WaterSafe, the national register of approved plumbers, is issuing guidance to householders on safe hosepipe use, as dry weather continues.
Hosepipes can harbour harmful bacteria, such as Legionella, which has the potential to flow back into buildings and contaminate the drinking water supply.
WaterSafe advises everyone to make sure their tap has a double-check valve installed to help keep drinking water safe.
Julie Spinks, Director at WaterSafe, said: “Hosepipes, if left submerged in dirty water or connected to an outside tap without adequate protection, can act as a channel for contamination.
“Homeowners should understand the risk of backflow and take the necessary steps to prevent it.”
The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations are designed to protect drinking water quality and mandate that all outside taps are fitted with a working double-check valve. This essential component acts as a non-return mechanism, preventing any water from flowing back into the mains supply.
WaterSafe advises homeowners to undertake the following measures:
Fit a compliant double-check valve to outside taps, such as one approved by BSI, KIWA, NSF or WRAS to prevent contaminated water flowing back into the drinking water supply. The British Standard states these valves should be replaced every 10 years.
As a minimum, the double-check valve should be installed inside the building, close to the garden tap.
Gently run water out of your hosepipe before using it, without any form of spray attachment.
Always keep your hosepipe out of the sun and in a cool place and turn off outside taps.
Disconnect your hosepipe when you have finished using it.
Never leave your hosepipe submerged in water, such as in a paddling pool, hot tub or pond.
Seek expert advice: if you are unsure about the installation or condition of backflow prevention devices on outside taps, consult a WaterSafe-approved plumber.
With water resources under increasing strain, especially during hot weather, WaterSafe would always encourage householders to avoid using a hosepipe, if possible, as it can use up to 1,000 litres of water an hour – equivalent to more than 12 baths!
“The humble watering can is a much more water efficient way to look after your plants, fill your paddling pool or wash your car,” adds Julie Spinks.
For more information on protecting drinking water quality and to find a WaterSafe-approved plumber, please visit www.watersafe.org.uk.
Big Kid Circus is at Fort Kinnaird this weekend (Thursday 15th May – Sunday 18th May).
Families can expect a spectacular show as the circus celebrates its 20th birthday, highlights include:
The 30ft King Kong: Watch in awe as this towering mechanical marvel comes to life, dominating the stage with jaw-dropping special effects.
The Globe of Death: Witness the heart-pounding spectacle of motorcyclists defying gravity inside a steel globe, performed by the first all-female team in Europe!
Daring Acrobatics and Aerial Acts: Prepare to be amazed by the strength, precision, and grace of Big Kid Circus’s world-class performers.
Family-Friendly Entertainment: With clowning, comedy, and interactive moments, the show is packed with fun for kids and adults alike.
Gardening is so much more than the nation’s favourite pastime.
‘Unearthed: The Power of Gardening’ celebrates gardening as a force for creativity, resilience and connection.
From the people who have fought for the right and space to garden to the stories of the plants we use for food and medicine, discover how gardening has shaped our lives, our communities, and our planet.
Alongside the@britishlibrary’s major exhibition at St. Pancras, the @lkn_libraries’ display at Edinburgh Central Library will explore the transformative power of gardening.
Edinburgh College’s HND Contemporary Art Practice (CAP) students invite you to their upcoming graduate exhibition What’s at Stake at Mote 102.
Join the CAP year 2 students for their opening event on 29th May as they celebrate an exciting new exhibition, marking the end of their time at Edinburgh College. The launch will take place between 6pm – 8pm, and all are welcome to attend.
The opening event at artist space and gallery Mote 102 (102 Ferry Road, EH6 4PG) will allow guests to see a preview of the work, as well as meet the next wave of contemporary artists over drinks and nibbles.
The exhibition will then run from 30th May – 2nd June, daily from 11am to 5pm, where viewers will get the opportunity to appreciate the work before it moves to the group’s second exhibition space at City Art Centre on the 11th June.
CAP lecturer Alan Holligan said: “What’s at Stake is a testament to the dedication and vision of our graduating artists. This exhibition not only showcases the depth of their creative exploration but marks a bold step into the wider art world.
“We’re immensely proud of their achievements and excited for what lies ahead.”
What’s at Stake will feature contemporary artwork on a variety of themes, including 2D, 3D, and installation/video, so come along and join the CAP graduates in celebrating the end of two incredible years. It’s going to be quite a party!
CAP year 2 student Bronwen Winter Phoenix said: “I’m so excited to see everyone’s art on display at Mote 102 – we’ve all worked really hard, and we’ve got some great work we can’t wait to show you!”
