Five things you need to know today
Going to the polls in Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart, Opening The Usher Institute, subscribe to our monthly newspaper to have it delivered at home or at work
By-election Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart
The council by-election in Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart takes place today.
The count is carried out electronically and takes place this evening at Waverley Court. We will bring you the news as soon as it is announced - but the wifi coverage inside the council building is practically nil...
The 13 candidates are:
Bonnie Prince Bob, Independent
Derrick Emms, Independent
Lukasz Furmaniak, Scottish Libertarian Party
Mark Hooley, Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Richard Crewe Lucas, Scottish Family Party
Q Manivannan, Scottish Greens
Kevin Joseph McKay, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Catriona Munro, Scottish Labour Party
Gary Neill, Reform UK
Mark Rowbotham, Independent
Murray Visentin, Scottish National Party (SNP)
Steve Christopher West, Independent
Marc Wilkinson, Independent
Read all about the candidates here.
New post office
Post Office is proposing to relocate Wester Hailes Post Office to a new location – Plaza News, Unit 23-26 Upper Ground Floor Level, Westside Plaza, Edinburgh, EH14 2SW.
Wester Hailes Post Office, which is currently directly managed by Post Office, would be run by our new retail franchise partner at the new location within the same shopping centre.
Father and son, Mohammed and Aamir Arshad have run Plaza News, a hardware and convenience store, since 2016. Previously they ran Whitecraig Post Office and off-licence store in Musselburgh for six years.
Documentary premiere
Space @ The Broomhouse Hub and the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) on Tuesday welcomed community members and government officials to the premiere of the documentary Scottish Hands for Ukrainians: How the ‘Living and Working in Scotland’ Project Helped Ukrainian Refugees Rebuild their Life.
The film, directed by Serhii Leschenko, highlights Space’s two-year-long Living and Working in Scotland Project, which helped Ukrainians rebuild their lives in a new country.
Hazel Lyons, Living and Working in Scotland Project Worker, said: “The Living and Working in Scotland project has been such a success and one that I’m most proud of. I found out through talking to Ukrainians that their main barriers were confidence levels, mental health, and limited English skills, as well as little or no work experience in this country. So, I wanted to do something to help.
“I’m so proud of the Ukrainians I have worked with. They have achieved so much. I see that their confidence has improved, and they have made many friends through their interactions. Although the project has ended, we will stay in touch and hope Space will get more funding to run the project again.”
Festival of Joy
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/festival-of-joy-tickets-1431260762469
On Saturday between noon and 7pm the Community Wellbeing Collective at Wester Hailes is holding a Festival of Joy which includes a community meal from noon until 2pm, and family music making with The Big Noise which has been working in the area for the last three years.
The Big Noise recently held an end of year concert in Wester Hailes which involved many of the children who take part in the orchestra, and also some of the adults who have also formed their own orchestra. The orchestra has also recently played with the RSNO at Usher Hall.
Sistema Scotland was created to improve lives, strengthen communities and help children and young people realise their potential. We use music and nurturing relationships through the Big Noise orchestra programmes to give children an invaluable range of life skills and experiences, including confidence, teamwork, resilience, pride and aspiration. This enables them to become happy, healthy adults and lead successful and fulfilled lives.
Subscribe to our print edition now
We have just sent our July print issue to press - so it would be a really good time to subscribe to have a copy delivered to you at home or at work. We are always looking for more outlets who will stock copies for distribution and if you have any ideas then please do get in touch.
You can subscribe here to receive the newspaper for a year - and be the first to be in the know.
Read last month's issue by clicking on the image below.
Our featured photo today is of the £50+ million Usher Building which will be officially opened on Thursday morning at Edinburgh Bioquarter.
We will bring you coverage of the event later today.
