What’s in a street name?
News of a really interesting Leith event has just landed in my inbox. An invitation for local people to get involved in local archaeology and street naming. Sounds a great opportunity to find out more about the history that lies under our feet – and how to influence street names of today! Wednesday, 6 November Thomas Morton Hall 6.45pm
Continue reading “Delving into the history beneath our feet”What are you doing on Thursday? How about taking a trip Out of Bounds through a reinvented Scotland, following a map drawn by black and Asian poets? The journey – funny, disturbing and hopeful by twists and turns – begins at the Scottish Poetry Library at 6.30pm. Where will it end? Colin Waters, SPL communications manager, tells us more.’
Continue reading “Travel Out of Bounds through Scotland”
Things are looking up for Leith Walk, it seems. The Scottish Government has added extra cash to the kitty which means a total of coming on for £9 million is to be spent on improving the most interesting street in the city. But the story is surely not finished.
Continue reading “Bring the pedestrian pound to Leith Walk”This is no day for a stroll. Heads down against wind and rain, people are not hanging about to enjoy the view. Even on the best of days it takes a bit of positive thinking to see passed wheelie bins and bollards cluttering the faded grandeur of Leith Walk. But on a bleak winter day it is cheering to look on the bright side. City of Edinburgh Council has promised to clear up the mess left by abandoned tram works and general neglect. The even cheerier thought is that Leith community groups are determined to get them to do much more than that.
Continue reading “Raising aspirations for Leith Walk”Wanted: women to join an exciting new community venture in Leith which involves food, fitness and fun. It has so much in common with World Kitchen in Leith we’re hoping to get together with the Talk of the Walk during the programme which runs every Wednesday from now (November) until March 2013. But first, over to Emma Pattinson of Edinburgh Community Food to tell us more about it….
Continue reading “Talk of the Walk”There was a lot of queueing at the BBC’s Leith Special Fringe Show – at times it felt like Ryan Air with smiles. Queuing to validate our free tickets we whiled away the time playing Spot the Leither. According to the programme notes Mark Steel would be playing to an audience of born and bred Leithers which amused the couple in front of us. ‘Leith via Toronto,’and behind, “We’re from Luton.”
Continue reading “Leith’s night out in Edinburgh”
Left, right and centre. Here’s a chance to engage with radical views and big questions. What does the future hold for Scotland. In an age of austerity can councils deliver quality services? Would independence produce a more democratic local authority?
Continue reading “Left foot forward?”
A mix of bold and simple ideas got people talking at Your Vision for Leith Walk the Open Space event organised by Greener Leith and Leith Open Space in Out of the Blue last week. Top votes went to the boldest idea – a Green Bridge – but there were many other ideas to improve life in Leith Walk which could appear on the ground much sooner.
Continue reading “Your Visions for Leith Walk (and more to come)”So near to winning. The ambitious scheme for the Portobello and Leith Wind Turbine will succeed if enough people vote for it on theEnergy Share Fund website. Right now it’s in second place and it’s beginning to look very close indeed. If we can all encourage friends to vote before 3 December Edinburgh could gain the first community-owned wind project in a UK city. You just need to click here.
According to Al Tibbitt of Greener Leith, the award would mean £80,000 for the Leith scheme and it would not be the end of the story. But the money would help to pay for essential research (bird studies, wind monitoring and so on) as well as the cost of submitting planning and grid connection applications. All working towards the goal of a handsome turbine capable of supplying energy for up to 1300 local homes. But of course there is much more to a windmill than electricity.
I may be biased, but I feel the turbines actually add to our skyline, rather than detracting from it. [The Island of Gigha website]
There are all sorts of myths and plain old fashioned lies about windmills, but you just have to look to the success of community schemes like Gigha to see how well-designed projects can bring new hope and pride as well as real tangible benefits to local neighbourhoods. On Gigha, The Dancing Ladies (more prosaically, the first community wind project in Scotland) have generated enough income to build new homes and bring people back to live on the island. What’s more they paid for themselves within six years. In fact the scheme has been so successful the Isle of Gigh Heritage Trust is now raising money for a fourth turbine.
Leith and Portobello are not an island, but these urban communities could share the same benefits of regeneration; the renewed pride and hope that goes along with investment in homes, jobs and opportunities for young people.
And, given pride of place, windmills have a way of winning hearts, minds and tourists! On Gigha a walk to see the Dancing Ladies is now a popular tourist attraction.
In the end it wasn’t a complete surprise. Cathy Macnaughton got wind of the leaving party which allowed her to dress up and bring a surprise present of her own. After five years in the voluntary sector she knew just what the staff would find useful.
Continue reading “Multicultural farewell to Cathy”