WORLD BOOK NIGHT IS ON WEDNESDAY! (IT’S SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHDAY TOO…)

Last week The Edinburgh Reporter told you about World Book Night, and highlighted some of the events taking place in Edinburgh to celebrate it. We also gave you the list of books being given away in our article here.

Well, it’s nearly here and we’ve heard of even more ways for you to join in:

WBN AT BLACKWELL’S. SOUTH BRIDGE – 6-8pm on 23 APRIL 2014

Blackwell’s has invited lots of authors along to discuss their favourite reads. So far, the line-up is:

Jenni Fagan – debut author of the award-winning The Panopticon, and one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists.

John Burnside – award-winning poet and novelist.

Jim Crumley – author of well over twenty nature books and described by the Los Angeles Times Review of Books as ”the best nature writer working in Britain today”.

Angela Jackson – debut author of The Emergence of Judy Taylor, which won the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s First Book Award 2013.

You’ll need a ticket for this event – but they’re FREE. They can be collected from the front desk in the shop at any time, or you can contact Ann Landmann on 0131 622 8216 or events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk

COME AND MEET A LOCAL AUTHOR – JOAN ROWE AT MORNINGSIDE LIBRARY

Joan will be at Morningside Library 2.30-3,30pm on Wednesday, to talk about her new book, ‘Duty’, a story set in the time of World War One. The novel looks at ‘the lives of two very different families during a period of tumultuous social change’

This is another FREE event, but the library would like you to book (as space is limited) by calling 0131 529 5564 or emailing morningside.library@edinburgh.gov.uk Please note that all Edinburgh libraries are closed this Monday, so you won’t get a response till Tuesday.

DEATH ON A LONGSHIP – MARSALI TAYLOR AT STOCKBRIDGE LIBRARY

Marsali will read from her novel ‘Death on a Longshp’, a crime story set on Shetland, at Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place, 6.30-7.30pm on Wednesday. Another FREE event, no ticket required – further information from 0131 529 5665

Events we’ve already highlighted are:

Richard Wiseman (author of ’59 seconds’, one of this year’s WNB books) at the Central Library

World Book Night and Book Swap at Oxgangs Library

Chat about your favourite books with the staff of McDonald Road and Leith libraries

Wester Hailes Library staff will hand out free WBN books and promote the library service’s teenage reading programme at Tynecastle Boys’ Football Club

AND JUST TO WHET YOUR APPETITE….

Jackie Kay OBE, celebrated writer, poet and Edinburgh native, whose book ‘Red Dust Road’ was one of the 2013 WBN giveaways, says of World Book Night:

‘(It) strips everything away to the bare essential: the good hearted feeling of a book in your hand, a companion by your side, the best of friends on your road through life. A good book nourishes the soul and gladdens the heart.’

So go on – spread the nourishment and gladness! It lasts longer than an Easter egg, and it’s totally fat-free too…

http://www.worldbooknight.org/
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries
http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/stores/edinburgh-southbridge/

Submitted by Rosemary Kaye

Edinburgh acoustic pop-rock duo Zeitgeist, are set to play Vox Box Records in St Stephen Street, Stockbridge, to launch their self-produced first EP, ‘When The Sun Goes Away’.

An amalgam of Simon and Garfunkel, Sigur Rós, Crowded House, Jack Johnson, The Kinks and The Divine Comedy, Zeitgeist’s sounds are acoustic and upbeat, with a line in a heartbreaking set of chord structures.

Their music has been described as:

“sublime acousto-pop”

“delicious melodies tinged with beautiful musicianship”

“positive sunny vibes”

Zeitgeist, aged 15 and 16 respectively, consist of Harry Bongo on guitar and Nomad on vocals. Originally having met at Totally Sound Music Project based at Canongate Youth Project, when Nomad is on globetrotting duties, collaborate together to write songs mainly through social media, sharing songwriting ideas online.

Nomad (Fin Ross Russell), originally born in Hong Kong, has lived in Montreal, Bali, Rome, London and Paris but now calls Edinburgh home. He is also a keen actor and filmmaker, having made several short films while living around the world.

Harry Bongo (Harry Docherty) is also known in the Capital as being a composer of instrumental soundtracks for film projects with Screen Education Edinburgh. Harry started writing music at the age of 12, and also produces and records all Zeitgeist’s collaborations.

They will be playing at Vox Box Records on Saturday 3 May 2014 4pm

Submitted by Harry Docherty

 Gun Salute – Palace of Holyroodhouse – Royal Yacht Britannia – The Scottish National Portrait Gallery – Bike Tours

As well as being Easter Monday, today is Her Majesty the Queen’s 88th birthday.  There will be a 21 gun salute from Edinburgh Castle at 12 noon to mark the day.

***

It would be a fitting day to go and visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse which is the Queen’s residence in Edinburgh . On display there at the moment are some of the gifts that the Queen has received from her visits to countries forming part of the Commonwealth.

In the year that Scotland hosts The Commonwealth Games, this special display brings together more than 70 gifts.

The Commonwealth: Gifts to The Queen marks The Queen’s role as Head of the Commonwealth and celebrates the overseas visits made by Her Majesty to Commonwealth countries throughout her reign.  From a Botswanan tapestry andbeadwork by the Yoruba people, to a shell collage from the Bahamas, a coconut calabasa bowl from Belize and an Inuit wall hanging, the display reflects the diverse traditions and creativity of Commonwealth nations, as well as the Royal Family’s long-standing association with the Games.

Details of how to book here.

***

Why not go to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia, formerly enjoyed and sailed by The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family and while you are there enjoy the cupcakes and hot cross buns in the Royal Tea Room?

“Entertain the kids this Easter Weekend with a trip to Britannia and treat them to a chocolate milkshake and cake in our Royal Deck Tea Room. From 14-21 April, we’ll also have chocolate cupcakes on the menu and hot cross buns from 18-21 April. With an audio handset tour created specially for children, they’ll love discovering the Royal Yacht’s five decks, from the Bridge to the Royal Apartments and Crew’s Quarters.”

Details of how to book and get to the Britannia (Lothian Buses number 22) here.

***

At the Scottish National Portrait Gallery later this week there is a promenade performance called Dear Scotland being put on after hours of monologues by 20 of Scotland’s leading writers inspired by the paintings.

There are two performances so you will have to go twice to hear everything that has been written, but you are promised ‘short and sharp’ writing!

More details of the evening events which start on 24 April here.

***

If the weather holds out as promised it should be cloudy and 10 degrees, but that will be warm enough for cycling. Edinburgh Bike Tours have three different tours today, one is the Coast and Bridges Cycle Tour, another a Mountain Bike Tour in the hills around Edinburgh and the third is a tour of Leith and Inverleith.

They say that they have late availability on the 10.00am tour at least but it might be worth giving them a call.

More details of these and all the tours they are running this week here on their website. 

What will you be doing today? Tweet and tell us! 

Congratulations to Spartans and Hibs EOS for winning their respective league titles.

Rugby by John Preece

Edinburgh suffered a catastrophic loss to foot of the table, Zebre, in Italy on Saturday as it ended their hopes of a top six place in the league and, with it, a place in the top European competition next season. Already suffering from some key injuries up front, Edinburgh lost another player which disrupted their set-up somewhat. Despite scoring first, they were 14-6 down at half time having suffered a couple of penalty misses. Things picked up after the break with the returning Tim Visser helping Matt Scott to his third try in as many games, but Zebre soon hit back to go 19-13 ahead. An injury to Roddy Grant forced Solomons to replace him in the scrum with centre Andries Strauss, thus handing the forwards’ advantage to Zebre, who duly took the said advantage to finish the match off 26-13.

It was the Scottish Rugby Club Finals at the weekend with six matches in the Bowl, Shield and Cup categories being fought over by the various men’s and women’s finalists. As the matches are covered in depth in the ‘Sports’ section, it is sufficient to say hear that Edinburgh sides featured in five of the six matches and Broughton (Women’s Bowl), Preston Lodge (Men’s Shield) Murrayfield Wanderers (Women’s Cup) and Heriots (Men’s Cup) all won their respective matches – some by a substantial margin – but Watsonians (Women’s Shield) came up short against Cartha Queens Park. (Photo  – Scottish International front-row, Suzy McKerlie–Hex, scoring the first of Wandies 12 – that’s TWELVE – tries against Melrose)

Football

There were mixed fortunes for the Capital clubs this weekend. Hearts ended a historic week in style with a fine 2-0 win over Ross County thanks to goals from Jamie Hamill who was later sent off and Dale Carrick.

