Due to popular demand, another smoking focus group in our comfy #NorthEdinburgh community hub!
Share a delicious lunch, we want to hear your stories. Ask all the questions you want with @QYWLothian and @ASHScotland
First Minister Humza Yousaf has led tributes to Sir Iain Livingstone QPM who yesterday (August 10) retired from policing after 31 years, including six as Scotland’s Chief Constable.
Sir Iain, who was appointed Chief Constable in August 2018 and served as Interim Chief from September 2017, announced his decision to retire from policing in February.
Having brought stability to Police Scotland, the 56-year-old led the organisation through the delivery of major events and challenges including the Covid pandemic, the policing of COP26, and the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Under his command, Police Scotland has delivered a world-leading homicide detection rate, clearly established a commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, and championed inclusion.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I would like to thank Sir Iain Livingstone for his outstanding leadership of Police Scotland over the past six years.
“During his time in charge, policing of the COVID pandemic, COP26 and the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II showcased all that is best about the qualities and traditions of Scottish policing.
“He has also shown courage and commitment in challenging the institutional and structural barriers that exist within Police Scotland. After 31 years of public service, I wish him well on his retirement.”
Martyn Evans, Chair of the Authority, said: “Sir Iain Livingstone has been integral to delivering the vision of a single national police service and transforming policing over the last decade. In doing so, he has shown great imagination, courage and created much needed stability.
“He has led Police Scotland with dignity, grace and distinction through significant major events and challenges. The Authority is immensely grateful for his contribution and leadership and we wish him well for this next chapter.”
Members of the force executive, probationary constables, and other colleagues, serving and retired, wished him well as he left Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan.
Sir Iain said: “Leading our officers and staff as Scotland’s chief constable to keep the public safe has been the privilege of my professional life.
“I thank and pay tribute to all my colleagues for their dedication and professionalism and to my family for their love and support.
“With the strong and experienced leadership team in place and under the command of new Chief Constable Jo Farrell, I know Police Scotland will continue to deliver ethical and effective policing for our fellow citizens.”
Chief Constable Farrell will take up post on 9 October with Deputy Chief Constable Designate Fiona Taylor QPM taking on the responsibilities of Chief Constable in the interim period.
DCC Taylor said: “On behalf of our officers and staff I thank and pay tribute to Sir Iain for his outstanding public service and inspirational leadership. We wish him and his family the very best.”
A summary of Sir Iain’s career is available on the Police Scotland website here.
Join ELREC for a sunny cycle to Portobello THIS Saturday.
The rides are fun, social, and inclusive.
Participants will need their own bike and we are offering a free bike safety check on the Friday afternoon prior to the ride at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre.
All details in the poster below 
Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania (12 August 2023 – 14 April 2024) delves into the most important and pressing issue of our time, humanity’s damaging relationship with planet Earth.
This is felt especially deeply in Australia and the Pacific Islands where sea levels are rising due to climate change and the oceans are filling with plastic.
The exhibition hosts the latest version of artist George Nuku’s installation, Bottled Ocean 2123, which imagines the state of the oceans 100 years into the future in an immersive, undersea landscape crafted from single use plastic bottles.
The artwork will address humanity’s unsustainable relationship with single use plastic, highlighting its impact on the natural environment and asking audiences to rethink their relationship with it.
It was created with the assistance of around 400 people including museum visitors, staff and volunteers from youth and community groups across Edinburgh. The opening of the exhibition coincides with the withdrawal from sale of plastic-bottled water at the National Museum of Scotland.
Rising Tide also marks the first display in Europe of a set of five kimono which make up an artwork entitled Song of Samoa, by internationally renowned artist Yuki Kihara, newly acquired by National Museums Scotland with the support of Art Fund.
This exhibition considers our relationship to the natural environment through contemporary responses to climate change and plastic waste by Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander artists.
Examples include work by master fisherman Anthony C Guerrero, who uses historic weaving techniques to make contemporary baskets from plastic construction strapping that is found littering his local beach in Guam.
The vulnerabilities of Oceanic countries to climate change are highlighted, whilst showcasing the strength and resilience of their diverse communities.
