The NEN – North Edinburgh News – Page 3584 – The community media resource for north Edinburgh

You need Friends …

Community Council to set up Friends of Easter Drylaw Park group

Does Easter Drylaw Park need Friends? Drylaw Telford Community Council certainly thinks so, and is looking for local residents to get involved in setting up a new group to support the area’s green space.

Community councillor Mhairi Curran confirmed: “We are looking to hopefully set up a Friends of Easter Drylaw Park and we are currently seeking people who might be interested in finding out more or becoming part of the group.

“We have invited a guest speaker from The Friends of Parks Group to give a short presentation at our next community council meeting, where we will discuss the benefits of setting up a Friends group here to support our local park. It will be the ideal opportunity to find out more about how Friends groups operate and what’s involved. It would be great to see more local residents coming along – we would like to hear their views on the park.”

The meeting will be held on Wednesday 26 August at 7pm in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre. All welcome.

Take a walk down Memory Lane … in Leith

A mural art map of Leith has been produced for residents and visitors to take a tour of mural art in the area as part of the LeithLate Festival15.

The map, funded by the City of Edinburgh Council, will feature the following murals and artists:

· Leith History Mural by Tim Chalk & Paul Grime, by Leith Library

· Swanfield Mill Mural by David Wilkinson, Bonnington Road

· Eduardo Paolozzi Mural by Russell Ian Dempster, Henderson Street

· Untitled Mural by Tim Chalk, opposite Links View House, Tollbooth Wynd

· Leith Dockers Club Mural by Tom Ewing, Academy Street

· The Leith Aquatic Mural by Blameless Collective, Halmyre Street

Cllr Frank Ross, Convener of the Economy Committee, said: “This is a great opportunity for residents and visitors to learn about Leith’s mural history, past and present.

“We are supporting this project as part of our work on our ‘Building Stronger Town Centres’ programme and we are committed to the economic growth of Leith which includes nurturing it as a creative hub. I would encourage anyone interested to pick up a map and go on a tour as Leith is steeped in history, has many other hidden gems and is packed full of interesting shops, cafes and restaurants.”

Morvern Cunningham of LeithLate, said: “I’m thrilled to present these tours as part of the LeithLate15 festival, which aims to bring more contemporary art onto the streets of Leith. The tour includes two modern murals facilitated by LeithLate, as well as one not by us, alongside a number of historic murals that were produced in Leith in the 1980s. We’ve researched the background to all the murals involved and hope that participants find the information contained in the guides interesting and useful.”

*Please note that the organised tours with the artists are now sold out.

Supermum Lisa’s special delivery

Lisa raises funds for Edinburgh’s Sick Kids

Lisa Quarrell, a mum-of-two, visited the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) in Edinburgh this week to hand over a state-of-the-art piece of equipment to help reduce children’s fear of needles.

Lisa, who’s from East Kilbride, is a familiar face at the hospital after her brave son Cole was admitted to the Paediatric Neurology ward at just two years old to receive treatment for epilepsy. Now three, Cole was just three months old when he first started taking seizures.

Cole was admitted to the RHSC in Edinburgh to undergo a lesionectomy on his left temporal lobe. During this time, little Cole had bloods taken twice a day, every day. On top of epilepsy treatment and examinations, these examinations proved to be extremely stressful for baby Cole, mum Lisa and dad David.

Lisa said: “It was very difficult to find Cole’s veins as they would collapse a lot of the time. The trauma of this made Cole extremely needle phobic. Twice a day, we would have to hold him in place for up to 20 minutes, until we could find a vein and get the blood sample that the nurses required.

“It was heart-breaking for me to watch Cole experience this level of fear over the needles and I was desperate to do something to help the nurses and other patients have an easier time when it came to this essential treatment. When the Ward 7 nurses told me about the AccuVein device it seemed like the perfect solution and I knew I wanted to fundraise for this great piece of kit.”

The state-of-the-art AccuVein device, worth more than £3,500, shines a special light over a child’s body to reveal the veins located underneath the skin. This technique allows nurses to carry out any needle-based procedures more quickly and accurately than ever before, vastly improving what is a traumatic experience for so many children.