That result did neighbours Hibs a favour as County are now in second bottom place only three points behind Terry Butcher’s men.

A large travelling support followed Hibs to Paisley but were silenced in 13 seconds when Kenny Mclean scored the fastest ever Premiership goal. Paul McGowan added a second 14 minutes later before Saints’ skipper Jim Goodwin was shown a red card for a terrible tackle on Kevin Thomson.

Despite the numerical advantage Hibs were unable to breach St Mirren’s defence.

Although Hibs are only three points above the play off slot, they remain in seventh place.

Hibs face on form Hearts at Easter Road next Sunday.

Scottish Lowland League

Spartans have been crowned the first Scottish Lowland champions – on a day they lost at home to Dalbeattie Star.

Vale of Leithen’s 2-0 defeat at home to Whitehill Welfare ensured that Spartans could not be caught in the race for the title.

South Challenge Cup

Spartans crashed out of the South Challenge Cup following a 3-2 semi final defeat at home to Dalbeattie Star.

Dalbeattie opened the scoring after just 6 minutes through Wayne Gordon then Spartans equalised ten minutes later thanks to Willie Bremner’s clinical finish.

Dalbeattie regained the lead midway through the second half when Scott Milligan’s accurate finish found the bottom corner of the net, then added a third with ten minutes remaining with a fine strike from Lewis Sloan to rifled his shot into the net from the edge of the box.

Deep into injury time Donal Henretty managed to head home a corner kick from just a yard out, but Dalbeattie held on for the win and will progress to face East Kilbride following their 5-4 AET win over Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale.

Scottish Sun Lowland League

Preston Athletic 0-2 Gretna 2008

Threave Rovers 0-5 Edinburgh City

Vale of Leithen 0-2 Whitehill Welfare

The King Cup, Second Round

Selkirk 1-3 University of Stirling

Easthouses Lily MW 4-3 Peebles Rovers

Central Taxis East of Scotland League, Premier Division

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale 5-0 Spartans (Monday)

Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale 2-0 Stirling University EOS (Tuesday)

Civil Service Strollers 3-1 Heriot-Watt University

Coldstream 1-2 Leith Athletic

Edinburgh University 1-1 Craigroyston

Tynecastle 0-2 Spartans EOS

Central Taxis East of Scotland League Cup, Preliminary Round

Stirling University 3-0 EOS Kelso United

Central Taxis East of Scotland League, First Division

Burntisland Shipyard 1-2 Peebles Rovers

Hawick Royal Albert 1-0 Eyemouth United

Hibernian EOS 2-0 Easthouses Lily MW

Ormiston 2-3 Duns

These results mean the Hibernian EOS are Central Taxis East of Scotland League, First Division champions in their first season in the league.

Women’s football

Hibernian Ladies continued their impressive run of form with a 4-0 win over Hutchison Vale at Albyn Park Broxburn on Sunday.

Lucy Graham scored a double whilst Rachael Walkingshaw and Susan Fairlie scored the others.

Celtic beat Spartans 1-0 at Lennoxtown with a 71^st minute goal from Abigail Harrison.

Speedway

On Friday, the Edinburgh Scotwaste Monarchs won their seventh successive match to set a new start-of-season club record, which means they have qualified for the League Cup semi-finals as section winners.

The Armadale side defeated Glasgow by 55 to 38 with Craig Cook top scoring with 14.

Afterwards Alex Harkess said “We weren’t at our best in the early stages but we came good in the end as we often do, and these two late wins by Craig Cook sent the crowd home happy.”

On Sunday the Monarchs once again travelled to Glasgow and beat Tigers  58-35 in what was victory number 8 out of 8 at the start of the season.

Photo by John Preece

http://www.photoboxgallery.com/jlp-photography

Edinburgh sides lift four of the six trophies on offer

It was Scottish Rugby’s Finals’ Day on Saturday and five Edinburgh-ish based teams had made it through to the six finals on offer. Moving away from the wide open spaces at Murrayfield – lack of a playing surface probably playing a part as well – Dalzeil Rugby Club played host to the RBS Women’s Bowl and Shield finals and Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld hosted the other four, those being the men’s RBS Bowl, Shield and Cup and the women’s Sarah Beannie Cup Final.

First up was the Women’s RBS Bowl Final and Broughton had won through to face West coast rivals Ayr. In an exciting match, Broughton eventually came up with the victory 17-7 to take their first ever Silverware. In the Women’s RBS Shield Final, it wasn’t such good news for Watsonians’ women, going down 27-12 against Cartha Queens Park. 10-5 down at half time, Watsonians pulled ahead with a converted try back after the break, but couldn’t sustain the pressure, eventually conceding another 15 points without reply. At Broadwood, the first match of the day was the RBS Men’s Bowl Final and, following St. Boswell’s disqualification for fielding ineligible players, the match was played between Highland and – with about 24 hours notice – Glenrothes. In spite of their lack of preparation, Glenrothes put up a spirited fight, but were always playing catch-up. 14-0 ahead at the break, Highland went on to win fairly comfortably 27-12, conceding a late try to give Glenrothes a bit of pride to take back to Fife. (No images from these matches, unfortunately)

Next match on the cards was the RBS Men’s Shield Final between Caithness and Preston Lodge. Unbeaten in their Division this season, PL kept their record with a 27-6 win over their Northern opponents. Caithness were first with some points from an early penalty, but PL soon evened the scoring, before going ahead 10-3 with a try after 14 minutes. Caithness pulled three points back with a penalty on the half hour mark, but that was the last they were to see of the scoreboard. A few minutes later, PL crossed the whitewash for a touchdown, but they were pulled back for a forward pass. However, just before half time Preston Lodge did score their second, converted try with a fine move down the right which gave Blair Robertson a bit of space to get around the outside of the defence for the score.

With just five minutes of the second half played, the PL forwards then had a go and rolled over in the corner from a line-out maul for their third try, scored by Man-of-the-Match Paul Voy. They almost followed up with another less than a minute later, Finlay Hughes being pulled up a few metres short by a fine defensive tackle. They didn’t have to wait too long, however, as scrum half, Dale Gordon, broke through a despairing tackle to dive over for PL’s fourth try and the 27-6 lead they went on to win the match with. Caithness, like Glenrothes before them, were always on the back foot and although crossing the line for a disallowed try, really didn’t look like taking the match.

Next ‘item on the agenda’ was the Women’s Sarah Beannie Cup Final between Melrose and Murrayfield Wanderers. This match was a bit more one-sided as Wandies went on the outscore Melrose 12-2 in the try count. They started early with a battling run from Suzy McKerlie-Hex who swept all aside as she fought through for the first try with less than two minutes on the clock. They followed this up with tries after seven minutes from Player-of-the-Match, Hatty Cumber, 18 minutes from Laura Steven, 26 minutes from Cat Ward, another from Cumber – and the first to be converted by a change of kicker from Sarah Law to Sarah Gill – on the half hour and the sixth, and final, try of the half gave Hatty Cumber her hat-trick in her first senior Final. In the interim, Melrose had managed to put six points on the board from one of Scotland’s former players, Nicola Halfpenny who knocked over two fine penalties to make the half time score 34-6.

Elise Allier scored yet another for Wandies just after the restart – and while your reporter was still returning from ‘hospitality’ (or a cheese and pickle sandwich to be more accurate) on the top floor of the stadium – to continue the onslaught. Steven scored her second try on 50 minutes, converted by Gill to stretch the lead even further to 46-6. Despite losing a player to the bin, Wandies notched up their ninth try of the afternoon from Alex Read to break the 50-point barrier at 53-6. Melrose, despite being under the cosh for almost the whole match, then came back with a score of their own, wide on the right by centre, Gillian Ingles, which Halfpenny converted with a tremendous conversion attempt from near the touchline. Then it was back on the horse as Lisa Robertson score for Murrayfield for a 58-13 lead.

