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Leith’s darkest day: still time to see Quintinshill exhibition
Gretna Railway Disaster 22 May 1915
Leith Local History Society has produced an exhibition on the Quintinshill rail disaster in which 228 people – many of them soldiers from the local 7th (Leith) Battallion Royal Scots – lost their lives.
You can visit the exhibition at Ocean Terminal from noon – 5pm daily until 12 June. Admission is free.
News from Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre
James McGinty with all the latest from Muirhouse Medway:
Community Helping Community
The centre was presented with a cheque for £205 from Edinburgh College on Friday. It was raiaed during the Fun Day the students organised in May. This turned out to be exactly as the title said it would be and was enjoyed by families from all over the area. Our grateful thanks to the Tourism and Hospitality Academy and to all the families concerned.
Mother & Child Play & Art Sessions (New Venture)
Do you have a Child Under 5 Years? Then come along to our Mother & Child Play & Arts sessions!
Starts: Tuesday 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd June – 10 am till 11.30 am.
New MP
Michelle Thomson M.P. has chosen our centre to conduct Advice Surgeries to anyone who comes along. You can contact Michelle at 0207 219 6626 or you can email Michelle.thomson.mp@
As we see it: Youth Forum looks at local crime
Read all about it! North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum newspaper investigates attitudes to crime in Forth
North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum would like to invite you along to the launch of our new newspaper which focuses on the perceptions of crime in the Forth Ward through the eyes of young people. We shall also be seeking opinions on ways we can develop this work and our future plans and ideas.
NEYPF`s Crime Perception Newspaper Launch
@ West Pilton Neighborhood Centre
Wednesday 3rd June 2015
5:30pm – 7:00pm (Registration from 5pm)
Refreshments are provided
All at the Forum hope to see you on the night!!
Life on the edge: fears over latest austerity cuts
Proposed round of welfare cuts could plunge many more into crisis
Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil today expressed concern at the further suffering and negative impact that will be caused if the UK Government carries out proposed £12 billion cuts to benefits.
Mr Neil spoke following the publication of the Welfare Reform Tracking Study, which showed that many people accessing benefits are living in constant fear of further cuts. The Social Justice Secretary said he is worried that Scotland’s most vulnerable people would be pushed further into poverty and desperation.
The Scottish Government commissioned Edinburgh Napier University to carry out the Welfare Reform Tracking Study with interviews with participants carried out between September 2013 and March 2015. The aim of the study is to explore the impact of on-going welfare changes on a range of households in Scotland over time.
The study, which looks at on-going changes to working age benefits, revealed all respondents, including those in work, found themselves in very difficult financial situations and therefore felt an underlying sense of ‘precariousness’. Many were anxious that changes to their circumstances or entitlements would push them into crisis situations.
Many participants also said they received poor and sometimes conflicting communications from benefits agencies and that there is often a lack of clarity over information provided, causing more stress and uncertainty.
Disabled participants also felt they had to present themselves in a negative light and focus on their limitations rather than their capabilities, while the challenges of work capability assessments and repeat assessments for people with permanent disabilities were also highlighted in the study.
Mr Neil said the findings of the study outlined exactly why the UK Government should urgently rethink their plans to further cut the welfare budget.
He said: “The UK Government’s austerity agenda and benefit cuts are having a very damaging effect on people in Scotland. Their approach is slashing the incomes of some of our poorest households and pushing 100,000 children into poverty.
“The Welfare Reform Tracking Study is further evidence that people are living in constant anxiety about changes to their entitlements and are already suffering from the effects of around £6 billion of cuts taken from Scottish Welfare expenditure over the last five years. This is hugely concerning as the UK Government should be looking to lift people out of poverty not push them further into it.
“Despite these frustrations we will do all we can to use our new powers to make our system fairer and simpler and work to improve the experience for people.
“We will work quickly to implement these changes and base our social security system on how best to support people and tackle inequalities and not on crude opportunities to save money.”
The report is available at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/7394 and the appendices:http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/6817
Support your Community Council!
Do you care about what’s going on in your community? Would you like to help make your neighbourhood a better place to live? Yes? Then join with others who feel the same way at West Pilton West Granton Community Council’s annual general meeting on Tuesday evening!
Community Council agm poster note 2 6 15
West Pilton West Granton Community Council AGM
Tuesday 2 June 7 – 9pm
West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre
Community Council secretary Willie Black is keen to see the while community getting involved. He said: “Our AGM is an opportunity to meet with other concerned residents and tenants who are working for the improvement of the area. Do you feel you can make a difference? Come along to the meeting and have your say. With your help we can all make the area a place where everyone can be proud to live and work.”
Councillor Maureen Child, who chairs the city council’s Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee, is guest speaker at the event and will talk on ‘The Changing Role of Community Councils’.
Community councils are only as strong and effective as their members make them, so why not play your part?
