From Next Week we will be running our Easter Programme, please read carefully as some groups and times are different from their usual!
To attend, all children and young people must have a completed consent form – if you have done this from September 2024 you will be covered.
Parents/Guardians will be contacted by staff to confirm spaces on trips, please do not send your child to a trip if you have not been spoken to as they will be unable to attend.
PY Lunches will be on Mon-Fri during the two week holiday, NOT including Friday 18th and Monday 21st – These lunches are for children and young people only.
Modular building will provide essential services for local community until longer-term solution agreed
A new temporary library is being proposed at Davidson’s Mains Primary School, providing Blackhall Library’s key services while plans are developed for a long-term replacement for the previous building at Hillhouse Road.
Blackhall Library has been closed since September 2023, following the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RACC).
Options to replace the RAAC in the longer term are complex due to the extent of work required, the potential costs and the wider condition of the building.
The Council’s latest budget, agreed last month, includes a planned £15m to sustainably replace Blackhall Library.
A 12-week community engagement exercise will open after the Easter break to consider options (including refurbishing the existing building, rebuilding it or relocating to another site) to help find the preferred longer-term solution.
It is estimated it could take three to four years to deliver the final solution.
A mobile library service has been provided since Blackhall Library’s closure, but the limited space means it isn’t possible to deliver the full range of library services that residents expect.
The new temporary building is planned to open in the autumn, with construction works beginning in the summer break to avoid disruption to the school.
It will include provision for both children’s and adult libraries alongside dedicated areas for teens, studying and a multi-purpose meeting space. The building will be fenced off from the rest of the school site with segregated access. Opening hours are still to be determined, but will be different from school hours to prevent congestion at the start and end of the school day.
A number of improvements are also proposed at Davidson’s Mains Primary School as part of the scheme. These include improving the path outside the existing school gate and library site entrance to address concerns around congestion, cutting back hedges blocking the pavement opposite the school, and improving the junction crossing point either side of school entrances with a new continuous footway to make this safer for pedestrians. Parking restrictions immediately outside the school boundary will also be strengthened.
Further improvements to the school and wider area are being considered and a working group involving the project team, the school management team and parent council representatives has been established for the duration of the project.
Councillor Val Walker, Culture and Communities Convener, said: “We know how important it is that people across Blackhall and Davidson’s Mains have access to quality local services in places that are convenient and accessible for them.
“That’s why we’re proposing a temporary library at Davidson’s Mains Primary School until a long term solution can be delivered. At the same time, we’re improving access around the school site to create a safer environment for everyone.
“We want to make sure the school and local community are involved in how the service is delivered and the types of activities that will take place at the replacement library. The school will be able to make use of the facility, and we hope that the closer relationship with the school will bring wider benefits for learning for all.
“We also want to ensure that the longer-term solution delivers the best possible outcome for everyone who uses these services, and we look forward to hearing from residents and people across the local community when we launch our consultation on the full replacement for Blackhall Library in the spring.”
The Council is submitting a Planning Application for the temporary facility. The working group, with the school and Parent Council representatives, will continue throughout the process of delivering the temporary library facility and associated improvements.
Wider community engagement and consultation on the longer-term solution for the library will commence after the Easter break, with details to be published in due course.
The East Retail Crime Task Force has launched following increased offending against retailers.
Two women (both 42) arrested in separate incidents will appear in court facing 25 charges including theft, police assault, breach of bail and offences against retail workers.
Health Secretary Neil Gray has set out how the Scottish Government plans to improve access to treatment, reduce waiting times and shift the balance of care from hospitals to primary care through the publication of the Operational Improvement Plan.
Through the additional £200 million investment contained in the Budget to reduce waiting times and improve flow through hospital, we will create 150,000 extra appointments and procedures using greater use of regional and national working.
By introducing a seven-day service in radiology, using mobile scanning units and additional recruitment, 95% of referrals will be seen within six weeks by March 2026, reducing backlogs in MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures.
To improve flow in acute hospitals and support increases in community care, we will expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026, meaning the service, which provides hospital level care in the comfort of the patients home, will become the biggest hospital in Scotland.
By this summer there will be specialist staff in frailty teams in every A&E department in Scotland. Flow Navigation Centres, which direct patients to the most appropriate service for their condition, will be able to refer patients to more services, reducing the number of people who have to wait in A&E.