Alison Clark, Senior Curator of Oceania at National Museums Scotland said: “This exhibition takes visitors on an important journey of reflection and action. While Oceania may be far away from Scotland, the issues of rising sea levels and plastic pollution are global and their effects are also felt here in the UK.
“The exhibition presents a diverse range of responses from individuals in Oceania to climate threats that are relevant to our own lives. Whilst the climate change threat is both real and immediate, this exhibition also provides a sense of optimism for the future.”
Rising Tide also features historical material from National Museums Scotland’s collections, such as spear points from the Kimberley region of Western Australia made by Aboriginal men from discarded glass bottles.
A recurring theme throughout the exhibition, these spear points demonstrate that Indigenous peoples in Oceania have always innovated, using materials found in their environment to make cultural objects.
Rising Tide: Art and Environment in Oceania is part of Edinburgh Art Festival, taking place between 11–27 August 2023.
edinburghartfestival.com/eaf-2023/
@edartfest
#EdArtFest
FILL YER BOOTS: Optimism surrounds the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with 1 million tickets now issued
As the Edinburgh Festival Fringe enters its second weekend, audiences are embracing the call to Fill Yer Boots across a diverse and energetic Fringe programme.
With over 1 million tickets issued so far and thousands of people watching street performances and free shows; the 2023 Fringe is as relevant, exciting, accessible and diverse as ever.
While this key moment is an important milestone, the festival, and indeed the wider cultural sector, have much to do in their continued recovery from the pandemic.
As an open-access festival it is the artists themselves who are at the heart of the Fringe, taking the risk to bring work to Edinburgh every August. As such, the Fringe Society encourages everyone visiting the festival this August to continue to see work and explore as much as possible for the next two weeks.
Audiences have been flocking to the popular Street Events programme to experience local and international street performance every day from 11:00 – 18:00, with artists maximising the opportunity to tell passersby about their upcoming shows.
In addition to the outdoor programme, there are 439 free shows, and 614 Pay What you Can/Want shows across various venues ensuring something for everyone.
The Fringe Central Artist Hub, which this year is located in the Quaker Meeting House, has welcomed hundreds of artists to the space to network with peers, engage in an extensive events programme, and gain advice and support from the Fringe Society team.
The Fringe app, which returned this summer, has now had over 55,000 downloads; with Nearby Now and Shake to Search functionality helping audiences take a chance on watching something new while between shows or simply offering a randomised performance.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Last autumn when we reviewed the challenges facing the 2023 Fringe, we entered this year with uncertainty about what this summer would look like.
“Despite the current cost of living crisis, audiences have jumped straight into the Fringe programme and are exploring performance across every genre. With the average ticket price less than £12, it is the artists and venues who have worked tirelessly to ensure the Fringe is accessible as possible.
“I encourage you to continue to support this important event, book more tickets and Fill Yer Boots with everything this extraordinary festival has to offer!”
PCHP’s Women Supporting Women Programme will be kicking off next Wednesday as soon as the schools go back.
Our groups and activities are open to any women living here in North small (Muirhouse, Drylaw, Pilton, Granton, Royston & Wardieburn).
If you’re interested in coming along, you can register using this link https://forms.office.com/r/gY163TaJVT or the QR code on the poster.
Or, if you prefer, drop into Pilton Community Health Project to find out more.
Gas engineers gathered in Granton Waterfront yesterday to re-enact a historic lunch which took place prior to the iconic Granton gasholder being put into use in 1901.
The work carried out by McLaughlin & Harvey is part of the ongoing restoration works using £16.4m from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund. The money is being used to restore the original 76 x 46 metre frame to look like new.
Historic records on the original lunch said that attendees were taken ‘by special train’ to a ‘special station’ built for the gasworks in Granton where more than 50 members were met by ‘the Edinburgh and Leith Gas Commissioner’.
The documents go on to describe the gasholder as ‘a works that promises to be a model of structural beauty and mechanical ingenuity’.
The station mentioned in the documents is the former Granton Station which has been completely refurbished and will be managed from this year by social enterprise charity Wasps Studios, who work across Edinburgh and Scotland, to provide affordable workspace for artists and the creative industries.
Using a further £1.2m from the Scottish Government, the Council plan to open up the area to create a new and exciting multifunctional public space within the gasholder frame as part of their wider £1.3bn regeneration project to create a new sustainable coastal town at Granton Waterfront.
Council leader Cammy Day said: “The gasholder is so much more than a giant steel structure and is steeped in local history. I’m really pleased that the industry is reenacting the original lunch in this way creating another event for the history books.
“The gasholder can be seen for miles around so I’m very excited about our plans to transform it to serve the local community and visitors with a completely different purpose as a place for people to enjoy arts, sports, leisure and culture for years to come.
“We will make sure the gasholder becomes the centrepiece of our wider £1.3bn regeneration of the area with thousands of environmentally friendly homes, well connected to the rest of city, culture and art spaces and more planned.”
McLaughlin & Harvey Contracts Manager Graham Brown said: “We were delighted to host the Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers at our Granton Gas Holder project today to mark the luncheon held on-site back in 1901.
“The gas holder has an interesting and rich history which we are delighted to be adding to the next chapter of with our restoration works.”
IGEM CEO Ollie Lancaster said: “It’s a genuine delight to have the opportunity to visit such a special gasholder in Granton, Edinburgh, which has been used for many years to keep homes warm, put hot food on the table and power businesses in the region.
“This stunning landmark has played a significant contribution to balancing local energy supply and demand since it was commissioned, shortly after the 1901 luncheon my colleagues from yesteryear enjoyed.
“The gas industry has a rich history that we should celebrate, like we are doing today, while we also work hard to secure an affordable energy system for the future and develop the role of hydrogen in the transformation of our sector.”
Organiser of the upcoming Green Home Festival are urging religious and community groups to attend their upcoming show and discover how Scotland’s abandoned churches can be transformed into energy efficient social housing that benefits whole communities.
In Bringing Churches Back to Life, architects will explain what happens to former churches and community halls at the end of their working lives and how they can be converted into sustainable, eco-friendly homes for those who need them most.
And organisers say the show is the ideal opportunity for religious bodies to see how Scotland’s classic buildings can be saved for future generations – and the potential of transforming them into low-carbon homes that also benefit the environment.
Green Home Festival co-organiser David Logue, who is partner at Gardiner & Theobald, said: “Scotland has a large number of churches and other religious buildings that face a wide range of challenges due to their ageing infrastructure and exposure to the elements.
“Running costs, ongoing maintenance and dwindling usage can all mean that such buildings face an uncertain future, plus their very size often means that it’s difficult to know what to do with such a large space.
“Converting such buildings into energy-efficient social housing is already gaining traction and the upcoming Green Home Festival will give examples of how such ideas have already become reality.
“We hope that religious bodies, community groups and those with an interest in Scotland’s heritage will join us to explore the options for resurrecting buildings that might otherwise be left to decay or stand empty.”
The Green Home Festival show on Friday 18 August will see Eamon McGarrigle and Jess Davidson from Page\Park architects explain the challenges of marrying old with new to achieve ‘passivhaus’ standards.
They’ll reveal details of the first social housing built to such standards in Glasgow and share their experience in developing retrofit plans for the conversion of existing buildings for housing, with a focus on the delivery of low-energy and zero carbon strategies.
This will be followed by a presentation by James Anthony of Eco Congregation Scotland, who’ll outline the many issues found in church buildings while seeking to reduce carbon and give an overview of the body’s own ‘greening’ strategy for such structures.
Co-organiser Gordon Nelson, Scotland Director of the Federation of Master Builders, added: “Scotland has some truly beautiful religious buildings that are coming to the end of their working lives and yet absolutely deserve to be preserved, used and admired for generations to come.
“If we can combine such preservation with energy efficient-housing that benefits local communities, that has surely got to be a good thing for both the environment and the people who live in them?
“This Green Home Festival show will demonstrate some excellent initiatives and we would encourage anyone with an interest in church buildings to attend and find out the potential for bringing them back to life and giving them a useful and rewarding purpose.”
