Five things you need to know today
Serious Assault in Pilrig – Scotland House in London till September – Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre – Jack Draws Anything – Madonna
Lothian and Borders Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was seriously assaulted in Edinburgh over the weekend. The 23-year-old had been out with friends in the city centre and left the Picturehouse nightclub around 3am on Sunday 22nd July to return home.
CCTV enquires have shown that she made her way onto the West End of Princes Street before walking east. Members of the public then found the woman within a play area of Pilrig Park at around 6am and contacted the emergency services. The victim suffered serious facial injuries and was taken to hospital, where she continues to be treated.
Officers believe the attack was sexually motivated and have urged anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward. Detective Inspector Scott Cunningham, who is leading the investigation said: “This has been a brutal and unprovoked attack on a lone woman as she made her way home. Her injuries could only have been caused through significant and violent force and a major investigation has now been launched. Anyone who remembers seeing any suspicious activity in or around the Pilrig Park area in the early ours of Sunday morning is also asked to contact police immediately. We are particularly keen to trace any rickshaw drivers, who may have been on Pilrig Street at around 3.30am. They are urged to get in touch as soon as possible to assist with our enquiries.”
Anyone with any information can contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or the charity Crimestoppers in confidence and complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.
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The First Minister will this week lead an unprecedented trade delegation in London to exploit the global interest in the Olympics by showcasing Scottish industries and promoting inward investment to Scotland.
First Minister Alex Salmond, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs Richard Lochhead and the Minister for the Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison will support an extensive programme of engagement until 6 September 2012 across London venues including the Olympic Village and a dedicated facility on Pall Mall.
‘Scotland House’ will build on recent inward investment success by presenting the country’s offering to the world during the Olympics. Similar to the Scotland House facilities at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and Delhi in 2010, the facility will host over 40 events – a mix of formal events as well as a base for business meetings and the families of Scottish athletes.
The First Minister will launch Scotland House and the programme of engagement next Friday to a domestic and international business audience, sporting interests and high-profile Scots. The First Minister will also represent Scotland at the Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday evening, and Mr Swinney will meet with international businesses and diplomats at the Olympics Global Investment Conference on Thursday.
Scotland House is a partnership between the Scottish Government, VisitScotland, EventScotland, Scottish Enterprise, Creative Scotland, sportscotland, with input from Glasgow 2014, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Marketing Edinburgh and Scotland Food and Drink.
Ministers will also support Scottish athletes by attending competitive events at both the Olympics and Paralympics with more information available in due course. The First Minister will attend Women’s football competition at Hampden Park on Wednesday.
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A major milestone has been reached in the development of the new Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre on the Harvesters Way site which you can see in our photograph today which was taken in April 2012.
The latest phase of the £12-million project, run jointly by NHS Lothian and the City of Edinburgh Council, has seen the completion of the building’s steel frame.
Work is now underway to ensure that the structure is watertight starting with the construction of the concrete walls along with the installation of the plumbing and electrics.
The development, which is being taken forward in partnership with hub South East Scotland who are managing the build by Morrison Construction, will offer a range of services to the local community including; the Wester Hailes Medical Practice, community health services such as podiatry, midwifery, dentistry, paediatrics, mental health, and learning disability care.
Colin Briggs, General Manager, Edinburgh Community Health Partnership, NHS Lothian, said: “It’s great to see the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre progressing on schedule. The new centre will provide first class facilities and the best possible healthcare services for the whole of the local community.”
City council departments, such as health and social care, children and families and criminal justice social work practice teams will be based in the centre. The development will also house local voluntary organisation the Wester Hailes Health Agency.
Councillor Ricky Henderson, Health and Social Care Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I am sure that everyone in Wester Hailes will be delighted to see the centre starting to take shape. This is an exciting time for the local community as the new centre will bring together all their health and social care services in one building.”
Jo Elliot, Chair of hub South East Scotland, said: “Now that the steel frame is complete it gives people a very visible reminder that this exciting project is well underway. People can appreciate the size of the new building and we are delighted to have reached this stage on schedule.
“The Healthy Living Centre is groundbreaking in that it is the first joint agency contract in Scotland taken forward under the hub delivery process. It is the third project to start construction for City of Edinburgh Council, and the first for NHS Lothian with which a further two are being developed, and we are pleased that the public bodies see hub as an attractive route for public buildings. This unique partnership between the private and public sectors allows us to develop new facilities more quickly, more effectively, and with more time and cost certainty than ever before.”
It is anticipated that the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre will be completed by 2013.
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AN ARTISTIC school boy has switched his paper for fabric to design commemorative t-shirts for the Edinburgh Sick Kids Friends Foundation (SKFF).
Seven-year-old Jack Henderson will become part of SKFF’s 20th anniversary celebrations after designing a t-shirt featuring a unique heart symbol and his signature. The t-shirts can be bought online (www.edinburghsickkids.org) or from the Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children shop. Jack has also designed a Christmas-themed t-shirt, which will go on sale from October .
Jack, from Prestonpans, in East Lothian, achieved worldwide fame last year when he launched a campaign to raise money for SKFF when his little brother Noah was treated at the hospital after falling ill.
The creative youngster offered to draw anything anyone requested of him in exchange for donations to the Foundation. Such was the demand for his pictures, Jack created his website (www.jackdrawsanything.com) with the help of his dad, Ed.
Initially setting out to raise £100 for the Foundation, Jack ended up raising a staggering £32,000 and his creations were commissioned from as far afield as Australia.
Talented Jack said: “Everyone seemed to enjoy my drawings and now I hope they will like my t-shirt designs. So many people have been very generous and helped me raise a lot of money for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, but if you still want to donate, I would be really happy if you would buy a t-shirt!!.”
Maureen Harrison, Chief Executive of SKFF, said: “Jack has already proved himself to be a very creative young boy with all of his excellent drawings and I’m delighted he is helping us raise even more funds for our 20thanniversary by designing some fantastic t-shirts. We want this year to be our best so far so please dig deep and invest in one of SKFF’s commemorative 20th anniversary t-shirts. All funds raised from the sales of the t-shirts will help fund innovative equipment, training and research, and also provide support for patients and their families.”
Jack’s t-shirts are available in two sizes, ages 3-4 and 5-6, and cost £5 each. His book ‘Jack Draws Anything’ is on sale in the UK, South Korea and Brazil.
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The old adage “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” is ringing true in Edinburgh today. Madonna appeared at Murrayfield on Saturday night brandishing replica handguns during her act. This coupled with her performance which was in some people’s view less than adequate (see Edinburgh Spotlight’s Facebook page for more discussion) has got the town talking. Of course that is precisely what she wanted isn’t it? Our good news story about the superstar was that she ordered some lovely cupcakes from one of our Edinburgh cupcake shops, Candy Cupcake.
Curious though that Lothian and Borders Police had just put out information about the fact that it is illegal to use replica guns however!
(And apologies for being a bit later with this article today but Virgin Media were pushing our internet speed up to 30mbs…which is apparently faster than 77% of the UK.)