The Sick Kids Friends Foundation (SKFF), which exists to transform the experiences of children visiting hospital, has also invested almost £5,000 to fund this vein illumination device and other innovative equipment to help reduce children’s anxiety around needles across the hospital.

Lisa continued: “It’s amazing the difference one small instrument can make to a child’s experience in hospital and I’m so happy to see the first AccuVein device I fundraised for go to good use in Ward 7. I’m hoping to fund a further four devices in the next few months so that more children than ever before can benefit.”

Roslyn Neely, Chief Executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: “At the SKFF we believe that nothing should get in the way of being a child, this includes small procedures like injections, blood samples and cannulation which can be extremely stressful for young children.

“We’re extremely grateful to Lisa and her entire family for their help in bringing this equipment to the ward floors – we’re already seeing the positive impact it is having for patients, families and the nursing staff across the hospital.”

Fringe benefits: Mental health charity to benefit from festival productions

Scottish charity Health in Mind is to benefit from two Fringe productions which are based on true-life experiences.

The productions highlight the impact of mental illness on the individual and the people around them in the play, Disorder, and of domestic violence in the dance and spoken word performance, Herstory.

Disorder is the first production of the amateur creative collective, Kincaid Productions and is based on the childhood experiences of one of the two authors.

A spokesperson for the collective explained: “Focussing on mental health and in particular Bipolar Disorder, the play is set in both the present, where a son is visiting his mother in a psychiatric hospital and the past, where the mother and son attempt to address the differences between their perspectives.

“The play looks at the effects and impact of mental illness on the individual and the people around them and highlights the shifts of mental state caused by Bipolar Disorder.”

The spokesperson added: “Herstory is a combination of dance and spoken word and is performed by its writer Zosia Jo. It was created after women were invited to share their stories about their relationships.

“Ten of the women’s experiences, some being told to Zosia for the very first time, were woven to create a single story, which is the performance. The show deals delicately but powerfully with the issue of domestic violence and it is a love story with a painful twist that has nothing whatsoever to do with love. Herstory has been described as ‘A powerful testimony to survival and renewal’ (ThePlace.org.uk).”

Katherine Sellar, Health in Mind’s community fundraiser is delighted that both productions have pledged to raise funds for the charity. She said: “The productions reflect in different ways, the experiences of some of the people engaged with the specialist services Health in Mind delivers.

“Services include a range of support and counselling for people affected by trauma; befriending services for those feeling isolated due to experiencing difficulties with mental health and support to enable people experiencing long term and enduring mental health difficulties to stay in their homes.

“We believe that people should not be defined by their illness or trauma and we work with them to help them live the life they want to live and to survive and thrive.”

Disorder is on daily until 31 August at C NOVA Studio 6d, India Buildings, Victoria Street from 14.30 to 15.15 and Herstory is on daily from 7 to 22 August at The Aviary, The Zoo, 140 The Pleasance from 14.25 to 15.10.

Dancing with wolves

Local youngsters shine in dance performance

Liminal Dance Company brought their Red and the Wolf to North Edinburgh Arts on the latest leg of a Scottish tour – and, together with local young people, took an appreciative audience on a magical journey.

Choreographer Gemma Williams and professional dancers worked with a locally-based community cast of young people aged 8-16 in a series of workshops which culminated in a live performance of the work on Wednesday evening.

Inspired by the Little Red Riding Hood fairtytale, Red and the Wolf tells the much-loved story through music, movement and dance and took the audience – who were not merely passive observers, but became part of the performance – on an ever-changing, fantastic journey.

It was a fascinating experience, a real adventure, and all credit to the young participants Gemma Williams, Justine Lim, Christina Duncan, Abigail Courtney, Katherine Rennie, Jiaya Aui, Gabrielle Glean, Staney Mckay, Ferdie Mckay, Sorcha Minto, Julie Dorozynska, Freya McNicoli, Inez MacIntosh and Rhona Payne who really put their hearts and souls into the performance. Bravo!

Next stop for Red and the Wolf is Musselburgh’s Brunton Theatre (11 – 15 August)

Coorie Doon at North Edinburgh Arts

‘You could be my masterpiece’ – lyric from ‘Sam’s Song’

North Edinburgh Arts played host to a very special gathering earlier this week. Local women from Circle Scotland’s Haven Project – all of whom are pregnant or have recently become mums – have been working with professional musicians over the last eight weeks to produce songs for their children.

