Mixed feelings is the best way to describe the demolition of the North Sighthill high flats today. There were tears from residents recalling fond memories but also hopes for the future and excitement from the crowds who had gathered for the spectacle. For my part I said that this should be seen as the beginning of the process and not the end.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
The Calders Community Garden Open Day
Just back from The Calders Community Garden Open Day/Fun Day. The weather was OK but the event was tremendous! Dedicated enthusiastic people making a difference to the area, the environment and their own fitness!
As I was being shown round by Joyce from the Wester Hailes Health Agency I was struck with how worthwhile all this activity was however in spite of real partnership working with, for example BCTV, the LPT, the Woodland Trust and the Waterways Trust, funding remains a problem.
The main activity is the 'Green Gym' who walk along from the Health Agency (as a warm up ) and then spend three hours working on the garden. To join in or find out more go to -
http://www.whhealthagency.co.uk/ and click on 'Garden Project & Green Gyms'. Aternatively phone David or Joyce 0131 458 3080
After the 26th September you can show your support for the Green Gym by voting for them to get funding from the RBS Community Force initiative. You can either click on the link below -
www.rbs.co.uk/communityforce
or phone 0800 2100 246
NB The vote doesn't start till the 26th Sept. and ends on 23rd Oct. @ 12 noon.
Obviously this would be a fantastic and welcome boost for the project.
Constructing boxes for bees to lay their eggs in for next year ( I have to say I didn't make this box even though I'm holding it!).
The main activity is the 'Green Gym' who walk along from the Health Agency (as a warm up ) and then spend three hours working on the garden. To join in or find out more go to -
http://www.whhealthagency.co.uk/ and click on 'Garden Project & Green Gyms'. Aternatively phone David or Joyce 0131 458 3080
After the 26th September you can show your support for the Green Gym by voting for them to get funding from the RBS Community Force initiative. You can either click on the link below -
www.rbs.co.uk/communityforce
or phone 0800 2100 246
NB The vote doesn't start till the 26th Sept. and ends on 23rd Oct. @ 12 noon.
Obviously this would be a fantastic and welcome boost for the project.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
End of the School Hols.
As previous years the end of the school holiday seems to be one of the busiest times of the year for me. A by election tomorrow and things on every day!
Speaking of the by election it would be great if we could get Karen elected and displace the SNP Lib Dem ‘Administration’ who have been pretending to run the City for the last 4 and a half years. I say pretending as the lack of Leadership has been almost tangible. Most if not all of the innovations they would claim credit for were ours such as new schools like Tynecastle whilst projects like the trams have been allowed to drift into chaos. By the way don’t let the SNP kid you into thinking they have never wanted a tram project – they have been running the Council for the last four and a half years and if they had not wanted it it wouldn’t be being done – full stop! If this was the price of power then they traded away their opposition to trams in order to form an administration in the first place.
Vote Labour tomorrow and lets start putting Edinburgh back together!
Speaking of the by election it would be great if we could get Karen elected and displace the SNP Lib Dem ‘Administration’ who have been pretending to run the City for the last 4 and a half years. I say pretending as the lack of Leadership has been almost tangible. Most if not all of the innovations they would claim credit for were ours such as new schools like Tynecastle whilst projects like the trams have been allowed to drift into chaos. By the way don’t let the SNP kid you into thinking they have never wanted a tram project – they have been running the Council for the last four and a half years and if they had not wanted it it wouldn’t be being done – full stop! If this was the price of power then they traded away their opposition to trams in order to form an administration in the first place.
Vote Labour tomorrow and lets start putting Edinburgh back together!
Monday, August 01, 2011
An online survey for the new Local Community Plan
As part of creating the new Local Community Plan for the South West Area the Neighbourhood Partnership has introduced an online survey. This is a very important document as it informs the decisions of the South West Neighbourhood Partnership. This an advisory committee which includes Councillors , the Police, Community Councillors, Health and Voluntary Organisations. It has a big influence on decisions made in the area so it is important to get the plan right (I Chair the Partnership at the moment). See statement and link below...
'Hi,
The Partnership Team have put together an online survey as another tool by which people can input into the priorities of the new Local Community Plan. This online survey is based on the data from the Community Conferences and focus groups which have already been held.
