Artwork designed by Davidsons Mains pupils has been unveiled on the Silverknowes stretch of the Edinburgh Promenade. The plaques are an extension of the existing rubbings trail and aim to provide a fun activity for everyone using the walkway to enjoy.
The designs aim to draw people along the Promenade to collect rubbings of six themed bronze plaques based on the history and heritage of Silverknowes and Granton. It is proposed that the collection is extended to run along the full length of the Promenade in the future.
The plaques were designed by Fearne Halcrow, Ella McNeill and Alexander Priestley from Davidson’s Mains School and the latest designs show Lauriston Castle, an aerial view of Silverknowes and a depiction of Davidson’s Mains Railway. Award-winning local artist Kate Ive translated the original designs into bronze.
Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “The Council is committed to delivering a high quality Promenade between Cramond and Joppa and I look forward to more stages being completed in the future.
“We have done a lot of work recently with the creative sector helping Edinburgh’s economy as well as other city projects. This is a great example involving an award winning local artist from the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
“The Rubbings Trail is a fantastic addition to this stretch of the Promenade, which is now being heavily used by walkers, cyclists and visitors.”
The Edinburgh Promenade runs for 17km and stretches from Cramond in the west to Joppa in the East. As well as forming part of the Scottish Coast Path, it is also part of the North Sea Trail.
Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses following an assault that happened in Wardie Park on Tuesday night (20 August).
The 70-year-old victim is believed to have flagged a taxi on Broughton Street or London Street and then traveled in a silver London Hackney Cab to Wardie Park.
Police are looking to trace the driver of the taxi who may be able to assist with enquiries.
Detective Constable Richard Johnston of Police Scotland said: “This assault was on a vulnerable, elderly man with a medical condition and if anyone has any information they should contact police.
“We are keen to trace the driver of a taxi who may have picked up the victim around the Broughton Street area.”
Police are appealing to anyone with information that can assist their inquiries to contact Police Scotland on 101, or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.
Drylaw’s skate park project has received a major boost wth news of a £100,000 grant from the Scottish Government’s Legacy Active Places fund. Drylaw is one of 40 projects to receive funding from the £2 million programme, it was announced yesterday.
The Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund is part of the Scottish Government’s Commonwealth Games Legacy 2014 programme, which will give communities across Scotland more and better places to be active.
The Drylaw project, which is being managed by Edinburgh and Lothian Greenspace Trust in partnership with Drylaw Telford Commnity Council and Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, will see the creation of a new skate park on the southern part of the existing BMX track in Easter Drylaw Park. The main features will include mini ramp, bowl, open area and rhythm sections.
Communty council chair Alex Dale said: ” This is good news for the project and means we have now secured half of the funding we need. We are now in the process of putting together an application to a Charitable Trust for £50,000:00p and Councillor Lesley Hinds is talks with the city council’s Sport & Physical Activity Department of thCEC and we are hopeful they will fund the remainder.
“At present these are all if and but’s, but with yesterday news announced by the First Minister Alex Salmond this will be the key to open the ‘Pandora Box’ and help to secure these final pieces of funding to allow us to go to the contract tendering stage of the Skatepark Project. Its taken a bit of time but hopefully we are on the way to achieving the park that the youth of Drylaw have pushed hard for.”
The First Minister made the acnnouncements whle visiting the bust of Hawick rugby legend Bill McLaren in Wilton Lodge Park in Hawick, where he confirmed that Bill McLaren Park Ltd has been granted £77,000 to help build three all-weather tennis courts in the town.
Other projects to benefit from the funding include Arbroath Skate Park, Cycle Speedway at Queen Anne High School in Dunfermline, a play park climbing wall in Buchlyvie and a Trim Trail with play equipment at Elphinstone Primary School in East Lothian.
The announcement is the second allocation of funds from the Scottish Government’s £10 million Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund.
The First Minister said:
“Glasgow 2014 will be the largest sporting and cultural event Scotland has ever hosted and with less than one-year to go – there is a great sense of pride and excitement around the Games.
“The investment in this community facility in Hawick – and many others across Scotland – is part of this government’s vision to deliver a lasting legacy through the Games, by improving local facilities and encouraging people to get active, either through sport or something simple like going for a walk.
“The Games coming to Scotland provides an exceptional opportunity to make our nation healthier, help our businesses to prosper and celebrate our modern and vibrant culture both at home and on the world stage.
“Across Scotland local communities will benefit from the Active Places Fund giving people of all ages the opportunity to be part of the excitement created through the Games.”
David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive, said:
“The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is an opportunity to build a legacy in Glasgow, Scotland and across the Commonwealth in jobs, health and sport.
“Within the Organising Committee and alongside our Games Partners, the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Commonwealth Games Scotland, there is a shared sense of purpose and ambition.