There can be few things in life more intimate than singing songs to and with your wee one, and if you wrote that song yourself: well … how wonderful is that! Tuesday was the first opportunity to hear the finished creations and what an inspiring occasion it was.

From June to August Enterprise Music Scotland’s Coorie Doon project engaged the young women to help establish a positive connection between mother and child. A composer, lyricist and musicians worked with participants – all of whom attend either The Haven’s Pregnancy Cafe or Bump to Buggy Group – to compose a song for their child which they themselves could sing to them.

Lead artist for the Coorie Doon project was composer, musician and music educator Rachel Drury, a talented freelance musician and researcher working predominantly in the field of music education and psychology.

Rachel was an inspired choice to lead the project -she is the creator and composer of Baby O and Sensory O, two internationally acclaimed operas for infants aged between 6 and 36 months. Rachel is also a lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has given a variety of research lectures across the UK.

Over the course of the project Rachel worked with the participants in both group and individual settings to produce a bespoke piece of music, each one of which is based on the womens’ own experiences.

When the women were happy with their songs they spent a day in North Edinburgh Arts studios to record their tracks, and yesterday’s final session was an opportunity to join with friends and family to celebrate the achievements of the participants and to hear their uniquely personal songs in a live concert setting. And those songs were very special.

One participant was Caroline, who’s ‘Calvin’s Song’ made reference to AC/DC sleeping suits! Her baby is due next month – Caroline knows he’s a boy – and when young Calvin comes into the world he’s going to have his very own little hard rock soundtrack!

Caroline, who’s from West Pilton, said: “It really was a brilliant to be involved in this. None of us had ever done anything like this before, it was completely new experience for everyone. I hope Calvin will like his song – I think he will!”

Coorie Doon was delivered in collaboration with North Edinburgh Arts and Circle Scotland’s Haven Project .

Scotland’s Real Heroes shortlist announced

The Social Bite, Edinburgh Uni’s Best Buddies and veteran fundraising champion Tom Gilzean among those up for awards

Today, a shortlist of Scottish heroes has been unveiled ahead of the third series of RBS: Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes on STV to recognise people who have dedicated their time to local communities across Scotland.

A judging panel including John Boyle, chairman of Hamilton Portfolio Ltd and Motherwell FC, Managing Director of Branch and Private Banking in Scotland at Royal Bank of Scotland, Chris Wilson and Michael Shanks, member of the 77th Disabled Scout group which took home the RBS Young Real Hero of the Year award last year, gathered to narrow down the nominations received for this year’s show.

Elizabeth Partyka, fellow judge and deputy director of channels at STV said: “The series is a great opportunity to shine a light on people working tirelessly in communities to help improve the lives of others. We have seen an overwhelming response to this year’s call for nominations across Scotland and there are some truly inspiring stories to be told.

“The shortlist of nominees will be visited by our celebrity reporters throughout the show and it will be over to STV viewers to vote for the nominees they believe most deserving of an award.”

The series, presented by Carol Smillie and sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland returns to STV later this year. This year’s shortlist includes deserving Scots from all across the country.

Categories including Community Project of the Year and Hero Animal of the Year will return again this year as well as two new additional award categories including Hero Mum or Dad and Fundraiser of the Year. The overall winners will be voted for by the public and will be announced at a glittering, star studded televised awards ceremony later in the year.

Chris Wilson, Managing Director of Branch and Private Banking in Scotland at Royal Bank of Scotlandsaid: “It is a real honour to be part of the judging panel again this year. It’s important to celebrate the people that make a real difference in our local communities – especially those who would otherwise go unrecognised – and I think that every person on the shortlist is a deserving winner. Everyone at The Royal Bank of Scotland is getting behind the series again this year and we are all looking forward to finding out more about the finalists when the series airs later this year.”

And the nominations are ….