Mote 102 is a not-for-profit, curated, changing artist space in a former chemist shop in Leith, Edinburgh. The gallery hosts local artists, makers and gardeners with an eye to the wider world.
Exhibitions, events, residencies and the pop-up shop Made by Hand are in occupation on a rolling programme throughout the year.
ACCESSIBILITY: Mote 102 is an accessible venue, with ramp available for the pavement entrance step.
This Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re calling on the UK government for urgent reform to protect young people’s mental health.
Today, we’re heading to parliament to raise awareness of the benefits of positive communities – both online and offline – for our mental health.
We’ll also be shining a light on the dangers of digital spaces, and what we must do make online communities safer – particularly for young people.
While there are many supportive and uplifting online communities, there are also harmful ones that promote hatred, self-harm, and dangerous misinformation.
The mental health impacts of these negative environments can be catastrophic. So it’s essential that the government takes action to make these spaces safer, while we also learn about how we can embrace the good, and avoid the bad.
As part of a project run by Imaginate, children involved in the new North Edinburgh Youth Arts Collective have been working with artist Bishop May Down on a new performance, Election which will premiere at the North Edinburgh Festival (Sat 17 May) ahead of its inclusion in the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival Family Day programme at the National Museum of Scotland (Sat 24 May).
Election is a short, humorous pop-up performance theatre piece about politics and power, seen from a young person’s point of view. The show imagines eleven-year-olds as political ‘bigwigs’ with the power to make real change, and offers audiences a child’s perspective on what is valuable in their world.
Election is part of Creative Encounters, a three-year project set up by Imaginate (who produce the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival), which explores what it means to put children’s rights at the heart of the creative process.
Bishop May Down, Artistic Director of Election said: “Initially, I was definitely surprised, in an amazing way, about how passionate, articulate and knowledgeable the young people involved are about political issues, and current world issues.
“I think they are at a really interesting age of being able to articulate their opinions and they are also just verging on being able to challenge other’s opinions.”
From autumn 2022 until summer 2025, young people from North Edinburgh have been working with artists and Imaginate staff to co-create new theatre and dance performances, giving a central role to children’s ideas, interests and voices.
Young people are involved as key decision makers from the beginning of the project and commission an artist to create a theatre or dance performance, and they are invited into the artists’ creative process to co-create performances.
Young people also take part in workshops on curation, content creation, photography journalism, speech writing, and decision making.
Here is a sneak preview of them in rehearsal on YouTube:
Election will be performed throughout the day at both North Edinburgh Community Festival (Sat 17 May @12-4pm) and the Children’s Festival Family Day (Sat 24 May @10am-5pm).
Communities across Scotland seeking to set up renewable energy generation projects can bid for support from an £8 million Scottish government fund which has reopened for applications.
The Community Energy Generation Growth Fund supports local communities to install wind turbines and solar panels or develop other types of renewable energy generation, such as hydro, to meet local needs.
Successful applicants will also be able to earn money from their projects by, for example, allowing them to sell excess energy generated.
The expanded Scottish Government fund, which includes £4 million from Great British Energy, is part of the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) and builds on last year’s support.
Since its inception, CARES has advised over 1,300 organisations and provided over £67 million in funding to communities throughout Scotland, supporting over 990 projects.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes is set to announce the reopening of the fund at the All Energy Scotland conference in Glasgow this morning (Wednesday).
Speaking ahead of the conference, Ms Forbes said: “Scotland is fast becoming a global renewable energy powerhouse, and it is vital that communities share in the benefits from this transition.
“This funding, for stand-alone generation projects, responds to the needs of local groups – has the potential to lever in significant funds for communities. It will also play a key role in our delivery of a just transition – supporting a greener, fairer future for Scots.
“It is also welcome that Great British Energy recognise the valuable role that communities play in our green transition and have provided support for the fund – helping to significantly increase the amount of support available to communities – and providing a catalyst for growth within the community energy sector.
“We will continue to work with our partners to grow the community energy sector to ensure that the delivery of renewable energy comes with benefits for people in Scotland, as well as supporting progress towards net zero.”
Chris Morris from Local Energy Scotland said: “We’re pleased to be building on the success of last year’s Community Energy Generation Growth Fund pilot to support more Scottish communities looking to take the next steps in their renewable energy projects and play an active part in the nation’s transition to net zero.
“Scottish communities demonstrated an appetite to develop new projects during the pilot phase and ideas taken forward include partnering with local authorities to install solar panels on schools, getting approvals for new solar farms and building wind turbines.
We’re looking forward to supporting communities and helping even more of these inspiring projects be realised. For Scottish communities interested, the Local Energy Scotland team is here to help with information and case studies.”
