Bruce Keith joins us again for his talk, Scotland Beneath the Surface
Everything underground! Souterrains, manmade tunnels from castles and for roads and railways, pumped storage schemes, mines for coal and shale, quarries and more…
The talk is at Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate, Leith (up the stair from the shops) on Tuesday 19 March 2024, at 7.00 pm. Admission is £2∙00, or free for members
Location filming will take place in Links Gardens/Links Place for a chilling new detective series called Dept Q.
The crew will be filming scenes between 4pm and 10pm on Monday 11th March and this will lead to some road closures during these hours to allow the action to take place.
Location equipment and crew will be on site from 9am to set up.
The map link below shows where road closures will take place from 6pm to 10pm.
If you would normally be planning to drive through the area at that time of day then plan an alternative route.
Dept Q is based on the crime novels of the Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen which have sold many millions of copies. The books have been made into successful television adaptations and films ( In Danish). This new production which moves the location of Dept Q to Scotland stars some well known actors and could be very successful.
I’ve just finished the first book in English which introduces you to the characters.
The book was first published in 2008 and then made into a movie.
Lets wish them great success with this new take on the novels.
The next meeting of Leith Local History Society takes place on Tuesday, 16th January .
We meet in Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirgate at 7pm
Free to members and £2 for visitors.
This months event is a talk by Mike Bullock about he Northern Lighthouse Board who control and maintain all the lighthouses round the coast of Scotland.
You may have walked past their offices and control centre based in George Street and wondered about the flashing small lighthouse above the door,
I’m sure Mike’s talk will give an insight into the history and continued work of the Board.
Hope to see you there.
Seasons Greetings
If you were writing a new Christmas Panto script and you were looking for an idea, then Leith’s Christmas tree could be it.
Our sad tale begins in Leith with tram works and a modern-day plague.
Constitution Street and Leith Walk ripped up, and then Covid strikes.
The Christmas Tree that was installed and stood proudly in the Kirkgate for many, many years had to find a temporary home, and after little or no consultation a decision was taken by council officers to place a tree in Taylor Gardens instead, with 6 lights (4 working) added to lamp standards.
It’s a nice enough tree, but really not the true location where Leithers would expect it to be, and that is something council officials don’t grasp in their decision making process.
It was supposed to be a temporary move, not permanent, but although it may tick boxes with council officers they miss the point of how the community view things.
When I first asked our elected councillors why the tree hadn’t returned to the Kirkgate, Councillor Faccenda kindly wrote to council officers and received a reply with reasons why it couldn’t go back to the Kirkgate. But all of those ‘problems’ really could have been worked out, had there been a willingness from council public servants.
“Unfortunately due to the installation of the Tram lines we are now unable to provide any festive Lighting on Leith Walk which involves working at height. The installation on a cut Christmas Tree involves using a telehandler to lift the tree into position and then a cherry picker later to install the lights”
Where there’s a will there’s always a way of achieving the impossible?
Someone in the council also had the idea to plant a fir tree in Taylor Gardens which could become the Leith Christmas tree of the future.
In reply to Councillor Faccenda the council said about this tree (- and please don’t laugh but I suppose it’s panto time. It’s behind you!)
The decision to move the Kirkgate Christmas Tree along the road to Taylor Park has enabled us to plant a tree which will hopefully be ready for dressing with lights within the next 5 years or so. We will continue to provide an 8m cut tree here until the planted tree is ready.
Now as I’m of a certain age and don’t have a life, I’m drawn to TV programmes like Gardeners’ World and Landward, and having done a few Christmas Quizzes I can confidently say that planted tree will not be ready in ‘less than 5 years’
Quiz answer is 15 years before an average Christmas tree is ready.
So why do council officers put nonsense in emails and expect us to accept what they say without challenging them? I suppose their get-out clause legally was ‘or so‘.
They apparently know even less about trees than me and it comes across that they really don’t care,and possibly haven’t been down to Leith to have a look because they call it Park not Gardens.
They reply in a confident ‘I know what I’m talking about because I’m a council officer’ manner then they don’t expect to be called out for nonsense speak, they expect the community to just say ok,move on.
However they miss the point that it’s not just about location of a tree on a spreadsheet.
They don’t take into account how people who live in the area view it, and have shared memories of good and bad times
The historic heart of Leith for a tree has, for as long as I can remember, been the Kirkgate beside Queen Victoria’s statue. If you take a walk down there today it looks drab and uncared for, and especially at this time of year it could do with some cheer.
