University of Edinburgh Statement on the death of Professor Peter Higgs
It has been confirmed that Professor Peter Higgs has died at the age of 94. He passed away peacefully at home on Monday 8 April following a short illness.
Peter is renowned the world over for his prediction of the existence of a new particle – the so-called Higgs boson – which he first proposed in 1964.
It would be almost 50 years before the particle’s existence could be confirmed, with experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern finally confirming Higgs’ theory in 2012. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this work in 2013, along with Francois Englert.
Peter was also a great teacher and mentor, inspiring generations of young scientists.
“Peter Higgs was a remarkable individual – a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us.
“His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come.” – Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh
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.
Bauer Media Scotland has paid tribute to Tom Steele, a key member of the team which launched Radio Forth, who has passed away after a long illness.
Tom began his career in newspapers before becoming Radio Clyde’s first employee when he was appointed to the news team in October 1973. He then moved to Radio Forth as Head of News ahead of the launch of the new station in January 1975.
He progressed to become the Programme Director and oversaw the splitting of broadcast frequencies on FM and AM to create Forth 1 and Forth 2. Tom then took over as Managing Director before he retired due to ill health in 1999.
As well as his work at Radio Forth, one of Tom’s greatest achievements was at Today FM when a day trip to Dublin turned into a year’s stay as Managing Director during which time he turned around the station’s fortunes.
Tom was a leading light in the radio industry through his work to develop and evolve fresh programming and he was also well regarded for his contribution to radio industry events and committees.
Graham Bryce, Chief Operating Officer, Bauer Media Audio UK, said: “Tom was one of the driving forces behind Radio Forth as he was passionate about radio and doing the best for our listeners and the local area.
“Local radio was very new in the UK at the time and Tom was at the forefront of the industry which was recognised by the many awards and accolades he won over the years. The foundations he laid down have also ensured that Forth remains a market leading station today.
“Tom made a huge contribution to local radio in Scotland and was a key part of our team for many years and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.”
I am sorry to have to pass on the sad news of the death of local activist Irene Garden, who passed away last night.
I had the pleasure of working alongside Irene on many community initiatives and campaigns over the years and she was a formidable force, a strong and powerful community voice.
Her determined support of local projects, particuarly on health and older people’s issues, really made a difference. Pilton Elderly Project and Pilton Community Health Project in particular benefited from Irene’s wisdom and leadership and she was an enthusiastic participant in area-wide initiatives including the local Greater Pilton Community Alliance.
While Irene’s time was often dominated by too many meetings she enjoyed the performing arts and was an enthusiastic cast member in the memorable Oyster Wars community drama staged at North Edinburgh Arts Centre in June 2003 (above).
Further afield, Irene also made her presence felt as a community representative on citywide and national health fora, always a strong voice for socially excluded communities.
I will remember Irene – with her ever-loyal husband Al always there to give his support – with great fondness. Al sadly passed away in August after a long battle with dementia and now North Edinburgh has lost another of that generation of strong women activists who did so much to speak up for those communities whose voices are never heard.
Deepest commiserations to Sara-Louise and family – I will pass on the funeral arrangements when I have them.
David was Manager of North Edinburgh childcare for over 10 years. He joined as the founding manager and developed the organisation from an ambitious local project to a thriving social enterprise with partners and connections across the city and beyond.
He lived and breathed youth and community work and had a wide and varied background from a range of both voluntary and statutory provisions. He developed many strong connections during his time at the Centre – some becoming lifelong friends, including his Chairperson Betty McVay.
In his latter years as Manager, David “commuted” to his home in Skye and took early “retirement” at the age of 55. He was a keen hillwalker and traveller and planned to mix spending time with family with heading further afield for adventures. It was during one of these adventures that David took ill unexpectedly in New Zealand and after an emergency operation found out that he had cancer and his time may be limited.
Once home, in true David fashion, he pushed boundaries and even after being told he couldn’t travel outside the UK, managed a trip to the Scilly Isles – a place he had always wanted to visit at almost the furthest he could go without leaving the UK.
He is survived by his wife Pat, (who he met while working at the Childcare Centre), his children Jenny and Justin and grandchildren Ossian and William.
David was a great story teller over a good meal and a bottle of wine and had many interesting stories and fond memories of his time with the centre.
I’m very sad to to convey the news that Roberta Blaikie passed away at St Columba’s Hospice yesterday.
Roberta was an incredibly dedicated activist who spent decades campaigning for her community and fighting for the causes she held dear to her heart.
Roberta was at the heart of community activities and a hugely influential figure in Greater Pilton and North Edinburgh. To highlight just a few achievements, Roberta was a founding figure of Pilton’s ground-breaking Health Hut (now the much-respected Pilton Community Health Project) and a mainstay and driving force of Royston Wardieburn Community Centre from the outset.
Many local activists benefitted from Roberta’s experience and wisdom and in recent years she has dedicated her drive and enthusiasm to North Edinburgh Fights Back, North Edinburgh Social History Group and Women’s International Groups based at Royston Wardieburn. She also loved the arts and was a member of arts and culture groups including Mama Rag.
But this is only scratching the surface: there is so much more to say, so many stories to be told – Roberta was a warm, funny, thoughtful and caring person who gave so much to her community. She enriched community life. She made a difference – and those of us who were lucky enough to have known Roberta and have worked alongside her on campaigns will know that she is simply irreplaceable. They just don’t make many people like Roberta any more and communities are all the poorer for it.
Roberta sat at the top table during a recent event staged by the Women’s International Group. The event was organised to celebrate the achievements of women in our community – and Roberta, who was by then suffering from the illness that ultimately took her life, was presented with a bouquet of flowers as a special recognition of her tremendous contribution over many years. The warmth in the room as the flowers were presented – the appreciation, the respect, the love – was almost tangible and is something I will never forget. I hope will be of at least some comfort to Donna and her family in the difficult days ahead.
Others will say more about this remarkable woman in the days to come. For now I will simply say: Roberta, I feel privileged to have shared some time with you and I wish it had been more. I will miss you – and your community will miss you even more.
We will share details of the funeral arrangements when we have them
I’m sad to have to report the death of North Edinburgh activist Brian Robertson, who passed away yesterday.
Former ice cream man Brian Robertson was a doting father, a big Hearts fan and an Elvis fanatic who cared deeply about the North Edinburgh community and social justice. He was a committed community activist for many years, always willing to get involved in campaigns and battles – Brian didn’t believe in too many meetings and ‘talking shops’, although over the years he must have attended more than most.
A founding member of Greater Pilton’s Community Alliance, Brian was at his best when he was doing things, not just talking about doing things: he was never afraid to speak out, whether as a school board Chair opposed to closures and PPP or about the inherent unfairness of fuel poverty or the Fairer Scotland Fund. If there was a community campaign you could be sure that Brian would be there at the front.
Most recently, despite poor health, Brian was proud to be an active and enthusiastic member of the North Edinburgh Social History Group (pictured below, centre). He absolutely believed that the area’s proud story of protest and activism had to be told to a wide audience, particularly to encourage a new generation of younger activists to take up the fight. Among other achievements the group produced the excellent ‘Never Give Up’ book – and those three words sum up wee Brian’s attitude to community activism to a tee.
Deepest condolences to Brian’s girls, wider family and friends, and we’ll give details of Brian’s funeral when we have them.
![nevergiveup11[1]](https://i0.wp.com/nen.press/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/nevergiveup111.jpg?ssl=1)