Spending on the NHS in Scotland has reached record levels and waiting times have improved, but the government’s record on the health service was lambasted following the publication of the latest Audit Scotland ‘report card’ yesterday. Continue reading Parties clash over Scotland’s health service
Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP, Ben Macpherson visited Leith Academy today to wish pupils – Caitlin Munn, Katie Ewart, Liam Stobie and Morven MacKay – good luck with their two week internships within the current US presidential elections. Continue reading Academy students leave Leith for the Land of the Free
Forget penny for the guy, Edinburgh Leisure has reduced their normal joining fee to just 1p on any of their fitness, swim, gym, class and climb memberships meaning there’s no excuse not to get fit and lose those extra pounds in time for Christmas!
The offer is available from Friday, 28 October until Sunday, 6 November.
As everyone is different and needs to find their own way to a healthy and active life, Edinburgh Leisure offers a range of different membership options to suit everyone offers a range of memberships from swim, gym and fitness class only to full monthly memberships. By offering different types of membership, it lets people match activity preferences to their pocket.
With 30+ venues offering 1 climbing centre, 3 soft-plays, 6 golf courses, 10 swimming pools, 15 gyms, 23 tennis courts, 140 pitches and 700+ fitness classes per week, Edinburgh Leisure is the ‘biggest club in town’ providing the widest range of fitness classes, state of the art facilities and community based programmes across the capital.
To join, visit your nearest Edinburgh Leisure venue or visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk and sign up online.
A pair of slippers worn by Sir Walter Scott have been placed on display at Edinburgh’s Writers’ Museum. The renowned Scottish author, famous for penning Waverley and Rob Roy, was gifted the slippers in 1830 by friends who were ‘saddened’ by the state of the ones they found him wearing at his home in Abbotsford!
A letter from Scott’s friend, Lady Honoria Louisa Cadogan, reads: ‘The only thing we did not admire at Abbotsford was a (pair) of ugly, uncomfortable slippers we saw in (your) study so my daughters hope you will replace them by their’s.’
Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We recently refurbished the Writers’ Museum to include a new gallery dedicated to Sir Walter Scott and this loan adds enormously to the existing display of personal books and items belonging to the author.
“It is fantastic to have a local resident step forward with the offer of this loan and I hope it might encourage further donations to the city’s Museums so we can continue to add to the mix of items on display. I have no doubt they will generate much interest.”
The embroidered footwear will be on loan to the Museum for five years thanks to private collector Richard Wiseman. He purchased Scott’s size nine slippers from a collection previously owned by the author Sir Hugh Walpole, who is said to have been inspired by Scott’s writing style.
Richard Wiseman said: “We live in one of Walter Scott’s former Edinburgh homes and we came across these slippers online by chance. We love them, and we want to give other people the opportunity to see and enjoy them too. They are certainly well-worn so you never know, Scott might have sat at his writing desk in Abbotsford wearing these slippers to keep him comfortable as he wrote his later novels in the last two years of his life.”
Gillian Findlay, Curatorial and Engagement Manager for the Museum, added: “Scott’s slippers tell such a human story of the need for creature comforts and the compassion the author inspired in his friends, particularly at this vulnerable moment towards the end of his life. He was still mourning the loss of his wife and struggling to make ends meet since the banking crisis of 1825. He had received advances on books he hadn’t written yet but a kind friend took pity on him and had these slippers made as a gift.”
The City of Edinburgh Council managed museum is free to visit and allows visitors to discover the Capital’s rare collection of first edition books, personal belongings and portraits of great Scottish writers. In August, it was named a top visitor attraction when it was selected as a winner of TripExpert’s 2016 Experts’ Choice Award.
Next week: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Samoan flip-flops?!
A new scheme will help retrain women who have taken career breaks and get them back into work, Minister for Employability Jamie Hepburn announced yesterday. The commitment came on the same day as the publication of statistics which show the gender pay gap in Scotland is closing. Continue reading New scheme will help women get back into work
PILTON BUGGY WALK: Meet outside Royston Community Centre for circular walk 10am every Wednesday until the 30th November.
We have changed the meet up point for Pilton to the community centre at Wardieburn as an experiment as it may be more appealing and we will do a circuit from there, through the streets around taking in a few green spaces and circling back to the community centre for a cuppa, chat and baby changing and so on. Hope to see you there!
You can just turn up or sign up at:
http://www.meetup.com/Buggy-Walks-MeetUp-Edinburgh/events/234836637/
Your walk leader will be Hannah.
It would be great if you could get us a few more new Parents to come along!
Continue reading Meet up for a local Buggy Walk on Wednesdays
Get ready to be spooked this Halloween, when Botanic Lights becomes Botanic Frights for one night only! Tickets are now available for special Botanic Frights sessions on Monday 31 October. Continue reading For one night only: Botanic Frights!
Police in Edinburgh are re-issuing an appeal for information one week after an elderly woman had her purse stolen in Leith. Continue reading Fresh appeal over Leith purse theft
Alison Johnstone MSP, Health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has expressed concern at statistics showing that half of Primary One children in deprived communities have tooth decay.
The NHS report concludes that “clear health inequalities persist, and reducing dental health inequality must remain a priority.”
The main finding is that in the most deprived communities 55 per cent of P1 children have no obvious tooth decay. The national target is 60 per cent. In the least deprived communities, 82 per cent have no decay.
Alison Johnstone MSP said: “Poor dental health among children in less well-off communities is a tragedy and we must do more to turn this around. Getting children into good habits to look after their teeth is vital and there are good schemes in operation across Scotland, but we need to see greater effort to support parents, carers, school staff and communities.
“On top of that, there are steps that we can take to reduce the income inequality that contributes to poor health outcomes. I’ve already persuaded Scottish Ministers to roll-out the Healthier Wealthier Children project which boosts the incomes of vulnerable families. We can go much further by improving wages and using tax powers to put more money in the pockets of those who need it most.”
National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) Report 2016:
https://www.isdscotland.org/
Continue reading I, Daniel Blake anger spills out of the cinema