Great British Energy funding boost for Scottish communities
£4m Great British Energy funding scheme to target clean energy projects in Scottish communities
Community-owned energy projects in Scotland to get access to funding from Great British Energy
new investment will help communities install clean power projects to cut bills and provide energy security
joint fund with the Scottish Government will give communities a stake in their local energy supply
Communities across Scotland can today apply for new funding from a £4 million Great British Energy scheme.
The funding targets local clean energy projects – from community-led onshore wind, to solar on rooftops and hydropower in rivers – generating profits which could be reinvested into community projects or take money off people’s bills.
Great British Energy, the government’s publicly-owned clean power company, is giving communities a stake in generating their own energy so people can reinvest profits where it really matters.
Great British Energy’s £4 million funding is part of the £8 million Community Energy Generation Growth Fund, with the remaining funding coming from the Scottish Government.
Minister for Energy Michael Shanks said: “This is our clean energy superpower mission in action – putting communities in the driving seat of energy generation and making sure people profit.
“Great British Energy wants to kickstart a community energy revolution, empowering our towns and villages to become mini energy producers and reinvest profits back into the local community.”
New NSPCC research has found that even the most popular social media platforms are failing girls at every stage, making them vulnerable to grooming, abuse, and harassment.
This comes as polling by the children’s charity also shows that a strong majority of adults across GB and in Scotland (86%) believe tech companies are not doing enough to protect girls from harm on social media.
Parents of girls aged 4-17 across GB highlighted contact from strangers (41%), online grooming (40%), bullying from other children (37%), and sexual abuse or harassment (36%) as their top four concerns when it came to their daughter’s experiences online.
The NSPCC is calling on tech companies to rethink how social media platforms are designed and prioritise creating age-appropriate experiences for young girls online.
Social media platforms, messaging apps and gaming platforms are failing to protect girls at every stage, according to new research from the NSPCC.
The children’s charity commissioned PA Consulting to conduct a new report, Targeting of Girls Online, which identified a wide range of risks girls face across ten popular online platforms including grooming, harassment and abuse.
As part of the research, fake profiles of a teenage girl were created on these sites.
The report found that the detailed nature of the profiles made it too easy for adult strangers to pick out girls and send unsolicited messages to their accounts.
Findings also highlighted how many of the features and functionalities employed by tech companies subliminally encourage young girls to increase their online networks, online consumption, and online activity – often at the expense of their own safety.
In response the NSPCC is urging Ofcom to address the significant gaps in its Illegal Harms Codes which fail to take into account specific risks which would be mitigated by solutions found in the report.
This comes as new YouGov polling for the children’s charity of 3,593 adults from across Great Britain, including 326 adults from Scotland, found that most respondents in both GB (86%) and in Scotland (86%) believe tech companies are doing too little to protect girls under the age of 18 on their platforms.
The survey also polled parents with daughters (431 from across GB), who listed contact from strangers (41%), online grooming (40%), bullying from other children (37%), and sexual abuse or harassment (36%) as their top four concerns related to their child’s experience online.
Half of the parents surveyed (52%) expressed concern over their daughter’s online experiences.
The Targeting of Girls Online report analysed features and design choices of these platforms which expose girls to harm online – including abuse, harassment and exploitation from strangers.
Proposed solutions include:
all services conducting their own ‘abusability studies’ to identify risky features and functionalities, as well as testing any new feature before rolling it out. These tests must include a gendered analysis of likely risk
social media apps should integrate screenshot capabilities into a reporting function, along with automatically detecting identifiable information in bios.
social media apps should implement a “cooling off” period once a connection is made between users, resulting in increased restrictions on interactions.
increased measures to prevent non trusted adults from being able to video call young users.
In particular, Ofcom should develop best practice guidance for regulated services, which outlines how safety settings and other protections can be adapted based on children’s age.
The regulator should then work with service providers, especially those most popular with children, to implement this guidance.
Without these necessary safeguards, young users – in particular girls – remain highly vulnerable to unsafe online interactions.
The NSPCC has long heard from young girls about their negative experiences online through Childline which encouraged them to undertake this research.
One 15-year-old who contacted Childline said:“I’ve been sent lots of inappropriate images online recently, like pictures of naked people that I don’t want to see.
“At first, I thought they were coming from just one person, so I blocked them. But then I realised the stuff was coming from loads of random people I don’t know. I’m going to try disable ways people can add me, so hopefully I’ll stop getting this stuff.”*
Rani Govender, Policy Manager for Child Safety Online, said: “Parents are absolutely right to be concerned about the risks their daughters’ are being exposed to online, with this research making it crystal clear that tech companies are not doing nearly enough to create age-appropriate experiences for girls.
