Category: North Edinburgh News

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National Adult Protection Day 2021

The local body responsible for co-ordinating the safety and well-being of adults in Edinburgh is backing the fourth national Adult Protection Day today (20th February 2021).

Edinburgh’s Adult Protection Committee is hoping to raise awareness of how some adults are harmed or abused. It is encouraging people to act on their gut feeling and say something when they see anything that points to an abusive situation to someone they know or come across.

Harm and abuse can take many forms; physical, psychological, financial, sexual harm, neglect and self-harm but there are usually signs and clues that indicate something out of the ordinary might be happening.

Through the Edinburgh Adult Protection Committee, City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian, Police Scotland and local voluntary sector organisations, are committed to working together to tackle abuse of vulnerable adults.

Jackie Irvine, Chief Social Work Officer at City of Edinburgh Council said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe. However, for some people, a disability, health condition or impairment can prevent them from being able to keep themselves from harm. 

“It’s not always easy to tell if an adult is in trouble, but there are signs and situations to be aware of. For example a person may have unexplained cuts and bruises or refuse to talk about their injuries.

“They may be failing to look after themselves or their property, or are confused where their money has gone, or giving money to people they know for reasons that might concern you. They may constantly be having people – friends or strangers – ‘hanging out’ at their house.”

Anne Neilson, Chair of the Adult Protection Committee added: “We all have a responsibility to look out for people in our communities. If you’re concerned an adult is at risk of harm, or something feels wrong, it’s right to have it checked out. 

“Of course we understand that sometimes members of the public may not want to get involved, intrude  on privacy or  subject another person to unfair accusations. But the process can be simple – you can send an email or anonymous phone call and it will be checked out and any support needed will be given. It may be a false alarm, but there’s no harm in being sure.”

Find out about the types of harm we can help with and if you are worried about an adult at risk of harm you can contact the social work service Social Care Direct on 0131 200 2324

Random Acts of Nature: Buck & Birch donates hundreds of bottles of Elderberry Elixir to those in need this week

Recipients include care homes and Scottish charity, FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland 

Supporting the vulnerable, endorsing natural ingredients and championing the Scottish community, Buck & Birch launched the Wild Elderberry Elixir to boost immunity amidst the global pandemic.  

Now, to mark Random Acts of Kindness Week (14th – 20th February), Buck & Birch will be teaming up with FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland and also working with local care homes, charities and more, to donate hundreds of bottles of the Elixir, ensuring it reaches those who will benefit most from its sustainably harvested herbs and spices. 

FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland, which is run by the charity Move On, will receive 500 bottles of the Elixir, worth £7,500, to aid in supplying members of the community who are particularly susceptible at this time.  

On top of that, Buck & Birch will continue its permanent initiative to offer a little health help to those in need, with each bottle of Wild Elderberry Elixir sold from any Buck & Birch retailer, seeing an additional one donated to frontline workers; following on from those already provided to care homes and charities for the elderly, last year.  

Tom Chisholm, director of Buck & Birch, explains they are just a Scottish business who want to give something back: “For millennia elderberries have been used to minimise the risk of catching cold and flu as well as alleviating the symptoms.

“So, in response to the COVID outbreak we teamed up with Monica Wilde of Napiers the Herbalists to make our Elderberry Elixir, suitable for the whole family and the perfect, tasty way of getting your daily dose of this beneficial fruit. 

“The whole point of us launching the Elixir was to help boost physical health and wellbeing, so surely the point is that it reaches those that are in need of it most?” 

Jim Burns, Director of Operations of Move On explains why donations such as these are so important: “Here at FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland we take surplus product from across the food and drink industry and redistribute it to organisations that support the most vulnerable, including children, the homeless, refugees and elderly people.

“When we receive donations from the likes of Buck & Birch, it means we can provide more varied deliveries to our charity partners, who can then in turn offer a wider range of food and drink to the people they support.

“This is exceptionally important when we are in the midst of a global lockdown, when life for many, is already harder than before.” 

