Author: davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

Jack and Jill Markets: ‘where smart mums sell and save’

Local mums Pauline Macmillan and Cathy Uttley attended our very first NENgage session. They explain what their quality nearly-new baby and children’s market is all about:

Never more than in these challenging financial times have savvy mums and dads sought out innovative ways to make and save money, while providing the very best for their little ones. Jack and Jill Markets are a Not for Profit, Community Interest Organisation committed to helping families in their local community make and save money.  They are monthly markets aimed at children aged 0-9.

Cathy and Pauline explained: “While eBay and gumtree offer financially astute parents ways to buy and sell second-hand goods, they are not without their drawbacks.  Searching the internet for each individual item at the right price and in the right location is a time-consuming business and then you just have to hope that it arrives in acceptable condition.  Jack & Jill offers a welcome return to the old-fashioned shopping experience; shoppers can see and touch the goods and enjoy friendly service all in a vibrant atmosphere.  On the other side of the counter sellers get to see their kids nearly new items go to good homes while making some welcome cash – some have made over £500.”

When the women experienced their first market, they knew immediately they wanted to get involved. Pauline said: “With two young kids of my own, I immediately recognised the difference Jack & Jill could make to local parents.”

So when the opportunity to become Marketing & Events Managers for Edinburgh presented itself, the girls jumped at it!

As both Cathy and Pauline are full-time mums, they are delighted that their new roles offer the flexibility to manage their own business schedules alongside family commitments, and so far they are doing a great job.  At their first market as Managers, they welcomed an unprecedented 805 shoppers through the doors of Meadowbank Stadium.

Jack and Jill Market’s Pauline (left) and Cathy

Cathy added: “We really can’t stress what a fabulous initiative this is.  If you’ve got kids or grandkids, you can’t afford to miss our next market.  We are in Edinburgh on a monthly basis with 60 stalls bursting with brilliant bargains from cots, car seats and buggies to clothes, equipment and toys.  We’re really proud of what we’re doing with Jack & Jill”.

To sign up for market alerts to make sure you don’t miss out, visit their website: www.jackandjillmarket.co.uk

The next market takes place at Meadowbank Stadium on Sunday 23 September, Adults £1 entry, children free.

Safety fears at Drylaw's Doo'cot

Drylaw Telford Community Council has raised safety concerns over the Doo’cot (that’s the old Listed structure, not the boozer!) with officials at the city council’s local North Office.

During the summer holidays local children, some of them older teenagers, have gained access to the old Doocot structure and have been climbing through the building, using trees and shrubbery that are growing through the heart of the structure. Some are jumping off when they get to the top, and residents fear that children will be injured – or worse – if they land on rusty railing below.

Drylaw Doocot's a Listed buildingDrylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale has taken the safety issue up with the local North Office – along with another potential problem – Japanese Knotweed. This invasive plant is very difficult to remove, and residents believe that teh invader is gaining a hold in gardens surrounding the old Doo’cot.

“I have passed this information on to the local council office and the response has been very prompt. I understand that there has been some confusion about who is actually responsible for the old Doo’cot – it’s hard to believe it when you seen the state of it, but it’s a Listed building – but that’s been resolved and the council will be taking action. That will be a relief to local residents.”

a trail of knotweed at the old doo’cot?

More good news for Wester Drylaw residents is a council rethink on local street lighting. Following concerns raised by the community council earlier this year, council officials looked again at the quality and positioning of street lighting in the area.

“John McFarlane and his Lighting team have come up with an action plan, fitting 70w bulbs instead of current 45w  metal halide bulbs in three sections of Wester Drylaw Place”, Alex added. “Around end of November or early December they shall consult  with all residents on which would be their preferred option and before the end of the year the preferred option will be fitted throughout Wester Drylaw Place. We hope that all residents will participate in the consultation when asked in order to achieve the best result for all, and make Wester Drylaw Place a brighter and safer place for the community.”

The future’s bright …

Safety fears at Drylaw’s Doo’cot

Drylaw Telford Community Council has raised safety concerns over the Doo’cot (that’s the old Listed structure, not the boozer!) with officials at the city council’s local North Office.

During the summer holidays local children, some of them older teenagers, have gained access to the old Doocot structure and have been climbing through the building, using trees and shrubbery that are growing through the heart of the structure. Some are jumping off when they get to the top, and residents fear that children will be injured – or worse – if they land on rusty railing below.

Drylaw Doocot's a Listed buildingDrylaw Telford Community Council chairman Alex Dale has taken the safety issue up with the local North Office – along with another potential problem – Japanese Knotweed. This invasive plant is very difficult to remove, and residents believe that teh invader is gaining a hold in gardens surrounding the old Doo’cot.

“I have passed this information on to the local council office and the response has been very prompt. I understand that there has been some confusion about who is actually responsible for the old Doo’cot – it’s hard to believe it when you seen the state of it, but it’s a Listed building – but that’s been resolved and the council will be taking action. That will be a relief to local residents.”

a trail of knotweed at the old doo’cot?

