At Curl Edinburgh this morning the members of the various clubs who play there are gathering to cheer on Team GB in their second match of the day in Beijing at the Winter Olympics 2022.

Having beaten the USA today already, it is hoped that they have confidence to beat the Norwegian team. The match begins at 12.05. Yesterday the Norwegians had the upper hand and Team GB conceded the match in the last end.

Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds were coached by David Aitken the former World Junior Curling Champion and they were members of Gogar Park Young Curlers who were on the ice practising earlier.

We asked Michael Goodfellow, a silver medallist at the Sochi games in 2014 with the men’s curling team about the pair’s chances today. Michael is now an apprentice coach with British Curling, and he believes that Bruce and Jen have a very good chance today, despite their defeat to Norway yesterday.

He said: “They have played their best when it matters most. They have played lots of big games and won big games. So I think they will handle the pressure well.”

Amy Seftor was one of the young curlers at Curl Edinburgh today playing with others under the watchful eye of a couple of coaches. She thinks this is a sport for everyone and said: “I think young people should come along and give it a try. It’s fun and you get to meet a lot of new people and friends as well.”

In pairs the players can place the first two stones in predetermined positions, they only have five stones per team per end rather than eight, and the run of play will determine who plays the last stone or “hammer”. The team which loses an “end” then has the advantage of playing the last stone in the next end. 

Best of luck to Bruce and Jen – here’s hoping another Olympic medal will be brought home to Edinburgh.

The FTS Berwick Bandits powered by Keenwood Karpets have completed their line-up for the new season by signing Australian racer Ty Proctor.

During his SGB Championship career Proctor has held down roles as a heat leader at most teams and Bandits bosses feel he will bring experience to the Berwick middle order.

Gary Flint, Berwick’s team manager, believes that the talented Aussie is better prepared than ever to come and do a solid job for the club.

He said: “Our one to seven is looking very strong and I am excited to get the show on the road now. Ty’s track record in the UK has been solid and only injuries and a recent brief hiatus from the sport have really held him back.”

Flint added: “He has come to the right club to reach his full potential once again. On his day he beats anybody in the league on any track and that is a team managers dream.

“We work very hard on and off the track at Berwick Speedway and our philosophy is very much based on feeling good and giving 100 per cent effort.

“Ty is invested in that, and more prepared than ever, to come and enjoy a successful season at the club.”

The FTS Bandits full line-up is: Chris Harris, Theo Pijper, Leon Flint, Ty Proctor (pictured, Bandits Artwork and Steve Brock Photography), Ricky Wells, Jye Etheridge, Kyle Bickley.

Greg Chase slotted home in sudden death overtime as Fife Flyers completed a four-point weekend to boost hopes of clinching a play-off slot.

The Premier Sports Elite League bottom-markers stunned the 3,663 home crowd at Nottingham Panthers with the game-winner by the 27-year-old 3min 27sec into the extra period.

Fired-up Fife, buoyed by their 4-2 home success over Guildford Flames on Saturday at Kirkcaldy which snapped a 12-game losing streak, went behind in the 37th minute when Joshua Tetlow netted.

Captain Matthew Carter was set up by Brandon Magee nine minutes later to level at 1-1 and take this tense clash into overtime.

Fife coach Todd Dutiaume and his team held their nerve despite being outshot 63-27 with Shane Owen (pictured) a busy netminder and the victory is Fife’s second at Nottingham having won 4-2 in the Lace City in late November.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Clan were beaten 6-3 in Braehead following a four-goal, third-period blitz by the long-time league pace-setters, Sheffield Steelers.

The teams were locked at 2-2 going into the final session but Evan Mosey, Tanner Eberle, Justin Hodgmen and Vojtech Polak netted for the Yorkshire side in a devastating 13-minute spell with only one in reply from Colton Yellow Horn.

Jake Bolton broke Dundee Stars’ hearts with a game-winner in a shootout against Guildford Flames on Tayside.

Stars were 2-0 and 3-1 down but two goals in 17 seconds in the early part of the final period tied the game at 3-3.

The sides could not be separated after sudden death overtime but Bolton kept his cool to hand Flames the win.

Sunday: Elite League: Dundee Stars 3, Guildford Flames 4 (after shootout); Nottingham Panthers 1, Fife Flyers 2 (after sudden death overtime); Glasgow Clan 3, Sheffield Steelers 6

Almost two years after winning an all-inclusive wedding in a competition, two NHS nurses have finally celebrated their marriage at the award-winning Eskmills Venue.

Sarah Hunter and Greg Turner were due to get married on 12^th February 2021, and won their dream wedding back in May 2020, but their plans were put on hold by the global pandemic.

On Friday, the couple, who both work at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, were at long last able to tie the knot at Eskmills Venue along with their 121 guests.

The wedding competition was launched as a thank you to NHS workers, and included a prize wedding package worth around £12,000 with exclusive use of Eskmills Venue, a converted historic riverside mill building in Musselburgh.

The package included drinks, canapés, a three-course wedding meal, a live band The Klones, and other services provided by local suppliers: flowers by Liberty Blooms, kilt hire from 8 Yards, classic wedding car from Edinburgh Classic Wedding Cars, a wedding dress from Christina Rae, photography by Tony Marsh Photography, videography by Craig Heaslip Film & Photography, pipers from GD bagpiping, stationery by 2Flux Stationary Studio, gin from Holyrood Distillery and a wedding cake from Truly Scrumptious.

Celebrant Jane Patmore of Your Service in Scotland conducted the service, helping to deliver a tailor-made ceremony for the young couple.

Sarah, a nurse who cares for premature babies in the neonatal unit, and Greg, who cares for very poorly patients in the acute medical unit have been together for nine years. The nurses got engaged in Venice in 2019, and have been working in the Royal throughout the pandemic. 

Sarah, who is expecting a baby in May, said: “It’s been a very long wait it has absolutely been worth it! We couldn’t have dreamt of a better way to celebrate than in such a beautiful location with our family and friends, plus the amazing food and drinks and all the wonderful things provided by so many kind local businesses. The planning of the wedding was made easy by Eskmills’ expertise, and we worked together to create the wedding that we envisioned when we got engaged all the way back in 2019. We couldn’t be happier.” 

Libby Harrison, Director of Client Services at Eskmills Venue, added: “We were so pleased to finally host Sarah and Greg’s wedding. It’s been a long time coming but it was wonderful to see them enjoy their big day together with their friends and family in one of our most popular wedding venues. The competition was originally launched to say thank you to amazing NHS frontline staff who are doing such incredible and selfless work during the Covid-19 pandemic and Sarah and Greg are a great example of that. We wish them all the very best in their married life together.” 

Canadian forward Chris Lawrence won the Continental Cup with Nottingham Panthers but he travels to his former stamping ground on Sunday (16.00) hoping to help Fife Flyers take another step towards the end-of-season play-offs.

The 34-year-old from Ontario has a massive task to spark the Kirkcaldy club who prop up the ten-strong Premier Sports Elite League but earned a valuable two points on Saturday with a welcome home win over Guildford Flames.

But the former third round draft pick for National Hockey League cracks Tampa Bay Lightning told the club’s success-hungry fans: “This is not a lost cause.”

Lawrence brings a wealth of experience to Kirkcaldy having played for fourth-placed Panthers plus Coventry Blaze, Dundee Stars and Sheffield Steelers where he helped win the play-off trophy.

He did not ice last season but has arrived in midweek and the club’s assistant coach, Jeff Hutchins (pictured), confirms that the player is in good shape.

Lawrence relishes the challenge of lifting the Kirkcaldy club off the bottom of the table and he has trained with the Fife squad this week.

The much-travelled player said: “There is talent here. We have three months to repair the damage from the first part of the season.”

The experienced campaigner enjoyed his spell at Nottingham but added: “I’ve been there before with other teams.

“The atmosphere is good and I enjoy playing there. but I’m playing for the opposition this time so we’ll see what happens.”

Other games on Sunday feature mid-table Glasgow Clan hosting long-time league pace-setters Sheffield Steelers (16.00) and struggling Dundee Stars host Guildford Flames (17.00).

Hibs fans once again demonstrated their frustration at the full-time whistle after losing to St Mirren at Easer Road yesterday.

Shaun Maloney made two changes from the side that drew with city rivals, Hearts, in midweek with Demetri Mitchell and Josh Campbell starting in the place of Josh Doig and Joe Newell.

Goalkeeper Kevin Dąbrowski’s man-of-the-match performance on Tuesday ensured he kept his place in the starting XI as Matt Macey was amongst the substitutes.

In a lacklustre opening 45-minutes, a Kevin Nisbet header and a shot from Chris Mueller after a superb piece of skill were the only action of note.

Ewan Henderson replaced Christian Doidge at the interval and Mueller moving up front.

Hibs started to create chances and Mueller’s shot flew well over the bar then Nisbet set up Henderson but Jak Alnwick did well to block his close range effort.

