Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill MSP will be the guest speaker when Granton Youth Centre celebrate their tenth birthday with a civic reception at the City Chambers on 23 November.
Author: davepickering
Edinburgh reporter and photographer
Guide dog puppies to visit Sainsbury’s
Jasper and Sandy, two Guide Dog puppies sponsored by Sainsbury’s Blackhall customers, will be making personal appearances at the local store next Wednesday at 2pm.
Sainsbury’s customers and staff chose Guide Dogs as their nominated charity for 2011/12 and Jasper and Sandy will be calling in to meet everyone and say thanks! Guests of honour will be Rebecca Law, a member of staff at Sainsbury’s, and Clermiston Primary School pupil Eve McCall – Rebecca and Eve won the store’s ‘Name the Puppies’ competition.
Jasper and Sandy – who is named after Guide Dogs volunteer collector Sandy Miller, a well-known face at Sainsbury’s – don’t have too far to travel to visit the local store. Jasper is being walked for his first year by a Guide Dog puppy walker who lives in Blackhall, while Sandy is learning his trade in Leith.
It costs £10,000 to adopt, name and train two puppies for their first year but through collections at checkouts, by volunteers and through a local ‘Go Walkies’ sponsored event generous staff and customers raised that amount and more – the local store is now well on the way to raising another £5000 to sponsor another puppy in the New Year!
Letter: Unity
Dear Editor
UNITY
Unity is strength – this truth us demonstrated in the struggle to defend the NHS by both users and those who work in providing the services.
Those who are trying to privatise the NHS have a glint in their eyes of making vast profits – what a disgusting attitude, when every penny is needed to treat people both old and young.
Unity also needs expressing by people in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, London – in fact everywhere, who have the same problems of needing regular work and wages and decent working conditions to be able to make life as it should be.
This unity of needs must be expressed as strongly as the unity in support of our NHS. Private companies aching to take over the NHS and other public services and their Tory and Liberal political supporters can and will be defeated.
A. Delahoy
Silverknowes Gardens
Transport’s the theme for Inverleith community conference
On the Move in Inverleith
Transport is the theme for this year’s Inverleith Community Conference, which will take place on 15 November from 6 – 9pm in Broughton High School.
Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership development officer Elaine Lennon said: “Our fourth annual community conference is coming up and this year’s theme is local transport in all it’s forms. We are formatting it as world café style with table discussions around themes of: public transport, road safety, winter weather, walking and cycling and road maintenance and we hope to have Officers leading on each table who are ‘experts’ in the subject.”
An evening of lively discussion, community cohesion, information sharing and fun is promised, so please tell your friends and neighbours about the event!
Organisers add:
On the theme of local transport, there will be opportunities to discuss issues and ask questions on various aspects of getting around Inverleith in small table discussions –
- parking,
- public transport,
- road repairs,
- road safety,
- walking and cycling,
- winter weather.
We hope that you can join us in person or live on twitter on the night, by following #inverleithconf
A finger buffet and live entertainment will be provided, and transport related stalls and information will be available for browsing.
You can book your place online through the Eventbrite website, but if you prefer to register off-line, or want more information, please contact Anne Brown on 332 6316, anne.brown@ea.edin.sch.uk or Elaine Lennon on 529 5270, elaine.lennon@edinburgh.gov.uk
Local groups to take bins fight to Council doorstep
Two local tenants groups are to take their protest over bin collection changes right to the council’s door – literally. Tenants and Residents in Pilton and recently-formed Tenants and Residents in Muirhouse will be dumping black bags at the North Neighbourhood Office in West Pilton Gardens on Monday morning.
A spokesperson for the groups said: “We are taking action against the chaos caused by the Council’s mismanagement of the changes to refuse collection. Many residents don’t have recycling bins yet, and some areas don’t even have enough green wheelie bins. It has led to rubbish piling up in our streets, and we have told the Council that they need to sort this situation out. However, the Council is not listening to residents concerns so we are forced to take further action.”
The groups are inviting local residents to join the protest outside the Local Office at 9.30 on Monday morning – and encourage them to bring a few bags of rubbish of their own to dump outside the office.
There’s no doubt changes introduced to refuse collection – particularly the move to fortnightly bin pickups – has angered many residents, but after initial ‘teething problems’ the new system has settled down and that the sight (and smell) of piles of uncollected refuse is over. Improving? Not so, say the protest group.
TRIP secretary Jon Black, one of the protest organisers, said: “Every week bins are overflowing, and the situation is getting worse not better. We demand that the council re-introduce weekly collections until people have received their recycling bins, and recycling rates are improved. We want the council to clear up all the rubbish that has been missed in our area.”
Councillor Lesley Hinds is convener of the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee. She said that fortnightly collections were introduced to encourage households to use recycling services available and reduce the amount of rubbish being sent to landfill.
She added: “In Muirhouse and Pilton, recycling advisers have been down twice in the last few months to speak to residents and will continue to do so in the coming months. After discussion with the local community we are looking to put in more recycling points in an effort to encourage more recycling, but people must take responsibility for the amount of waste they produce. I know there have been issues with the implementation of the new service and we need to get that right first, but I hope everyone agrees with what we are trying to achieve.”
