Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

'A commitment writ in stane'

Monument reaffirms commitment to no tuition fees in Scotland

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A monument to the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to having no higher education tuition fees was unveiled by the First Minister Alex Salmond at Heriot Watt University yesterday.

After viewing the commemorative stone, which was carved and designed by second-year stonemasonry apprentices from Historic Scotland’s National Conservation Centre in Elgin, the First Minister said: “The single biggest achievement by this Government has been the abolition of tuition fees. This one action has restored Scotland’s long tradition of education being based on ability to learn – not the ability to pay.

“Scottish students can be assured this Government remains strongly committed to them and their futures – at a time when fees have soared to £9,000 a year in other parts of the UK, putting university out of reach for many without the means to pay.

“At the same time, we have boosted apprenticeship numbers to record levels, brought more women into the workforce and are outperforming the rest of the UK on job numbers as whole.

“It is both fitting and humbling to have this wonderful monument to that commitment created by young skilled apprentices – and to have the unveiling witnessed by students of today and children who will be the students of tomorrow. It is without doubt now a commitment writ in stane.”

The rock is inscribed with the words of the statement made by the First Minister made in March 2011 which reads:

“The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students.”

Weighing 0.97 tonnes, it was carved by apprentice stonemasons Gregor Alcorn, 26, and Ross Kennedy, 22, from Clashach Sandstone – the same stone used in the building of the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It was handpicked from Tennants Quarries in Elgin by training manager Graham Campbell who, along with other members of the team, also created the design for the stone.

Professor Steve Chapman, Principal of Heriot-Watt University, said: “We are delighted to host this stone, a beautifully crafted piece and a monument to Alex Salmond’s tenure as First Minister and his strongly held commitment to access to education for Scottish students.”

Maggie's girls – and bloke!

Last weekend the local Maggie’s Centre celebrated its 18th birthday. They had a fundraising ball at the Sheraton hotel and colleagues from Sainsburys Blackhall were there to lend a hand.

Nine colleagues volunteered on the night and helped raised £59,000. Well done to the colleagues who took part!

maggies girls

Pictured: Louisa Higgins, Gabriella Vita, Gail Wilson, Hannah Mills, Sam Wood, Iona Wright and Willie McCaskill. 

Gail, Sainsbury’s Blackhall

Can you help Karen find her family?

My name is Karen Paterson and I am writing this letter in the hope of tracing my father and uncles who myself and my sister Nicola have not seen for over thirty years.

We live in South Wales but my father was from Edinburgh, he was in the RAF when he met my mother.

Our fathers name is Douglas James Paterson, he has two brothers, the oldest being James Paterson who married a lady called Rose, and the youngest brother is Ross Paterson who married a lady called Sheila. My grandmother, I remember, was known as Ella Paterson and lived at Moredunvale Bank in Moredun.

It would be so nice to be able to get to know my family. I would be so grateful if anyone that reads this letter has any information that could help me with my search. If you do have any information you can email at karenpat75@gmail.com

Edinburgh: live music matters

Local music professionals have joined forces with officials from the City of Edinburgh Council to discuss the state of the Capital’s live music scene.

jazzAt Live Music Matters, an open forum held at the Usher Hall last night, a jam-packed audience of musicians, gig promoters, venue managers and academics discussed the current live music offering in Edinburgh and shared ideas on how to enhance the experience of live music for musicians and concertgoers. 

The debate was organised following a commitment in June by the Council’s Culture and Sport Committee to increase understanding and awareness of the live music scene in Edinburgh, in order to capture the key issues and opportunities facing the music community in the Capital.

Council policy on entertainment noise levels, the licensing and provision of live music venues in Edinburgh, and the support of grassroots talent emerged as hot topics for the local music community.

Councillor Norma Austin Hart, Vice Convener for Culture and Sport, said: “It is only right that debate about the city’s music scene is led by the experience and insight of local professionals. The Council-run and operated Usher Hall provides an ideal venue for the Live Music Matters open forum to discuss the current offering that we have in Edinburgh, and ideas for making it even better.

“What has become clear from the debate is that Edinburgh has a passionate and proud music industry, burgeoning with creative talent, and as a city we need to support this talent.

“Many venue owners and musicians feel that the Council’s current policy on noise levels can be a barrier to the development of Edinburgh’s music scene. To tackle this, we will specifically look at the current rules, and how these rules impact entertainment venues and residents.

