Leith – Page 15 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Adult Learning Success for North Edinburgh

We’re really pleased to report the success of two local groups during adult learners’ week, an international event celebrating and promoting the benefits of adult learning (write CLD workers Sarah Low and Lynn McCabe).

The highlight of the week is the Adult Education Awards ceremony. Over thirty groups across the city were nominated in eight award categories. Forth councillors Vicki Redpath and Cammy Day were at the City Chambers last month to help present the awards. Of the eight successful groups, two were from North Edinburgh: the ‘Use Your Loaf’ (pictured above) bread making group and the North Edinburgh Social History Project.

The selection panel were ‘inspired’ by the bread making group, who won the ‘Health and Well Being’ award. The ‘Use Your Loaf’ group is a Pilton Community Health Project (PCHP) supported group, in partnership with CLD and North Edinburgh Arts.

Every week, the group (and their children!) meet in the Arts Centre with Lisa Arnott from PCHP and Sarah Low from the local CLD team to make loaves of bread (or rolls, naans, pitas, pizzas and deli breads). Whilst the dough was proving and baking, the group planned their own healthy community event: The Yummy Food Festival. The Festival took place in North Edinburgh Arts Centre in March this year and attracted 500 local people who enjoyed amongst many things, cooking demonstrations, workshops and a community ‘bake off’.

Learners from the group are being supported to develop a second bread making course which will run in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre in October, so watch out for more details! Two members of the original group have gone on to volunteer in North Edinburgh Arts Centre café and others have taught bread making in the local nursery. The learners will also be sharing their skills with others during the PCHP supported Food for Thought Forum’s Summer Programme at Forthview’s summer gala and with PCHP’s Women Supporting Women project.

Like to get involved? Call Lisa Arnott at PCHP on 551 1671 for details.

The North Edinburgh Social History Group began two years ago and was set up by community activists who wished to re-engage with the community and re-establish community participation and activism. They meticulously researched the history of the North Edinburgh community, producing a brilliant booklet and exhibition called “Never Give Up”, a record of the community’s fight for social justice.

The social history group won the ‘Political and Social Education’ award. Accepting the award, members of the group were keen to mention the longstanding history of protest in north Edinburgh, and dedicated their award to their friend and fellow activist Brian Robertson, a member of the group and committed community activist who sadly died just a few days before the Awards Ceremony.

Some members of the group are now part of a course called ‘Power to the People’, which meets in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre on Tuesday mornings. This ambitious course aims to cover the history of protest in Scotland over the past 300 years! In doing so, the group have been out and about on study visits to the National Gallery, the People’s Palace in Glasgow and the NationalMiningMuseum. If you’d like more information, please call local CLD worker Lynn McCabe, who runs the course, on 552 5700 (see Lynn’s piece on the group below).

The Outstanding Achievement Award went to the Bumpstart Pregnancy Café in Leith (pictured above). The Pregnancy Cafe is a relaxed group in which pregnant women and their partners meet other parents to be to talk about pregnancy and parenting. One learner described the tutors as always being there for her, and the other group members ‘like second mums’. Pregnant women in north Edinburgh are welcome to come along to their very own Pregnancy Café, on Tuesdays from 11 till 12.30 at the Haven (in CraigroystonPrimary School, Muirhouse Place West). Just turn up, or call Jo Aitkenhead on 537 4230 for more details.

Congratulations to all the learners involved on their achievements!

Sarah Low

Award for Power to the People

Having completed their successful project called ‘Never Give Up’, which documented the history of activism in North Edinburgh over the last 70 years, members of North Edinburgh Social History Group came up with a proposal for a new project called ‘Power to the People’. The group were keen to continue their research into activism but this time widened the scope of their research to cover the history of protest in Scotland during the last 300 years! To add to the challenge, the group decided that they wanted to use the arts to explore this hidden history.

The course began on 28 August last year and has proved very successful with fifteen people regularly attending each session in Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. Some of the topics the group have studied so far include: the Jacobite Rebellion, The Scottish Enlightenment, the Friends of the People, the Radical War, Chartism, The Campaign for the Abolition of Slavery, the Campaign for Land Reform, the Suffragette Movement, the Scottish Hunger Marches and Red Clydeside.

