davepickering

Get Edinburgh growing at Botanics

Next weekend sees the launch of an exciting new initiative at the Botanic Gardens:

Do you want to grow your own food but don’t have a plot and can’t wait for an allotment? Do you have a garden that you can’t look after or that you would like to share and meet new people? Come and find out more about Edinburgh Garden Partners and start your partnership. Free fun activities, all ages welcome and no booking required.

Where: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway

When: . Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April from 1pm — 4pm

Spa in the City’s back next month

Capital Beauty Bonanza is Back

Spa in the City Returns with fresh new format and top beauty names

Beauty fans can look forward to a bumper weekend as Spa in the City – Edinburgh’s popular free beauty event – returns on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May for a sixth consecutive year.

Heading once again to St Andrew Square, the Essential Edinburgh extravaganza will feature a new ‘Fresh as a Daisy’ theme which will be accompanied by a fresh new format, with six of the city’s most prestigious beauty retailers – John Lewis, Jenners, Harvey Nichols, Boots, Debenhams and the Roxburghe Hotel – each taking over their own marquee.

The weekend will offer city centre shoppers the chance to ‘freshen up their look’ with a menu of free treatments, with brands for this year including Shu Uemura from Harvey Nichols, Liz Earle from John Lewis and Clarins which will be in the Jenners marquee. Luxurious treatments courtesy of the spa team at the city’s Roxburghe Hotel will also be available, alongside Superdrug and Lush Spa.

The event is organised and funded by Essential Edinburgh, the city’s Central Business Improvement District and aims to promote the wealth of beauty and lifestyle retailers on offer in Edinburgh city centre and encourage shoppers into the area.

Andy Neal, Chief Executive of Essential Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted to be bringing Spa in the City back once again for its sixth year. This has proven to be a really popular event with beauty lovers in Edinburgh and we are confident that this year’s line-up will not disappoint.

“This year, the move to have major retailers hosting their own marquee shows just how far this event has come and how important it has become in the Edinburgh retail calendar. By having this level of involvement in the event, retailers have a prime opportunity to showcase their offerings and brands to thousands of Edinburgh shoppers.

“The Spa in the City event is a great success, driving footfall in the centre and generating valuable follow up business for retailers throughout the city. As we near our renewal ballot, we would like to thank those who have been fantastic supporters of this event and we hope that local retailers will support Essential Edinburgh’s bid so that we can continue providing this key event in the years to come.”

As well as the large marquees, a selection of smaller marquees around the Melville Monument will house brands such as Molton Brown and Kiehls, as well as jazz band Swing Supreme who will be providing entertainment.

Marcello Ventisei, General Manager at Roxburghe Hotel, said: “Spa in the City is a fantastic event for us and having our own marquee this year is great in terms of driving our brand’s presence to the thousands of people passing through the event and the hundreds checking in for their complimentary treatments. The Roxburghe is rebranding to become a Crowne Plaza and this is an amazing opportunity to showcase our spa to the people of Edinburgh”

Spaces for treatments, which are limited to one per person, are secured at the registration desk on the event days from 9.30am until 4pm on a first come first served basis. Some pre-booking will be available through facebook and will be announced at a later date.

For more information visit www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk or www.facebook.com/edsitc

Muirhouse set to stage double arts event next Friday

Muirhouse is the place to be for culture vultures next Friday, with not one but two big arts events planned:

North Edinburgh Arts is hosting ‘Echoes’ on Friday 12 April at 7pm

A new version of Mamma Mia has been written by a community group fighting the city council’s plans to close Castlebrae secondary school.

The Abba track IT, will be sung by members of the Save the Brae campaign group during a performance of a play that they have written called Echoes, which will express their opposition to and frustration over the council’s proposals for the school next summer.

Among those taking part in the play is Kevin Finlay, chair of the Save the Brae group, who said: “I think if you go back in history, any local issues like this have been tackled by using arts to get points across.”

Around eight men and women, most of whom are members of Save the Brae will perform the 55-minute play at North Edinburgh Arts on Friday 12 April at 7pm.

Susan Heron, 54, plays Ina in the play – a fictional character who has lived in Craigmillar all her life and doesn’t want the school to close. Susan says the play was a “powerful statement of how Castlebrae school life was and is”.