“The meeting has also highlighted the importance many people attach to music venues, which goes far beyond sentiment and is really around cultural enrichment. The music community has told us they want Edinburgh’s music venues to be protected, and so we will aim to identify whether that is an option, perhaps through a register of cultural venues.

“Looking at ways to maintain and improve the city’s live music offering is a responsibility we need to face head on, and the Live Music Matters debate is only the beginning. We will now be gathering the comments and ideas from today’s discussion to look at ways we might be able to address them. Working in partnership will be crucial and the meeting today has reinforced that message. We will now set up a task force, called Music is Audible, with representatives from the music industry as well as the council.”

Karl Chapman, general manager of the Usher Hall, said: “The Usher Hall is a well placed venue to host this important debate, not just because it’s cultural importance in developing the arts and live music in the city, but also because it’s owned by the Council.

“The debate has been truly fascinating and I was surprised and delighted to see the tickets go so quickly. It’s been incredibly inspiring to hear everyone’s thoughts from across the industry today. The event has certainly shown there is a demand for a healthy live music scene in the city and the City of Edinburgh Council and the Usher Hall are committed to supporting Live Music Matters by hosting future meetings here in the venue.”

John Stout, promoter at Regular Music, added: “It’s fantastic to see the Council kick off this much needed conversation, and the open forum at the Usher Hall has covered the whole spectrum of live music in the city.

“The contribution that these events make to the local economy and towards making Edinburgh a cosmopolitan city can’t be underestimated. It will be interesting to see what the Council’s next steps will be.”

The debate will continue on social media and residents can share thoughts on Twitter using #livemusicmatters, and on the Council’s blog.

Further updates on the programme will become available later in the year.

Usher Hall box office

The Usher Hall is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council, is an international concert which has a maximum capacity of 2900, hosts around 200 concerts and sells around 220,000 tickets annually.

Edinburgh's Hogmanay programme announced

“Edinburgh will be the greatest place on earth to say goodbye to 2014 and bring in the bells for Hogmanay” – Cllr Steve Cardownie, Festival & Events Champion

EdinburghFireworks

Organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay have announced the glittering programme of events for this year’s three day festival. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will run from Tuesday 30 December to Thursday 1 January 2015, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world.

The Festival, produced by Unique Events on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, will kick off with the hugely popular Torchlight Procession on Tuesday 30 December which is supported by EventScotland. A complete sell-out for the last few years, this event is expected to attract over 30,000 participants and 8,000 torchbearers in the procession which winds through the city centre from George IV Bridge to the finale which can be viewed from Calton Hill as well as Waterloo Place where there will be additional entertainment. In this centenary year of the start of World War I, a contribution from the sale of torches will be donated to Erskine.

The flagship Concert in the Gardens on Wednesday 31 December will turn West Princes Street Gardens into THE party with Björn Again, the world renowned Australian ABBA Show kicking off the evening, followed by Grammy award winning dance/R&B superstars Soul II Soul closing their worldwide 25th anniversary tour and headliner Lily Allen who, on the last date of her international tour, will ensure the audience is partying through the bells at midnight. Enclosure tickets have already sold out.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay presents the biggest ever Hot Dub Time Machine at the World Famous Street Party. The time-travelling dance party which usually sees in New Year in Sydney, returns to Edinburgh to celebrate New Year for the first time in the Home of Hogmanay. 75,000 revellers across the arena will travel back to 1954 and then Moonwalk, Mashed Potato and Macarena their way through the bells and into 2015 with a banging song from each year relayed from the Rewinder Stage on the Mound across screens the length of Princes Street.

This year the Street Party welcomes a stellar Scottish line-up with a headline performance on the Waverley Stage from UK festival-favourites Twin Atlantic, joined by the winners of this year’s Mercury Prize, Edinburgh’s own alternative hip hop group Young Fathers, and Indie champions The Twilight Sad.

Audiences at the Scottish Stage will enjoy performances from Scotland’s chanteuse extraordinaire singer-songwriter Eddi Reader with special guests Radio 2 Folk Award nominated Breabach and the band led by Scottish piping phenomenon Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson.

At the Keilidh on the Mound revellers will be birling through the bells to The Smashers (featuring members of Rura), Hugh MacDiarmid’s Haircut and The Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience.

