MSP Colin Keir holds his next surgery here at Muirhouse Millennium (Community) Centre TONIGHT (3 November) from 4pm. If you are a constituent and have a problem, enquiry or complaint, you are more than welcome to come to one of Colin’s surgeries, which take place on the first Monday of each month. No appointment necessary.
James McGinty
You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.
Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.
“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”
Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.
The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.
That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.
Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”
You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.
Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.
“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”
Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.
The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.
That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.
Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”
PILTON COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT VOLUNTEERS ‘WALK’ AWAY WITH AN AWARD!
We are delighted to announce that the Pilton Community Health Project walking volunteers have won an award from the Scottish charity Paths for All.
The award for ‘Health Walk Volunteer group of the Year’ will be presented by Shona Robison MSP at the charity’s annual celebration ceremony ‘Celebrating Scotland’s Walking Champions’ tomorrow (Tuesday 4 Novomber) at the Scottish Parliament.
The ceremony recognises the achievements of volunteers from across the country and their contribution to making Scotland more active.
The Pilton Community Health Project walking volunteers have won the award for their dedication and team spirit; this has been key to the success and expansion of the walking programme.
The team consists of eleven highly motivated volunteers who are all passionate about walking and how it can address health inequalities. Without them, the project wouldn’t be able to offer an increasingly wide range of opportunities for local people.
Together they effectively manage the walking groups and help others take steps toward improving their health and wellbeing.
Congratulations to all!
The Christmas Charity Festival will be taking place at Inverleith Park on 6 & 7 December and organisers are looking for choirs to help provide some seasonal song at the popular event.
A number of slots are available throughout the day – if you’d like to take part contact Terry Crossley – email terry@greatscottishevents.org.uk – or telephone 0131 208 2500.
Visit www.christmascharityfestival.com for more info on the weekends’s events
Please help us help you by completing our questionnaire about local Voluntary Sector Forums.
Please see link below to a survey regarding the local Voluntary Sector Forums which asks questions of your involvement with, and your experience of, participating in the Forum within your area.
http://www.evoc.org.uk/blog/voluntary-sector-forums/
I have already met some of you who have shared their experiences with me. However, having looked at the notes from these meetings I have realised that this is an opportunity to collate as many opinions as possible and try to identify what the strengths of the Forums are, how we build on these strengths whilst acknowledging and identifying where improvement can be achieved.
Can I ask you to take 10 minutes out to complete this more comprehensive questionnaire?
A discussion paper will then be produced highlighting the results and looking at a way forward to ensuring everyone, who wants to, can engage fully and effectively with both Voluntary Sector Forums and also Neighbourhood Partnerships. This piece of work will also complement and feed into the Neighbourhood Partnership Review.
All organisations responding to this questionnaire will be kept fully informed of the findings and we also hope to highlight best practice and some of the successes achieved by all organisations working together.
http://www.evoc.org.uk/blog/voluntary-sector-forums/
EVOC’s AGM and Annual Conference 2014: ‘Chasing Unicorns’
‘Chasing Unicorns’, EVOC’s Third Sector Conference and Annual General Meeting, will be held on 11 November 2014 from 9:30am (for 10am start) to 1.30pm at the Norton Park Conference Centre in Edinburgh. We’ll be exploring the future of Scotland’s Third Sector – and any opportunities or challenges that may arise post Referendum.
Full details of the event and booking form available here.
The children will be required for the following rehearsals:
Saturday 8th November 12 noon – 2pm at North Edinburgh Arts
Saturday 15th November 12 noon – 2pm at North Edinburgh Arts
Saturday 29th November 12 noon – 2pm at North Edinburgh Arts
Saturday 6th December 12 noon – 2pm at North Edinburgh Arts.
The children will also be required for rehearsals from 2nd January – 17th January. Performances are on 15th, 16th & 17th January.
Please get in contact with me or Kate Wimpress, if you would like to discuss this further. People who have already expressed an interest – again, please confirm this to me by 7th November.
Visit to National Library of Scotland Monday 8 December
I have heard back from some of you, but if there is anyone else who should like to come, please let me know by 7th November.
Stephanie Knight, North Edinburgh Theatre Project
Five Edinburgh residents who wrote short stories about what ‘home’ means to them for a national writing competition have had their submissions chosen to be published in a book.
They beat off competition from over 500 other entries to win a place in a special book entitled Scotland’s Stories of Home. Their submissions will feature alongside entries from 33 other winners and author contributors such as Alan Warner, Vic Galloway, Kirsty Logan and Beatrice Colin.
The winners include:
Seonaid Cook, writing as Shona Cook, who submitted ‘Home Run’, a story that recounts a train journey from Edinburgh to London in which she ponders her feelings about the Scottish Referendum.
Commenting on the publication of her story, Seonaid said: “The project was timely; helping me confront complex feelings about where I belong after changes in family and career and discussions around the independence referendum. I’m excited, if a little nervous, to see my work in print for the first time since I set out to be a writer.”
Sine Kay Harris, a student at the University of Glasgow, submitted ‘Shell’, a story about finding ‘home’ in amongst the bookshelves of Edinburgh’s public libraries.