Starting on Monday 14 August, and organised by the Construction Industry Collective Voice (CICV), the second Green Home Festival will deliver 11 free shows on low-carbon living as part of the official Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Topics will include how to reduce energy bills, preparing for heat pumps, community heating networks, creating sustainable kitchens, green garden rooms and offices, making retrofit projects eco-friendly and how the home of the future will be powered.
Live sessions will take place at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) at 10 Charlotte Square in central Edinburgh, with contributions from the likes of Home Energy Scotland, Scottish Water, SNIPEF and SELECT.
The festival is the latest in a string of practical and constructive initiatives launched by the CICV since its creation at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Made up of 28 trade associations, professional services bodies and companies, it has maintained a steady supply of information and practical advice to the sector as well as carrying out surveys, producing animations and posters, hosting webinars and maintaining close dialogue with Scottish Government ministers.
Fort Kinnaird has launched its first ever ‘Little Library’ book swap so children can share and exchange books for free as they get ready to go back to school.
With books for children of all ages, the book swap aims to help families be more sustainable while also providing them with access to new stories free of charge.
More than 100 books have been donated by employees at Fort Kinnaird to stock up the Little Library’s shelves and families are encouraged to put another book back in its place if they take one – but only if they are able to.
Books available include everything from The Hungry Caterpillar and Dear Zoo for younger children, to several of the popular David Walliams novels for older readers.
The book swap will be available at the centre until September and is located in the play park, between Caffé Nero and TGI Fridays.
Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “We’re so pleased to be launching our first book swap. From our ongoing partnership with the National Literacy Trust through the Young Readers Programme, we know how important it is for children to have access to books – both for their imaginations and to support their learning.
“As well as helping families that need a little more support this summer, we also hope this initiative will encourage our visitors to recycle any unwanted books they might have at home and give them a second life. It wouldn’t have been possible without the kind donations from our team, which we’re extremely grateful for and we can’t wait to see children across the community benefitting from it.”
For more information on different ways to enjoy summer fun at Fort Kinnaird visit: https://www.fortkinnaird.com/whatson
Fort Kinnaird is open from 9am – 9pm on weekdays, and 9am – 6pm on weekends.
YESTERDAY (Wednesday 9th August), the Scottish Parliament in partnership with the Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Bangladesh held a panel discussion on the ‘Urgency of climate change and justice in vulnerable low-lying countries ahead of COP28.’
The event, chaired by Member of Scottish Parliament and Convener of CPG Bangladesh Foysol Choudhury, is part of the 19th Festival of Politics hosted by the Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh International Festival between 9th – 11th August.
The panel on climate justice featured experts on climate advocacy, including Ben Wilson, Advocacy Manager at the Scottish International Catholic Aid Fund (SCIAF); Jelina Berlow-Rahman, Senior Director of Berlow Rahman Hassan Ltd. Solicitors in Glasgow; Dr Elizabeth Cripps, Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Edinburgh and Professor Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change in Bangladesh.
Among the guests were the Consul General of India in Edinburgh; Turkish-Scottish Chamber of Commerce and academics from Scotland and Bangladesh.
The event centred on the theme of the unequal impact of global climate change on low-lying countries such as Bangladesh, Maldives, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Panellists engaged in discussions about climate change as a moral and human rights issue, and how countries can mobilise long-term climate adaptation plans to tackle emerging challenges such as climate migration.
They further deliberated on the loss and damage fund established at COP27 and how the international community can best continue supporting local actors at the frontline of climate disasters ahead of COP28 this year.
Speaking after the event, Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “Today’s discussion reaffirmed that Scotland must reinvigorate its commitments to net zero emissions, as well as its targets to ensure climate justice elsewhere in the world, before COP28.
“Failure to meet climate goals will have, and is having, a devastating impact on low-lying countries, who have contributed the least to the climate change which is devastating them.
“We have already seen an increase in extreme weather in countries vulnerable to climate change, such as the floods in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“Scotland needs to urgently engage in a multifaceted response comprising of climate mitigation, adaptation, and support, to ensure that climate justice for all countries can be realised on our path to net-zero.
“I hope this discussion offers insight into the urgency of the situation and reinvigorates the drive for change.
“We cannot afford to wait any longer before doing so.”
The panel event can be viewed on the following link:
