THE EDINBURGH DUNGEONS ARE GIVING THE GIFT OF RELAXATION THIS MOTHER’S DAY BY LOCKING MUM OUT OF THE ATTRACTIONS
Forget dire supermarket flowers and last-minute grab-and-go chocolates this Mother’s Day, as The Dungeons is treating motherly figures to the gift that many actually want … a day of uninterrupted peace and quiet!
This Sunday 10th March, The Edinburgh and York Dungeons are giving families the opportunity to treat their mothers, caregivers and loved ones to a day of peace and pampering by temporarily banning them from the attraction.
So bid farewell to your mum, loved one or person that generally picks up your mess at every turn as they are officially exiled from the depths of the dungeons, allowing them to bask in the serenity of their own home whilst their families can journey into the gruesome attraction which brings to life the deepest and darkest secrets from the city’s history.
Whilst this may be the ultimate gift for any hard-working family members who deserve some rest and relaxation on this special day, fear not as those organised peasants who have already pre-booked to bring their mum or those who’d still like to step back in time together will be allowed to enter, they’ll just have to pretend to be your ugly sister or plague-ridden granny!
Kathryn Adam, General Manager at The Edinburgh Dungeon, said: “While most people give cards, chocolates or flowers for Mother’s Day, we wanted to go one step further by giving mums and loved ones the gift that they often truly want yet won’t admit – some peace and quiet!
“While our attraction is full to the brim with haunts and exciting tales, we also recognise the importance of taking a break and recharging, especially for those who dedicate themselves tirelessly to caring for their families. So put your feet up and relax while your family enjoys a day of frights and fun.”
For further information and to book a visit to The Edinburgh or York Dungeons, please visit the website here: https://www.thedungeons.com
Review of powers of communities to acquire land or buildings
A review of Community Rights to Buy will begin this summer to look at how effective current powers are.
Community Right to Buy has now been in use for 20 years. During that time, there have been several additions and amendments to the original rights in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and various reports and recommendations on how to improve and amend them further.
Speaking during a visit to the Heart of Newhaven, a community facility which was bought by the community in 2021 through the Asset Transfer process, Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Ownership or control of land and buildings – both urban and rural – is a powerful tool for communities to drive change and achieve their goals. It can help to develop the local economy, provide activities and services, and boost community identity.
“We want to increase community ownership as an important way of delivering our vision for Scotland and our three central missions of equality, opportunity and community.
“This review will begin in Summer 2024, following introduction of the Land Reform Bill and report at the end of 2025 and will cover all the current rights to buy and will look at legislative and procedural aspects of the rights to see if new legislation is needed.”
Background
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 introduced the first two community rights to buy. The Community Right to Buy (Part 2) gave rural communities the right to register an interest in assets. Should the owner choose to sell, the community could then be granted the right to buy that asset without it being offered to anyone else. The Crofting Community Right to Buy (Part 3) gave communities in crofting areas a right to compulsory purchase of assets, whether or not the owner wishes to sell.
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 then amended the Community Right to Buy to widen the rights to urban communities. It also introduced the Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land (Part 3A). This is a compulsory purchase right for land that is abandoned, neglected or detrimental to the environmental wellbeing of communities.
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced a further compulsory right, the Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development (Part 5). This compulsory right does not need land to be in a certain condition and allows communities to nominate a third party purchase on their behalf.
POLICE are appealing for information following a hit and run on Gilmerton Road on Tuesday, 27 February, 2024.The incident happened around 4pm between Walter Scott Avenue and Redgauntlet Terrace.
A 12-year-old boy was struck by a small silver or grey coloured car that stopped initially but then made off. The boy was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
Police Constable Claire Mitchell said: “Our enquiries are ongoing to trace the car involved in this incident and we are asking anyone with information to come forward.
“The area was busy at the time with both traffic and pedestrians so anyone with information is asked to call us.”
“In particular, if you have dash-cam or private CCTV footage that could assist officers with their enquiries then please get in touch.
Anyone who can assist should call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 2551 of Tuesday, 27 February, 2024.
New Scotland Office minister Donald Cameron included the Heart in his first official visit on Thursday 22nd February.
Mr Cameron, now Lord Cameron of Lochiel, has sat in Holyrood since 2016 but quit the Scottish Parliament in February for the House of Lords and a position in the Scottish Office at Westminster.
As well as the Heart, he also visited Granton’s historic gas holder, which is being restored as the centrepiece of a new public space in the regeneration of the waterfront and Portobello Town Hall, recently rescued for the community by a local charity much like ourselves here at the Heart.
All three projects have recently received much-welcomed funding from Westminster’s Levelling Up Fund.
Lord Cameron met many of the Heart’s Partners and users, including the Ukranian Spiders, Mwamba, Vintage Vibes, Robert Furze and some of the History of Education volunteers who were coincidentally hosting a visit from Primary 7 pupils from Victoria Primary School.
