Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council are hosting this free Home Energy Scotland event at Edinburgh Academy this evening.
Find out how you can make your home more energy efficient and save money on your fuel bills.
The event starts at 7pm.
TORY MPs ANNOUNCE CRUCIAL VOTE OF CONFIDENCE AT 6pm TONIGHT
Road Policing officers are appealing for information following a fatal road crash on the A1 near to Macmerry, East Lothian. The incident happened shortly after midnight on Sunday, 5 June, 2022, and involved a taxi and a pedestrian.
Emergency services attended and the 28-year-old pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene. His family have been informed. The driver of the car was not injured.
Sergeant Barry Sommerville said: “Our thoughts are very much with the man who died.
“Our enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances and I am appealing for anyone who may have seen anything that could assist us to get in touch.
“I would also appeal to anyone who was in the area around the time and who has a dashcam to check their footage.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 0026 of 5 June, 2022.
Leading Scottish social enterprise, Scran Academy, has embarked on The Big Scran Care Tour, a six-month tour of more than 100 social care sites across Edinburgh to deliver a token of ‘foodwill’ to as many as 4500 health and social care workers across the city, in celebration of their hard work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The youth charity based in North Edinburgh is delighted to be teaming up with Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership and Edinburgh City Council’s Thrive Edinburgh for The Big Scran Care Tour.
The essential funding has enabled Scran’s young people and staff to prepare and deliver either Scran Munchy Boxes, a Scran Lunch Table, or hot meals from the Scran Van to workers at 73 GP surgeries and 30 social care sites across the city, with more sites being scheduled.
Working with Scran Academy’s innovative business model, the Big Scran Care Tour is being co-designed and enabled with a team of inspiring young people at its heart. All the young people engaged have faced poverty-related barriers or life challenges such as care-experienced, risk of homelessness, poor mental health, disengaged from mainstream school or unemployment.
Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership Staff Wellbeing Group decided to use some of the funding allocated by The Scottish Government to engage Scran Academy to provide celebratory treat meals and snack boxes delivered on-site to GP practices, health centres, community hospitals and community care services to say a huge thank you to staff for their commitment, dedication and hard work during the pandemic.
Dr Linda Irvine Fitzpatrick, the staff wellbeing lead for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “Thrive Edinburgh has a long-standing partnership with Scran Academy. They have an exceptional model that is a win win for all involved, and by partnering with them, all we’ve done is extend it to a win win win!
“It’s fantastic to be able to use our staff wellbeing fund in a way that delivers benefits to all, and we’re already receiving fantastic feedback and thanks from all colleagues who have been visited by the Scran team so far.”
This pioneering programme of events will see young people empowered with the skills and confidence to lead in the hospitality industry, fostering huge social return as well as promoting staff wellbeing.
Will Bain, Scran Academy Catering Manager, said: “The Big Scran Care Tour is such an exciting programme for the young people we work with. They get involved in everything, helping us to plan, cook, deliver and evaluate the whole thing, so each event on the tour is something they really get behind.
“It’s such a big confidence and skills boost – and when they meet the healthcare staff and get great feedback, they know they’ve achieved something meaningful.”
Faye (15), a Scran Academy attendee, said: “I like working on the van and it makes me feel happy that I am doing it to say a big thank you to all the hardworking doctors and nurses”
Kacey (15), a Scran Academy attendee, added: “I think it’s really good that we get to talk to all the healthcare staff when we serve them. I think we do a really good job.”
Some key dates on the Big Scran Care Tour:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital – 8th June
Ferniehill Surgery – 10th June
Links Medical Centre – 13th Jul
Inchview Care Home – 5th Aug
Eyre Medical Practice – 25th Aug
Astley Ainsley Hospital – 16th Sep
Craigmillar Medical Group – 21st Sep
Sighthill Green Medical Practice – 13th Oct
A near total ban on the import, export and dealing of items containing elephant ivory comes into force today (6th June), putting the UK at the forefront of global conservation efforts.
Elephants are commonly targeted for their ivory tusks and the demand for ivory is known to contribute to poaching, driving a decline in elephant populations. The ban will ensure vital protection for the world’s elephants by putting a stop to the UK trade in ivory.
The ban covers ivory items of all ages, not only those produced after a certain date, allowing only a narrowly defined set of exemptions. As a result, it will now be illegal to deal in ivory items unless they have been registered or have an exemption certificate.
The number of elephants free in the wild has declined by almost a third, with the savanna elephant population plummeting by around 30 percent – equal to 144,000 elephants – across 15 African countries between 2007 and 2014. It’s estimated around 20,000 are also still being slaughtered annually because of the global demand for ivory.
