Attached to our phones: a decade of digital dependency

  • Ofcom study shows how a decade of technological revolution has transformed our behaviour
  • One in five people spend more than 40 hours a week online
  • Brits now need constant connection to internet, and are checking their smartphone every 12 minutes

Most people in the UK are dependent on their digital devices, and need a constant connection to the internet, following a decade of digital transformation revealed by Ofcom today. Continue reading Attached to our phones: a decade of digital dependency

Charity Sikh Sanjog and Punjabi Junction Café set to be part of Drum’s new Leith Walk development

 

One of Edinburgh’s most well-known social enterprise businesses has pledged to be part of new development proposals set to transform a significant section of Leith Walk. Continue reading Charity Sikh Sanjog and Punjabi Junction Café set to be part of Drum’s new Leith Walk development

Less than 1% of NHS waiting time funding spent on chronic pain

Only £333,000 out of £51.6 million being used to reduce chronic pain waiting times in Scotland

Research by the Scottish Conservatives has revealed that only £333,000 out of £51.6 million of funding set aside to reduce waiting times has been used for chronic pain – less than 1%. Continue reading Less than 1% of NHS waiting time funding spent on chronic pain

Event: Participatory Budgeting & Open Government

Thursday, 16th August 2018
Cosla offices, Haymarket, Edinburgh

Share your ideas about how PB can help government, nationally and locally, work better for its people.

This free informal workshop, organised by Scottish Government, COSLA and Open Government Network & PB Scotland, will ask how participatory budgeting can help make government in Scotland more open, transparent and accountable. Using your experiences of PB, we’ll ask:

  • What actions can help take PB further?
  • How can PB enable more people to be involved in developing public services?
  • How can it be used more effectively to guide how public money is spent?

Come along and learn more about open government and the Open Government Partnership, meet the team and discuss your views and ideas about how we can make government work better for Scotland.
Learn more & register your interest here

STV announces coverage of this year’s Edinburgh Festival

The best of this year’s Edinburgh Festivals will be celebrated in a series of special programmes airing on STV this August.  Filmed in the exclusive VIP area of Underbelly in George Square at the heart of the Fringe, The Festival Show will be broadcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout August, with the first programme airing on STV at 1930 on Tuesday 7th August.  Continue reading STV announces coverage of this year’s Edinburgh Festival

August garden plant of the month: Hebe

A late summer party in the garden: Hebe
Hebe (Speedwell Shrub) is the ideal plant for giving your garden and patio boost in the late summer. White, purple, pink, or lilac flowers instantly lend a fresh energy, and Hebe’s foliage varies in colour from pale green to dark green, and very pale grey. In the winter and spring some varieties even have claret leaves. Thanks to the somewhat random structure, the plant has a loose, natural look, and the clusters of flowers are very popular with butterflies and bees. Because Hebe is so versatile, it’s often used in beds and borders, rockeries or as pond planting, but it also works well as a container plant on the balcony or patio. Hebe is evergreen, bringing life to the garden throughout the year. 
Range
The Hebe range can be divided into two groups:
– The largest consists of generally hardy evergreen species with decorative foliage. The best-known are H. ‘Emerald Gem’ syn. Green Globe’, H. ochracea ‘James Sterling’, H. ‘Autumn Glory’, H. pimeloides, H. buxifolia, and H. pinguifolia.
– Completely different but also utterly Hebe is the H. andersonii group, also known as shrubby veronica. This flowers in late summer and autumn, and is particularly popular around 1 and 2 November (All Hallows – All Souls Day).
Hebe trivia
• Hebe travelled to Europe from New Zealand in 1835. The resultant cultivars are able to cope well with European winters thanks to crossbreeding.
• In Greek mythology Hebe, the goddess of youth, was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was given as a bride to Hercules.
• Hebe can cope relatively well with salty air, making it an ideal plant for seaside gardens and balconies.
Origin 
Hebe grows wild in the southern hemisphere, particularly in New Zealand, but also in French Polynesia, the Falkland Islands and South America. There are around 30 species that are fairly tough: the plant grows both along the coast and in mountainous regions at considerable heights, although they do have smaller leaves there.
What to look for when buying
• Check the balance between pot size, plant diameter and number of buds, and ensure that the plant is free of pests and diseases.
• The plants are cultivated both outdoors and in greenhouses, depending on the species. Good growers ensure that a Hebe grown outdoors is also supplied in a clean pot.
• The larger the plant, the greater the decorative value and the easier Hebe is to look after.
• There should be no dry or dead parts on the plant at the time of purchase.
Care tips
• Hebe likes a sunny spot, and can even tolerate full sun, but will also thrive in partial shade.
• The plant prefers airy, humus-rich soil.
• Water must always be able to drain. The soil can be left to dry out a little between waterings.
• Give some plant food once a fortnight during flowering. Remove wilted flowers.
• Hebe is fairly hardy, but if there’s a hard frost it’s better to wrap the plant, particularly if it’s a container plant. Shrubby veronica prefers to overwinter in frost-free conditions.
• Cutting back after the winter keeps the Hebe attractive and strong.