“Our focus is to deliver for Glasgow and Scotland an outstanding Games and, beyond that, to leave a powerful legacy well into the future with our showcase for world-class sport having a tangible community relevance.”
Louise Martin CBE, Chair of sportscotland, said:
“sportscotland and the Scottish Government are working closely to deliver a successful sporting legacy from Glasgow 2014, and the Active Places Fund is a key component of that vision.
“Sporting facilities for both performance athletes and local communities are the best they have ever been in Scotland.
“We are well placed to capitalise on the growing captivation surrounding next year’s Games as we continue to expand Scotland’s stock of excellent facilities and provide more and better opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in sport and physical activity.”
Other succesful Edinburgh applicants include Warriston Community Tennis Club, Cramond Parent and Staff Association, Edinburgh Leisure, North Merchiston club, Buckstone Primary School and Drummond Communty High School.
The city council’s new Adult Education programme is now available, offering lots of opportunities to learn something new!
Day, evening and weekend courses start next month and from anthropology or arts and crafts to walks or even writing children’s stories there’s surely something there for you!
For further information on what’s available, call 556 7978, visit your local library or community centre or go towww.edinburgh.gov.uk/adultcourses
New Trust formed to run the Sailing School at Port Edgar
A new trust is being set up to run a Sailing School at Port Edgar following the decision by Edinburgh Leisure to close the Watersports Centre there. The new trust, established by members of the community, plans to become a registered charity and buy the boating assets from Edinburgh Leisure to ensure the activities at Port Edgar can continue.
The trust aims to continue to provide a full range of courses and activities to children, adults, schools, sailing clubs and commercial businesses. It also plans to work closely with local authorities and RYA Scotland in developing its services, particularly for disadvantaged groups.
The trust will be called the Scottish Sailing Trust to demonstrate how convenient and accessible the location is for over 75% of the Scottish population and to demonstrate its aim to cover a wider area than just the local South Queensferry community.
The trustees have applied for a SportScotland grant to part-fund the acquisition of the Edinburgh Leisure assets but it also needs financial support from the public as well as local businesses and clubs to demonstrate the public support it has and to secure its future.
The appeal, which was formally launched yesterday (Tuesday 20 August), aims to raise a minimum of £5,000 and gain grant funding of £5 for every £1 raised.
Edinburgh Western MSP Colin Keir supports the community-led initative. He said: “This is local people taking charge of the situation in a bid to run the school alongside the successful sailing club. Many hundreds of people including youngsters will benefit from this.
“I congratulate the Scottish Sailing Trust for their efforts so far and offer them every assistance to get this great idea off the ground.”
The Travelling Gallery embark on its Scottish tour this Friday (23 August) with ‘THIS LAND’, a new autumn exhibition presenting a beautifully alternative view of the Scottish landscape – and it’s stopping off at Drylaw on it’s travels. You can catch the exhibition at the local centre next Thursday (29 August) afternoon from 2 – 5pm.
Inspired by the Year of Natural Scotland, the Travelling Gallery’s autumn exhibition presents an alternative view of the Scottish landscape, through works by artists with a diverse range of practices.
Exhibits will include paintings by Henry Coombes and a series of works exploring the history, geology and politics of the island of Rockall by Andy Holden. Hannah Imlach uses sculpture and photography to explore new environments and find connections between the landscape and the human body, while Michael Reisch and Iain Sarjeant both show photographs which focus on interaction between natural and man-made environments.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy a complementary programme of films, postcards, sketchbooks and other works to support the exhibition.
The Travelling Gallery is a custom-built, mobile, contemporary art space inside a big beautiful bus. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the City of Edinburgh Council, the Travelling Gallery brings high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events to schools and communities throughout Scotland.
Edinburgh will be the first stop on the gallery’s Scottish-wide tour, stationed in a variety of locations around the Capital between 23 and 30 August.
Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Yet again the Travelling Gallery curators have devised a fascinating exhibition which I am sure will delight crowds across Scotland. As a Council we’re committed to making art and culture as accessible as possible to a variety of people, and what could be more accessible than a mobile gallery? I hope everyone takes the opportunity to pay the Travelling Gallery a visit when it comes to town.”
The Travelling Gallery will be open to the public at the following venues in Edinburgh, as part of Edinburgh Art Festival:
Friday 23 August City Art Centre, Market Street, 11am – 6pm
Saturday 24 August City Art Centre, Market Street, 11am – 6pm
Tuesday 27 August Hawes Promenade, South Queensferry 11am – 5pm
Wednesday 28 August Festival Square, Lothian Road, 11am – 5pm
Thursday 29 August
Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, Groathill Road North 2 – 5pm
Friday 30 August High Street, Portobello 11am – 5pm
The Travelling Gallery will then tour to the following areas:
Muirhouse St Andrews Parish Church and Muirhouse Centipede Project will formally launch the grass Labyrinth which the Centipede Project have installed in the church grounds at a fun day next month.
