Gremlins and ghouls at Granton Campus

Granton Campus charity event’s not for the faint-hearted!

Gremlins, fantasy warriors and witches will descend on Edinburgh College’s Granton Campus tomorrow as the college’s imaginative make-up students put their talents on display at a showcase event.

Second-year students from the college’s HND Make-Up Artistry course will apply the skills they have learned to produce a variety of jaw-dropping looks on models for the Ministry of Make-Up event. The students will present a range of fashion make-up looks alongside more unusual character and special effects designs that wouldn’t look out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Following the show there will be a chance to see the models up close and speak to the students about the techniques they used and the inspirations for the looks.

Photography work from first-year HND and VTCT Fashion and Photographic Make-up students will also be on display.

Money raised through a raffle on the night will go towards the charity Look Good Feel Better, the international charity dedicated to improving the wellbeing and self-confidence of people undergoing treatment for cancer.

The Ministry of Make-Up event will take place on Tuesday 26 May at 7pm at the Apprentice Restaurant, Edinburgh College Granton Campus, 350 West Granton Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1QE. Tickets are £7 and can be booked from Jakki.jeffery@edinburghcollege.ac.uk. The event is only suitable for over 16s.

Running order:

18.30 Doors open

19.00 Show starts

19.45 Raffle

20.00 Free viewing and interaction with students and models, and photocall

20.20 Show ends

20.30 Doors close

You’re in for a TReat at Granton Campus

Edinburgh College will open its larder and put on a feast for the city and surrounding communities at its second annual Treat food and drink festival on Thursday (28 May).

Treat is a celebration of the talents of the college’s hospitality students, who will show their skills and give guests the chance to sample their work. The festival also celebrates the fantastic food and drink produced in Edinburgh and the Lothians, with local companies coming to show their produce.

Treat will take place at the college’s Granton Campus on 28 May from 4-7pm, with a £5 entry fee. The festival will showcase the college’s students, curriculum and training restaurant facilities, demonstrating how it is developing the top chefs of tomorrow.

Students and lecturing staff will serve food and carry out live cookery demonstrations to show the range of food preparation skills that are taught at the college.

Students will be serving samples of delicious hot dishes for just £1 each, with one sample included in the entry price. There will also be kebabs and burgers prepared by butchery students, fresh smoothies, and confectionary on sale.

More than fifteen local suppliers will be tempting visitors with a range of delightful delicacies including African-inspired cuisine, olive oil and speciality products from Spain, nut- and gluten-free baking, and urban edible garden growing kits. There will even be gourmet dog treats on sale to keep furry friends’ tastebuds tingling!

The Granton Campus training restaurant, The Apprentice, will host a drinks zone, with free tasters of wine and premium Scottish cider.

The event will also be raising money for the college’s charity of the year, the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home (EDCH). Representatives from the charity will be at treat to talk with visitors about their work caring for lost and abandoned dogs and cats. There will be a prize draw on the day to raise much-needed funds for the charity.

This is the second year of the treat festival, after last year’s successful event attracted more than 400 hungry people from around Edinburgh and the Lothians to fill their bellies with top-quality food.

Carol Fyfe, head of the Tourism & Hospitality Academy at Edinburgh College, said: “We are delighted to be bringing back treat, Edinburgh College’s food and drink festival, for a second year. The festival is a fantastic opportunity to focus on our talented cookery and hospitality students providing an insight into their exceptional talent and dedication to their craft.

“Treat also gives visiting food lovers the chance to pick up top tips from our lecturing staff, while giving those who may be considering studying a hospitality and professional cookery course at the college a taste of what to expect. We are also pleased to be supporting the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home.”

Treat takes place at Edinburgh College Granton Campus, 350 West Granton Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1QE on Thursday 28 May at 4-7pm. Tickets £5 and are available on the door.

The festival is focused on celebrating and showcasing the college’s hardworking, skilled students, while promoting the curriculum, the college’s training restaurants and the college itself as a destination for success.

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

Edinburgh: it’s time to get it right

Granton Improvement Society’s SHAERON AVERBUCH bemoans Edinburgh planners’ lack of vision …

Last Thursday (14 May), I went to see the proceedings made by the Edinburgh Planning Committee regarding the final approval of the Local Development Plan (LDP).

