Scotland v France – WHEC win keys to the Castle! – International Women’s Day – Edinburgh Trams – Cupcakes to decide the referendum
Later today around 70,000 fans will descend on Murrayfield to watch Scotland play France. The kick off is at 5.00pm.
Rugby fans heading to watch Scotland in the 2014 RBS Six Nations this weekend are being advised to take note of traffic and travel information.
In their second and final home game of this Six Nations tournament, Scotland are playing host to France on Saturday (8 March, kick-off 5pm) and 67,000 spectators are expected to flock to Murrayfield Stadium for the match.
As was the case for the Calcutta Cup match on Saturday 8 February, pedestrian diversions will be implemented around the Haymarket Station area following the match in order to ensure pedestrian safety and to minimise traffic disruption.
Matchgoers are advised to note that these diversions will be in place for all rugby internationals from now on, in order to keep the traffic flow maintained at the busy Haymarket Station junction.
The City of Edinburgh Council is working closely with Police Scotland to keep road and pedestrian traffic moving smoothly before and after the game.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “It is our priority to ensure the safety of the thousands of rugby fans set to flock to Murrayfield at the weekend, and to reduce any disruption to local traffic.
“It is important that we continue to work with Police Scotland to make sure travel to and from the event runs smoothly.”
Superintendent Liz McAinsh said: “Police Scotland is dedicated to keeping people safe, and we would urge everyone attending this match to ensure that they are aware of the pedestrian diversion and traffic restrictions that will be in place. Plan your route after the match knowing that if you are on foot you will be diverted around the Haymarket Station area.”
A Scottish Rugby spokesperson added: “We thank supporters in advance for following the directions of police and stewards to ensure their journey to and from Scotland’s biggest stadium is as safe as possible.”
A number of temporary road closures and parking restrictions will be in place, meanwhile police and stewards will be on hand to help direct members of the public from the Stadium to the city centre.
Those heading back into the city centre on foot will be diverted left off the main road up Magdala Crescent to continue back into town.
Pedestrians travelling by rail from Haymarket Station will be guided along the main road towards Haymarket and stewards will be on hand to provide further assistance and advice as they approach the Station.
Please note that Russell Road is now fully open for those pedestrians making their way back towards the Dalry area and as an alternative route to the city centre.
Information about getting to and from Murrayfield Stadium by bus or rail can be found on the Scottish Rugby website.
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A group of 5 S4 Wester Hailes pupils won this years ‘Keys to the Castle’ competition organised by Historic Scotland and Springboard UK (a travel and tourism industry charity).
About 50 groups from across Scotland entered and we were fortunate enough to provide the winning team. They came up with some very good ideas for improving visitor services at Historic Scotland visitor attractions such as Edinburgh Castle.
The Nat 4 Geography class and the winning Team were then invited to attend a VIP visit to Stirling castle. They were presented with their trophy and treated to a fantastic day out and lunch at the castle. The pupils met characters from history during their tour of the newly refurbished James V Palace. They dressed up in costumes and had the opportunity to handle authentic replicas of important historical artefacts (up close and personal). In the afternoon, they made mini catapults which ended up being great fun for all. Castle staff also explained the range of careers associated with running a castle and looking after the nations historical treasures. They are keen to enter the competition again this summer term. Fingers crossed the trophy will be coming back to WHEC in 2015!
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Today is International Women’s Day and we have run a few interviews with some women councillors to highlight that.
At Holyrood they are running an IWD event entitled ‘What women want, What women need’.
Hundreds of women from diverse backgrounds across Scotland will attend the annual event which aims to celebrate women’s achievements and increase the participation and involvement of women in influencing policy.
The panel will include an ambassador, actor, parliamentarian, volunteer and a comedian.
Deputy Presiding Officer Elaine Smith MSP, who will chair the event, said:
“The Scottish Parliament is delighted to be involved in this International Women’s Day celebration organised by the Scottish Women’s Convention.
“This year’s event will celebrate women from various spheres of life coming together to tell their story about what woman want and need. We have a diverse and inspirational line-up of speakers including an ambassador, parliamentarian, actor, volunteer and comedian. This event will allow each of them to tell their own story and articulate what they needed to overcome any barriers in their respective lives.”
The Scottish Parliament has held an event to mark International Women’s Day every year since 2007. The event is organised by the Scottish Women’s Convention and this year’s speakers are:
- Agnes Tolmie – Chair of the Scottish Women’s Convention and an active campaigner in the women’s movement for over thirty years.
- Nicola Sturgeon MSP – Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities.
- Alicia Castro – Argentine Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
- Alison Fraser – SWC volunteer.
- Abby Mavers – Actor (plays character of Dynasty Barry) in BBC TV Waterloo Road.
- Susan Morrison – Comedian.
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Transport for Edinburgh and the council have been discussing how to get some money back from the trams by using them as advertising vehicles.They might for example allow some trams to be named by the advertisers, and Edinburgh Airport may be involved in some of the organisation of that proposal by offering their media team who would work on selling the space and managing the advertising spend.
Other cities allow their trams to be covered completely in advertising as well as allowing advertising on bus stops and tram shelters.
Cllr Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “Tram testing continues to progress well and we remain on target to commence passenger services in May. This report delegates certain responsibilities to the Chief Executive, in consultation with myself and the vice-convener, to allow other outstanding issues to be resolved ahead of this date.
“The tram infrastructure presents huge potential for us to generate a significant income stream for Transport for Edinburgh and for the city. We are working closely with Edinburgh Airport with a view to tapping into their existing expertise and international networks and to securing maximum commercial returns.
“A full naming and advertising strategy will be drawn up in the coming months to ensure that any agreements reached maintain the integrity of the TFE brand.”
This idea requires the approval of the council who will discuss it this week.
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Cuckoo’s Cupcake Referendum Poll Results after 3 days! Cuckoo’s Bakery at the foot of Dundas Street and just across from one of the city’s main employers Standard Life and The Royal Bank of Scotland claims to have predicted the result of September’s independence referendum.YES – 29.25%
NO – 50.94%
UNDECIDED – 19.81%
Since the launch of their Opinion Poll, there has been huge interest from politicians through to customers and the media. After three days of fun and debate, Cuckoo’s have now released the current results showing the No Campaign comfortably ahead.
Customers have been peering over at other tables to see what other customers are eating and this has stimulated lots of interesting inter-table conversations. The overwhelming response has been that the cupcakes referendum poll has brought some light relief to the importance of the referendum.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