For further information call Community Council secretary Willie Black on 0751 568 6421 or email w.black@blueyonder.co.uk
Edinburgh prepares for a Big Lunch!
Edinburgh residents are busy with final preparations for The Big Lunch (www.thebiglunch.com) next Sunday (7 June), which helps people get to know their neighbours better and create closer communities.
In the seventh year of the UK-wide initiative, lots of Big Lunch events are taking place across the city, including in Willowbrae, Newhaven, Trinity and Gorgie.
The Big Lunch is the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours, an idea from the Eden Project made possible by the Big Lottery Fund and supported by Halifax and Asda. It is the perfect recipe for having fun with neighbours, feeding community spirit and helping to build stronger neighbourhoods.
Elaine, who is helping to organise a fiesta themed street party with her neighbours in Trinity, explains: “We decided to give The Big Lunch a go in 2009 when we realised we didn’t know everyone in our stair of 8 flats – we’ve now held one every year since!
“We ended up meeting people who had lived in the street for over 40 years but who I had never even seen before as they rarely come out. They had seen previous year’s events through their window and decided to come down. It has been a real icebreaker for us, bringing our community closer together, breaking down barriers and providing a chance to socialise.”
Halifax Princes Street branch will be hosting a Big Lunch at Gorgie City Farm from 10am – 3pm next Sunday.
The Halifax Edinburgh Big Lunch event will host a range of activities for the community to get involved in to raise money for Gorgie City Farm and three other local charities. There will be a gazebo with free sandwiches, music throughout the day and fun activities including face-painting, tombola, bouncy castle, a ‘beat the goalie’ event, egg and spoon races and sack races. From 11am-12pm, the Lord Provost will be attending the event.
The Halifax Edinburgh Princes Street Branch is working with Asda, who will be providing sandwiches on the day.
Esther Clark, Branch Manager at Halifax Princes Street said: “We’re really excited that Halifax Princes Street is hosting a Big Lunch event at Gorgie City Farm on Sunday 7 June. There will be lots of fun activities for all the family to raise money for charity and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone from the local community along. The Big Lunch provides a great opportunity for us to talk to people on a more personal level and really helps strengthen relationships in the community”.
It’s never too late to host a Big Lunch! Anyone who would like to host one on Sunday 7 June (or another date if they prefer) can request a free planning pack from www.thebiglunch.com or call 0845 850 8181.
In 2014 over 4.83 million people took part in Big Lunches across the UK, including thousands from Scotland, who held street parties, picnics in the park and community hall gatherings.
City schoolkids tweet their streets
“My street is unique, old – an antique!”
School pupils from all corners of the Capital have created a mini-map of Edinburgh with a series of tweets about the city’s streets.
The ‘Tweet Your Street’ project, being announced tomorow (Monday 1 June) at the Central Library, sees the launch of an online map where children have started ‘pinning’ poetic tweets about where they live. A selection of tweets will also be on public display within the children’s area of the library.
The map is a result of a series of poetry workshops with P3-S1 pupils from across the Capital and the Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca.
From the apple trees in Hope Terrace and the cobbles of St Vincent Street, to the cats that stroll along Easter Drylaw Place and the excitement of hearing the jingle of an ice cream van, the map of tweets reveals the essence of living in Edinburgh as a child.
“Walking past running cats
Lovely gardens outside flats
Everyone is full of grace
On Easter Drylaw Place”
(Age 12, Forthview Primary School)
Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “These snippets of poetry provide a sweet and honest view of Edinburgh’s communities in the eyes of its youngest residents. In Edinburgh we have a long and proud interest in literature and poetry and it is great to see our pupils’ own writing talent thanks to this project.
“The memories of the street you grow up on stay with you. ‘Tweet Your Street’ captures these memories in a way that will hopefully spark other pupils and residents to view their own communities in a new light and maybe even tweet about it. The Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca and these pupils have produced a brand new way of mapping Edinburgh and getting students interested in poetry.”
Christine De Luca became the Scottish Capital’s poet in residence, the Edinburgh Makar, and promotes Scottish writing and the Capital’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature locally and around the world. She was appointed as the city’s version of ‘Poet Laureate’ in 2014, and initiated ‘Tweet Your Street’.
Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca said: “This has been a fun project to do. I’ve really enjoyed working with a group of committed, enthusiastic teachers. Writing a very short poem which captures something about your street isn’t easy, but reading the children’s poems proves it’s possible. Do read them and pass on the link to family and friends. The Central Library has been a great partner.”
All tweets will be available to view online at the Edinburgh Makar website from 11:30am tomorrow. Here’s a flavour of what to expect:
“In Craigour Loan
The people mingle
To the ice cream van’s jingle
They chat, giggle and play
Every sunny day”
(Age 8 Craigour Park Primary)
“My street is unique
Old – an antique –
It’s Newhouses Road
If you drive in
You have to drive back
You see
It’s a
Cul-de-sac”
(Age 9, St. George’s School for Girls)
Search is on for Scotland’s Real Heroes
STV invites viewers to nominate community heroes
The search for Scotland’s most deserving community heroes is now underway with the launch today this week of the third season of RBS – Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes.
