Total Craigroyston’s Summer newsletter is out now. Click on link below …
Total Craigroyston Summer newsletter
Mikaeel: mother pleads guilty to reduced charge
Rosdeep Adekoya, the mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular, has admitted killing her son and hiding his body in a suitcase. Adekoya had originally been charged with murder but admitted the reduced charge of culpable homicide when she appeared at Edinburgh’s High Court yesterday. She will be sentenced next month.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice said: “The basis for the plea tendered being accepted is that the Crown accepts that the accused had no intention to kill Mikaeel and that the assault perpetrated upon him, although severe, fell short of the wicked recklessness required for murder.”
However there is some anger that the Crown agreed to the reduced charges. One neighbour, who was involved in the two-day search for the little boy and was present at the High Court, said the decision was ‘a disgrace. This was murder’.
Mikaeel died two days after being beaten by Rosdeep Adekoya at the family’s flat in Muirhouse in January. She put his body in a suitcase, which she then dumped behind her sister’s house in Kirkcaldy. Ms Adekoya told police that Mikaeel had disappeared from the family home, sparking a massive major two-day search.
Adekoya also admitted attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police that Mikaeel had gone missing.
She pleaded guilty to repeatedly punching her son and causing his body to hit against a hard object or inflicting blunt injuries on his head and body between 12 and 15 January at their home in Ferry Gait Crescent.
She also admitted wrapping Mikaeel’s body in a duvet cover, putting it in a suitcase and driving to Dunvegan Avenue in Kirkcaldy, Fife, where she hid the case under a bush in woods behind a house.
She had called 999 to report her son missing to police, telling officers he got out of bed and climbed on a stool to unlock the front door of his home.
She admitted causing a major search for her son, involving police, the fire service, coastguard, mountain rescue crews and members of the public.
The court heard harrowing details of how Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday 14 January from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday. Ms Adekoya then took Mikaeel’s twin sister to nursery at Flora Stevenson’s School before driving over to Fife with the three year old boy’s body in the boot of the car.
The court heard that Adekoya later broke down during a police interview and told officers: “It was an accident and I panicked. I am going to go to the jail.” She subsequently then took police to her son’s body in the woods, where it was found in a suitcase covered with branches.
The cause of death was found to be “blunt force abdominal trauma” – Mikaeel had more than 40 separate injuries to his body.
Sentence was deferred until 25 August.
Fundraiser for baby Elizabeth
Turtle Tots are holding a charity fun day at Gymboree on Sunday 10 August (9 – 4pm) to raise funds for baby Elizabeth Soffe, who was badly injured in a fire.
Booking is essential: for tickets or for further information email
Edinburgh@turtletots.com
or visit the Turtletots Facebook page
Additions to West Pilton summer programme
West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre have added more activities to their summer programme:
Tuesday 29 July and 5 August
Sports Leadership Course 10-16 year olds
10.00am-1.00pm 50p per child
Gain a certificate to be able to assist in delivering playground games and sessions with younger children in various settings.
Limited spaces and attendance is required on both days.
Friday 8 August
The Generator at the Scottish National Gallery
10.00am-12.00 5-12 year olds £1.40 per child
A crazy Art Lab—What happens when you mix art with music? How do you ‘un-paint’ a picture? What could a sculpture be made of? Simply pick up your artist’s I.D card and begin your journey of discovery!
Limited spaces available
A Consent form is required to be completed and returned to the Centre before the day. Meet at the Centre to leave prompt at 9.30am to catch the bus.
Spaces on all courses must be booked and paid for before the date. For further information contact West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, telephone 551 3194
Gaza: Call for action after school is shelled
British Red Cross launches Gaza appeal
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is ‘deeply concerned’ by the crisis in Gaza and is urging continued efforts towards ceasefire. Mr Hammond spoke as reports that at least 15 people have been killed and more than 200 injured in the shelling of a United Nations-run school used as a shelter in Gaza. The British Red Cross has also launched an appeal to fund vital help for people affected.
More than 600 people have died and almost 150,000 forced to flee their homes in more than two weeks of violence. As the conflict continues, 1.2 million people have no or limited access to water or sanitation.
Staff and volunteers from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have already been working around in the clock in dangerous conditions to help people affected.
Donations to the appeal will help them continue giving essential support, which has so far included emergency health care such as treating the wounded, sending ambulances across the Gaza Strip and bringing truckloads of medical supplies to hospitals. The Movement has also carried out vital repairs to water and sewage networks.
The Movement has also negotiated crucial pauses in the fighting, allowing civilians to evacuate some of the worst hit areas.
Katy Attfield, British Red Cross head of disaster management, said: “The violence in Gaza and Israel has devastated communities, and left many people in desperate need of help. Donations to the appeal will give them crucial support in the weeks and months ahead. Please give what you can.”