More good news for Wester Drylaw residents is a council rethink on local street lighting. Following concerns raised by the community council earlier this year, council officials looked again at the quality and positioning of street lighting in the area.

“John McFarlane and his Lighting team have come up with an action plan, fitting 70w bulbs instead of current 45w  metal halide bulbs in three sections of Wester Drylaw Place”, Alex added. “Around end of November or early December they shall consult  with all residents on which would be their preferred option and before the end of the year the preferred option will be fitted throughout Wester Drylaw Place. We hope that all residents will participate in the consultation when asked in order to achieve the best result for all, and make Wester Drylaw Place a brighter and safer place for the community.”

The future’s bright …

Service medal for library volunteer

David (with medal!) pictured with Kathy at Muirhouse Library

David Colvin, our Library Link volunteer, has just received a long service medal from the WRVS for working with Muirhouse and Granton Libraries for 20 years.  We are celebrating the anniversary of the Library Link on 4th October.

Kathy Softley, Muirhouse Library

David’s medal

 

 

West Pilton Gardeners seek community support

West Pilton Community Gardeners are seeking public support for a funding application that will see their West Pilton Brae project completed and enable the startup of a new afterschool club. The group has launched a petition to show that West Pilton residents support the gardeners’ plans.

The community garden at West Pilton Brae was begun in the spring of 2012 by a handful of local women and children with some guidance from a local gardener. The garden design and construction work which took place over the summer involved over 40 children and 20 adults from the local area, and the group is now seeking funding from the city council’s local Forth Neighbourhood Partnership to finish the garden’s construction and to support a weekly after-schools club at the request of the kids.

Local gardener Kirsty Sutherland has been taking the lead in compiling everyone’s ideas into the garden design and teaching adults and children how to grow and harvest a great variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers.  She said: “We have made a list of materials we need to finish the garden and run the club for the children. This includes a secure shed, a water tap, children’s gardening tools, and a sessional worker to undertake the garden construction and plan weekly activities for the kids.”

The group’s first bid for funding was unsuccessful, but Kirsty is hopeful that the group will have better luck this time round. “This is our second application to Forth’s Neighbourhood Environment Programme (NEP) fund for the West Pilton Community Garden – it was refused by the Neighbourhood Partnership back in March on the grounds that they could not fund similar  projects until the Wardie Backgreen Food Growing Initiative was proven a  success. Our own garden has proven a success on very minimal  funding but with plenty of community involvement. Documenting the progress with  photographs has made me realise what a long way we have come since the spring – the garden’s now a wee oasis of calm and community involvement!”

Kirsty believes she knows the reason why the West Pilton project has been a success while others have struggled. “Community involvement in the design and  construction of the garden so far appears to have been the secret to avoiding  common problems with other community garden projects, like vandalism and dog  fouling. This flexible and creative community led approach,  facilitated by regular sessional work is working well.”

Kirsty will be making a short presentation on the West Pilton Community Garden at the Pilton Youth and Children’s Project  (PYCP) annual general meeting on 28 September. “It will mainly be photographs of folk working and a bit of detail on the future  development and use of the community garden – this presentation was supposed to be shown at the  Forth Clean Green and Safe Action Group meeting scheduled for 4 Sept, but  the meeting was cancelled at short notice.”
The local RTO (registered tenants organisation) Tenants and Residents in Pilton (TRIP) fully supports the funding application and Kirsty hopes local people will also show their support for the gardeners by signing the petition. “It is your garden, free for you and your children to use and share the fruits of your labour. Please sign this petition if you are in support of a funding application to allow us to complete the vegetable and herb  garden, buy the necessary tools and a secure shed and an after-school club being created for local children to work and learn in the garden.”

Local out for the petition at all local venues.

For further information, contact Kirsty Sutherland on 07778732171 or email kirsty@piltonresidents.org.uk

You can also check out he group’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WestPiltonCommunityGarden

PS: Feel free to get in touch if you want to join in with the garden group whatever your age or gardening experience!

Council seeks to bridge flood funding gap

The city council is to continue talks with the Government and local government umbrella body COSLA over a funding shortfall for the second and third phases of flood prevention works on the Water of Leith. The Council made an unsuccesful bid for goverment support last December but a decision is expected later this year on funding for flooding projects.

Transport convener Councillor Lesley Hinds (pictured above) said: “The total cost of building existing and future flood defences for Edinburgh  is at least £144m, which is well beyond our own means. While the completed scheme on Braidburn and the finished parts of the Water of Leith are providing protection, other parts of the city continue to be at risk. Recent events have shown again how important it is that we have these defences in place and I very much hope COSLA and the Scottish Government can be persuaded of the capital’s case.”

The current funding arrangements are detailed in a report to the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment committee next week. The report also describes the lessons learned from recent flooding, especially on 7 July 2012 at the Stockbridge Colonies and in Warriston. As a result, various improvements are to be made in how the Council works with other organisations to plan for and respond to major flooding incidents.

Councillor Hinds added: “Flooding can be a devastating experience for those who are affected. While our staff worked very hard to deal with the consequences of the exceptionally heavy rainfall there are always lessons to be learned for the Council, our contractors and our partners I’d also urge every household tosign-up for alerts from SEPA and follow their guidance on being prepared for flooding.”