What’s your view? Is the system improving or is the council talking rubbish?
Let us know!
Send us your pictures
Free movies in Muirhouse
Looking for something to do with the kids on Saturdays?
Well look no further, North Edinburgh Arts and Link Up Muirhouse are to host free family film days. Starting Saturday 3 November from 12.30 you’re welcome to come along and enjoy the film of the day in North Edinburgh Arts Centre’s fantastic cinema!
Films will be shown from 1pm, but children are more than welcome to arrive early and purchase goodies for the film from the tuck-shop. When the film finishes everyone is welcome to head into the library as they staff will be holding a film relevant fun session.
Sat 3rd November – 1pm Top Cat
Sat 10th November – 1pm The Muppets
Sat 17th November – 1pm Shrek 4
Sat 24th November – 1pm Brave
These films are totally free and we hope to see many families enjoying them, Parents and carers are more than welcome to come to the Arts centre if they wish and sit in the modern café area whilst younger children watch the film.
So rather than spend time on the streets when it’s cold and miserable why not come to the centre and enjoy the film?
More information please call in to the Arts centre or telephone: 0131 315 2151 or visit www.muirhouseresidents.org.uk/
Robert Pearson
Focus falls on over-fifties at West Pilton
The spotlight falls on the seniors next month when West Pilton will be celebrating older people with a series of social and information events for the over fifties at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre.
Tuesday 6 November 10.30am – 12.30pm: Fun and Fitness
Come along for some fun and fitness, followed by a light lunch provided by the Centre.
Thursday 8 November 1 – 3pm: Information Sessions
Get up to date information on energy efficiency
Have a basic health check
Find out about benefits you may be entitled to (with Granton Information Centre)
Meet your local Councillors
Learn about personal safety from community police officers
And enjoy a buffet lunch courtesy of the Centre!
Friday 9 November 12 – 4pm: Afternoon Social
Join in with dancing and singing to 50’s, 60’s and 70’s music
Play a game of Bingo or just enjoy the company and entertainment
A buffet lunch will be provided by the Centre.
For further information telephone 551 3194.
What’s The Matter?
Well, The Matter is a new way for young people to tell their councils and governments what they think about issues that concern them and a group of local teenagers unveiled the first edition of a new publication and presented their findings at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre last night.
Commissioned by the Total Craigroyston initiative, six young people from North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum spent six manic weeks researching, consulting, interviewing, writing and producing their very own newspaper – The Matter – to articulate younger people’s views on how their voices can be heard in the Forth community planning process.
And what were their findings? Well, you’ll have to wait for those – the young people have clearly developed a taste for journalism so they are going to write an article about The Matter themselves for the NEN. Watch this space!
The Matter is supported by design agency Snook in partnership with Young Scot and Firstport, who support new and emerging social entrepreneurs in Scotland.
Grab a Christmas bargain at Granton
Granton United Church is holding a pre-Christmas Table Top Sale
in the Church at 125 Boswall Parkway
on Saturday 2 November from 2 – 4pm.
Admission is only 50p – all welcome.
Police activity stepped up in Stockbridge
Lothian and Borders Police investigating a sexually motivated assault in the Stockbridge area have carried out a weekend of activity, a week after the attack.
A 23-year-old woman was returning home from a night out in Fredrick Street and had walked onto St Vincent Street when a man grabbed her from behind. The victim was forced to the ground but screamed loudly during the struggle and the suspect made off.
Over the past weekend plain-clothes and uniformed police patrolled the area between 11pm and 4am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.
Officers spoke with members of the public who were returning home or travelling through the New Town and Stockbridge area to establish if they’d been there the previous week and witnessed anything suspicious.
High-visibility reassurance patrols were also deployed throughout Stockbridge to engage with the local community and over 60 questionnaires were issued relating to last week’s assault.
As part of the policing activity, basement areas and secluded spots in and around Stockbridge were searched for anything of evidential value.
The area in and around Cumberland Street was also included during police patrols, as officers continue to investigate whether a similar attack, which took place on Saturday 29 September, is linked to this incident.
Detective Sergeant Lynsey Thomson praised the assistance of the public so far, but urged anyone who can help bring the suspect to justice to come forward.
DS Thomson said: “It’s now been a week since the victim was subjected to this terrifying ordeal and so it seemed appropriate to re-visit the area in the hope of talking to people who may have been there last week.
“Local residents, dog walkers, early morning commuters and taxi drivers were all spoken to during this time to determine whether they were in or around St Vincent Street in the early hours of last Sunday morning and whether they remember seeing or hearing anything suspicious.
“The response from those we spoke to was positive and we will now go through the statements and questionnaires we completed and progress the enquiry from there.
“Our reassurance patrols were undoubtedly a comfort to those who live in and frequent the Stockbridge area and these will continue for as long as is required.
“I would urge anyone who has yet to speak to police, but who may have vital information that can help identify the man responsible for this attack to contact us immediately.”
Anyone with information can contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or the charity Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.