It was very impressive to see how many residents groups and community councillors were clearly against the proposed plans for further housing allocations in their areas. This was for good reason in the main, although all acknowledged the undeniable need for housing to meet the rapid city growth. However, none of the parties – with the exception of the Willie Black who represented the Granton Improvement Society – wanted the new homes in their areas, mostly because there was not the road infrastructure to deal with the extra traffic that this would incur, particularly in the Brunstane and Barnton areas.

The other resounding fact raising concern by the majority of the groups presenting a deputation against the LDP was in regard to the majority of proposed new housing eating into the remaining green belt areas, particularly in the west of the city and again the Brunstane and Cammo areas. Gilmerton and Moredun also seemed to have great reservations.

Questions were raised by the various deputations asking why the brown field sites could not be utilised for housing instead. Willie Black of the Granton Improvement Society was vociferous in his demand to welcome further development for the area he represented and another representative from a different ward again emphatically stressed that the Edinburgh Planning Department, after a very lengthy assessment process, had granted permissions to Forth Ports PLC when set up as such to undertake a vast amount of housing under a phased development plan and why was there not further actions on this.

A further clear question asked by members of the various deputations was around whether it was correct that Councillor Frank Ross should be present on the Planning Committee when he was also on the board of so many of the cities development holding companies.

A series of other legal questions were raised by a Mr Kelly, Professor of Law at Edinburgh University as to whether the LDP was on par and could meet the scrutiny set out in the guidelines of the Scottish Governments SES Plan. More on this can be found online.

In another capacity as a member of the JUMP (Joined Up Master Planning) Group I would like to take the opportunity to add my personal opinion and that is that the City itself has identified the north area of the city as having the most scope for further regeneration.

Housing is a significant part of that. However, so much has already been compromised along the Edinburgh waterfront and there is nothing that has given anything back to existing communities or to compensate for loss of heritage, green space and natural habitats. No one can deny that what has happened in Leith Docks and Newhaven is only part of a longer term phased plan.

This is one reason why the previously mentioned Granton Improvement Society had proposed a three part plan for the historic walled garden at Granton, hoping instead to preserve the garden and establish an international garden festival, outdoor swimming facilities and artisans village to complement the other activities and create a destination on an otherwise derelict and forgotten area of the city.

This three part project would wash it’s face financially, genuinely offering jobs and training opportunities for young people and others and as a social enterprise, give back a percentage of the profits to support or start other projects in the area. So what’s not to like? https://grantonimprovementsociety.wordpress.org

Perhaps in the newly adopted LDP the City could take the bull by the horns this time round to ensure that – when further development does take place in the Waterfront area that it is done sensitively and that other planning criteria might possibly be introduced and applied, ie., aesthetics, design and scrutiny of building materials and a very strong cultural plan that also encompasses or encourages the creation of natural habitats and public access to enjoy recreational activities. Schools, shops and visitors centres are also required.

We need to demand more from our City Councillors, who not only hold the purse strings and the permission to transfer assets to communities should the situation arise. Well at least that is what all we community groups are hoping for under the new Community Empowerment Act legislation. Will this even scratch the surface of Edinburgh’s tough, tougher and toughest, overtly anti-community empowerment SKIN!!

My final comment is that Edinburgh is a world class city with UNESCO world heritage status. The Edinburgh Waterfront area and those linked to it must be recognised to be capable of international merit and to be valued more by local people.

The City of Edinburgh NEEDS a Cultural Plan. It should be applying to be City of Culture and to have an EXPO in the North Edinburgh Area. The City should be looking at other world class small cities with waterfronts and waterways and doing all it’s power to literally catch up with competitors and show a new stronger identity delivered through added value, people power, contemporary culture, ecological sensitivity and an understanding of urbanism requirements for the 21st Century and beyond.

Lets stop Edinburgh getting it wrong and start getting it right!

Shaeron Averbuch, Granton Improvement Society

Planning’s a thorny issue

Caerhays Castle project shows the virtue of patience

Planning is often a thorny issue. Planning applications, large and small, are often high on the agenda of community councils across the country and many community groups bemoan the pace of change when dealing with planning issues.