Hearts lift trophy after titanic struggle

Hearts beat The Spartans on penalties to win the Ronnie Swan Memorial Trophy in front of 1800 spectators at Ainslie Park  last night. It was an almighty struggle for the SPL side, who came back from being two goals behind THREE times to force the game to penalties after it finished all square at 4-4.

Full match report to follow from Alan Clark

Six hundred sign up to keep LEAP in Stockbridge

Campaigners hoping to save Malta House for Lothian and Edinburgh Abstinence Programme (LEAP) handed in petitions containing over six hundred signatures to the Church of Scotland this morning. The move comes as talks over the future of the building continue between the Church of Scotland and NHS Lothian, and campaigners could know the fate of Malta House as early as next week.

In a statement issued earlier today, the Save Malta House for LEAP camapign group said: ‘Copies of the Save Malta House for LEAP petition were handed to the Church of Scotland this morning.  More than 600 signatures and heartfelt comments were gathered in less that a fortnight, on-line and on paper in the Stockbridge area.  Copies were addressed to the Moderator, the Secretary to the Council of Assembly (the Church’s Chief Executive), the Chief Executive Officer of CrossReach (the Social Care Council of the Church) and the Church’s Solicitor. Mary Macleod, Depute Solicitor of the Church, received the petition.  She said that a decision on the future of Malta House and the lease to LEAP would not be made today, but probably early next week.

‘The aim of the petition is to secure the future of LEAP at Malta House.  By 7 September, the petition and campaign had encouraged the Church not to commit to immediate sale to a developer, but to enter into discussions about potential purchase by the NHS.  This in itself is a great achievement, for which we commend the Church, but we are clearly not yet out of the woods.  Should such discussions be successful, it would be a ‘win-win’ situation: the Church would raise money from a sale, and LEAP would continue to lease the property.

‘If these discussions do not lead to this ‘win-win’ outcome, the Save Malta House for LEAP campaign will want to know what on earth has gone wrong.  It is not clear why the Church is having difficulty resolving matters.  Initially the Church seemed to have found itself in an uncomfortable and stark choice between financial gain and its social responsibilities.  The current prospect of purchase by the NHS Lothian (potentially through the Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation) looks to offer a solution which delivers both: a way forward to the credit of all concerned.

We remain very aware of the efforts and concern of so many people on this issue of such importance.  The outcome has an impact far beyond a local community, on the reputation of the Church, and on all those recognising the importance of LEAP remaining at Malta House and continuing as a beacon of hope for those facing the challenge of dependency on drink and drugs.  The on-line petition is being kept open until the objective of keeping Malta House for LEAP is achieved.’

There are indications that the group and LEAP supportersmay indeed achieve their aim. In a statement on Thursday (6 September), Peter Bailey, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the Church of Scotland’s Social Care Council (Crossreach), told the campaigners: “In relation to the NHS LEAP project in Malta House The Social Care Council wishes to reiterate the earlier statement that they wish to be as helpful and as flexible as possible in the current situation relating to LEAP.  To this end they are now able to confirm that representatives of the organisation are in active discussions with NHS Lothian to explore a positive way forward on this matter within the constraints faced by both NHS Lothian and CrossReach.  It would be premature to comment further while these discussions continue.”

New Edinburgh College seeks talent for Board

Influential and inspirational individuals are being invited to help the new Edinburgh College play a key role in defining the future of further education in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Edinburgh College, the product of a merger of Edinburgh’s Telford College, Jewel & Esk College and Stevenson College Edinburgh, is looking to attract the best talent possible to join its Board of Management.

The College,a £60m business and the biggest FE college in Scotland, will accommodate more than 35,000 students – the biggest student body in Edinburgh – when it opens on October 1.

Ian McKay, Chair (Elect) of Edinburgh College, said Board members will contribute to the leadership and control of the new College, driving forward improved learning opportunities that will benefit Edinburgh and Lothians specifically, and Scotland, in general.

He said: “The new Edinburgh College is set on a course to change the face of further education in Edinburgh and the Lothians. We want to deliver better opportunities and outcomes for learners, which will support economic growth both locally and nationally by providing industry with the right people for real jobs. We know Edinburgh and the Lothians boasts some of Scotland’s most skilled and talented people – captains of industry, innovators, community champions and such like. How great it would be, therefore, to have some of this incredible talent pool join us as we start this exciting journey with Edinburgh College.”

The new College welcomes applicants from all walks of life and is particularly keen to hear from candidates with skills and expertise in: community and educational leadership, industry and commerce, finance, marketing, international education and IT.

Edinburgh College will consist of four main campuses employing more than 1,500 staff; Granton (formerly Edinburgh’s Telford College), Sighthill (formerly Stevenson College Edinburgh) and Milton Road and Midlothian (both formerly Jewel & Esk College).

The selection  process for Board members is being launched this week with a view to  appointments being made within the next 6-8 weeks.

Requests for further information and applications should be made to amanda.hood@edinburghcollege.ac.uk.