Our monthly ride is heading out from Middle Meadow Walk at 2pm today – going West towards Corstorphine and back with a wee stop at Saughton!
Hope to see you there – going to be excellent!
Edinburgh Women’s Aid, (EWA), is marking its 50th anniversary this year with a series of events, including its latest seminar, ‘Changing the Landscape: 50 years of activism and action against domestic abuse’, attended by over 80 guests at Edinburgh University, including Councillor Cammy Day, Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council.
The seminar explored the role of research in changing the policy landscape around domestic abuse and looking back on the development of EWA, which has supported tens of thousands of women and children for the past 50yrs who have been able to access the safe accommodation and support, including legal advice and help securing employment.
Guest speakers at the event, which was co-hosted by the School of Social and Political Science at Edinburgh University, in partnership with genderED, included Professors Rebecca and Russell Dobash who began researching domestic abuse in Scotland, shortly after the first refuge in the city opened in 1973 and unveiled a map of refuges which have opened around the world over the past 50 years.
Over the years, they have published 11 books and numerous articles on violence, gender and murder, including their ‘Violence Against Wives’ study into the incidence and nature of domestic abuse in Scotland, later published as Violence Against Wives: the case against the patriarchy (1979).
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “Nobody should have to suffer abuse, whatever form it takes.
“Over the last 50 years, Edinburgh Women’s Aid has been unwavering in their commitment to help and support victims and survivors of domestic abuse. We know that there is still a way to go before we live in a world where domestic abuse is history. Our policies, such as the Multi-Agency Domestic Abuse Policy, is designed to provide an understanding and supportive service to those affected by this issue and to those who work to help them stay safe.
“We know that there is more that we can do to offer support, as an organisation and as individuals. As a Council we’re part of the Equally Safe Edinburgh Committee which is working to make the city safe for women, children and young people and recently I became an ambassador for White Ribbon Scotland to encourage men to play their part and stand up and speak out against violence against women. Working together we can make sure we provide the very best safeguards that we can to anyone at risk of harm.”
Professor John Devaney, Head of School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, whose research interests relate to domestic abuse and family violence, said: “Our understanding about what causes and sustains domestic abuse has improved significantly over the past fifty years.
“While the range of effective support available to child and adult victims has improved significantly in that time, unfortunately the level and nature of funding of support services is still too little given the scale and consequences of the issue.
“Edinburgh Women’s Aid are to be commended for the high quality of support they offer to child and adult survivors, and the University of Edinburgh remains committed to working in partnership regarding placement opportunities for students, joint research, and support for students and staff who experience domestic abuse.”
Fran Wasoff, one of the founding members of Edinburgh Women’s Aid, and also a senior lecturer and a Professor of Family Policies in the subject area of Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh, where her research interests were in family law and policy, also attended the event, reflecting on 50 years of domestic abuse in Scotland and how we change the landscape going forward.
The seminar also provided an opportunity to pay tribute to those who have provided support for women and their families over the past five decades in the city.
Linda Rodgers, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Women’s Aid, said: “It felt like a moment in history, bringing together these amazing people who have changed the research landscape and as a result improved policy and practice in relation to domestic abuse.
“I am so proud that Edinburgh Women’s Aid continues to lead the way in supporting research, improving policy and changing societal attitudes to domestic abuse.”
NORTH EDINBURGH COST OF LIVING CAMPAIGN GROUP MEETING
The Cost of Living Campaign Group for North Edinburgh are meeting on Tuesday 20th June, 10.30am until 1pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre:
“We are the Cost of Living Campaign Group, we are residents of North Edinburgh concerned with the cost of living. A major issue contributing to the cost of living is the state of housing. Our homes are filled with damp and aren’t well insulated. Reporting repairs to Repair Direct and other services doesn’t seem to solve the issues.
“Structural lack of investment in the existing housing stock is undermining the human rights of residents, impacting on health, wellbeing and our personal finances.
“We invite you to listen to our stories and contribute to our campaign to improve homes across North Edinburgh and demand Repair Direct be made fit for purpose and a comprehensive response to dampness.”
Brian Eddington died last month at the age of 74 years. A North Edinburgh man through and through, he was born in Leith but spent most of his childhood and early years in West Pilton after his family were rehoused there (writes LYNN McCABE).
Brian lived in Drylaw for a number of years and then moved down to Muirhouse where he lived for more than 2 decades. He returned to Leith a few years ago when he was unable to return to his flat in Muirhouse after having part of his leg amputated.
Brian loved his community and was involved in many different groups, classes and local initiatives over the years. He was a creative person and found a second home in Muirhouse Festival Association (MFAC) where he developed a passion for community arts.
