Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Edinburgh Science Festival: The Musical Brain

Playlist for Life are the UK’s leading music and dementia charity and the University of Edinburgh’s Prevent Dementia project aims to identify the earliest signs of the disease.  And together, they are exploring how the power of music can help those with dementia.  

This event, The Musical Brain, will be outlining the neuroscience behind the phenomenon, offering an engaging showcase of how this works in practice and explaining current research while giving advice on how everyone can protect their brain health.

The talk will take place on Saturday 13th April at 1200 in the Auditorium at the National Museum of Scotland.  Tickets are available online

The Edinburgh Science Festival runs until 21st April

2019-Programme

 

Smashing egg-travaganza at Craiglockhart Tennis Centre 

Edinburgh Leisure’s Craiglockhart Tennis Centre is hosting an egg-travaganza Festival of Tennis on Easter Sunday on 21st April from 2-4pm, with something for all the family.

Open to members and non-members, there will be an opportunity to get a taste of the programmes and courses on offer at Edinburgh’s flagship tennis facility, have the opportunity to pick up a racket and have some fun and potentially, witness a Guinness World Record being smashed.

Scotland’s leading racket experts and retailers, Gannon Sports, who have an outlet at Craiglockhart, will be attempting a record of the fastest stringing of a tennis racket. The team at Gannon Sports have been practising hard to shave off as much time off the 15-minute benchmark.

Craiglockhart Tennis Centre offers junior tennis classes from as young as 18 months, up to adults of all abilities. Craiglockhart Tennis Centre has six indoor courts and a further six outdoor clay courts (five with floodlights for evening play), and a cycling studio.  

Its Leisure Centre also boasts a spacious gym with over 70 pieces of kit, fitness studios, squash courts and a multipurpose sports hall.

The outdoor tennis courts at Craiglockhart have seen many world-famous players grace their surface over the years from Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe in the 1970s to Andy Murray in the 90s.

For more information or to book a slot visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/festival-of-tennis .

Craiglockhart Leisure & Tennis Centre, 177 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH14 1BZ Telephone 0131 443 0101

“Obscene”: Gas boss pockets 44% pay increase while workers worry over job cuts

In the wake of fresh job cuts in energy giant Centrica, GMB Scotland has  branded Chief Executive Iain Conn’s 44 per cent pay increase as ‘obscene’. Continue reading “Obscene”: Gas boss pockets 44% pay increase while workers worry over job cuts

NHS Scotland urged to remove restriction on non-dairy milk

NHS Scotland has been urged to be inclusive of vegans through its Best Start voucher scheme by allowing vouchers to be spent on non-dairy milk and to ensure the vitamin D in any supplements being offered is vegan-friendly. Continue reading NHS Scotland urged to remove restriction on non-dairy milk

Anyone for croquet?

With the sport of croquet today enjoyed by a wave of younger enthusiasts, British menswear brand Simon Carter has issued a rallying cry to croquet newcomers to give the game a go for free in this the first year Britain has hosted the Croquet World Championship since 2011.

Ahead of this year’s prestigious World Championship, where the British team will be led by its youngest ever team captain, lead sponsor Simon Carter is extending an invitation to the nation to try croquet for free at one of more than 200 local clubs across the UK on National Croquet Day on the 12thMay 2019.

“As a passionate player of the game, I want to share my love of croquet with the wider world,” said Simon Carter, founder of the eponymous menswear brand. “The game is undergoing a surge in popularity especially among the young. May 12th is National Croquet Day, so turn up at your nearest club and give it a go!”

On 12thMay, croquet clubs around the country will open their doors to people of all ages in a bid to reveal the contemporary side of a sport which in the mid-19thCentury was more popular than tennis. All equipment and access to croquet lawns will be provided free of charge on National Croquet Day with croquet club members on hand to provide expert advice.

Carter hopes this drive to attract a new generation of enthusiasts to the nation’s favourite summer pastime will galvanise national support for England’s croquet team players competing in this summer’s World Championship.

“I am delighted to be the main sponsor for the 2019 Croquet World Championships. This is an excellent opportunity to show what an exciting, skilful and engaging game this is and to overturn many people’s preconceptions”, he said.

From Saturday 27 July to Sunday 4 August, the UK hosts the WCF Simon Carter Golf Croquet World Championship for the first time since 2011. The event will be held at the Sussex County Croquet Club in West Sussex (amongst additional local venues) with 74 players competing from 18 nations.

The British team comprises its youngest players to date and will be led by team captain J.P.Moberly, aged 24.

To find out the location of your local croquet club click here.  

Meadows Croquet Club Info: mcc_leaflet

#SustainPCHP: Health Project survival battle moves on to next stage

Pilton Community Health Project have announced their latest plans for moving forward following funding cuts:

We are delighted to announce that Pilton Community Health Project will continue delivering support and services into 2020! With our fantastic crowdfunding campaign extended until 18th April (www.savepchp.com) and other fundraising initiatives ongoing, we plan to move forward into a time of regrowth for the project. Continue reading #SustainPCHP: Health Project survival battle moves on to next stage

MSPs call for police ‘cyber-kiosk’ rollout to be paused

Members of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Sub-Committee on Policing are asking police to stop their deployment of cyber-kiosks or ‘digital triage devices’ until there is greater clarity on the legal framework for their use in a new report out today. Continue reading MSPs call for police ‘cyber-kiosk’ rollout to be paused