Following the success of last year’s series, which received nominations from across Scotland, STV is calling for people from Edinburgh to nominate the friends, family or community groups who have dedicated their time and effort to helping the lives of others. The public can nominate online at stv.tv/realheroes, by phone and by post.
The new series, presented by Carol Smillie and sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, will air on STV this autumn with viewers across Scotland encouraged to cast their vote for the heroes they believe are most deserving of an award.
Each week, shortlisted nominees will be interviewed by a range of star reporters including comedians Fred MacAulay and Sanjeev Kohli, Elaine C Smith (Burdz Eye View), River City stars Jayd Johnson and Stephen Purdon, Ron Donachie (Game of Thrones) and David Hayman (On Weir’s Way with David Hayman, Shetland) to gain some insight into the inspiring work they do within their local communities.
The overall winners will be announced at a star-studded awards ceremony with the overall final category winners in the running to collect the RBS Scotland’s Real Hero of the Year Award.
Elizabeth Partyka, deputy director of channels at STV said: “We were overwhelmed by the public’s response to the last two series of RBS – Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes and have met some truly inspiring people and groups from across Scotland. We want viewers from Edinburgh to nominate their friends, colleagues, neighbours or local groups so we can shine a light on the real heroes of Scotland that truly deserve recognition.”
RBS: Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes is sponsored by RBS.
Debbie Pow, RBS’s Local Chief Executive Officer, Edinburgh said: “We are delighted to be supporting the third series of RBS: Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes. This is a fantastic way to recognise inspiring individuals who have generously dedicated their time and skills to helping others within our communities in Scotland. Everyone at Royal Bank of Scotland will be getting behind the series and we are all looking forward to finding out more about the finalists when the series airs on STV later this year.”
For more information, visit www.stv.tv/realheroes.
Drink Driving: don’t take the risk
A driver will be stopped and breath tested every two minutes this summer
The Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland have launched their 2015 Summer Drink Drive campaign in support of Police Scotland’s Summer Safety Campaign. Using the strapline ‘Don’t spoil summer’, the campaign reminds drivers that getting behind the wheel after even one drink isn’t worth the risk or the consequences.
New data released yesterday shows that in Scotland there has been a 17% reduction in drink driving offences from January – March 2015 (997) compared to the same period in 2014 (1,209). This follows the introduction of Scotland’s new lower drink drive limit on 5 December, which means that even just one drink could put a driver over the limit.
Police stop a driver approximately every two minutes in Scotland Scotland, and have the powers to breath-test many of them. Police Scotland enforcement activity is running alongside Road Safety Scotland’s social marketing campaign, which highlights the often spontaneous nature of summer socialising.
Following the success of the legislation change in Scotland, the Police Federation of England & Wales last week issued a call for the legal limit in England and Wales to be in line with Scotland.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Michael Matheson, said: “Since the introduction of the new lower drink drive limit six months ago, Scotland is starting to see a real change in behaviour. The 17% reduction in drink driving offences indicates that Scottish drivers are avoiding alcohol when they are driving.
“Fewer drink driving offences is a positive story for Scotland and shows that we’re leading social and legislative change in the UK. We’re urging Scots to take care this summer and to remember it’s safer to avoid driving if you’ve consumed alcohol.
Michael McDonnell, Director of Road Safety Scotland, said: “Summer can be a time for getting together with friends and family, and many people go for a drink with colleagues after work on a sunny evening. Because this drinking is often unplanned, people may not have thought about the journey home. And many people don’t realise that just one drink can put them over the legal limit.
“Evidence shows that even one alcoholic drink before driving makes you three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident. It is estimated that one in eight deaths on Scottish roads involve drivers who are over the legal limit and, despite what many people think, eating food or a perceived alcohol tolerance don’t reduce its effects. Even a small amount impairs your judgement and reactions so, the best advice is just don’t risk it.”
Chief Superintendent Iain Murray, Head of Road Policing at Police Scotland, said: “Our message is simple – don’t spoil summer for you and your family or another family by drinking and driving. Police Scotland stop more than 20,000 Scottish drivers a month. That’s one vehicle every two minutes. If you have committed an offence, or if we have reasonable cause to suspect that you have been drinking, you may be subjected to a breath test.
“Even if you’re just over the limit, you’re still a drunk driver in the eyes of the law – there is no grey area. This may affect your current and future employment and can have wider implications for other areas of your life including overseas travel, even just for family holidays. If you drink and drive, you won’t just spoil summer.”
Find out more by visiting www.dontriskit.info or the Road Safety Scotland Facebook page.
If you suspect someone of drink driving, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 your local police office by dialling 101. In an emergency, dial 999.