Chris Cadden continued to supply low crosses from the right but there were never any takers.

Alnwick then produced a sensational save to deny Henderson and it looked just a matter of time before a goal arrived.

Sure enough it did but for the visitors. A simple throw to Jake Doyle-Hayes culminated with him taking too long on the ball and he was dispossessed on the edge of the area by Connor Ronan who fired the ball past the Hibs keeper.

Hibs almost equalised immediately when Cadden found Nisbet inside the area but his effort was tipped round the post for a corner.

St Mirren then almost added a second with a low cross into the 6-yard box but like Hibs there were no takers.

Sylvester Jasper replaced Campbell and looked lively but the Saints held on to take all three points.

Once again the players were booed from the pitch.

Afterwards Maloney told Hibs TV: “I’m hugely disappointed. I’m mixed a little bit in terms of the performance, I was really disappointed with how we played first half, and then second half we changed things and we created so many opportunities.

“I think the real frustrating part is that we just aren’t clinical enough at the moment. If we are, the result would have been very different. It should have been a lot different than what it was, but that’s football.

“If you’re not clinical and you don’t take the chances you create, then you leave yourself open to conceding and losing the game.

“I think when you coach, you have to try and find the answers. For large parts since I’ve been here, we’ve really worked very hard on defensive organisation, which has been very good. Again, it was good today.

“We gave up the goal from our own throw-in and we conceded a very dangerous cross, but otherwise there wasn’t too much to hurt us.

“Now we’ve worked extremely hard on actually creating chances, and we are now starting to show that. I have to support our attacking players.

“I know with the quality that we have this will change and when it does, I’ll be standing here talking about a lot more games that we win than obviously what happened today.”

Hibs: Dabrowski, Porteous, Doidge (Henderson 46’), Mueller, Nisbet, Stevenson (Doig 80’), Mitchell (Scott 80’), Doyle-Hayes (Allan 81’), Cadden, Campbell (Jasper 69’), Bushiri. Substitutes not used: Macey, McGinn, Wright, Allan, McGregor.

St Mirren: Alnwick, Tait, Shaughnessy, Power (Erahon 70’), Jones (Millar 77’), Kiltie, Henderson (Flynn 61’), Dunne, Greive (Main 70’), Fraser, Ronan. Substitutes not used: Lyness, McCarthy, Erwin.

Referee: Greg Aitken.

Attendance: 13,227.

It is 70 years since Accession Day when Her Majesty The Queen became monarch on the death of her beloved father King George VI. Today she will spend the day at Sandringham.

On the eve of the day when she will mark the passing of her late father with the anniversary of becoming Queen, Her Majesty announced her wish for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort when Prince Charles becomes King after her own death.

Alastair Bruce, Governor of Edinburgh Castle, tweeted some photos of Her Majesty on Saturday morning.

This year Her Majesty celebrates her long reign and Platinum Jubilee, reigning longer than any other monarch in British history. The news of King George VI’s death was conveyed to the then Princess Elizabeth while she and the Duke of Edinburgh were visiting a remote part of Kenya on a Commonwealth tour.

An Accession Council was convened at St James’s Palace on the day of the King’s death attended by members of the Privy Council , the Lord Mayor and others including civil servants when the Queen was formally proclaimed. The Lord Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh read the public proclamation of the new sovereign.

Her Majesty flew back home from Africa and was greeted by Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.The coronation took place on 2 June 1953.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “Her Majesty The Queen has given seven decades of selfless service to our nation and we owe her an enormous debt of gratitude.

“Throughout those 70 years The Queen has been a steadfast and reassuring presence for the British people in good times and bad, as well as a hugely admired and respected figurehead for the nation across the world.

“Today is a momentous day as The Queen becomes the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee. But it will also be an emotional day for Her Majesty as she recalls the death of her father and, more recently, the passing of her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

“I wish to thank Her Majesty for her devotion to the nation. We are extremely fortunate to have her as our monarch.”

From 9 February trams will stop at West End tram stop in Shandwick Place for two months while the next stage of Trams to Newhaven is put in place. Edinburgh Trams will put alternative arrangements in place to allow passengers to continue into the city centre.

Any customers with a tram ticket, Ridacard or valid concessionary card can use Lothian Buses while the tram does not travel to the city centre stops. Or passengers can alight at Haymarket and use National Rail services to Waverley.

This involved demolishing the tram stop at York Place (which was always temporary) and a crossover linking the existing line with the new route being built.

From April Edinburgh Trams will then travel once more to the city centre, but only as far as St Andrew Square.

Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams Managing Director, said: “The closure of York Place marks a major milestone in the Trams to Newhaven project, and shows that work to expand our popular tram network is gathering pace ahead of the planned launch of services on the new line in 2023.

“However, we are aware that the closure, and temporary suspension of services to Princes Street and St Andrew Square may cause inconvenience to some customers, so these works have been scheduled during the quietist time of the year and well ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer for the city.”

In May work will begin on the new tram stop at Picardy Place – although the area is already a building site with no northbound traffic from Leith Street or London Road to Broughton Street meantime. The Picardy Place stop will be used when the Trams to Newhaven line opens in 2023.

Leith Walk

Construction works on the west side of Leith Walk are nearly complete and there are now changes to traffic diversions with traffic running city bound on the west side of the road. Meantime work continues on the pavements, public realm and new roadway on the eastern side.

Pilrig Street and Steads Place are reopened for southbound traffic although some side streets on the east side of Leith Walk will close from time to time. Check the Trams to Newhaven website for details.

Transport Convener, Cllr Lesley Macinnes, said: “We’re entering a significant phase of the Trams to Newhaven project, as we work to link the old line to the new. We are in the final year of construction for the project which will be followed by a period of testing and commissioning ahead of opening for service in Spring 2023.

“With 60% of track laid and main construction on two of the new tram stops completed, we’re making great progress and it’s exciting to be able to see elements of the new line in place, giving us an idea of how the route will look next year.

“Of course, as is expected of major infrastructure projects of this nature, there is bound to be some disruption, and I’d like to thank all those living and working nearby for their patience. We’re working hard to mitigate the impacts and will continue liaising with residents, businesses and public transport providers to keep them up to date.”

Missed opportunity?

Much discussion has taken place on social media about the cycle lanes now created. Some of these, according to reports and the photos, are not entirely straight or unimpeded. We have not yet been down there with a camera but hope to do so in the coming week. If you have any photos to share with us then please tag us on Twitter.

It is with hindsight a missed opportunity that Leith Walk will not become a public transport and active travel corridor in the same way that George Street will be in the coming years.

Traffic has admittedly been lighter on Leith Walk in the last two years, but drivers have still found alternative ways of getting about – even while avoiding Leith Walk. It would have been the ideal time to close it to traffic completely, allow drivers to find alternative routes and create a boulevard with seating and public realm areas, and space for walking, wheeling and cycling. Traders would have had to use the last mile delivery options which they have become used to during the frameworks – with handcarts and cargo bikes. On George Street there will also be designated delivery times for businesses as well as last mile options often observed in many European cities. Elsewhere in the city cargo bikes are now being used by some of the biggest courier companies.

What do you think?

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Captain Matthew Carter (pictured), Jacob Benson with two and Jonas Emmerdahl netted as Fife Flyers snapped their 12-game losing streak with a 4-2 success over Guildford Flames at Kirkcaldy despite being heavily outshot.

Dundee Stars were edged out 5-4 at league pace-setters Sheffield Steelers after leading 2-1 after 29 minutes, Matias Sointu scoring the winner with less than ten minutes left.

Elsewhere, Braylon Shmyr netted the game-winning goal on his debut as Glasgow Clan edged Nottingham Panthers in the Lace City in the Elite League.

The Canadian, who arrived from a Swedish club in midweek, netted 48 seconds into the extra session for the come from behind win.

J C A Brassard opened the scoring for Panthers after four minutes but Mathieu Roy levelled after 38 minutes.

On Sunday, Clan entertain Sheffield (16.00), Nottingham host Fife (16.00) and Dundee are at home to Guildford Flames (17.00).

Saturday: Premier Sports Elite League: Sheffield Steelers 5, Dundee Stars 4; Fife Flyers 4, Guildford Flames 2; Nottingham Panthers 1, Glasgow Clan 2 (after sudden death overtime)

WIN a £100 Gift Card to Shop, Eat and Play at The Centre, Livingston

There is so much to enjoy at The Centre, Livingston – with more than 150 favourite brands, eateries and fun ways to fill the day, you’ll find everything you need to shop, eat and play. 

If you love shopping, you will love The Centre’s retail offering with the hottest fashions to update your look in time for spring available at stores including New Look, River Island, schuh, and Xile Clothing. Or, if you’re planning to refresh your home décor, why not pop along to M&S, Primark, B&M or Wilko where you’ll find stylish and affordable home accessories – from curtains and soft furnishings, to luxe lighting and storage solutions. 