Buck & Birch Wild Elderberry Elixir is also available to purchase (£14.99): https://www.aelderelixir.com/aelder-shop/elderberry-elixir

Wild Elderberry Elixir – family food supplement — Aelder ElixirA concentrated elderberry, bramble and rosehip syrup providing a good source of Vitamin C, enhanced with sustainably harvested herbs and spices. Each 5 ml serving contains 100mg of vitamin C. Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system. Family food supplement www.aelderelixir.com

Lothian Buses announce new links to Vaccination Centre at Ingliston

Lothian Buses has today (Friday 19 February) announced its intention to introduce new daily transport links to the NHS Lothian Vaccination Centre located at the west of the city at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.

From Sunday (21 February), Skylink services 200, 300 and 400 will be rerouted to provide vital links direct to the Royal Highland Centre from across Edinburgh and will assist thousands of individuals as they make the essential and important journey to the Vaccination Centre located within the grounds.

Services will stop at the Ingliston Road stop every day between approximately 07:45 hours and 21:00 hours.

The company has launched a dedicated Vaccination Centre journey planning webpage where locals can find information on how to travel to NHS Lothian Vaccination Centres across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Nigel Serafini, Interim Managing Director at Lothian Buses, said: “We are delighted to be able to support NHS Lothian with the rollout of the Covid-19 Vaccination programme by making it easier for residents across Edinburgh and the Lothians to travel to their appointments, as well as offering vital public transport links for those keyworkers and volunteers helping within the centre.

“Our teams have worked hard over the last 12 months to ensure our buses are clean, safe and accessible for those that require to make essential journeys.”

Lothian also recently announced that Lothian Country’s Service 275 will be rerouted to serve the Vaccination Centre at Pyramid’s Business Park, West Lothian, providing vital links across the region for locals attending vaccination appointments.

Information on services operating to Edinburgh Airport via Royal Highland Centre is outlined below:

  • Skylink 200 – Ocean Terminal <> Airport via Newhaven, Granton, Muirhouse, Drylaw, Blackhall and Clermiston.
  • Skylink 300 – Surgeons’ Hall <> Airport via Tollcross, Shandon, Slateford, Sighthill and Gyle Centre.
  • Skylink 400 – Fort Kinnaird <> Airport via Niddrie, Royal Infirmary, Gilmerton, Fairmilehead, Oxgangs, Clovenstone, Sighthill and Gyle Centre.

A renewed sense of community after year of pandemic but divisions are widening, says study

Scots have revealed that their local communities are growing closer, and have become more important after a year spent closer to home, however the pandemic has left society itself more divided.

The findings are revealed in PwC’s latest Future of Government research, Rethinking Levelling-Up, which also shows that Scots back the UK Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. Affordable housing, better paying jobs, skills development and vibrant high streets are seen as the key priorities for the recovery.

While 36% of Scots polled for the research said their local community has become more important to them, and 39% agree that the pandemic brought their community together, a greater number (43%) feel that it has increased social divisions.

The survey found that 51% of Scots believe inequality exists between London and other parts of the UK. Additionally, 47% said there was inequality between the four UK nations – though this was lower than reported from those polled in both Wales (50%) and Northern Ireland (58%).

Further to this, 30% of Scots said there was inequality between urban and rural areas and 34% between cities and towns.

The increased sense of community during the pandemic is reflected in where the Scottish public believe the UK Government should prioritise spending.

Better quality and more affordable housing is the top priority among Scots, with 76% of those surveyed saying it should top any Government’s spending agenda.

Behind this, 53% said helping people get access to better paying jobs was a priority, followed by investment in upskilling (47%), investing in high streets and town centres (46%), providing a better safety net for those most in need (40%) and investment in public services (39%).

The findings from Scotland largely reflect the overall picture across the UK, where the top four priorities are the same.

The survey also found that more than half of those surveyed in Scotland (60%) said they would recommend their area as a place to live, with just 11% saying they were unlikely to do so.

A similar number (61%) said their area was a good place to bring up a family, with 13% saying the opposite. The recommendation figure drops sharply however, when asked if Scotland was a good place to start a business – with 28% saying they were unlikely to recommend this.

Stewart Wilson, Government and Public Sector leader, PwC Scotland commented: “The pandemic has made enormous changes to the way we live and with the public spending more time closer to home they are clearly feeling more connected to their neighbours and local communities.

