davepickering

CHILDREN 1ST the real winners in Dragons’ Glen finale

‘Can Do’ attitude produces results for children’s charity

The winner of the CHILDREN 1^ST corporate charity challenge Dragons’ Glen will be announced on Wednesday (29 April) during a special ceremony at Edinburgh Castle to be attended by Roseanna Cunningham MSP.

Now in its third year, Dragons’ Glen has seen ten teams from all over Scotland use their business skills to launch products and turn an initial investment of £500 into £5000 plus. All profits then go to CHILDREN 1^ST, Scotland’s leading children’s charity.

During the challenge, the teams were mentored by leading Scottish business experts including Jo Bucci (Managing Director, People’s Postcode Lottery); Carolyn Jameson, Director, General Counsel for Skyscanner and Ken Lewandowski, formerly Local Chairman of Clydesdale Bank Financial Solutions Centres.

Teams and projects in the Edinburgh section up for this year’s award include:

BCF Technology Team B, who focused on fashion, selling designer T-shirts which used ethically-sourced materials.
Larbert High School’s main project was science experiment kits, complete with lesson plans, for primary schools to bring science to life for younger children.

Rosanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training, said: “Dragons’ Glen is a valuable exercise that has helped those involved learn some fantastic skills, aiding their careers for a long time to come. This is very much in line with our ‘Scotland CAN DO’ approach and I can’t wait to see what ideas they have come up with.”

Alison Todd, Chief Executive of CHILDREN 1^ST, said: “From board games to hand warmers the teams have really used their imagination and come up with some great ideas and products. Dragons’ Glen is not just about team-building, learning new skills and having words of wisdom from top business gurus – this is about companies showing the difference they can make to vulnerable children and their families in local communities across Scotland. Thanks to everyone who took part.’’

Jo Bucci, Managing Director of People’s Postcode Lottery and one of this year’s Dragons, said: “It’s been a wonderful experience being involved and it has been so rewarding to see all the teams progress and develop into young entrepreneurs.”

Dragons’ Glen will be recruiting teams for this year’s challenge which will start in August. To sign up or for more details email corporate@children1st.org.uk or call 0131 319 1111.

Run Edinburgh

Still time to enter Scotland’s BIGGEST Running Festival!

Now in its 13th year, the Edinburgh Marathon Festival is Scotland’s largest running festival with over 30,000 runners taking part every year. This year’s event takes place on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May.

There’s still time to enter the 10K, 5K and team relay events with routes which showcase Scotland’s capital city at its very best, taking in panoramic views of the city including sights of Edinburgh Castle and the beautiful Holyrood Park.

The team relay then continues through East Lothian offering stunning views, huge crowd support and an unforgettable running experience – no matter what your goal.What’s more, with two different junior race distances on offer for 6-12 year olds, the whole family can get involved!

The Edinburgh Marathon Festival is one of the biggest in the world, and it’s right here on your doorstep!

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen!

Entries close on Wednesday 6 May at 5pm.

Don’t miss out, enter NOW!

Connor joins the Muirhouse Millennium A Team!

Yet another young volunteer joins us from the council run Scheme, financially helping 16 & 17 into work or education and volunteering (writes James McGinty).

Young Connor joins our Young Team Chris Paul and Dale doing the many tasks that are required to run a successful Community Centre. Chris is pictured enjoying the morning sunshine and tending to the daffodils, maintaining a bright and cheerful garden for our community to enjoy!

Food conference follow-up tomorrow

Taking the next steps forward to tackle food poverty

Pilton Community Health Project recently produced a report on December’s ‘Good Food for All’ conference which focused on food poverty in North Edinburgh.

http://pchp.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource/files/Good%20food%20for%20all%20final%20report.pdf

The report identifies a number of issues that we, as people living and working in the community, cannot solve ourselves. We need action on policy issues

Particularly:

– Living wages

– Job creation and security

– Social security and the punitive sanctions regime

– Better recognition of the contribution that this local community makes towards improving its own food culture and access to affordable, fresh, healthy food and further support for this

– The role of business in the provision of food.

You are invited to a meeting on Tuesday 28 April from 10 – 12 at Pilton Community Health Project to discuss how we might go about having our voices heard on these issues.

Please let me know if you are able to attend.
Anita Aggarwal (Community Development Manager)

Pilton Community Health Project

73 Boswall Parkway, Edinburgh, EH5 2PW

Telephone 0131 551 1671

anitaaggarwal@pchp.org.uk

www.pchp.org.uk

Postive parenting at Royston Wardieburn

TRIPLE P

Positive Parenting Programme

Are you the parent of a 3, 4, or 5 year old?
Do they hit, fight or argue a lot?
Do they find it difficult to make friends?

Short courses are starting locally, offering support and help with behaviour goals for you and your child. Free crèches are provided.

Want to find out more?

Come along to a welcome morning on

Tuesday 28 April

anytime between 9.30-11am

Royston Wardieburn Community Centre

11 Pilton Drive North

Free filled rolls and refreshments, and crèche!

For more information call Sarah on 552 5700

email sarah.neal@ea.edin.sch.uk

– or just turn up!

poster local

Street League comes to North Edinburgh

Street League, who use football to work with 16-24 year olds and help progress them into employment, run free employability courses for unemployed young people and a new Certificate Of Work Readiness Course starts in North Edinburgh today.

