Author: fay.young

If you want to find out what’s happening in Leith and North Edinburgh, look no further than a new community website celebrating Leith and North.

Congratulations to Nick Gardner, a member of Leith Open Space Group, who designed the website with local news as well as a lively what’s on section and links to the huge range of community groups in our part of town. Continue reading “What’s on?”

What exactly does democracy mean? The Leith Community Involvement Project has organised a ‘summer school’ so local people can take part in a thought-provoking programme to stimulate debate about the connection between democracy and the lives of ordinary people.

The programme begins in August with drama in the Scottish Parliament (the theatrical kind rather than political debate!). A trip to Holyrood provides the chance to see a performance of “The Journey of Jeannie Deansâ€? following Jeannie’s journey from Edinburgh to London in an attempt to win the freedom of her sister who, she believes, has been wrongly accused of murder.

The summer school ends with a showing of Ken Loach’s film “Land and Freedomâ€?, about the questions raised by a young woman’s discovery that her grandfather fought in the Spanish Civil War.

All activities are free of charge. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT JACKIE MEARNS ON 554 9951 OR 07732471660 – she will be on holiday for two weeks from July 13. Continue reading “Summer in the city”

During Refugee Week Fay Young of Leith Open Space Group joined an information session organised by Edinburgh Refugee Centre. This is the first part of her report.

We sat at tables in small groups grappling with questions. What exactly is an asylum seeker? Where do most refugees come from? What is a migrant worker? Can there be an illegal asylum seeker? Continue reading “True or false?”

Let’s join the campaign for Leith Museum. Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, is inviting Leithers near and far to sign a petition to support local groups campaigning for a museum celebrating the history of one of the fastest changing parts of the Capital.

Celebrating Leith’s history, the mural in North Junction Street was created by Tim Chalk and Paul Grime using material collected by Leith Local History Project in 1986. Thanks to Peter Stubbs for use of this photograph © Peter Stubbs www.edinphoto.org.uk

This not a new campaign – local groups such as Leith History Society have been calling for a museum for years – but as Mark told the Evening News
the case is now stronger than ever: “Leith deserves a museum which will strengthen community links at a time of rapid social change, and will highlight Leith’s important role in the history of Scotland as a whole.”

Exactly where the museum will be has yet to be decided (the spotlight falls on possible buildings like Lambs House and the old Customs House). But wherever it is there will be no shortage of exhibits: Leith’s diverse history stretches from seafaring to Trainspotting and celebrity connections include Mary Queen of Scots, Eduardo Paolozzi and Irvine Welsh.

Living memories of local people (recently captured by [murmur] who are returning to Edinburgh in June for a second phase of the oral history project ) are another rich resource for a museum aiming to appeal to people of all ages with family connections across the world.

So lets sign the petition – and pass it on!

It’s amazing what you can pick up with a litter picker (if that’s what those long sticks are called). At first sight on Saturday, Leith Links looked fresh and clean in the spring sunshine. Within two hours it was much cleaner. A group of willing volunteers had filled around 30 refuse sacks with assorted rubbish – crisp packets, drinks cans, cigarette butts, poly bags and a few other things you didn’t want to investigate closely (those litter pickers and rubber gloves meant you didn’t have to!).

Leith Open Space supported the enterprising community event organised by Greener Leith. We were joined by Cllr Gordon Munro (who is standing again for Leith Harbour Ward and got stuck in despite being dressed for a HIBS match, no prizes for picking him out) and Angela Blacklock, a Labour candidate for the new Leith Central Ward in Thursday’s Council elections, who proved to be a dab hand at picking up cigarette butts.

Altogether, as Alastair Tibbitt of Greener Leith said, it was not only a successful afternoon, it was fun too. Here’s to the next one!