Chloe Rollie then went over under the posts following a solo effort which saw her cut through the Murrayfield defence to dot down under the posts, Halfpenny converting for a 58-20 score line with 10 minutes to play. Play which was held up for a lengthy period as Melrose’s Natasha Rivera received attention on the field from the medical staff for, what appeared to be, a fairly serious injury. However, a wee check up in the local hospital, thankfully, gave her the all-clear.

Wandies spent the final 10 minutes completing the task in hand with a further two tries from Lucy Park and Lisa Martin to take the final score out to 68-20.

Melrose had put up a spirited fight, but Wandies were much too strong for the Borders’ side – and for everyone else in Scotland – for the result to be in much doubt as they continue to dominate the women’s game. Mention should be made of referee Alex Pratt, who had the ‘opportunity’ to award, possibly, millions of penalties, but did the sensible thing and kept the match moving along.

Final match of the day was ‘the big one’, the Men’s RBS Cup Final between Glasgow Hawks and Heriots. An early penalty from Heriot’s Graham Wilson opened the scoring for the Edinburgh side and from there they went on to dominate the first half. Hawks had a couple of penalty opportunities which drifted wide, but Heriots were able to come back and attack the Hawks line, just failing to cross on a couple of occasions. One occasion which counted was after 13 minutes when Harry Boisseau ran in from distance to score out wide. Wilson then scored the conversion for a 10-0 lead. The rest of the half was mostly played in Hawks’ half of the pitch, but it was left to Wilson to score one of the two penalties on offer to go into the break with Heriots 13-0 ahead.

Four minutes into the second half, Jack Steele managed to bisect the posts for the first time with a penalty for Hawks, which they followed up just over five minutes later with their only try of the afternoon under the posts from prop, Brendan Cullinane. Gavin Lowe knocked the kick over to bring Hawks up to within three points at 13-10.

Heriots then took command of the game and dominated possession and territory. They drove across the line from a close in maul in the 64th minute, but despite viewing the play from various angles on the big screen – TMO at a Scottish club match? Whatever next! – the referee was not able to make rule conclusively, so awarded a five-meter scrum to the attacking side. Using their territorial advantage to the full, Wilson was ableto use the next five, or so, minutes to open the gap with two penalties to bring up a 19-10 score line with 10 minutes left to play. And a very decisive 10 minutes it was. Heriots went on to score two further tries, a converted one to the left of the posts from Jack Turley and the second on 79 minutes by Liam Steele to take the match 31-10 and to give Heriots a hat-trick of Cup Final wins.

A superb day at Cumbernauld with blue skies and no wind saw a fine display of Scottish Club rugby from all the teams involved. None of the losing sides ‘lay down’ to the opposition and they all – even Melrose – made the eventual winners work for their awards to make for a entertaining days rugby for all concerned

Images from the three matches at Broadwood will appear here over the next week or so. It was a long day!

Police Scotland is appealing for information on the whereabouts of a 48 year old woman from Edinburgh.

Lorna Clyde was reported missing on Thursday (17th April) after she failed to attend a pre-arranged appointment. She was last seen at 11.30am on Wednesday (16th April) at the North Neighbourhood Centre at 8 West Pilton Gardens.

She is described as white, 5ft 2in in height, medium to heavy build, with grey shoulder length hair.  She was last seen wearing a black full length overcoat, black trousers, black and pink trainers and carrying a black handbag.

Lorna has family in the Wester Hailes area of the city and she previously resided in the Muirhouse area.

Police Inspector Gill Geany said: “We are concerned about Lorna and anyone who believes they may have seen Lorna or has information that can assist in tracing her, is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 immediately.”

Hibs’ run of poor form continued yesterday with a 2-0 defeat to fellow bottom six side St Mirren in Paisley.

The result leaves the Easter Road men just three points above Ross County in the fight to avoid the dreaded play off slot.

Manager Terry Butcher was once again forced to shuffle his pack due to injuries and suspensions with Alan Maybury, Danny Haynes, Owain Tudur Jones and Kevin Thomson returning to the starting line-up.

The Easter Road men took the field to a rapturous welcome from the 1500 plus Hibs’ fans who sold out the way end and were provided with two sections of the home stand, however the travelling support were silenced when St Mirren took the lead in the 13^th second, the fastest goal in Scottish Premiership history.

A long ball found Steven Thompson on the edge of the box and his headed flick on was volleyed into the net by Kenny McLean.

The Saints added a second in the 14^th minute after Jordon Forster was dispossessed in midfield by Jim Goodwin who slotted the ball through to Paul McGowan and the striker slotted the ball home from 20 yards.

Thompson almost added a third before Sam Stanton, whom this week signed a new 4 year deal with the club, went close with a well struck shot which was spilled by Chris Dilo; but the goalkeeper reacted quickly to block from Haynes follow-up.

On the half hour mark St Mirren captain Goodwin was shown a deserved red card following a bad foul on Thomson although the Buddies’ fans accused the Hibs’ midfielder of exaggerating the impact, despite the evidence of blood on his leg.

Just before the break, Thomson set up Stanton but the youngster blasted over from five yards.

Hibs started the second half strongly and won a string of corners but the St Mirren defence held firm.

Tudur Jones and Harris both forced Dilo into saves as Hibs pushed forward then in the closing period both substitutes Jason Cummings and Duncan Watmore shot wide from good positions.

Cummings again went close with a stunning volley in injury time but St Miren held on to secure the win.

Afterwards Terry Butcher said: We’ve got to get a bit of pride back in our performance, our attitude and how we go about our work. We had a great support through. We had a good opportunity when they were down to 10 men and we failed to take advantage of that. But, to be honest, I’m lost for words really.

“We have to look at the derby next week and pick a team that’s going to compete and do Hibs proud

“We have to give the fans something back in the next four games, that’s for sure, starting on Sunday. It’s a really good game to look forward to, but we’ve got to look forward to it with optimism this week and we have to build that optimism up.

“We work all week on the way we want to play. We work on a shape and a system and then we concede a goal after 13 seconds. All that work during the week is gone in 13 seconds.

“And then we’ve tried to get back into the game, no panic, no pressure let’s get on with it. Sometimes maybe it’s a good thing if you lose an early goal because it takes away the threat of conceding because you have conceded – and then we lose a second goal.

“So you’re 2-0 down and facing a mountain to climb really.

“The sending off, although it didn’t help St Mirren, it certainly galvanised them and made them defend a two-goal lead very resolutely, but we’ve had enough pressure and enough chances to put decent balls in the box.

“We pushed four men forward. We haven’t scored a goal for a long while, it’s a fifth straight defeat, and we have to look at the derby next week and pick a team that’s going to compete and do Hibs proud, but at this moment in time we’ll have to find one.”

Kevin Thomson said: “We never got out of the blocks. When you are in the position we are in and give two goals of a start to any team, it will be an uphill battle.

“I’m confident we will be okay come the end of the season but if we keep putting in performances like that then we’re going to be in bother.

“I’m just a player and I work hard every day. It’s up to the manager to pinpoint what’s missing. A few of the boys have let him down and it’s time for big characters and big chests.

“We need to stick them out and get three points against Hearts on Sunday. If you can’t get motivated for a derby then you shouldn’t be playing for Hibs as far as I’m concerned.”

St Mirren: Dilo, Naismith, Kelly, Newton, McGregor, McAusland, McLean, Goodwin, Thompson (Wylde 75 ‘), McGowan (Magennis 55′), McGinn (Teale 91′).Substitutes not used: Kello, van Zanten, Campbell, Djemba-Djemba.

Hibs: Williams, Maybury, Stevenson, Tudur Jones (Watmore 70′), Forster, Nelson, Harris, Thomson, Haynes, Collins (Cummings 57’), Stanton.Substitutes not used: Murdoch, Craig, Boateng, Taiwo, Handling.

Referee: Kevin Clancy.

Attendance: 5,287.

SPFL Premiership, Saturday 19 April 2014 – Tynecastle

It seemed like the dawning of a new era at Tynecastle on Saturday. The news during the week that Hearts look very likely to exit administration before too long – a situation they have been in since June last year – enabling Ann Budge to take over the running of the club before passing it over in years to come to the Foundation of Hearts, the supporters group, has instilled a fresh spirit of hope and anticipation in Gorgie. Yet again, the Hearts supporters turned up in their numbers – nearly 13,700 to see a team already relegated – and they chanted their support for their club incessantly, declaring they will do this forever more. Even the weather joined in the new beginning for the club as bright sunshine beamed on Tynecastle Stadium as the feel-good factor made a rare visit.