Whether you’re planning a date night, looking for a light lunch or just a quick snack to refuel between shopping sprees, The Centre has a great mix of food options – from family favourites such as wagamama and Stack & Still, to popular independent eateries like NowNow Cafe and The Wintergarden Cafe.

If you’re looking for something to do during half term The Centre is a great place for a family day out, whatever the weather has in store. Thrill seekers can enjoy adventure activities at HiClimb Adventures which offers an exhilarating mix of suspended vertical obstacles, fun climbing walls, a giant’s staircase and optional free fall bungee experience. 

For younger visitors Aerial Adventures’ three level Soft Play includes over 200 square metres of play area with swinging obstacles, crawl tubes, ball cannon and foam rollers, as well as toddler and baby areas. 

It is also easy to find the perfect gift for even your pickiest friends and family with The Centre Gift Card, available from £5 to £500. Gift Cards are accepted at over 80 stores and all restaurants in the shopping centre, letting them choose something really special for themselves. 

The Centre is giving one lucky winner the chance to win a £100 Gift Card. To enter, answer the following question by 12 February 2022 at 5pm:

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Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG) is a campaign group which provides a voice for all bus users. Ahead of the council election, the group has already drafted its manifesto, hoping to draw attention to its demands.

It asks in the manifesto for the next council to increase the budget and capacity of the council bus team and asks that the council focuses “more proactively on delivering tangible improvements for bus users”.

The group has around 60 signed up members (new members are welcome by clicking on the link on their website) and more than 700 Twitter followers. The members elect a committee each year to deal with day-to-day business, and it is made up of ordinary Edinburgh residents.

What do you hope to achieve?

We want to protect and improve Edinburgh’s bus network; bus services within Edinburgh Council’s area and others which cross its boundary.

Edinburgh has a much-loved bus network which is the envy of other cities, but it’s been rather taken for granted and, even before Covid, there were dark clouds on the horizon. We want to help ensure that it has a strong, long-term future, meeting Edinburgh residents’ needs.

Why is this important?

It is essential because without a strong, user-friendly and growing bus network, Edinburgh cannot be a sustainable, thriving city. Good public transport is at the heart of successful cities world-wide, and in Edinburgh that means, in the main, buses.

What form does your campaign have?

We always start with a different question: What is in the interest of bus users? Sometimes that means, for example, looking at bus stop design, sometimes at wider issues like the City Mobility Plan, or transport policy.

Since we started in 2019, we’ve spent a lot of time responding to the Council’s consultations and actions. Recently we have tried to be more proactive, for example by creating Bus Stop Audits to highlight the ways that bus stops could be improved.

In the run-up to May this year, we’ll be challenging candidates and parties in the Council elections on what they’d do for bus services.

We’re still quite a small group, so we concentrate on city-wide issues. Where there’s an issue which is important to one or two particular communities, we can best spend our efforts supporting local campaigns…we aim to help, not to take over, local initiatives.

We spend a fair bit of time collaborating with other sustainable transport interests.

We are careful to keep ourselves independent of operators, local or national authorities, political parties and trade unions.

How can people reading this article help?

By joining up (it’s free). And, whether a member or not, letting us know about relevant issues with the bus services you use. Of course, we can’t promise to solve your problems, but it’s important that we know what’s happening out there.

For those who’d like to go a bit further, there are still vacancies on our Committee. It would be particularly good to get more input from younger people, and the south/south west and west of the city.

https://edinburghbususers.group

EBUG looks out out for Edinburgh’s bus passengers and services. It is a campaign which aims to provide a voice for bus users, and is committed to protecting and improving Edinburgh’s bus network for the benefit of bus users and potential users.

The group is concerned with bus services operating within The City of Edinburgh Council area and those which cross its boundary, and with city-wide, rather than local, issues. The group says that while Edinburgh’s bus network is popular and is widely considered a model service by people within and outside Edinburgh, it faces a number of issues, changes and challenges.

EBUG is committed to sustainable transport, and is user/supporter led, independent of any operator, local or national authority, political party or trade union.

Participation in EBUG is open to anyone with an interest on that basis, and the body co-operates with other user-focused groups, such as Bus Users Scotland at a national level.

Ahead of the local elections in May EBUG has drafted a manifesto which you can read below:

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Scotland’s Under-20 side got their 2022 U20 6 Nations campaign underway against England at Edinburgh Rugby’s DAM Health Stadium on Friday night.

On paper, the visitors were probably the favourites to take the win, but Scotland had a new management team behind them, so nothing was set in stone.

Early on though, that stone looked as if it would crumble as England set up camp inside the home 22 for the first seven or eight minutes, winning a couple of penalties and using their pack to try to roll the Scots back over their line.

However, Scotland were more than up to the task and the early pressure was weathered well, and they eventually won the ball back through a penalty.

Then they proceeded to push England back through a combination of forward play and a well worked passing and running through the backs. Within a short period, they were set up on the left of English try line and the pack set to work.

Some rucking and mauling and a penalty advantage, or two, saw the the ball over the line in the hands of No. 8, Ollie Leatherbarrow for the first of his two – with another disallowed – tries for 5-0.

Another penalty soon after the restart saw full back, Robin McClintock, rattle the post with a long-range drop goal attempt under advantage.

An advantage Scotland couldn’t take was from their subsequent line out which went somewhat awry, handing the ball back to England for a scrum.

A couple of quick passes infield from there, along the 5 meter line, left full back, Henry Arundell with ‘only’ 95 metres to the line… Well, once he had cleared the first couple of defenders, the way opened up and a superb display of outright speed catapulted the young English player through for a superb try and the equaliser for 5-5 after 22 minutes. ‘Try of the Match’, though? There were to be contenders for that…

However, Scotland weren’t phased and in the following period of play, they were up hammering away again at the English line.

The pack were, at this point, clearly on top of their counterparts and, in a series of rucks, mauls and penalties, they soon had Leatherbarrow over the line for his ‘second’ try. However, the TMO had a long look and the ball was deemed ‘held up’, so another penalty it was.

With the English pack under pressure, Scotland went for the 5-metre scrum and, from the back, Leatherbarrow, lifted the ball and powered over for his ‘actual’ second try and 10-5. Christian Townsend then followed up with the conversion for 12-5 with eight minutes left on the clock.

As the half drew to a close, England were making some progress through the backs, but it was to be their pack that came roaring back with a try as they deceived the Scots from a penalty line out with a ball went to the front and they powered over into the corner for 12-10.

Early in the second half, Scotland extended their lead with their third try on the night.

Picking up an an English mistake, winger Ross McKight broke clear, but was foiled in his attempt by Arundell, but the ball came back and a string of passes and carries had the ball on the other side of the field. A quickly set up ruck left space which the other wing, Ollie Melville, exploited to fight through and stretch over the line for 17-10 after 45 minutes.

A couple of minutes later it was 17-13 as England won a penalty within kicking distance and substitute, Jamie Benson slotted the ball home for the points.

Four minutes later, England, in the guise of Arundell, scored their second ‘Try of the Match’. The ball was slung across to the full back deep inside his own 22 and spotting a gap in the advancing line, nipped through and took off. He made it as far as 10 metres short, but he was run down by one of the Scottish defenders. But, following up was scrum half, Tom Carr-Smith, who collected the inside pass to trot over for the try. With the conversion added, it was now 17-20 after 56 minutes.

The match then settled down for a while as both teams tried to get the upper hand, but it was to be a yellow card for Scotland sub, Olujare Oguntibeju, after a string of penalties had the referee hand out a warning.

Less than five minutes later, it was 34-17 as first, Toby Knight powered over from close range, followed up by England’s third ‘Try of the Match’!

Sub, George Hendy started it all off from, again, England’s 22. He evaded a couple of fairly desperate tackles from a, tiring, Scots’ defence to run the length of the pitch, only relinquishing the ball in the final few metres to inside centre, Ethan Grayson. Both were converted and Scotland had a mountain to climb.

Then it was the host’s turn to come back, A powerful break down the centre by lock, Max Williamson had Scotland inside the opposition 22. The ball then came loose, but swift reactions first saw a kick through from centre, Duncan Munn, who followed in to dive on the ball in the goal area,

But, it was all for naught as another TMO decision went against the young Scottish side when the ‘loose ball’ was adjudged to have been lost forward, so it was ‘no try’.

What wasn’t a ‘no try’ was England’s final score in the 76th minute when their Tom Litchfield fired in from close range. With the extras, it was 42-17 with less than four minutes left.

Or, maybe that should that have been ‘less than seven minutes left’, as the home side made a last onslaught on the English line with their forwards crashing along the line in overtime. Eventually a slew of penalties and a yellow card allowed Gregor Hiddleston to burrow over for the try and a match bonus-point. Townsend then converted for a final score of 24-42.

