Category: North Edinburgh News

Community concern over Mosque plans

Over 150 people crammed into Blackhall Mosque recently to hear plans for the upgrade of the building.  Local residents were assured that mosque leaders will work with their neighbours to address their concerns but some believe the plans will bring more traffic misery to a quiet residential area.

Blackhall Mosque opened in September 2009 and has quickly grown to become the most popular mosque in the city.  As well as being a place of worship, the former church is the base for over 200 students who regularly attend classes there and the Mosque also provides a variety of educational and social activities for groups, families, women and young people.

The popularity of the Mosque has brought problems for both Muslims who use the building and for their neighbours, however. For worshippers, the current layout of the building is inadequate to meet their needs while the local community has voiced concerns about traffic levels and inconsiderate parking around the Mosque.

Mosque leaders organised the public meeting to talk about their plans for the refurbishment of their building and to give local residents an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns over the proposals. Local councillors and Western MSP Colin Keir joined Muslim worshippers, students and local residents to participate in the discussion.

Architect Thom Pollock outlined plans for the upgrading of the building. He said:  “The plan is not to provide for a greater number of people, simply to provide much better facilities and improve what is not the most beautiful building in the world.  Hopefully, create a more fitting quality of building for the area”.

He said that a tower or minaret proposed for the building is not essential.  “I’m not hell-bent on the tower – it’s a symbol.  If there is a huge counter-feeling against the tower I would not be particularly bothered.  We are not trying to create a pastiche mosque here – the building will be of the same bricks as it currently is and will fir in with the surrounding area”.  Mr, Pollock stressed that extensions to the building would be minimal.  Internal alterations would introduce another level within the existing building, allowing additional space for a womens’ balcony, classrooms and storage facilities.  Better use of existing ground floor space would see improvements to lavatories and washing areas and the addition of a mortuary and a new kitchen.  Improved security measures are also included in the proposals, along with lift access to the upper floor and improvements to entrances.

Muslim students gave testimony to the importance of the building in their own personal development.  One young man explained:  “We need the Mosque to develop if we are to develop as people and as students – not only as Muslims but as active members of our communities”

Following the presentations the meeting was thrown open to questions and discussion of the proposals.  Concerns were raised over the likely increase in numbers using the  refurbished building – with resultant increase in car parking problems – and the size of the new building.  One woman asked whether costs associated with the upgrade would impact on funds for other local services, while another sought assurances that local residents will be kept informed about activities at the Mosque.

A local resident received the biggest round of applause of the evening when he said: “Car parking is having a major impact on our lives, seven days a week.  As this place is so unfit for purpose, have you not considered moving to somewhere else more suitable?  There must be many disused school buildings available.  While we are delighted to see the church building being used, this is a residential area and most of the former congregation walked to the church.  This is most definitely not a religious argument – the parking and traffic problems are affecting the way we live our lives”.

Imam Sohail Asfhaq (pictured below) said:  “This building cost £550,000 to buy and we raised this money ourselves.  It is our obligation and duty to raise funds for our place of worship and this would be the case with our refurbishment.  We have been working hard to address parking issues and we will continue to work with the authorities and the local community to resolve problems.   We have no plans to expand – we simply don’t have the capacity to do that – and what we want is to provide the best possible educational facilities for our existing students by making our building fit for pupose”.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, who chaired the meeting, summed up:  “It’s clear that people recognise the work that goes on here, but legitimate questions have been asked and it’s about getting a balance.  Traffic and parking issues are still a concern and need to be addressed, and questions have been raised over the outside appearance of the building – will it look out of place?  Questions remain over the tower, and residents want clarification on the actual size of the new building and more information about the mortuary.  It’s also clear that the local community would also like more information about the range of activities that take place in the Mosque”.

She concluded:  “Communications is the key.  This has been a genuinely listening meeting and it’s important to keep that dialogue going and continue to treat each others’ views with respect”.

The local EH4 Residents Group has since detailed their concerns in a letter to local politicians and officials. Mosque leaders are expected to respond later this month.

Yummy Food Festival serves up a treat

Last Friday’s first ever Yummy Food Festival proved to be a huge success despite the weather. More than 470 people of all ages attended the event at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, and with a recipe of demonstrations, competitions, arts workshops, drama performances and food tasting everybody went home happy!