Linda Dunbar explained: “We are holding a fun day – Enter the Labyrinth – on Saturday 7 September, from 12noon – 3pm in the church grounds.
As well as lots of Labyrinth activities, there will all be the church’s annual community BBQ, teas, bouncy castles (including one big enough to take adults!), free activities, stalls, and a car-boot-stall type section.
Entry will be free, the BBQ and teas will be by donation, the bouncy castles will be 50p a go, and the stalls will have goods for sale. On top of all of this there will be a number of free activities and crafts, AND the will be free helium balloons.
We are also looking for community groups to come along and take advantage of free tables to promote their work, raise funds, meet people etc etc. These spaces are free for community groups, but need to be booked by emailing
This is going to be a great day and we hope lots of folk from the community will come along and share in the fun.
If anyone wants to book one of the car-boot-style tables (the will be NO room on site for cars themselves), they will cost £7, and can be booked by emailing
Tennis fans have reacted with fury on hearing that they will not receive a refund despite play at June’s Champions of Tennis event in Stockbridge being a wash out.
Hundreds of spectators were left drookit – and seriously out of pocket – as the heavens opened and torrential rain poured through a temporary £100, 000 ‘roof’ at Edinburgh Accies’ Raeburn Place stadium. Four hours play was lost as staff tried in vain to mop up the court with towels, and instead of seeing three top quality matches, fans – some of whom paid £100 for the day’s ‘entertainment’ – were served up a shambles.
Play, such as it was, started at 6pm, with match durations slashed to just one set as light deteriorated.
Before the tournament tennis lovers had been promised big names, but in the event they were sorely let down. Fans favourite John McEnroe played one just set, Ivanisevic never even started his game and the third match featuring Mark Philippoussis was also scrapped.
However furious fans have now learned that there will be no refund.
NEN reader Sarah Fox was there. She writes …
‘I’m sure you heard about the disaster that was Brodies Champions of Tennis on the Saturday, you may have even been there yourselves. After nearly two months they have finally some back to ticket holders offering no refund.
With all the profits that a firm like Brodies makes and they take it out on the tennis lovers who were unable to see the tennis due to the completely unsuitable ‘roof’. Please see pathetic response below from the tournament director…..
Dear Ticket Holder
Thank you for supporting Brodies Champions of Tennis and for your patience while we have carried out a thorough review of the inaugural tournament.
We share your frustration at the disruption caused by bad weather on Saturday, June 22, and your disappointment that more tennis was not played within the original match timings. We believed that the purpose-built canopy would allow play to continue in the event of rain. Unfortunately, due to the squally conditions on the day, water did get on to the court and we were advised by the umpire to suspend play to ensure the players’ safety.
Under the terms and conditions of our ticket refund policy, refunds would only be issued if less than 40 minutes of play took place. Despite the adverse weather conditions on Saturday we made every effort to minimise disruption so that fans could see as much tennis as possible. As a result, we were able to put on just under two hours of play on Saturday.
Whist it was disappointing only two hours of tennis were played, disruption due to bad weather is a risk at any outdoor event. No matches were cancelled on Saturday 22 or any of the other days so refunds are not eligible .
We assure you that lessons have been learnt.
Viki Mendelssohn, Tournament Director
Sarah goes on: ‘Anything you can do to help us Saturday ticket holders have a voice and ensuring the tournament feel some consequences from this disaster and therefore making sure this incidence doesn’t happen again would be very much appreciated.’
Chris Ross received the same letter, and he too was less than impressed. He has since responded to the organisers, and told NEN:
“I’m very disappointed with the organisers’ response, both in the inconsistencies and the disingenuous statements it contains. Yes, they can say that no matches were cancelled on Saturday but the McEnroe match was reduced to a set, although it was advertised as the best of three. The Enqvist Ivanisevic match – originally scheduled for the Saturday night – did not take place until the Sunday morning, so presumably Saturday ticket holders would therefore not have been able to get in to watch this match so, from our perspective, it might as well have been cancelled.”
He added: “Somebody made a mistake in relation to the roof, and It may be that the thinking behind the ‘no refunds’ approach is that the negative publicity will blow over and that it will all be forgotten by the time of next year’s tournament. However, there are a lot of very unhappy people and I don’t think they will forget in a hurry. If the organisers really have learned lessons I hope that they will reconsider their current stance and try to achieve a middle ground.”
Chris is still awaiting a reply.
Tournament organisers are understood to be considering a ‘goodwill gesture’, although they have not specified what this might be – perhaps reduced price or even free tickets to next year’s event. Dissatisfied fans, however, are now considering legal action.