Locally, both the Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden and Granton Improvement Society have recently been critical of how long it takes to get decisions made and that’s particularly frustrating when you are eager to get to work to improve your environment.

Patience is certainly required when dealing with bureaucracy – a quality, incidentally, gardeners have in abundance – and sometimes good things come to those who wait. I saw this good news story from faraway Cornwall and immediately thought of our local groups:

A fifteen year restoration project is finally reaching completion at Caerhays Castle.

A new collection of wild-collected Rhododendrons, originating from the same species of Chinese seed that was first collected by plant hunters Ernest Wilson and George Forrest,has just been planted on the estate as the culmination of a 15 year project to restore the Caerhays Rhododendron Collection to its former glory.

The new planting setting out to replace many of the original Caerhays Rhododendrons which were lost when they matured and began dying out in the 1960’s.

The life span of taller growing Rhododendron species is a maximum of 60-80 years with smaller growing species dying in a much shorter timescale. Caerhays historic Rhododendrons dated back to 1905 when seed from China was brought over from plant hunting expeditions, so plants were not easily replaced.

The solution to the decline of Rhododendrons in the gardens was to go back to China to re-obtain wild collected seeds from the species which had died out. So in 1999 Caerhays started contributing to Alan Clark’s field trips to Yunnan, Sichuan, North Vietnam and North India in return for a selection of his wild collected Rhododendron seed.

After Clark’s successful trips, a selection of seed lists was drawn up to try to reintroduce the specific species of Rhododendrons known to have been lost since the 1960s. By 2013 vanloads of young Rhododendron species (three of most species) arrived at Caerhays and were grown on and nurtured in nursery beds at the castle until ready for planting.

The woodland garden was extensively cleared and in spring 2015 the new collection of around 60 wild collected Rhododendron species was finally transplanted into the 25 acre garden in Old Park Wood.

The new Rhododendron species are located in a prime position in the centre of the wood with dappled shade where the soil is richest and where wind damage is least likely. So, barring climatic disasters, the Rhododendron species collection should soon be restored to its former glory.

Jaimie Parsons, head gardener, said: “The excitement of growing on these species for myself and the team has matched the excitement of gardeners at Caerhays over 100 years ago seeing these new plants from China grow and flower for the first time.”

So, patience and perseverance … maybe there’s time yet to see Granton Castle’s Walled Garden restored to it’s former glory, or a glorious Flower Festival lighting up currently neglected brownfield site land …

Apprenticeships: it’s a man’s world?

In Edinburgh, parents are twice as likely to advise boys to take on an apprenticeship compared to girls
Just over a quarter of parents in Edinburgh said they would offer differing career advice to their sons and daughters

New research from Scottish Gas has revealed that parents in Edinburgh are twice as likely to advise boys to take on an apprenticeship compared to girls. 15% of parents would encourage their son to take on an apprenticeship while only 8% of parents would give the same advice to their daughter.

Parents’ views have a big impact on the career choices young people make. When asked about what career their parents would like them to pursue, half (27%) of teenage boys in Glasgow said an apprenticeship; only 10% of teenage girls reported the same.

As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week (18 – 22 May), an independent national survey* polling teens and parents found that just over a quarter (28%) of parents in Edinburgh admitted offering their children differing career advice depending on their gender.

Only 17% of teenage girls in Edinburgh view an apprenticeship as a viable career option. Yet more than a third of teenage boys (35%) are keen to go straight from school into an apprenticeship scheme.

Scottish Gas, which has trained 500 apprentices from across Scotland since opening the doors to its academy in Hamilton five years ago, is urging more girls to consider an apprenticeship. Explaining this rally to young women, the company said in 2014 only 3.3% of applicants for its competitive technical and engineering apprenticeship schemes were female.

John Lochrie, who is a former Scottish Gas apprentice and is now Operations Director for HomeCare Services at Scottish Gas, said: “It’s clear from this research that apprenticeships are still regarded as something of a man’s world among young people.

“Apprenticeships are a great way into an organisation. A Scottish Gas apprenticeship allows you to earn while you learn and encourages you to develop skills for life. I’d encourage all girls thinking about their future career, or looking for employment, to consider an apprenticeship.”