Investment in primary care will make it easier for people to see a doctor, dentist, optometrist or community pharmacist, and £10.5 million will be invested in general practice to take targeted action to prevent heart disease and frailty.
Digital services will be expanded to modernise services and improve efficiency, with the Digital Front Door app launching in Lanarkshire in December. This launch will be followed by a national roll-out in 2026, allowing people to securely access their hospital appointments, receive communications and find local services. Over time it will be expanded to include social care and community health services.
On a visit to Kirklands Hospital’s Flow Navigation Centre, Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “This plan details how the Scottish Government will deliver a more accessible NHS, with reductions to long-waits and the pressures we currently see. It shows how we will use the £21.7 billion health and social care investment in the 2025-26 Budget to deliver significant improvements for patients.
“We want to increase the number of appointments, speed up treatment and make it easier to see a doctor. By better using digital technology, we will embrace innovation and increase efficiencies.
“This plan is ambitious but realistic, and builds on the incredible work of our amazing health and social care staff across our health boards, to deliver real change.”
If candidates choose to return by hand or by post please ensure sufficient time is allowed for the nomination form to be received before the deadline at 4pm on Thursday 17 April 2025.
Nominations close at 4pm onThursday 17 April 2025.
If successful, candidates will be required to sign a Declaration of Acceptance at the first community council meeting declaring that, having been elected to the office of Community Councillor they
accept the office
undertake that they will fulfil the duties of office according to the best of their judgement and ability
Community Council election timescales (for the above 8 Community Councils)
Here is a breakdown of the important dates:
nomination period runs from 27 March 2025 until 17 April 2025. This is when candidates can nominate themselves to stand for election as a community councillor for one of the 8 community councils detailed above.
Poll date (if needed) will be 15 May 2025. A poll will only be held in a community council area if there are more people nominated than places on the community council.
new community council term will start on 28 March 2025. It will last four years.
The other 39 community councils in Edinburgh received sufficient nominations to form during the previous nomination period and have had their election results published and will establish once the new terms starts on 28 March 2025.
Staff and residents at Strachan House and sister home, Queens Manor in Edinburgh are celebrating because their wonderful Regional Directors, Wendy McGowan and Dannie Tsoneva, from Barchester’s North East and Scotland Division, are stepping completely out of their comfort zones to compete in the Barchester Charitable Foundation Cook Off 2025.
Swapping their business suits for chefs’ whites, Dannie and Wendy are going head-to-head with two Regional Directors from each of Barchester’s four other divisions to cook up a storm and raise a vital funds for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation.
The Foundation helps connect vulnerable people and those living with a disability to community groups in their local area by providing grants to improve mobility and quality of life.
Each year the Foundation distributes thousands of pounds to individuals, small community groups and charities across England, Scotland and Wales. In 2024 the Foundation achieved a donation milestone of £335,000 which enabled the charity to provide vital help to a staggering 239 small groups and charities, plus 104 individuals in one year alone.
Wendy and Dannie are keeping their cards very close to their chests regarding what they will be cooking but they have been practising hard!
Wendy comments: “Dannie and I are passionate about the Foundation and we’re both relishing the chance to be able to raise funds and give back.
“I’d class myself as a solid home cook so I think we’ll go for a classic menu and all will be well!”
General Manager of Strachan House care home, Fran Fisher said: “We are all so proud of Wendy and Dannie for taking part in this challenge, they really are amazing – is there nothing they can’t do!They will raise so much money for the Foundation, we think they are absolute super stars!
Edinburgh restaurant Eve, based in the heart of the Cowgate, is launching an authentically Italian dining experience in the city, with a new concept created by its head chef who was born and raised in Rome.
The venue, located within in the heart of the city’s Old Town, is embarking on the exciting new chapter with the brand new menu filled with a handpicked list of mouthwatering classic dishes “just like Nonna used to make”.
All featuring prestigious, authentical Italian ingredients, they include the signature “Eve carbonara”, this indulgent dish is made for sharing and will leave diners wanting more.
The new concept is the brainchild of the restaurant’s Head Chef Giulio Morroni, who was taught to cook by his family, including his grandmother, in the Italian capital.