He was a member of the local drama group and was actively involved in the annual panto and gala. Brian was also involved in the Greater Pilton Print Resource (GPPR) (later Greater Pilton Design Resource/Source) and North Edinburgh News (the NEN), which provided so much rich source material for the Never Give Up project which Brian helped to produce along with fellow activists.
Brian had a passion for photography and history and he was able to bring together his local knowledge and his skills to document the ongoing changes and developments in Muirhouse which he witnessed first hand as a local resident. His photographs tell their own story about the process of regeneration and the impact this has had on his community.
In 2009, Brian joined North Edinburgh Social History Group along with Roberta Blaikie, Anna Hutchison, Brian Robertson and Ian Moore with a mission to record the history of activism in North Edinburgh.
Brian was a great person to have on board and relished trawling through 40 years worth of back copies of the Commune and the NEN and long forgotten photos, leaflets and posters which had been stored in dusty store cupboards and filing cabinets in local projects waiting for someone to find a use for them.
During the project, Brian was sufficiently movitated to get over his aversion to computers and managed to pick up some IT skills along the way which enabled him to access photographs of the area which had been digitalised by the Scotsman.
The project was a long hard slog and took 2 years to complete but the Never Give Up publication, exhibition and film gave Brian, the group and the wider community a great deal of pride in seeing their community accurately represented for a change.
It is an important piece of work documenting the rich history of North Edinburgh and the important role played by local people in their fight for social justice – a fight which continues until this day.
Following the launch of the Never Give Up project, Brian was involved in helping to establish a new adult education class called Power to the People : an introduction to the history of Protest in Scotland.
The class ran for a number of years and brought together new activists alongside people who had been involved in local and national politics. Inevitably perhaps, the focus of the class moved from studying politics and protest to actually doing it!
The Power to the People group were involved in many local issues over the years including cuts to local services and the campaign to stop the eviction of local families from their homes.
Brian’s love of history and politics continued until the end with his daily blog on facebook about important Scottish figures and events.
I’ll finish with a wee quote from Brian from the Never Give Up publication where he is talking about his time in Muirhouse drama group:
“We used to do street theatre about different issues. We did a thing about the poll tax where someone got arrested for not paying their poll tax. They got sent to a privatised jail.
“We basically done it any place where we could find people standing about. Folk thought it was hilarious. We handed out leaflets about the poll tax at the same time – that was the serious part of it. It was a good way to get across a serious message”.
Brian’s funeral service takes place this morning at 11.30 at Warriston Crematorium’s small chapel.
COLD WAR CHALLENGES – AND A LIFELONG AMBITION
At this time (1950) a petition had been launched to collect signatures against the proliferatation of nuclear weapons. We in the union branch at the New Cross tram depot decided to set up a Peace Committee to collect signatures for the Stockholm Peace Appeal.
The Cold War was intensely pursued by the Western powers. Charlie CHaplin was thron out of America and Paul Robeson too.
We had a big meeting in Camberwell to support Paul Robeson, to which he sent a recorded message, but we were up against the full wight of an anti-communist media.
I even stood as one of three candidates for the Communist Party local elections in Debtford, as their proposals seemed at the time to best address the needs of ordinary working people. But this was at the time of the Yangtse incident, where the Chinese communists were fired on by a British warship and the McCarthy era in the United States was in full swing.
The Vauxhall Tram authorities gave permission for a stall to be set up for just one day in the garage – and we were successful in collecting over 900 signatures for the Stockholm Peace Appeal, which I delivered to their offices near Regent’s Park.
I would collect the Daily Worker newspaper before my shift and do leafletting after my shifts, early morning or late. The shifts were spaced such that it was impossible to go home in between shifts. They were long days away from home.
Over the seven years I was active in the Transport and General Workers Union we were always under pressure and the canteen was a hive of activity with the early morning sales of all kinds of newspapers. We had to prove we were selling all papers inside the garage and not just the Daily Worker – this we did from outside the garage!
Then we were banned from selling the paper when we had tram uniforms on. The attempts at control were relentless.
There were of course already some big improvements such as improved provision if social services and the formation of the National Health Service in 1948; it is hard today to imagine not having an NHS and having to pay to see a doctor.
I knew that improvements to the lives of ordinary working people would have to be fought for by ordinary people like me and the hundreds of thousands of people who were now finding ways of making progress through sound argument and political pressure.
This was the challenge of winning a better future for everyone and pursuing this has been my lifelong ambition.
