Hold the front page! Jobs in George Street

The Printing Press is looking for staff

Edinburgh’s vibrant culinary scene will soon be joined by the opening of The Printing Press, an elegant, all-day restaurant that will champion seasonal Scottish produce.

The restaurant is due to open this autumn on the site of the former EH2 Tempus, with a new small coffee house called Burr & Co. next door.

Altogether, a team of 70 new staff will be needed – from waiters, bartenders and baristas to hosts, supervisors, managers, sous chefs and chefs de partie.

Stephen Begg, restaurant manager, said: “The Printing Press is set to offer Edinburgh a relaxed, warm and friendly drinking and dining destination where guests feel right at home. For that reason, we need a great team of people, with bags of personality, who are passionate about food and customer service.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to get in at the start of an exciting new restaurant launch and to be a part of all the activity that accompanies it. Our aim is to deliver great style at every level, from the food and drink to the interiors and the service. We hope The Printing Press will become a destination that people want to come back to, time and time again, not only for the great food but also for the talented and friendly staff who work there.”

Successful candidates will receive an intensive training course to learn about every element of the business, and a 19-day programme has been specially created for that purpose.

Both The Printing Press and Burr & Co. will open in the autumn.

A chef recruitment open day will take place on Monday, 24 August and the front of house recruitment open day will take place on Tuesday, 25 August 2015.

No appointment necessary, both recruitment days will take place from 12pm to 9pm at The George Hotel.

Alternatively, CVs and a short covering email can be sent to recruitment@edinburghgeorgehotel.co.uk

Fancy a selfie with a kelpie?

Mini versions of Falkirk’s world-famous Kelpies are coming to Edinburgh’s West End

Mini versions of the famous Kelpies are to be installed at the West End on Sunday – and passers-by and curious visitors are being encouraged to tweet a ‘Selfie with Kelpie’ using hashtag #kelfie15 !

The 10-foot tall maquettes were the basis for the full-sized equine sculptures which are now the centrepiece of The Helix Parkland, a £43million regeneration project near Falkirk.

Our own wee kelpies will be stationed at the junction of Princes Street, Lothian Road and Shandwick Place over summer as part of the drive to celebrate the city’s new-look West End, encouraging footfall and promoting local businesses, as well as raising awareness of their iconic big brothers!

Transport Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “These fantastic creations represent a modern Scottish landmark so we are delighted to be able to host them here over the busy Festival period.

“The West End of Edinburgh is currently undergoing a series of improvements which, alongside this striking artwork, will vastly improve the area for residents, shoppers and visitors to the city.”

Jock Miller, Chair of the West End Community Council, said: “The West End Community Council is delighted that the Kelpies are coming to the West End. We see this as the start of an artists’ trail through the West End to promote the area as both a place to live and work.”

Since the launch of the attraction in April 2014, the miniatures, hand-crafted by renowned sculptor Andy Scott, have toured as far afield as Chicago, North Carolina, New York and, most recently, Edinburgh Airport, Queen Margaret University and Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens.

It was originally agreed that the south-facing space at the top of Hope Street should be set aside for large scale public sculpture after discussions between the local community, businesses and the National Galleries of Scotland.

The new addition will help to set a standard for the best use of civic spaces in Edinburgh, marking the end of work to reinstate and improve public realm in the West End of the city.

Michael Apter, Chair, Edinburgh’s West End BID, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Kelpies to Edinburgh’s West End. The sculptures have already created a huge impact in Scotland, and we are really excite to see the models draw crowds to our part of the city centre, and into our businesses, this summer”.

The Kelpies, a 30-metre, 300-tonne public artwork funded by The Big Lottery Fund, Falkirk Council and Scottish Canals, forms the gateway to the new section of canal in Falkirk linking the Forth and Clyde.

The two horses heads, which are the world’s largest equine sculpture, pay homage to the tradition of working horses in Scotland, and their role pulling barges along canals and ploughing fields.

Falkirk Council’s spokesperson for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, Councillor Adrian Mahoney, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that the Maquettes will be in the thick of it during the Edinburgh Festival this year, promoting The Kelpies to the millions of visitors who are expected to travel to the capital for the event. It will encourage tourists to learn about this fantastic public sculpture and take a short trip to the Falkirk area to see it for themselves during their stay.”