Tickets are £3 or £2 Good Neighbours (GN) price. To book tickets please call Box Office on 0131 315 2151

and in the afternoon …

Travelling Gallery visits Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April 1 – 4pm

with ‘feel-good’ art exhibition

The Travelling Gallery will be visiting Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April, with its latest exhibition ‘Turquoise Heid’ on board. This curiously named exhibition is a busy group show of established and emerging artists from both home and abroad.

Working in a broad range of media including drawing, animation, film, sculpture, photography, performance, collage and painting, the exhibition will include artists who use a playful, childlike, feel good essence in their work, sometimes hiding darker depths but more often making us smile. The simplicity and low-tech nature of many of the artworks disguises sometimes complex processes and skills but also makes the exhibition instantly accessible to audiences of all ages.

’Turquoise Heid’ includes work by artists Matthew Barnes, Olivia Bee, Yeodoo Jung, Peter McDonald, Alex Millar, Jock Mooney, Kim Rugg, Yukako Sakakura and David Shrigley.

Visitors can also look out for artist Ellie Harrison’s Early Warning Sign which the Travelling Gallery is hosting in 2013 and which will sit outside the vehicle. Utilising the brazen marketing techniques of capitalism, the sign attempts to grab the attention of passers-by: to remind them of the consequences of excessive consumption and to force climate change back on the agenda. The harder the wind blows, the faster they go! www.ellieharrison.com.

The Travelling Gallery is a custom-built, mobile, contemporary art space inside a big beautiful bus. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Museums and Arts Division of the City of Edinburgh Council, the Travelling Gallery brings high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events to schools and communities throughout Scotland.

North Edinburgh Arts has arranged for the gallery to be open to the public on Friday afternoon at Craigroyston High School. The Travelling Gallery’s visit has been supported by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Children and Families Department.

See www.travellinggallery.com for all the details or ‘like’ on Facebook

Confusing Muirhouse signs in Muirhouse causing confusion!

Muirhouse man Robert Pearson is confused:

Over recent weeks, months and years contractors and Edinburgh City Council have been completing demolition in the Muirhouse area. Other than the odd articulated vehicles going the wrong way through the estate and driving past Craigroyston Primary school at 8.30am, I can say there hasn’t been any real issues.

But now that the contractors have completed their work the diversion, instruction and warning signs still remain in place, many of which now make no sense at all.

Recent high winds have dislodged the signs from there places high up on lamposts and now many are low down causing a danger to pedestrians and others are turning around when it’s windy.

Photographs show Safedem route out pointing in to the estate and others pictures show diversion ends which ended weeks ago. More dangers sign is the Pedestrians warning is at a height which if caught with the wind could easily strike a passerby.

Muirhouse View is still closed according to signage but in fact it has been open for some weeks, albeit it the road is still like a 4 x 4 track.

Hopefully Edinburgh City Council will arrange for these to be removed as soon as possible, but will they leave the large block of concrete which many of these signs poles are housed in?

Robert Pearson

Have your say on city centre

A public consultation on proposals to ‘transform’ Edinburgh’s city centre has been launched.

The Council has developed a proposal for improving the City Centre, particularly in the area around Princes Street and George Street, which aims to make the area a better place in which to live, work, visit, invest and study.

The proposed scheme has been shaped by a working group chaired by Planning Convener Councillor Ian Perry, who said: “I think many people recognise that for all its architectural beauty and wealth of enticing shops and amenities, the City Centre is still not yet achieving its full potential. With this public consultation, we’ve got the chance here to really do something for the city centre and we’re determined to find a solution which works best for everyone. I would urge everyone with a stake in Edinburgh’s future prosperity to have their say.”

The Council is keen to hear residents’ views on the proposal and how they would like to see the space used.

The consultation process will also shed light on how the proposals might impact on different users and stakeholders.

The findings of the consultation will be the subject of a future report and any changes will then be trialled to test how they work.

