WaterSafe is bringing festive cheer and plumbing tips to households across the region with its “12 Days of Christmas” campaign.
The national register of approved plumbers has created a version of the classic Christmas carol, with each day offering a new plumbing tip or piece of advice to keep homes’ plumbing safe and water-efficient during the holidays.
From insulating water pipes to finding your stop tap, WaterSafe’s tips are designed to be both informative and fun.
“We wanted to combine the joy of the festive season with practical tips that can help our community,” said Julie Spinks, Director of WaterSafe.
“Water-related disasters, such as frozen or burst pipes, can cause chaos at any time of year – but particularly over the festive season when many are hosting friends and family.
“Our 12 Days of Christmas Facebook posts put a light-hearted twist on this Christmas classic to share our top tips to protect your home from common winter plumbing issues.”
WaterSafe’s 12 Days of Christmas:
On the first day of Christmas, my plumber said to me: Visit watersafe.org.uk
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my plumber said to me: Share this advice with your neighbours.
WaterSafe encourages everyone to follow their Facebook page and join in the festive fun: “By the end of the 12 days, you’ll have a wealth of knowledge to keep your plumbing in top shape all winter long.” added Julie.
WaterSafe holds an online register of approved plumbers who are competent and qualified in the water regulations which keep water safe.
We have some important advice for dealing with norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, after a recent increase in calls to the 111 service.
Norovirus is a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. While it can be very unpleasant, it usually goes away in about 2 days. Symptoms include:
Feeling sick (nausea)
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
High temperature
Headache
Aching arms and legs
Unfortunately, norovirus spreads easily and quickly. If you catch it, here’s what you should do:
Stay off work or school until at least 48 hours after symptoms have stopped.
Avoid visiting anyone in hospital during this time.
Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and before handling food.
Remember, alcohol-based hand gels don’t kill the virus.
To prevent spreading norovirus, maintain basic hygiene and cleaning:
Disinfect surfaces and objects that could be contaminated using a bleach-based household cleaner.
Wash clothes and bedding separately on a hot wash (60°C).
Don’t share towels and flannels.
Clean toilets and surrounding areas with a bleach-based household cleaner.
Dr. Ron Cook, NHS 24’s Medical Director, advises: “If you experience sudden diarrhoea and/or vomiting, stay at home until you’re feeling better.
“There’s no treatment for norovirus, so you have to let it run its course. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration and avoid giving fizzy drinks or fruit juice to children as it can make their diarrhoea worse.
“Babies should continue to feed as usual. You don’t usually need medical advice unless there’s a risk of a more serious problem. Alleviate fever or aches with paracetamol and get plenty of rest.
“If you or someone you’re caring for shows signs of dehydration, use special rehydration drinks from your local pharmacy. Once you feel like eating, try plain foods like soup, rice, pasta, and bread.”
The site of the former Corstorphine Public Hall has finally been sold.
CCC is happy to announce that the sale of 14 Kirk Loan was completed on 21 November 2024 to Stone Acre Corstorphine Ltd.
Details of the proposed development, which will retain the existing façade of the original public hall building, are available on the Council’s planning portal.
The community has been responsive and resilient in it’s support to set up a new Hub since the fire in October 2013 and CCC would like to thank everyone for all their efforts.
The net proceeds from the sale will now be utilised in the refurbishment of the new CCC Hub at 5 Kirk Loan, which will commence as soon as possible.
Keep up to date with the progress of the new CCC Hub at 5 Kirk Loan on:
On 27 November 2024, North Edinburgh Parents Action Group met Edinburgh Council’s Senior Housing Staff including the chair of the housing committee for the second time.
Cases shared with the director of housing
As a result of the group’s work e.g. producing a report, launching an exhibition and organising meetings with senior housing staff, the director of housing requested that the details of all people involved in this project be sent to him so that they could try to resolve all these issues and learn from this. The group felt that the managers listened to the issues and are trying to understand what is going wrong.
Change is possible
22 cases were sent to the director of housing and his team in October and November. There have been some successes;
some people have been rehoused
some work on repairs and some dampness issues have been addressed
families have been provided with support.
More needs done
There is still much more work to be done and the group are waiting on a detailed update from the director of housing regarding all the outstanding work. This should be completed by the next meeting with the parents at the end of February.
Suspension of EdIndex
The group are concerned about the suspension of EdIndex and non-urgent repairs and feel this is going to make the situation even worse. The group are also concerned that there are not enough larger houses being built at the waterfront and not enough houses for social rent. Many of these new houses will be out of local people’s reach.
The group heard that no council properties are going to be advertised until 7 Jan 2024 or later. This is due to the council putting homeless families in unlicensed (illegal) accommodation. The council need to move these families into long term empty houses (voids) with minimum work done to them apart from minimum Health and Safety checks.
Use Tourist Tax (Visitor Levy) to invest in Housing
The group believe that the tourist tax should be spent on housing where it is most needed (the consultation on the tourist tax ends on 13 December).
Th group told the senior managers that they plan to:
raise this issue with the Minister for Housing at the Scottish Parliament
explore group legal action as a last resort
invite senior managers and the chair of housing to a third meeting at the end of February 2025
Sara, a group member said: “We are serious about keeping up the pressure on the council to ensure people have a safe, warm, damp free home to live in.