The group’s learning has not been confined to the classroom. They have been out and about and have been on study visits to the National Gallery of Scotland, the NationalMuseum in Chamber Street, the Portrait Gallery, the People’s Palace in Glasgow and the NationalMiningMuseum. During their studies, they also managed to fit in making a short film for the BBC’s learning site called ‘Paintings and Protest’ which is worth a wee look. The course is due to finish at the end of June but there are already plans underway for a new course on issues for the Referendum in the Autumn, a publication on the History of Protest similar to Never Give Up and a community event celebrating the group’s achievements in North Edinburgh Arts Centre. Watch this space!

In recognition of their role in developing this very important course, the organisers of the event gave the award for Social and Political Education to North Edinburgh Social History Group.

Members of the group and participants involved in the Power to the People course have dedicated the award to their friend and fellow activist, Brian (Elvis) Robertson who died a few days before the award ceremony.

Lynn McCabe

Local support for Leith Walk revamp

Local residents and organisations have given the thumbs-up to council plans to improve Leith Walk. Ambitious plans would see upgrades and improvements along the full 2.2km length of the famous Leith thoroughfare.

Following a comprehensive public consultation earlier this year, the Council announced it would be seeking additional funding from the Scottish Government in order to give Leith Walk the best possible revamp.

At a 6 June meeting in McDonald Road Library, an enhanced design – which would make the thoroughfare more cycle and pedestrian-friendly – was presented by the Leith Programme team to local residents, business leaders and community groups.

Features of the enhanced scheme include:

clear pedestrian priority over 1.8km, including safer crossing points;
significant sections of uninterrupted cycle space (both dedicated on and off road sections);
redesigned, simplified junctions;
largely segregated cycle provision from Pilrig Street uphill for around 1km to Picardy Place;
two-way segregated cycle provision from Annandale Street to the Omni centre;
replacement of London Rd roundabout with a signalled junction to significantly enhance conditions for both pedestrians and cyclists;
1.75m wide cycle lane provision on the road in both directions between Foot of the Walk and Dalmeny Street (into town) Pilrig Street (out of town);
Narrower road environment with frequent zebra crossings, with a design that supports slower vehicle speeds;
a simplified streetscape more conducive to community activity, trading and business; and
better connectivity for sustainable forms of travel between the waterfront and the city centre.

Given the scope of this new design and the need to obtain a Traffic Regulation Order to implement the changes, stakeholders were advised that opting for the enhanced design would affect the timescale.

For anyone wishing to view the designs in detail and speak to the project team about any aspect of the programme, a drop in session will be held at

McDonald Road Library on Tuesday 23 July, from 2 – 8pm.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “It was very useful for us to be able to present this potential enhanced design for Leith Walk to local stakeholders tonight. It prompted a lot of interesting debate and we are pleased that there was such overwhelming support for the plans from those present.”

Sustrans Scotland Director, John Lauder, said: “Sustrans Scotland wants to see Leith Walk reach its full potential as a busy, vibrant shopping and residential street. In order to achieve this aim, the City of Edinburgh Council, in partnership with ourselves, has put forward an ambitious proposal to Transport Scotland for the full 2.2km length of the street.

“Sustrans strongly backs the features of this ‘enhanced design’ for Leith Walk, including the addition of new crossing points, wider pavements and better cycle lane provision. We now call on the Scottish Government to carefully consider the Council’s ‘enhanced design’ proposal and fully back its implementation.”

Keith Hales, Vice Chairman of the Leith Business Association, who attended the meeting, said: “This is a massive improvement on what we thought the designs were going to be and we will be commending the designs to the membership.”

Charlotte Encombe, Chair of Greener Leith, said: “Greener Leith welcomes the improvements shown in these exciting new draft designs for Leith Walk, which will give pedestrians and cyclists a vastly improved public realm and help to revitalise the economy of the area. We are also delighted that officers and councillors have included local people’s priorities for the street and have made real changes to the design. We look forward to collaborating on the detail of the designs as the project moves forward.”

Living memories of adventures in Leith

A book has been launched recounting the memories of eight Leithers. ‘An Adventure! – Happy Days in Leith’ has been produced by the Citadel Arts Group and tells the stories of residents of Port of Leith Housing Association’s (PoLHA) St Nicholas Court Sheltered Housing Complex.

A launch event was held at the complex on Monday, when musician Laure Paterson entertained residents and a class of Trinity Primary School pupils who called in to join the celebrations and bring the generations together.

Maureen Tait, Senior Sheltered Housing Co-ordinator with PoLHA who manages the complex, said: “It is nice for the children and staff to hear stories of the past from the tenants and tales of things that we’ll never experience. The children are so good, always polite and helpful. It means a lot to the tenants here.”

‘An Adventure! – Happy Days in Leith’ is a collection of memories about childhood, school days, first work experiences and family life collected by Citadel Arts Group living memory workers, Laure C Paterson and Liz Hare.

The book features St Nicholas Court residents Rita Falconer, Bertha Glancy, Margaret McKinlay, Annie Mulvaney, Mary McNicol, May Stevenson, Jean Tait and Frances Veitch (pictured above) – each of whom shared their memories of Leith past and present with the book’s authors. Margaret said: “Things have changed a lot over the years and it’s been great to share those stories”.

The book is the culmination of seven weeks of sharing, recording and transcribing the stories of the eight residents. Citadel Arts Group’s Liz Hare said: “The tenants generously shared their memories and we have collected them into this book which will be a resource for the whole community. Each member of the project will receive two copies and copies will go into Trinity Primary and local libraries. It has been one of the most enjoyable projects we have been involved in.”

The project is funded by The Robertson Trust.

Celebrate World Book Night at your local library

Edinburgh City Libraries are preparing for a day of celebration of books and reading as World book Night kicks off tonight (Tuesday 23 April) when a host (shouldn’t that be ‘chapter’ or ‘volume’? – Ed) of local authors will participate in a series of events in libraries across the city.

The annual World Book Night celebrates reading and books by recruiting tens of thousands of passionate volunteers across the country to give out specially chosen titles in the community and share their love of reading.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “World Book Night is one of the key events in the literary events calendar and it involves tens of thousands of people across the country, putting books directly into the hands of those who might never otherwise engage with reading.

“Here in Edinburgh we’re gearing up for a fantastic evening of celebrations in a number of our libraries and I know many people are looking forward to our headline event – Alexander McCall Smith at the Central Library. It shows yet again that libraries are not just places to borrow books, but a hub of cultural and literary activity in the city, supporting and encouraging the development of reading in the community.”

Local World Book Night events include:

Leith Library (10am – 8pm)

World Book Night – Online Pirates of Leith Treasure Hunt

Solve all the clues about Leith using our fabulous Our Town Stories website (http://www.ourtownstories.co.uk/). Then come and claim your booty from some real live pirates! Successful adventurers will take home copies of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic ‘Treasure Island’. Yarrrr!

Keep an eye on the Leith Library blog at http://leithlibrary.wordpress.com/ and @LeithLibrary Twitter for more details! First clues due around 2pm.

Muirhouse Library (6 – 7pm)

World Book Night with Allan Guthrie

Prize winning Edinburgh based crime writer, author of many gripping stories including ‘Slammer’ and ‘Bye Bye Baby’, will read from and talk about his books. His books have been described as having the power to ‘make you writhe in agony’ while dealing ‘heart stopping suspense’.

To book a place call 0131 529 5528 or email muirhouse.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Blackhall Library (6.30 – 7.30pm)

World Book Night with Andrew Greig

Listen to this Scottish novelist, poet and writer, read and discuss prose from ‘At the Loch of the Green Corrie’ and ‘Found At Sea’, a book-length sequence of narrative poems. The event will be chaired by Ryan Van Winkle, Edinburgh City Libraries’ writer in residence.

To book a place call 0131 529 5595 or email blackhall.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

New affordable housing development opens in Leith

The latest affordable housing development in Leith has been officially opened, making a significant impact in the regeneration of the area. Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) welcomed the first of 100 households to a block of new, high-quality properties in Fox Street at a ceremony last Friday.

Speaking at the event to mark the opening of the development, Councillor Cammy Day, Housing Leader for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “These new modern affordable homes in the heart of Leith represent a significant investment by the Council and Port of Leith Housing Association. It is also a reflection of the shared commitment between the Council and housing associations to tackle the city’s shortage of affordable homes in the city. These new homes will also mean modern family homes and lower energy bills. This is our commitment to helping struggling families deal with the range of financial pressures they face.”

