Five things you need to know today
Rainbows
Our featured image today was taken at the weekend by professional photographer, Arch White, who spotted the rainbow while he was on top of Blackford Hill.
Arch said: “Wind and a rainbow greeted anyone hardy enough to visit Blackford Hill with a temperature of
14 degrees centigrade and wind of 40km/h to 55km/h.”
14 degrees centigrade and wind of 40km/h to 55km/h PHOTO: Arch White
Success at the Mòd
| Royal National Mòd success is leading Edinburgh poet and singer-songwriter, Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, to Dublin, for the IMRAM Poetry Festival. The showcase takes its name from the poem ‘Glainne-mhara’, included in his award-winning Polaris (2022, Leamington Books). The pan-Gaelic cohort, including Mac an Tuairneir, will appear on 16 November at Smock Alley. |
| Following solo success at the Oban Mòd Literature Day last week and alongside Lothian Gaelic Choir on the Area Choirs’ Mòd on Friday, the Gaelic creative is gearing up for an autumn of engagements in Scotland and in Ireland. He is photographed above with the John Macleod Memorial Rosebowl – presented to him as Lothian’s Gaelic Reader for the highest marks for Gaelic in the Choral Puirt-à-beul competition. He is now back in the Scottish capital, and will shortly begin a series of online events from home and a festival appearances at IMRAM and Push The Boat Out in Edinburgh. |
Join FW(S) Makar Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, for two online events in his Makarations & Makarobatics series this autumn, celebrating poetry and literary translation in the languages of Scotland. As always these events will be live-streamed on the Federation of Writers (Scotland) Newsfeed page on Facebook, shared in the Facebook Group, and made available for catch-up on the Federation website.
FRIENDS OF MIDMAR PADDOCK
The Friends of Midmar Paddock is the group set up in 2018 to campaign to preserve the paddock which borders the Blackford Hill and Hermitage of Braid Local Nature Reserve as unbuilt green space.
The organisation keep in touch with local politicians and the public, the local community council and the landowner.
Friends of Midmar Paddock (FMP) say: “Plans are currently being drawn up for an extensive development at Midmar Paddock, which could include houses and a private care home.
“An application for planning permission has not yet been made, as far as we are aware, but given the potential scale of the development, it is likely to trigger a requirement to consult with the local community.”
Now the group needs some extra help.
Following the introduction of Local Place Plans (LPPs), the Friends of Midmar Paddock (FMP) are urgently seeking volunteers to help over the next two months with:
a. preparing a Power Point presentation for discussion at a public meeting and
b. organizing and implementing online and social media consultations on an LPP
Why? The sales particulars of Midmar Paddock on the Strutt & Parker website show “Sale Agreed”, so an application for planning permission to build may be imminent. If granted, this would lead to a terrible loss to the community.
What? Introduced by the Planning (Scotland) Act of 2019, LPPs are community-led plans setting out how the local community wishes to see the future use of the land. FMP consider it vital to have an LPP prepared and submitted exclusively for Midmar Paddock. As a basis for such a plan, FMP proposes to hold a public consultation involving both social media and at least one public meeting to demonstrate public involvement and support for the Plan.
Once completed and then registered by the planning authority, the LPP must be taken into account in the preparation of the next local development plan – City Plan 2040.
When? We do not know what the buyer may try to build on the Paddock or when an application for planning permission will be made but we must be prepared well in advance. Having an LPP in place will prove very important in the event of a planning application being submitted.
Confirming that FMP is urgently seeking volunteers to help over the next two months with:
- If you have the skill and time to help with either of these or wish to discuss how else you could help the campaign then get in touch. All ideas are welcome savemidmarpaddock@gmail.com
Five chapters in White House history
President of The White House Historical Association, Stewart McLaurin, will present a talk – Five Chapters in White House History on 31 October at 6pm for Edinburgh World Heritage at Riddle’s Court, 322 Lawnmarket, EH1 2PG.
The White House Historical Association was founded by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 to share the history of The White House in Washington D.C.
Stewart has been President for ten years and he has grown the cultural and educational programme with award-winning books, a video series and events to ensure that the history is preserved for future generations.
This talk reviews 232 years of White House history focusing on four key dates etched into the Entrance Hall’s floor – and one more.
Tickets for online and in person attendance here.
EWH’s events this year are sponsored by James Thomson’s The Witchery.
Castle to go dark on Wednesday
On the evening of Wednesday 23 October, Edinburgh Castle will lose mains power
As part of planned repairs, Edinburgh Castle will lose mains power for an estimated two to three hours from 5pm on Wednesday 23 October.
It will be the first time in five years that this dramatic monument in Edinburgh’s skyline has gone dark, as the Castle is usually floodlit. The last time power was shut off to Edinburgh Castle was in 2019, when electrical LV feeder pillars were installed on-site.
This time, the power will be temporarily shut off to allow essential repairs to the high voltage cable trays and brackets. The trays and brackets have corroded, in part due to the increased temperature and humidity experienced in Edinburgh as part of climate change.