The online survey, which will run until Thursday 9 May, can be accessed at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6G7MWW9

Two public drop-in events will also be held:

* Friday 19 April, Assembly Rooms George Street, 12-6pm
* Saturday 20 April, Assembly Rooms, George Street , 10 -2pm

Comments can also be sent via e-mail to:
citycentre.vision@edinburgh.gov.uk

Further information about the consultation can be found at: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/citycentrevision

What’s your views on Edinburgh’s city centre? What do you mean, Glasgow’s Miles Better!

Let us know!

Letter: A race to disaster?

Dear Editor

Every indicator shows that sources of gas, oil, fresh water and the growing of food needs international cop-operation to secure them for the future; this co-operation is urgently needed now: no one country can solve these problems, particularly the destruction of the world’s forests, widespread flooding and climate change.

Despite all of this, David Cameron continually talks about competing with other nations in an ‘Economic Race’. We know from bitter experience that unrestricted competing ends in fewer people employed, with industries closing in both our and other countries.The ‘economic race’ may benefit investors, but in the long run very little good happens to most people.

Without co-operation, the problems outlined above will become more acute in the next decades. ‘Economic Racing’ will pitch nation against nation with disastrous results for ordinary people.

A. Delahoy
Silverknowes Gardens

Community police take to the Twittersphere

Police in North Edinburgh are to use Twitter to update residents and link in with local groups and organisations.

Inspector Mark Rennie of Drylaw Police Station said “As from 1 April the Community Policing Teams at Drylaw and Leith Police Stations will be posting ‘tweets’ to highlight activity in the area and provide details of their work. It’s an important development for us as we can reach a fairly large audience quickly, get information out to young people in a way they appreciate, and also provide clear and instantaneous information about ongoing incidents in the area”.

For local police updates on Twitter: follow @EdinburghNorthPolice

DRYLAW POLICE STATION - stable block? — DRYLAW POLICE STATION

‘Bedroom Tax’ – minister demands fair deal for Scotland

Today (1 April) is day one of the Westminster government’s controversial welfare reforms. The Scottish government pre-empted the changes with two statements on the eve of the changes:

If the UK Government proceed to impose their plans for the bedroom tax on Scotland then Scotland must get its fair share of funds to deal with both the human and financial impact, Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said yesterday.

In a letter to the UK Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud, Mrs Burgess (picured below) demanded a fair deal for Scotland to address the potentially devastating impact of the bedroom tax, which is set to impoverish families and individuals.

The Scottish Government is completely opposed to the bedroom tax, which will affect 16,000 families with children in Scotland, but if UK Ministers proceed with cuts then Scotland must get its fair share of Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding, says Mrs Burgess.

Despite both Scotland and London having the same number of households hit by the bedroom tax, Lord Freud is set to award London with £56.5 million of DHP compared to only £10 million in Scotland.

Welfare Minister Burgess said: “The bedroom tax is a socially divisive measure that will increase social inequalities across Scotland. It’s a policy that the Scottish Government is totally against as it hits our most vulnerable citizens in these already challenging economic conditions.

“This is a policy devised in London on the basis of housing benefit increases and overcrowding. However, in inflation-adjusted terms, 93 per cent of the housing benefit increase is attributable to the situation in England whilst London has almost two and a half times the level of overcrowded households compared to Scotland.

“We have consistently made that case to UK Government Ministers that we are opposed to these cuts – if they proceed to impose their plans then Scotland must get its fair share of funds to deal with both the human and financial impact.

“The small levels of DHP in Scotland is woefully inadequate and unfair to deal with the impact and scale of this policy.

“Civic Scotland is united in opposition to the bedroom tax and this Government has already taken action to strengthen the protection against eviction for rent arrears in advance of the introduction of the tax. From 1 August 2012 we brought pre-action requirements for rent arrears into force to ensure that proceedings for eviction is always the last resort.

“We are also providing an extra £2.5 million to social landlords for advice services to ensure there is support on hand for people who will lose housing benefit due to the under occupancy measures and other housing benefit cuts being introduced by Westminster from April.

“The UK Government’s agenda is completely at odds with the values of the people of Scotland and the aspirations that this Government has for our nation. Only through independence can Scotland have the levers required to create a welfare system that is aligned to Scottish needs and values.”

Thousands of vulnerable people in Scotland will be protected from increased Council Tax bills following the UK Government’s abolition of council tax benefit this week, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth John Swinney announced yesterday.

