Young Muirhouse artists show a lot of bottle!

Zoo Arts, a creative project led by artist Alice Betts based at North Edinburgh Arts, will be installing another piece of exciting contemporary public art in Muirhouse Shopping Centre on Wednesday (15 May) at 5pm.

Light will shine through recycled plastic bottles filled with coloured water turning a grey space into a playful symphony of colour. This eyecatching piece of work has been created by local young people who have participated in creative outreach sessions supported by Muirhouse Library and Muirhouse Youth Development Group.

Zoo Arts aims to encourage and support young people to develop their contemporary art skills, install temporary public art and undertake professional art commissions. The project works with local young people (9 – 14 years) who have an interest in visual art and are keen to develop their creativity. This project hopes to inspire future creative collaborations, locally and city-wide.

For more information go to www.northedinburgharts.co.uk or to dicuss the project further contact Angela Austin on 315 2151, email marketing@northedinburgharts.co.uk

Crime writer to visit Muirhouse Library on World Book Night

Muirhouse Library will welcome a special guest to mark World Book Night tommorow evening – come and meet Edinburgh-based crime writer Allan Guthrie (pictured below) at 6.00pm. Free tickets available at the library.

World Book Night, a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of passionate volunteers gift specially chosen and printed books in their communities to share their love of reading.

World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: it’s about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways, through the sharing of stories.

World Book Night aims to raise the profile of reading through a mass engagement project which works at a grass roots level to inspire those who don’t regularly read to do so, placing books into the hands of those who don’t regularly read. It also raises the profile of reading for pleasure through a series of celebratory events, which helps to improve literacy and can also bring communities together.

Young snappers pick up 121212 prizes

Muirhouse Centipede Project have kindly supplied a photograph of Gemma and Garry Pearson receiving their prizes from Muirhouse St Andrew’s locum minister (and lead Centipede!) Linda Dunbar.

There’s still time to see the exhibition before it finds a permanent home at Muirhouse St Andrew’s – check out previous 121212 post for details.

Gemma’s the little star of 121212!

Seven year old Gemma Pearson’s photograph of her family Christmas tree is the winner of Muirhouse Centipede Project’s 121212 photography competition.

Muirhouse folk were encouraged to take lots of pictures on 12.12.12 on the themes of love, peace, joy and hope and submit them for exhibition. There was a good response and the wide variety of excellent entries is now on display in North Edinburgh Arts.

Judges loved Gemma’s picture, submitted under the theme of ‘Joy’; the photo captured their hearts. Gemma’s caption reads: ‘I took a photo of my mummy’s Christmas tree it is very beautiful. My mum took hours to put everything on the tree it has 360 white lights. Everyone loves my mummy’s tree but I love it the most. My Auntie Nicola says it looks like a tree out of the Christmas movies. This makes me very happy and excited for Santa coming’.

Winner of the adult competition was some bloke who may have overindulged in mulled wine before submitting his entry, a fantastic ramble about Santa and a helper donkey visiting Muirhouse. Too much Christmas spirit!?

See for yourselves – the 121212 exhibition moves to Muirhouse Millennium Centre today before moving on to Muirhouse Library from 11 – 17 March.

Dates set for Centipede photo exhibition

12.12.12 was a particularly special date, and it’s a day in history that has been captured for ever thanks to the Muirhouse Centipede Project. Muirhouse folk were encouraged to get out and about with their cameras on that memorable date, capturing images on four seasonal themes. Reverend Linda Dunbar of Muirhouse St. Andrews’s explains what happens next:

“We received a good number of entries of photographs taken during the 24 hours of 12/12/12 that captured something of the Advent themes of Love, Joy, Hope and Peace. The submissions are going on display in the North Edinburgh Arts Centre from 26 February – 3 March, Muirhouse Millennium Centre 4-10 March, Muirhouse Library 11-17 March (to be confirmed) before ending up at Muirhouse St Andrew’s Parish Church on the 18 March where they will find a permanent home.

The official launch of the touring display will be on

Tuesday 26 February at 11am in North Edinburgh Arts Centre

with free coffee and scones on offer too! The winners of the children’s and adults’ entries will be on display – it would be great to see folk there.”

From Glasgow’s mean streets to Muirhouse

Glasgow crime writer Alex Gray received a warm welcome when she visited Muirhouse Library as part of Scottish Book Week events last night. The award-winning author discussed her love of books, how she gets ideas for her stories and read extracts from her latest novel, A Pound of Flesh.

