Bright, sunny … and no cloud! Conditions are perfect to experience this morning’s solar eclipse, one of the natural world’s most stunning phenomenon.
At around 9:35 Edinburgh will briefly be plunged into a eerie darkness as the the Moon covers up the Sun. The whole process will start at around 8:30 as the moon slides in front of the sun and will end at 10:44 when the sun’s full brightness is restored.
It’s an event the ancients believed signalled the end of the world but I am confident we will return to post later today …
However, be careful when trying to view the eclipse:
WARNING. NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH THE NAKED EYE, OR WITH CAMERAS, TELESCOPES, GLASSES OR DEVICES OF ANY KIND UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED THAT IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.
LOOKING AT THE SUN WITHOUT PROPER PRECAUTIONS CAN CAUSE SERIOUS EYE DAMAGE.
Local businessman Daren Henderson went back to his roots when he presented a £1000 cheque to Spartans Community Football Academy last month. Daren, who owns the Edinburgh Driveway Company, is a Muirhouse laddie, and he handed the cheque over to his old Muirhouse Primary pal – and now Spartans Community youth work manager -Kenny Cameron: the pair were P1s together! (writes Dave Pickering)
Daren explained: “When I watched the Spartand video NEN posted on YouTube (see below) I couldn’t help but listen to the youngsters and think: that was me! I was that young boy with nothing to do but hang around the street corners of Muirhouse and Drylaw.”
Daren immediately decided to support the Spartans Community Football Academy, which provides opportunities for local young people that weren’t so readily available when he and Kenny were growing up.
“The Spartans Community Football Academy is very close to my heart and it was a pleasure to hand over a cheque – this money goes straight into the coffers of the academy and helps take local kids of the streets of North Edinburgh and into much more meaningful activities”, he said. “As an extra, The Edinburgh Driveway Company will be funding go-karting and combat activities as part of Spartans summer programme AND one lucky kid gets to come and work with us for a whole week as part of his/hers work experience to give them that much needed experience of working life.”
Daren’s generosity won’t end here. “This relationship is ongoing and I will continue to support this fantastic organisation – the work they do throughout the whole north Edinburgh community is absolutely second to none.”
Kenny Cameron said: “It was great to see Daren and his support is really appreciated by everyone here at the Academy.”
For more informaton on the Edinburgh Driveway Company visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theedinburghdrivewaycompany
Dave Pickering
News from Granton Community Gardeners
The sun’s out today and Spring is slowly underway …
We’ve been busy in the gardens, including building a greenhouse, and planting a small orchard with the children at Granton Early Years Centre. We got our first potatoes planted on Saturday.
It’s a great time of year to get involved in community gardening. And this Saturday (21st) we are joint-hosting an event that will be great for getting inspired! (see flyer (above))
‘Germination’
At DRYLAW NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE
Saturday 21 March
1pm – 5pm
FREE EVENT
ALL WELCOME!
A celebration of community gardening with a DIY and collaborative spirit.
See flyer for list of workshops.
Also confirmed: Meet a man who has designed and built a bike powered flour mill, have a go and cook pancakes with the result!
Lifts available from Garden at top of Wardieburn Road. Meet 12.30.
Gardening drop-ins are continuing every Tuesday and Saturday. Meet 11am at the garden on the corner of Wardieburn Road and Boswall Parkway. All welcome! No previous gardening experience required!
Gardeners Cafe is now on Tuesdays 3pm-6pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre up until the Easter Holidays. Free veggie soup and bread and chat. On Tuesday 31 March we will have a workshop on foraging and herbal medicine from Grassroots Remedies. Please RSVP if you’d like to come to that.
Tom,
Granton Community Gardeners
http://www.facebook.com/grantoncommunitygardeners
It’s now less than fifty days until the general election – it’s seven weeks today – and tonight you have an opportunity to hear the candidates for the North & Leith constituency.
The hustings is being held at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre and the debate kicks off at 6.30pm. The event has been organised by Pilton Community Health Project and will be chaired by Harry Woodward.
Why not go along to hear what the politicians have to say – and get your questions answered?
Lallie Wilson: Exhibition Opening Invite
Friday 20th March
North Edinburgh Arts
6 – 7.30pm
North Edinburgh Arts is pleased to present the first major painting exhibition by the artist Lallie Wilson. Based in Musselburgh, Lallie has a body of mixed media artworks and colourful paintings. The exhibition portrays Lallie’s life story; from a young girl in wartime Britain, to a woman still painting many years later.
Daily opening times of exhibition:
Monday 10am – 5pm
Tuesday – Thursday 10am – 7pm (except Thursdays 1-5pm)
The exhibition will run until 27 April.
North Edinburgh Arts are always on the look out for groups and artists who would like to exhibit their work. Find out more on our exhibition page here.
Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden are staging an exhibition at North Edinburgh Arts to publicise their efforts to retain the historic green space from development.
Friends group member Kirsty Sutherland said: “North Edinburgh Arts centre staff really pulled out all the stops and helped us put up an exhibition on the walled garden’s story. Thank you Caroline for all your patience and perseverance, it looks fab! Thank you to Friends Group members for pitching in.