“This makes it clear that the levelling up agenda needs to be reset around local targeted investment and building community resilience to ensure the recovery is delivered fairly across the UK.

“The ‘levelling up’ agenda will need to take into account perceived inequalities across the country, and focus on areas where the public feel their lives can be improved – such as more affordable housing, better jobs and upskilling for the future. Government and private sector must collaborate to ensure society and communities move in the same direction at the same pace.”

Opportunities to build on trust

Over half of respondents nationwide (47%) hold the central government responsible for reducing geographical inequality. However, fewer than one in ten of our respondents trust that central government ‘listens to people like me’ or ‘takes my needs into account when making decisions’.

People feel greater connections with third sector community groups and charities and local government, with 29% and 25% feeling that community groups and charities respectively listen to ‘people like me’.

In Scotland, just 36% of those polled said their local community had been treated fairly by the UK Government during the pandemic, compared to more than half (53%) who said they’d been treated fairly by their employer.

During the pandemic the role of business has been under the spotlight, and business emerges with an opportunity to play a greater role in improving opportunity, social mobility and equality in the places where they operate.

Over half of respondents (55%) feel they have been treated fairly by their employers during the pandemic and 38% see businesses as most responsible for good jobs. Some 43% of respondents trust business to act to deliver a fair recovery, compared to 38% that trust central government and 40% that trust local government.

Skyrora students get the chance to Reach for the Moon

Two students have landed places in what is reckoned to be the most prized university placement programme in Scotland – working with Edinburgh-based space rocket firm Skyrora.

Bethany Taylor and David King, who were selected from more than 100 applicants, will be based at Skyrora’s production facility at Loanhead – supporting the company’s aim to help Scotland to become a key player in the UK’s space race programme.

Bethany, a Mechanical Engineering student at University of Edinburgh, and David, an Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Sheffield have joined Skyrora’s technical team – supporting manufacturing, vehicle launches and more Skyrora XL stage testing.

Both David and Bethany will play a part in assisting Skyrora to achieve its goals for 2021.

Bethany said: “I am really looking forward to learning about how the business is run and having the chance to work on different projects, using the knowledge that I have learnt at university, on real life projects within Skyrora.”

David added: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the team at Skyrora, who are getting the UK back into space. It will be a great chance to push myself and learn from all the talented individuals who work here.”

The UK space industry now employs close to 42,000 people across the country and generates an income of nearly £15 billion every year. Scotland’s space industry is made up of 130+ companies, and it already employs more than 7,500 people.

Skyrora – through a range of important breakthroughs, including successful test launches and pioneering an eco liquid-fuel – has established itself as the UK’s leading private rocket company, supporting the burgeoning small satellite market. It aims to launch its first rocket – the Skyrora XL – from a UK site in 2023.

Skyrora’s Graduate Placement Programme is highly regarded by UK Universities as a vital pathway to help propel young engineering talent into the rapidly developing space sector.

Dr Jack James Marlow, Head of Engineering at Skyrora said: “2021 will be another important year for Skyrora as we move towards our first launch – an event that also will be of huge significance to the UK’s space industry ambitions.

“But to achieve our goal – and continue to support the focus on space as a growth sector in both Scotland and the UK – it’s vital we continue to engage with universities to forge and develop the new talent of the future.

“With 100+ applications, Skyrora’s placement programme has seen major interest from all over Europe.”

Skyrora offers technical positions for students at the start of each year, as well as summer internships.

Students interested in participating in Skyrora’s student programme or are looking for further information, please see the website for further details: 

www.skyrora.com/career.

Schools encouraged to use free video content

  • ClickView has been selected by the National e-Learning Partnership to host West OS online learning content created by schools, local authorities and RICs to support online remote learning.
  • To complement this learning content, ClickView is offering schools in Scotland free access to its full range of curriculum aligned video learning content, free of charge until March 31, 2021.
  • All schools in Scotland are encouraged to benefit from the offer 

To help teachers engage students in remote learning the National e-Learning Partnership and leading video content provider, ClickView, are offering all schools across Scotland free access to their full range of dynamic, highly visual resources.

