Nelson Mandela memorial
Edinburgh Direct Aid
Easter appeal
Food Commission
Campervan King!
The council will confirm next week that the Director of Economic Development can proceed to talk to Henderson Real Estate who own the St James Centre about a new memorial to be incorporated into the new development there. The council already took the decision to put up some kind of memorial for Nelson Mandela who died in 2013, following a motion submitted by the Lord Provost.
The £850m demolition and redevelopment of Edinburgh St James is a threeway partnership among the council, the Scottish Government and the council. The idea is that there will be some kind of lasting memorial there to the anti-apartheid campaigner.
They have not yet decided what form the memorial will take, so watch this space. What they have discovered is information on 15 existing and proposed memorials to Mandela around the world. These include murals, benches and statues. Glasgow has Nelson Mandela Place
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Making Aid Count In A Hostile World
On Monday 30 March 2015, at the Quaker Meeting Hall 7 Victoria Terrace EH1 2JL
ADMISSION FREE
Maggie Tookey of EDINBURGH DIRECT AID has just spent 12 freezing nights in a storeroom on the Lebanon-Syria border to distribute essential aid to Syrian refugees enduring severe winter storms in a border town surrounded by militants and sealed off by army checkpoints.
In this vivid and compelling talk she describes her experiences and looks ahead to what now needs to be done.
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The Newkirkgate Shopping Centre in Leith has teamed up with Edinburgh based charity, Children with Cancer and Leukaemia, Advice and Support for Parents (CCLASP), in an appeal to shoppers to help spread some Easter cheer this year.
Visitors to the centre are being asked to buy or donate an extra Easter egg, and leave them at a specially designed drop-off point at the community centre within the Newkirkgate.
The Easter eggs will be donated to CCLASP which was set up over 20 years ago to help support children with Cancer and Leukaemia and their families across Scotland.
Scott Darroch, centre manager for Newkirkgate Shopping Centre, said: “Each year many of us are lucky enough to receive lots of Easter eggs from our friends and loved ones and often many of these go to waste. This year, we are encouraging those throughout the city to either buy or donate an extra Easter egg and gift it to a superb local cause.
“CCLASP provides an outstanding support service for thousands of children and their families in Edinburgh each year and we would love to help put a smile on the faces of some of these children this Easter.”
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The decision of the Food Commission to establish a network of local good food champions to encourage the sourcing and selling of locally produced, in-season food in their areas, has been welcomed by Food Secretary Richard Lochhead.
The Commission, who met for the first time in Edinburgh this week, also discussed the next steps to take in helping Scotland become a Good Food Nation and improving the country’s attitude to eating fresh and healthy produce.
Mr Lochhead said:
“I was delighted to welcome the members of the Scottish Food Commission to the inaugural meeting. It’s great to have the commission up and running and I am confident that the conversations had here this week will pave the way towards Scotland becoming a Good Food Nation.
“I have made it clear to the commission that my vision is for Scotland to become a nation where it is second nature to serve, sell and eat fresh, healthy and sustainable food – by 2025 I want people from every walk of life to take pride and pleasure in the food served day by day in Scotland, and there is no better time to begin that journey than now in the Year of Food and Drink.
“The Commission Members are vitally important in helping to make this happen as they will identify the changes that need to be made and champion their actions along the way.
“Our local network will be vitally important to the cause – it is essential to get people out there championing locally sourced products in their area and show people that you don’t need to go far to find exceptional quality produce; it’s right there on their doorstep.
“Scotland is fast becoming one of the world’s leading food and drink nations. We have come a long way in terms of reputation and success in a few short years but with the help of the Food Commission we can do even better. It’s my belief that an increase in Scottish food exports will attract more overseas visitors and the quality of the food we serve will become one of the key reasons to travel to Scotland.
“I want the food industry to become a thriving, well-known feature of local and national economies, with each part of Scotland rightly proud of its culinary heritage, past and present.”
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An Edinburgh business is celebrating a record performance thanks to salesman, David Miller.
The campervan specialist from Volkswagen Van Centre Edinburgh set a personal best by delivering 40 Volkswagen California vehicles last year and is already well on the way to smashing this figure for 2015.
David’s strong performance has been echoed by figures released by The National Caravan Council who recently announced an 18 per cent¹ year on year increase in Motorhomes registration, which includes campervan sales, illustrating that more consumers are entering the leisure vehicles market.
David has worked for the John Clark Motor Group, who owns the Edinburgh business, for the past nine years but has been dedicated to the campervan sales division since 2008.
During his time David has witnessed a growing trend for the Volkswagen California as more people want to take advantage of that spur-of-the-moment getaway.
He said: “The iconic Volkswagen Campervan has always had a big following but the California is something completely different. It sets new standards in comfort, performance and safety and is so much more practical for today’s lifestyle. It really does offer the home-from-home comforts, whether you are on your own or a family of six.”
So have you got one of these iconic vehicles? Will you share a photo with us? Get in touch! Send any photos to us at theedinburghreporter@gmail.com
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