To donate to the appeal visit www.redcross.org.uk
Visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on yesterday and today (23 and 24 July), Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
The Foreign Secretary said: “The conflict in Gaza is taking a terrible toll. With more than 700 Palestinians killed, including more than 150 children, as well as the loss of more than 30 Israeli lives, it is beyond time to bring an end to this conflict and stop the bloodshed.
“I stressed to all those I saw my deep concern at the high numbers of civilian casualties and the humanitarian impact of the conflict. I underlined the need for all concerned to exert every effort to secure an immediate ceasefire to end the violence.
“With President Abbas, I expressed my concern for the heavy loss of civilian lives in Gaza, including many women and children. I reiterated the UK’s strong support for his leadership and thanked him for his own efforts to achieve a ceasefire. I stressed that, once a ceasefire is secured, there is an urgent need for a long term plan for Gaza.
“With Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Lieberman, I expressed my deep concern at Hamas’s rocket attacks and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself. I urged that Israeli forces do everything they can to avoid civilian casualties, and stressed the need for a rapid conclusion to their ground operation in Gaza.
“With all, I emphasised the UK’s support for the US-Egyptian led efforts to broker a ceasefire, which remains the best means of ending the current violence and preventing further loss of life. For a ceasefire to be durable, there must then be rapid movement to address the underlying causes of the conflict, with a central role for the Palestinian Authority and a strong one for the international community.
“The current crisis underlines once again the need for a wider political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which is the only way to secure a lasting peace.”
Commenting on the worsening situation, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said: “It is vital that the situation is brought under control and de-escalated as soon as possible, to prevent any more loss of innocent civilian lives, such as those in this latest incident.
“That involves restraint on both sides – the rocket attacks on Israel should stop, as should the Israeli shelling of Gaza, which has been heavily disproportionate. Israel has a right to seek security for its own citizens, but that should not involve the shelling of civilian areas.
“I am glad to see that the UK Government have now become active on this issue, with the Foreign Secretary’s visit to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. However, that action will only be effective if it involves frank dialogue, and as such the Foreign Secretary’s view that ‘Western opinion is becoming more and more concerned and less and less sympathetic to Israel’ is one that should be heeded by the Israeli leadership.
“As a Government we continue to add our voice to those in the international community calling for an immediate, longer term ceasefire to put an end to the violence that is causing so many civilian deaths and injuries. We also believe that the continued blockade of Gaza is exacerbating the suffering experienced by the civilian population people there and should come to an end.”
In the past 16 days of fighting, more than 750 Palestinians and 33 Israelis have been killed, with thousands more injured, according to official reports. With little prospect of peace in sight and the international community seemingly unable to intervene to stop the slaughter, those dreadful figures can only rise.
That appeal website address again:
www.redcross.org.uk
New walk jog club hits the ground running!
Whilst many of you were possibly sitting enjoying the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games last night …
Dave and Phil’s Walk/Jog Club started here in North Edinburgh at East Pilton Park and had a great turn out for the first night! This brand new exciting activity is led by amazing and enthusiastic and experienced local volunteers and is accessible to anyone who would like to try out jogging for the first time; or second, or third….
It’s also great to see so many people getting out and using some of the fantastic local green spaces we have here in Greater Pilton too! Please feel free to spread the word about this great activity to anyone and everyone you think needs to know.
Healthy Regards
Lianne Pipskyj
Development Worker- Physical Activity
Pilton Community Health Project
Meet the ancestors!
REVEALING THE FACES OF LEITHERS PAST
A five-year project to analyse bodies discovered during an archaeological dig by the City of Edinburgh Council and Headland Archaeology has shed new light on Leithers of the past. Forensic artists have now unveiled what the Medieval residents of the former burgh might have looked like some 500 years ago.
A team of experts from the University of Dundee carried out a painstaking process to reconstruct the faces of the 14th to 17th century remains, discovered near Constitution Street.
The bodies of almost 400 men, women and children dating as far back as the 14th century were found on the site of a previously unknown section of the South Leith Parish Church’s graveyard during preparation work for Edinburgh Trams in 2009.
Identified as a particularly sensitive archaeological zone, the Constitution Street location was considered important due to its proximity to the early Medieval core of Leith and the later 16th and 17th century town defences.
The subsequent unearthing of graveyard burials are thought to be amongst some of the most significant Medieval finds in Scottish history. They could provide the first archaeological evidence for the Medieval Hospital of St Anthony’s, destroyed in the 16th century.
Now detailed analysis by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Archaeology Service and Headland Archaeology, in partnership with the University of Aberdeen, has revealed the age, sex, build and pathology of the individuals.
Artists from the University of Dundee have also been able to provide a glimpse of the faces of Leithers past using hi-tech reconstruction techniques, revealing strikingly modern-looking results.