“We know both on and offline girls face disproportionate risks of harassment, sexual abuse, and exploitation. That’s why it’s so worrying that these platforms are fundamentally unsafe by design – employing features and dark patterns that are putting girls in potentially dangerous situations.
“There needs to be a complete overhaul of how these platforms are built. This requires tech companies and Ofcom to step up and address how poor design can lead to unsafe spaces for girls.
“At the same time Government must layout in their upcoming Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy steps to help prevent child sexual offences and tackle the design failures of social media companies that put girls in harm’s way.”
Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk. Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.
Adults who are concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline by calling 0808 800 5000, or email: help@NSPCC.org.uk
Scotland’s Assisted Dying Bill clears first hurdle in Holyrood vote
The Scottish parliament has voted in favour of Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill. MSPs backed the Bill in a Holyrood vote last night. A majority of MSPs (70) supported the Bill, with 56 voting against.
This marks a significant shift in support since 2015, the last time a Bill on assisted dying came before the Parliament, and reflects the overwhelming public support for the introduction of the choice.
In-depth polling has shown that more than three-quarters of the Scottish public believe that the law should change, with majority support in every constituency in the country.
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would make the choice of assisted dying legal for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, alongside excellent end-of-life care.
Last night’s vote brings safe and compassionate choice at the end of life closer than ever before for dying Scots, say jubilant campaigners.
Welcoming the result, Ally Thomson, Director of Dignity in Dying Scotland , said: “This is a watershed moment for compassion. MSPs have today taken a historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people. The Scottish Parliament has listened to dying people and is reflecting their views.
“Many will be feeling overwhelming relief and gratitude that today our country has moved towards a safer and more compassionate law. So many people have stood up and spoken out about the harrowing suffering their loved ones endured as they died. While this is too late for them, it is now an enduring part of their legacy and testament to their courage in calling for change.
“Liam Mc Arthur MSP has been an incredible advocate for dignity and choice at the end of life. He has led this debate with respect, compassion and integrity, and will do so as the Bill progresses through the following stages.
“Significant though this moment is, in the months ahead we will join him in working with MSP colleagues on the amending stages to ensure that a new law is as robust as it can possibly be.
“Today, MSPs have voted for choice, safety and compassion. They have expressed the will of the majority of Scottish people and have made history. Now we must make the choice of assisted dying a reality.”
Be the first to shop the new summer range from Laura Thomas Co. at Edinburgh pop-up shop and workshop
Summer has finally arrived and however you choose to spend these longer, brighter days – whether you’ll be enjoying gentle strolls along the beach, dining al fresco with friends and family, or simply soaking up the sun rays – you can capture it all at an exclusive candle making workshop.
For one day only, Laura Thomas Co. is hosting a pop-up workshop in the heart of Edinburgh where fragrance fans can blend a selection of summer scents to create their own bespoke candle.
Guiding attendees through the basics of olfactory compositions will be Laura Thomas herself, founder of the award-winning lifestyle brand. Drawing on her years of experience pairing scents to create candles that stir the senses, Laura will reveal the secret to balancing top, heart and base notes.
Taking place at Moleta Munro on Saturday 17th May, all attendees at this hands-on workshop will take away their own uniquely perfumed candle, created using natural scents, 100% pure soy wax, a textile grade cotton wick, and presented in a reusable glass jar. The 8.5oz candle will burn for 35 hours, so attendees can enjoy their scent of the summer long after the sun sets.
Attendees will also get an exclusive first look at the brand-new summer range from Laura Thomas Co. which includes a stylish summer beach towel, a bright and colourful clutch bag for those summer evenings, a pretty basket for picnics on the beach, and a citronella travel candle to keep bugs at bay.
Plus, there will be treats served throughout the workshop, including tea, coffee and snacks during the morning sessions, and fizz, mocktails and nibbles in the afternoon.
Speaking ahead of the workshop, Laura commented: “The start of summer is such a special time. The prospect of slowing down and enjoying endless days in the sun instantly lifts the soul, and I’m excited to help capture those feelings.
“I’ll be assisting all our candle makers in creating aromas that evoke memories of summertime in years gone by, and spark excitement for the sun-filled days that lie ahead. I can’t wait to see what deeply personal combinations they all come up with.”
A place at the Laura Thomas Co. pop-up candle making workshop costs £35.
Places are strictly limited and must be booked online in advance.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday 17th May
Time: Sessions start at 10:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm and 2:30pm
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Where: Moleta Munro, 43-46 London Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6LX