Scottish Gas’ survey also reveals concerns with careers advice for teenage girls and boys. Over two fifths (44%) of teenage girls polled in Edinburgh complained of receiving unhelpful advice and 47% of teenage boys shared the same complaint.

Poor careers advice has resulted in teenage girls limiting their own career choices. Six in ten (60%) teenage girls in Edinburgh surveyed said they had never considered a career in engineering. Meanwhile, young people in the city felt teenage girls were best suited to very stereotyped roles with their top three career choices including: nursing (67%), beauty & fashion (68%) and healthcare (67%).

Fifer Andrew Ness (above) joined the Scottish Gas apprenticeship scheme in November 2013. After studying for a BSc in Microbiology and then working in the finance sector, he decided to change direction completely.

Andrew, (35), explained: “I had started on the path to a career in IT, getting my A+ and Network+ qualifications. Then I worked in the finance sector for 10 years. At the time I was also volunteering on weekends repairing computers for charities. I wanted to move into computer repair as a career but I found there were a lot of people going after a limited number of jobs.”

Andrew heard about the apprenticeships scheme through his flatmate who works in the Scottish Gas contact centre. He said: “It seemed like a great chance to get all of the skills and knowledge that I needed to make a new career for myself. I was so excited when I found out I’d been accepted. My family were really pleased for me too, because Scottish Gas is such a well-known company.”

Andrew was looking for a career that was more hands-on than his previous office-based jobs. He said: “Learning practical skills was a real change for me, having never done anything like it before. But with the support and training I received from my instructors, and some hard work, I got better at these practical skills really quickly. I’m sure anyone else could do the same.”

Like many of Scottish Gas’ apprentices, Andrew is particularly enjoying the sociable nature of his job. He said: “It’s amazing how many times you arrive at someone’s house to do some work for them and it turns out to be someone you already know! It’s great for someone like me who enjoys meeting new people and being around others.”

Andrew is now looking forward to what the future holds. He added: “I would absolutely recommend an apprenticeship with Scottish Gas. There is a lot of work involved and it takes real commitment but it is definitely worthwhile and really shows that you are someone who can reach a goal.

“I think being engineer is a great career choice for both men and women. It’s definitely practical and you need an interest in fixing things but anyone can do it. It’s really positive that Scottish Gas is encouraging more women to join its apprenticeship scheme.”

Tips for teens interested in an apprenticeship at Scottish Gas:

Head over to www.gov.uk/further-education-skills the official apprenticeship website to discover more about apprenticeships
Keep a close eye on : http://po.st/BGNAW2015 for information on apprenticeship schemes
Attend Scottish Gas’ open day during Scottish Apprenticeship Week. You can register your interest by visiting: http://po.st/BGNAW2015

Students take Stardust to Romania

Edinburgh College acting students are stars in Romania

Edinburgh College acting students brought a sprinkling of stardust to Romania as they performed to a sell-out crowd at one of the country’s prestigious national theatres.

Twenty-one students from the HND Acting and Performance course travelled to Romania to perform a show and take part in workshops and theatre tours, and watch performances by their Romanian contemporaries.

The students were visiting the country to present their show We are Made of Stardust at the National Theatre in Târgu Mureș, where they played to a full house and received a five-minute standing ovation. The students previously performed this show at the college’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland in Granton.

We are Made of Stardust was originally developed in Romania by college lecturer Scott Johnston, who has been travelling to the country for 22 years. Scott worked with the first youth theatre based at the National Theatre Târgu Mureș to develop the show, before developing a new version with his Edinburgh College students.

He said: “This was a hugely exciting opportunity for our students to perform on a prestigious stage and share their experience with Romanian actors. The students organised a Scottish theme night, attended Romanian and Hungarian nights and saw five productions at the national theatre and other venues.”

To help his students put their own stamp on the production, Scott used a technique he developed called bookends devising. He said: “Simply put, this means that I have written and designed the beginning and end 10 minutes of the production. The cast along with me devise and write the piece in between. The show I will take to Romania has exactly the same beginning and ending as the one I made here at college.”

In 2010 the University of the Arts in Târgu Mureș awarded Scott the university medal for developing artistic and academic work at the university – the first Briton to be awarded this honour. Last year, supported by the college, he completed a Masters in Stage Directing at the University. He has worked throughout Romania and done workshops and directed plays in many of the major theatres. He has also directed international professional co-productions for Romanian and Scottish companies including Stellar Quines and Cumbernauld theatre.

Students from the college’s performing arts courses will be taking part in performances as part of the college’s Let’s Glow festival throughout May and June. Let’s Glow is a celebration of the college’s creative students, featuring performance and exhibitions covering everything from music, theatre and dance to photography, film, art animation, textiles and design. The full programme of events can be found at www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/letsglow

To find out more about performing arts courses at Edinburgh College, which include dance, musical theatre, acting, technical theatre, textiles and make-up courses visitwww.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/courses

Granton Improvement Society to argue for green space too

‘This morning is another chance for the City of Edinburgh to show they value the environment and the wishes of the people of North Edinburgh’ – GIS secretary Barbara Robertson

North Edinburgh will be well represented at today’s Planning Committee meeting. As well as the aforementioned Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden delegation there will be a deputation from Granon Improvement Society too!

GIS secretary Barbara Robertson said: “Granton Improvement Society have a deputation to the Planning committee this morning to get them to agree to the designation of the Walled Garden area as Green Space being adopted as part of the Local Development Plan going forward.

“The project for a Garden Festival on that site, originally designated in the Llewllyn Davis Master plan as green space in 2002/3, has been developed by GIS over many years (see https://grantonimprovementsociety.wordpress.org for more information).

“We have been doing all we can to prevent the building of houses on this historic site and allow the GIS to make our visionary project come alive. This morning is another chance for the City of Edinburgh to show they value the environment and the wishes of the people of North Edinburgh.”

Walled Garden: growing hope

B-list boost for Friends campaign

A deputation representing The Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden will attend today’s Planning Committee meeting with renewed optimism thanks to an imminent report from Historic Scotland.

Friends group organiser Kirsty Sutherland explained: “Just two days before our Friends Group deputation to the City Chambers we learned from Historic Scotland that they have almost completed the review of Granton Castle Walled Garden – and the great news is that they want to upgrade its status to B-listed!

“We hope this groundbreaking news will help convince the city council’s planning committee members to support our Friends Group aim of safeguarding this historic garden from a luxury housing development.”

The recent Historic Environment Act and planning guidelines issued for Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Edinburgh all recognise the significant contribution heritage landscapes & greenspaces make to our communities sense of place, cultural identity & understanding of history.

Friends Group members and supporters feel that one of the oldest walled gardens in Scotland deserves to be safeguarded, cherished and restored.

Kirsty added: “We’re really excited by the Historic Scotland news – I’m bubbling over! It’s a bit like David and Goliath, trying to stop a multi-million pound business from building houses in the garden.We’d like to thank everyone for their support – the more people that speak up and send in a wee message of support, the better.”

Deputation Letter to Planning Committee 14 May

Free haircuts at Granton Campus

Come on, chaps: get your barnets coiffured by college students!

Students from Edinburgh College barbering courses are offering free men’s haircuts at the Granton Campus Hair and Beauty Academy.

The Hair and Beauty department at the college is looking for clients to come along and get their hair cut and styled by the gents barbering classes at the training salon. For a limited time only these men’s haircuts and styling are free!

Frances Bain, curriculum manager for hair, beauty and complementary therapy, said: “Clients will not only be receiving a free haircut, they will be helping the students work towards their assessments and qualifications. This a vital part of these students’ studies, as they work in a salon environment to provide top-quality service and cuts to clients.”

Men’s haircut appointments are available on Tuesdays from 10-11am and 4.30-6.30pm, and Wednesday to Friday from 9-11am until 12 June. To book an appointment please call the Hair and Beauty reception on 0131 559 4050.

The barbering classes are just one of many hairdressing and beauty services available at Edinburgh College. A range of treatments are available at the Hair and Beauty Academies at Milton Road, Sighthill and Granton Campuses. Students offer the latest industry treatments and styles using Elemis, Dermalogica and Wella products.

For opening hours and the list of available treatments and prices visithttp://www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/welcome/leisure/salons/training_academies.aspx

To find out more about Edinburgh College’s hair and beauty therapy courses, and the many more courses available over the college’s varied curriculum and four campuses, visit www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/courses