By using forensic modelling to determine the shape and depth of facial muscles and soft tissues, isotopic analysis to ascertain individuals’ origins and state-of-the-art computer programming, researchers were able to build up lifelike facial representations for the 400 to 600-year-old remains.
Amongst the reconstructions was that of a boy, aged between 13 and 17, who was thought to have lived around Leith and Edinburgh and to have died in the late 14th or early 15th century, an adult male aged 25 to 35 who lived in the mid 16th to 17th century and a woman also aged between 25 and 35, who died in the late 14th and early 15th century.
Richard Lewis, City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture Convener, said: “The unearthing of such important remains was a major discovery five years ago, but to be able to gain an even closer insight into Leith’s medieval past is incredibly exciting.
“Edinburgh has an undeniably rich and interesting history, but work like this means the whole city can truly appreciate our heritage.”
John Lawson, City Archaeologist, said: “This is one of the largest and most important urban excavations of human remains undertaken in Edinburgh and Scotland in recent years. The results have shed new light on the lives of the Medieval population in one of Scotland’s largest and most important ports.
“It has allowed us to highlight the lives of the ordinary person in Leith, by putting a face to these individuals and showing how they lived and died. The forensic reconstructions have really helped to identify these remains as those of members of the public, rather than merely deeming them as archaeological remains, and how alike they are to modern day inhabitants of Leith and Edinburgh.
“Additionally, the project has allowed us to develop important partnerships with the Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen, which is already leading on to possible further areas of collaborative research into the former inhabitants of Edinburgh.”
Professor Caroline Wilkinson from the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, University of Dundee, said: “The MSc Forensic Art course has been running for eight years at the University of Dundee, and over the last few years a fruitful partnership has been built with the City of Edinburgh Council and the Museum of Edinburgh.
“Postgraduate students have been using forensic techniques to analyse the burials unearthed by the Edinburgh Tram project and through these internships and research projects this has developed into a productive and stimulating collaboration. Through craniofacial analysis it is now possible to exhibit the faces of local people from Edinburgh’s past and gain insight into the lives of our ancestors.”
Foodies Festival to tempt tastebuds in Inverleith
Foodies Festival, the UK’s largest celebration of food & drink, returns to Inverleith Park all weekend from Friday 8th – Sunday 10th August.
Each year the ever-growing festival sees visitors flock to feast on a delightful choice of culinary activities, making Foodies Festival one of the big social events of the summer.
This year we’re promised top chefs cooking in the Chef’s Theatre; wine, beer, and cocktails in the Drinks Theatre; you can join top pastry chefs in the brand new Chocolate, Cake, Bake and Preserves Theatre, and kids can learn to cook too in the Children’s Cookery Theatre.
A new Feasting Tent at the heart of the festival will become the social hub, where visitors will enjoy eating with chefs, friends and family at long banqueting tables.
Another fun addition this year is the Vintage Tea Tent that will hold daily tea dances, alongside a Vintage Kitchen Market allowing visitors to pick up beautiful pieces to add to their own kitchens at home.
The new Real Ale and Cider Farm offers an area for visitors to chill out on hay bales and strike up a conversation with beer and cider expert Melissa Cole and fellow beer lovers. There’s a guitar behind the bar for those in the mood to get a sing-along started! Who knows, maybe The Wurzels will make a surprise guest appearance!
A new Chilli Food Market will excite those with a love for spicy foods with a range of chilli growers and artisan producers of sauces, sweets and jams. For those who can handle the heat a Chilli Eating Challenge takes place at 5pm daily!
Foodies Festival tickets are on sale now – for tickets or more information visit www.foodiesfestival.com
Early Years vacancy at Stepping Stones
MELA looking for volunteers
The Edinburgh Mela Festival 2014 is looking for volunteers
Friday 29 – Sunday 31 August
A carnival atmosphere with a vibrant and exciting mix of dance, music, street art and theatre, The Edinburgh Mela Festival is a lively, colourful event for all the family.
We are looking for enthusiastic and friendly volunteers to join the Festival team, so if you are looking for a fun, summer experience then this is the opportunity for you…
We are looking for volunteers in the following areas:
Artist Liaison, Audience Services, Market Stalls, Kids and family area, Green Recycling Team and Marketing.
We provide:
Ø A volunteer training session, which will give you a chance to meet your volunteer colleagues
Ø Travel expenses to and from the Festival
Ø A meal per shift plus refreshments from our hospitality area
Ø 2 complimentary day tickets
Ø A limited edition Mela t-shirt
Ø You will be able to ask for a reference on successful completion of your volunteer post
You will be asked to attend a short, informal interview and training session.
To find out more, please contact Antonia Dickson on 07870621086 or email volunteer@edinburgh-mela.co.uk; alternatively write to The Edinburgh Mela, Unit 14, Abbeymount Techbase, 2 Easter Road, Edinburgh, EH7 5AN
The deadline for all opportunities is Sunday 10 August.
http://www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk/
