6 NEWS
RHSPT signs deal with council for conversion of the old school
The pulsing beat of Edinburgh drummers will keep her marching
Gail is parade ready
By STAFF REPORTERDRYLAW and Telford Community Council
(DTCC) say that funding has been secured
to conduct a community wide consultation
seeking the views of locals on what can be
done to improve green spaces in the area.
This work will build on a previous
consultation carried out by DTCC more
than 15 years ago when more than
£500,000 was invested in improving local
open spaces.
The £5,000 funding from the Council’s
Community Grants Fund will enable DTCC
to work with the Edinburgh and Lothian
Greenspace Trust on this project.
Over the next few months there will be a
wide range of opportunities for local
people to offer their views.
Community Council Chairperson, Jimmy
Galloway, said: “We are very fortunate in
our area to have some great big parks and
open spaces for locals to use.
“These areas are busy and well used and
it is now time to see what else could be
done to make them even better. This
consultation will ensure everyone within
the community gets the opportunity to
give us feedback. That could be by
completing an online survey or attending
one of many events that will be taking
place. We are looking forward to getting
started in the coming weeks and I certainly
can’t wait to see the results. “
Charlie Cumming, Edinburgh & Lothians
Greenspace Trust, Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted to be working with the
Drylaw and Telford community Council
again to help develop plans to improve the
local greenspaces.
“There are many opportunities to help
make the area greener and more
biodiverse which will mitigate against
climate change.
“The aim being to create a great place
for future generations and to encourage
greater use of the green spaces for
local families.”Drylaw and Telford
residents are set
to have their say
By PHYLLIS STEPHENTHERE WILL BE a huge Edinburgh presence in
New York this month with the Grand Marshal of
the Parade and the band which is supporting here
all hailing from the capital.
Band member, Arwen Seilman (17), explained
that it is all about showing children and young
people that by getting together with others they
can form a band.
She said: “Pulse of the Place is open to anyone
and everyone. We run free sessions so it doesn’t
matter if you think you can’t afford it - we know a
lot of time the arts can be quite expensive now.
But it is all about inclusivity and making sure that
everybody gets the opportunity.
“I have been around since the band started
and officially started drumming when I was
about seven. I wasn’t so keen on it before then
but something just clicked and I loved it.
The atmosphere when you’re drumming as a
band is amazing.
“It’s costing a lot of money to go to New York.
There are 39 of us going all together, and we have
been fundraising for a number of years. We have
had to raise £55,000 and we have written fundingapplications, and doing fundraising and
sponsorship. It is important to us to get the
last bit of funding now.”
She explained that the band has been
rehearsing all the different patterns they have
made up for the hour long parade a lot over
recent months. She also said that “samba is not
one specific tune -it can change a lot and we can
change how we play it”.
The band’s crowd funder continues to run on
http://www.givey.com
Their original plans to go to New York three
years ago were scuppered by the pandemic, but
Arwen confirmed that a lot of the main members
of the band are still included in the trip.
Gail Porter said: “I am super excited. I was just
going to come along with FairTrade Scotland and
the guys from Pulse of the Place and walk with
them. Then I got a phone call saying actually do
you want to be the Grand Marshal and be at the
front of the parade? I said yes to these guys in
Pulse of the Place first, so I said they have to come
with me. Where I go, they go.
“So they are going to be at the front of the
parade as well.
“It’s a complete honour and I am a bit shocked- I do wonder if people really know who I am.
After all Billy Connolly has done it and KT
Tunstall - all these amazing people and then me
from Portobello. It felt a bit weird but very
exciting. I don’t know what I really do. All I do is
write a lot , talk a lot on TV and radio and I do
lots for charity.”
“I am looking forward to being on the big bus
after the parade. Howie Nicholsby has the World
Fair Trade tartan from Tania, so he and his wife
Charlie are styling my outfit for the day. I think
I‘m getting a pair of dungarees for ceilidh the
night before though.”
The World Fair Trade Tartan is created in a
variety of other materials all adhering to the
principles of Fair Trade. Tania Pramschufer
of Hand Up Events explained: “In the next few
years we want to develop the tartan so that it is
woven according to the ten principles of Fair
Trade. This goes through the complete supply
chain, not just the material itself, it is the
complete business.
The Celtic canines who form such an essential
part of the parade will this year be sponsored by
ScotlandShop who have an outlet in the USA and
on Queensferry Street.
By STAFF REPORTERTHE ROYAL High School Preservation
Trust (RHSPT) has signed a formal
lease with The City of Edinburgh
Council forging a deal which has been
years in the making.
The works to convert the former
school into the new National Centrefor Music will now begin.
William Gray Muir is Chairman of
the Royal High School Preservation
Trust, and has steered the trust
through the long process.
He said: “This is a significant
milestone for the former Royal High
School and the delivery of our shared
vision for a new world-class centre formusic education and public
performance. Having planned for so
long to conserve and protect the
building for the City and the nation it
is hugely exciting for the Trust to take
possession of it at last and move
ahead with restoration plans later this
year. I must give great credit to our
partners at The City of EdinburghCouncil for the support and assistance
over recent months that has led to
this point.
“As we prepare to move ahead into
the redevelopment phase in the
months ahead, we look forward to
collaborating closely with the local
community as we keep them up to
date on progress.”Gail Porter ScotlandShop
mascot in New
York city