Revellers will enjoy countdown firework displays at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm rising to the crescendo of the spectacular Midnight Moment as the fireworks lift from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill. Followed by the world’s largest rendition of Auld Lang Syne as old friends and new join hands across the arena to sing Burn’s anthem.

All stages are live from 9pm to 1am but the party starts from 7pm throughout the Street Party arena with bars, rides and attractions.

Free NightBus services will run throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians for revellers at the Street Party and throughout the City Centre, supported by Lothian Buses and Johnnie Walker. These safe rides home are part of the Join the Pact global responsible drinking initiative from Johnnie Walker which has secured over one million personal commitments from people across the world to never to drink and drive.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh will be the greatest place on earth to say goodbye to 2014 and bring in the bells for Hogmanay. From the Street Party to the Keilidh, the Concert in the Gardens to the Loony Dook, this is going to be a jam-packed three day festival of fun.

“Every year, people travel from all over the world to experience Edinburgh’s midnight moment, and this year all eyes will yet again be on the Capital as locals and visitors come together to celebrate. With performances from Lily Allen and Mercury prize-winners Young Fathers, it’s also one of the best outdoor concerts in Britain. Local residents planning to celebrate New Year on their doorstep can snap up an early bird discount on tickets, but be quick – the discount will only apply until 28 November.”

Pete Irvine, Director of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, said ““The Street Party boasts the world’s biggest open air dance floor and this year we really are going to party, including at The Concert – we should say Party – in the Gardens. On the other stages we’ve got the perfect Scottish line-up and this reverberates the next day at SCOT.LANDS where 100 artists across 11 venues will be part of what is probably Scotland’s biggest free festival. And it’s still only the first day of the year!”

On New Year’s Day, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay presents Scot:Lands – incredible new worlds hidden in 11 beautiful buildings and outdoor spaces in the city’s Old Town, where audiences can discover the very best in music, art and theatre, created and curated by Scotland’s most innovative artists, arts organisations and musicians: a festival in itself – all free. Scot:Lands is supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Also on New Year’s Day revellers can work off the excess of the night afore with a dip in the River Forth in the annual Queensferry Loony Dook. Starting with a Dookers Parade through South Queensferry featuring pipers and a host of entertainment the brave, or daft, Dookers will take the chilly plunge for charity under the world renowned Forth Bridge. For those not brave enough to get their feet wet, there are plenty of vantage points to watch the action and spectators are welcomed.

The award winning #Blogmanay was conceived in 2012 as a means of using travel bloggers and a high-impact social media campaign to showcase the unique experience of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, whilst using the festival as a gateway to explore and discover the delights of visiting Scotland, the ‘Home of Hogmanay’ in winter.

This year #Blogmanay is back again, encouraging locals, visitors and attractions across the city from 23 November to 5 January to create a huge bank of live digital content – blogs, reviews, videos, photographs and tweets, highlighting Edinburgh & Scotland as a premier winter destination. This year guest bloggers will be joining #Blogmanay from across Europe, North America, China and Australia and will participate in the award-winning campaign which since 2013 has generated over 150 million twitter impressions.

Tickets for all events at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are on sale – full details can be found at www.edinburghshogmanay.com.

The early bird ticket offer for Edinburgh residents will close on Friday 28 November. Until then, anyone living in an EH postcode can buy their Street Party ticket for the reduced price of £16 plus booking fee.

wheel

Countdown to lower drink-drive limit

Campaign launched to highlight proposed change on 5 December

drink and driveA high-profile public information campaign to ensure Scotland is ready for a new lower drink drive limit has been launched at the start of Road Safety Week. The Scottish Parliament votes today on an order which will bring the reduced limit into effect on 5 December.

This would lower the blood alcohol limit from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.