As befitting such an occasion, the Hearts players ensured the result the home support wanted by recording their third win in four league games against a Ross County side themselves embroiled in a relegation battle, with the eleventh placed side in the SPFL Premiership faced with a dreaded relegation play-off against a Championship promotion hopeful. It’s a situation Hearts city rivals also find themselves in and when legendary stadium announcer Scott Wilson announced that Hibernian were a goal down in Paisley before Hearts had even kicked off, it brought predicable loud acclaim from those in maroon.

Hearts manager Gary Locke, whose name was chanted by the home support, opted to have Dale Carrick playing the lone attacker with Ryan Stevenson playing just behind the youngster. It was Stevenson who had the game’s first real chance after six minutes when his effort from the edge of the County penalty box curled past the post.

Fine play from Carrick and another impressive youngster, Billy King, saw the latter have an opportunity to open the scoring. With this reporter having the Queen’s Shilling on King to be first scorer, I tried manfully to contain my disappointment when the youngster opted to pass to Stevenson rather than shoot for glory and the chance was lost.

The visitors enjoyed much possession but did little to threaten Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald. The next chance fell to Hearts Ryan Stevenson but his effort from some distance flew wide, in keeping with the pattern of the first half. Half-time arrived with the game goalless but there was some cheer for the home support at the interval when Tynecastle legend Rudi Skacel appeared to make the half-time draw. Hearts fans still retain hope the great man will line up for Hearts in the Championship next season.

The second half soon adopted the pattern of the first. Carey soon had an opportunity for the visitors but his effort on goal ended in the Roseburn Stand much to the chagrin of those from Dingwall. On the hour mark, Hearts Sam Nicholson played a one-two with Billy King on the edge of the County penalty box but young Sam’s effort was easily saved by the County keeper, Brown, who was the Hibernian goalkeeper who shipped five goals in the 2012 Scottish Cup final, a fact the goading home support were keen to remind him.

Moments later, a goal did arrive in somewhat controversial circumstances. Hearts Kevin McHattie set off on a trademark run into the opposition penalty box only to be thwarted by County’s Kiss. Penalty declared referee Willie Collum who, it has to be said, didn’t enjoy the best of afternoons. The award seemed of the softish variety and the County players voiced their displeasure. Hearts Jamie Hamill, who had been booked a few moments earlier, stepped up and executed the penalty with his customary precision and Hearts were ahead. However, Hamill celebrated by picking up the ball and running towards the Hearts support in the old main stand, pursued by the referee and a posse of County players – one of whom, Songo’o, pushed the Hearts man. When County manager Derek Adams tried to intervene, he and Hamill clashed with the Staggies boss tumbling to the ground. Referee Collum then flashed a second yellow card to Hamill meaning the end of the game for the Hearts player – and also meaning he will miss next week’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.

A man short, Hearts were now on the defensive but it was Scott Robinson who had a chance to clinch victory; however, he opted to shoot straight at keeper Brown to ensure County remained in the game. Nonetheless, Hearts sealed a fine win in the fourth minute of stoppage time when they broke forward from a County attack. Robinson squared the ball for Dale Carrick and the youngster duly despatched the ball beyond Brown to end the scoring and continue a curious penchant for late goals in this fixture.

Hearts, it seems, have found form at a point in the season when it is too late to rectify their league position. Remarkably, victory at Easter Road next Sunday will mean Hearts will have won more league games than Hibernian this season – and also increase the prospect of both Edinburgh sides being relegated this season.

As the Hearts supporters streamed out of Tynecastle on Saturday, the spring sunshine beaming on their backs, the old adage of hope springs eternal sprang to mind. Hearts have been a sick patient this season. As it draws to a close, Ann Budge and the Foundation of Hearts resuscitation of this great club appears to be sparking a much-hoped for recovery. Perhaps next season Hearts will be fighting fit once more.

Hearts: MacDonald; Paterson, McGowan, McKay, McHattie; King, Hamill, Holt, Nicholson, Stevenson, Carrick.

Ross County: Brown, Cikos, Boyd, Kiss, Brittain, Quinn, Tidser, Carey, Slew, Oikonomu, Sango’o.

Referee: Willie Collum

Att: 13,692

Top man: Dale Carrick

Edinburgh Art Festival – World War I – East Coast mainline – At the Traverse – Gracemount Garden

The Edinburgh Art Festival takes place from the end of July. Here is a quick look at what is will be happening then with Director Sorcha Carey .

[vimeo 91699814 w=500 h=281]

***

With the upcoming centenary of the UK entering the First World War, Edinburgh’s Liberal Democrat MP, Mike Crockart is urging his constituents to consider applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund for community projects to learn more about the First World War. 

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)  is making at least £1million a year available until 2019 as part of the First World War: then and now programme for small, community grants.  It will provide grants of £3,000 to £10,000 enabling groups right across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.

Mike Crockart is encouraging his constituents to think about how they would like to mark the Centenary.  Successful projects will include:

• researching, identifying and recording local heritage;

• creating a community archive or collection;
• developing new interpretation of heritage through exhibitions, trails, smartphone apps etc;
• researching, writing and performing creative material based on heritage sources;
• conserving and finding out more about war memorials

Mike Crockart MP said:-“I’m delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund is making this money available to local communities.  Like many areas across the UK, the impact of the First World War on the people of Edinburgh was extensive.

“I recently tabled a motion in Parliament celebrating the bravery and achievements of Dr Elsie Inglis and the women who served in her field hospitals in France, Russia and Serbia.

“I know that Dr Inglis was not alone in her bravery and exceptional work, and I want to encourage people to apply for the HLF grants to make sure that the brave men and women of Edinburgh, who gave so much are properly recognised.

“For those who want to find out more about its legacy or who wish to mark the Centenary, please get in touch with HLF.

Dame Jenny Abramsky, Chair of HLF, said:

“The impact of the First World War was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the UK and beyond.  The Heritage Lottery Fund’s First World War: then and now programme will enable communities to explore the continuing legacy of this war and help young people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has shaped our modern world.”

HLF has already invested over £46million in projects – large and small – that will mark the Centenary of First World War. If a group have a project idea to mark the Centenary of the First World War, an online application pack is available by clicking here.  If a group needs a grant of more than £10,000 for a First World War project, it can apply to HLF through its open programmes.

***

Scottish Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson has welcomed an announced investment by the European Investment Bank that would fund the deployment of 65 new Hitachi Super Express Trains on the East Coast Main Line.

The £235 million investment by the EIB, as part of a consortium of banks is part of the Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme, will see the new trains first delivered by 2018, with full roll-out by 2020.

The EIB receives capital from EU countries as its main shareholders, but it is also able to raise funding from capital markets for long-term investment in infrastructure both within the EU and with ‘partner countries.’

Speaking earlier this week in Strasbourg, Mr Stevenson said:

“This is welcome news for Scotland, as these new trains will help secure the future of the East Coast Main Line and the many Scottish jobs – from train staff to depot workers – that depend on the line.  The East Coast Main Line route between Edinburgh and London is the crown jewel in the British transport network and I am pleased that from 2018, everyone travelling on the line will enjoy superior trains befitting of that status.

“The UK contributes to the European Investment Bank, which is able to use its capital to raise further funding in the markets. In this case, it has used its capital to raise money from a consortium of international banks in order to invest in these new trains for the benefit of Scotland.”

***

At the Traverse this week Skeleton Wumman, written and directed by Gerda Stevenson, is a contemporary drama with live music. Stevenson draws on traditional creation myths, sea legends and characters from folklore, combining the Inuit sea goddess Sedna and Skeleton Woman with the story of a disabled young Scots teenager.

Stevenson directed the very first production in the hugely successful A Play, A Pie and A Pint series, and has directed many since, including her own playFederer Versus Murray, which was shortlisted for the 2010 London Festival Fringe Theatre Writing Award, runner-up for the Best Scottish Contribution to Drama on the Edinburgh Fringe, 2011, and toured to New York in 2012.

Runs till 26 April. Details here.

***

The Gracemount Walled Garden is at  EH16 6FD – and next weekend they are having an open afternoon to show off what they have been doing.