Alex has had a love of books and reading from her earliest years – as a child she was lucky enough to have had an older sister at secondary school, so she grew up with Greek myths and legends, Scheherazade and the Arabian Nights! The author also recalled one particularly prophetic primary school teacher who told Alex – who was then eight years old – she was convinced that she would become a writer when she grew up!

It was actually some years later that the teacher’s prophesy finally came true – Alex turned to writing when illness forced her to quit her job as an English teacher, and decided to write crime novels because she enjoyed reading them! She’s since gone on to write six best-selling novels.

The writer said that she has always been very interested in people and what motivates them, and that the initial inspiration behind her ideas is inquisitiveness and curiosity: wondering ‘what if …?’ Alex remains an enthusiastic member of a local writer’s group and offers advice to aspiring authors when dealing with publishers: ‘Three Ps – politeness, patience and perseverance.’

A Pound of Flesh will be published by Sphere Paperbacks on 6 December

Get set for Book Week Scotland

Scottish crime writer Alex Gray’s visit (see previous post ‘Top Crime Writer to visit Muirhouse Library’) is the perfect start to Book Week Scotland, Scotland’s first-ever celebration of reading. And whether you want to spend the entire week celebrating books and reading – or if you have just have a single hour to spare – there’s time enough to fall in love with books!

Book Week Scotland runs from Monday November 26 until Sunday December 2, 2012, and people the length and breadth of Scotland will be encouraged to engage in the first ever week-long national celebration of reading and participate in a range of free events.

Initiated by the Scottish Government, Book Week Scotland will be delivered on behalf of Creative Scotland by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. Scottish Book Trust is working with authors, workplaces, libraries and schools across the country to deliver a packed programme of free projects and events, bringing Scots of all ages and from all walks of life together to celebrate books and reading.

Key partners including Scottish Libraries and Information Council, Publishing Scotland, and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature will help to deliver Book Week Scotland activity.

Launching the initiave earlier this year, Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, said: “Book Week Scotland will be a national, inclusive celebration of reading. It will encourage Scots from all backgrounds, of all ages and with all interests, to embark or continue on a reading journey. It will also provide a platform – in our Year of Creative Scotland – to celebrate our nation’s exceptional cultural, creative and literary talent.

“The Scottish Government is firmly committed to increasing learning through the arts and culture, and to promoting the value of taking part in cultural activity. Through Book Week Scotland, we hope to engage the whole of Scotland in these important aims.”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “Above all, Book Week Scotland will be a celebration of books and reading, providing everyone across Scotland with the opportunity to get involved, and with the inspiration to begin or continue their reading journey, to share old favourites and to discover new must-reads.”

Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, said: “Book Week Scotland will celebrate Scotland’s love of writers and reading. It’s a great national initiative for this Year of Creative Scotland and has the potential to grow into another calendar event for Scotland.”

The development of Book Week Scotland is being supported with £150,000 from Creative Scotland’s Year of Creative Scotland programme, which is funded with investment from the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. Scottish Book Trust is working with a range of partners to lever additional funding and support.

As part of the national celebration, Scottish Book Trust will publish an anthology of writing celebrating Scotland‘s favourite places. Written by members of the public and commissioned authors, thousands of copies of My Favourite Place will be distributed free throughout Scotland during Book Week Scotland.

If a week of books and reading is too much, how about just an hour? At 11 a.m. on St Andrew’s Day (Friday 30 November) thousands of people across Scotland will stop what they’re doing and read. The Reading Hour will happen anywhere and everywhere and you can easily be a part of it. Whether you’re on a train, bus or ferry; in a library, at work or at school, or simply at home in your favourite chair; all you need to do is sit down with a good book.

If you’d like some advice on choosing a book then get in touch with the League of Extraordinary Booklovers, Scottish Book Trust’s band of citizen book experts who are on hand to make sure your next book is a good one.

Events are also happening across the country to mark the nation’s first ever Reading Hour. Come along to the Read-In at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh or click here to find other Reading Hour events throughout Scotland.

For more information about Book Week Scotland, visit the website here. Follow @Bookweekscot on Twitter, check out the #happyreading hashtag or ‘like’ the Book Week Scotland Facebook page.

Will you be taking part in Book Week Scotland? Reading Hour, then?

What’s your favourite book?

Let us know!