Already trusted by many Scottish schools and local authorities including Edinburgh and Inverclyde ClickView was selected to host and stream the National e-Learning Partnership’s West OS pre-recorded content, providing a secure and reliable vehicle to share a growing bank of over 1000 valuable, teacher recorded videos, with schools across Scotland.

In addition to this, the National e-Learning Partnership agreed with ClickView to offer all schools across Scotland the opportunity to have full use of its high-quality curriculum aligned content to supplement and extend the West OS provision. The three-month agreement valued at nearly £500k is currently being offered until the end of March, to support schools through lockdown.

Gayle Gorman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, said, “Schools and practitioners are working hard to develop and deliver remote learning across the country.

“It’s fantastic that practitioners in Scotland now have free access to ClickView’s educational videos to provide additional support for the work they are doing locally at this time. Complementing the National e-Learning offer, this further strengthens the overall national offer of support for remote learning.”

Michael Wilkinson, managing director of ClickView, said, “As lockdown continues, the majority of teachers are finding it increasingly hard to motivate their students. Today’s students’ preferred format of information consumption is video. Curriculum aligned video-based learning content brings together movement and noise to convey an efficient message and capture their attention.

“ClickView and the National e-Learning Partnership encourage all schools to take up this offer to help them through the current challenges of remote learning. This doesn’t just mean learning can continue outside of physical classrooms, but provides the opportunity to revitalise traditional education practices, putting transformative world-class resources at their fingertips, for meaningful experiences at all levels of learning.”

John Stuart, workstream lead officer at the West Partnership, said, “We are delighted that West OS is hosted on ClickView because it provides the ideal platform for learners and school staff in Scotland to access on demand, high quality educational content as part of the National e-Learning Offer.

ClickView’s current offer of free access to their educational videos until the end of March, complements the continually growing bank of West OS content to provide excellent support for remote learning.”

To find out more, visit Clickview.co.uk.

Shedding light on the condemned witches who were actually healers

RCN Foundation funds historical research project

The RCN Foundation has funded a history of nursing research project to document the stories of nurses and midwives accused of witchcraft in Scotland, as part of its programme of work to celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

The Foundation has awarded a Monica Baly Education Grant to a team of researchers from Edinburgh Napier University to investigate almost 150 witches recorded on the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft as being folk healers and midwives. 

The team from the Nursing and Midwifery Subject Groups in the School of Health and Social Care, comprising of Dr Nicola Ring, Nessa McHugh and Rachel Davidson-Welch, will investigate the stories of these individual nurses and midwives, documenting who they were, and reflecting on their practices from today’s healthcare perspective. 

Scotland’s Witchcraft Act was introduced in 1563 and remained law until 1736. During that time nearly 4,000 people, mainly women, were accused of witchcraft.

The accused were imprisoned and brutally tortured until they confessed their guilt – often naming other ‘witches’ in their confessions.  Most of those accused are thought to have been executed as witches, being strangled and then burned at the stake, leaving no body for burial. 

People were accused of being witches for many reasons- some were mentally ill, some had land and money others wanted. However, many of those accused and executed as being ‘witches’ were guilty of nothing more than helping to care for others during sickness and childbirth – they were early practitioners of midwifery and nursing. 

Dr Nicola Ring said: “I am delighted we have been awarded funding from the RCN Foundation to investigate this over-looked part of nursing history.  Telling the stories of these Scottish women and men cruelly and unfairly accused and punished for helping the sick and women in childbirth highlights the injustices these people faced. 

“It supports Claire Mitchell QC and Zoe Venditozzi in their ‘Witches of Scotland’ campaign, which seeks posthumous justice – a pardon for those convicted of witchcraft, an apology for all those accused, and a national memorial dedicated to their memory.” 

Deepa Korea, Director of the RCN Foundation, said: “We are very pleased to fund this project as part of our programme of work to mark the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

“This is an important project which will not only document the experiences of these early nurses and midwives and the injustices they faced but provide a fresh look at the early role and perceptions of nursing and midwifery, prior to the accepted Victorian archetype.”

Claire Mitchell QC said: “Zoe Venditozzi and I (Witches of Scotland) are delighted that this work is being done to investigate and record the history of Scottish women and, in particular, those who were caught up in witchcraft allegations.