Some options that the group are considering include going to the media to highlight people’s stories, taking the campaign to the Scottish Parliament, and contacting a law firm about the possibility of a group action.”
Detectives are appealing for information following the attempted robbery of a woman in Leith.
The incident happened between 11.30pm and 11.50pm on Tuesday, 10 December, 2024 on Leith Links.
Two men pushed the woman to the ground and attempted to take items. Nothing was stolen from her.
The first man is described as being of slim build and the second is described as being of stocky build. Both are around 6ft tall and were wearing dark clothing.
Detective Constable James Palmer said: “Enquiries are ongoing and we are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anything to contact us.
“We also ask anyone driving in the area at the time with dashcam footage to come forward.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident 0052 of 11 December, 2024. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Don’t let the festive rush catch you out—check your repeat prescriptions and make sure you have enough medication to last through the festive period. Order only what you need, in plenty of time.
Local authorities receive ‘real terms increase’ in funding
Councils will share a record funding settlement of more than £15 billion subject to passing of the 2025-26 Budget, provisional allocations show.
The 2025-26 Local Government Settlement includes a £289 million increase in funding to be used by councils to meet local needs and £120.5 million additional funding for pay deals.
The Budget also includes a one-off payment of £40 million to help councils respond to the climate emergency, and additional funding to support free personal care, teacher numbers and island communities.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: “Our Budget is laying the foundations for Scotland’s future success, with investment to help improve the public services that people rely on.
“Local authorities provide some of the most important services to our communities – from schools to social care – which is why we’ve increased their funding by more than £1 billion compared with last year’s Budget.
“The settlement is the result of meaningful budget engagement with COSLA and Councils. While council tax decisions are a matter for individual local authorities, with record funding of over £15 billion there is no reason for big increases in Council Tax next year.
“This is a Budget that will deliver increased funding for schools, social care and other vital council services. But this funding will only reach communities if the Budget passes, so I am asking Parliament to unite behind it.”
12 2024, participants of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Communities Programme came together to celebrate a successful 12 months that has seen 26 authors and artists engage with over 28 community organisations and 1,800+ individuals
The Edinburgh InternationalBook FestivalCommunities Programme 2024 is year-round and brings local people and organisations together with professional writers and artists.
Thanks to the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the programme engaged communities across Scotland
Authors including Jordan Stephens,Jenni Fagan, Andrew O’Hagan, Amy Liptrot, Joe Coelho, and Sophy Henn visited schools, prisons, hospitals, and local reading centres in 2024
Other activity included events streamed to The Birks cinema in Aberfeldy and a public stories submissions campaign collecting memories linked to the Festivals new home; Words from the Wards
The 2024 Festival itself saw the culmination of a activity that took place throughout the year, with performances from Scotland 2049 and Stories & Scran presented on stage.
Participants of the Edinburgh International Book Festival Communities Programme came together in Edinburgh today, Thursday 12 December, to celebrate a year that saw 26 authors and artists engage with over 28 community organisations, and over 1,800 individuals, over the course of it.
A year-round calendar of events made possible thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the Communities programme connects authors and artists with communities across Scotland who may not otherwise have had access to cultural experiences. In August authors including Andrew O’Hagan, Amy Liptrot, Joe Coelho, and Sophy Henn connected with new audiences for readings and in-person events in eight prisons including HMP Barlinnie and HMP & YOI Polmont, as well as the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.
Jenni Fagan, author and poet, said:“Edinburgh International Book Festival create partnerships whereby writers can visit and host workshops or readings within the Scottish prison system. This is an extraordinarily important programme. It allows those currently trying to rebuild their lives, access to a wide demographic of writers and stories.
“My most recent visit was with Lilias Centre in Glasgow, whose groundbreaking and progressive facility should be upheld as a blueprint for allowing women in prison to live in an environment focused on their journey and how best to facilitate skillsets that will build confidence and independence on their release.
“It is not possible to overstate that this access to workshops with guest writers, should be considered a cornerstone element, it generates conversation from the women in prison, inspiration in sharing stories, listening (writers must open the floor and really listen all attending the workshops / as they listen to each other too). It is vital to host these workshops in a way that puts each individual in a position where they may choose to share their own voice, or their own stories, if they choose to.
“As part of my writing life, I have found taking my work out into communities that maybe cannot attend readings or may have less easy access to a wide library, is some of the most important and rewarding work I do.”
Thanks to the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, the power of words was brought not only to prisons, but schools, hospitals, cinemas and local reading centres across Scotland in 2024, as part of the Communities Programme.
In Edinburgh, the team worked with Simon Community Scotland’s Streetreads Library, which helps to support those experiencing homelessness, on reading events with visiting authors Jordan Stephens and Salena Godden.
Jordan Stephens, British musician, actor, and presenter and author, said: “I had the absolute privilege of being able to chat to people struggling with homelessness and addiction at the [Streetreads] library.