As well as that feast of indoor activities there was more on the menu outside – two marquees offered face painting, information stalls, home baking and arts and crafts tables.

The event was organised by local women, assisted by Pilton Community Health Project and the local Community Learning and Development team. Healthy Lifestyles Coordinator Lisa Arnott said:  “We were all very worried when we saw the rain coming down but fortunately that didn’t put too many people off – we are absolutely delighted that so many local people came along to support the event.  The feedback has been great and we would like to thank everyone who played their part in making the day such a success”.

Art’s cool with MYDG at North Edinburgh Arts

Young people from Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG) will be staging an art exhibition at North Edinburgh Arts Centre next week.

The Arts Cool and Urban Arts exhibition opens with a launch event at the arts centre on Thursday 29 March from 5.30 – 7.30pm, and everyone’s welcome!

For further informaiton email joanne@mydg.org.uk or telephone 332 3356.

Art's cool with MYDG at North Edinburgh Arts

Young people from Muirhouse Youth Development Group (MYDG) will be staging an art exhibition at North Edinburgh Arts Centre next week.

The Arts Cool and Urban Arts exhibition opens with a launch event at the arts centre on Thursday 29 March from 5.30 – 7.30pm, and everyone’s welcome!

For further informaiton email joanne@mydg.org.uk or telephone 332 3356.

Local pupils to produce BBC documentaries

Screen Education Edinburgh (formerly Pilton Video) has been working in partnership with BBC on a film project with local young people. The project will give the pupils a taste of film-making and their work will be shown by the BBC.
 The initiative, a partnership between Screen Education Edinburgh and BBC Scotland, will see pupils from Craigroyston Primary, Craigroyston High School and Castlebrae High School learn to produce a five minute documentary film each to be broadcast on the BBC’s website next month.
Graham Fitzpatrick, Screen Education Edinburgh’s  Creative Manager, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for pupils in Edinburgh to learn how to produce their own documentaries. The topics they have chosen are very current – Global Citizenship, Literacy and Olympic Values – and we can’t wait to see the  final results. Our aim is to unearth untapped                  creativity in young people, giving them the knowledge and skills to pursue a lifelong interest in film-making.”

Food for thought at West Pilton

West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre will be home to a new food co-op soon – and they need your help to name the new service.

They’re looking for a catchy name for the Food Co-op, which will sell fresh fruit and vegetables at competitive prices – and there’s a basket of fruit awaiting the winning entry.

To win the prize, pick up and fill in an entry form at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre in West Pilton Grove. Closing date for entries is Wednesday 28 March and the winner will be selected the following day, so get your thinking caps on now!

 

Forthview highlights the many paths to Pilton

Forthview Primary School celebrated the culmination of the year-long ‘Forth Views, Pilton People’ project with a film launch and photo exhibition at the school on 12 March.

The Friends of Forthview parents group received Lottery funding last year to ‘create new opportunities for local children and their families to acquire new skills and develop confidence and self-esteem through participation in exciting and innovative creative activities’. Since then, groups have been working hard on three different elements – and last week’s event was the perfect opportunity to showcase all that they’ve achieved.

Forthview Family Support Worker Tracey Berry (pictured below), who has worked with the group throughout the project, explained: “We carried out three projects which were geared towards the development of a caring tolerant and creative school and community. Adults and children worked together in an intergenerational and multicultural context to explore cultural similarities and differences with a focus on equality. The three projects were:-

Family Storytelling – We had two groups – one group for dads and their children, the other mums and their children. Each group worked to create a story book which can be used as a resource in our school. The adults and children were extremely enthusiastic and have produced three fabulous story books, with amazing themes – children shrinking the dads, children being rescued by mums from Volcano Island and Fairyland! An award from Radio Forth’s “Cash for Kids” allowed us to print many copies of each book.

Family Photography – Carers & children worked together to produce fun and unusual family portraits.

Film Making – This part of the project introduced carers to using digital media as a means of expression. The result was the production of the “Pathways to Pilton” film, which follows the diverse roads our children & their carers have travelled to reach Forthview School.”