He deepened and refined his skills by attending a cookery-focused school in the city from the age of 13 to 18, boosted by his travels around Italian eateries. After completing his catering diploma, he secured a prestigious job as chef in the Vatican City cooking for the Pope.
Chef Giulio came to Scotland in 2009, with his now wife, and in 2022 he joined Virgin Hotels, at its Edinburgh location that had embarked on a soft launch earlier that year.
The culinary expert, who has led kitchens at various high-end names in Scottish hospitality, has now put together the new menu for Eve that will officially debut on Friday 28 March. It marks a more focused concept for the restaurant that previously offered a global range of dishes.
Diners will be transported on a journey spanning the regions of Italy. Ingredients include Gorgonzola cheese from the north of the Mediterranean country, and Njuda from Calabria in the South.
Pasta at Eve will be made fresh on the premises, including homemade ravioli with ricotta, lemon zest, chives, and butter sauce.
HeadChef GiulioMorroni said:“When I was about six, Nonna used to make ravioli, and it was the meal on Sunday that brought the family together.”
The Eve carbonara, made with mafaldine (curly ribbon) pasta, guanciale (pork cheek), pecorino, and egg yolk, and designed to share, also has strong sentimental attachment for the chef.
He said: “Eve will be cooking with the traditional three ingredients – just like my Nonna used to make – and the only way to do it, in my opinion. It’s the signature dish, we have on Sunday, all together.
“In Rome, pasta carbonara is like a religion. It’s just what we do.”
Other proudly Roman dishes on the menu include roast pork belly, slow cooked with rosemary, fennel seeds, and garlic. “It reminds me of my childhood, and Mamma and Nonna cooking in the kitchen,” says Giulio.
Among dessert options is tiramisu served in a moka pot, another example of the chef’s signature twists on classic dishes.
Learning the art of a perfect tiramisu is in fact one of the restaurant’s fun group classes on offer, also including pasta-making and cheese-tasting.
Regarding the launch of the new restaurant concept at Eve, Morroni said: “I am extremely excited to be launching this menu that connects my native Italy with my adopted home of Scotland.
“Becoming a chef just happened – it’s not just a job for me, it’s a passion – I am so happy and proud to be able to share this with you.
“I’m so happy, I can bring my food to Cowgate. I really love this menu, it tastes like home. I’m so proud.
Eve’s main entrance is on the Cowgate in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
For more information on how to book and to view the full menu please see website:https://eveedinburgh.com/.
13-year-old Eilidh has won with her sweet image of dog Lexie
A young teen from Scotland has been named winner of the RSPCA’s Young Photographer People’s Choice Award after securing over 1,000 votes.
15 images were shortlisted in the awards from children and young people across the UK who were all vying for the public vote. Eilidh Shannon, 13, from Inverurie, was the stand-out winner with her photo ‘Keeping a Look Out’ which shows spaniel Lexie poking her head out of the cat flap.
Eilidh said: “I’m so pleased to have won the People’s Choice Award. It’s an incredible feeling! My dogs are like best friends and I find that you can just sit next to them and whether happy or sad they’re there for you, they’re so lovely and kind. Lexie always likes to know what’s going on. If I go out into the garden without her she can’t bear it if she is not allowed to come too. She uses the cat flap to keep a close eye on me!”
Andrew Forsyth, RSPCA photographer and judge of the RSPCA’s Young Photographer Awards, added: “This photo captured the hearts of the public and captured Lexie’s personality and her love for Eilidh perfectly. The image is a very worthy winner!
“We’d urge all budding young photographers to please keep an eye out for the opening of submissions to the competition this year, or you can register your interest now at YPA25@rspca.org.uk and we’ll send you full information when we launch.”