Spring is finally here! That only means one thing, well other than Easter chocolates, new baby lambs and pretty daffodils, it means we can spring clean our wardrobes!

#edinburghfashionswap is the perfect event to help you through the process of clearing out unwanted fashion items and getting new treads in return. Let’s all cross our fingers the sun stays out too.

We are super excited to be holding our event at the boutique Malmaison hotel based in Leith. Once you have dropped your items off and before the event opens enjoy some time in the Malbar while we set everyone up behind the scenes. The Malbar will be stocked with classic and quirky cocktails and bubbles to tempt you so go on, treat yourself. After all with Spring in the air the nights are finally getting longer and who doesn’t love a cheeky Thursday night drink with friends? So grab your unwanted items, your best friends and head down for some late night shopping with a twist.

CHARITY DONATIONS
Once again all leftover items will be donated to Shelter Scotland and 50% of ticket sales will be donated to Health in Mind who are working hard to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in Scotland.

HOW IT WORKS
The concept of our events are simple; all you have to do is bring along up to 10 fashion items that you don’t love anymore for one reason or another, whether it doesn’t fit, you don’t like it, it’s been in too many photos or an unwanted gift. As long as it is in good enough condition that someone else would want then bring it along, it doesn’t matter what size, shape or style; fashion is for everyone.

At the event you will receive a peg as currency for each acceptable item you bring along, one item = one peg. Once the event opens everyone has an hour to pick the items they wish to take home (although you probably won’t need more than 20mins). You hand your pegs back, one peg = one item and then you are free to enjoy your ’new’ wardrobe. Simple!

EVENT DETAILS
Thursday 15 May 2014
Malmaison Hotel, 1 Tower Place, Edinburgh
Item drop: 6.30pm – 7.15pm
Swap opens: 7.30pm

TICKETS
Bring between 1 and 5 items for £5
Bring between 6 and 10 items for £7
Tickets available from: http://www.iheartswapping.com/events

WHAT TO BRING
Clothes, accessories, shoes, bags, jewellery, hats, jackets
WHAT NOT TO BRING
Sleepwear, gymwear, underwear, swimwear or earrings unless new and still with tags

See you soon fashionistas and bargain hunters for some serious swapping action!

#edinburghfashionswap

Submitted by I Heart Swapping

Michael Malone believes he was always meant to tell Kaci’s Mohand Saoud’s story.

Already a writer and poet, Michael was on his way home from the bookshop where he worked one night when he stopped off at a café in Ayr. It was late in the evening, he was the only customer, and he got chatting to the North African owner. Then he went home.

Two weeks later, the organiser of his local writers’ club told him that someone had been in touch, asking if Michael would write his father’s life story. Michael said he was too busy. Time passed; Michael gave a talk at the club: in the audience was that same Algerian, Bashir Saoudi. Michael and Bashir met, but Michael was still hesitant; he had plenty of writing on his plate already.

Michael was at that time in touch with a psychic, Joan Charles, in connection with another book he was writing. She called one day to discuss the research she was helping him with and told him that every time she tried to email him, she typed Martin instead of Michael. She didn’t know anyone called Martin. And the only Martin she could think of was Martin Bashir. The next morning, in the shop, the only book on the counter was The Wretched of the Earth, Frantz Fanon’s classic text on the colonisation of Algeria.

Michael was hooked.

On Thursday, Michael was at Looking Glass Books to introduce The Guillotine Choice, a story that starts in 1920s Algeria and ends – if it ends at all – in modern day Cambridge, where Bashir now lives. It is a story of a man’s, and a country’s, honour, suffering, oppression and ultimate liberation.

At the age of 17, Kaci was an assistant to the accountant of a hydroelectric station near his home in the village of Maillot, leading the Frenchman up into the hills on his visits to the plant. The Frenchman was known to carry gold to pay the workers; one day he was murdered for it. Kaci was the obvious suspect, and the lack of conclusive proof didn’t bother his colonial rulers; he was charged with complicity to murder, but told that he could walk free if he named the real killer. The Berber code of honour is strong; family ties are everything. Kaci knew that his cousin Arab had committed the crime, but he also knew that if he spoke up, Arab would be sent to the guillotine. He chose to remain silent, and was sentenced to 20 years hard labour on Devil’s Island, French Guiana.

In France at that time, any sentence of over eight years was automatically doubled. For those sent to Devil’s Island, this was followed by ‘in perpetuity’ – men were freed, but not allowed to leave the island because the French wanted people to populate it. Few others would choose to live there.

Devil’s Island was a notorious place. Over 9,000 convicts were sent to it every year, but its population remained at that figure because so few survived. Transported by boat on which they were kept in a cage with no sanitation (the stronger men acquired hammocks ‘an exercise in power’, the rest had to lie on the floor in pools of excrement), many died in transit. On arrival, sent to barbaric logging camps in the interior, the lethal combination of yellow fever and starvation put paid to most of them within the first few months. It was, says Michael, a brutalising experience for all concerned, prisoners and guards alike.

Algeria gave the French more trouble than its other African colonies, so they practised a policy of divide and rule, encouraging disputes between Algerians to deflect criticism of France itself. They brought Moroccans to Maillot to work in the hydroelectric plant because they did not want the Algerian locals to earn any money; it is said that they wanted to turn the country into ‘a nation of beggars.’

Michael does not seek to demonise the French in telling this story, pointing out that many European countries including the UK committed similar atrocities in the name of colonisation and ‘development.’ Many French people have praised the book and urged him to publish it in France; they say Algeria’s story needs to be told, and France needs to examine its past sins.

Bashir was determined to tell his father’s story, and gleaned much of it from other family members on his frequent trips home. Eventually his father relented and allowed Bashir to interview him, but there were still some things about which he never spoke.
Michael has never been to Algeria, although he would very much like to visit. In the ten years that it took Michael and Bashir to complete The Guillotine Choice, he immersed himself in research on the country’s culture. He calls writing ‘an exercise in empathy’; the most important thing is to be able to stand in another man’s shoes. He and Bashir eventually decided to write the book as fiction, even though at least 80% of it is true, because there were still gaps in the story. Bashir had already written a hundred pages of the story before he met Michael, whom he chose because he admired his work ‘and I can’t put two sentences together.’ It is a work of collaboration; sometimes Michael had to rearrange the story to make sure it held the reader’s attention, but Bashir was always consulted over any changes.

He is delighted with the end product, as you can see below with a video clip of Bashir opening the first copy

//

Other books have been written about Devil’s Island. Henri Charriere’s Papillon is perhaps the most famous, and was made into a film in 1973. Only one book, however, tells the story of Bashir Saoudi’s father, the story of the ultimate honourable choice made in a dishonourable world.

The Guillotine Choice by Michael J. Malone and Bashir Saoudi is published by Saraband and available from Looking Glass Books.

Michael J. Malone’s other books include Blood Tears, Carnegie’s Call and A Taste for Malice. His next crime novel will be out in March 2015.

Bashir Saoudi is a computer systems engineer with Cambridge Silicon Radio. He hopes to retire to Algeria one day.

Submitted by Rosemary Kaye

One of the first projects to win a share of community funding aimed at creating opportunities for children and young people has launched in Kirkliston.

The Kirkliston Youth Art Project will involve a series of workshops for local youngsters, who will work towards developing a mural for Kirkliston Library. 

The library was awarded £400 from the Almond Neighbourhood Partnership’s £2000 Community Grants Fund allocation as part of the You(th) Decides Initiative.

The scheme, which operates in the local neighbourhood partnership, recognises projects offering opportunities for children and young people in areas such as sports, arts, media and community participation.

Successful projects, involving members aged between 12 and 18, were decided on by students from local high schools, members of the Neighbourhood Partnership Board and Western Edinburgh members of the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee, said: “This is a great example of the kind of imaginative project we want to fund as part of Youth Decides. These young people are clearly eager to express their creative talents – I look forward to seeing how the mural progresses.”

Almond Neighbourhood Partnership Convener Councillor Lindsay Paterson, who joined the launch of the project, said: “The young people thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and it was great to be involved in such an innovative project that captured their imagination, and for me to see their creativity first hand. This is what the Youth Decides initiative is all about and I am delighted that we have been able to take it forward in the Almond Neighbourhood Partnership.”

