community news – Page 9 – Leith Open Space

Time to talk: do faith and politics go together?

“Interfaith dialogue is about building deeper human relationship not about conversion, evangelism or judgement of others beliefs.” Ewan Aitken.

Can you mix faith with politics? The subject is grasped by two men who should know at 6pm on Sunday 22 November in the Annandale Street Mosque during this year’s Interfaith programme. Expect a stimulating discussion – and take the chance to join in afterwards.

Join the News Group and start to change the world

Don’t let it get you down – come and turn the news into community action

How do we deal with the words and images bombarding us every day? Leith Open Space is delighted to support ACTive Inquiry in a current affairs workshop with a difference. Here’s your chance to pull the news to pieces as we explore how to become active and influential participants instead of passive consumers of too much information. Make a note of the date: 28 November in the Old Drill Hall. Here’s the very ACTive Gavin Crichton to tell you why..

Get out of town

A walk on the (not so) wild side can take you here…

Her Power Point was not working and she couldn’t lug a heavy display board on the train to Edinburgh so she had no pictures to show. But as Pammy Johal told the audience, ‘I can talk,’ and she showed that sometimes words are almost as good as actions. Almost but not quite.’

Home thoughts: poetry for Refugee Week

The ‘poetry tree’ in St Andrew Square Garden

Home is a dead tree in the garden. Well, not quite so dead now that it is fluttering with poems about home to mark Refugee Week in Edinburgh.

Reel Iraq in McDonald Road Library

In their own words: a rare chance to hear modern Iraqi writers. Meet Sinan Antoon, Hussain Al-Mozany, Betool Khedairi, Gulala Nouri and Saadi Youssef at the McDonald Road Readings.

Read all about it on the community noticeboard

Welcome to a new community website which happened almost by accident but is fast becoming a great source of local information. Click on EH7 Community Noticeboard to find news and views of the proposed Tesco opening in Picardy Place, how to make requests under the Freedom of Information Act, or how to get council action on problems in your street. And much more.

What a load of rubbish

Sadly there’s no truth in the myth that Inuits have 87 words for snow (according to yesterday’s radio there are just as many English words for the white stuff) but who has more words for rubbish? On Saturday while snow covered much of the UK, the sun shone on volunteers picking litter out of Pilrig Park. That’s litter, rubbish, trash, garbage, junk, detritus, gubbins, yuk…you name it, Greener Leith volunteers found it. And filled 48 bags full of it.

Around the world without leaving Leith

While we are looking forward to an eventful new year we couldn’t resist taking a look back. During 2008 we travelled far and wide, visiting parts of Africa, China, India, Pakistan and Poland. All without moving out of Leith and North Edinburgh. To celebrate the most vibrant and exciting part of the capital city here is our world tour in pictures, with thanks to the many welcoming communities of Leith.

The shape of things to come

Callum McLeod (on the left) tries his luck at Polish St Andrews night.

What does the future hold? Who will I marry? Will I be rich? No-one really claimed to know the answers but people of all ages had a lot of fun looking to the future through old traditions at a Polish celebration of St Andrews night in Fort Community Centre. Why not try some yourself…

Hold the Fort: world premiere

At 9.30 am there is only one film showing at the Vue cinema in Ocean Terminal. Sunshine beams across Leith while people stream into the warm dark for the first screening. Parents, teachers, community leaders and local politicians have turned out in force to see an extraordinary celebration of local life. But the red carpet is reserved for the kids starring in Hold the Fort.