The other shortlisted images were:
‘Spotted, the young lady’ featuring a ladybird larvae, photographed by Flynn Thaitanunde-Lobb, aged 10, from Hampshire
‘Paws’ features a cat’s paws as they climb a tree taken by Megan Smith, 12, from Edinburgh
‘Hungry Fish’ featuring a carp, by Tom Wiseman, aged 15, from Kent
‘The Portal’ featuring a reflection of a dog by Iceni Newcombe, aged 15, from Kent
‘The elegant slug’ featuring an image of a slug at a waterfall in Whitby, taken by Eva Steel, aged 14, from Cornwall
‘Frisbee Lion’ shows dog Betsie catching a frisbee, taken by George Avery, aged 12, from Cornwall
‘It Lurks’ shows a jellyfish at an aquarium, snapped by Ellie Tsang, aged 17, from London
‘Behind the Leaves’ features cat Luna hiding in bushes snapped by Eliza Harvey-Keightley, aged 14, from Surrey
‘3,2,1…Go!’ shows Emily the cat mid-run, snapped by last year’s YPA winner Anwen Whitehead, 15, from Wales
‘Biscuit?’ features dog Herb as he rests his chin on a table desperate for a treat, by Henrietta Stewart, aged seven, from Bedfordshire
‘Funny Face’ shows dog Jess pulling a face as she tries to catch a ball, by Ella Moakler-Woodhouse, aged 10, from Leeds
‘Beautiful Moth’ shows a moth perched on a window and taken by Rehana Nelson, aged 15, from Staffordshire
‘Star Catching’ features dog Robin on an evening walk, by Grace Marshall, aged 18, from West Sussex
Entries for the main RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2025 will open on Tuesday, 6 May and will be judged by a panel of photographic experts.
POLICE are continuing to appeal for information to help trace Coen Bust, two weeks on since he was reported missing.
Mr Bust, 47, travelled to the Dunkeld area by train from Edinburgh on Thursday, 13 March. There have been no confirmed sightings since he arrived at Dunkeld train station at 10.18am.
Police officers were at Edinburgh Waverley and Dunkeld train stations yesterday to speak to commuters and try to get more information about Mr Bust’s whereabouts. Anyone who has any information is urged to get in touch.
Mr Bust is described as white, of heavy build, with a long, grey beard. He is thought to be wearing a mustard-yellow jacket and carrying a rucksack and a red/orange metal water bottle.
Inspector James Longden, Blairgowrie Police Office, said: “Since Mr Bust was reported missing, we have carried out extensive and specialist searches and enquiries across the area, but unfortunately, we have not yet been able to trace him.
“Two weeks on these searches continue in the Dunkeld and Birnam areas and we are continuing to ask for any information that could help us locate him.
“Anyone with any information of where Mr Bust is or could be should call Police Scotland on 101 and quote reference 2616 of Thursday, 13 March.”
Popular Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy has passed away
Following the news of the sad passing of Christina McKelvie MSP, the Scottish Government Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP, said: “I am devastated to learn of the passing of Christina McKelvie – one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met in my life.
“In all the years since I first met Christina, I have been so grateful to call her my friend and colleague and to benefit from her warmth and loyalty.
“Christina was fiercely proud of her Easterhouse roots, and she often spoke of how injustices her family experienced in her childhood had inspired her to join the trade union movement and enter elected politics.
“In her almost two decades as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, Christina put her values into action. Whether it was helping her constituents in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, serving as a highly-respected committee convenor, or in the Ministerial posts she held, Christina was always a fierce champion for equality, social justice, for Scottish independence and for a better world.
“But for all her many political achievements, Christina was first and foremost deeply committed to her family. Everyone could see the joy that she and her partner Keith brought to each other’s lives, and she spoke so often over the years of her pride for her sons, and more recently her immense joy at becoming a granny.
“In recent years, when Christina returned to Parliament after treatment for breast cancer, she was determined to help those around her – using her platform to encourage women to check themselves and go to screening appointments.
“The Scottish National Party has lost one of its finest, and I have lost an outstanding Minister in my government. I know her loss will be felt right across the Parliament and among the countless constituents she supported over the years. Christina was such a big-hearted woman, with compassion and social justice at her core. Her political allies and opponents would agree – she truly was a force of nature.
“Today, my thoughts and prayers are with Keith, her sons Jack and Lewis and her wider family and many friends.”
Our Easter Programme is here!! 
From Next Week we will be running our Easter Programme, please read carefully as some groups and times are different from their usual!
To attend, all children and young people must have a completed consent form – if you have done this from September 2024 you will be covered.
Parents/Guardians will be contacted by staff to confirm spaces on trips, please do not send your child to a trip if you have not been spoken to as they will be unable to attend.
PY Lunches will be on Mon-Fri during the two week holiday, NOT including Friday 18th and Monday 21st – These lunches are for children and young people only.
