Trams – Royal Highland Show – Planning – Chip pan fires – Robert Louis Stevenson
We reported on Monday that the many road works on Princes Street are due to be removed by this Saturday. In addition there have also been reports about the money paid to the outgoing directors of tie, the company which the council set up to run the tram project and which was wound up last year. Now it appears that the money paid to these directors only attracted tax at 20% as the payments were made to limited companies and not to the individuals themselves, according to The Edinburgh Evening News. Today’s photo is of a sign which actually exists on Princes Street….
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Falkirk MP Michael Connarty criticised the organisers of The Royal Highland Show for not dealing with traffic problems which occurred after a weekend of unprecedented bad weather, causing him to miss a plane from Edinburgh airport.
In response, local MP Mike Crockart said:-“Whilst it is unfortunate that Mr Connarty missed his flight it is clear that this year saw a set of circumstances including unprecedented rainfall, which made access to the site extremely difficult. The exciting master plan for development of the site which is now underway, will deal with these access issues which have been problematic for many years.
What is important right now is that we review what went wrong this year and ensure that we have robust contingency plans in place for 12 months time. That way all of Scotland will continue to benefit from this wonderful event whilst ensuring the continued award winning service of our excellent international airport.”
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The Council’s Planning Local Review Body meets today. One of the main items on the agenda is the proposal to develop 9 South St Andrew Street into flats. The property has been empty for some considerable time but the application was refused in March this year on the grounds of insufficient daylighting and space. Revised plans are now before the council for review.
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Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service remind you that the kitchen is the most common place in the home for a house fire to start. Follow our simple advice to make sure you stay safe.
Swap your chip pan for an electric deep fat fryer
Chip pans catch fire easily. An electric deep fat fryer is much safer. When deep frying, dry food before you put it in oil. Never fill a pan more than one-third full of oil. If the oil starts to smoke, it’s too hot so turn off the heat and leave it to cool.
If you must use a deep frying pan:
- Never deep fry with fat or oil when you’ve been drinking alcohol
- Never leave cooking unattended – even for a few seconds
- Turn the pan handle to the side so the fat or oil doesn’t get spilled by accident
If a deep frying pan catches fire:
- Don’t try to move the pan
- Never throw water over the pan
- Call the Fire and Rescue Service, even if you think you’ve put the fire out
- If you can, turn off the heat – but don’t take risks
- Put a damp towel over the pan to smother the flames
- Leave the room closing the door behind you to avoid smoke inhalation
A prized collection of papers and books relating to Robert Louis Stevenson which is said to have few rivals in the world is being donated to the National Library of Scotland and Edinburgh’s Napier University.
The collection was built up over 50 years by the leading independent Stevenson scholar Dr Ernest Mehew who died last year.
It consists of more than 40 boxes of papers and some 2000 books and includes first editions, rarities, biographies, collections of letters, reference books, critical studies and bound copies of the magazines where Stevenson’s work first appeared.
Robin Smith, Head of Collections and Interpretation at the National Library of Scotland (NLS), said: “This is a unique and wonderful collection which will enrich our existing Stevenson archive. We are extremely grateful for this donation and to be able to house these papers in the land of Stevenson’s birth.”
Ernest Mehew was a schoolboy when he first became interested in Stevenson’s work and it was a passion that was to last throughout his life. By 1950, when he was in his late 20s, he had made himself such an authority on Stevenson’s manuscripts and handwriting that he could help Janet Adam Smith with her edition of Stevenson’s poems.
In the 1960s he was asked by Yale University Press to become assistant editor on the Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson and took over as sole editor in 1968. Working only with his wife Joyce as his assistant, and never using a computer, he located, sorted, transcribed, dated, annotated and linked some 2,800 letters, many of which had never been published before.
When the eight volumes were published in 1994-1995, they were met with universal acclaim and they also elevated and enhanced Stevenson’s literary and personal reputation.
As a result of his lifetime’s dedication, Mehew was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Edinburgh University in 1998. The citation for that award said that, with no academic affiliation, Mehew “has achieved … a contribution to literary studies which would be the envy of many a university-based academic, and has done so with a generosity to others and a self-effacing modesty which are the marks of a true scholar.”
His papers are being donated to NLS with the books going to Napier University. The donation was by proposed by Nicholas Rankin, administrator of Dr Mehew’s estate and agreed by Maxine Barnes, the lawyer soon to be appointed by the Court of Protection as deputy of his widow, Joyce, who now lives in a care-home in England.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
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