Images from the match will appear here over the next few days.

George Heriot’s School is an Edinburgh landmark. Its towers and turrets rise above the narrow streets of the Old Town, its alumni have succeeded in every sphere. The school was established in 1628 and now a new novel tells the fascinating life story of the school’s founder, jeweller to the King and one of Edinburgh’s most famous sons.

In The Queen’s Lender Jean Findlay gives us a wonderful insight into life in 17^th century Edinburgh and London, and in particular the extravagant, intrigue-ridden, courts of James Stuart and his Danish consort, Anna.

The story begins in 1593, when both the King’s and George Heriot’s wives are pregnant.  Queen Anna, who is just 17 years old, loves jewels, and James – desperate for an heir – is ready to indulge her every whim, so Heriot is a frequent visitor to the palace. He and his own wife, Christian, live above his workshop in Fishmarket Close.

“It is past midnight and the Royal Mile is brisk with life. Shouts and laughter, the hum of warm and ribald talk in the tavern next door. A slice of fiddle music each time the door opens…Fishmarket Close, a smelly wynd but narrow and steep so the bones and guts from the fish shops will sluice downhill in the rain.”

Findlay excels in conveying the nature of a place, be it the Queen’s own private chamber, an Edinburgh close, a fragrant garden, or a claustrophobic cabin in a ship at sea. We are there, we smell the flowers and the fish, we see the vomit.

Heriot’s life will run in parallel with Anna’s; for he is not only an acclaimed jeweller, who loves precious stones for their beauty rather than their acquisition, but also a canny man of business. Through all the ups, and the many downs, of his working life he will keep meticulous accounts, and he is shrewd in his dealings with the court. No sooner has he made a new piece for Anna or James than every courtier wants one; fashion is all. At the palace clothes and jewellery convey not only rank and status; they send messages. Everything is symbolic. Ambitious courtiers compete to assert their importance;  Heriot charges them in advance, and far more than he charges the King. His wealth increases. Anna gives his rings as gifts to visiting ambassadors; his work is seen all over Europe.

Anna, meanwhile, has no idea about money, so Heriot lends it to her. It comes back to him as payment for his work, and he still owns the debt, carefully recorded in his ledgers. He becomes, in fact, her private banker. George may bear physical similarities to Anna’s James:

“But (he is) a much gentler version, and one that listens.“

And there is one more glaring difference: Heriot balances his books, while the King and Queen spend with reckless abandon, which in the end cannot fail to lead to trouble.

These are violent times and the King is permanently suspicious (as well he might be, given the fate of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots) and, especially after visiting his in-laws in Denmark, obsessed with the dangers of witchcraft. He sends ‘witch hunters’ out into East Lothian to track down these wicked females. He orders witch trials and tortures, and interrogates the accused women himself. He even writes a book about it, Daemonologie (which later provides material for Macbeth.) Later, at masques in London, armed guards protect him. He and his courtiers speak in riddles, never quite meaning what they say. When, on James’ accession to the English throne, the Scottish court (and the Heriots) move to London, William Shakespeare becomes Court Playwright, and we are made even more aware of the fashion – and the need – for elliptical,  oblique, dialogue.  This is the way business is done, and life is led, at court.

Heriot to Christian:

“All is seen. All is known. They are all being watched.“

Most of the characters in this story are real, from the King himself to Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones. A few have been invented for the good of the story, but so well imagined are they that they are every bit as convincing as the names with which we are familiar. Chief among them is Lady Marjorie Boswell, top rank manipulator and George’s wife’s sister-in-law. He handles her with extreme caution and keeps Christian away from her:

“A queen bee must not only succeed herself, she must arrange that other women fall.”

But perhaps Lady Marjorie is simply doing what she can with the hand she’s been dealt; she reminds me a little of Becky Sharp. For when Findlay looks at the position of women in the 17^th century, very little of it is good. Queen Anna may live a privileged life, but in return she must churn out potential heirs at a rate of knots – for many will not survive. She has no privacy, even in childbirth – instead the room is full of courtiers (to make sure the baby is not a ‘switchling’) who sit around eating, drinking and chatting while she endures her labour. For them it is theatre. For Anna, it is agony. She thinks of the ‘witches’ she saw tortured and burned in her native Elsinore. Many women die in childbirth, many infants are stillborn or die in infancy. Midwives and other women who help women are frequently accused of witchcraft – Anna dreads this happening to her own midwife.

And even if mother and child survive, a queen’s babies are not her own. They are immediately dispatched into the care of others. Anna’s Henry is sent to the Earl of Mar at Stirling Castle, partly for his education, partly for his protection. These are dangerous times.

Politics, and especially political relations between European countries, must be considered, and improved, at all times to avoid war (James is all for peace) and protect trade. But, as is said over four centuries later, it’s complicated. Spain wants an allegiance with Scotland to put James on the English throne, and marry Prince Henry – James’s heir – off to a Spanish princess. But Spain is a Catholic country, and James has renounced his Catholic faith, partly to impress Elizabeth I, though he treads a fine line, and loathes Puritans. (Anna is less keen to give up the faith she was born to; James receives constant complaints about this, with the courtiers even saying that Anna’s favourite gentlewoman must be a Catholic ‘because her brother is a poet’…) Catholics are persecuted; an horrific incident on a journey from Edinburgh to to London illustrates all too well what vicious cruelty such persecution can take. In an effort at appeasement (for he sees himself as a version of Solomon, and takes his Divine Right to rule very seriously) James commissions his own translation of the Bible; needless to say, more arguments ensue.

In the taverns, Ben Jonson hears talk that may ring more than a few modern bells:

‘We English need separation, independence, none of your wet alliances with Spain….England has never liked Europe….We do not need them, we can fight the world alone.’

When the court moves to London, relations between James and the English courtiers are not always smooth. They mistrust him and struggle with his Scots dialect; they automatically assume that England is more important and powerful than Scotland. Anna’s name must be changed to Anne. James, in turn, packs Ben Jonson off to walk to Scotland, and insists on having porridge for breakfast.

As the court’s extravagance reaches new heights, Heriot – who profits greatly from the King and Queen’s excess – begins to question this flagrant waste; there are, he knows, much better uses to which money could be put;

“Heriot hears that…the Masque of Blackness..cost over £100,000 – enough to build a palace, or to educate the whole of Edinburgh.”

The seed of an idea is sown. And as Heriot’s eventful life draws to a close, he makes the plans that will lead to the foundation of a school and also a hospital:

“The main school will be called a hospital to cure the faitherless bairns as well as teach them. They cannot learn if they are sick.”

The Queen’s Lender may be set in the 1600s, but its themes still resonate today. It is about power, suspicion, religious strife, persecution and conspiracy, but it is above all a very human story, one of love, loss, suffering and endurance, and of a thoroughly good man, the benefits of whose philanthropy are still felt in 21st century Edinburgh. In the words of the King’s Fool:

“Curtain rise, and curtain fall, but the story goes on, and nothing finishes.

A most enjoyable book, fast-paced, informative, gripping and beautifully written, The Queen’s Lender by Jean Findlay will be published by Scotland Street Press on 14 February 2022.

https://www.scotlandstreetpress.com/event/celebrating-george-heriot-the-queens-lender-launch-event

Ambitious and expansive new work by Amie Siegel to debut at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in March 2022

The National Galleries of Scotland have commissioned and acquired a major new artwork by the internationally renowned artist Amie Siegel. Bloodlines (2022) is the first of the American artist’s works to enter Scotland’s national collection and will debut at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) from the 12 March 2022.

Bloodlines is an expansive moving image artwork in which Siegel eloquently and poetically considers complex networks of art, pedigree and cultural identification. Filmed in numerous private estates across the UK, including on the Isle of Bute, as well as at public institutions, Bloodlines offers an intimate look into the world of cultural property, exploring the ownership of heritage and distinctions between private and public realms. 

One of Siegel’s most ambitious works to date, Bloodlines exemplifies the artist’s understated mastery of form, revealing systems of class and inherited wealth, while subtly suggesting colonialism’s role in establishing and perpetuating these structures. 

Siegel has long been interested in the lives of artworks and objects—how they gain cultural meaning and value. Bloodlines follows the loan and movement of paintings by the English artist George Stubbs (1724-1806) from aristocratic homes and private estates to their exhibition in a public art gallery, and subsequent return to their home locations. The Stubbs paintings are first depicted within the lavish décor and stillness of the stately home interiors, then take on a new appearance and presence when installed by museum workers and seen on gallery walls by a viewing public.

Siegel uses juxtaposition, contrast, and repetition to create a rich constellation of images and ideas, allowing the resulting narrative to unfold associatively for the viewer. Motifs such as flowers, fireplaces, dogs, horses, and other creatures and patterns of action build and echo throughout the work, accruing meaning. The viewer becomes aware of distinctions between interior and exterior worlds, as well as the absence and presence of people; stillness and movement; animate beings and inanimate objects; images of past and present; reality and artifice. A sense of empathy is conveyed, as viewers encounter a cast of human and animal protagonists.  