The miniature versions will remain in Edinburgh’s city centre until the end of the Festival.

It’s Power of Food Festival weekend!

It’s here! Edinburgh’s community gardeners take centre stage this weekend as The Power of Food Festival takes place at venues and locations across the city.

PoF Programme

For further info visit https://poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com/

Tram to Newhaven?

The city council is to consider taking the tram network into Newhaven, Ocean Terminal or the foot of Leith Walk.

The line currently stops at York Place, but councillors will consider options to extend the route from the city centre along part of the originally planned route – a plan scaled down when the project ran into financial difficulties -at a meeting next week.

Extension cost estimates are £144.7m to Newhaven, £126.6m to Ocean Terminal and £78.7m to Leith Walk.

Transport Convener, Cllr Lesley Hinds, said: “I am extremely pleased with the progress of the business case, which already shows the clear economic impact the extension of the tram line could have on the city.

“In the tram’s first year of operation we have seen passenger numbers increase, demonstrating a growing demand for public transport in Edinburgh and making the case for extending the tram to benefit people elsewhere in the city.

“But we don’t want to make any rash decisions about the future of the project, and that’s why further due diligence is required to ensure a robust financial case that can be used as a basis for an informed judgement. We will also be exploring all avenues for funding, and considering a series of new and innovative options with a view to delivering best value.

“It is essential that we learn from our past mistakes and I am confident that this process will deliver thoroughly researched, strategic options for a tram extension.”

Further work is now to be carried out, including a formal market consultation, testing and auditing of the financial model and an investigation of alternative funding options, ahead of the final decision in autumn.

Read more about the Edinburgh tram project online.

Edinburgh’s tram service began running in May last year, six years late and costing more than double (£776 milion) the original £375m price tag – and that price was for a trams network not just a single line.

A public inquiry was set up last year under Lord Hardie to establish why the Edinburgh Trams project ‘incurred delays, cost more than orignally budgeted and through reductions in scope deliverd significantly less than projected’.

A formal call for members of the public to provide written evidence was issued on 12 May this year and a list of issues has been published. An online survey has also been created to give people an easy way to submit this evidence.

For more info visit http://www.edinburghtraminquiry.org/

Edinburgh Guarantee spells success for school leavers

More school leavers than ever in Edinburgh are moving into work, education, or training, thanks to the strong partnership that has developed between the public and private sectors through the Edinburgh Guarantee.

Figures published by the Scottish Government today show that the success rate of school leavers in Edinburgh achieving and sustaining a positive destination are at the highest rate ever. The figure is up 10 per cent since the Edinburgh Guarantee began four years ago and is now at 93.1 per cent. The Capital is now the best performing city in Scotland and is 12th out of all local authority areas, which puts us well above the national average.

The statistics show that more school leavers in Edinburgh are getting into jobs compared to September 2013 with over one in four of school leavers in employment at the snapshot taken in March. Just over 40% are getting into and sustaining places in Higher Education while over a quarter of school leavers opt for Further Education.

The majority of schools improved their performance since September 2013.

The largest increase was at Craigroyston Community High school up 13.1 per cent (see separate article), Currie performed extremely well with their figure now sitting at 97.9 per cent, and Firrhill and Gracemount were up by 6.8 per cent.

This success has been underpinned by the active support of the city’s employers in recruiting young people into their businesses, with 350 opportunities offered since April 2015.

Sue Bruce, Chief Executive, the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Today’s figures will be welcomed across the city by young people, employers in the private, voluntary and public sectors and those working in education. Giving young people the best start they can have in life is a key priority and I am delighted that the Edinburgh Guarantee is playing such an important role in securing the future success of our young people in the city.”

Cllr Paul Godzik, Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee, said: “Whether it’s employment, apprenticeships or training, young people need to move out of school and into a positive destination quickly. It is really encouraging that there has been such an improvement in the figures this year as moving on to make a new start in life is the boost young people really need to raise their self esteem at this critical point in their lives.”

Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “Ensuring that Edinburgh’s young people have opportunities is vital for the economic success of our city. These year’s figures demonstrate that initiatives such as the Edinburgh Guarantee are making a real difference to many young lives. I am confident that with sustained investment we’ll continue to drive up this figure and see many more young people taking a positive next step in their lives.”