The UK’s world-leading Ivory Act is one of the toughest bans on elephant ivory sales in the world, with some of the strongest enforcement measures. Those found guilty of breaching the ban will face tough new penalties including an unlimited fine or up to five years in jail.
Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said: “The world-leading Ivory Act coming into force represents a landmark moment in securing the survival of elephants across the globe for future generations.
“Thousands of elephants are unnecessarily and cruelly targeted for their ivory every year for financial gain. As one of the toughest bans of its kind, we are sending a clear message the commercial trade of elephant ivory is totally unacceptable.
“The UK has long led the way in conservation and our ban shows continued global leadership in doing all we can to protect the world’s most endangered species.”
Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free: “Born Free has long campaigned for an end to all trade in ivory, so we are pleased to finally welcome the UK’s Ivory Act.
“Its implementation must now be sufficiently robust to ensure only items that genuinely meet the exemption criteria can be traded in future, and that any transgressions are dealt with promptly and severely”.
International Fund for Animal Welfare UK director James Sawyer said: “Today is a good day for elephants. With as many as 20,000 elephants a year poached for ivory, this ban could not have come a moment too soon. IFAW believes ivory should only be valued on a live elephant and the overwhelming public support for banning the trade shows the majority of people feel the same.
“Legal ivory markets have long provided a smokescreen for illegal trade, putting endangered elephants in further jeopardy. Ivory trading in the UK has now rightly been consigned to the history books and everyone who has played a part in this important conservation victory should be proud.”
The ban coming into force will now close domestic ivory markets, representing a step forward in leading global efforts to protect the elephants after delays due unsuccessful legal challenges.
The UK Government is pushing for a global species abundance target to be agreed at this year’s Conference on Biological Diversity and has contributed £3.98 million through the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund to projects around the world that protect elephants from poaching and illegal trade to benefit wildlife, local communities, the economy and protect global security.
The Government launched the digital ivory service earlier this year allowing those who own ivory to register or apply for an exemption certificate. People will only need to register or certify items for the purposes of dealing in exempt items containing ivory. Those who own but are not planning to sell their ivory items do not need to register or certify them.
The Government is also considering extending the Ivory Act to other ivory-bearing species and will publish the response to the consultation later this year.
WITH some parts of the country in full-on celebration mode for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, spare a thought for the people who are going to be clearing up after all those street parties.
One British waste and recycling company has been crunching the numbers, and expects the country to get through enough beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks for the empties to stretch right around the planet.
And according to waste collection company Divert.co.uk, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with enormous amounts of rubbish and food waste being generated over the long Bank Holiday weekend.
“This is one of the most extraordinary events in this country’s recent history,” says Divert.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall, “and it’s right that we forget our troubles for a few days to party hard for the Queen’s jubilee.
“But that means Britain’s rubbish collectors are going to be working as hard as ever to keep the streets clean for the Queen – so try to make our jobs easier if you can!”
Jubilee recycling – by numbers
If the last two major royal events (the marriages of William and Kate, and Harry and Meghan) and the Euro 2020 football finals are anything to go by, then Brits are set to consume record amounts of booze and party food.
During just one football match during last year’s Euro finals (England’s 4-0 win over Ukraine), it’s estimated that 23,000,000 pints of beer were drunk in British homes alone.
To put that in perspective, those 23m pints in tins and bottles laid end-to-end would have reached from London to the North Pole.
And that’s before we factor in the wine drinkers. Retailers estimated some 4,000,000 bottles of bubbly alone were sunk during Harry and Meghan’s wedding, so it’s safe to say that the grand total for all wines would be in the ballpark of 10 million.
Laid end-to-end, those empties would reach from London to Istanbul.
And those estimates were based on events which lasted for single days. With the Jubilee holiday set to last for four days (and subtracting a small proportion for Sunday’s expected rain), Divert.co.uk expects those levels of waste to be easily beaten.
Then there’s the soft drinks for the millions of kids and non-drinkers who will also be celebrating.
That being the case, we fully expect that Britain’s empties will stretch 40,000 kilometres (24,000 miles), which is the circumference of the world.
“All we ask is that you recycle all your empties sensibly. We want this party to be as green as possible”, says Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall.
Dealing with the Jubilee rubbish mountain
The Jubilee celebration isn’t all about drinking ourselves silly – there’ll also be street parties and picnics and home barbecues marking the Queen’s amazing 70 year reign.
That means there’ll be no end of food waste, food wrappers, and mile upon mile of plastic jubilee flag bunting.
