Woman assaulted in the city centre at the weekend
Bill McLaren rugby tournament
Morningside Community Council
Cocktails in the City
Cycling in the city
Police Scotland officers in Edinburgh are appealing for information after a woman was assaulted and robbed in the city centre at the weekend.
The 25-year-old was threatened and knocked to the ground by a man outside her home on Milton Street at around 3am on Sunday 5th October.
The man stole her handbag and ran off towards Spring Gardens. The bag was later recovered nearby but some of the contents, including a purse and iPod, were missing.
Detective Inspector Carol Craig, who is based at Gayfield, said: “The victim was uninjured but this was obviously a distressing incident and we are very keen to trace the man responsible.
“The young woman screamed in an attempt to alert neighbours, so we are hoping there are members of the public who were in and around Milton Street in the early hours of Sunday morning who perhaps saw or heard something suspicious. We would urge these people to come forward.”
The suspect is described as white, between 30 and 35-years-old, around 5ft 4in, and of stocky build. He had a shaved head and stubble, and was wearing an orange t-shirt, possibly with black tribal design and dark coloured tracksuit bottoms.
Anyone with any information about the incident should contact Police Scotland on 101 or, alternatively, phone the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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LORETTO School held its inaugural Under 10 rugby tournament in partnership with the Bill McLaren Foundation and the event was hailed as a resounding success.
The ‘Bill McLaren Foundation and Loretto School Under 10 Rugby Tournament’, sponsored by Savills, took place on Sunday, 28th September at Newfield playing fields at Loretto School, and attracted a large number of teams from all over Scotland – from Perthshire, East Lothian and Edinburgh to Fife and the Scottish Borders. 150 youngsters, both boys and girls, took part in the event and they were cheered on by many hundreds of spectators. There were three competitions – the shield, the plate and the cup competition.
Bill McLaren was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Until his retirement in 2002, he was known as ‘the voice of rugby’ and he was renowned throughout the sport – his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many.
Following Bill McLaren’s death in 2010, The Bill McLaren Foundation was set up in Bill’s name, with the support of his family, to serve three purposes :
· · To develop and promote the sport of rugby union and its values
· · To encourage and provide sporting opportunities for young people
· · To create an educative centre which will include the Bill McLaren Archive
Jonathan Hewat, Director of External Affairs at Loretto School said, “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with the Bill McLaren Foundation. Bill believed passionately in encouraging children, all shapes and sizes to get involved in sport and to do their best for themselves, for their team and at the same time to honour the game. He believed that sport and rugby in particular was a great way of helping youngsters develop life skills.
Sunday’s Under 10 rugby tournament was a great success and instilled respect for team mates, for the opposition and for the officials which was central to Bill’s teaching as were discipline, sportsmanship and developing the concept of team and ethos. Fun and friendship were very much at the heart of Sunday’s tournament. We have great plans to extend next year’s tournament making it even bigger and better!”
Prizes were presented by Linda Lawson, Foundation Trustee and Bill’s daughter.
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Enter our latest competition here to win a pair of tickets to Cocktails in the City on 23 October 2014.
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The City of Edinburgh Council has revealed proposals to create a new cycling hub at Hunter’s Hall Park, home of the Jack Kane Centre.
The proposals aim to encourage the take up of cycling in the city and the Council is calling for people to put forward their views on the plans.
Four possible options to create new cycling facilities within the park are now public before they are put forward to the Culture and Sport Committee in December for approval.
A survey has been launched to collect feedback from local people and cycling clubs on the proposals, which aim to offer low cost access to first class cycling facilities for all ages and abilities. Members of the Council’s sport team will tour local public venues including libraries, schools, and Edinburgh Leisure facilities to consult on the cycling hub vision.
The facilities illustrated in the options include a closed road circuit – designed to be safe for young people to learn cycling and racing skills – plus BMX and small cycle speedway tracks. The plans also outline designs for an outdoor velodrome for track cycling, and the provision of new synthetic turf 3G football/rugby pitches, to compensate for the loss of grass pitches on the site.
The plans have been allocated £1.215m of funding and have been drawn up by architects Reaich and Hall, working to a brief from the Council.
Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sports Convener, said: “Cycling is one of the country’s fastest-growing sports, and our aim is to provide young people in Edinburgh with facilities where they can sharpen their skills and gain confidence in their abilities.
“It is part of the Council’s broader aim to provide more opportunities for people to get active, and it is hoped that these facilities will prove an exciting and fun way people to take part in sport and perhaps join a club. All the facilities would be open at low cost to anyone with an interest, and there would be free sessions made available also for local young people.
“Edinburgh is also keen to build on the legacy for community sport that Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games brought to Scotland, and these proposals are all part of a bigger plan to encourage more and more people to become physically active.
“We know that we need to provide facilities that can encourage and nurture the development of sport and specifically cycling. We also know that the proposals for Hunter’s Hall outline potential changes to the level of open green space in the park, and we understand there will be concerns about this. We want to hear residents’ thoughts on this before proposals go to Committee, and this is why we are embarking on the consultation.”
Craig Burn, Chief Executive of Scottish Cycling, hopes the cycling community gets onboard with the project. He said: “Scottish Cycling is delighted to see the consultation phase of the Hunter’s Hall Park cycling hub starting.
“We would encourage the cycling community to get behind this project and complete the City of Edinburgh Council’s survey.
“Facilities like the proposed cycling hub will not only benefit cyclists in the local area but will provide a safe and accessible environment for cyclists of all ages and abilities throughout Scotland to get involved in our fantastic sport.”
Double Silver Commonwealth Games medallist Louise Haston added that a cycling hub would encourage young people to be physically active. She said: “It would be fantastic to see new facilities in Edinburgh like the proposed Hunters Hall Park cycling hub.
“Facilities like this will not only provide opportunities for adults and young people to develop their cycling abilities and try the sport but will also provide a safe environment for people to cycle and hopefully encourage more people to get on their bike and be physically active.
“I would encourage as many people as possible to complete the survey and give their opinions on the proposed cycling facilities.”
Take part in the City of Edinburgh Council’s survey on the cycling hub plans.
Follow the developments on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #CyclingHuntersHall
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