Top crime writer to visit Muirhouse Library

Best-selling Scottish crime writer Alex Gray will visit Muirhouse Library on Monday 26 November at 6.30pm. The Glaswegian author, who has nine published crime novels, will be reading from her new paperback A Pound of Flesh and answering audience questions about her writing and the Lorimer series.

The event is free – contact Muirhouse Library on 529 5528 for further details.

Muirhouse free family film nights

North Edinburgh Arts has teamed up with Link Up and Muirhouse Library to produce a top billing of free family and adult cinema this month. The programme got under way last weekend but there’s lots more to come for all the family in November.

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6pm this month, adults can enjoy:

Tuesday 13 Nov – Carlito’s Way

Wednesday 14 Nov – Departed

Tuesday 20 Nov – Bladerunner

Wednesday 21 Nov – Avatar.

The family cinema programme – screenings at 1pm:

Saturday 10 November – Muppets

Saturday 17 November – Brave

Saturday 24 November – Shrek

Free films for all the family! What are you waiting for?

For further information call North Edinburgh Arts on 315 2151 or visit www.northedinburgharts.co.uk

A story worth telling: Library Link celebrates twenty years

‘A special milestone for a special service’

A local library success story was shared yesterday as the Library Link service celebrated it’s twentieth birthday. This popular service helps people who have difficulty getting out to access books and other library services, and it’s fitting that the celebrations centred on Muirhouse Library – for it’s there that the Link service was first established all those years ago.

Culture and Sport convener Councillor Richard Lewis and Head of Library and Information Service Liz McGettigan were among the guests who joined yesterday’s anniversary celebrations.

Library Link is a bus service for anyone who has difficulty getting to the library because of age, disability or ill-health. The free minibus picks you up from home and takes you to your local library. The bus has wheelchair access and trained staff and WRVS volunteers are on hand to give assistance on and off the bus. Readers can choose their books, and then sit down to enjoy a coffee and a chat before being taken home again.

Launched in Muirhouse Library in 1992, Library Link has proven so successful that it has been adopted by nearly every library in the Capital and is now regarded as a core part of the Libraries and Information Service. Some libraries have more than one link service, catering to those who prefer to visit on a different day of the week or time of day.

The service forms a unique partnership between City of Edinburgh Council Library and Information Services and the voluntary sector. The WRVS recruit and support volunteer escorts to accompany the link members and transport is provided by organisations such as PEP (Pilton Equalities Project) and SEAG (South Edinburgh Amenities Group).

Ellen Fisher joined Library Link while Morningside Library was closed for its recent refurbishment. She said: “It gets you out of the house and lets you meet people. Everyone is very helpful. I was finding it difficult to cope with getting the books to and from the library. The advantage is that you can borrow as many books as you want and they are carried home for you.”

For crime novel enthusiast Mary Anderson the club has become one of the few occasions she gets out and about. “I enjoy meeting everyone and it also keeps the brain active, which is very important when you get to my age,” she said.

Thursday’s celebration also saw the introduction of a new Edinburgh City Libraries brochure, ‘My library keeps me out and about’ – Library services for older people, is a new booklet from Edinburgh City Libraries providing information about the various activities and services that are available to older people in Edinburgh, or anyone who finds it difficult to use their library through disability or illness.

There are lots of ways to access the library services available, and the booklet provides information on the Library2go service, Get Up and Go, and Your Edinburgh – all services designed to keep people up to date with what is happening in their community. The booklet also outlines how library users can get involved in events and activities in their community, including the popular book groups, IT courses and activities for children and grandchildren.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Today marks a very special milestone for a very special service. Library Link has helped many, many residents over the past two decades, ensuring they can access the wide range of services on offer at their library while interacting socially with fellow service users and volunteers. I would like to pay tribute to all the volunteers, past and present, whose hard work and enthusiasm mean Library Link continues to go from strength to strength.”

Library Link’s 148 volunteers provide an incredible 10,280 hours annually to support the service, and Councillor Lewis presented awards to David Colvin and Patrick Watson, two long-standing Link volunteers. Guests were also entertained by a short film on the local Link service produced by Muirhouse Library’s Rehan Yousuf, and there were also special thanks to local Library Link member Mr Wong – the Chinese Moon Festival falls this week, so Mr Wong shared Moon Cake with Library Link guests to make it a double celebration!

Doesn’t everyone love a story with a happy ending?

Some party pictures: