Tag: archive

Happy 15th Anniversary, NEN blog!

NEN PUBLISHED OUR FIRST BLOG POST ON THIS DAY IN 2011

The very first NEN blog post was published on this day in 2011. The post read:

Hello, and welcome to the brand new NEN blog.

For those of you not already familiar with the newspaper, we are a local community paper serving the North Edinburgh community. We’ve been here for over thirty years.

This blog, along with our new Facebook page and Twitter stream, represents our first foray into the world of social media.  We really want to encourage more participation, more questions and ideas from the North Edinburgh community – both online and offline – and hope that these new tools will help us to do that.

We already have a good website, where you can always find the latest edition of the printed newspaper. The blog won’t be replacing that, but will instead be there to show people the latest news about the area, and also to help us cover the current funding crisis we are facing as an organisation.

Above all, we want to include your input on the blog – be it ideas for stories, comments, pictures and events. So get in touch!

The NEN’s website was sadly deleted when funding ceased but our social media presence continues on both Twitter and Facebook and the blog is still going strong with 10 – 12 posts daily.

2025 was the NEN blog’s busiest ever year with 36,000 visitors. As I write this we’ve published more than 38,000 posts – all of these remain accessible online – and we’re currently on a run of publishing on 2749 consecutive days.

When the NEN office in Crewe Road North closed much of the NEN archive material was lost, but thankfully some of our picture library was salvaged and can now be found at granton:hub (Madelvic House), where the volunteer archive team has also collated all remaining hard copies of the North Edinburgh News newspaper.

Hopefully, between the physical archive and the NEN blog, you can find all you need to know about our community’s rich history – and we’re adding to that history every day!

History of Scotland’s gardens explored in new exhibition

‘Seeds of Time: Scottish Gardens 1600 to present day’ is a brand-new exhibition opening tomorrow (Saturday 5 April 2025) at Stanley Mills in Perthshire. 

Using material from Historic Environment Scotland’s archives, the exhibition explores the history of gardens in Scotland, delving into what they can tell us about the people who grew them and the world they lived in.

Gardens and green spaces are an important part of life for people in Scotland, providing places in which to relax and reconnect with nature, as well as serving more practical purposes such as spaces to grow food in. Gardens can also offer a window into the past, revealing stories of the people who used and shaped them.

Claire Whitbread, Exhibitions Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, said: “When thinking about our built heritage, castles, buildings and monuments may first come to mind, but our gardens are also a part of that history and provide a sort of living time capsule.

“These green spaces can show us so much about our past, from the grand designs of the aristocracy and the role of empire in revolutionising plant diversity at home, to the vital role city allotments have played in feeding the nation.

“We’re thrilled to welcome visitors to explore this exhibition which aims to show what we can learn from the gardens of our past and what we can take from those that continue to grow around us into the future.”

‘Seeds of Time: Scottish Gardens 1600 to present day’ is on at Stanley Mills from Saturday 5 April 2025 to Sunday 29 June 2025.

Entry to the exhibition is included with admission to the site. Tickets can be booked in advance. Entry is free for Historic Scotland members.

For more information and to book tickets, visit  historicenvironment.scot/whats-on. /

The exhibition is only accessible via a staircase.

Volunteer opportunities in Granton Art Centre (NGS)

National Galleries Scotland are recruiting volunteers to help with our upcoming events that will take place in the Granton Art Centre.

We are prioritising volunteers based in the area as we are looking to support local people and help connect them with the community. You can find more information in the link below:

https://volunteer.nationalgalleries.org/opportunities/67344-granton-art-centre-volunteer-2024-06-05

We need your help in providing a warm welcome for community groups and visitors to Granton Art Centre, where we house many artworks from the National Galleries of Scotland’s collection.

With your help we can support audiences, in particular groups from North Edinburgh, to feel more connected to the collection and National Galleries of Scotland.

Your role: 

You will be supporting the GAC team – led by our Store Manager, Holly – as well as freelance artists and educators who lead tours, events and activities to ensure community groups and visitors have a positive and memorable experience.

This opportunity supports National Galleries of Scotland with its community development programme in North Edinburgh, building relationships for The Art Works – National Galleries of Scotland’s future project in Granton to deliver a community centred and sustainable new facility for Scotland’s collection of art.

What is the Granton Art Centre: 

Granton Art Centre is Scotland’s first purpose-built art store for paintings, drawings and sculptures from the national collection. It provides 1,300 square metres of secure and climate-controlled storage space.

It is a living archive, full of potential inspiration for community groups, artists, researchers, schools, and individuals where visitors can see artworks up close.

In the future, Granton Art Centre will eventually exist as The Art Works.

How to apply:

  • Easiest way to apply is online through the button on the right. You will be asked to provide some basic information about you, along with why you would like to volunteer in this role. You will also be asked for two referees, ideally one of them should be work/education/volunteering related and the other personal.
  • Alternatively you can email us at volunteer@nationalgalleries.org or call us 0131 624 6266

We are looking to recruit a team of 4 – 5 volunteers each contributing about 2hrs per month

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION BY THE END OF JULY

Through this opportunity we aim to support local people and help connect them with the community. As such, priority will be given to applications from local residents (EH5 postcode).

Family photographs help tell city’s story

Edinburgh’s Libraries Service has teamed up with the Living Memory Association to extend its digital archive of images from the Capital’s past. Edinburgh Collected, the library service’s online collection of photographic memories shared by the public, is to host more than 2500 pictures amassed by the Association.  Continue reading Family photographs help tell city’s story