Food wastage is likely to surpass that seen over the average Christmas week, Divert.co.uk’s Mark Hall fears. That’s over seven million tonnes of food.
“There’s only so much coronation chicken and roast swan you can eat”, he says, “So buy sensibly, and make sure you recycle your waste food sensibly.”
As for more festive waste: One company specialising in party supplies says that they were in danger of running out of Union Flag bunting, plastic table cloths, hats, fancy dress outfits, and other favours.
While – unsurprisingly – there’s not a great deal of official data on the sales of flag bunting and other ephemera, Divert.co.uk expects that the amount of bunting going into bins next week could easily rival the 40,000 kilometres of empty bottles and cans.
“And the trouble with that it that much of it is single use plastic,” says Mark Hall. “And that means dumping millions of Union Flags in landfill. Hardly the patriotic image that we want to see.”
Why not, then, keep hold of your used bunting and flags for the next big British celebration to come along, Divert.co.uk suggests.
“There’s the World Cup coming up later this year, and you never know … !” says Mark.
Sadly that’s not an issue for Scotland, Mark …
As the country heads out to enjoy the Queen’s Jubilee long weekend, punters are being asked to nominate and ‘crown’ Scotland’s very best cocktail bars.
Whether a venue is celebrating its very own Platinum Jubilee with 70 years of service, or has only been open for a few months – nominations are now open at the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards.
Seeking out the nation’s most creative drinks, ‘The Busker Innovative Cocktail Bar of the Year’ award is looking for cocktails fit for a Queen or tailor-made to impress for the long bank holiday weekend that deserve recognition.
Votes have been rolling so far in for late night cocktail bar Orchid in Aberdeen, the eccentric Raging Bull in Edinburgh, modern Scotch pub, The Gate in Glasgow and hidden bar, Absent Ear.
Dubbed the hospitality ‘Oscars’, The Scottish Bar & Pub Awards aim to reward the best of the best, crowning venues and raising a glass to an industry which has been hard hit during the past few years.
Anyone can nominate their favourite pub and voting closes 30th June 2022. Submit your favourite cocktail bar now at www.scottishbarandpubawards.com
Now in their 27th year, the awards shine a spotlight on all aspects of the hospitality industry, with this year’s cocktail bar search focussing on a venue which empowers bartenders to push their limits and creative masterful cocktails which marry traditional elements with contemporary looks.
Whether your local excels in inventive Margaritas, puts their signature twist on an Old Fashioned or makes the perfect Manhattan, the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards want to recognise them.
Every vote counts as the top ten competitors from each category will receive a visit from ‘mystery shoppers’ before the esteemed finalists are revealed.
Organiser of the awards, Susan Young said: “Scotland’s major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh are well-known for their vast cocktail selection, but at the Scottish Bar & Pub Awards we want to cast the net wider and ensure venues all across the country are recognised for their creative cocktail work.
“Whether your local bar has concocted a taste sensation in celebration of the upcoming Jubilee Weekend, or you are a local bartender constantly providing your patrons with new and inventive cocktails to try – we want to hear from you. Support local and reward the hard work of Scotland’s hospitality industry. “
The national search has almost 20 categories focussed on celebrating rising stars in the industry, community led initiatives, sustainability practices, late night venues and many more.
Awards vary from ‘ARO Procurement Customer Service Award’ for pubs, restaurants or hotels which embrace exceptional customer service or even the ‘Antos Dog Friendly Pub of the Year’, rewarding venues for going above and beyond for patrons’ four-legged friends.
The prestigious awards work to provide a much-needed boost to those championing the late night economy, from Scotland’s metropolitan city centre bars and restaurants to snug hideaways on the northernmost islands.
The Scottish Bar & Pub Awards encourage all those in the community to get involved, rewarding your local pub or bar for all of those perfect pints they’ve pulled over the years! Guests and staff can simply vote online to cast your nomination.
Following a public vote judging process, the winners will then be announced at a glamorous award ceremony on 30th August 2022 at The Hilton Hotel, in Glasgow. Voting closes on the 30th June 2022.
For more information, head to https://scottishbarandpubawards.com Follow online:
https://www.instagram.com/scottishbarpubawards/
https://twitter.com/scotbarpubaward
CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA
Antos Dog Friendly Pub of the Year
Obviously a pub that welcomes dogs… with great facilities and perhaps even treats for their four-legged customers.
ARO Procurement Customer Service Award
Judges will be looking for a pub, restaurant or hotel which fully embraces the customer service ethos.
Benromach Whisky Bar of the Year
Gordon & MacPhail, one of Scotland’s premiere whisky companies, is looking for a whisky bar that excels and has a great range.