Ultimately, Siegel’s controlled and evocative stagecraft—carefully composed tracking shots, exquisite framing, precise editing, and compelling rhythm—exposes the dual processes of image-making and looking. Her deliberate execution of Bloodlines, using a seductive cinematic language, mirrors both the expressive surfaces of Stubbs’ paintings and the sumptuous interiors and grounds of the stately homes that helped provide his very subjects. In this way, she directs our gaze, and opens a window onto visions of cultural identity held tightly within the frameworks that fix its imagery, just as the surrounding world changes around us.

• Portrait of Amie Siegel by Grant Delin

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “This is an incredibly important acquisition of a new work by Amie Siegel, an artist of international renown who has long been on our wish list. Filmed entirely in the UK, this beautiful and compelling work is exemplary of Siegel’s uncanny ability to consider and observe the lives of objects and their settings to profound and moving ends. While taking the particular contexts in which paintings by Stubbs have been collected, cared for and exhibited as her starting point, the themes Siegel explores in Bloodlines are universal. The work offers an exquisite meditation on time and place, and how social structures are defined and understood, ideas which resonate in our contemporary world. We are thrilled to be premiering the work, and proud to give Bloodlines a permanent home in Scotland’s national collection.”

The work has been acquired by National Galleries of Scotland thanks to the generosity of Art Fund and the Contemporary Art Society, whose contributions supported the production of the work, alongside additional production support from Princess Grace Foundation, New York and PALOMAR. Bloodlines will be on display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) from 12 March 2022 as part of the exhibition New Arrivals: from Salvador Dalí to Jenny Saville. It will also be on display at Thomas Dane Gallery, London, from 26 April 2022. 

Find out more about Amie Siegel on the Thomas Dane Gallery website. 

Miles Briggs MSP has called for a National Allotment Viability Study to review potential land which could be developed for allotments and community growing spaces.

In a question at Holyrood, Mr Briggs asked the Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Mairi McAllan, if she would agree to his request to take forward a National Allotment Viability Study with all Government agencies and support his call for all public bodies to develop land for allotments and community growing spaces.

Mr Briggs said that the average wait in Edinburgh for people to access an allotment is over eight years with East Lothian standing at over 15 years, and that there are currently 4,259 people and families on waiting lists for an allotment in the capital.  

Miles said: “Allotments and community growing spaces in the capital are in extremely high demand, with waiting times of eight years and over not unusual.

“Growing your own produce as huge benefits, including mental health and financial, as well as having healthy seasonal vegetables to cook with.

“Reducing the carbon foot print of the food that we all consume is in line with national goals of becoming carbon neutral.

“The demand for allotments spaces and community growing spaces is obviously there and a National Allotment Viability Study could go a long way to increasing capacity for people to grow their own produce.”

Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Mairi McAllan, said: “The Scottish government has allocated over £1.4 million to directly support and increase land available for community growing and, more widely, our £50 billion Vacant and Derelict Land Investment programme supports a variety of community regeneration projects, and our Scottish Land Fund with a budget of £10 million that supports communities to take ownership of land and buildings which can include the provision of allotments.

“I am aware of the concerns in Edinburgh. I know that there’s 1,900 allotment plots and 69 community growing projects managed already by The City of Edinburgh Council.

“I am also aware that the pandemic had the effect of both encouraging people to take up allotments, but equally making it a very crowded landscape.

“However, as I said in my initial answer and for more specificity on the point raised, I would direct the member to Edinburgh Council whose statutory responsibility, allotments in Edinburgh are.”

A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson replied to our enquiry stating that many fewer allotments than people on the waiting list are planned. The spokesperson said: “Since lockdown, there has been increased demand for allotments and growing spaces in the city, and we have been actively working to increase allotment provision and the number of allotment plots in Edinburgh. 

“In response to this our third allotment strategy aims to ensure adequate provision of allotments and other growing spaces by investigating potential new sites, encouraging people to directly establish and manage new allotments on Council-owned land, and the creation of new allotments as part of the planning process for new developments. 

“We have already carried out a series of feasibility studies for allotment plots in Edinburgh. The most recent study, in partnership with the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust, identified six further sites as having greatest suitability for development as allotments and/or community gardens. Subject to consultation, it is anticipated that these sites have the potential to add an extra 200 allotment plots to the Council’s allotment provision.”

On Thursday, Hearts announced the appointment of former Preston North End head coach, Frankie McAvoy as their new Academy Director after the departure of Roger Arnott last month. 

McAvoy (54) knows Scottish football well having previously worked as Academy Director for Hamilton Academical, who are renowned for developing young players. 

In 2013, he followed Alex Neil to Preston North End and would eventually link up with the current Hearts sporting director, Joe Savage. 

He then departed Preston in December 2021 and has now moved up to Edinburgh to begin his new role with the Hearts academy. 

The Hearts manager, Robbie Neilson expressed his delight at the appointment and explained how vital it is for the Hearts academy to keep developing young talents. 

He said: “Yeah, I’m delighted to get Frankie in.

“I have known him for a long time, since he was at Hamilton and produced a lot of young players. Then he went down to England with Alex and Joe and back up to come into that academy role and I think he will do very well for us.

“Developing young players has got to be key for us. The difficulty we had last year in the Championship is that there was no reserve football, so a lot of these guys had to go out on loan and then they were out with our bubble.

“Then, this season, again there is no reserves, but now we have these guys out playing regularly in League One and League 2 and hopefully they will progress, and I will look at them in the summer and bring a couple of them into the group or maybe put them out again at a higher level. Because we are now at a level where they have to be very good to come in and play in our team.”

Hearts travel to Ibrox on Sunday to take on a Rangers side, still licking their wounds after a damaging Old Firm defeat on Wednesday. 

A late Craig Halkett goal saw Hearts leave Govan with a point back in October; however, the Hearts boss has urged his side to go one better and this time leave Glasgow with all 3 points. 

“Winning in Glasgow is something we spoke about at the start of the season and something we want to do,” Neilson explained. It has been a long, long time since hearts have been able to do that consistently and we have still not done it. 

“We have had a decent season so far but that remains an objective and we want to do that this year. We now have another opportunity on Sunday.”

Hearts will remain without Michael Smith and Craig Halkett; however, John Souttar should be available for selection after participating in Friday’s training session. 

“Michael is out and so is Halkett, although, I expect John to be fit,” Neilson confirmed. 

“He did a wee bit of running today. Hopefully he gets through that fine and then he will train on Saturday with a view to being available for the game.”

Souttar has signed a pre-contract with the Glasgow club, however Neilson reiterated that he has no concerns about starting the Hearts defender against his future employers. 

“John is one of our best players and you want your best players to play. John knows the situation and he has dealt with it very well.

“For me, there is not a conundrum at all. I think it’s getting built up with everyone else talking about it.

“We have a squad here and he’s one of our better players. If he is fit he plays. If he is not fit he won’t play. That’s it. Everyone else talks about this and that but John’s a top professional and a top player and I know when he goes out on the pitch he will give 100 per cent. 

“Right from the start when we knew this was happening we spoke to John and said this is what we are looking for. John agreed with it, but the fee never came. At the end of the day if the money doesn’t get paid then the player doesn’t go.

“He’s been great right the way through. He understands the situation. He’s been here for a number of years and his main objective now is, first and foremost, to get us European football and secondly stay in the Scotland set-up. If he continues to play the way he has been playing he will do that.”

A huge whisky storage facility could be built in Edinburgh under new plans submitted to the council.

Covering an area equivalent of more than two football fields at the Royal Elizabeth Yard Industrial Estate, north of Kirkliston, the development would hold spirits from distilleries all across Scotland during the lengthy ageing process. 

The proposals, lodged by North Planning and Development on behalf of Cinnamon Sledge, show eight giant bonded warehouses would be built alongside a tank farm, tanker filling bay, welfare facilities and “associated work”.

The site, which exceeds two hectares in size, would be accessed from Milton Farm Road.

Developers say they are at the “very beginning” of the planning process and discussions are ongoing with city planners to develop a masterplan for the mammoth whisky store.

They say public consultation events will be held with the local community in spring and expect plans to be formally submitted later in the year.

Meanwhile, a project website containing more information on the proposed development is expected to go live later in the month.

In a pre-application report, which will go before councillors next week, officers state: “The design, scale and layout are acceptable within the character of the area.

“The site is identified as being within the greenbelt within the Edinburgh Local
Development Plan.

“Access arrangements are acceptable in terms of road safety and public transport accessibility.

“The applicant will be required to provide transport information to demonstrate how the proposal prioritises active travel and is aligned with parking standards, including service arrangements and cycle parking provision.