Sine said: “I think the Scotland’s Stories of Home project is a really wonderful opportunity to give the people of Scotland a chance to speak for themselves about what this country we all call home means to them.”
Laura Clay, an editor for the Raspberry Pi Foundation, submitted ‘A Story of Homecoming’. Her story explores her experience of getting to know Edinburgh again after eight years of living down south.
Laura said: “The Stories of Home project has meant a great deal to me; having moved back to Edinburgh after eight years away, it’s been a good way of reconnecting with the city I love. I feel very lucky to be included in the book. It’s the first time my writing has been published, and I’m hoping my other work will be similarly successful in future!”
The other Edinburgh winners were Julie Morrice, a music teacher living in Newington, with her poem ‘Travelling Home’ and Lorna Malone, a copywriter for an investment company, with her short story ‘A Potful of Home.’
The competition was held by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland, and encouraged members of the public to express in writing what ‘home’ as a place or a concept means to them. Contributions included poems as well as prose that tell tales of childhood, communities, family life, travel and food.
To celebrate the third year of Book Week Scotland (24 – 30 November 2014) more than 150,000 free copies of Scotland’s Stories of Home will be gifted to people throughout the week. The books will be distributed in local bookshops, public libraries, prisons, hospitals, visitor information centres, ferry terminals and train stations. All the stories entered for the competition are available to read at www.bookweekscotland.com.
Scotland’s Stories of Home also features original commissioned contributions from some of the best-loved names in Scottish arts andliterature, including Alan Warner, Des Dillon and a special contribution in Gaelic from Catriona Lexy Chaimbeul.
Sophie Moxon, Acting Director of Scottish Book Trust said: “Scotland’s Stories of Home has given people of all ages living in Scotland a chance to express in writing what ‘home’ means to them. We received hundreds of submissions from members of the public, sharing beautifully unique stories of home as a place and a concept and are delighted to be able to give away 150,000 free copies of this wonderful book for Book Week Scotland 2014.”
All the entries to the Scotland’s Stories of Home campaign can be read here: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home
The Edinburgh winner’s stories are available at the following links:
Shona Cook’s ‘Home Run’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/home-run
Sine Kay Harris’ ‘Shell’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/shell
Laura Clay’s ‘A Story of Homecoming’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/a-story-of-homecoming
Julie Morrice’s ‘Travelling Home’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/travelling-home
Lorna Malone’s ‘A Potful of Home’: http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/reading/stories-of-home/story/a-potful-of-home
A quick reminder that Pilton Youth & Childrens Project (PYCP) annual general meeting is on Friday (7 November) at 2pm in The Greenhouse. Details below:
North Edinburgh Young Peoples Forum member LAURA says we must speak out when we encounter homophobia …
How are the LGBTQIA* community portrayed in the media?
Society has certainly progressed in the acceptance of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex or asexual, but how do we portray them in media?
Many people are still offended by people identifying as LGBTQ, but with same-sex marriage being legalised in many countries and states, the media is starting to recognise and portray more LGBTQIA people in films and TV Shows.
However, if a character in a TV show is portrayed, for example, as being lesbian, their sexuality is almost always a huge part of the plot and they are commonly shown as having had many girlfriends just to prove that they are lesbian. The same goes for people being portrayed as gay.
But TV shows are reluctant to feature transgendered people, whether they are trans-male/trans-female or simply non-binary, and asexuals/aromantics are normally shown as people who haven’t ‘met the right person’.
However, while TV Shows and films are certainly improving the way they portray LGBTQIA people, some channels are still portraying them negatively.
Stonewall, a charity for LGBTQIA people, discovered that “Gay people and their lives are five times more likely to be portrayed in negative terms on the BBC” and that “BBC programmes frequently use gay sexuality for making jokes or as an insult, and rely heavily on clichéd stereotypes”.
In July 2010, Stonewall published research about representation in youth television: 49% of portrayal was stereotypical and 0.6 of the content they viewed portrayed LGBTQIA people ‘positively and realistically’.
So what is there to do about negative portrayal of the LGBTQIA community in media?
Obviously, you can complain to the television companies, but not a lot can come from a single complaint letter or e-mail. The key to making a difference is to get LOUD.
You can get into contact with various different charities, Stonewall is an excellent example of one of them, and organise a protest or campaign. You can get your friends and families all to write letters of complaint – the more the merrier. You can put what you’ve seen on the internet for the world to see. There are countless other ways to stop discrimination against LGBTQIA people, and its easy to get involved.
Whether you’ve read something homophobic in a newspaper or magazine, seen stereotypes of LGBTQIA people on TV, or heard something offensive on the radio, it’s easy to get involved, and it’s your responsibility. If everyone waits for somebody else to do it – nobody will.
You can see Stonewalls page about the portrayal of LGTQIA people in the media at: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/what_we_do/research_and_policy/2875.asp
Laura, North Edinburgh Young Peoples Forum
Pictures by Nicki and Josh (NEYPF)
* Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual.
