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Emma Thomson is new PASS patron

British superstar and Oscar award winning actress Emma Thompson has become the new face of Edinburgh College’s Performing Arts Studio of Scotland (PASS). ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????The Nanny McPhee and Sense and Sensibility star (pictured above), who is also a screenwriter and well-known human rights activist, has shown her support towards the performing arts arm of Edinburgh College by accepting the honour of being its patron.

Emma Thompson said: “Edinburgh College’sPerforming Arts Studio of Scotlandis an exciting, high octane, cutting edge centre that will attract much of the wealth of talent in Scotland and beyond. I’m very proud to be patron.”

The much-admired British actress became familiar with PASS after meeting Edinburgh College acting and theatre performance lecturer John Naples-Campbell when he was training as a theatre student at the Scottish Youth Theatre in Glasgow.

John said: “I first met Emma when I was 18 years old at the Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT). She came along to the theatre to hold a Q&A session with SYT students and, after listening to her talk about her career in the industry, I felt driven to continue with my career in performing arts – which is why I am anacting and theatre performance lecturer today.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to have Emma Thompson as patron as this means that our training at Edinburgh College is truly recognised by the very best in the industry. We look forward to welcoming her to our productions in the college’s theatre wherever possible, and we hope to work around her schedule to hold workshops with our students.”

John added: “Emma is an inspirational person, not only because of her many Academy Awards, but also because of her work as a human rights ambassador. Her tremendous work on stage and screen gives hope to any young person wishing to pursue a career in the arts and I know that having her as our patron will motivate and inspire our students to reach their full creative potential.”

As one of the world’s most respected actresses, Emma Thompson is known for her versatility in acting as well as screenwriting and she most recently appeared in The Boat That Rocked, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and as the voice of Queen Elinor in the Pixar animation Brave. As well as her work on screen, Emma Thompson also works as an educational ambassador for a UK-based human rights organisation, the Helen Bamber Foundation, to help rebuild the lives of, and inspire a new self-esteem in, survivors of human rights violations.

Edinburgh College offers a selection of dance, acting, technical theatre, costume design, and make up artistry courses.Former graduates from performing arts courses include Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who starred in the BBC’s Doctor Who. Previous students from PASS have also performed live at the O2 Arena and collaborated with Jon Lord at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, and have also performed live on stage with Lady Gaga.

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Channel Four news coming to Edinburgh

Channel 4 News is taking to the road this week with#c4newspopup – travelling from Cornwall to Edinburgh assessing how real the economic recovery actually is through the eyes of local people.

On Friday (23 August), Channel 4 News will be in Edinburgh where presenter Jackie Long (pictured below) will be anchoring the programme live.

JackieLongThroughout the day Jackie and her#c4newspopup team will be meeting the public and interacting live online with workers, businesses and consumers from the region reporting their stories and views on the economy and how it is affecting them.

We want to hear from everyone … from inspirational local figures to complaints over bin strikes; from the hot new local arts centre to the shops which have closed on the high street – we will be reporting all their stories on the programme and across all digital platforms.

We are asking people to get in touch with us with their stories via:

Twitter:@channel4news using the hashtag #c4newspopup

Email:c4newspopup@itn.co.uk

More information:http://www.channel4.com/news/c4-news-pop-up-economic-recovery-economy-british-business-uk

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Unfairly sacked? That’ll be £160, please!

despairWestminster Government introduces fees for employment tribunals

Bringing a claim or an appeal to the employment tribunal is currently free of charge with the full cost being met by the taxpayer, but the government has now introduced fees, claiming that by doing this people using employment tribunals will meet ‘a significant proportion’ of the £84m cost of running the system. Their aim, they say, is to reduce the taxpayer subsidy of these tribunals by transferring some of the cost to those who use the service, while protecting access to justice for all.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) – a taxpayer-funded service to help workers and businesses settle disputes without the need to go to a tribunal – will remain free, but if agreement cannot be reached at that stage and the claim is taken further significant costs will now be incurred.

Workers will have to pay £160 or £250 to lodge a claim and a charge of either £230 or £950 if their case goes ahead.

Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: “It’s not fair on the taxpayer to foot the entire £84m bill for people to escalate workplace disputes to a tribunal. We want people, where they can, to pay a fair contribution for the system they are using, which will encourage them to look for alternatives.

“It is in everyone’s interest to avoid drawn out disputes which emotionally damage workers and financially damage businesses. That’s why we are encouraging quicker, simpler and cheaper alternatives like mediation.”

Critics of the charges argue that the new charges will dissuade many employees from making legitimate claims about workplace discrimination and there is concern that, once again, it is the poorest and most vulnerable that will suffer.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “It is vital that working people have fair access to justice, but introducing fees for tribunals will deter many – particularly those on low wages – from taking valid claims to court. Many of the UK’s most vulnerable workers will simply be priced out of justice.

“The government’s remission scheme to protect low-paid employees is woefully inadequate, and workers will be more likely to be mistreated at work as rogue bosses will be able to flout the law without fear of sanction.”

Responding to a consultation on the controversial proposals, Citizens Advice Scotland’s Kevin Dryburgh said: “Employment tribunals are an essential service for all workers and employers in the UK. It is not just successful claimants who benefit – all employers and workers benefit from a service that protects workers, discourages rogue and exploitative employers, and ensures a level playing field for good employers.

“Far from being a costly burden on employers and tax payers, employment tribunals play a key role for all those in work. Placing barriers to accessing Employment Tribunals will affect the effectiveness of the service in providing this role.”

Trade union UNISON is fighting the fees and has been given permission to seek a judicial review. The hearing will take place in October.bigben

NEN: Council, it’s over to you

NEN_Logo

Council support crucial if the NEN is to be saved

The city council must act to save North Edinburgh News, NEN chairman Martin Hinds told charity walkers before they set out on Saturday’s NEN Walkathon. He said that the council must decide whether or not it supports community newspapers.

The previous Lib Dem/SNP coalition administration ‘disinvested’ in community newspapers in 2011 but there was hope that community newspapers would be relaunched under the new Labour/SNP administration elected in May last year. The Edinburgh Labour council election manifesto promised: ‘We’ll back the re-introduction of community newspapers to strengthen the community voice.’ 

Since then, however, there has been little obvious progress. The city council’s own Outlook newspaper has gone, but support for NEN has so far been limited to grants from local Neighbourhood Partnership Community Grants Fund.

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Speaking before the walkers set off from Edinburgh College in Granton, NEN Chairman Martin Hinds (pictured above) thanked organisers and fundraisers for their efforts but went on: “As long as I’ve been on the Board funding has been an issue and it’s particularly difficult now. The reason for today’s event is both to raise money and to advertise the fact that NEN is struggling”.

He continued: “To ensure NEN’s survival we can’t go from one event to one event to raise funds to produce another edition – we need to have some stability and ensure that adequate funding is in place to make NEN sustainable. We have tried a lot of different things to raise money – and the response from local organisation was tremendous when we put out an appeal for advertising for our latest issue – but we now find ourselves in a position that we must pass this back to our elected members, three of whom are here this morning.

“It’s really a matter now for the council to decide whether they want to support community newspapers or not. It’s a sombre note to end on, but the fact that we are having to do this demonstrates that we are in some difficulty”.

Labour councillors Cammy Day, Lesley Hinds and Vicky Redpath all took part in the Walkathon.

Forth Neighbourhood Partnership convener Cammy Day (pictured below) responded: “All three councillors here support the NEN and there are other councillors in this part of the city who also support the NEN. I would encourage everyone here today to lobby your councillors. There is an opportunity for us to fund the NEN and community newspapers across the city – there is a £50,000 pot of money which has been potentially earmarked for some work around community newspapers and media work; other councillors will be lobbying for that money to go to other areas in the city, so I am urging local people to lobby their councillors in North Edinburgh and tell us that they want more money for the NEN.”

He concluded: “The NEN’s a fantastic paper, well-respected and the only newspaper that tells good news about North Edinburgh. The Board is struggling to keep things going but I am sure that with the support of the local community and local members we can make it happen, but we won’t be doing that alone. So thanks for coming along today to raise some money for the NEN, but this will be continued – it’s clearly very important that we get a chunk of that finance allocation.”

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The next key date for North Edinburgh News is 13 August, when the Board meets to discuss the newspaper’s future.

NEN board member Ann Confrey was one of the main organisers of the Walkathon. Thanking the organisations who opened their doors to the walkers, she said yesterday:

“Many thanks for all your efforts on Saturday, your support and participation was very much appreciated. The walkers enjoyed the mini tours of your facilities and refreshments were gratefully received.

Unfortunately there was a very low turnout with just 20 people (and 2 dogs) walking. As a result we fell a long way short of our target and at this stage it does not look like we raised enough to produce an August/September issue of the newspaper.
The Board members will meet on 13 August to tally up how much was actually raised/pledged and to discuss what options we have available. Thank you once again for showing your support for the North Edinburgh News.”
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NEN Walkathon: just three more posts to go

Walkathon Route Map 3

Just in case you’ve missed one or two previous posts, NEN Walkathon is taking place this Saturday (20 July), leaving from Edinburgh College Granton Campus.

Registration takes place from 9.45am and the Walk starts at 10.30.

NEN boeard member Ann Confrey has helped to organise the event. She said: “I have had a very productive meeting with a group of volunteers who will be assisting on Saturday. There are five ladies, all of whom have experience leading or helping to lead groups of walkers in the North Edinburgh area.

“I have one other volunteer – Clare – who will be manning the registration desk and the college’s lovely Jen Kelly will be ensuring that refreshments, information and ample space are provided for the registration process.”
 
So everything’s in place – all we need now are the local walkers to help make the NEN Walkathon a day to remember!
 
 
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Walkathon: seconds out!

CreweTollWalk

2013 WALKATHON SPONSOR FORM

The NEN Walkathon is just four days away now – I hope your rigorous training regime, like mine, is holding up in this tropical weather …

Another alternative route to consider:

THE TIPPLER’s TRAIL

Local legend Big Boab Baxter
Local legend Big Boab Baxter

I could regale you with the tale of the Boswall Battler – Big Boab Baxter, the barefist bruiser – but I will save that story for another day. Instead, here’s are the watering holes that make up the historic Tippler’s Trail:

Telford Arms, Telford Road

The Doo’cot, Ferry Road

Ferry Boat, Ferry Road

The Gunner, Pennywell Road

The Anchor, West Granton Road

For seasoned drinkers walkers you could add detours into Davidson’s Mains and/or continue beyond the Anchor to The Old Chain Peir and beyond … each tavern is a new adventure!

Cheers!

WALKATHON ROUTE

Walkathon Route Map 3