“The applicant will be required to submit sufficient information to demonstrate that the site can be developed without having an unacceptable detrimental impact on the environment.”

Whisky is traditionally stored in dunnage warehouses which are specially designed for the maturation process, with thick walls, low ceilings and casks stacked no more than three barrels high.

Another, more modern method involves casks being placed in frames and stacked on their side a dozen or more barrels high.

The most common form of storage in large-scale whisky production is to use palletised warehouses, which have concrete floors and are taller, allowing for more barrels to be stacked.

However, it is not yet known which warehouse design the Kirkliston development will use.

by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

The cost of acting on the findings of an inquiry into whistle-blowing and workplace culture at The City of Edinburgh Council is set to top £10 million over the next five years.

That is in addition to £1.37 million paid for two investigations by independent inquiry chair, Susanne Tanner, QC, who ruled that a senior social worker at the centre of abuse allegations was protected by an “old boys network” and called for “transformational change” to how allegations of misconduct are handled.

The first report into former senior social worker Sean Bell, who died whilst facing criminal charges in 2020, urged the council to review its sexual abuse policy to include situations with employees that arise outside the workplace and outside of work hours.

It also recommended setting up a dedicated independent investigation unit within the council to look into all allegations in relation to employees of a sexual nature, domestic abuse, physical violence, harassment or stalking.

In the second report, commissioned on the back of the initial findings, Ms Tanner said there is “not a universally positive, open, safe and supportive whistle-blowing and organisational culture for the raising of and responding to concerns of wrongdoing within The City of Edinburgh Council”.

She said “strides have been taken” since a new whistle-blowing policy was introduced in 2014, but stressed “not enough” had changed within the council.

However, in an employee survey carried out as part of the inquiry, nearly half said they had not seen an improvement since 2015 in the council’s culture for reporting serious concerns.

In total, 50 recommendations for improving workplace culture were made, and unanimously accepted by councillors in December.

It’s now been revealed that over the next five years the council will spend £11.5 million on implementing the changes outlined in the reports.

The sum, which is an estimate the council says could change over time, will go towards hiring new staff specially trained to deal with serious allegations and other costs associated with taking forward the recommendations.

Furthermore, victims of Sean Bell will be compensated through the fund.

The council has grouped areas for improvement under five themes: “Policy Development and Review, Our Approach to Investigations, Training and Development, Systems and Processes and a Redress Scheme designed tocompensate those who suffered as a consequence of the actions of Bell.”

£1.5 million has been set aside for the rest of 2021/22, and £2.5 million is budgeted for each following year.

A report with a detailed breakdown of how this money will be spent will go before councillors next week.

Hugh Dunn, head of finance at The City of Edinburgh Council, said: “There’s been extensive work and input between finance, HR colleagues and colleagues in legal services and corporate services generally.

“There’s a full report going to council next week which will set out out the detailed cost and breakdown of that regarding staff and other costs that’ll be needed.”

Council Leader, Cllr Adam McVey said: “I want to thank everyone who came forward to speak to the Inquiry and Review teams, including colleagues past and present. I know this has been a really difficult process for those affected but it is thanks to their testimonies that we are now in a position to implement these changes and deliver positive change.

“The culture of the Council has to be as positive, open, safe and supportive as it can be so that colleagues can feel confident in raising issues and that they will be properly investigated and responded to. Although there has been positive progress and improvements to the Council’s whistleblowing and organisational culture in recent years, Ms Tanner has outlined more work to do.

“This implementation plan outlines the next steps we need to take to make sure the Council is in the very best position it can be to support our colleagues and continue to deliver the best services for the people of Edinburgh.”

Depute Leader Cllr Cammy Day added: “Having gone through what has been an exceptionally difficult process, particularly for those who came forward so bravely, we now have a clear idea of the steps we need to take to drive forward meaningful change to the Council’s whistleblowing and organisational culture. We must ensure that people can raise issues of concern, be confident they will be listened to and appropriate action is taken.

“This implementation plan outlines the challenges that lie ahead, both in terms of the financial commitment and level of resources required, but it’s vital that we grasp this opportunity and continue working together to make further positive changes to our organisation.”

by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

Lord Wallace, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has paid tribute to the Queen’s “faithful service to country and Commonwealth” on the 70^th anniversary of her reign.

“Today, let us give thanks to God for her unstinting commitment to our service, and for the faith which has fortified her during her reign,” he said.

Lord Wallace’s full message, which was released to mark the occasion, reads:

“Today, we mark with the 70^th Anniversary of The Queen’s accession to the throne and give thanks for 70 years of faithful service to country and Commonwealth. But let us recall too, that for the Queen, this is also the anniversary of the death of her dear father, King George. And poignantly, this is the first time she has commemorated this significant date, since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, whose steadfast support was so important to her.

“These seventy years have seen immense change in the country and the world. Throughout that time the Queen has been a constant in our lives; indeed, for many of us, the only monarch we have known.

She is known to have a genuine and lasting affection for Scotland, and hopefully, during the Jubilee year, the people of Scotland will be able to celebrate with her.

“Today, let us give thanks to God for her unstinting commitment to our service, and for the faith which has fortified her during her reign.

“On her 21st birthday, the then Princess Elizabeth said, ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service’.

“Gladly, it has been a long life and surely no vow has been more dutifully honoured.”

Perhaps because we’ve got so much of it, we Scots have been slow to realise that the price of energy has to rise.  So it has come as a shock to us to learn that the typical gas and electricity bill is to increase by 54 per cent from 1 April.  That will put the average annual cost for a household at almost £2,000.

Our bills have been held artificially low by OFGEM, the government’s energy regulator, but it can no longer stand against the rising tide of wholesale oil and gas prices. The UK Government has stepped in to ease the transition with an immediate £200 grant towards each household bill, to be paid back in £40 payments over the next five years.  There’s also an extra £300 million for The Scottish Government to spend on helping those in most need.  But it will still mean hardship for most of the 12 per cent of Scottish households in “fuel poverty” (paying more than 10 per cent of their weekly income on energy.)  

The irony of fuel poverty in energy-rich Scotland has not gone unnoticed by the SNP. They have long pointed out that we have been blessed with some of the best energy resources in Europe.  We started with windmills and watermills, then moved on to coal, then to oil and gas and now back to wind and water which can supply all our domestic electricity and, when the wind blows, much more for export.   

Why didn’t we see that coal and oil would come to an end sooner rather than later ?  They are, after all, finite resources, subject to ever higher costs and are the cause of catastrophic climate change. The UK government still doesn’t quite “get it” because this week it approved the opening of yet another oil field, “Abigail” off the Aberdeenshire coast.  

We are going to have to learn to save energy, insulate our buildings better, wear more clothing, switch off unnecessary lights, use our cars less and pay higher fuel bills.  And all this hair-shirt austerity comes just as we are climbing out of two years of pandemic restrictions and facing other rises in the cost of living – inflation at 5.4 per cent, the base interest rate doubling to 0.5 per cent. The Bank of England has just told us we are likely to experience the steepest fall in living standards for 30 years.

To try to give the poorer regions of Britain hope of a better future, the UK’s “levelling up” minister Michael Gove has announced a package of government  initiatives to reduce the wealth gap between North and South.  Most of the measures apply to England – better transport links, money for schools, more powers over spending for local mayors.  But the devolved governments in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland will get a share of the money. However Nicola Sturgeon says it’s not new money – it’s already part of the Budget – and she’s accused Mr Gove of trying to divert attention from the “party-gate” scandal at Westminster.

There’s not much to report on the Covid front. The figures remain much as last week (8,000 cases, 1,000 in hospital, 17 deaths a day). There’s been a slow return to the office for workers no longer required to work from home. And there is growing pressure on the government to end the waring of face masks in senior school classrooms.

The story that has captured most of the headlines this week concerns a footballer at Raith Rovers in Kirkcaldy.  On Monday the club signed the high-goal- scoring captain of Clyde Football Club, David Goodwillie.  Unfortunately they failed to realise what an outcry his arrival would cause because it soon emerged that Goodwillie was found to be a rapist in a civil court case back in 2017. He’d protested his innocence, believing he had the woman’s consent, but the judge ruled against him and he was ordered to pay compensation.

A stream of resignations followed, a former club chairman, the match announcer, the captain of the ladies side, and most devastating of all, the crime writer Val McDermid, a long-time supporter and sponsor of the club. All week, the directors tried to stand against the wind, saying it was purely a footballing decision. But by Thursday they were forced to admit “We got it wrong” and Goodwillie’s contract was ended before he’d kicked a ball.

It has provoked a difficult national debate.  Why hasn’t Goodwillie accepted the judge’s decision, apologised and shown contrition? Why was it OK for him to play for Clyde and not Raith? Has everything changed since the “Me Too” movement and the murder of Sarah Everard and Raonaid Murray? Can Goodwillie ever play professional football again and if not, how can he earn a living?  Can, and should, footballers live up to “roll-model” standards ?   And in Kirkcaldy itself, the difficult question is: how can the club regain the respect of its community?