RBS: FINDING SCOTLAND’S REAL HEROES SHORTLIST

Community Champion

Ashley McIIvenny (Include Me 2); Barrhead, Glasgow
John O’Byrne (The John O’Byrne Foundation); Bellahouston, Glasgow
Jessie Douglas (Richmond’s Hope); Niddrie, Edinburgh

Sporting Volunteer of the Year

Carol Jones (Kelvingrove Community Tennis Club); Kelvingrove, Glasgow
Gregor Gardner (Azami Falkirk Judo Club); Hallglen, Falkirk
Janice Millar (Kilmarnock Harriers); Darvel, Ayrshire

Hero Neighbour of the Year

John O’Hara; East Glasgow
Donna Fitzpatrick; Fullerton, Irvine
Margaret ‘Mum’ Miller; Springboig, Glasgow

Fundraiser of the Year

Liz Smillie; Prestwick
Tom Gilzean; Edinburgh
Linzi O’Neil; Fife

Community Project of the Year

Paragon Music; Glasgow
The Social Bite; Edinburgh
The Coming Home Centre; Glasgow

Hero Mum or Dad

Pappinder Singh, Leith
Susan Hunter, Penicuik
Vicky Walker, Nairn

Scotland’s Real Heroes Courage Award

Allison Barr, West Calder
Paul Surgeon, Kirkintilloch
Suzanne Davies, Stonehaven

Carer of the Year

Karen Anderson (Carers United); Evanton
David Forbes (Future Choices); Aberdeen
East Kilbride Dementia Carer’s Group; East Kilbride

Young Real Hero of the Year

Leah-Grace Kean; Baillieston, Glasgow
Lee Falconer; Maryhill, Glasgow
Best Buddies Edinburgh

Hero Animal of the Year

Damson the Dog (Canine Partners): Slateford, Edinburgh
Jewel the Pony (Ravelrig RDA): Ravelrig, Edinburgh
Spike the Dog (Hearing Dogs for Deaf People): Cupar, Fife

For more information, visit www.stv.tv/realheroes or get involved on Twitter #scotlandsrealheroes or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/scotrealheroes.

Legionnaire’s outbreak: we’ll never know the source

Final Report into 2012 Legionnaires’ Outbreak published but the source of the outbreak may never be known

NHS Lothian, on behalf of the multi-agency Incident Management Team (IMT), has today published the final report into the 2012 Legionnaires’ outbreak which affected the south west of Edinburgh. The 68 page report goes into great detail – but the public heath professionals who produced the report are unable to pinpoint the source of the outbreak.

The report states: ‘As it has not been possible to identify the precise source of the Legionella bacteria that resulted in the death of four people, Crown Counsel has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute any person or organisation for the deaths.’

The Incident Management Team has concluded that the outbreak was caused by an aerosol release of Legionella pneumophila Sg1 Knoxville ST191 over a defined area of south west Edinburgh during May 2012. Although the Incident Management Team could not establish the specific source of the organism, it has concluded that: ‘the most likely source of this aerosol release was an industrial complex containing wet cooling towers in the north east of the affected area.’

Between late May and late June 2012, 56 people who had links to south west Edinburgh, were confirmed as suffering from Legionnaires’ disease. Four of these people died and the Health and Safety Executive, under the direction of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Health and Safety Division carried out a full investigation into the cause.

The final report into the outbreak highlights that the locally coordinated public health, environmental health, scientific and clinical response helped protect the health of people living and working in south west Edinburgh and had a positive impact in preventing more people becoming seriously ill.

It has been published following the conclusion of all investigations into the outbreak.

Professor Alison McCallum, Director of Public Health and Health Policy, NHS Lothian said: ““I would once again express my sincere condolences to the families of those who died during this outbreak and the patients affected.

“The review of outbreak management and the subsequent public health research has provided valuable in enhancing the existing knowledge on Legionella outbreaks and control. This report allows us to share our experience and findings with other public health teams across the globe.”

2015 Final Report – Master 2015 Final 060815

Snakes Alive! Anaconda gies Gordon the Willies!

Anaconda found loose in West Pilton!

A four foot-long anaconda was rescued by a street cleaner who found it lying next to a fence in West Pilton Bank last Saturday. Gordon Fraser first thought the yellow snake was a child’s toy – until it moved!

Gordon bravely coaxed the snake into a box and took it back to his depot before contacting the Scottish SPCA.

William, as the snake has been named, is now being cared for at the charity’s Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Balerno. He’s recovering well following three days of treatment at a vets.