Around 560,000 people will receive support to ensure they are not affected by the UK Government’s 10 per cent cut in funding for Council Tax Benefit successor arrangements.

The Scottish Government and local authorities in Scotland are working in partnership to invest £40 million in 2013/14 to bridge the funding gap and mitigate the impact of the UK Government’s benefit cuts.

Mr Swinney (pictured below) said: “Hard working and vulnerable people are having to bear the brunt of these Westminster benefit cuts. Instead of protecting our poorest households, Westminster has responded to this recession by imposing deeply damaging welfare cuts which will make it far harder for people to meet the rising cost of living.

“To ensure households across Scotland do not face additional burdens the Scottish Government and Scotland’s councils are providing £40 million in 2013/14 to ensure that around 560,000 people in Scotland are protected from this reduction.

“Whilst Council tax bills will be increasing in many areas of England as a result of benefit cuts we are using the limited resources we have to ensure vulnerable people do not have to face increasing bills.

“We are determined to do everything that we reasonably can to help those who need it most, however we cannot meet every Westminster cut. We are making available an extra £2.5 million to social landlords to help them ensure that people affected by housing benefit changes have the advice and support they need.

“And we are providing £5.4 to organisations such as Citizens Advice to help those affected by benefit reforms. This extra support will assist social landlords in their efforts to engage directly with affected tenants and seek to identify ways in which they can deal with the impact of the changes.

“These unjust policies show why we need the powers of independence to protect vulnerable people rather than simply trying to cushion the blows in Scotland. It would be far better to control benefits and welfare so unfair policies like abolishing Council Tax benefit are not even considered, let alone implemented. “

Left wing firebrand and IDS are ‘old chums’

Left wing campaigner Willie Black (pictured above) hit the headlines last week when he branded Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith a ‘scumbag’ at a conference in Edinburgh’s posh George Hotel. The Granton man’s attack on the Tory minister was seen by millions on news broadcasts and across social media sites – but what viewers didn’t know is that Black is actually related to some of the noblest families in the land, and that he and Duncan Smith are in fact old friends!

“It’s true”, said retired merchant banker Farquhar Finlay-Cameron. “William does indeed have blue blood in his veins and he can trace his family history back many generations. The Blackstone-Cuthbertson family seat was in the western highlands, as I recall. William and I roomed together at boarding school and he often stayed with our family over the school hols. We got up to some really jolly japes, I can tell you! We lost touch when William went down to Oxford and I went to Cambridge, but we still meet up at the start of the grouse shooting season every year. It was rather a shock to see him attacking IDS on television as I know the pair were inseparable at Oxford – they were known as ‘Laurel and Hardy’! Mother was very upset when she saw William’s outburst on television – he used to have such a cultured voice and she felt he sounded rather uncouth! I shall certainly rib him about this if I see him at Royal Ascot this summer!”

IAIN DUNCAN SMITH 'inseperable' — IAIN DUNCAN SMITH ‘inseperable’

Theatre impresario Sir Cyril Westmacott-Smythe was an Oxford contemporary, studying Classics with ‘Laurel and Hardy’. He recalls: “I was one of the less privileged students but IDS and Wills always treated me as an equal – I remember Wills was kind enough to give me one of his old smoking jackets and the occasional morning suit. He was like that – so generous to us poorer types. I shall always be grateful for his support – and I still treasure the opera glasses Wills and IDS bought me as a graduation gift.

“Oh, we had such fun – there were some memorable characters but Wills and IDS were the life and soul of every soiree. Wills was a particularly good pianist and he and Iain would regularly entertain us with songs from the Gilbert and Sullivan songbook. They were supremely talented and much admired, and I had rather hoped to take the pair up to Edinburgh for the Fringe, as a Hinge and Bracket type duo. Sadly politics prevailed and it wasn’t to be – theatre’s loss was the class struggle’s gain, as it were – although they do say that politics is pantomime, so you could say the chaps are still performing and putting on a show! I do hope to meet up with them at Klosters next winter when we can relive those halcyon days.”