These courses are for 16-24 year olds, last for 12 weeks and offer:

• An opportunity to gain a recognised SQA qualification

• An 8 week work trial

• 1-1 employability support

• Improve personal development

• Develop fitness and football skills

The local course, which is running from Spartans Football Academy and Royston Wardieburn Community Centre, will be run by Danny Munro & Stuart Inglis. For further info or to make a referral contact Stuart on 07788312856, email stuart.inglis@streetleague.co.uk

EVOC reminder: Meeting to discuss integrated services tomorrow

Dear All,

We’d like to cordially invite you to the latest event looking at adult Health and Social Care integration here in Edinburgh, with the next stage of development just starting.

A shadow Strategic Planning Group has now met, bringing together people from across the NHS, Health & Social Care, the Third Sector, Independent Sector and carers/service users. We want to feedback to everyone in the Third Sector interested in shaping the future of health and social care services on how the Strategic Plan is being developed.

This upcoming meeting will focus on Edinburgh’s draft

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)

which is a key element of the process of preparing a strategic plan.

Monday 27 April, 9.30am – 12.00noon

City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square, Edinburgh EH8 9BX

Please book here so we can arrange teas and coffees:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feedback-engage-and-create-tickets-16532637564

JSNA Background

The JSNA aims to provide an assessment and forecast of needs to enable investment to be linked to all agreed desired outcomes, considering options, planning the nature, range and quality of future services and working in partnership to put these in place.

The purpose of the JSNA is to agree a comprehensive local picture of health and wellbeing needs, using intelligence and analysis to determine:

o Current and future needs

o What’s working, what’s not, and what could work better?

o What are the major health inequalities and what can be done about them?

o Unmet needs, including those of seldom-heard populations and vulnerable groups

This will be used to:

o Negotiate and agree overarching priorities on health and wellbeing;

o Influence commissioning and decision making

Really hope you can make this meeting.

Ian Brooke, Deputy Director, EVOC

The Centipede’s back!

There IS such a thing as a free lunch!

MUIRHOUSE CENTIPEDE PROJECT

Open Lunch Meeting
Tuesday 28 April, 12 noon
North Edinburgh Arts

An informal (free!) lunch to chat about your ideas about how we can make use of the brownfield sites until the houses are built on them. We would love to see you there! Open to all.

Do you remember the wishing tree in 2014?

We asked local residents to tell us what they want to see happen in the area. Now with the endorsement of the City of Edinburgh Council, we are helping to make some of the wishes come true!

This is the start of a wide range of community activity across the brown field sites in Muirhouse. In partnership with the council, we are looking for ideas for temporary activities that brighten up the community until the houses get built.

Community Gardens are a great way to:

Improve health and wellbeing
Grow your own food
Meet new people
Socialise with friends
Learn new skills
Have fun and relax

And now you have the chance to create your own community garden with Centipede Project, then as part of the development of the empty sites by the City of Edinburgh Council. This includes the land near Pennywell Gardens and Muirhouse Avenue until the new houses get built.

How can you be involved?

Attend our free open lunch to share your ideas!

Tuesday 28 April
North Edinburgh Arts
12noon

Get in touch if you’re interested in being involved:

Email: centipedeproject@outlook.com
Telephone: 0131 315 2151 (ask for Joanne)
In Person: We are based in North Edinburgh Arts

Download our leaflets with all upcoming events here and here.

It’s Gavin at the double!

One of The Roxburghe Hotel’s most esteemed team members was recognised at the 12th annual Scottish Hotel Awards last week. Concierge Gavin Stirling picked up the coveted Concierge of the Year crown for the second year running.

The glittering ceremony, held on Sunday 19 April at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow, was a night of celebrations for staff at the four-star capital hotel, as they congratulated the hospitality star on retaining his much-deserved title.

37-year-old Gavin, who has worked at the Roxburghe for six years and in hospitality for 14 years, has been credited as an ambassador for the hotel and the wider hospitality industry in Scotland. Heading up a dedicated concierge team, Gavin’s welcoming nature and unrivalled desire to go above and beyond for guests has secured his place at the top of the title race for a consecutive year.

The hotel, located on the corner of Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square, was also named regional winner of Business Hotel of the Year for Edinburgh and the Lothians in recognition of its vibrant restaurant, luxurious bedrooms and state-of-the-art resources for modern business travellers.

Marcello Ventisei, general manager of The Roxburghe Hotel, said: “Gavin has done The Roxburghe proud yet again at this year’s Scottish Hotel Awards. His unwavering dedication to our clients and the hotel as a whole is fantastic and I’m delighted to see it duly recognised among the industry yet again.

“We’re lucky to have a fantastic team on board, all of whom work exceptionally hard to ensure the highest standards at the hotel – our regional award for Business Hotel of the Year is testament to that.”

Taxi! Keir calls for tighter legislation

‘Public safety is everything’ – SNP MSP Colin Keir

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Western Colin Keir has called for tighter legislation of taxis and private hire cars during a Holyrood debate on the Air Rifles and Licensing Bill.

Mr Keir is supporting moves to introduce a test for Private Hire Car drivers as well as tightening the legislation on booking offices. He also called on vehicles which are currently exempt from the licensing system to be included on the grounds of public safety.

Mr Keir said: “The legislation which deals with taxis and private hire cars was drawn up as a part of the 1982 Civic Government Scotland Act and needs to be amended. The use of mobile phones and apps were not known years ago and the law and the trade have to adapt to modern circumstances.”

Mr Keir added: “Everyone who uses a taxi or private hire car must know that it is safe to get into a vehicle and must have confidence that there’s a fit and proper person behind the wheel – public safety is everything.”