Blackhall Mosque is holding a family fun day with loads of fun activities for all the family at the Mosque on Saturday 23 June from 2 – 6pm. All welcome.
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Telford Graduate films hit the heights
‘Curtain up! Dim the lights! We got nothing to hit but the heights!’ That was the blurb in the Edinburgh Filmhouse programme and Wednesday’s showing certainly lived up to it’s billing. Telford’s HND Creative Industries Television course graduation show will be the last ever – Edinburgh colleges merge this autumn – but this years’ students ensured that the final programme would be just as memorable as those that have gone before.
With drama, documentaries, animations and adverts the films covered a broad spectrum and provided a perfect showcase of the students’ talents. From the atmospheric opening drama ‘Hungover’ to final action film ‘The Street Fighter’ the theme was quality throughout.
There were some amazing ideas and imagination on show. A special mention to Emma Murray’s animation ‘Big Gus’, an everyday tale of a pair of pants! and Lewis Kyle, whose ‘You’re Dead’ provided the ‘shock horror’ gross moment of the evening! Michael Dobb’s ‘The Sound of Scent’ was a beautifully constructed documentary while Eve Jarron provided some light relief with ‘At Home With Dr. Devious’.
Winner of the Crtics Award, however, was Jack Kyle’s experimental movie ‘Gone But Not Forgotten’ (pictured above). Gloomy urban landscapes in Granton and Seafield shot from a moving vehicle, superb soundtrack … dark, desolate but very effective and a worthy winner.
Congratulation to all this year’s contributors – who knows what next year will bring, but it’s clear that the class of 2012 may now be gone, but certainly won’t be forgotten. Well done, everyone.
Inverleith Park gears up for Moonwalk 2012
The Arabian Nights will come to sedate old Inverleith Park tomorrow night with all the exotic mystery of the East – yes, it’s Moonwalk 2012!
Thousands of women – and more than a few men, too – will walk either the Full Moon (26.2 miles) or the Half Moon. As always, everybody will be wearing brightly decorated bras and this year’s theme is ‘Midnight at the Oasis’; organisers breast cancer charity Walk the Walk are looking forward to seeing some exotic and exciting creations!
Since the first MoonWalk Edinburgh in 2006, this iconic night has brought together ordinary women and men, not just from Scotland but from all over the World, to achieve an extraordinary personal challenge, whilst raising money to improve the lives of cancer patients in Scotland. With the support of over 60,000 walkers over the last 6 years, this one evening has raised in excess of £14 million and over £2 million in 2011 alone.
One in eight women in the UK are expected to experience some form of breast cancer, and statistics show that this type of cancer has accelerated faster in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. Reports also show that 42% of all breast cancers could potentially be prevented by reducing alcohol intake, making changes to diet, becoming more active and, most mportantly, maintaining a healthy weight. Joining a Walk the Walk challenge for many is often that first, all-important step towards making vital life changes.
Organiser and founder of Walk the Walk, Nina Barough, said: “The MoonWalk Edinburgh is a very special night, not only for all the wonderful Scottish energy that unites us in this common bond, but I love and cherish the fact that we are making such a difference to the lives of so many people in Scotland with cancer, not just in the main cities but from coast to coast including people living in the Highlands and Islands. It really is a night when everybody can help to make a difference, not only towards their own health but the lives of many. It is probably the most dynamic and awe-inspiring night that you could experience.”
Walk the Walk’s volunteer team could use some extra help on the big night. Their appeal:
‘We really need your help to recruit more smiling faces to act as route marshals to guide, cheer and encourage our walkers round the route. We are also looking for some early morning drivers to patrol the route and respond to calls to pick up and transport marshals or walkers who can no longer continue their walk. Finally, perhaps you are a keen cyclist – you could be part of one of our cycle teams, supporting the static marshals and lending comfort and safety to walkers who may find themselves on their own or struggling. If you can help please come along to Inverleith Park from 2 pm on Saturday and we’ll sign you up. Whatever time you can come, we’ll find you something to do!! AND it’s great FUN!!’
Election Update
Latest result:
Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart: Burns (Lab), Corbett (Green), Key (SNP).
State of play so far:
SNP – 10, LAB – 8, CON – 7, LD – 3, GRN – 2. Thirty councillors elected so far, 28 to go!
Chance to chat to community cops
We hope this will be a chance for residents to informally meet their local community Police Officers and raise any questions or concerns they may have.”.
Rare micropig discovered in Drylaw
A rare ‘micropig’ has been discovered in a Drylaw garden. The tiny beast is barely two inches long, and it’s thought that ‘Babe’ may have journeyed for days to reach his destination.
A Drylaw man, who asked not to be named, said: “I was out early to start work in the garden this morning when I came upon what I thought at first was a snail. On closer inspection it turned out to be a tiny pig – I was astonished!”
Micropigs have become very popular as unusual family pets and it’s thought that this is one who got away.
“I understand there’s a bloke over in Ravelston who breeds micropigs and it could just be that this wee chap escaped from there”, said the pig’s finder. “If I can’t track down the owner, I’ll keep the pig and I’m calling him – or her, it’s too wee to tell – Babe. I’m hoping to teach the pig how to do wee tricks. I don’t think they grow very big so for the moment I’ll make up a wee bed in a matchbox and take it from there”.
A local vet said: “This is quite fascinating. If the animal did indeed travel from Ravelston all the way to Drylaw, that’s a huge trek for such a wee beast – it could have taken weeks and would have been fraught with danger. The Drylaw micropig certainly has a fascinating ‘tail’ to tell!”.
If you’ve lost a micropig please let us know.