He also spoke to Alex Bird from Tortoise in a Nutshell, Charlie Traylor from Men of Leith’s Shed, volunteer Judy Gray hard at work on our knitted Christmas Tree project, and artist Jill Boualaxai, so he got a good overview of the many skeins bound up within the Heart.
Building work at the Heart
The emergency conservation works including roof and window repairs are being undertaken by a team from our contractors, Ashwood, led by site foreman, Findlay and should be finished by the end of March.
Ashwood will then return in April to fit a couple of stones and install some new windows that are being cut or made off site. (Did you know that when you need to replace stone, a stone “library” is brought to site so that the stone can be matched?)
Most of those repairs won’t be visible, but were very necessary to get the building wind and water tight, before we embark on future works to bring the building into the 21st century in terms of repair and energy efficiency for the comfort and use of all.
In the meantime, people might see safety scaffolding going up in the atrium for a few weeks, and our apologies in advance to our Partners and user groups who may experience some disruption as windows are repaired.
We must give a huge shout out to our funders without whom we couldn’t have done all this; The Department of Levelling Up, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and The Pilgrim Trust and of course there’s also the Design Team who specialise in the conservation of listed buildings in community use, led by John Gilbert Associates.
Hear About… talks
Our Hear About… talks taking place in the Heritage Suite on Friday afternoons have been proving very popular, with up to three dozen people attending each of the various events.
They will continue to run until the first Friday in April and then we will pause them over the summer and restart them in the autumn.
Here are the next scheduled talks …
Friday 8th March – Bill Hall on the Newhaven fishing industry
Friday 15th March – Kenneth Williamson on the old Caledonian Railway between Leith and Granton
Friday 22nd March – Niall Campbell on birds of the Isle of May
Friday 5th April – Anna Inman on the Restoration Forth project
More details on the website.
Volunteer to help and get a guaranteed place in the action!
We are keen to recruit a team of volunteers to help with the logistics of the talks. We need to set up the chairs (and rearrange them again at the end) in the Heritage Suite as well as welcome attendees and then serve teas and coffees at the end.
It may be the end of the Spring talks in April, but we already have talks lined up for the autumn, including one on the Hill & Adamson photographs of Newhaven fishwives, from Louise Pearson of the National Portrait Gallery and another on Celtic folklore and the mythical sea creatures of Newhaven. Watch this space!
Death Cafés at the Heart of Newhaven
A death cafe is described as a safe place where people can feel free to talk about anything they wish, to do with death and dying.
On Saturday morning, 27th January we held our very first death café when fourteen people attended and the feedback was very positive. The discussions were enjoyed by all and there was delicious cake.
There will be more death cafés at the Heart on Saturday mornings of April 27th, July 27th and October 19th, all 10.00 am to 12.00 noon. Please arrive around 9.45 for welcome and coffee.
Remember our regular Events
Monday lunch club
The Cyrenian Lunch Club takes place at the Heart every Monday from 12.30 until 2pm. The lunches are free and open to all (advise in advance if you have allergies)
They’ll be serving a nutritious two-course meal along with tea/coffee. Some weeks there will also be entertainment to enjoy!
Sharing the Pastmeetings at the Heart are now taking place on the last Thursday of every month and the next one will be on Thursday 28th March.
Come along and reminisce with our Reminiscence volunteers. The topic changes every time. All on a Thursday at 10.30 -1130 am.
Keep up to date with all the regular events and activities by checking our website or following us on social media.
Oyster Mural
Remember too to get involved in the Restoration Forth project to create a mural for one of the outside walls of the Anchor Building. There will be a get-together to discuss plans, with coffee and cake at the Heart on Saturday 23rd March at 10am.
You can find out more on our website or follow the link below:
The Friends of Western Harbour Ponds have asked us to help raise awareness of their fight to save the re-wilded space now home to numerous bird species and a precious haven for humans too.
A petition calling on The City of Edinburgh Council and The Scottish Government to “recognise the value of the self-willed wetland habitat for nature and for people, and to help save it from development” has so far gathered more than 3,000 signatures.
If you’re keen to help document the biodiversity of the Ponds and other spots in Edinburgh, pop 26 to 29 April in your diary!
The City Nature Challenge is an annual worldwide bioblitz to record wildlife and plant life in cities, with the Edinburgh project coordinated by RSPB Scotland.
After our lovely inaugural Orchard Wassail last month, and winter pruning the existing trees, we are ready to plant some additional trees in the orchard – apples, cherries, damsons, gages and the mulberry!
If you would like to join the Community Orchard Group and help with planting, come along this Saturday 9th March, from 11am.
Meet at the green portacabin, just inside the farm gate off the Toby Carvery car park.
Calling all local creatives, makers, and entrepreneurs.