Stephen Ramsay (pictured top) , panel beater modern apprentice at DSL Motors, said: “When I was at Craigroyston High School I was invovled in a Formula 1 project and I really enjoyed it. My career advisor helped me with an interview for Edinburgh College and I am now a modern apprentice doing a four year course in Automotive Paint Refinishing. As soon as I left school I wanted to get involved in this trade and I want to work in this field until I retire.”

A positive destination is defined as a place in Higher Education, Further Education, a job, paid apprenticeship, or work-focused training.

Click here for a short video featuring Cllrs Burns, Godzik and modern apprentice Stephen Ramsay.

Local youth projects share criminals’ cash!

‘Investing in our young people is always money well spent’ – Justice Secretary Michael Matheson MSP

Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG), Granton Youth Centre and The Yard (above) are among the youth projects to receive cash from the latest round of Cashback grants announced today.

In this funding round YouthLink Scotland has awarded £41,156 of CashBack funding to 17 organisations within the youth work sector in Edinburgh to deliver a whole range of projects for local young people.

The CashBack for Communities Youth Work Fund is administrated and delivered by the National Agency for Youth Work, YouthLink Scotland on behalf of Scottish Government.

Among those organisations to receive funding is The Big Project in the city’s Broomhouse area, they benefited to the tune of £4,406 to provide youth clubs twice a week for local youngsters.

Edinburgh City 6VT project have also been given a grant of £2,125 to carry on their work with local young people. Fiona Home, Development Co-ordinator for 6VT, said the support from CashBack over the years had been vital to their work with young people across the capital, especially since the project has recently had to find new premises.

“This June we move to our new location in the Grassmarket, currently we are operating out a church hall nearby. Without this support we would undoubtedly have lost contact with many of our young people, leaving them with nowhere to go and back to hanging out on the streets,” she said.

Broomhouse Young Carers were awarded £1,996 for a summer programme. The organisation offers respite to young carers aged 7-18 by way of weekly support groups, holiday programmes and residentials.

Kids in the Street, who offer street sports and coaching, have been given £2.100 for their youth activity programme. Susan Law, Administrator with KITS said: “The CashBack grant makes a huge difference to the range of sessions we can provide including girls football, street based sessions and our junior football academy.”

Restalrig’s Ripple Project received £3,105 to provide a dedicated girls-only provision to local young people at a vulnerable stage in their lives, providing them with a safe place to explore and address the issues and pressures that impact on young women. With the support and guidance of specialist youth workers, the girls also access a range of educational and leisure opportunities.

Liz Ferguson, who leads the project, said the funding helps to level the playing field for local young people. She said: ““These experiences through CashBack funding, go a long way in helping us develop confident and aspirational young women in a community of significant disadvantage.”

Commenting on the latest round of CashBack for Communities Youth Work Fund awards, Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson said: “Investing in our young people is always money well spent and I am delighted that the Scottish Government’s Cashback for Communities programme is providing this valuable funding for worthy projects across Edinburgh.

“This government is committed to ensuring all young people reach their full potential. The vast majority of them are a credit to society but we want to prevent the small minority getting involved in crime or antisocial behaviour in the first place.”

Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland, Jim Sweeney added: “Crime is a real blight on our neighbourhoods and it is right that money from the proceeds of crime goes back to the very heart of our communities, our young people. We know that youth work really does change the lives of young people, not only in Edinburgh but in every part of Scotland.”

List of Awards – City of Edinburgh (£41,156)

The BIG Project £4,406
The Broomhouse Centre £1,996
St Teresa’s Youth Club £1,800
Granton Youth Centre £3,000
Beyond Gender Youth Project £1,608
The Yard Adventure Centre £2,912
Edinburgh City Youth Cafe (6VT Youth Cafe) £2,125
Pilmeny Development Project £2,783
Canongate Youth £1,404
Kids in the Street ( KITS) £2,100
Muirhouse Youth Development Group £1,525
Wester Hailes Youth Agency £1,750
Craigentinny-Lochend Social Centre £2,880
The Ripple Project £3,105
Jack Kane Community Centre £1,938
Citadel Youth Centre £4,674
Ferrywell Youth Project £1,150

Light my fire: Edinburgh ablaze to celebrate Beltane

Edinburgh welcomes summer with Beltane Fire Festival

PIC: Jon Kendrew

Edinburgh’s skyline was ablaze last night as hundreds of revellers took part in the ancient Celtic celebration of the coming of summer, the Beltane Fire Festival.

