Edinburgh’s Eat the Good Stuff campaign’s on track!

Rail commuters tuck into Britain’s biggest jeely piece!

The Monster Jeely Piece Challenge pulled into Waverley station yesterday as Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network (ESEN) teamed up with Breadshare and Tiphereth in a Jar to stage the creation of the biggest jeely piece (that’s a jam sandwich, visitors!) to date in the UK.

Sandwich construction started at 11am and the muckle piece was ready for munching at lunchtime, with tasting from 1pm. The challenge marked the launch of the “Eat the Good Stuff” campaign, which aims to promote the range of high quality food social enterprises in Edinburgh.

The event took place at Waverley Station’s LocalMotive Markets site alongside platform 2, where the new Borders Railway now comes in.

Speaking before the build of the mighty sandwich ESEN Coordinator Linsay Chalmers, said: “Weeks of preparation and logistical planning have gone into this world first ‘monster jeely piece’ attempt. There has been a lot to consider for the Breadshare and Tiphereth social enterprise teams who have calculated the jeely piece will be 1.8m x 1.6m in size and will need 12 kilos of strawberry jam to make it possible.”

The team worked against the clock to create the monster ‘master-piece’, which was then cut into 768 individual sandwiches for sharing with commuters, railway staff and passers-by.

Lindsay added: “We are keen to promote Edinburgh’s food social enterprises through our “Eat the Good Stuff” campaign and be the first in the UK to create a giant jeely piece – especially as it is Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink – we felt we had to mark the occasion with some great local and organic foodie, social enterprise produce.”

“And next year we hope to have a ‘monster scone bake-off’ with some of our other social enterprises.”

Juliet Donnachie, Station Manager, Waverley Station said: “Edinburgh Waverley is Scotland’s largest station so it’s only fitting it should also be home to the country’s biggest jeely piece. The market has been a popular addition to the station over the past year and events like this add a little unexpected fun to passengers’ journeys.”

Edinburgh is home to food social enterprises of all shapes and sizes including cafes, pubs and fair trade distributors. The campaign aims to place the spotlight on these food organisations and introduce the people of Edinburgh to the top quality and socially good products that they offer.

There are now over 200 social enterprises in Edinburgh with a wide range of products from culinary and craft to recycling, wellbeing, and sport – and new products are coming to the fore each week.

The “buy the good stuff” sticker campaign indicates to shoppers and visitors the wide range and diversity of businesses promoting social enterprise whilst highlighting the beautiful and unique products on offer and the stickers will help recognise those businesses with ease.

Be a Potter spotter!

Harry Potter competition launches at the magical Museum of Childhood today

Visitors to the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh will picture the magic of Harry Potter as part of a nationwide competition with Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Launching today to celebrate the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Jim Kay, the competition will challenge people of all ages to seek out and photograph an image from the new book placed in locations around the country and share via social media.

Working with children’s charity Kids in Museums and The Telegraph newspaper, Bloomsbury has placed 12 Jim Kay prints in 12 different museums around the UK and Ireland, including the City of Edinburgh Council owned and managed Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile.

With a clue to solve at each venue participants must find these images, take a photo of themselves with it and share via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #HarryPotterSpotter.

Jim Kay has always been a fan of museums, saying: “Museums are one of my favourite places to visit. The objects they contain tell the story of ourselves and our world, and I find them endlessly inspiring and fascinating. My illustrations owe so much to museum collections, it’s an honour to know they will appear in the places that made me want to become an artist.”

Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Culture Convener, added: “This is a great draw for our free-to-visit Museum of Childhood and a unique chance to celebrate the magic of Harry Potter in Edinburgh. Potter Spotters will find JK Rowling’s hand-prints just a stone’s throw away from the Museum at the City Chambers, and it’s also just a short walk to the Elephant House where she famously penned parts of her novels. With the October School break almost here, this is also a perfect opportunity for families to make a day of it and revisit the Museum.”

One overall winner will receive a family ticket to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter plus a Harry Potter tote bag, a Jim Kay signed print and a copy of the Deluxe Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (RRP: £150). Twelve additional prize winners, one from each museum, will receive a Harry Potter tote bag, a Jim Kay signed print and a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition (RRP: £30). Participants only need to spot one print to enter.

The Harry Potter Spotter competition launches today and closes at midnight on Sunday 1 November.

Click here for full details of the competition or find out more about a visit to the Museum of Childhood.

All the fun of the fair

Scotland’s biggest volunteer recruitment fair takes place in Edinburgh tomorrow

For most people at this time of year thoughts are turning to pumpkins and fireworks, but for Volunteer Edinburgh there’s only one thing on our minds – and that’s the annual Volunteer Recruitment Fair at St Paul and St Georges Church!