Buzzworks and Montpeliers Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
Buzzworks and Montpeliers, two of Scotland’s premiere hospitality businesses, are seeking an up and coming entrepreneur. The prize is a year’s mentoring…
Deanston Whisky Guru of the Year
This category is for people who not only have a great knowledge of whisky.
DRAM Community Pub of the Year
Judges here will be looking for a special pub, which is not only part of the community but supports it too.
DRAM Independent Pub Group of the Year
The DRAM is on the look-out for Scotland’s top Independent Pub Group.
Hi-Spirits Best Live Music Venue 2022
Live music is very much part of a vibrant night life, aand judes are looking for Scotland’s best.
Hungrrr Technology Adopter of The Year
Hospitality operators that embrace technology to keepe their business on track and driving them forward.
Inverarity Morton Restaurant of the Year
A memorable meal in a memorable restaurant – where have you been that has impressed?
Kopparberg New Bar of the Year
Is there a great new bar near you that deserves an award?
Molinari Casual Dining Award 2022
Recongised relaxed atmosphere venues that serve good value quality food.
Molson Coors Scottish Bar Of The Year
This inaugural award is seeking out Scotland’s best bars that have been around for more than a year.
Old Tom Gin 1821 Hotel Bar of the Year
Do you have a hotel that you love to go to relax and enjoy the great outdoors that also has a great bar?
Pernod Ricard Best Late Night Venue
Pernod Ricard, the brand owners with Havana Club, Beefeater, and Chivas in its portfolio, is looking for a late night venue that exemplifies what is good and great about late night socialising.
Sunday Mail Pub of the Year
This year the Sunday Mail Pub of the Year Award will go to the most voted for pub in Scotland at the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards.
Stolichnaya Award for Sustainability
This award is aimed at bars, restaurants or hotels that operate with an effective and sustainability agenda, from reducing plastic waste to conserving energy – it all matters.
The Busker Innovative Cocktail Bar of the Year
The Busker is an innovative ‘new to the world’ Irish Whiskey which is seeking out Scotland’s most innovative Cocktail Bar. It is looking for a bar which marries traditions with a contemporary look and which empowers bartenders to go beyond their limitations and create flavour-curious (great) cocktails.
William Grant & Sons Bar Apprentice of the Year 2022
The Bar Apprentice is back for with a bespoke programme for this year’s apprentices – an experience you can’t buy!
EXHIBITION
18 Jun – 4 Sep
Open: Tue – Sun, 10am—5pm
PRIVATE VIEW
Fri 17 Jun, 6—8pm
Drop-in event. Free
Join us on Friday 17 June from 6—8pm to celebrate the opening of backwash, an exhibition of new work by Glasgow-based artist Camara Taylor.
backwash can refer to the cleaning of filters, the receding of waves, backward currents or the reverberations of an event. It is also a name for the saliva-infused liquid at the bottom of drinking vessels.
In this exhibition of new video and mixed-media works by Camara Taylor, forming part of Collective’s Satellites Programme, these fluid actions are mixed with ongoing explorations of silt, slop and snaps.
This is a free event and all are welcome. Much of the event will take place outdoors in our ‘Play Shelter’ so please dress for the weather! Numbers inside the exhibition will be monitored so a short wait may be required.
Collective’s Satellites Programme is supported by Baillie Gifford. backwash is supported by The Elephant Trust.
Free, drop-in event. No booking required.
One of Scotland’s leading housebuilders has started work on a £28 million housing development in Blindwells, East Lothian.
Foundation and groundworks are underway on The Earls development being delivered by Persimmon Homes.
A mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes as well as 12 apartments will make up the 197 properties on the site which received planning permission in September last year. Of those, 30 homes will be transferred to a provider of social housing.
Situated between Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Tranent, The Earls forms part of the overall Blindwells New Town masterplan of the 390-acre former opencast mine site being delivered by Hargreaves Land.
Alongside 1,600 much needed new homes, the New Town masterplan will also see construction of a new primary school and other community facilities and amenities in the area.
Neil Parry, managing director at Persimmon Homes East Scotland, confirmed: “Breaking ground at The Earls is just the start of this exciting new development which will provide a range of high-quality homes that we are confident will meet the needs of the East Lothian property market and create jobs for local people.
“Since our signage was erected we have received a high volume of enquiries for our new homes. This is testament to the desire to live in this new, and what will be an amazing community to live in. We look forward to our first legal completions towards the end of 2022.”
Bruce Lindsay, development director at Hargreaves Land, said: “Hargreaves are delighted to welcome Persimmon to Blindwells and look forward to seeing the new housing being delivered as part of this exciting New Town development.”
