Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Dads Rock’s coming to Granton!

Dads Rock, the free fun playgroup for dads and their kids, is coming to Granton. It’s almost a year to the day since Thomas Lynch and David Marshall dreamed up the idea of starting a playgroup for dads and their kids, and Dads Rock has since gone from strength to strength.

Dads Rock’s weekly fun sessions for under-fives at Sighthill’s Gate 55 have been very popular since they were launched last November, and the group has gone on to attract both local and national press coverage – last month the group was featured in a photo exhibition at the Scottish Parliament. Dads Rock is now very excited to be coming to The Prentice Centre on Saturday mornings – the big launch is Saturday 27 October from 10 – 11.30am.

Group founder Thomas Lynch said: “It’s amazing the difference a year makes! We’ve had brilliant meetings at The Prentice Centre and it’s a great venue. We’re really looking forward to starting there on Saturday  27th at 10am – we’re hoping for a great turn out, so spread the news!”

No sooner said than done …

 

 

A career in childcare?

Ever thought about a career in childcare? North Edinburgh Childcare (NEC) will be running a new INTO CHILDCARE course in November, and are holding an information session about the course on Frday 19 October.

NEC Training Administrator Kim Weir said: “If you are interested in this course please contact me on the number below to book a place on the information session being held on Friday 19 October. Please note that there are only a limited number of places available on this course, so bookings will be taken during the drop in session and from this selection the places will be allocated. Due to the availability of places it may be the case that not all the people who attend the drop in session will be successful in securing a place on the course.”

For further information contact Kim at North Edinburgh Childcare on 311 6931 or email Kim.weir@northedinburghchildcare.co.uk

 

Edinburgh is ‘Europe’s Leading Destination’

Forget Milan, London, Paris and Barcelona – Edinburgh has been named Europe’s Leading Destination at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2012. Speaking after Saturday’s ceremony, delighted City of Edinburgh Council Leader Andrew Burns said: “This is fantastic news for Edinburgh and a terrific endorsement from the people who work in the travel industry. Edinburgh is already a multi-award winning city and this is further confirmation that Edinburgh is a world class tourist destination steeped in history with a great atmosphere which hosts numerous world-renowned cultural events.”

Is Edinburgh really Europe’s leading destination? Let us know your views!

Lean on Me: North Edinburgh Time Bank launches this Thursday

North Edinburgh Time Bank will be launched in song by the Time Bank’s very own choir at North Edinburgh Arts Centre this Thursday evening – and everyone’s invited! 

Time banking is a scheme where people earn time credits for every hour they spend helping someone in their community. People sign up and offer whatever skill, knowledge and experience they have – from doing DIY to teaching guitar – and in return they get help for what they need from other members.  The North Edinburgh Time Bank has been up and running since May 2012 and has 13 members to date.

Julie Smith, the time bank broker who co-ordinates the project explained: “It’s a simple idea which people really get into. We don’t all have cash, but we all do have time – and what we do with that time can be extremely valuable to others and our communities. Time Banking uses time as a means of exchange instead of money. So, for every hour you spend say, helping someone move house, you get the equivalent in time credits. Which you can then exchange for a favour from someone else – or donate to someone else who might need a hand. Timebanking says, look, we all need someone to do wee things for us at different times in our lives. And we all want to be useful and help other folk out. This scheme lets people be useful and puts them in touch with folk who can help them when needed.”

One of the first people to join was local mum Karma Lennon, who said: “It’s not always easy to get to know folk, especially if you’re new in the area. A time bank is a way of folk getting to know their neighbours – of trusting the people around you. I got help  with my garden – we discovered  a hawthorn tree growing in it which I didn’t know was there!”

Jan Moore is another timebank member, and also the volunteer administrative worker with North Edinburgh Time Bank. She says: “It’s really easy to feel useless because you’re not in a job that pays well, or you’re looking after people, or you’ve been ill yourself. You can feel you’ve got nothing to offer. Time Bank is brilliant because it clearly says everyone has something to offer. If you can offer company to someone for an hour, help someone fill in a form – be a good listener –  we are all valuable to our communities. And we’ve formed a timebank choir to get the message out there in song – so come along to the launch and hear our anthem!”

How can you resist?

Thursday October 11

6pm – 8pm

North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court Edinburgh

And as the great Sir Cliff Richard himself may just have sung: ‘Congratulations!’