I am contacting yourselves because we want to get this survey to be completed by as many people as possible. Please promote this survey through the link attached on any websites or email lists you have:
Please feel free to contact me with any queries and thank you in advance for your assistance with this.
Graham Budd
Partnership Development Officer
South West Neighbourhood Office
10 Westside Plaza
Edinburgh
EH14 2ST
Tel. ~ 0131 527 3884'
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wheatfield Community Backgreen Open Day
'Wheatfield Community Backgreen
OPEN DAY
Sunday 7 August 10 am – 5 pmVisitors will have the opportunity to take tour of the garden which won the Beautiful Scotland Silver Gilt award and the Jim Murphie Trophy for Sustainability in 2010.
The Wheatfield Backgreen Association will be providing coals for the BBQ and visitors are welcome to bring a picnic.
Access to the community garden will be available through the black metal gate at the top of WheatfieldGorgie Road.
Lothian buses: 1, 2, 3, 25, 33, 38
Contact: wheatfieldbackgreen@hotmail.co.uk'
Local people cannot fail to be impressed by this fantastic local initiative.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Bad Start to the Hols.
Typical! Start of the school summer holidays and in comes the 'man flu'! After an enormous bout of Bailie Duties and lengthy Council Meetings I end up bed ridden. The last few weeks have been my busiest ever with things on every evening and most weekends. Finishing up at the school, most important Council decisions for a generation (trams) , the always enjoyable Bailie Duties and local events and meetings. By the time you get to the Summer Recess you certainly need it.
Bailie Duties have a diversity that will never cease to amaze me. One example is the Friday before last when I rushed out of a meeting at the City Chambers and jumped into a taxi to get me to HMS Portland only to become mired in the congestion the city is rapidly becoming renowned for. The driver displayed some confusion as we approached the docks about where HMS Portland might be moored. Looking straight ahead I laughed and said I expected it would be the enormous naval ship just over to the left. Sure enough it was! After being piped on board and meeting the Admiral we were treated to the Royal Marines Band who finished up by playing the hymn 'For Those in Peril on the Sea' which merged softly into the last post. On the last note, seemingly from nowhere , the Red Arrows flew over our heads and spread out in front of us with the red white and blue trails streaming. I have to say at this point that at events like this I always think of my father who died ten years ago. He was a cook in the Mediterranean fleet during WW2 serving on the Abercrombie, the Kent and the Aurora. His stories include being head chef at a dinner on board ship at the Yalta Conference. Guests included Eisenhower, Stalin and Churchill - at least it may have done. There were two other dinners on two other ships to confuse any would be assassins. Dad's was the flagship and he was the Admiral's cook so it seems likely his was the real one but there you are, that is the story. The Admiral wanted my father to go with him after the War as his personal chef but he was under orders to get back to Selkirk to marry my mother ( and a good job too or I would not be here). We sang the same hymn at my fathers funeral so suffice it to say that the event was particularly moving and impressive to me. It could not have been a better start to Armed Forces Week.
Something important happened later on that Friday however that is worthy of a mention. All my duties done I headed for a bar in town to meet some friends. While I was there a young man mistook my City badge for a regimental one. I explained what it was and they introduced themselves. It turns out they were up for Armed Forces Week representing a group called 'talking 2 minds' who deal with the psychological effects of tours of action like Afganistan. They have achieved an over 80% success rate with just one course of treatment with others requiring more. They are very loyal to each other and emphasise they help each other as a group. I immediately took my badge off and gave it to the one who had spoken to me first and promised I would go down on the Sunday to Holyrood Park and visit their stall. The one I gave the badge to was so pleased and said he would wear it on his uniform the next day (which he did). These badges have little or no financial value but have the City crest and motto. They are sometimes handed out by the Lord Provost or Bailies. Was there ever a more worthy recipient? I handed out another three when I went down on the Sunday to their stall. One was to their fundraiser who had done two tours in Afganistan and something about an Afgan Warlord (I didn't want to press him on the subject). At any rate the experience had left him such that he was admitted to an institution down south from which he was 'rescued' by 'talking 2 minds'. As far as I am concerned the sacrifice these boys have made is every bit as great as those with physical injuries and can take just as long to heal - if they ever do. Visit the web site and support this charity. www.talking2minds.co.uk