As darkness fell more than 7,000 people gathered on Calton Hill to watch as a procession of fire, drums and mystical characters set off from an epic opening sequence on the National Monument, to the lighting of a huge bonfire that could be seen for miles.

The night also saw a faerie garden of giant glowing mushrooms made from candlewax reclaimed from Edinburgh’s caves, a zip line whizzing fire performers across the hill and red acrobats making giant people-pyramids!

Sara Thomas, event coordinator said: “We’re really pleased the festival has had another successful year and that so many people could join us. Beltane is an ancient tradition with a modern twist, and we want to share it with as many people as possible.

“We’re hugely grateful for the support of everyone who comes to witness Beltane, and for the hard work of everyone involved in putting it on – from the hundreds of volunteers that perform, acts as stewards and make the event happen, to our partners in the local community – the City of Edinburgh Council, Police Scotland, the Incorporation of Candlemakers of Edinburgh and so many others. It’s only possible to put something incredible like Beltane on with a massive collective effort, and that’s what makes it so special.”

The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient Celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.

Beltane to spark a celebration of summer

Organisers have released details of how Edinburgh’s world-famous Beltane Fire Festival will mark the coming of summer tonight.

The Beltane Fire Society, the charity of volunteers who run the event on 30 April each year, say the modern take on an ancient celtic festival will be an incredible spectacle. They want everyone – locals and tourists, old hands and those new to the event – to book tickets now and be part of the celebration.

Beltane Fire Festival takes place as the sun sets on the last night of April (gates open 8pm), at Calton Hill. This year hundreds of specialist volunteer performers will welcome in the summer with more than 40 drums; fire dancing, fire sculptures and flame torches; a huge performance of physical theatre on the national monument; a procession of weird and wonderful characters awakening from their winter sleep around the hill; and the lighting of a huge bonfire by the incarnation of summer, the May Queen, and her counterpart the Green Man.

The 2015 Beltane will incorporate new elements too. Performers will be using fire in dramatic ways not seen before, and there will be the international debut of interactive sound and light performance ‘Spark’.

The festival will also include a faerie garden of giant, glowing toadstools and mushrooms made from candle wax reclaimed from Edinburgh’s underground caves. Also this year, the Incorporation of Candlemakers of Edinburgh will take part in the event. The candlemakers were part of Beltane celebrations in the Capital as far back as medieval times.

Lila O’Leary, Festival Secretary of the Beltane Fire Society, said: “Beltane is a huge community project, kept alive and reinvented every year by hundreds of dedicated volunteers. The night itself is always special, the result of months of hard work, and this year will be particularly impressive. We’re going all out with dazzling fire performances, mysterious characters and stunning costumes. Beltane is something we are really proud of and we want people across Edinburgh – and Scotland – to get tickets, join us on the night and be proud too.”

The modern Beltane Fire Festival has run since 1988 and is the spring and summer counterpart to Samhuinn Fire Festival, which is held in the city centre on 31 October. The events are modern re-imaginings of ancient celtic festivals marking the turning seasons. The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.

Advance tickets are available via The Hub and www.beltane.org from £10 + booking fee, and at the event gate, subject to availability

City’s lost treasures to be revealed

‘For us, this is a true lost treasure’ – David Patterson

Original architectural drawings of the Usher Hall, not seen in public since 1910, are to be displayed for the first time in the concert hall between 12 May and 1 September.

Vintage drawings of the Edwardian venue were recently discovered by an architect in Leicester that traced its roots to Stockdale Harrison & Sons, the architectural practice that won the competition to design the hall.

The folder of drawings only recently came to staff at the Usher Hall’s attention when the architect in Leicester contacted the venue. The archive contains over 200 items including early sketches of the venue, water colour impressions, detailed competition drawings, exquisitely coloured drawings of lighting and sculptural designs, blueprints for heating layouts, ironmongery and terrazzo floors.

The Usher Hall is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council. Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Convenor for Culture & Sport said: “It has been well documented that a competition took place to design the Usher Hall and that the winning idea was built thanks to funding from whisky distiller Andrew Usher, but the architects who worked on the building and their designs have remained a bit of a mystery.

“The design’s backlash against gothic buildings of the time and the venue’s unusual curved walls are as stunning today as they were 100 years ago. To rediscover these vintage drawings is one thing but to have them in our archives and put on public display is extra special.”

David Patterson, Collections Manager at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “For us, this is true lost treasure. I knew as soon as I saw the drawings how important they were, not just for the Usher Hall, but for Edinburgh. They represent a piece of the jigsaw of the capital’s history and we are delighted to be able to put them on show for the first time.”

In 1896 Andrew Usher gifted £100,000 to The City of Edinburgh Council. The purpose of the money was to provide a City Hall, to be used for concerts and recitals and in 1910 architects were invited to design a hall to the cost of £65,000. In total, 133 designs were considered and all were exhibited in the hall of the New Corn Market in Gorgie. The designs were voted on anonymously and the winners were announced on 22 July 1910. The preferred design was a joint entry from Stockdale Harrison & Son and Howard H Thomson of Leicester.

In addition to the architect’s drawings, a watercolour by Shirley Harrison, the architect’s son, will be displayed (above). The watercolour shows the building in 1914 and the venue’s first audience arriving in Edwardian dress.

Entry to the exhibition will be free of charge.

Demonstrators set to ‘besiege’ Edinburgh Jobcentre

‘We are fighting back’ – Ethel MacDonald, ECAP

Demonstrators will descend on High Riggs Jobcentre today to declare their resistance to benefits sanctions and workfare.

The protest at the Jobcentre near Tollcross will continue over lunchtime and organisers Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty say: ‘We aim to send a strong message that cutting people’s benefits and forcing them to rely on foodbanks is not acceptable. Sanctions and workfare not only attack the claimants directly affected, they undermine all workers’ wages and conditions.’

Ethel MacDonald of ECAP said: “An increasing number of benefit claimants are being sanctioned under the DWP’s increasingly repressive measures and more than ever the Job Centre is aggressively pushing the Workfare programmes.

“Just consider the barbaric numbers: according to Corporate Watch, 139,000 sanctions were handed out to Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in 2009 but this more than tripled to 508,000 in 2011, the coalition’s first full year in government. And the Child Poverty Action Group state that since 2010 sanctions have increased by 126%.”

Sanctions can be from a period of four weeks to up to 3 years.

ECAP support claimants to contest sanctions and resist being sent on workfare. Ethel MacDonald explained: “Claimants are not prepared to remain passive victims – we are fighting back. With the support of ECAP, Edinburgh Jobseeker Jimmy recently overturned a four week sanction imposed after the Oxgangs Neighbourhood Centre refused to take him on a Community Work Programme workfare placement. Workfare provider Learndirect falsely alleged to the DWP that Jimmy had been ‘very intimidating’ to the placement manager – in fact he had just politely informed him that it was disgraceful that a community resource was participating in such exploiting schemes.

“ECAP and Jimmy met the Scotland area manager of Learndirect, insisted that Learndirect withdraw the sanction referral, and also wrote to the DWP explaining that it was Jimmy’s democratic right to express his views on workfare to the placement boss. The DWP have now overturned the sanction and are repaying Jimmy his benefits.”

542 voluntary organisations have declared they will not take part in workfare and signed the Keep Volunteering Voluntary agreement.

The decreasing number of organisations still participating in the schemes are under pressure to pull out of programmes which lead to benefit cuts and sanctions. ECAP regularly blockade and occupy workfare users such as the Salvation Army and DEBRA, and workfare providers like Learndirect. And this week Brian Tannerhill denounced that the organisation he founded, McSence, were using workfare and called on the communities of Mayfield and Easthouses to tell the directors of the Midlothian social enterprise this was unacceptable.

The Edinburgh action is supported by Edinburgh Anti Cuts Alliance, Greater Leith Against the Cuts, Edinburgh Industrial Workers of the World and Edinburgh Anarchist Federation, and is part of a Britain-wide Week of Action in the run-up to the General Election. Co-ordinated via Boycott Workfare, demonstrations are taking place Britain-wide.