The campaign includes:

  • TV, video-on-demand and radio adverts across Scotland, including ITV Borders which covers areas south of the border. The campaign message is ‘the best advice is none’ when it comes to drinking and driving
  • Digital and social media campaign backed by www.dontriskit.info website
  • Scotland-wide awareness raising events in high footfall public venues such as supermarkets
  • Working with key transport hubs such as Edinburgh airport and car hire companies (Enterprise)
  • Awareness raising through Visit Scotland, tourist organisations and driving tourism agencies
  • Highlighting the new lower limit via electronic road signs across Scotland, particularly on key border roads between England and Scotland
  • Partner work with service stations, including all Tesco and all Shell-owned garages, this includes key border areas in Dumfries, Abington, Jedburgh and Berwick- upon- Tweed
  • Issuing information through alcohol retailers, national pub companies and groups such as Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Grocer Federation and DrinkAware
  • Partnering with key motoring organisations including the Institute of Advanced Motoring, AA, RoSPA and Brake

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “With the approval of Parliament, the new drink drive limit will come into force on December 5, making our roads safer and saving lives. We are doing everything we can to make sure everyone is informed about the new lower level.

“A persistent minority of people are still getting behind the wheel after drinking – that is unacceptable, it is putting lives at risk and it must stop. Our advice is simple, the best approach is to have no alcohol at all. Alcohol at any level impairs driving.

“This new law will bring Scotland into line with most of Europe and hopefully reduce drink drive arrests and prosecutions, as we have already seen in the Republic of Ireland, where drivers adjusted their behaviour to take account of the lower limit.”

Chief Superintendent Iain Murray, Head of Roads Policing for Police Scotland said: “An average of 20 die on Scotland’s roads each year and last year a further 90 were seriously injured and 340 slightly injured as a result of drink driving related collisions.

“The new lower limit will reduce those numbers and the evidence from across Europe where the lower limit applies suggests we will see reductions in drink driving and blood alcohol counts.

“However even at the new limit you are three times more likely to die in a crash than if you had taken no alcohol. It is clear, when it comes to drinking and driving, that the simple ‘the best advice is none’ message is the right one.

“On the lead up to 5 December police patrols will positively engage with as many road users as possible to provide real-time education to those who may be putting themselves and others at risk, influence behaviour in the future and prevent collisions on Scotland’s roads.”

Paul Bassett, General Manager, South East Division, Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “All too often our ambulance crews have to deal with the tragic consequences of drink driving, which have a devastating impact on families and communities. The message is clear and we hope this initiative will reduce the number of lives that are ruined as a result of drink driving.”

Michael McDonnell, Director of Road Safety Scotland, said: “It’s almost 50 years since the current limit was introduced and that we still lose an average of 20 lives a year is a disgrace.

“Evidence from across the world demonstrates that the best results in tackling drink-driving are achieved by lowering the limit, or increasing enforcement, or both. We know, too, that a combination of high-profile enforcement, coupled with a heavyweight media campaign is the most efficient use of resources, and we are working closely with the Police Scotland and other partners to ensure that people know about the change to the limit and have no excuse.

“It’s not about catching more drink-drivers, but about preventing people from doing it in the first place. Ultimately, most of us have too much to lose, so it’s just not worth the risk.”

A happy New Year for hospital food?

New hospital food guidelines to be published in January

hospital_foodImproved standards for hospital nutrition and catering are to be introduced, and the Scottish Government will consult on making them legally binding, Health Secretary Alex Neal has announced. The improvements are part of a package of measures being introduced to build on the progress already made to improve standards of nutritional care in Scottish hospitals.

The measures announced yesterday are:

• Improved nutrition and catering standards introduced in the new year, supported by increased inspections of hospital meals
• A consultation to determine whether nutritional standards in hospitals should be placed on a statutory footing
• A further £300,000 will be invested to help boards to improve nutritional care

Scotland was the first country in the UK to introduce national standards for food, fluid and nutrition in hospitals. Since 2008 more than £1.75 million has been invested to improve standards of nutritional care, including supporting nutritional champions, malnutrition screening of all patients when they are admitted to hospital, and the introduction of protected mealtimes to ensure patients get the help they need to eat.

Continuing improvements to hospital food are part of the Scottish Government’s 2025 vision to make Scotland a Good Food Nation.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “Scotland has led the way in the UK when it comes to developing and monitoring standards for nutritional care and catering in hospitals. We already have rigorous standards in place, and clear guidance about how these standards can be met. Catering teams, dieticians, specialist consultants and nursing staff are doing great work to ensure that patients are getting nutritious and balanced diets in hospital.

“We have made great progress, but I recognise that there is always more that can be done to drive up standards.

“We have been working on these new guidelines for some time as part of an ongoing review of nutritional standards. This is part of a package of measures that will help to ensure that hospital food continues to improve, that NHS boards have the appropriate amount of support and advice that they need to deliver these improvements and that we have an even stronger inspection process.”

As part of the new standards, there will be a move away from self reporting, whereby hospital boards submit evidence about how their meals meet nutritional guidelines

Full details of the new guidelines will be published in January, and, if agreed, Scotland would be the first country in the UK to place nutritional standards in hospital food on a statutory footing.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has welcomed the proposals. She said: “It’s good to see the Scottish Government waking up to this important issue. I would encourage every health board to listen carefully to the feedback from patients and relatives to help improve hospital meals.

“I await with interest the new guidelines, and I urge ministers to raise their ambitions for the quality of food served in our hospitals. We should take this opportunity to focus on using more local and fresh ingredients, and we should continually involve patients in a review of the menus.”

STV Appeal support for Edinburgh's Streetwork

Streetwork is one of ten youth projects to receive STV Appeal funding 

STVappeal logo

The STV Appeal has granted a total of £30,000 to support 10 projects across Scotland, in partnership with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).

One of the projects awarded a £3,000 grant is Streetwork in Edinburgh which works with vulnerable people on the streets providing street based outreach and one to one follow up support to enable a life beyond the street. Streetwork has been working with vulnerable people for over 22 years and through their outreach work aims to break the cycle of crisis and chaos for our most vulnerable people, including young people. The project was nominated by Drummond Community High School.

One of the service users, aged 17, met Streetwork while on the streets and explained the difference it made for him: “Streetwork gave me help in pointing me in the right direction and providing support that I needed. They helped me contact other agencies to help me sort out my flat and debt problems by helping me contact the right people.”

Managed in Scotland by The Wood Foundation, YPI is a UK and North America wide programme which engages young people in social change and empowers them to critically understand their local community.

YPI Scotland, which was delivered in 108 secondary schools across 18 local authorities during the 2013/14 academic year, asked students to research local need within their community and identify charities they felt were making a difference, before advocating on behalf of their chosen cause for the chance to secure the £3000 STV Appeal grant.

Ten winning projects have now been chosen by the STV Appeal to receive £3,000 each from the STV Appeal, all addressing child poverty at a local level:

VSA Young Carers (Aberdeen) nominated by St Machar Academy
Befriend a Child (Aberdeen) nominated by Hazlehead Academy
Streetwork (Edinburgh) nominated by Drummond Community High School
Children’s Holiday Venture (East Lothian) nominated by Knox Academy
Drumchapel Women’s Aid (Glasgow) nominated by Turnbull High School
Haldane Youth Services (West Dunbartonshire) nominated by Vale of Leven Academy
Petal Support (South Lanarkshire) nominated by Cathkin High School
Riding for the Disabled Arran Group (North Ayrshire) nominated by Arran High School
Inverclyde Foodbank (Inverclyde) nominated by St Columba’s High School
Govanhill Family Support Group (Glasgow) nominated by St Benedict’s High School

Now in its fourth year, the STV Appeal is determined to make an even bigger difference in the lives of children and young people living in poverty in Scotland. The money raised is distributed to provide practical help like food and warm clothes; create opportunities for training and employability; and enable social and emotional support for those who need it most.

Claire Gibson, CEO at Streetwork said: “It was a pleasure to support the students from Drummond Community High School in their Youth Philanthropy Initiative. The students were very impressive and immediately engaged with the work of Streetwork and the difference we make. The presentation from Drummond Community High was excellent and we were honoured to be awarded £3,000 towards our work with vulnerable young people in Edinburgh.”

Jonathan Christie, YPI Scotland Manager at The Wood Foundation, said: “The opportunity to work with the STV Appeal, and other likeminded partners, is central to the ongoing growth, development and success of YPI Scotland. Across our 140 participating secondary schools, over 18,000 young people will engage in YPI this year, directing a total of £440,000 to small, local charities; charities providing invaluable support in their community. We are delighted the STV Appeal has chosen to support these ten projects, whilst investing in both youth voice and community social action.”

Elizabeth Partyka from the STV Appeal said: “The ten winning projects all do fantastic work to support children and young people affected by poverty across Scotland. We have really enjoyed the opportunity to work in partnership with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative and we hope the grants from STV Appeal will help each project make an even bigger difference in their community.”