“We know from our research that some of the women and men were healers – involved in folk medicine and early midwifery – who were prosecuted for witchcraft and paid with their life.   This work shedding a light on this tragic history is important.”

Stay at Home to Find a Home!

Nearly three quarters of apartments now sold

Home sales at Artisan Real Estate’s Canonmills Garden development in Edinburgh are continuing to defy the challenges of lockdown, with almost three-quarters of all available apartments now sold. 

Savvy home buyers are increasingly taking advantage of Artisan’s smart web-based technology, combined with the human touch, to enjoy the new home sales experience and make buying decisions – all whilst staying at home.  

New computer-generated images just released by the developer show how one of the bedrooms in the Canonmills Garden show home can be transformed into a spectacular working from home environment, adding a touch of luxury and comfort to the ‘stay at home’ experience. And it’s a message which is delivering results with 98s ales and reservations now confirmed out of the 135 apartments available for private sale.  

Canonmills Garden brings together a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and colony-style properties which has firmly established itself as the new blueprint for post-lockdown living. 

Generous and airy internal dimensions combine with large balconies and terraces overlooking private gardens and the Water of Leith – all underpinned with the latest in smart design and energy efficient technology. 

Artisan’s Regional Sales Team Leader, Christie Turner believes the ‘virtual’ selling platform has been a major factor in the continued sales success at Canonmills Garden. “Artisan is an independent, niche developer which, from the start, gave us the freedom to react quickly to the challenges of lockdown,” she says. 

“We have now created a strong sales proposition which reflects the challenges of our times by making our website-based visitor experience more user-friendly, introducing chat-boxes directly linked to our sales team as well as cutting-edge interactive graphics including virtual presentations and 3D apartment walk-throughs and plot-selectors.” 

As well investing in new technology, Artisan has also continued to bring the human touch to the home-sales process. The developer was one of the first in Scotland to open a brand-new show home once initial lockdown restrictions were eased in the summer of 2020. The Show Home and marketing suite currently remains open despite lockdown restrictions, with enhanced personal safety measures and a pre-booking system allowing potential buyers to get a safe and uninterrupted, socially distanced real-life experience of living at Canonmills Garden. 

Christie adds: “The Show Home experience at Canonmills Garden has been a hugely popular lockdown activity with almost 300 visitors passing through our doors so far.

“There’s definitely been a ‘wow factor’ as our customers experience the size and scale of the apartments for the first time. Their reaction as they walk in has been amazing – especially when they experience the light and airy living spaces for the first time, as well as the quality of the flooring and the fittings in the kitchen and bathroom. 

“Buyers have quickly seen that Artisan is not your typical house-builder. The specification of Canonmills Garden is amongst the highest in Scotland, with premium Kitchens International kitchens and Victor Paris bathrooms throughout.

“Generous internal proportions and access to private gardens or balconies mean that buyers are getting tremendous value for money in a much sought-after corner of the city, close to the vibrant Stockbridge area.” 

Sales at Canonmills Garden are continuing apace with two first-phase blocks now sold out, with all 72% of apartments sold off-plan. A range of apartments is still available with prices starting at £313,000.  

For more information, visit www.canonmillsgarden.com or call the sales team on 0131 247 3742.  

To book a VIP tour of the new show home, email sales@canonmillsgarden.comor visit https://canonmillsgarden.simplybook.it/v2/ 

Three arrested for drug offences

Three men were arrested in Edinburgh on Wednesday for drug related offences following proactive patrols in the city.

A 27-year-old man was found to be in possession of crack cocaine valued at £220 on Leith Street. He was arrested and charged with drug related offences and will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.

In an unrelated incident, a vehicle was stopped by officers on mobile patrol on Ferry Road on Wednesday evening.

A 22-year-old man was arrested and a 21-year-old man made off on foot and was arrested a short time later. Crack cocaine and cannabis with a collective value of £1,400 was recovered.

The 22-year-old man was charged with drug related offences and possession of an offensive weapon.

The 21-year-old man was charged with drug related offences, numerous road traffic offences, an obstruction offence and possession of an offensive weapon.

Both will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date for the offences committed on 17/02/21.