Ready to elevate your brand and conquer social media? Join us for two special workshops this Saturday 9 March at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre.
Rachel of Rachel Henderson Interiors will share her expertise on developing your brand and social media presence through two hands-on, creative workshops. Join us for one or both!
1:30pm – 3.30pm: Branding & Vision Board Workshop
4pm – 6pm: Social Media Workshop
Lunch and refreshments provided; and childcare is available.
Free but limited spaces available, so advance booking is essential. You can attend one workshop if that is of most interest, or book your space for both.
The workshops are aimed at local adults living in North Edinburgh (Muirhouse, Pilton, Drylaw, Granton). Part of the Make It Happen project, proudly supported by the Scottish Ecosystem Fund 2023-24.
Starting next Wednesday we will be launching our weekly living library event for the month of March.
At FetLor we think that everyone should have a chance to share their stories, in this spirit we have invited some guest speakers to come share their stories with our S1+ drop-in group as well as to hear theirs in return.
Age Scotland has identified £1,577,341.81 of unclaimed benefits for older people who called their helpline in 2023, more than double the figure for the previous year, and a record amount for the charity.
Scotland’s national charity for older people said the amount – a remarkable 136% increase on the 2022 figure – is still the ‘tip of the iceberg’, with millions of pounds unclaimed by older people who are entitled to more financial support.
Katherine Crawford, Age Scotland’s chief executive, said: “Many of the callers to our helpline are facing severe financial hardship, in part due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
“For the tens of thousands of pensioners in Scotland on low and middle incomes, claiming the full range of benefits to which they are entitled can be the difference between heating their home or not and being able to eat well.
“Our helpline advisers, who carry out benefits checks, have also noticed an increase in the number of over 50s inquiring about working age benefits, such as Universal Credit, as the impact of the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
“However we still believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg and that there are millions of pounds of benefits for older people which are not being claimed.
“Unfortunately there is a real lack of awareness around what support is available and a strong feeling that the application processes are too hard. Around a third of over 50s say they don’t claim what they are entitled to because they feel guilty doing so or that someone else would be more deserving. We must change this as far too many go without the help they have earned.
“We would encourage more older people in Scotland to call our helpline for a free benefits check. Our expert advisers can help callers navigate the complex benefits system – and the results could be life changing.”
Among the benefits available to older people in need are Pension Credit, available to people over State Pension age on low income or with modest savings, to help with the cost of living, and Attendance Allowance, a payment for people over State Pension age who have a physical or mental disability.
Anyone over the age of 50 can call the Age Scotland national helpline on 0800 12 44 222.
Case Study 1:
Mr A is a father of 5 school age children. He has health problems and also provides care for his 19 year old adult son. He was previously on Tax Credits but has now had to make a claim for Universal Credit and was unsure about how much he might be able to get.
We carried out several calculations to look at the full range of his potential entitlements, factoring in all of his financial and family circumstances, in particular being able to reassure him that restrictions like the benefit cap and two child limit would not apply in his case.
We were able to explain to him that he could be entitled to the equivalent of £38, 342 per year in benefits and gave him advice about some common problems he might encounter when claiming and what steps he could take if these happened.
Case Study 2:
Mrs M called from South Lanarkshire after being signposted to Age Scotland by DWP Pension Credit team.
She is in her late sixties and has been the main carer for her husband. He recently passed away and she has been struggling to manage rising costs on her state pension. She applied for Pension Credit and was informed she is £2 over the threshold to qualify for this.
During the call, she explained she has COPD and other health issues. Her caring role has taken a toll on her health, and she finds it more difficult to cope on a daily basis. We discussed Attendance Allowance, and she plans to apply for this. When awarded this will increase her income by £68 per week in addition to making her eligible for a Pension Credit award of approximately £70 per week.
New data released yesterday (5 March 2024) for Scotland reveals January was the worst month on record for people waiting to be seen in A&E.
The figures published by Public Health Scotland show that, in January 2024:
41,161 (38%) patients waited over four hours in major Emergency Departments, a 21% increase compared to last January (33,962)
17,077 (16%) of patients waited eight hours or more in Emergency Departments, almost 13 times higher than in January 2016 (1,338)
8,402 (8%) of patients waited twelve hours or more in Emergency Departments, the largest amount for any January since records began and 36 times higher than in January 2016 (232).
There were 1,866 beds occupied due to delayed discharges, an increase of 53 compared to December 2023.
Dr JP Loughrey, Royal College of Emergency Medicine Vice President for Scotland said: “This is beyond exasperating. Most people attend A&E in desperate need – to be seen by a medical professional quickly and with dignity.
“Already struggling, patients are having to endure overcrowded waiting rooms and corridors – for hours. If admission is required, they must wait for a bed – for hours.