Housing Association raises £1000 for cancer charity

Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA)has raised over £1000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

PoLHA’s sheltered housing developments at St Nicholas Court in Ferry Road and Hermitage Court in Academy Park in Leith hosted events for their residents and locals as part of the charity’s ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ initiative. Around 25 people attended Hermitage Court’s light lunch with sandwiches and cakes and raffle, with over 50 going to St Nicholas Court’s ‘soup and sweet party’ with a home bake sale and raffle. The complexes raised over £900 between them.

Maureen Tait, Senior Sheltered Housing Coordinator for PoLHA who manages St Nicholas Court, said: “We are overwhelmed with the generosity and thankful to everyone who made the events such a fantastic success. We are looking forward to donating the money to this fantastic cause.”

PoLHA also held a coffee morning for staff at its Constitution Street office raising a further £100. Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of PoLHA, said: “This was a great team event which demonstrated both a commitment to a very worthwhile cause and also the baking talents of some members of staff.”

 

Missing medication appeal

Lothian and Borders Police are appealing for information after a packet of prescription painkillers were lost in Edinburgh on Wednesday (October 4). The box of MST continus were lost around 2pm on Telford Road near the entrance to the Western General Hospital.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “This medication should only be taken by the person it is prescribed to, and could have significant health implications if taken by anyone else. Anyone who finds this box of seven tablets should contact police immediately, or hand them in to their local pharmacy or police station.”

Anyone with any information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or the charity Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.

Lazarowicz supports food initiative

Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North & Leith has pledged to help local residents living on the breadline by signing up to volunteer at a local food drive.

The Million Meal Appeal – where shoppers can donate food to help local people in crisis – is being organised by charity FareShare and Sainsbury’s stores across the country, including Sainsbury’s at Blackhall. As part of the appeal on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th October, Mark Lazarowicz MP has signed up to help collect donations.

Mark Lazarowicz MP said: “The Million Meal Appeal will help local families struggling with rising living costs and cuts to tax credits. Food banks do an excellent job but I know that demand is rising under this government. I am supporting the Million Meal Appeal and I urge others to visithttp://www.fareshare.org.uk to see how they can help.”

Volunteers will be asked to greet customers and encourage them to buy an extra item of food from the Million Meal Appeal shopping list. Donations will be collected as shoppers leave the store. FareShare will then deliver the donated food to over 700 charities and community projects across the UK to help families in need. Sainsbury’s will match the level of food donations collected over the weekend.

FareShare is seeking more volunteers to assist with the two-day food drive. Volunteers can sign up at http://www.fareshare.org.uk to register, and choose their preferred store and time slot.

 

A story worth telling: Library Link celebrates twenty years

‘A special milestone for a special service’

A local library success story was shared yesterday as the Library Link service celebrated it’s twentieth birthday. This popular service helps people who have difficulty getting out to access books and other library services, and it’s fitting that the celebrations centred on Muirhouse Library – for it’s there that the Link service was first established all those years ago.

Culture and Sport convener Councillor Richard Lewis and Head of Library and Information Service Liz McGettigan were among the guests who joined yesterday’s anniversary celebrations.

Library Link is a bus service for anyone who has difficulty getting to the library because of age, disability or ill-health. The free minibus picks you up from home and takes you to your local library. The bus has wheelchair access and trained staff and WRVS volunteers are on hand to give assistance on and off the bus. Readers can choose their books, and then sit down to enjoy a coffee and a chat before being taken home again.

Launched in Muirhouse Library in 1992, Library Link has proven so successful that it has been adopted by nearly every       library in the Capital and is now regarded as a core part of the Libraries and Information Service. Some libraries have more than one link service, catering to those who prefer to visit on a different day of the week or time of day.

The service forms a unique partnership between City of Edinburgh Council Library and Information Services and the voluntary sector. The WRVS recruit and support volunteer escorts to accompany the link members and transport is provided by organisations such as PEP (Pilton Equalities Project) and SEAG (South Edinburgh Amenities Group).

Ellen Fisher joined Library Link while Morningside Library was closed for its recent refurbishment. She said: “It gets you out of the house and lets you meet people. Everyone is very helpful. I was finding it difficult  to cope with getting the books to and from the library. The advantage is that you can borrow as many books as you want and they are carried home for       you.”

For crime novel enthusiast Mary Anderson the club has become one of the few occasions she gets out and about. “I enjoy meeting everyone and it also keeps the brain active, which is very important when you get to my age,” she said.

Thursday’s celebration also saw the introduction of a new Edinburgh City Libraries brochure, ‘My  library keeps me out and about’ – Library services for older people, is a new booklet from Edinburgh City Libraries providing information about the various activities and services that are available to older people in Edinburgh, or anyone who finds it difficult to use their library through disability or illness.

There are lots of ways to access the library services  available, and the booklet provides information on the Library2go service, Get Up and Go, and Your Edinburgh – all services designed to keep people up to date with what is happening in their community. The booklet also outlines how library users can get involved in events and activities in their community, including the popular book groups, IT courses and activities for children and grandchildren.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Today marks a very special milestone for a very special service. Library Link has helped many, many residents over the past two decades, ensuring they can access the wide range of services on offer at their library while interacting socially with fellow service users and volunteers. I would like to pay tribute to all the volunteers, past and present, whose hard work and enthusiasm mean Library Link continues to go from strength to strength.”

Library Link’s 148 volunteers provide an incredible 10,280 hours annually to support the service, and Councillor Lewis presented awards to David Colvin and Patrick Watson, two long-standing Link volunteers. Guests were also entertained by a short film on the local Link service produced by Muirhouse Library’s Rehan Yousuf, and there were also special thanks to local Library Link member Mr Wong – the Chinese Moon Festival falls this week, so Mr Wong shared Moon Cake with Library Link guests to make it a double celebration!

Doesn’t everyone love a story with a happy ending?

Some party pictures:

 

Let’s hear it for … local apples!

Pilton Community Health Project’s Food for Thought Forum will be celebrating the humble apple at a free event at Craigroyston Community High School later this month.

The Food for Thought Forum invite you to ‘A celebration of local apples (and pumpkins!)’ on Friday 19 October from 10am – midday at Craigroyston Community High School, Pennywell Road

Everyone’s invited to:

  • Bring and share your apple recipes
  • Bring a clean empty jar and fill it with fresh apple jelly
  • Children’s apple activities!
  • Tasters
  • Cooking demonstrations (including pumpkin soup)
  • Information about food activities and groups in the area

Who’s got the best apple recipe in North Edinburgh?

Cook your favourite apple dish, bring it along and enter the great apple competition! Everyone gets to be a judge and there will be a brilliant prize for the winner!

For more information call Anita on 551 1671.

 

 

Changes to Patient Transfer Service this month

 Do you need ambulance transport to get to

your healthcare appointment?

_____________

New ambulance booking line for patients

‘goes live’ on 22 October 2012

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) Patient Transport Service is responsible for the transport of non-emergency patients who do not need an immediate or urgent ambulance.

Ambulance transport is available for patients who need support to reach their healthcare appointments if they have medical or mobility needs that prevent them from travelling independently and require the support of ambulance staff during the journey.  The core service operates between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays).

The SAS is implementing a Patient Transport Service (PTS) improvement plan to enhance the clinical care given to patients who need to attend hospital or other healthcare facilities.  The roll-out of the first phase of the PTS improvement plan is now close to completion. The plan will be launched in the East Region (NHS Lothian, NHS Borders, NHS Tayside, NHS Fife, and NHSForthValley) on Monday 22 October 2012, when a new direct Patient Booking Line for the PTS will ‘go live.’ The same booking line number is already in use across the North and West of Scotland.

From 22 October 2012, to request a journey by ambulance, patients should call the new ambulance booking line on 0300 123 1236 (calls are charged at local rates for both landlines and mobiles).  Patients who are hard of hearing, deaf or speech impaired can contact the service through Text Relay on: 18001- 0300 123 1236.  Callers will be asked a series of questions about their condition and – if appropriate – the ambulance booking will be confirmed during the call.  Ambulance transport may be requested up to 28 days before the healthcare appointment. Patients who need support making the call should ask their GP or carer.

The SAS is producing a leaflet called Information for patients who need ambulance care services to attend healthcare appointments, which will be distributed to hospitals, GP practices and other healthcare facilities from early October. It will also be on the NHS Lothian website at www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk

 

Scottish Ambulance Service

NHS Lothian