Gordon Fraser explained: “I noticed the snake lying behind some cardboard next to a fence and thought it was a toy at first. Then it moved and I realised it was real!

“The snake looked in really poor condition so I tried to coax him into a cardboard box and we took him back to the depot. I’m pretty shocked to find out the snake is an anaconda – my workmates kept telling me not to touch him but I don’t think he would have survived for much longer if I hadn’t helped him.”

The SSPCA is now appealing for information. The charity’s June Chalcroft said: “Yellow anacondas need experienced owners as they are temperamental and will bite. However, William was extremely thin and dehydrated when he was found curled up outside and he didn’t put up a fight.

“We rescue all types of animals, including snakes, but they tend to be smaller species such as corn snakes. It’s extremely rare for a 4ft anaconda to be found in public.

“At this stage we don’t know how he came to be found outside. He may have escaped from home but we also have to consider the possibility he has been abandoned.”

Well, are you missing your pet snake?

Call the SSPCA on 03000 999 999

Moving home: Brenda leaves Muirhouse Housing Association

Muirhouse Housing Association’s long-standing director Brenda Tonner has resigned following 23 years of service with the area’s largest housing association.

Muirhouse Housing Association (MHA) was formed shortly after the start of the regeneration of the Muirhouse area, established by a group of residents in 1992. Their original objective was quite simple: to improve the housing within the area and make Muirhouse a desirable place to live. Sounds simple, but anyone who remembers the reputation of the area back then knows the scale of the challenge.

Brenda was the first member of staff to be appointed and she worked alongside a strong board of community directors that included activists like Maureen McMillan, John Davidson and Jenni Marrow.

The original plans way back then centred on the Muirhouse Green, Muirhouse Park and Muirhouse Terrace areas but regeneration successful housing partners with the city council, Communities Scotland and private builders resulted in MHA expanding both within Muirhouse and further afield into Drylaw.

Through sheer hard work, Brenda and an ever-growing team built MHA into a thriving, community-based housing association with over 500 homes across North Edinburgh, the latest being a development of 52 units completed just last month.

Last summer the Muirhouse Medway-based organisation expanded to create a subsidiary called Muirhouse Homes, set up to manage a number of mid-market properties in the area, and in February this year new homes were opened in Magill Drive on the former BT site.

It’s not all been plain sailing for the social housing project, however, and there have been problems too. In December last year the Scottish Housing Regulator identified ‘serious and urgent risk to the financial health of Muirhouse’ and serious weaknesses in its governance and financial management. It used its statutory powers to appoint a manager and to make three statutory appointments to the governing body.

The Association also lost it’s long-serving Chairperson Michael Woods, who retired due to health problems in April. Michael first joined as a member in 1999 and he twice served as the organisation’s chairperson.

Since problems were flagged up MHA has taken steps to address the immediate risks faced and is developing plans to strengthen its governance and financial management to address the serious weaknesses it faces.

The Regulator has since extended the appointment until December 2015 and has published a revised regulation plan which sets out how it will work with Muirhouse to resolve outstanding issues.

Ian Brennan, Director of Finance and Risk, said: “The action taken has dealt with the immediate issues which led to the statutory appointments being made in December 2014.

“During the next six months, the manager and appointees to the governing body will work with Muirhouse to help it address the underlying causes so that it is able to comply with our Regulatory Standards of Governance and Financial Management.”

Now, having overseen the completion of a significant new build scheme and helped secure a new chair for the Association, Brenda (pictured above (second from right) at MHA’s 20th anniversary celebrations) feels the time is right to move on and let a new team take MHA forward.

After her final Board meeting last month, Brenda said: “Inevitably I feel some regret about leaving MHA. I have worked with a great team both within the board and the office staff.

“However, 23 years is a long time and now is the time for others to take up the challenges ahead. I am looking forward to having a bit more time for myself and my family and to take time to assess a new direction and opportunities with my career.”

Brenda Tonner’s commitment to MHA has never been in question and her outstanding dedication has been recognised by the board, the staff and the tenants of MHA.

Acting chair, Alison Blezard said: “We will miss Brenda’s unquenchable optimism and sheer determination, but she can look back with pride at the role she has played in growing MHA. We all wish her the very best for the future.”