As usual the hall will be filled with stalls from charities and volunteer involving organisations from across the city representing the wide range of volunteering opportunities Edinburgh has to offer.

There are environmental groups; arts organisations; opportunities to work with people from both ends of the age spectrum; charities who deal with poverty and exclusion both here and abroad; animal welfare groups as well as organisations campaigning to raise awareness and funding for a variety of health issues.

With over 50 diverse groups taking part the chances of finding something to get involved with are pretty good and the opportunity to speak to directly to volunteers and organisers helps develop a much greater understanding of the organisation’s work and passion and commitment involved.

As well as the stalls, volunteer advisors will be on hand to help you with any questions you might have about volunteering and, for those looking to volunteer as a step towards employment, there will be workshops to help improve employability skills, C.V. writing and job hunting techniques.

There will also be special workshops on equality rights, and volunteering opportunities for older people.

And If all this information gets too much there will, as always, be delicious food and (non-alcoholic) drink on hand in the café, so you can rest and digest!

So if you want a break from thinking about ghosts, bonfires and premature tinsel and you’re looking to give a present a little more substantial than a pair of socks, then here’s the perfect opportunity to give some very grateful organisations the gift of you!

For more about the Volunteer Recruitment Fair, visit the Volunteer Edinburgh’s website, orFacebook page. You may also want to have a look at the photos from last year’s Volunteer Recruitment Fair here.

IT & Tea tonight

A free informal learning event for older people this evening

Breakthrough? UNISON postpones lobby of crunch finance meeting

‘Our mandate from our members remains. Industrial action remains a real possibility in the event of compulsory redundancies.’ – UNISON lead negotiator Tom Connolly

UNISON has postponed its lobby of Edinburgh Council’s Finance and Resources Committee tomorrow following assurances from senior councillors that privatisation plans will be dropped and redundancies delayed for further talks.

Amanda Kerr, Edinburgh UNISON branch secretary, said: “Following concerted UNISON pressure, we welcome this re-think and the dropping of privatisation plans. We also welcome the delay on redundancies, however we still have a long way to go and we will be building for a lobby of the next Finance and Resources Committee on 29 October.

“Our campaign has brought this to the public eye and that campaign will continue. We warned that the level of cuts envisaged would be devastating for services. After years and years of cut after cut, no council can sustain even more massive cuts.”

Lead negotiator Tom Connolly added: “This is an important victory. The damage privatisation would have caused cannot be overestimated. The union will focus on protecting jobs and conditions, engaging with our members and building towards the lobby on 29 October. Our mandate from our members remains. Industrial action remains a real possibility in the event of compulsory redundancies.”

Last week, UNISON warned that up to 3000 jobs could be lost as the council aims to balance it’s books, and councillors are set to consider a number of key proposals to address a £126m budget shortfall over the next four years at tomorrow’s meeting.

Councillor Alasdair Rankin, Finance Convener, said: “We are very clear about the scale of the financial challenge that the Council is facing. The Council is experiencing greater demand for services than ever before, with a growing population in Edinburgh and increasing numbers of older people and younger people, while our overall budget remains the same.

“We need to take action in order to achieve the necessary savings to meet this demand, and we are making every effort to do this in a way that will safeguard frontline services for the people of Edinburgh.

“We want to invest in the services that are important to the public but must also look to rationalise our spending where appropriate. We recognise that some of these proposals may involve tough decisions, including a reduction in Council jobs, particularly in middle management. But while this won’t to be easy, savings will allow us to prioritise the things that matter most to people.

“Our aim, as ever, is to improve and enhance the city for residents, and this package of measures is the next step to achieving this. Councillors will consider these proposals and we are looking forward to the discussions. ”

Hold Me Dear: Four Cities, [Extra]ordinary Places

It’s Here + Now! Outdoor exhibition, Rodney Street Tunnel

Here + Now launch event: Sunday 27 September, 12 noon – 2pm

An open air photography exhibition, featuring unique pictures and stories of treasured city spaces taken by local people living in Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Istanbul, opens in the Rodney Street railway tunnel in Canonmills this Sunday.

Curated by HERE + NOW, the exhibition provides a unique and exciting opportunity for people to share the places that matter most to them, building up a very personal insight into a residents’ view of their Edinburgh the places that actually matter personally to local people beyond the usual tourist landmarks.

Visit the ‘City Link’ section of www.holdmedear.co.uk to see the submissions.

PUBLIC LAUNCH PARTY- Sunday 27 September 12 noon

the exhibition will formally launch with a picnic event, talks, music performances and art-themed cycle tours around city.

The exhibition is created by HERE + NOW and supported by Sustrans, Edinburgh City Council, Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership and the Friends of King George V Park. The exhibition is free and runs until 20 October.

What should we do with George Street?

Have your say on the future of George Street

Edinburgh residents are being invited to help shape the future of one of the city’s best-known streets. An open day to be held tomorrow will offer an opportunity to meet the designers working on a long-term vision for George Street.

Participants can give their views on a year-long trial in the street, which has seen the introduction of a dedicated two-way cycle lane and a one-way system for general traffic and buses.

They will also be invited to contribute ideas and opinions on a permanent layout, with the drop-in session featuring four themes for George Street: A Civic Place, A Place for Living, A Place for Enterprise and A Place for Movement.

Transport Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “Throughout this trial we have involved the public to ensure changes take into account the users of the street, and I think that’s reflected in the positive feedback we’ve received along the way.

“Now, as the trial draws to a close, we want to include those who live, work and travel on George Street to help us decide its future, and that’s why it’s so important that people come along to our open day to give their views on a long term plan.

“Making the city centre a great place to be is about striking a balance between work and leisure, practicality and atmosphere – and I think that by working together we can achieve that.”

Throughout the trial, regular ‘stakeholder engagement’ and on-street interviews with passers-by (approximately 100 per month) have gathered feedback from the public.

Amongst the findings were the importance of cycling facilities to the future of the street to respondents, the need for George Street to be accessible to all and the preference for symmetry in any long-term designs.

Ironside Farrar have been appointed until October 2015 to turn the information gathered into design principles, which will be presented with the concluding report on the George Street Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) to Committee in November.

The George Street ETRO finishes on 6 September, when the street’s layout will revert to that of pre-September 2014, when the trial began. This means both sides of carriageway will be open and the cycle lane removed, as will all marquees and decking. An interim cycle facility will then be introduced, as approved by Transport and Environment Committee on 2 June.

The open day will be held at the Roxburghe Hotel

on Thursday 13 August, from 3pm to 7pm.

Have your say on proposed electoral arrangements

Five more city councillors under latest proposals

The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland (LGBC) has announced a 12 week period of consultation with the public on proposed electoral wards as part of the Fifth Review of Electoral Arrangements.

Its proposals contain recommendations for councillor numbers in each of Scotland’s 32 council areas and the number, boundaries and names of wards.

Proposed changes in Edinburgh would see an increase in councillor numbers: the city would have 63 elected members instead of the current 58.

Both Forth and Inverleith would retain four councillors under the latest proposals, but neighbouring wards Almond and City Centre would both gain an additional elected member to ‘address forecast disparities’.

Ronnie Hinds, Chair of the Commission, said: “Consultation is a vital part of our work and having completed our consultation with councils, and amended a number of our proposals in the light of these, we now want to hear from local residents, community groups and organisations.

“We have a statutory obligation to conduct reviews and we are required to ensure that the number of electors per councillor in each ward in a council area is as nearly as may be the same – but subject to that we also need to take account of local ties and the public are best placed to tell us about these.

“We look forward to positive engagement with communities across Scotland over the next 12 weeks and have today launched our consultation portal which will allow people to see our proposals and submit their comments to us online including suggested revisions to the maps setting out ward boundaries. Paper copies of our proposals are available at display points across council areas.”

When reviewing electoral arrangements the Commission is required to take account of the following factors:

 the interests of effective and convenient local government;

 within each council, each councillor should represent the same number of electors as nearly as may be;

 local ties which would be broken by making a particular boundary;

 the desirability of fixing boundaries that are easily identifiable; and

 special geographical considerations.

The proposals for consultation with the public:

 provide for 1,219 councillors in 352 wards: a decrease of 4 councillors and 1 ward relative to existing arrangements.

 preserve 120 existing wards.

 contain 95% of wards that are forecast to be within 10% of parity (only 83% of existing wards are within 10% of parity).  contain only 3 wards that are forecast to be 15% or more from parity (19 existing wards are forecast to be 15% or more from parity).

 mean that councillors will, on average, represent electorates that are forecast to be 4.6% larger or smaller than the council average – under the existing arrangements councillors would represent electorates that are forecast to be on average 6.0% larger or smaller than the council average.

Proposals for Edinburgh

LGBCS’ proposals for wards in City of Edinburgh council area present an electoral arrangement for 63 councillors representing five 3-member wards and twelve 4-member wards, increasing councillor numbers in the area by 5. The proposals:

improve overall forecast parity;
increase the number of councillors by 1 in ward 1 (Almond), ward 2 (Pentland Hills), ward 11 (City Centre), ward 14 (Craigentinny / Duddingston) and ward 17 (Portobello / Craigmillar);
address forecast disparities in ward 1 (Almond) and 11 (City Centre);
re-name ward 10 to Morningside and ward 16 to Gilmerton but make no changes to other ward names; and
make changes to ward boundaries throughout the council area to reflect the change in councillor numbers and to align with “natural communities” (a local geography used by City of Edinburgh Council).