This £13m development comprises 60 social rent and 40 shared ownership homes – where people buy and own a percentage of the property and rent the remainder from the Association. There is a wide range of housing types from one bedroom through to four bedroom main door duplex apartments.

Features include secure underground parking and a central landscaped courtyard. Solar thermal panels located on the roof will provide hot water for a number of properties with condensing gas boilers supplying heating and hot water.

This is the first of a number of affordable housing sites to be completed in Leith and North Edinburgh this year by the Association. Work is currently underway on four other sites and in conjunction with its subsidiary company, Persevere Developments, a further 189 new affordable homes – 101 for social rent and 89 for mid rent – will be completed this calendar year.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive at PoLHA, said: “Fox Street is a significant development for PoLHA providing access to much-needed, high-quality, affordable housing for local people to buy and rent. This complements our existing affordable housing throughout Leith and North Edinburgh. It is the living embodiment of our commitment to developing vibrant and sustainable communities in homes people want to live.”

PoLHA worked closely with the City of Edinburgh Council which allocated £7 million of grant monies for the development. An additional £6.2 million was funded through private finance raised by the Association and from shared ownership sales receipts.

Leith’s Naomi is Prince’s Trust Ambassador of the Year

HRH The Prince of Wales was joined by a host of celebrities on Tuesday (26 March) at The Prince’s Trust & Samsung Celebrate Success Awards, which recognise young people who have overcome issues such as abuse, drug addiction, homelessness and depression. And shining bright among all those stars was a local lass – Leith’s Naomi Johnston, who was named Young Ambassador of the Year at the gala event hosted by Ant and Dec.

Dame Helen Mirren, Homeland star Damian Lewis and Luther actor Idris Elba were among guests gathered at London’s Leicester Square Odeon to pay tribute to young people who have transformed their lives with the help of youth charity The Prince’s Trust.

Naomi Johnston, 27, from Leith in Edinburgh won the Mappin and Webb Young Ambassador of the Year Award after overcoming homelessness, a violent attack and a chaotic lifestyle to become a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador and using her own experiences to inspire and support other young people.

Dame Helen Mirren DBE said: “All the young people here today are truly inspirational. Their remarkable stories have blown me away. Naomi has overcome a great deal and I feel very privileged to have met her and presented her with this Prince’s Trust award. She has shown that with resilience and hard work you really can reach your potential and be an inspiration to other young people.”

Justin Stead, CEO of Mappin & Webb, said: “I would like to offer my most heartfelt congratulations to Naomi for winning the Mappin & Webb Young Ambassador of the Year Award. She is a fantastic Young Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and I wish her every success in the future.”

Television presenters, Ant & Dec hosted The Prince’s Trust & Samsung Celebrate Success Awards in front of the youth charity’s founder and president, HRH The Prince of Wales, and a 1,500 strong audience.

Other stars in attendance included rapper Tinie Tempah, producer Mark Ronson, actor Sam Claflin, presenter Laura Whitmore, actress Helen McCrory, interior designer Kelly Hoppen, and journalist Katie Adie OBE.

Athlete Victoria Pendleton attended having been earlier presented with a CBE by HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace. Laura Mvula, BRITs Critics Choice Award 2013 nominee, also performed at the event.

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps disadvantaged young people to get their lives on track. It supports 13 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Three in four young people supported by The Trust move into work, education or training.

Samsung and The Prince’s Trust are now calling on local people to raise money to help more young people like Naomi. Text TRUST RED to 70555 to donate or visit www.samsunggoesred.co.uk to find out more.

Working It Out helps MS Therapy Centre

Fourteen young people from the Working It Out project have donned their overalls and redecorated the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Therapy Centre in Leith. The centre, which offers practical therapies to people who live with MS, had appealed for volunteers to help with its first makeover in more than a decade. When the young people from Working It Out heard, they were only too happy to get involved.

Working It Out is a four-month programme run by Tomorrow’s People, which aims to instill confidence, motivation and offer support to unemployed 16 to 24 year olds in Edinburgh. Heather Law, Task Force Leader, Tomorrow’s People said: “Working It Out supports young people into work, training or education. We also work on various community challenges, so we were delighted to volunteer our services to help the MS Therapy Centre.

“It’s been a real opportunity to find out about the work the centre does and it’s great to know that the young people’s hard work will be appreciated by those who use it. Helping out with the redecoration gives our young people a real sense of achievement as they improve something in their community. We are all very much looking forward to it.”