The Earls is ideally placed close to excellent transport links, just off the A1, close to beautiful east coast beaches and golf courses.
To be among the first to secure a home in an emerging new community buyers can visit www.persimmonhomes.com or call the marketing suite on 0187 544 0562.
Founded in 1972, Persimmon Homes is one of the UK’s leading 5 star housebuilders. With headquarters in York, the Group operates from 31 regional offices throughout the UK, trading under the brand names of Persimmon Homes, Charles Church and Westbury Partnerships, building quality homes across England, Wales and Scotland.
The company directly employs more than 5,000 people and supports around 86,000 jobs in the construction sector. Persimmon is proud to be an accredited Living Wage Foundation employer.
By Justin Trefgarne, course leader at MetFilm School Love them or loathe them, the Royal Family in its various forms has been entertaining, enthralling and fascinating us for centuries. The British Monarchy’s catalogue of blood feuds, forbidden love affairs, wars, abdications and endless scandals has supplied material for the writers of every age. From Shakespeare’s thinly disguised commentaries on Elizabeth and James I respectively to Peter Morgan’s reimagining of the Royals as high-end Soap Opera in The Crown, the audience for these gilded dramas has never waned. And now, as Elizabeth II, and indeed millions of Britons, celebrate her becoming not just the longest serving British monarch but the third longest serving monarch in world history, we take the opportunity to cast our gaze over some of the best Royalty-themed films of the first century of cinema. In no particular order, here are the top 10 picks to watch over the Jubilee weekend: Spencer Kristin Stewart brings her own brand of sparkle and unpredictability to this intense, poetic take on Princess Diana. Whether Diana was really like this or not is sort of missing the point. Pablo Larraín’s film is a tightly wound character study of a woman unravelling under intense pressure and as a consequence plays out as much as a psychological horror as it does conventional drama.  The Queen Given the intense scrutiny the modern day Royals find themselves under, it’s quite rare to find Elizabeth II at the centre of a movie narrative. Helen Mirren transcends as a Queen in semi-exile after the death of Diana, facing a crossroads in her reign and, more immediately, a beguiling stag that haunts her estate in the Scottish Highlands.  Elizabeth Radical choice of director (Shekhar Kapur): tick. Young actress ready for super-stardom (Cate Blanchet): tick. The rise of Elizabeth retold as The Godfather: tick. A period film for all the ages.  The King I confess to being on the fence about Timothée Chalamet until I gave this film a whirl. And it’s astonishing. His spindly, hungover, sad rendition of Prince Hal slowly morphs into something raw, timeless and utterly believable. Joel Edgerton and David Michôd’s masterful retelling of the ‘Henriad’ exerts a compelling, epic grip that makes it one of the best historical films since Gladiator.  Mrs Brown Judi Dench cemented her reputation as one of the world’s most accomplished screen actors with this moving portrayal of a grieving Queen Victoria. But perhaps the film’s biggest surprise was the unexpected, nuanced performance of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly as the ‘commoner’ who encouraged her to return to public life.  The Lion In Winter One of three stage plays adapted for the screen on this list, The Lion In Winter brings together the titanic screen presences of Katherine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole for a heady dose of relationship fireworks. They really don’t make ‘em like this any more. Notable too for Anthony Hopkins making his screen debut.  A Man For All Seasons I was forced to watch this at school and was ready to write it off until the genius of writer Robert Bolt’s characters and the play’s moral conscience completely captivated me. A film as relevant now as it was when first released. Watch out for a late-period Orson Welles filling up the frame with his interpretation of Cardinal Wolsey.  The Madness Of King George A film in which the a King descends into ‘madness’ only to be retrieved from the abyss by a radical form of treatment. Gentle, funny, heartbreaking and sumptuous all at once, this is British period filmmaking at its finest.  Viceroy’s House If all this feels too much like Royalist propaganda, then cleanse the palate with Gurinder Chadha’s brilliant, bold dismantling of the accepted history of the Queen’s Uncle’s attempt at managing the Partition between India and Pakistan. Moria Bufini and Chadha’s masterful script weaves the political and the personal together seamlessly to challenge and confront the dissolution of the ‘British Raj’.  Sid & Nancy Since The Sex Pistols blew up pop music in the late 1970s, no Royal celebration is complete without an airing of their alternative jubilee anthem, ‘God Save The Queen’. And why not indulge, then, in the film that launched the careers of Oscar Winners Gary Oldman, Roger Deakins, maverick director Alex Cox and Working Title chief Eric Fellner?  |