A summary of ward boundary proposals is available in this Guidance Booklet part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.

You can respond to this consultation by using the Consultation portal, or by email or post (details on this webpage). The consultation period ends on 22 October 2015.

The Guidance Booklet for this review contains a summary of the whole process.

LGBC has made material on the proposals available at Display Points agreed with the council across the city. They are:

City of Edinburgh Council, City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1YJ
Central Library, 7-9 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EG
McDonald Library, 2 McDonald Road Edinburgh EH7 4LU
Portobello Library, 14 Rosefield Avenue, Edinburgh EH15 1AU
Newington Library, 17-21 Fountainhall Road, Edinburgh EH9 2LN
Oxgangs Library, 343 Oxgangs Road, Edinburgh EH13 9LY
Kirkliston Library, 16 Station Road, Kirkliston EH29 9BE
South Queensferry Library, 9 Shore Road, South Queensferry EH30 9RD
Blackhall Library, 56 Hillhouse Road, Edinburgh EH4 5EG

LGBC expect to submit recommendations to Ministers in 2016. The resulting wards will be available for the local government elections in May 2017.

National Minimum Wage offenders named and shamed

Edinburgh hairdresser guilty of unkind cuts

Business Minister Nick Boles has today named 75 more employers who have failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage. Among them is Edinburgh -based hairdresser Saks, who neglected to pay over £413 owed to one worker at their Jeffrey Street salon.

Between them, the named companies owed workers over £153,000 in arrears, and span sectors including hairdressing, fashion, publishing, hospitality, health and fitness, automotive, social care, and retail.

This brings the total number of companies named and shamed under the scheme, which was introduced in October 2013, to 285 employers, with total arrears of over £788,000 and total penalties of over £325,000.

Business Minister Nick Boles said: “As a one nation government on the side of working people we are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage receives it. When the new National Living Wage is introduced next April (2016) we will enforce robustly. This means that the hard-working people of the UK will get the pay rise they deserve.”

Edinburgh gets playful!

Children set to invade Grassmarket for fun and games

The Grassmarket will be transformed into a giant children’s playground tomorrow (Wednesday) to promote play in the city.

The enclosed street in the Old Town will be transformed between 12.30pm and 4.30pm for Edinburgh’s Playday where there will be lots of family-friendly activities on offer including junk drumming, a mud kitchen, parachute games, magic potions, a giant sand pit, water play, and a cardboard city.

This will be the 15th year that the event has been held and every year gets bigger and more fun! Thousands of people, both young and old, have come along to join in activities on offer.

Playday is the national day for play, which is being celebrated next week. On Playday thousands of children and their families get out to play at hundreds of community events across the UK.

As well as a celebration of children’s right to play, Playday is a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children’s lives. It’s all about learning for life and showing that play is fun not just for the child but for adults as well.

Councillor Keith Robson, Play Champion for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Play is a massively important part of a child’s development and makes a tremendous contribution to happy and healthy childhoods. Children need freedom to play so they can practice skills, explore the world around them and develop understanding in their own way and in their own time. Real play comes from children’s need to express themselves, to explore, learn about and make sense of their world.

“Playing with your child is one of the most wonderful things about being a parent. It’s a vital part of the way babies and children grown and learn. The time you have fun together brings you closer, makes your child feel loved and secure, helps them develops elf-esteem and social skills.

“Our very popular Playday in the Grassmarket provides a fantastic opportunity to celebrate play and promote its many benefits as well as visiting one of the most picturesque areas of the city. I would recommend everyone comes along for what promises to be a fun-filled afternoon of play!”

Playday is part of the successful City of Edinburgh Council Play Strategy which states:

“Edinburgh aims to be a play friendly city where all children and young people can enjoy their childhood. They will have access to play opportunities in a range of different settings which offer variety, adventure and challenge. They will be able to play freely and safely and make choices about where, how and when they play.”

Other ongoing projects to promote play include the formation of the Edinburgh Play Forum – ‘Playful Edinburgh’, which is a partnership of voluntary groups and other organisations supporting play across the city. The forum were successful in gaining Inspiring Scotland Go2Play funding for Play Ranger projects which will run outdoor play sessions in eight sites across the city. The Edinburgh Play Ranger projects are organised by Smart Play Network, Canongate Youth Project, North Edinburgh Arts and Edinburgh Leisure. EPF members Dads Rock and The Yard will be adding to the exciting activities on offer at Playday.

Access to Edinburgh’s Playday is free but children should be accompanied by an adult.

For more information contact cf.play@edinburgh.gov.uk

The event has been organised by the City of Edinburgh Council, the Edinburgh Play Forum and many volunteers.