Police Scotland have confirmed this morning that the 14 year-old who was reported missing yesterday has been found safe and well.

The police also want to thank everyone who helped with their efforts to locate the boy, Jordan McNaughton.

It is Record Store Day today and The Edinburgh Reporter spoke to a couple of people queuing for VoxBox to open to find out what they were looking for this morning.

//

//

What is Record Store Day?

This is what they tell us on their website:-

Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1000 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. There are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.

This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store—the staff, the customers, and the artists—to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.

Fidra Court was evacuated last night as bomb disposal crews investigated the discovery of “suspicious items” following a fire in the tower block.

Nearby roads were closed off around 9pm after a number of suspicious packages were found although officers at the scene said there was no risk to the public.

Residents were instructed to follow direction from Police Scotland, and most went to nearby cafe.

Ten police cars, two bomb disposal units and two ambulance crews attended the incident. The road re-opened just after midnight.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are responding to a fire at Fidra Court and they have discovered a number of suspicious items.

“Properties in the area are being evacuated and officers are working with the explosive disposal team.

“Enquiries are continuing at this time.”

The incident comes just days after a 38-year-old man was arrested and charged with “possession and manufacture of a prohibited weapon” following an incident in Jamaica Mews.

Edinburgh International Science Festival presents the 2nd Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire this Easter Sunday. After a tremendously successful initial outing at Science Festival 2013 which saw more than 3000 visitors attend, it’s back for 2014 – this time bigger, shinier, and with more knobs on!

The Faire is a perfect Easter day out for craft enthusiasts, tech tinkerers and families, with a programme packed with over 70 maker exhibits, workshops and drop-in activities for people of all ages to enjoy, taking over all the major spaces of Science Festival Hub Summerhall in a day-long celebration of maker culture which showcases invention, creativity and resourcefulness from across Scotland and beyond.

From wearable technologies to do-it yourself computer games, new musical instruments, 3D printers and take-home technologies, Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire is a place where everyone will be inspired to get creative with technology. We have a life-size WALL-E robot built in a Fife garage by local maker Dale Wood, ‘tweet-able’ flame-throwers which ignite when a specially developed sensor receives a tweet as developed by Matt Green, and Citizen Bravo – a one-man band made by Matt Brennan (formerly of Scottish indie group Zoey Van Goey) in collaboration with artisan blacksmith David Frazier, amongst a host of other maker exhibits. Also on display will be a giant Tesla Coil and the world’s first Pedal powered hydraulic hybrid Reliant Robin pickup, which will be trucking around the Summerhall courtyard. As well as our interactive displays, we also have lots of bookable and drop-in workshops throughout the day covering everything from soap-making and jewellery crafting to musical instrument soldering and robot-making.

In addition to all the fantastic making going on, many of Summerhall’s permanent attractions are open to explore too. Official Festival brewer Barney’s Beer is brewed on the site of the original 1800s Summerhall brewer – and is available to drink in the Royal Dick, Summerhall’s onsite bar. Edinburgh Hacklab is part of the worldwide movement of Hackerspaces – shared spaces for people who mess around with technology for fun – calls Summerhall home too. In this shared space, they provide access to better facilities than we could each have at home, as well as opportunities to collaborate, learn, and socialise. And in a recent addition, Edinburgh’s first gin distillery in over 150 years can now be found in Summerhall, where small batches of hand crafted, beautifully balanced, marvelously mixedPickering’s Gin are produced.

Episode One of Jamaica Inn will be broadcast on Easter Monday at 9pm on BBC One. Daphne du Maurier’s classic gothic novel Jamaica Inn has been adapted by Emma Frost (The White Queen, Consuming Passion) and directed by BAFTA-winning director Philippa Lowthorpe (Call The Midwife, Five Daughters). It was produced by Origin Pictures for BBC One.

Residents evacuated from Muirhouse – Volunteer gardeners and painters needed! – Friends of the Earth AGM and workshop –  Dog stolen in North Edinburgh – Dads Activity Day in Gilmerton  

This was the scene outside Fidra Court in Muirhouse last night where residents were evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious package.

Walking home & stumble upon lots of police activity at Fidra Court, Muirhouse. Local sources say a ‘bomb scare’. pic.twitter.com/hfSyUjlYib

— Swivel Eyed Broon (@Mr_Mark_Brown) April 18, 2014

Fidra is one of several high rise blocks. Residents were taken to the common rooms in Birnies Court while police and the Bomb Disposal Squad investigated.

***

An Edinburgh resettlement charity is looking for people who are nifty with a paintbrush or green-fingered to join its band of volunteers.

Fresh Start, which helps people previously homeless make a home for themselves, urgently needs people to join its Hit Squad team and Gardening team.

Keith Robertson, Managing Director at Fresh Start said: “You don’t need to be an expert gardener or decorator! We are just looking for people with some basic skills who can work as part of a team and support vulnerable people to get back on their feet.”

Hit Squads work alongside new tenants to help them decorate their new house. Volunteers help prepare the rooms for decorating including cleaning, sanding, lining walls and painting the whole room. Last year 120 clients received support to decorate their new home through the Hit Squad service.

But while Hit Squads work alongside new tenants to help them decorate their new house, it is more than just a decorating service. Not only does it improve a client’s living space but also teaches new skills to help them establish and maintain a home and it also benefits people through positive social contact, helping to combat vulnerability and isolation

The charity is also looking for people to volunteer in its allotment where food grown such as vegetables, herbs and potatoes will be used in cookery classes at Fresh Start’s  Food Station.

The Food Station service aims to tackle health inequalities amongst people who have been homeless by giving access to refurbished cookers, cooking classes, food packs and budgeting advice.

Mr Robertson added: “Both these projects are fundamental to Fresh Start’s work helping to combat vulnerability and isolation often experienced during periods of homelessness. Hit Squads support people to learn new skills that will enable them to maintain their home, while our cookery classes and gardening projects help people to learn basic cooking skills as well as enjoy being outdoors in the garden.”

To find out more about volunteering, visit  http://bit.ly/freshstartvolunteer or contact Fresh Start on 0131 476 7741 or email enquiries@freshstartweb.org.uk

***

Friends of the Earth Scotland are holding their AGM and a workshop on 17 May 2014.

“Would you like an economy that ensures our wellbeing and doesn’t jeopardise our environment or our children’s future? We currently have an economy which depends on growth, which doesn’t make us happier, demands ever more resources and increases inequality.

The workshop, which runs from 2pm until 4.30pm, will look at some of the radical changes we need to:

transform energy generation

exert public control over the direction of the economy

finance sustainable development; banking rules to rein in excess and greed

achieve greater income equality and environmental justice

Expert speakers will share their thoughts on these topics followed by breakouts and open debate.”

The event follows the Friends of the Earth Scotland AGM which will be held in the morning, to which all members are welcome. Both are being held in the Methodist Church Halls, Nicolson Square, Edinburgh.

***

This dog has been stolen from outside Morrisons at the Waterfront. Do you know the bald man wearing jeans and a Hawaiian shirt who is thought to have taken him?

Thank you to TRIM for the photo of Glen. If you have any information about the dog please call Police Scotland on 101.

***

Something for you dads next Saturday!

This was the scene outside Fidra Court in Muirhouse tonight where residents were evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious package.

Walking home & stumble upon lots of police activity at Fidra Court, Muirhouse. Local sources say a ‘bomb scare’. pic.twitter.com/hfSyUjlYib

— Swivel Eyed Broon (@Mr_Mark_Brown) April 18, 2014

Fidra is one of several high rise blocks in the area. Residents were taken to the common rooms in another block at Birnies Court while police and the Bomb Disposal Squad investigated.

Scottish Ambulance Service special response team were also on hand.

Tenants and Residents in Muirhouse TRIM have reported that all residents have been asked to clear the streets. If you need more news then you should have a look at their Facebook page.

Police are appealing for information on the whereabouts of Jordan McNaughton (14 years old).

He was last seen within his home address in West Edinburgh around 11pm last night.

He is described as white, 5ft 8in, medium build, blue eyes, longish dark blonde hair and small scar above his right eye.