It’s been a lot of hard work, but it was worth it and Forthview’s 12 March event proved to be a huge success, with participants joined by friends and family and the wider community too. Forthview’s new school choir got proceedings off to an upbeat start and this was followed by presentations by participants, who talked about what they had learned during the project and what it had meant to them. The premiere screening of the excellent ‘Pathways to Pilton’ film followed and the event was rounded off with an opportunity to visit an exhibition of work carried out during the year-long project and to meet and chat to participants.

There have been many paths to Forthview – no less than 28 different nationalities make up the school community, and others have made their way there following the closures of Inchview, Craigmuir and, more recently, Royston schools. It’s a fascinating story, and one man who has travelled further – and longer – than most is 102 year old Sam Martinez (pictured below), one of the stars of the film. Sam came to the UK from what was formerly British Honduras seventy years ago to help with the war effort – and he’s been here ever since!

The retired forestry worker was joined at the event by granddaughter Stacey and her son Sam, who is a P5 pupil at Forthview (youngest son Jack attends the school’s nursery). Sam’s never had any regrets about leaving home to come to Edinburgh. “The road has been open and smooth – no obstructions. This is a wonderful place”, he said.

North and Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz attended the celebration event. “This has really been a tremendous occasion. The film was very impressive and the exhibition is fascinating. Congratulations to everyone at Forthview – you should be very proud indeed”.

Kevin’s blooming delighted with film funding!

Drylaw film student Kevin Pickering will be going back to the future when he starts filming his latest project next month. Needing funding to support his latest project, the Edinburgh College of Art student turned to new ‘crowd-funding’ website Bloom to appeal for backers – and Kevin’s ‘Wake Up Call’ has become the first project to reach it’s target on Bloom. Now Kevin can revisit a story he first told on an award-winning short film film ten years ago.

Bloom Venture Catalyst is the first crowdfunding platform of its kind in the UK, enabling anyone with an idea, anywhere in the world, to reach out and receive donations from across the globe, using their social networks. The company, which launched last November, offers an alternative route to finance for startups, community projects and social enterprises. Kevin became the first in Scotland to crowdfund his new movie, reaching his target in just four days and going on to raise 46% more than his target by the end of the crowdfunding campaign.

Bloom’s Amanda Boyle said Kevin’s project was a perfect example of how to pitch and run a crowdfunding campaign. She said: “Wake Up Call was a great story told well, and Kev put the effort in to make his campaign a success. He reached out to his friends and family first to ask for their support and create a series of fab rewards. Who wouldn’t want to be credited as Executive Produce on a film? Kev made the connections, put the effort in and reaped the rewards. This project was one destined to win from the outset.”

Kevin was a young Royal High School pupil when he made ‘Wake Me Up’, and he now plans to take up the story where the original tale left off – and he’s tracked down the original cast members to make the sequel.

“I have always been passionate about film and cinema and I was fortunate enough to win an award from First Light to make ‘Wake Me Up’.  We had a budget of £10,000 to make the film – that was a lot of money then; it still is!  Even now it’s the biggest budget I’ve ever worked with. The film premiered at The Odeon cinema in Leicester Square and that was quite a buzz – ‘Wake Me Up’ went down really well”.

Since that 2002 breakthrough, Kevin has gone on to make a succession of critically acclaimed low-budget films, many of which focus on the darker elements of human nature and the criminal underworld.  Now, with funding raised through the Bloom ‘crowd funding’ website, he will make a sequel to the film that set him on the road all those years ago.

“I had been thinking about making a sequel to ‘Wake Me Up’ for a long time, it was always something I wanted to return to at some stage”, he said.  “Due to other filming and college commitments I’ve not really had the time to think about the project in detail, but late last year I wrote a draft script for ‘Wake Up Call’ and decided to seek out funding sources that would allow me to make the new film”.

Kevin pitched his idea on Bloom, a new ‘crowd funding’ website, appealing for financial support.  He set a very small target, looking for only £400, but offers of support steadily rolled in.  When the closing date was reached over £600 had been pledged.

“That might not seem like a lot of money – and nothing like the budget we had for ‘Wake Me Up’, but I have done my sums and, together with the money I am putting in myself, I think that will be enough to make the movie and do it justice.  People, especially family, have been very generous,” Kevin explained. “So much changes in ten years – people change, life changes and I thought it would be interesting so look at how the lives of the main characters in the original film had developed – for better and worse. My idea was to track down as many of the original cast as I could to give the new film a real authenticity, and fortunately every one I contacted agreed to come on board. Rehearsals are under way and I’m very excited about how the new film is developing.”