In sport more widely we have a brighter weekend looming. The Winter Olympics open in Beijing with Scotland’s curling teams in good form. And at Murrayfield, the Six Nations Rugby tournament gets under way with a tantalisingly unpredictable match between Scotland and England.  May the side with the most energy win. 

An immersive pop-up 4D gallery in Edinburgh city centre featuring the work of Vincent Van Gogh is set to get planning approval.

Van Gogh Alive which has already visited 75 cities worldwide, is set to open at Festival Square on 17 March 2022 for a four month run.

A temporary structure is set to be constructed on the piazza off Lothian Road over the course of a month starting on 14 February.

The transformed site will be home to a 4D immersive gallery which will give visitors a “multi-sensory experience”.

Also included is a life-size recreation of Van Gogh’s famous Bedroom in Arles painting and a mirrored room with hundreds of sunflowers.

Tickets are already on sale and councillors are expected to grant the 1405 square metre canopy planning permission next week.

The exhibition uses Sensory4tm technology providing ultra-hi-resolution images of the 19th century painter’s work, which are projected onto screens around the gallery, with an accompanying musical soundtrack.

Plans, submitted by events company Active Sport & Entertainment, state: “Rather than walking around and viewing art in the traditional manner, Van Gogh Alive surrounds guests with light, colour, fragrance and sounds, which allows people to actively interact with the works.

“Building upon the recent success of the event with UK audiences, the applicant is seeking to bring the Van Gogh Alive exhibition to Scotland, and has identified Festival Square as a prime location in Edinburgh.

“Festival Square has hosted many temporary structures in the past to complement the annual festivals that take place in Edinburgh which attract both local people and foreign visitors to the city.”

The proposals will go before members of the council’s Development Management Sub Committee on Wednesday.

Planners have recommended that councillors grant permission and state in a report: “On balance, the benefits of this site outweigh the very minor and temporary impact that the proposal would have on the setting of neighbouring listed buildings.

“Temporary events have been held in Festival Square, as it lends itself to such events by virtue of its scale, vibrancy and commercial nature. The proposed massing is designed to scale up, away from Lothian Road, ensuring that the largest massing of the structures would be to the rear of the square and avoid forming a dominant feature along the Lothian Road streetscape.”

Van Gogh Alive will be open seven days a week throughout the period of operation.

 by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

A rapidly-growing tech firm has unveiled ground breaking software that promises to revolutionise the use of satellite data by businesses, institutions and individuals.

Earth Blox, a Scotland-based tech company, recently showcased its revolutionary satellite data analysis software in a webinar with its partner, Google.

Launched in 2019, Earth Blox is the foremost provider of consumer-level satellite intelligence that can be accessed and run from any web browser within minutes.

Earth observation is a major activity of the space sector, involving hundreds of satellites recording various types of data about the planet, and streaming it back down to specialised ground stations. This data is vital for earth-bound activities ranging from tracking deforestation and aiding agriculture, to climate change monitoring and speeding up natural disaster response time.

Previously, Earth observation data has been notoriously difficult to interpret and access in a process that, until now, required extensive practice of coding, highly specialised computer software and protracted periods of download and analysis for data ranging in the petabytes.

Earth Blox breaks this mould by using ubiquitous cloud services to deliver Earth observation data from its partners Google Earth Engine and, most recently, Planet. With a simple log-in through the web browser of its tablets or laptops, any given user can now access this near real-time raw satellite data and translate it into actionable insights.

Earth Blox’s intuitive yet powerful user interface allows users from any given technical background to effortlessly choose the dataset, analysis and display of their choice. In addition to this, collaboration and sharing functionalities make Earth Blox deceptively easy to pick up and deploy.

This attention to user experience has set Earth Blox to become a major provider of satellite data to all industries with no coding or previous knowledge about satellite data required.

“We are proud to support companies from any sector who are hard at work addressing humanitarian, environmental or sustainability challenges,” said Genevieve Patenaude, CEO of Earth Blox, “our ambition is to make Earth observation data accessible to all those that work, live and breathe sustainability.”

The company already has significant backing and collaboration for its software as a service, including Google, Planet and the United Nations. Earth Blox, thanks to its collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, is powering STRATA, a climate and environment risk platform designed for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The platform is designed to identify so-called “hotspots”: geographic areas where climate, environmental and human security stresses overlap with human exposure and vulnerability. This platform will support over 130 UN country teams with accurate and reliable data leading to improved peace and security mitigation action.

Earth Blox offers Commercial Licenses as well as heavily discounted NGO/Charity and Educational Licences.

https://www.earthblox.io/

Council bosses have warned that a further rent freeze for tenants could prevent dozens of new affordable homes from being built.

They also say that it could also stop hundreds more council  homes from getting vital upgrades needed to drive down rising energy bills.

Earlier this month councillors voted to freeze rents for the second year and halt a planned 1.8 per cent increase in response to the continued rise in the cost of living.

If approved at the 2022/23 budget meeting on Thursday 24 February the move could result in a reduction of £1.8 million to the council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA), which is predominantly funded through tenants’ rents. It pays for the construction of new social housing and repairs and improvements to existing properties.

Officers investigating the effect of a continued freeze said reducing investment as a way of mitigating the impact on finances would make the council’s goal of building 10,000 new affordable homes by 2027 unachievable.

In a report presented to the Finance and Resources Committee on Thursday they added it could mean “a reduction of 160 new social rented homes”.

It is estimated 1,070 council houses would no longer receive retrofit improvements such as insulation and air source heat pumps which help to keep bills down and reduce emissions.

And with the cost of heating homes set to soar further, as a 54 per cent rise to the energy price cap is announced by government regulator Ofgem, any delay to upgrades would come as devastating news to many.

When surveyed on their preferred rent increase for the year ahead, 63 per cent of a sample of council tenants backed a 1.8 per cent rise.

However, Edinburgh’s SNP and Labour coalition pushed for the freeze after so many tenants reported struggling financially and the move was backed by councillors.

Officers said another option for reducing the impact of another freeze on long-term housing projects is “significant rent increases in future years.”

They added a four per cent rise in 2023/24 and two per cent thereafter would  “lessen the impact and duration of the deficit” and that a longer-term strategy “would be required to ensure the recovery of lost income in early years.”

The report reads: “A further rent freeze in 2022/2023 would have a significant impact on the ability to deliver planned large scale investment in existing and new homes.

“The impact could not be mitigated through further elongating capital investment; it would either require significant rent increases in future years or the withdrawal/reduction of housing services or a reduction in investment in new and existing homes or a combination of all of the above.”

Councillor Alex Staniforth, Green party finance spokesperson, said: “In light of rising energy bills, it’s even more important at least for this year that rents are frozen whilst people have to cope with the hugely inflationary rise. But equally, with the cost of heating so high it’s obvious that renovating homes so that they retain heat better and are more ecological is the way forward.

“With those two pressures, I think the solution must lie in drawing in outside funding, whether from The Scottish Government or wherever, because we cannot expect hard-pushed people to pay for these renovations on their own. But at the same time these renovations absolutely must happen as fast as possible.”

Councillor Staniforth said discussions are “ongoing” into how additional funding can be sourced, adding: “I couldn’t give any conclusions but that is certainly high up in our discussions both between ourselves and with officers at the moment.”

 by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) will mark John Williams’ 90th birthday next weekend, performing music from some of his most memorable scores. Conductor Anthony Weeden will bring Williams’ much loved film music to life, including favourites from Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws and Jurassic Park, alongside presenter Tommy Pearson.

Scotland’s National Orchestra has developed a strong reputation performing Williams’ music over recent years, with critics and fans alike enjoying the characterful programmes. In 2018, the RSNO was even granted the huge honour of being first orchestra outside of the United States to perform music from Star Wars: The Last Jedi live. The composer himself even wrote to the RSNO musicians to thank them for playing his music. 

In a career that has spanned over five decades, no composer has conquered the film industry as comprehensively as Williams, with over 50 Oscar nominations to his name. The RSNO hopes to help audiences in Scotland get into the swing of the awards season as they celebrate the Academy’s most-nominated living person’s 90^th birthday in style, with this full-scale symphonic tribute.

Tickets for the Edinburgh concert are on sale now here

John Williams Birthday Celebration

Edinburgh Friday 11 February 2022 at 7.30pm

Filling the walls of The Scottish Gallery this February will be the incredible landscapes of the Scottish Borders and the West Coast in a series of new works by Scottish landscape artist Charles Simpson. For those yearning for the beauty of the Scottish countryside, these evocative and contemplative works, which were created in the context of the isolation of 2020, bring a new perspective on the surrounding landscapes.

With travel restrictions at the time limiting visits to the West Coast, and heavy snowfall confining Simpson to his immediate vicinity, ambitious winter scenes from around his home in Clovenfords comprise the heart of the exhibition.

Reflecting on the time spent at home in 2020, Simpson said “To be able to work satisfactorily I find I need physical and metaphorical space around me. I was now seeing my more immediate surroundings afresh, particularly, and conveniently, just at my back door”.

The subjects ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ are divided between the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders and scenes from the north-west of Scotland, creating an exhibition of two distinct halves. While the West Coast subject matter usually dominates Simpson’s work, in ‘Home & Away’ dramatic coastal scenes of Achiltibuie, Mull and Iona become the foil to snowy and domestic scenes from Clovenfords.

This contrast will be presented as separate groups of work when hung in The Gallery, highlighting the interplay between warm and cool tones and demonstrating Simpson’s skill and subtlety as a colourist.

Simpson’s works reflect the landscape around him, full of the details of nature; a moving cloud as it crosses the Sound of Sleat, or the abstract forms of fields and fences. His own notes on his works are full of the names of the plants and birds he depicts.

Included in the exhibition will be a series of never before seen watercolours, created to illustrate two children’s books. These joyful works on paper offer a fascinating counterpoint to Simpson’s work in the landscape.

Tommy Zyw, Director at The Scottish Gallery commented, “Charles Simpson is a painter who approaches the landscape with his eyes wide open. Only through looking, with patience and familiarity, might a moment, however fleeting, materialize as something that he has never seen before”.

Also at the Scottish Gallery in February 2022, a mixed exhibition of letter cutting in stone, ‘Impressions In Stone’, will showcase the work of two Scottish sculptors, Mary Bourne and Gus Fisher, alongside artists from all over the UK: Martin Cook, Gillian Forbes and Zoe Wilson.

This will be accompanied by a vintage exhibition of the works by David McClure, Scottish artist and lecturer and contemporary of James Morrison, best known for his paintings of still life, interiors and figurative scenes as well as his landscapes of Scotland. This exhibition which has been curated by his son Robin McClure, will focus on the artist’s early work from his travels in Sicily.

Title Chris Simpson: Home & Away
Exhibition Dates Thursday 3rd – Saturday 26th February 2022

Location The Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6HZ

The five Signature Group restaurants in Edinburgh will offer a free kids menu for half term 14-18 February.

All have a tasty selection on offer for children up to the age of ten, hoping to encourage families to support local during the school holidays while offering youngsters healthy hot meals made from local produce.

Dishes include haddock goujons, Scottish beef burgers and sausages and mash, all made with ingredients sources from local suppliers such as John Wallace the family seafood company, John Gilmour Butchers and Crombies of Edinburgh.

Hannah McConnachie, Business Development Manager for Edinburgh-based Signature Group, said: “We’re really excited to be launching a new free kids’ menu at our selected family-friendly venues across Edinburgh this February half term holidays.

“Not only do we want to encourage people back into Edinburgh to support their independent, family-friendly restaurants and bars, but we want to offer youngsters a tasty menu designed especially with them in mind. 

“Our team of development chefs have cooked up fresh and tasty new selection of free kids’ hot meals showcasing some of the best locally sourced produce from around Scotland, which we’re all really proud and are confident all our younger diners will love.”

McLarens on the Corner, Morningside

Cold Town House, Grassmarket

The Black Bull, Grassmarket

The Fountain in Fountainbridge

Badger & Co, Castle Street 

The new free kids’ menu will be available at Signature’s participating restaurants and bars all day from Monday 14th to Friday 18th February. The free kids’ menu is not available at weekends. 

The free kids’ menu is available for a maximum of two children aged up to 10 years, per dining adult. And free activity packs for children with colouring in pages, puzzles and games are also included.

Police officers investigating a robbery at a shop in Tollcross have arrested and charged two men.

At around 10.45pm on Thursday, 6 January 2022, a 24-year-old man was walking on Spey Street when he was approached and taken back to the store where he worked on Leven Street.

A four-figure sum of cash was then take from the store.Two men, aged 26 and 28, have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.They are both due to appear in Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, 3 February, 2022.

A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Detective Inspector Kevin Tait from Edinburgh Division CID, said: “We would like to thank the public for their assistance following our appeal.”

Edinburgh councillors have agreed to replicate a pair of whale bones which stood in The Meadows for more than 120 years after the originals were deemed “too fragile” to return.

The Jawbones brought to Edinburgh as part of an 1887 science and art exhibition, were built using the upper and lower jawbones of a whale.

The council removed the historic structure for restoration work in 2014, however further damage was reported following at attempt to return it to its original site last year.

The fate of the Jawbone Arch was discussed at the Culture and Communities Committee on Tuesday when council officers said reinstating the landmark to an outdoor location is “unviable” due to their fragility and the risks and costs associated with erecting the Arch.

Noting there is “significant public interest” in the giant fossils, the conservation of which is part-funded by personal donations and external grants, they suggested spending around £130,000 on creating and installing a bronze replica of the bones in the same spot in The Meadows.

Officers said this would “ensure a memorial to a much-loved local feature, while providing a solution to the current outstanding concerns,” according to officers.

The cost of moving, installing and storing the original jawbones is estimated at £30,000.

David Patterson, Collections Manager for Edinburgh Museums and Galleries, said: “The restoration of the Meadows Jawbone has been a very turbulent journey thus far but we have reached a stage now where as officers we feel we need guidance on how we move forward.”

Conservative councillor Max Mitchell questioned what the council’s plans are for the iconic arch, asking if it will be displayed publicly.

Mr Patterson responded: “It certainly is our intention to retain the original jawbones and to find some suitable location inside to re-erect them. That would preserve them in an environment that would remain stable throughout the year, you could control visitor access to them.”

Cllr Mark Brown suggested National Museum of Scotland as a suitable location, adding: “It’s such a magnificent structure and that would give it a place for a safe and controlled environment.”

Mr Patterson said displaying the bones at the Chambers Street museum is “an option we’re looking to explore”.

by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency: funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector, and used by qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.

A former Royal Navy helicopter engineer hopes to be flying high with his new Edinburgh-based boiler repair business.

Andrew Lamond, who spent four years at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, aims to establish HeatFix Scotland as Scotland’s Number 1 service repair company.

The new firm plans to deliver a same-day service unlike anything currently available in Scotland. As well as the capital, engineers will cover Falkirk, the Borders, West Lothian and East Lothian.

HeatFix Scotland will not install boilers but will instead be solely focusing on central heating servicing, repair and home cover.

“I believe we will be delivering a better product than is already out there and a service that Scotland needs,” said Mr Lamond, most recently a director at Terry Healy Group. “I want to offer an alternative to service and repair, which provides excellent customer service and excellent value for money.

“If someone phones in before midday, our promise is to have an engineer with them that day. They will have an extensive van stock with them with the intention to fix whatever the problem is.

“If, for whatever reason, we can’t repair it there and then, we will have the part by 8am the following morning. Our target is to have all repairs carried out within 24 hours of the first call.

“I plan to assemble the most experienced and professional team of engineers in the region. They will cover everywhere from Gala in the Borders to Fife, North Berwick to Broxburn and will look after a customer’s property as if it is their own.

“All the engineers will be local and I want there to be a real family-friendly feel to our customer service. It’s important to me that a bond is built up between us and our customers.”

After his spell in the Navy, Andrew returned home to Scotland and retrained to be a gas engineer.

Having set up ALG Boiler Services, in September 2020 he merged with Terry Healy Group to establish Terry Healy Heating before taking on this latest venture.

“I had been based in Cornwall at one of the largest helicopter bases in Europe for four years and although I really enjoyed it, I decided I wanted to come back home to Edinburgh,” he said.

“There weren’t many anti-submarine helicopters in the city so I knew I would have to retrain for another career! It has gone well since then and I’m very excited about what the future holds. Setting up a business in a pandemic comes with its own challenges but I know what we offer and am confident it is the right move.”

The firm expects to have 10 employees in place to start with, the intention to see that figure double within the first year of operation as business grows.

Training will be given on a regular basis to help ensure engineers remain at the top of their game, ready to deliver the latest heating technologies.

“We have been able to put in place a strong business plan from the outset and I’m looking forward to seeing HeatFix quickly establish itself in Scotland,” added Mr Lamond.

For more information see http://heatfixscotland.com/

The Western chimpanzee Masindi has celebrated her second birthday at Edinburgh Zoo.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has shared new images of the chimp. The Western chimpanzee is a critically endangered species.

As the youngest of the troop at the wildlife conservation charity’s Budongo Trail, Masindi spent her big day with presents filled with delicious treats including straw, peanuts, sunflower seeds and chickpeas.  

Born on 3 February 2020 Masindi shares her name with the nearest town to the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda, where RZSS has funded vital efforts to protect chimpanzees in the Budongo forest since 2005. This work is made possible thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.