LINDA GARCIA: A Tribute

Despite leaving North Edinburgh for the bright lights in London when she was only 17, Linda never forgot where she came from and was  very proud of North Edinburgh , its people and the community’s long history of  fighting injustice (writes LYNN McCABE).  

She felt very strongly about inequality and social justice and although she had a  comfortable life  and could have spent her retirement years with her feet up, she chose to  get involved in her old  community and do what she could to try to improve things.

She  was  passionate about education and was a great advocate for   lifelong learning  and  signed up for a variety of  courses which covered some of the topics she was interested in including Scottish history,  politics, the Scots language  and the arts.   Even when she wasn’t attending a   class, she was always researching something and was  keen to share  her learning with others.

She joined the Power to the People group in 2012, a new project developed by local activists who wanted to study  the history of protest in Scotland through the  arts.  It was a perfect fit for Linda with her passion for politics, Scottish history and the arts. 

The class ran for  a number of years and brought together people who were new to activism as well as people who had been involved in community  politics and the trade unions.  

Linda  was really interested in listening to everyone’s views  but  was more than capable of  holding her own  during the  many heated debates that took place each week!

Through the years,  the focus of the class moved from studying the history of  protest to actually taking part in protests!  Members of the  Power to the People group got involved in many local issues   including cuts to local services and the campaign to stop the eviction of local families from their homes.  

Linda was at the heart of these protests helping to design placards and banners  and was actively involved  in a sit-in at the local housing office and  a protest that ended up  taking over   Ruth Davidson’s constituency office.    She also took part in numerous protests  outside the city chambers every year in response to proposals to cut vital local services.   

Having exhausted the subject of the history of protest in Scotland over a 2 year period, Linda and her class mates from the Power to the People group decided it was time to undertake another research project where the focus was closer to home. 

This project  was going to focus on North Edinburgh’s  history  and would cover some of the big industrial, housing and political changes in the area over the last century.  It turned out that  there was too many interesting things which they felt  could not be missed out so the history timeline began  with the Roman encampment in Cramond!

The information the group unearthed was fascinating and highlighted how central North Edinburgh was  to Scotland’s history.   

On the completion of this research, Linda and a few other folk from the group decided their next priority would be to promote  North Edinburgh’s  hidden  history and over a number of years they  developed heritage walks, a history hub down at Madelvic and  led a successful campaign to protect and restore the Granton Castle Walled Garden.   

Linda remained actively involved in all these  projects  even as her health deteriorated  and was instrumental  in helping to preserve the area’s  cultural heritage.

Another passion of Linda’s was arts and culture.  She  felt strongly about the need for the arts to be accessible to everyone.  She was a regular visitor at the city’s art galleries and  kept her eye out for new exhibitions  and cultural events which were heading  to Edinburgh. 

She was quick to share this information with all the  groups and projects she was connected with  which ensured that  local folk from  didn’t miss out.

Linda was very good with her hands and was one of the  stitchers involved in creating the Prestonpans tapestry, The Diaspora Tapestry for the Homecoming and the Great Tapestry of Scotland. 

She almost succeeded in convincing  her friends from North Edinburgh to embark on a new project called the Great Tapestry of North Edinburgh which was going to cover key historical events  and famous people associated with  North  Edinburgh.  Everyone was really excited about the idea of this project, until they realised that they were going to have to be involved in doing the stitching! 

Despite a really positive meeting with Andrew Crummy who had designed the other tapestries, the consensus amongst the group was that it was a good idea but none of them were likely to be alive to see the tapestry completed so sadly that project didn’t come to pass! 

Another  passion  of Linda’s was womens’ rights and so on Wednesday afternoons she would catch up with her pals from the Women’s International Group (WIG) who ran   a programme of informal learning opportunities  for local women. 

The group also  organised numerous events including womens’ health and well-being days, hustings, and public meetings on local issues and made history when they  became the first singing deputation at a full council meeting.   

Being local women, the  Women’s International Group were well aware of all the strong  North Edinburgh women who had came before them  and made a point of  celebrating their achievements and the achievements of inspirational women from  around the world at their annual international womens day events. 

Linda was always  at the heart of these gatherings and did presentations,  took her turn at  chairing the event, read poetry but  was equally happy to do the register or  make the tea and coffee.  

 Linda’s  passion for her community continued through the last few years of her life.  She would regularly email me funding information or links to materials which she thought would be useful. 

Despite her  health issues, she remained interested in what was happening in North Edinburgh and regularly shared words of support and encouragement to the  friends  she had made in the community over the years. 

Linda was most definitely a North Edinburgh ‘wummin’ through and through and will be missed by all who knew her. 

Lynn McCabe

Community Learning and Development Worker

Royston Wardieburn Community Centre

Brian Eddington: 1949 – 2023

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.

Starts Tuesday: Making Connections at Royston Wardieburn

The local activists’ group ‘Power to the People’, in conjunction with Edinburgh University’s Centre for Open Learning, are bringing something new and old, a free archaeology course ‘Making Connections’ with talks and trips open to all.

Continue reading Starts Tuesday: Making Connections at Royston Wardieburn

Stop the Evictions, campaigners urge city council

edinburgh coalition against poverty
Single mothers hit by the Benefits Cap and their supporters descended on the City Chambers once again last week (writes Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty – ECAP). Demonstrators protested outside the City Chambers before supporting a deputation addressing Wednesday’s Policy & Strategy committee meeting.

Continue reading Stop the Evictions, campaigners urge city council

Mothers protest against ‘cruel cuts’

Mums and children facing eviction staged a peaceful protest at Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson’s constituency office yesterday to demand an end to the benefits cap. At least 11 families and 42 children face eviction from their privately rented homes in North Edinburgh due to ‘cruel’ welfare reforms. Continue reading Mothers protest against ‘cruel cuts’