FAST work at Craigroyston!
The Craigroyston Primary School community celebrated last week when participants in the FAST programme received certificates following the completion of the project. Friends and families were joined by senior Children and Families officer Maureen Bryce and Save the Children’s Douglas Hamilton at the ‘graduation ceremony’.
Craigroyston was first school in the city to launch FAST, an innovative eight week programme which aims to help children to succeed at home, in school and in their communities by building strong relationships.
FAST – Family and Schools Together – is an evidence-based programme that has been shown to help children become successful learners. The FAST programme provides learning opportunities for children to develop confidence, take responsibility and contribute to the family, school and the wider community. The programme promotes an ethos of acceptance, trust, and respect and research has shown that FAST activities promote family communication, stability and cohesion.
Craigroyston Depute Head Teacher Ann Gallagher explained: “The team who run FAST is made up of school staff, parents, community workers and volunteers. The team goes through two days of training before running the eight week programme – the final week is a ‘Graduation ceremony’ to which special guests are invited. The idea comes from America and the sessions are made up of activities which involve families doing things together. The children then have ‘kids time’, where various activities are organized only for the children – things like sports activities, arts and crafts, ICT, and story time – and this means the parents can then have ‘parents time’ where the adults have a chance to talk together.”
She went on: “The main activity after that is called ‘special play’ when the adult has 15 minutes of uninterrupted one-to-one time to enjoy playing with one child in their family with special play resources. Groups are focused round 3 ‘hubs’ which have approximately 10 families in each, and one family each week provides a meal for their ‘hub’. It is targeted at children between the ages of three to eight but siblings can come along too.”
The programme proved very popular with participants. Mum Tina has two boys at Craigroyston and she really enjoyed the experience. “It’s really been amazing”, she said. “You spend time with the bairns and time with other adults too. I think I enjoy it more than the kids do! It’s so important to be able to spend time ‘one on one’ – it’s helping us a lot”.
Kerry – who has children at nursery and in school – agreed. “It’s been great, really good fun. I’ve had a lot of laughs with the other mums and I’m really glad we have taken part. We’ve all learned quite a lot and I hope they run the programme again”.
Save The Children’s Douglas Hamilton said: “The project has clearly been a great success and it’s been a pleasure to have been here to join in the celebrations. Well done to everyone who has been involved in the programme – it’s a fantastic achievement”.
Granton sur Mer will sink without community support
Plans to revitalise derelict land on the waterfront will collapse without the support of the local community, organisers have warned. JUMP (Joined Up Master Planning) organised a public meeting in Telford College last week to harness support for their plans – but only six members of the public attended.
JUMP’s vision for Granton’s waterfront – plans include a lido, a garden festival and an artist’s village – have been on the table for two years now, but it’s been a saga of frustration with no tangible progress. JUMP received lottery funding last year to conduct a local consultation exercise, and Thursday’s meeting was seen as an opportunity to update the local community and take the project on to the next stage. With only a handful of people attending, however, organisers are being forced to rethink their strategy.
Architect Ross McEwan, JUMP’s project manager, said: “Granton Sur Mer is a real opportunity to do something creative with derelict land that is currently lying idle. We have come forward with these ideas – ideas that will bring employment, money and leisure opportunities not just to North Edinburgh but the whole city. Our business plan stacks up and it’s so frustrating that we have been unable to take these ideas forward”.
Ross and partner Shaeron Averbuch recently visited Chaumont sur Loire in France and have seen what can be achieved. He is convinced that, with community support, Granton Sur Mer can become a reality.
“We are a very small community group and we just don’t have the resources for big marketing and public relations campaigns. There are things we could maybe have handled better but it has been very hard to get our message out. We really want to work with local people on these plans – nothing is written on tablets of stone, the project name could change if people don’t like it, our ideas for the land could be adapted if the community comes up with alternatives. But what we really need now is for local residents to show their support for the project – if they don’t, the idea is basically dead and we believe that would be a massive missed opportunity for this community”.
JUMP needs to attract local members to keep their waterfront vision alive. If you support the project’s aims or would like further information, telephone 551 2341 or email info@jump-projects.co.uk. An on-line petition can also be accessed at www.granton-sur-mer.co.uk
Good hair day at Telford
Level Three Hairdressing students let their hair down and imaginations run wild when they took part in a creative theme day at Edinburgh’s Telford College earlier this week.
Students planned their themes using ‘mood boards’ then set to work to create their styles on live models with the help of make-up artist student colleagues. Themes on the day included Tribal, Urban, Fashion, Weddings, Alice in Wonderland – and even the Eiffel Tower! The students’ work was then photographed for their portfolios.
Instructor Karen Dyer said: “This is a popular unit and a lot of work and imagination goes in to these themes. Today’s session helps students to plan and develop ideas and we have some very creative hairdressers here at Telford”.
Forthview to celebrate Pathways to Pilton
Forthview Primary School will celebrate the culmination of the year-long Pathways to Pilton project with a video and photo exhibition at the school next month (12 March). The event will mark the end of what has been a remarkably successful project which has captured the imaginations of the young and not so young alike!
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 on three different elements.
Forthview Family Support Worker Tracey Berry, 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 “Cash for Kids” allowed us to print many copies of each book.
Family Photography: Carers and 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. A film called “Pathways to Pilton” has been produced which follows the diverse roads our children & their carers have travelled to reach Forthview School.”
It’s a fascinating journey, and all roads will lead to Forthview next month when the school will host a 12 March event to share what the families have learnt and celebrate the success of these projects with the school and the wider community. The families will talk about the project and there will be a screening of the ‘Pathways to Pilton’ Film.