Progress is never guaranteed and things are sometimes disappointing, but I have seen poverty, war and destructive chaos and I know that only through ordinary working people struggling together will the devastating evils of poverty and war be avoided in the future.
TUESDAY 14th FEBRUARY 1pm at CITY ART CENTRE
Never Give Up: Gallery Talk in Association with the Exhibition ‘Paul Duke: No Ruined Stone’
Join us for a talk with Lynn McCabe from Royston and Wardieburn Community Centre and Willie Black a passionate local activist from North Edinburgh.
North Edinburgh has been a hotbed of community activism for decades. ‘Never Give Up’, was a book produced by North Edinburgh Social History Group in 2011 – a panoramic account of community activism in North Edinburgh, highlighting the previously largely ignored and barely mentioned community areas of Pilton, Drylaw, Royston, Wardieburn, Granton and Muirhouse.
Lynn McCabe reflects on how this publication is still deeply relevant today and Willie Black talks about North Edinburgh today, and shares positive stories from this vibrant and resilient Edinburgh community.
EVENT IS FREE but booking is essential.
While we hope to run this event in the City Art Centre, we may have to adapt to the situation at the time and the event may need to move to digital. Book via the link or by phoning the City Art Centre on 0131 529 3993.
The group, which is made up of community activists and trade union representatives, is appealing to Edinburgh residents to share the reports’s findings with their elected representatives:
‘Our full report on The City of Edinburgh Council services and communications has now been published. Please read, share and let your councillors know what you think – and let us know how you get on.’
The event will now be live streamed on Facebook and Youtube with attendees also able to join in with the many festival activities throughout the weekend. The annual trade union festival normally held in Tolpuddle, Dorset will still run from Friday 17th – Sunday 19th July.
This year’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival has been moved exclusively online, organisers have confirmed today.
The South West TUC is making the virtual event as similar as possible to the original, complete with debates, films, comedy, music, a kids’ area, and a virtual procession on the Sunday afternoon.
The event, held in Dorset every July to commemorate the six farm workers transported to Australia after forming a union, was cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.
The virtual festival, held on the same days as the original (July 17, 18 and 19) will be live-streamed across various digital platforms. For exclusives and teasers in the run-up to the festival, organisers are inviting attendees to join the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival Facebook group.
Tolpuddle [is] more than simply music and politics. It’s a gathering of like-minded people and a joyous celebration of trade union solidarity.
Festival organiser and Regional Secretary of the TUC South West Nigel Costley said: “Tolpuddle has always been more than simply music and politics. It’s a gathering of like-minded people, a joyous celebration of trade union solidarity – and that’s what we’re hoping to reflect online.
“We have a full programme of topical debates, a full programme of films and a full programme of music ranging from those who would have played this year’s event to those who we welcome back from previous festivals – all performing exclusive sets for us.
“We’ll also be covering the wreath-laying, interviewing stall-holders and encouraging families to design banners so they can join the virtual procession on Sunday afternoon.
“The whole event will be compered by familiar faces from the festival to add that special Tolpuddle touch.”
Keep an eye on the Facebook page for announcements of speakers and artists.
“We have some special surprises in store,” said Nigel Costley.
The festival is free to attend for all. Visit www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk for more information.
North Edinburgh’s Covid-19 Foodshare Group has written to city councillors to update them on the work of the local coalition:
Elected member,
Since the setting up of North Edinburgh Covid-19 Foodshare Group we have kept elected members informed of the work the community organisations, volunteers and funders have been carrying out in these very challenging times.
Attached is a newsletter which, by the end of this week, will be delivered, by volunteers, to 14,000 households in North Edinburgh. Please circulate this to any individuals or groups who will find the information helpful.
Over the past six weeks (20 April – 25 May 2020) North Edinburgh organisations have:
· Produced 58,258 Food Items/Packed Lunches/Packs
· Gifted 23,888 Food Items/Packed Lunches/Packs to other organisations
· Delivered 79,171 Food Items/Packed Lunches/Packs
· There have been specific deliveries for Milk, Butter, Vegetables,Toiletries and Fruit.
· Passion 4 Fusion are providing culturally specific foods for BAME communities in the area.
Of the 919 postcodes supplied by agencies, 582 residents lived in Deciles 1&2, which means we reaching some of the most vulnerable in North Edinburgh.
63.3% of Food Items delivered are reaching those who need it most.
Please get in touch if you want further information, regarding the work of North Edinburgh Covid-19 Foodshare Group.
Willie Black
Chair, North Edinburgh Covid 19 Food Share Group
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 851 0886 3460
Password: 562022