“We used some of the old and new images of the garden, maps, photos, a few flowers, some captions and a timeline: go see!
“We are hoping this will help raise awareness locally and let more folk join the group, add their ideas and strength to the campaign to safeguard the garden first, and then to help restore it for community use.
“Membership forms have been put out too – and there are lovely new flower power boxes to deposit filled out forms. We decided to make membership of the group free for the first year so no cash please!”
Council apologises and agrees to ‘up the brightness’
The city council is to improve the brightness of street lighting following complaints from residents. New LED lights have been installed across the city over recent weeks but hundred of people have expressed concern over the quality of the new street lights. Now, following a review, the lights will be turned up next month.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “We’ve been closely monitoring lighting levels in streets where we’ve had a number of complaints about the new LED lights not being bright enough. I held a meeting with the Vice Convener and officers to decide on a course of action and I’m pleased to confirm that after monitoring the situation and taking complaints into account, we’ll be upping the brightness in streets where this appears most needed. This adjustment work will start in April once all the new lighting in this first phase of the rollout has been installed.
“LED street lights are much better for the environment and as they are longer-lasting than sodium street lights and with energy costs predicted to double over the next decade, they could potentially save the city millions of pounds in energy costs. While they are also recommended by police as being safer and better than the old kind of street lights, clearly the brightness has to be set at a level which reassures residents that they can feel safe at night in their street.
“In response to the feedback from the first phase, the rest of the lights due to be installed in various parts of Edinburgh before the end of March will be set at this same increased brightness level. Residents will also receive letters advising them about the new lighting and the reasons behind its installation. I’m aware that there was inadequate communication with residents whose streets were first to get the new street lights and I apologise for this on behalf of the Council.”
One Parent Families Scotland are planning cookery classes for single mums and dads and the kids at Craigroyston Community High School.
The classes will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (10am-12.30pm) from 7 – 16 April.
If you would like to improve your cooking skills while learning how to cook nutritious meals on a budget, contact Tom Carroll on 07814 078139 or email: tom.carroll@opfs.org.uk
Edinburgh College community garden provides opportunities to adults with complex learning needs
Adults with complex learning needs are using one of Edinburgh College’s community gardens to develop their green fingers as well as social and education skills.
The students, who are all users of the adult day services at Fisherrow Community Centre’s Fisherrow Hub in Musselburgh, have been visiting the community garden at the college’s Milton Road Campus since May 2014. After spending the summer helping out weekly at the garden they registered for the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society’s (RCHS) Recognition of Individual Achievement in Horticulture Award (Caley Award), and are now working towards achieving this.
The award recognises the achievement and learning experience of individuals with complex learning needs in a garden environment. It encompasses a mix of seven core horticultural activities including cultivation, composting, plant-care and harvesting.
It is hoped that students who achieve the Caley Award will go on to a second level of the scheme, which is currently under development by RCHS.
The nine students have been split into two groups, and visit once a week for a few hours. Each group has their own growing space in the garden where they grow vegetables that they can take either back to Fisherrow to use in a cooking activity or home to share with their household.
The award also includes a personal learning plan, where students identify self-improvement goals such as improved timekeeping, teamwork or learning a social skill. Individuals progress at their own pace, encouraged and inspired by the achievement of others. Achievement is assessed through compiling a portfolio and recording of evidence, which are formally verified by the RCHS.
The Milton Road Community Garden was established in September 2012 to transform an area of previously unused land into a green space for staff, students and the local community to grow plants, vegetables and fruit. The project has been so successful that Edinburgh College now has a second community garden at the Sighthill Campus.
Colin Jeffrey, Fisherrow Hub manager, said: “The community garden at Edinburgh College has provided people who use the service at Fisherrow in Musselburgh an invaluable opportunity to undertake practical gardening tasks, which they are now learning and developing in order to undertake the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society Award, or Caley Award.
“This is a fantastic new opportunity for the involved individuals, which is developing their practical skills in horticulture as well as supporting skills development in other areas, geared towards individuals’ specific personal goals, included as part of the award.
“At Fisherrow, we are continuing to work with Edinburgh College, to further develop joint working initiatives and new opportunities for people accessing services from our resource and to work together on a partnership agreement, to establish this working relationship and continue to support our ethos of promoting meaningful, structured activities for the service users at Fisherrow in new, exciting and inclusive ways with other organisations.”
Severine Monvoisin, community garden coordinator at the college, said: “The Caley Award is about recognising achievement. Far more importantly, it also gives individuals with complex learning needs opportunities for learning new skills and achieving in an inclusive environment. The gardening activities and knowledge are a medium to progress in their life by increasing the social interaction with others, learning to express their feelings, developing a better understanding about the environment, increasing confidence and self-esteem, learning to work together, increasing their abilities.
“For all the garden’s participants, coming to the garden is strongly linked to improved emotional health: they learn and exchange views about the importance of healthy eating and healthy lifestyle, are active in an outdoor environment, build social contact in a safe and relaxed environment and, importantly, become part of a community.”