‘Wake Up Call’ will be shot in Edinburgh next month with the release planned to coincide with the tenth anniversary of ‘Wake Me Up’ in October.

Kevin's blooming delighted with film funding!

Drylaw film student Kevin Pickering will be going back to the future when he starts filming his latest project next month. Needing funding to support his latest project, the Edinburgh College of Art student turned to new ‘crowd-funding’ website Bloom to appeal for backers – and Kevin’s ‘Wake Up Call’ has become the first project to reach it’s target on Bloom. Now Kevin can revisit a story he first told on an award-winning short film film ten years ago.

Bloom Venture Catalyst is the first crowdfunding platform of its kind in the UK, enabling anyone with an idea, anywhere in the world, to reach out and receive donations from across the globe, using their social networks. The company, which launched last November, offers an alternative route to finance for startups, community projects and social enterprises. Kevin became the first in Scotland to crowdfund his new movie, reaching his target in just four days and going on to raise 46% more than his target by the end of the crowdfunding campaign.

Bloom’s Amanda Boyle said Kevin’s project was a perfect example of how to pitch and run a crowdfunding campaign. She said: “Wake Up Call was a great story told well, and Kev put the effort in to make his campaign a success. He reached out to his friends and family first to ask for their support and create a series of fab rewards. Who wouldn’t want to be credited as Executive Produce on a film? Kev made the connections, put the effort in and reaped the rewards. This project was one destined to win from the outset.”

Kevin was a young Royal High School pupil when he made ‘Wake Me Up’, and he now plans to take up the story where the original tale left off – and he’s tracked down the original cast members to make the sequel.

“I have always been passionate about film and cinema and I was fortunate enough to win an award from First Light to make ‘Wake Me Up’.  We had a budget of £10,000 to make the film – that was a lot of money then; it still is!  Even now it’s the biggest budget I’ve ever worked with. The film premiered at The Odeon cinema in Leicester Square and that was quite a buzz – ‘Wake Me Up’ went down really well”.

Since that 2002 breakthrough, Kevin has gone on to make a succession of critically acclaimed low-budget films, many of which focus on the darker elements of human nature and the criminal underworld.  Now, with funding raised through the Bloom ‘crowd funding’ website, he will make a sequel to the film that set him on the road all those years ago.

“I had been thinking about making a sequel to ‘Wake Me Up’ for a long time, it was always something I wanted to return to at some stage”, he said.  “Due to other filming and college commitments I’ve not really had the time to think about the project in detail, but late last year I wrote a draft script for ‘Wake Up Call’ and decided to seek out funding sources that would allow me to make the new film”.

Kevin pitched his idea on Bloom, a new ‘crowd funding’ website, appealing for financial support.  He set a very small target, looking for only £400, but offers of support steadily rolled in.  When the closing date was reached over £600 had been pledged.

“That might not seem like a lot of money – and nothing like the budget we had for ‘Wake Me Up’, but I have done my sums and, together with the money I am putting in myself, I think that will be enough to make the movie and do it justice.  People, especially family, have been very generous,” Kevin explained. “So much changes in ten years – people change, life changes and I thought it would be interesting so look at how the lives of the main characters in the original film had developed – for better and worse. My idea was to track down as many of the original cast as I could to give the new film a real authenticity, and fortunately every one I contacted agreed to come on board. Rehearsals are under way and I’m very excited about how the new film is developing.”

‘Wake Up Call’ will be shot in Edinburgh next month with the release planned to coincide with the tenth anniversary of ‘Wake Me Up’ in October.

Moderator comes to Muirhouse

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend David Arnott, visited Muirhouse St Andrew’s Parish Church on Monday. David met the kids of the Messy Church Monday Group, joining in play activities and showing that he’s a real dab hand at quoits!

Welcoming the Moderator was Muirhouse St Andrew’s locum minister Linda Dunbar.  The pair (pictured below) are old friends – David was Linda’s ‘boss’ when she was in her final year of training for the ministry in St Andrews in 2000.