Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Scottish Children’s Lottery cash for FOTA

Community project Friends of the Award (FOTA) in Edinburgh and the Lothians has been awarded a £2,000 grant from the Scottish Children’s Lottery.

FOTA works in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council to ensure that the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is accessible to disadvantaged and marginalised young people in the local area. Continue reading Scottish Children’s Lottery cash for FOTA

Childcare Academy: August information sessions

We have more dates in place for our Childcare Academy Information Sessions:

 Wednesday 9th August @ 1.30pm

Thursday 17th August @ 1pm

If you would like to book a place to come along and hear more about the Academy, ask any questions and take away an application pack, please do not hesitate to contact me on the number below or Barbara Webster on 0131 311 6926.

2017 CA Publicity Poster 16+

Audrey O’Neill

Senior Training Administrator

North Edinburgh Childcare

18b Ferry Road Avenue, Edinburgh EH4 4BL

Follow us on Twitter @NEChildcare

Like our Training Services on Facebook @https://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Edinburgh-Childcare-Training-Services/664092880377307

And wHY not? US ‘Hobbit House’ to replace Ross Bandstand

A design dubbed “The Hobbit House” has won the competition to create a new outdoor concert arena to replace the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens. American firm wHY beat off stiff competition from 125 teams from 22 countries to design the £25m project. Continue reading And wHY not? US ‘Hobbit House’ to replace Ross Bandstand

Letters: Don’t let greed destroy our precious public services

Dear Editor

Every day all over the UK people get prepared to go to work; it is a necessity to earn an income to sustain themselves and those who depend on them. Whether they work as part of a team or as an individual, production or management, they all work. The only exception to this, in the main, are people or organisations who have money to invest to make more money out of those who do work.

People need many essential services to carry on with their lives. At home: electricity, gas, water and sewerage. To get to their place of work they need passenger transport : bus, tram, rail, etc. – yet most of these services are privately owned, a veritable goldmine for those who are able to invest.

All of the services mentioned above relate to just work, but work is not all in life: they have a direct effect on our ability to have social and leisure time, visiting family and friends, taking part in sport, shopping or enjoying the countryside:, in fact, living.

All of these services must be operated for the benefit of all.

How can it be right that the extraction of millions and millions of pounds from those services are taken by investors? It is greedy and immoral and cannot be justified in any way.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

 

Community Works: Port of Leith launches new employability service

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has set up a new employability service, Community Works, which will support people over the age of 16 living in Leith and North Edinburgh who are looking for work or seeking to develop their careers. Continue reading Community Works: Port of Leith launches new employability service

August garden plant of the month: Gentian

Vivid blue
There are a lot of remarkable characters amongst the perennials, but the Garden Plant of the Month for August is very special. With its intense blue colouring and beautiful bell-shaped flowers, Gentian (Gentiana) reminds us of its natural home in Alpine meadows. The Gentian range has developed considerably, and there are now white, pink, blue and bicoloured varieties. A beautiful perennial to use in pots or in rockeries or borders. It will certainly catch the eye as is pretty as a picture!
Gentian
The current Gentian range offers compact growth and rich continued flowering. These plants look their best between July and October. The colour blue in particular has been extensively developed in the Gentian range. There are sky blue, pale and dark blue and indigo varieties. The Gentian originates from the temperate mountain regions in the northern hemisphere and the Andes. The name Gentian derives from Gentius, King of Illyria (former Yugoslavia) who is said to have discovered the healing properties attributed to Gentian, such as strengthening the digestive and immune systems and the ability to reduce bile.
Caring for Gentians
Gentian likes the spot with full sun to partial shade. The plant does have special requirements with regard to the soil. Moisture-retaining, somewhat poor soil is important, since that’s what the plant has in the mountains where it grows. Many species also require somewhat chalky and well-draining soil. It’s easy to make a mixture of sand, clay, potting soil and gravel to use for Gentians in pots. In autumn and winter make sure that the soil is not saturated with water when the frost comes. You should therefore cover Gentians, but make sure that the soil is well-ventilated.
Tips for keeping Gentians
The best thing is to do nothing! Gentians are very hardy, and will die back above ground and hibernate below ground. It’s important to leave the plant alone to keep it healthy and lavishly flowering. So don’t divide or replant it, but leave it where it is. Give the plant some fertiliser in the spring to promote flowering and you’ll be able enjoy these remarkable plants for years.
More information about Gentian and other garden plants can be found at Thejoyofplants.co.uk.