They listened to me read out sections of my book and asked me questions. It was actually a really great experience because I felt super connected to everybody’s journey, people who have been through much harder times than me. Any opportunity to be part of a communities programme means a lot to me.”
Further afield in Aberfeldy, The Birks cinema, for the fourth year in a row, screened a record number of 22 events with a total audience of 254. Organiser Fiona MacEwan said that both The Birks team and the local community were ‘delighted’.
Fiona McEwan, Programme and Community Development Manager at The Birks cinema, went on to say:“Many of our audience love the book festival but are unable to get to Edinburgh anymore to attend in person due to personal circumstances but love feeling that they are still part of the audience…thanks again to the whole team for enabling this possibility – it is so amazing to get this opportunity to participate as it can be really challenging (sometimes impossible) to get to Edinburgh.”
Fiona also highlighted that these events have a positive impact on the wider community and tourism economy, saying: “Some audience members were on holiday and said they would be back again next year at the same time so that they could come again.”
Throughout the year community memories were collected and shared in Words from the Wards, a project celebrating the Festival’s new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute and honouring the building’s incredible legacy as the city’s former Royal Infirmary.
The project collected stories and memories already created in the building – from new births and mourned passings to the careers of the doctors and nurses who worked there – and saw them shared in the former wards alongside new contributions from eight leading writers and artists, including previous and new Edinburgh Makars Hannah Lavery and Michael Pederson, Dr Gavin Francis,, Sara Sheridan, Lisa Williams and Kirstin Innes.
Schools writer-in-residence Ryan van Winkle also invited young people from across Scotland to share their vision for the country’s future with Scotland 2049, a project celebrating the milestone of 25 years of devolution in partnership with the Festival of Politics.
The hugely popular Stories & Scran event returned for a fifth year, with Communities writer-in-residence Eleanor Thom teaming up with local social enterprise Scran Academy to present storytelling created by young people and adults from across Edinburgh and the Lothians, while the Festival’s residency at the Alternative School at Spartans Community Foundation continued with young people from the school alongside writer Chris Barkley sharing their brand-new documentary film, If the World Was Mine, in a fun and fast-paced live event.
500 free tickets for events during the Festival were also given to community groups across Edinburgh, while more than 4,500 school children from 89 schools across Scotland were transported to the Festival (31 groups free of charge), to attend free events and each take home a free book.
Noëlle Cobden, Communities Programme Director at Edinburgh International Book Festival, said:“Year on year we see the impact that our Communities activity, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, has, not only in Edinburgh but in communities across the country.
“We bring the world of books to those who may never come across it otherwise. For many, meeting an author like Jordan Stephens or Amy Liptrot, Jenny Fagan, can be life changing.
“Our programme also boosts local economies by providing the opportunity for other organisations to engage with new and existing audiences, exemplified by The Birks cinema in Aberfeldy.”
Yesterday’s celebration at the Grassmarket Community Project concluded with a moving tribute to much-loved Citizen participant Jane Murray, who sadly passed away last month.
Citizens Advice Bureaux to provide support in six more areas
The Scottish Government has awarded £400,000 to Citizens Advice Scotland to improve access to help for people struggling with Council Tax debt.
Building on successful pilot schemes funded in 2023-4, the additional funding will enable targeted advice on Council Tax debt to be provided in six new areas: West Lothian, East Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, Highlands, Argyll and Bute and East Renfrewshire.
The pilot bureaux gave targeted advice on Council Tax debt as well as wider holistic support and also worked with councils to support best practice in Council Tax debt collection.
The additional funding was announced by Housing Minister Paul McLennan on a visit to West Lothian Citizen’s Advice Bureau, in Livingston, which will use the funding to provide more adviser hours and appointments and extend help to more people using outreach locations to target the most vulnerable.
Mr McLennan said: “We know how worrying public sector debt can be for people in low-income households. Advice services can provide vital support to those with money worries and debt.
“Good working relationships with local authorities can be key and the Scottish Government is working to support best practice across the whole of local government.
“The Scottish Government has both legislated and acted to ensure that people who are financially vulnerable are protected and that debt collection is handled sensitively and appropriately.
“Ministers continue to encourage public bodies to promote empathy and dignity for people struggling with debt.”
Karen Nailen, CEO of CAB West Lothian said: “Council tax debt is the single biggest debt issue that is brought to our CAB every year. It creates real pressure on people’s lives, and for many it can be a sign of wider financial distress.
“This pilot funding is vital to allow us the time and space to look at ways to tackle some of the underlying issues. Working in collaboration with West Lothian Council will enable preventative measures to be identified alongside better advice outcomes for individuals and families.”
MEANWHILE in Edinburgh the Citizen Advice Bureau is one of three advice organisations – the others are CHAI and Granton Information Centre – facing a combined cut of £1 MILLION as Edinburgh Integration Joint Board struggles to balance it’s books.
The EIJB meets on Tuesday to consinder new recommendations.
How to Cope with the Winter Vomiting Bug 
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
High temperature
Headache
Aching arms and legs
Stay off work or school until at least 48 hours after symptoms have stopped.
Don’t let the festive rush catch you out—check your repeat prescriptions and make sure you have enough medication to last through the festive period. Order only what you need, in plenty of time.