It is unknown what Jordan was last wearing when he left the home address.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Jordan’s family are extremely concerned for him and his health and appeal for him to get in touch, or for members of the public to report any sightings.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93LxACJbwHY?list=UUpyjaNvEF_ryiKTJ6QxCkIA]

Find out more about Mind Blind: http://www.kelpiesteen.co.uk/tagged/mind_blind 

Now you can win a signed copy of the book.  Just fill in the form below before 30 April 2014 at 5pm and we will select a couple of winners from all the entries received by then!

Falkirk man Kevin Kotrys who was reported missing earlier this week has been found safe and well.

The 40-year-old was traced by the Metropolitan Police in the London area.

His family have been informed.

Police Scotland have thanked the public for their assistance during this enquiry.

Musselburgh Racecourse kicks off the Scottish Flat season today and creates history as the first UK course to stage turf racing on Good Friday.

The track’s 17 fixture season features prize money of £1,170,000 – an increase of £100,000 on the previous season – and Good Friday has a bumper prize pool of £156,000.

The Grade 2 feature race, the £50,000 Totepool Royal Mile Handicap Stakes (3.50), for three year olds only, has attracted a strong field. Mark Johnston, whose three year olds have started the season in fine form and Musley Bank’s Richard Fahey go head to head for this valuable prize.

Neither of Fahey’s two runners, Roachdale House nor Ventura Quest, have raced this Spring so the fitness advantage would seem to lie with the Johnston pair of Almargo, the mount of Silvestre de Sousa, and Bow Creek who will be partnered by Franny Norton, happily back in action after a six month lay-off through injury.

Bow Creek made all the running to land a three horse listed race at Lingfield earlier this month but Almargo has demonstrated real potential by rattling up an impressive three timer on the all-weather and will be preferred.

In the £25,000 totepool.com Borderlescott Sprint Trophy (2.40) the Robin Bastiman trained Borderlescott has carried the colours of owners James Edgar and William Donaldson to multiple Group victories in his long and distinguished career.

A dual winner of York’s Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, Borderlescott has also won the Stewards Cup at Goodwood and is a course and distance winner at Musselburgh. The veteran, who turned 12 in January, is set to run in his own race and will be ridden by Neill Farley.

Bastiman reports that Borderlescott is in great spirits but at his advanced age it is hard to see him coping with the speed of either William Haggas’s classy top-weight Heeraat, or last season’s course and distance winner Kingsgate Choice. Herefordshire trainer Ed de Giles has a profitable strike rate at Musselburgh and Kingsgate Choice ran a promising sixth in a listed race at Linfield on his seasonal reappearance late last month.

The East Lothian course was buoyed last week with the announcement that its 10th anniversary Stobo Castle Ladies Day on 14 June has sold out in record time, a full nine weeks ahead of the prestigious event.

During the close season the racecourse management have invested £250,000 in facility upgrades, which includes a refurbishment of the popular Pinkies Bar, a new landscaped raised viewing area in front of the grandstand and improved access roads. Other changes which will enhance the visitor experience include improved signage and a new “fast track” entrance which will minimise queuing for race goers who have booked in advance.

Musselburgh Racecourse general manager, Bill Farnsworth, said: “We are starting the Flat season on a high with Stobo Castle Ladies Day already sold out and a 9000 record attendance guaranteed.

“We are also creating a historic first by staging the first turf racing on a Good Friday and we expect a healthy crowd which we can build on over the next 2-3 years in the same way we have done with our Easter Sunday meeting.

“It’s a new fixture and like anything which is new it will take time to establish its credentials but we believe we have the makings of an excellent Easter Racing Festival with two days of quality and family racing.

“Record prize money over the season will continue to attract the leading trainers and jockeys but equally important is the significant investment we are making in improving the facilities at Musselburgh. We are focussed on maintaining our five-star visitor status and reputation as one of the UK’s most forward thinking racecourses.”

Flat season highlights at Musselburgh include the £60,000 Edinburgh Cup on Saturday 7 June and Musselburgh’s first ever £100,000 race, the William Hill Scottish Sprint Cup which is the feature race at Stobo Castle Ladies Day a week later and also features a special after-racing party hosted by Radio One breakfast show presenter Scott Mills.

Bill Farnsworth added: “With Ladies Day sold out we believe those disappointed at not getting a ticket will turn their attention to the Edinburgh Cup meeting and we would advise people to book early to avoid a second disappointment.”

The 5 furlong totetrifecta handicap race has been divided so there are now eight races with the first race off at 2.10pm and the last at 6pm. Musselburgh is back racing on Easter Sunday with its traditional Easter Sunday Family Day.

To find out more about the two day Totepool Easter Festival and details of all Musselburgh’s fixtures visit www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk

Time is running out as entries close on Wednesday 23 April 2014. The Edinburgh Junior Golf Festival is being held at Swanston Golf Club  on Sunday 27 April from 12 – 6pm. All juniors are encouraged to go along and join in the fun. More details on how to enter are here.
There will be Skills Challenges on the practice area for everyone which will be supervised by Professionals and some of the  Main Squad. The organisers say that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t played golf before so bring along your little brothers and sisters.

A Stephen Gallacher 9 hole competition will be held on the Templar Course for those with and without a handicap which can be entered through the Stephen Gallacher web site here.

There will also be an 18 hole Junior Open on the Swanston New golf course and all juniors with a handicap are urged to enter. Details on the poster too.

The Kelpies – Soundhouse fundraiser tonight – New arrangements for buses at ERI – Information Fair at Heriot-Watt – Fundraiser for MS

And now for The Kelpies. Sit down with a cup of tea this Good Friday and watch this. You will love it.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NCgzTqH4GI]

***

Tonight the first fundraising gig for Soundhouse will take place at EUSA Pleasance.

The line up includes Adam Holmes and Cera Impala. Soundhouse will be the new incarnation of the House @42 owned and run by Douglas Robertson. The new venue will according to the organisers be ‘the best venue on the planet right here in Edinburgh.’ More details here.

Not sure if this is your kind of music? Listen up below and book your tickets here.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia4OlITn4uU?list=UUK0jYsMuHa574u-DfewzsYA]

***

Lothian Buses have a new bus terminus at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary which they will begin using on Monday 21 April 2014.

This will affect services 7, 8, 18, 21, 24, 33, 38 and 49 and has been brought about by the redevelopment of the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children.  The bus company produced a map for your information.

More details here.

***

***

The MS Therapy Centre latest fundraiser – the Mad Hatters’ Tea Party which had the support of local MSP Jim Hume – has raised nearly £4,500.

The Centre, which celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year, called on locals to host a tea party and wear a crazy hat last month to help raise much needed funds and make a difference to all those in the Lothians living with multiple sclerosis.

Nancy Campbell, Operations Manager at the Centre, said:-“Hitting nearly £4,500 is a fantastic sum of money and will make such a difference to those attending the Centre. Nearly 2,500 people in the Lothians live with the debilitating condition and our Centre provides a life line for many. We are there for practical and emotional support and only exist because of the generosity of others.”

“I would like to thank local residents, businesses, community groups and schools who took time out of their busy days to bake and host tea parties.

Jim Hume, Liberal Democrat South Scotland MSP, said:-“I was delighted to have visited Nancy and her team at the MS Therapy Centre Lothian again and to celebrate their 30^th anniversary at the mad hatter tea party. The Centre provides a range of therapeutic and peer support to people living with multiple sclerosis, all the while improving the quality of life for its users.”

The Centre is hoping the tea parties become an annual event and will be looking for tea party hosts again in 2015.

The MS Therapy Centre is a charity providing help and practical therapies such as physiotherapy, complementary therapies and oxygen therapy as well as emotional support and advice.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a cyclist was injured during a hit and run collision which happened around 9.30am today in the Liberton area of the city.

A 33-year-old woman was riding north along Liberton Gardens when she reached the traffic lights at the junction with Liberton Drive.

At this time she was involved in a collision with a silver/blue hatchback car, which caused her to fall to the ground.

The driver failed to stop at the scene and continued on towards the Braid Hills.

Ambulance staff responded along with police and the woman was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where she is being treated for injuries to her neck and shoulder.

Anyone who can assist officers with their investigation into this incident is asked to contact police immediately.

Constable Joe Kennedy said: “The female cyclist suffered some very painful injuries to her upper body, which will require several months of recovery.

“Despite being fully aware of this collision, the driver did not stop to check on the woman’s welfare or to speak with police upon their arrival.