Bailie Duties have a diversity that will never cease to amaze me. One example is the Friday before last when I rushed out of a meeting at the City Chambers and jumped into a taxi to get me to HMS Portland only to become mired in the congestion the city is rapidly becoming renowned for. The driver displayed some confusion as we approached the docks about where HMS Portland might be moored. Looking straight ahead I laughed and said I expected it would be the enormous naval ship just over to the left. Sure enough it was! After being piped on board and meeting the Admiral we were treated to the Royal Marines Band who finished up by playing the hymn 'For Those in Peril on the Sea' which merged softly into the last post. On the last note, seemingly from nowhere , the Red Arrows flew over our heads and spread out in front of us with the red white and blue trails streaming. I have to say at this point that at events like this I always think of my father who died ten years ago. He was a cook in the Mediterranean fleet during WW2 serving on the Abercrombie, the Kent and the Aurora. His stories include being head chef at a dinner on board ship at the Yalta Conference. Guests included Eisenhower, Stalin and Churchill - at least it may have done. There were two other dinners on two other ships to confuse any would be assassins. Dad's was the flagship and he was the Admiral's cook so it seems likely his was the real one but there you are, that is the story. The Admiral wanted my father to go with him after the War as his personal chef but he was under orders to get back to Selkirk to marry my mother ( and a good job too or I would not be here). We sang the same hymn at my fathers funeral so suffice it to say that the event was particularly moving and impressive to me. It could not have been a better start to Armed Forces Week.
Something important happened later on that Friday however that is worthy of a mention. All my duties done I headed for a bar in town to meet some friends. While I was there a young man mistook my City badge for a regimental one. I explained what it was and they introduced themselves. It turns out they were up for Armed Forces Week representing a group called 'talking 2 minds' who deal with the psychological effects of tours of action like Afganistan. They have achieved an over 80% success rate with just one course of treatment with others requiring more. They are very loyal to each other and emphasise they help each other as a group. I immediately took my badge off and gave it to the one who had spoken to me first and promised I would go down on the Sunday to Holyrood Park and visit their stall. The one I gave the badge to was so pleased and said he would wear it on his uniform the next day (which he did). These badges have little or no financial value but have the City crest and motto. They are sometimes handed out by the Lord Provost or Bailies. Was there ever a more worthy recipient? I handed out another three when I went down on the Sunday to their stall. One was to their fundraiser who had done two tours in Afganistan and something about an Afgan Warlord (I didn't want to press him on the subject). At any rate the experience had left him such that he was admitted to an institution down south from which he was 'rescued' by 'talking 2 minds'. As far as I am concerned the sacrifice these boys have made is every bit as great as those with physical injuries and can take just as long to heal - if they ever do. Visit the web site and support this charity. www.talking2minds.co.uk
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Sighthill Bowling Club does it again !
This morning I launched the Home International Bowling Championships at Sighthill Bowling Club. This is the second time this event , which is the most important in the UK Bowling calendar has come to Sighthill. The last time was four years ago (it only takes place every four years ) and I was told it was the quality of the greens and the tremendous way the Club had organised it the last time that had attracted the event back.
For me to go along and open it as a Bailie but also as a local Councillor was a source of great pride. The opening ceremony was tremendous. A feast of colour with all the teams in national strips. The teams of Scotland, England Ireland and Wales all processed onto one of the greens , followed by the umpires and lastly ourselves who stood in the middle to deliver our speeches. It brought tears to the eyes of seasoned bowling veterans. It was quite a spectacle and no one could fail to be impressed. When the games started the pace was fast and exciting with many going on simultaneously as two countries battled it out on each of the two greens. It is on again tomorrow (3rd July) and whether bowling is your sport or not I would recommend it as a fun filled day in the beautiful sunshine. What a tremendous thing for the Club and the area!
For me to go along and open it as a Bailie but also as a local Councillor was a source of great pride. The opening ceremony was tremendous. A feast of colour with all the teams in national strips. The teams of Scotland, England Ireland and Wales all processed onto one of the greens , followed by the umpires and lastly ourselves who stood in the middle to deliver our speeches. It brought tears to the eyes of seasoned bowling veterans. It was quite a spectacle and no one could fail to be impressed. When the games started the pace was fast and exciting with many going on simultaneously as two countries battled it out on each of the two greens. It is on again tomorrow (3rd July) and whether bowling is your sport or not I would recommend it as a fun filled day in the beautiful sunshine. What a tremendous thing for the Club and the area!
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