takes to create a large oil painting, the techniques, the materials, the skills, the thinking behind creation, and the intentions and difficulties that push Howson to achieve this ambitious, masterful, and detailed 6ft x 8ft canvas.
The painting is currently on display at When the Apple Ripens.
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said:“This Friday’s screening and Q&A session represents the culmination of one of the most unique, harrowing, and powerful exhibitions we have ever hosted at the City Art Centre.
“Peter Howson has made an indelible impact on British and Scottish art, and we have been truly fortunate to be able to display his life’s work in the heart of Edinburgh.
“Prophecy provides a rich and unique perspective on the arduous and painstaking process of creating work of this calibre. I would encourage residents and visitors to book their tickets now to bot the documentary screening and wider exhibition and experience the full power and fury of Howson’s work”.