Willie Black claims to be a lifelong socialist and is currently a leading light in the North Edinburgh Fights Back campaign group. One comrade, who asked not to be named, said: “A few of us have had our suspicions about Willie for some time. Aye, he talked a good talk about the working class struggle and that, but when we went for a drink after our meetings he only ever sipped Pimm’s and lemonade. And after one demo when we stopped for chips Willie brought a silver knife and fork out of the pocket of his donkey jacket – and a clean napkin! Aye, some of us had our doubts and we’ve been proved right – another champagne socialist!”

Willie Black – or rather William Blackstone-Cuthbertson – was unavailable for comment, but his friend Rupert suggested he may be salmon fishing on the Balmoral estate with Toby and Crispin.

Iain Duncan Smith was also unavailable for comment but a spokesperson said the minister ‘hopes to do some recreational angling over the Easter holidays’.

Neigh need for police cars!

Drylaw Police Station to close as Police Scotland opts for horse power

The chief of Scotland’s new national police force has vowed to wrong foot the country’s criminal fraternity – by replacing cars with horses! And Drylaw Police Station looks set to become a stable block under radical new plans.

Chief Constable Stephen House (pictured below) has ‘taken the reins’ at Police Scotland, which today officially replaces Scotland’s eight regional police forces. The new boss has promised to seek new ways to crack down on crime, and in a controversial move one of the first things he will do is replace hundreds of police cars, vans and motorcycles with … horses!

“It’s true”, he confirmed. “Police Scotland, like every other organisation in the country, faces financial challenges and we must look at our costs and try to make economies. We have inherited a large fleet of vehicles which are expensive to run and maintain, and are also very bad for the environment. I propose to replace the vast majority of these vehicles with police horses – at substantial savings to the taxpayer.

“Horses are much cheaper to run – they only need straw, oats and a handful of carrots – and this will be much better for the environment too. Horses are adaptable, can easily handle adverse weather conditions and, unlike motor vehicles, they can jump walls and fences! The public will even benefit from free manure for their gardens, so it really is a ‘win, win’ scenario. I am genuinely excited about the possibilities of this initiative.”

The switch to horsepower will see Drylaw Police Station converted to a state of the art stable enclosure for new equine recruits.

“We all know that crime levels are falling so we will need fewer police stations,” Mr House went on. “Drylaw isn’t that busy, so we will convert that building to a new stable facility for the horses. The police officers currently based at Drylaw will be retrained and will learn important new skills – grooming, cleaning tack, mucking out and things like that – which will give them something to do if there aren’t any criminals to catch. My officers are enthusiastic and adaptable, and we will need new skills for a new era in policing.”

Scotland’s criminal fraternity do not seem over-concerned about the Police Scotland initiative, however. Former crime boss Robert ‘Big Boab’ Baxter, who now writes exclusively on crime-related matters for the Daily Record, said: “Ma pals – sorry, former associates, won’t exactly be quaking in their boots when they hear this! Horses! I think Mister Hoose is semi-detached!”

Glasgow businessman Baxter, who was dubbed the ‘Barlanark Butcher’ before becoming a respectable security adviser, went on: “I’m looking forward to watching Red Rum and Dobbin taking on a Jag or a BMW in a race up the M8! Maybe the Chief Constable thinks he’s John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. What’s next – the sheriff and his deputies and getting a posse together? He’s havin’ a laugh!”

It’s understood the Chief Constable’s conversion to horse power didn’t come from watching old Westerns – but sources close to the Chief confirm that he was influenced by seeing Oscar-nominated film ‘War Horse’.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Police Authority, which oversees the new police organisation, dismissed criticism and insisted the reforms will go ahead. He said: “Yes, Stephen worked in Strathclyde but this is not shootouts in the Wild West, goodies chasing baddies, or even cowboys – although Glasgow does have it’s fair share of cowboys. This is a new dawn for policing in Scotland and we are looking at innovative new ways to tackle crime in this country. The public will be delighted to know that this equine initiative – we call it Operation Thoroughbred – is just the first of many brave, exciting new ideas. Yes, we are absolutely convinced that the public will sleep easier in their beds and will support us all the way on this. There may be a few teething problems, but Scotland’s criminals should be warned – we’re on your trail and we’re hunting you down! Tally ho!”

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