TER EDHogmanay launch 14

 

TRIM are the best!  – Professor Higgs to get the Freedom of Edinburgh – Christmas tree goes up today on The Mound – Get ready for the Mini Makers’ Faire in 2014 – Last weekend for Mary Queen of Scots exhibition

 

News came through late last night that Tenants and Residents in Muirhouse known as TRIM had won a prestigious award at a ceremony held in St Andrews.

Tenant Participation Advisory Service Scotland (TPAS Scotland) had put out a call for nominations in its  tenant or resident group of the year category for a group which has improved community relations. And TRIM which has done so much in setting up its community shop is a worthy winner.

Robert Pearson said:-“As the chairman of TRIM I speak for all involved when saying we are absolutely delighted.  We were up against many fantastic groups,  but to be chosen as overall winner is amazing.

“Starting little over 12 months ago,  we are still a relatively new group compared to others.

“TRIM is young fresh and very active,  we will continue to do what is best for our community,  We will continue to be the voice for our community and we will continue to work with other groups and organisations to better our community.”

Next event on TRIM’s busy agenda is to host Luminous Muirhouse, 22 November, 4-6 pm across from St. Andrew’s Parish Church.

Here is a wee video we made about the group earlier this year

 

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Professor Peter Higgs is set to be honoured with the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh.

Subject to councillors’ approval at a meeting next Thursday, the acclaimed scientist and Nobel Prize winner will be recognised for his lifetime’s work and contribution to theoretical physics.

The honour is granted to individuals who have distinguished themselves through their work or efforts, or to recognise the respect and high esteem in which they are held by the people of the City of Edinburgh.

The illustrious list of (living) Freemen includes the Queen, Prince Philip, Sean Connery, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Sir Chris Hoy.

Higgs has lived and worked in Edinburgh for over 50 years and it was here, in 1964, that he had his ‘big idea’ – an explanation of why the matter in the Universe has substance, or mass. His work theorised the existence of a new particle that has come to be known as the Higgs boson.

His discovery has earned him numerous awards, most recently the Nobel Prize for Physics and, earlier this year, the Edinburgh Medal. He was a recipient of the Edinburgh Award in 2011.

Lord Provost Donald Wilson submitted the motion to be considered by council next week.

He said: “I had the pleasure of presenting Peter with the Edinburgh Medal on behalf of the Edinburgh International Science Festival earlier this year and I think it is absolutely right that we, the people of Edinburgh, recognise his immense contribution to science.

“His achievements with the University of Edinburgh are of global significance and this latest honour will be further evidence of the high esteem in which he is quite deservedly held, not just by his peers but by the people of the city he now calls home.”

Prof Higgs said: “I am extremely pleased to be offered the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh – the city that I have grown to love and has been my adopted home for almost all of my working life.”

It is likely that the Professor will receive his award in a private ceremony hosted by the Lord Provost early next year.

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Keep your eyes peeled on The Mound this morning as the Christmas tree is being put up there. Please send us photos of the tree! We can’t be everywhere and will not be able to make a video of the tree which is donated by the people of Hordaland each year to the capital, but we can show you our video of a couple of years ago!

The lights will be put on early next week in readiness for Light Night next Sunday.

Facts about the tree:-

  • 18m high
  • Up to 5 tonnes in weight
  • Will take 20 people and 130 tonne crane to put in place
  • The tree will go up today weather permitting
  • Middle part of Mound will be closed (Market St – Princes St) between 6am and 12pm
  • Will start lifting tree in at 7am and rough guess is 9am for it swinging in the air (don’t hold me to that though)
  • Will be hung with 4000 LED lights

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Edinburgh International Science Festival has launched a call for engineers, inventors, designers and creative makers to be part of the 2014 Mini Maker Faire.  The Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire will take place on Sunday 20 April 2014  at Summerhall as part of next year’s Science Festival.

The event will be filled with novel gadgets, ingenious inventions, toys, crafts, machines, demonstrations, performances, exhibitions and interactive workshops and the Science Festival organisers are calling for Scotland’s most inventive and innovative ‘makers’ – designers, engineers and anyone who makes things – to come and take part.

In 2013 the Science Festival staged Scotland’s first-ever Mini Maker Faire with 150 makers taking part and over 3,000 visitors attending the day-long event, which this week received the Creative Edinburgh ‘Unite’ award for its work in bringing the Scottish maker community together. The 2014 Faire is the second to take place in Edinburgh, building in size and scope on last year’s event.

The family-friendly showcase is a celebration of the burgeoning maker movement, which originated in the US in 2006 and has since spread worldwide. The Faire gives audiences a chance to interact and connect with the people creating the next generation of technologies and modern crafts, while also bringing together makers from across Scotland to mingle and to show their work together.

Last year’s Faire featured a diverse programme of maker’s work for visitors to experience, including DIY Dino where children could build their own dinosaurs, Sugar Skull decorating sessions,  dancing on the Reactive light-up dance floor and build-your-own synth workshops. Show-case events are also supported by demonstrations, performances and exhibitions.

Amanda Tyndall, Deputy Director of Edinburgh International Science Festival said:-‘We are delighted to be presenting the second Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire as part of the 2014 Edinburgh International Science Festival.  This year’s Festival focus on ‘Science at the Heart of Things’ gives us the perfect opportunity to connect with people who inject creative science into our everyday lives through tinkering with and creating the next generation of technologies, by bringing traditional skills, arts and crafts into the modern age or making beautiful, useful or simply playful things. We would like to invite makers from across the country to get involved and help celebrate the maker revolution’.

All makers who would like to participate in the Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire should complete the maker application form on the Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire website www.makerfaireedinburgh.com by Wednesday 18 December 2013.

More information about the 2014 Faire, plus content and video highlights from the last year’s event can also be viewed online.

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Mary, Queen of Scots

28 June – 17 November 2013

Exhibition Gallery 1, Level 3 National Museum of Scotland Chambers Street

Cost: Adult £9, Concession £7.50, Child (12-15) £6, Under 12s free, National Museums Scotland Members free, National Art Pass holders receive 50% discount.

Arguably one of the most enigmatic figures in Scottish history, the story of Mary, Queen of Scots can still arouse strong emotions: was she betrayed by those she trusted, condemned to die a Catholic martyr, or a murdering adulteress with her husband’s blood on her hands? This major exhibition, only showing in Edinburgh, provides a unique opportunity to re-evaluate much that has been written and speculated about this charismatic monarch, drawing together surviving relics intimately connected with Mary and wider Renaissance material, such as documents, portraits, jewellery, furniture and textiles.

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.