Speaking before the redecoration began, Nancy Campbell, Operations Manager at the MS Therapy Centre said: “I am delighted that Working It Out has agreed to help us. It is a great project and I am sure that the young people will do an amazing job redecorating the centre. We are trying to create a more welcoming and therapeutic environment for our clients and volunteers and with the help of local tradesmen who have donated materials and the young people who are doing the painting, I am hoping to see a transformation! “

I think Nancy gor her wish!

Bingo! Citadel play brings the ‘house’ down!

PORT OF LEITH RESIDENTS ENJOY CITADEL ARTS GROUP PERFORMANCE

Sheltered housing residents at Port of Leith’s Jameson Place and St Nicholas Court complex were entertained to an unusual play presented by Citadel Arts Group recently. ‘Bingo!’ written by retired engineer Alan Mountford, not only included a real game of the popular activity, but demonstrated how people can get quite possessive about the seat where they usually sit – especially when they are playing bingo.

The cast of Caroline MacKellar (Betty), Sharon Erskine (newcomer, Morag) and Mark Kydd (careworker and amateur bingo caller) treated the audience to afternoon of fun and entertainment.

Liz Hare, Artistic Director at Citadel Arts Group, said: “Citadel Arts Group gives older writers the chance to see their work professionally performed in a variety of settings including libraries, pubs, theatres, schools and centres for elderly people. We regularly perform for Port of Leith Housing Association residents who thoroughly enjoy our performances, but I think this was their favourite as they also got the chance to play bingo!”

Elaine Edwards, Scheme Co-ordinator at the Port of Leith Housing Association’s Jameson Place Sheltered Housing Complex, said: “Our residents had a great time. Many of them used to be keen bingo players, so it’s nice when there is something for them to relate to and get involved in.”

Help Poppy the Hamster find her way home!

The Scottish SPCA is appealing for information after a hamster was found loose on a Leith street during the recent blizzards. The animal welfare charity was contacted on Monday evening (18 March) after a member of the public spotted the little rodent on Spey Street, just off Pilrig Street. Now named Poppy, the female Syrian hamster is being cared for at SSPCA’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre.

Animal Rescue Officer Duncan Robertson said, “Poppy is around a year old and in good condition. It’s very lucky she was found by someone who helped her as there was a severe blizzard on Monday evening and it was bitterly cold. Poppy was found in Leith, which is a built up area with lots of flats nearby. Hamsters are fast creatures and can wriggle through small spaces so there is a chance she has escaped from home.

“However, we are keeping an open mind at this stage and can’t rule out the possibility she may have been abandoned by her owner. Poppy could have easily come to harm so we’re really glad she’s now safe. We’re keen to hear from anyone who recognises Poppy and, in the meantime, we’ll ensure she receives the care she needs. “If no-one comes forward, we’ll be looking to find Poppy a loving new home.”

Anyone with information is being asked to contact the SSPCA Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999.

Woman dies in Leith tenement fire

A 50-year-old woman has died after a fire in a flat in Leith yesterday morning (17 March).

Firefighters were called to a fire in a top floor property on Albion Road just after 7.30am. Two firefighters in breathing apparatus and using a high-pressure hose reel entered the flat to tackle the blaze.

They discovered a woman inside. She was removed from the premises by crews and treated by ambulance personnel at the scene, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

The fire was extinguished shortly before 8am.

Eight fire appliances and a total of 26 firefighters were involved at the incident. They remained on scene for a number of hours ensuring hot spots were extinguished, cutting away damage and venting smoke from the property. A fire investigation into the cause of the blaze was also instigated.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “Although firefighters were on the scene very quickly the female occupant of the property was pronounced dead a short time after being rescued from the flat. Initial investigations suggest there were no working smoke alarms in the property and that the alarm was raised by a neighbour who smelled smoke in the common stair.

“It is always very tragic to record a fatality at the scene of a fire. Sadly smoke can overcome people in minutes. Although a full investigation into the circumstances of this incident is still ongoing we would like to take the opportunity to remind people to ensure that they have adequate smoke detection in their homes. A working smoke alarm can give vital early warning if fire does break out in your home.

“If you would like more information about fire safety or would like to arrange a free home fire safety visit and fitting of free smoke detectors as required you can contact us on 0800 169 0320.”