“As such we are keen to hear from members of the public and other motorists who were in the area at the time and witnessed what happened.

“In addition anyone with information that can help trace the driver is also asked to come forward.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A man has died in a fire which broke out in a flat in Gordon Street yesterday afternoon.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called to the fire this lunchtime.

Crews from McDonald Road, Tollcross and Marionville were quickly sent to the scene by Operations Control Edinburgh. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the property and extinguished the fire using a high pressure hose reel.

Tragically a man has died following the fire and a joint Police and Fire Investigation will now take place to establish the cause.

An SFRS spokesperson said:- “The tragic loss of life must always bring home the importance of working together to prevent fires and raise awareness of how to be safer from the risk of fire. Join Scotland’s Fight Against Fire, if you or someone you know may be at risk please get in touch and arrange a free home fire safety visit with local firefighters by calling 0800 0731 999, text “check” to 61611 or visit www.firescotland.gov.uk.”

On 23 April 2014 Edinburgh libraries will be celebrating World Book Night in partnership with The Reading Agency by hosting free events across the Capital to champion reading in local communities.

The celebrations will be led by the Central Library, which will be welcoming visitors to attend a debate with world leading psychology writer Richard Wiseman, whose book ‘59 Seconds’ is one of the top 20 titles being celebrated through Community Book Giving on World Book Night.

The event, which will be chaired by journalist Claire Black, will look closely at the modern day mind myths promoted by the self-help industry, and outline quick and quirky ideas to help people achieve their aims in minutes not months.

Elsewhere in Edinburgh, Oxgangs Library will be hosting a free World Book Night Quiz and Book Swap, while Leith and McDonald Road Libraries will be inviting visitors to discuss their favourite books with staff. Staff from Wester Hailes Library will also be visiting Tynecastle boys Football Club to hand out books and promote Edinburgh libraries’ teenage reading programme.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “World Book Night is a great opportunity for everyone in Edinburgh to share or even start their love of reading and encourage others to get involved. It is very appropriate that Edinburgh, the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, are hosting this event to get people excited about reading, writing and literature.”

Sue Wilkinson, CEO of The Reading Agency, said: “World Book Night is one of the highlights of the year for us and for all our partners; this year it promises to be more exciting than ever. All over the country people are coming together to celebrate and share their love of reading.  The generous tradition of volunteer book giving inspired and supported by publishers is being extended this year to include community book givers all of whom will give away a book of their own to inspire someone in their community to love reading. We hope that this, together with the events taking place in libraries across the UK, will ensure that April 23rd is an evening we will all long remember; the night when many more people realise that everything changes when we read.”

On World Book Night, 250,000 titles will be given by a network of volunteer reading enthusiasts and institutions focusing on reaching the 35% of the population who don’t read for pleasure. As World Book Night plays out, strangers will become friends, colleagues will pause and reflect, libraries and bookshops will go the extra mile to ‘stay up late’, and authors of all genres will share their writings and love of the written word with audiences of all ages.

Since it began in 2011, World Book Night has created an extraordinary group of 46,000 volunteers, giving books away to over 2 million people. This will be a landmark year for World Book Night which has recently come under the guardianship of The Reading Agency: the charity with a mission to give everyone an equal chance to become a reader.

This year for the first time, The Reading Agency is launching  Community Book Giving, a new  way of getting involved in World Book Night which will widen the opportunity for volunteer participation further than ever before, allowing even more people to spread a love of reading to those who don’t normally read for pleasure or own books.

Community Book Giving means that anyone can take part in the annual gifting of books on April 23 without applying to give away copies of the official books donated by publishers for the occasion; anyone can sign up, and they will be responsible for giving their own book, which can be anything they choose, either taking it from their book shelves, or buying it new or second-hand. Special World Book Night branded stickers and bookplates will be available from libraries, participating bookshops – including Waterstones and independents – or available online to download so that books can be officially branded as part of the celebrations.

As in previous years, World Book Night will be celebrated on UNESCO International Day of the Book with many experiences unfolding simultaneously across the UK, the USA and Ireland. In the UK flagship events will be held in Birmingham and London.

The titles for World Book Night 2014 are

1. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Orion)
2. Four Warned by Jeffrey Archer (Quick Read) (Macmillan)
3. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (Vintage, Random House)
4. Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (Simon and Schuster)
5. Confessions of a GP by Dr Benjamin Daniels (The Friday Project, Harper Collins)
6. Hello Mum by Bernardine Evaristo (Quick Read) (Penguin General)
7. Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon (Penguin Michael Joseph)
8. Theodore Boone by John Grisham (Hodder & Stoughton)
9. The Humans by Matt Haig (Canongate)
10. The Perfect Murder by Peter James (Quick Read) (Macmillan)
11. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (Transworld)
12. Today Everything Changes by Andy McNab (Quick Read) (Transworld)
13. CHERUB: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore (Hachette Children’s)
14. Whatever it Takes by Adele Parks (Headline)
15. Black Hills by Nora Roberts (Little, Brown)
16. The Boy With the Topknot by Sathnam Sanghera (Penguin General)
17. Geezer Girls by Dreda Say Mitchell (Hodder & Stoughton)
18. 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman (Macmillan)
19. After the Funeral by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins)
20. Vengenance is Mine Inc. and other Stories by Roald Dahl (Penguin Michael Joseph)

BREAKING THE VESSEL – AN EVENING WITH MARK Z DANIELEWSKI

‘All writers are control freaks’

– or so says Mark Danielewski. He should know – last Hallowe’en he orchestrated a performance of his new novel The 50 Year Sword, with five actors not only reading the text but also completing one another’s sentences. Danielewski ‘musically stitched together their voices’, seeing himself as ‘Harry Potter in a different way’ and says that the read-through showed him just how the parts of the book fitted together.

On Monday, Danielewski was at Blackwell’s for the UK launch of this, his third novel. In conversation with Mark Buckland of publishers Cargo, Danielewski explained that each of his works is an attempt to ‘remediate’ a different subject. A previous book, Only Revolutions, looked at music, whilst his current work-in-progress will remediate the TV series. The 50 Year Sword takes as its subject the classic ghost story, the story told around the camp fire. Chintana, a Thai seamstress who is getting over a failed marriage comes across Belinda Kite – her husband’s mistress – at a party. She thinks of leaving but stays, and the consequences of her decision form the book’s story, one involving some orphans, a storyteller, and of course, a magic sword.

Danielewski wants the book to be read straight through: with just a few words of text on each page, it should only take an hour. He thinks a great deal about how text will look on the page, and is much influenced by William Faulkner and Laurence Sterne, both of whom played with the colour and form of text. Danielewski sees himself as part of this experimental tradition, and explores the effects on his characters of changing colours, fonts and even margins. For him, image and text become one, the shape and colour of a letter or word having as much influence as its meaning. He talks about ‘breaking the vessel’ (of traditional forms) to allow language and meaning to pour out. This can liberate meaning, freeing the words and allowing them to grow.

He sees language as ‘oscillating on the page’ – it is integral to our lives but also mystic, and he has come to realise that even language is small compared to the world around us, and only one of the tools we can apply to try to comprehend that world. One part of our minds processes text, another images, and for Danielewski the best way to understand the world is to look between the two. This, he says, leads to new experience.

Danielewski is interested in the tradition of oral storytelling – one that is of course still strong in Scotland. Voices, he says, come together like ghosts within the speaker, so that sometimes a different story emerges. He seeks to show that different voices will tell different versions of the same story. We present ourselves as complete beings, but we are the product of many influences and experiences. The 50 Year Sword includes many images of a butterfly; these were sewn with thread onto paper, then scanned. The stitches were snipped out then re-sewn, to show how we cut our experiences apart and sew them together. We need to take things apart to create a new whole.

E-books initially appealed to Danielewski , allowing as they do the use of many colours and fonts, but he found that after initial enthusiasm, sales have flattened out – there is a resistance to them, a failure to deliver something that readers still get from a traditional book. He’s also tried an animated version of The 50 Year Sword for i-Pad, but this has also had only limited success. The book is clearly here to stay, though Danielewski will continue to push the boundaries, to investigate its potential, and to explore that exhilarating space between our senses.

The 50 Year Sword by Mark Danielewski is published by Cargo Publishing and available from Blackwell’s, Edinburgh

Submitted by Rosemary Kaye