“This latest data makes for grim reading, and it is incredibly demoralising for my colleagues to be working under such strenuous circumstances.
“They are working all out to put patients first whilst also having to carry the burden of working in an underfunded, overcrowded, and at times unsafe emergency care system. We need intervention from the Government and policy makers to ensure we never reach this nadir again.”
The data also reports:
In January 2024, there were 108,427 attendances at major Emergency Departments in Scotland. This is marginal decrease of 0.25% compared to the previous month.
62% of patients were seen within four hours at major (Type 1) Emergency Departments. This is the worst four-hour performance for any January since records began.
This is a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to December last year and a decrease of 3.2 percentage points compared to January 2023.
41,161 (38%) patients waited over four hours in major Emergency Departments. This is a 1% increase compared to December last year (40,763) and a 21% increase compared to January 2023 (33,962).
The number of patients waiting more than four hours has increased by more than three times compared to January 2016 (9,808).
17,077 (16%) patients waited eight hours or more in Emergency Departments.
The proportion waiting this long has increased by 2% compared to the previous month, December 2023 and has increased by 2.3% compared to the previous year, January 2023.
The numbers waiting more than eight hours is almost 13 times those in January 2016 (1,338).
8,402 (8%) of patients waited twelve hours or more in Emergency Departments
This is the largest amount for any January since records began.
The proportion waiting this long has increased by almost 1% compared to December last year and has increased by more than 1% compared to January 2023.
The numbers waiting more than 12 hours is 36 times those in January 2016 (232).
There were 1,866 beds occupied due to delayed discharges, an increase of 53 compared to December 2023.
Chancellor expected to unveil a Spring Budget that will deliver long term growth
Jeremy Hunt will set out a plan to build a high wage, high skill economy
Sets out path to more investment, more jobs, more productive public services and lower taxes
The Chancellor will today deliver a Spring Budget that will deliver a long-term plan for growth in the United Kingdom.
Since the Prime Minister set out his five priorities for the government last year, inflation has more than halved from 11% to 4%, the economy has recovered more quickly from the pandemic than first thought, and debt is on track to fall.
Thanks to the stability their economic plan has brought, the country is now at a turning point but there is more work to do to bring inflation down further.
Jeremy Hunt will highlight the government’s focus on the long-term decisions needed to strengthen the British economy and give people the opportunity to build a wealthier, more secure life for themselves and their family.
The Chancellor is expected to say:“In recent times the UK economy has dealt with a financial crisis, a pandemic and an energy shock caused by a war on the European continent.
“Yet despite the most challenging economic headwinds in modern history, under Conservative governments since 2010 growth has been higher than every large European economy – unemployment has halved, absolute poverty has gone down, and there are 800 more people in jobs for every single day we’ve been in office.
“Of course, interest rates remain high as we bring down inflation. But because of the progress we’ve made because we are delivering on the Prime Minister’s economic priorities we can now help families with permanent cuts in taxation.
“We do this not just to give help where it is needed in challenging times. But because Conservatives know lower tax means higher growth. And higher growth means more opportunity and more prosperity.
“But if we want that growth to lead to higher wages and higher living standards for every family in every corner of the country, it cannot come from unlimited migration. It can only come by building a high wage, high skill economy. Not just higher GDP, but higher GDP per head.
“And that’s the difference with the Labour Party. They will destroy jobs with 70 new burdens on employers, reduce opportunities by halving new apprenticeships and risk family finances with new spending that pushes up tax.
“Instead of going back to square one, our plans mean more investment, more jobs, more productive public services and lower taxes – sticking to our plan in a Budget for Long Term Growth.”
Mr Hunt will go on to warn:“An economy based on sound money does not pass on its bills to the next generation.
“When it comes to borrowing, some believe there is a choice between responsibility and compassion. They are wrong.
“It is only because we responsibly reduced the deficit by 80% between 2010 and 2019 that we could generously provide £400 billion to help families and businesses in the pandemic.
“The Labour Party opposed our plans to reduce the deficit every step of the way. But at least they were consistent.
“The Liberal Democrats supported controlling spending in office, but now want to prop up a party after the election that will turn on the spending taps. It’s the difference between Labour with no plan and the Liberal Democrats with no principles.
“But we say something different.
“With the pandemic behind us, we must once again be responsible and increase our resilience to future shocks. That means bringing down borrowing so we can start to reduce our debt.”
Chancellor’s promise of “long-term growth” is “farcical”
Responding to the Chancellor’s promise of a “Budget for Long Term Growth” TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “The Chancellor’s promises are farcical.
“The Conservatives have been in power for 14 years. It’s a bit late for them to come up with a plan for long-term growth – especially when our economy is in recession.
“This is desperate spin from a government that has manifestly failed on growth, living standards and public services.”
1:30pm – 3.30pm: Branding & Vision Board Workshop
Find out more and book your place at:
