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By STAFF REPORTER
THE DEPARTMENT STORE on Princes Street
which used to be British Home Stores for so
many years is now home to Japanese clothes
retailer UNIQLO.
This is a major development for UNIQLO
who consider Edinburgh to be one of their
flagship stores, opening hot on the heels of One
Oxford Street in London. The focus is on local
partnerships, for example the retailer has
teamed up with Golden Hare Books from St
Stephen Street to offer a library area where
customers can read books about Japanese
heritage. The store’s café Katsue100 is only the
second after the Covent Garden store
introduced the concept, and proceeds will help
local charity Social Bite. (All the staff have
volunteered with Social Bite to find out more
about the work they do). Clothing will also be
donated to the Social Bite Village.
Photos in the Edinburgh store show locals
wearing UNIQLO, like Aisha from Leith
Theatre and Darcie Maher of Lannan Bakery.
UNIQLO
comes to town
Student flats - council misses deadline
By DONALD TURVILL LOCAL
DEMOCRACY REPORTERANY OBJECTIONS to plans for
new student flats will no longer
be aired in public, as the council
has failed to determine a planning
application in time.
The 138-bed crescent-style
block on the corner of Willowbrae
Road and Northfield Drive will now
be decided by a Scottish
Government planning reporter.
A local councillor called it
“outrageous” that locals “won’t
get to make their case against
this development in a formal
public forum”.The city’s planning convener
said the applicants were “within
their rights to appeal”. This has
happened on at least two
occasions this year as developers
appealed to the Government
Reporter immediately on the
deadline for a decision.
The company behind the
redevelopment have been
criticised for switching their plans
for the former Radical Road bar
site from 48 homes – approved by
the planning sub-committee last
September – to an application for
student accommodation.
A report drafted by planners
recommended refusal.Tribute to Tom
Royal Mile statue for prolific fundraiser
By GEORGE MAIR AND PHYLLIS STEPHEN
THE FORMER BUS DRIVER, Tom Gilzean,
MBE, who served in the Royal Engineers
during WW2, raised money for charities
including the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital
Charity (ECHC) and Erskine Care Homes for
veterans before he died in 2019, aged 99.
The “Oor Tom” statue was created in his
image by Edinburgh artist Chris Rutterford to
honour Tom and the thousands of children and
their families whose care he helped support in
Edinburgh’s hospitals.
The statue includes QR codes so that passers
by can continue to donate to the ECHC in
Tom’s regular spot.
Tom’s son, Douglas, 72, and daughter
Maureen, 76, said: “We are overjoyed that this
will be a legacy to our father and that money
will continue to be raised for sick kids, which
was his passion.”
The new figure was unveiled by the Rt Hon
Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge,
after a ceremony featuring Belhaven Hill
School Pipe Band.
The Lord Provost said: “Tom Gilzean was
very well known on this very spot wearing his
tartan trews and collecting money for
Edinburgh Children’s Hospital.
“He raised more than £1 million in his life.
He collected money every day, rain or shine,
well into his nineties, and he remains an
absolute inspiration to us all.
“This artwork reflects the warmth and good
will that Tom radiated every day when he was
here and will carry on the good work that he did.
“It is with enormous honour and pleasure
that I have the duty to unveil ‘Oor Tom’.”
Rachel Baxter, of ECHC, who worked with
Tom for more than a decade, said: “This is in
celebration and memory of Tom Gilzean. He
was a phenomenal fundraiser and an absolute
legend. Come rain, wind or shine he would sit
in this spot collecting for charities.
“I joined the charity 16 years ago - he came
up to me and said ‘I’m here to fundraise’. I used
to go and collect his cans because he filled
them up so quickly.
“He raised over £1 million and in Oor Tom
his legacy lives on, because people can scan the
code and make a donation and continue to
support seriously ill children in hospital.”
The Oor Wullie Art Trail that inspired the
work took place in 2019. The statue’s
installation on the Royal Mile was delayed
mainly by the pandemic, but planning
permission was granted recently for the statue
to remain in place until 2027, although it is
hoped it can become a permanent fixture.
Ms Baxter added: “Tom lived for his
charities. He used to say to people ‘Open up
your hearts for sick children’ and he learned to
say it in every language.
“When we were installing the sculpture at 7
o’clock in the morning, so many people stopped
and shared their memories of him. Oor Tomwill be here for at least three years but we hope
that this will be its forever home.”
Kevin Wood, Chairman of Central Taxis, who
have pledged to maintain the statue, said: “Tom
has sadly passed and it’s been a five year project
to get Oor Tom here but this means in spirit he’s
back on the street fundraising. It’s fantastic.”
It was Central Taxis who sponsored the
original figure in 2019 which we understand is
now resting by a pool in Greece. Tom used to
take part in the annual Taxi Drivers’ Outing as a
VIP guest of the taxi firm. There was some
disappointment among Tom’s family who had
tried to buy the statue at the charity auction.
Artist Chris immediately asked the
successful bidder if he could produce another
one more or less the same and was given the
green light. Chris, who painted among other
things the Colinton Tunnel mural, had been
commissioned to paint the tartan cladsculptures of both Tom and also Sherlock
Holmes for the trail. Central Taxis stepped up
and helped to pay for a second statue as well as
being responsible for its transport to its site in
the City Centre.
Chris said: “It was a huge honour. Tom was a
true hero, and to see Oor Tom continue his
work in the Royal Mile makes me very proud.”
Gordon Scott, owner of Gordon’s Trattoria,
who gave Tom lunch every day, said: “I met
Tom 30 years ago. He said ‘I’m retired son, but
I collect money for charity’. From that day on he
became like family. He was a fantastic guy and as
bright as a button til the day he died. This is a
fantastic tribute to the man.”
He was awarded the British Empire Medal by
The Queen in 2013 and the prestigious
Edinburgh Award in 2014. When he died
mourners turned up to the ceremony at St
Mary’s Cathedral wearing tartan.Alan SimpsonThe official party
after the unveiling