We keep getting told that Leith is hip and has a vibrant community and is a top 10 destination as a place to visit and stay.
You wouldn’t think that if, as a tourist, you arrived at the Foot of the Walk by tram to an area that Christmas seemed to have by-passed all because of council bureaucracy which prior to lockdown had never been an issue.
But if you get it right, people will keep coming back, and spend money in our community, and tell their friends what a great place it is with friendly and helpful locals.
It doesn’t have to be over the top flashy lights.
It just has to be welcoming, which is supposedly what we in Leith are good at.
I would like the community to support me in bringing the tree back to the Kirkgate in 2024 and hopefully with help from local businesses in the Kirkgate, to brighten the place up.
Take a trip out to Davidson Mains Street or the front at South Queensferry and you will see what some communities and businesses can achieve at this time of year.
Let me know what you think, and more importantly hit the email inboxes of your elected Leith Councillors, MP and MSP
Don’t moan, just drop them a quick email: BRING BACK THE CHRISTMAS TREE TO THE KIRKGATE
Yes, I know life is hellish at the moment for many, many people, and you can’t eat Christmas trees, but let’s give it a go for our own pride and self-respect returning.
Thanks, and have a peaceful and enjoyable festive holiday.
Jim Scanlon MBE
Chair, Leith Links Community Council
As you are aware, Dalton Metal Recycling is seeking to redevelop its scrapyard site at 52-66 Salamander Street for a proposed mixed-use development, comprising purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), residential (build-to-rent), retail/commercial space and associated works.
The site has been operated as a metal scrapyard for over 30 years. During this period much of the surrounding land has been transformed from industrial to residential, with recently constructed residential properties now encircling the site.
Dalton is now seeking to have the site redeveloped as a mixed-use development. This will provide high-quality living accommodation including PBSA and residential (build-to-rent), as well as retail/commercial space, serving to compliment neighbouring residential-led developments.
A second public consultation event outlining these proposals will be held on Wednesday 18th October 2023 from 3pm to 7pm at Leith Library, 28-30 Ferry Road EH6 4AE.
This follows an initial consultation event held on Wednesday 20th September, and will aim to update the initial proposals and incorporate relevant feedback from the first event.
A flyer promoting this event is attached, and please feel free to circulate it as you see fit. This is in the process of being distributed in the local area neighbouring the site.
A project website can be viewed at www.daltonregen.co.uk.
Consultation material, detailing the proposed development, will be available to view on the website from 9am on Wednesday 18th October.
After an absence of two years due to covid Leith Local History Society returns with a programme of talks over the next five months. Unfortunately numbers of people attending meetings have dropped as some members have moved on.
It would be great to see new faces so if you’re interested in finding about the history of the local area it would great to see you
The next meeting of the Leith Local History Society will be held on Tuesday, 21st February at 7.00pm in Leith Community Centre. The Talk will be by Ashleigh Thompson, City of Edinburgh Archivist who will tell us about new items added to the city collection
Best wishes
Jim Scanlon
In last weeks Evening News, there was an article detailing where the council would be installing Christmas trees around the city this year. Leith wasn’t mentioned.
Last year because of ongoing tram works the council decided not to put one at the usual central Leith spot at the Kirkgate. I know we all have enough on our minds with fuel and food costs going through the roof but a bit of Christmas cheer would be welcomed.
When I asked why another location couldn’t be found to place a tree, I was informed that the council had planted one in Taylor Gardens.
Exhibit 1
The council did eventually install a full size tree, which we welcomed, but could have been placed more centrally possibly at the Shore outside Malmaison or outside Bank of Scotland in the Kirkgate where many more tourists and Leithers pass during the day.
This year we had the same excuse about tram works for no tree at the Kirkgate but the council told us they had planted a tree beside Leith Library.
Exhibit 2
The council also intend to install a full size tree in Taylor Gardens but when I passed there yesterday there was one Christmas light from the bottom of Leith Walk stuck on a lamp post.
Why have I decided to moan? Because I feel the people of Leith deserve better and have stoically put up with continual disruption to their lives from ongoing tram and road works.
Having had a year to investigate alternative sites, it should have been simple for the council to find somewhere for a tree in Leith’s historic centre where more people pass including much welcomed visits from tourists.
Rightly or wrongly it does give the impression that the council really don’t care.
From an environmental point of view I applaud them for their tree planting but it could be 20 years before these trees are mature enough to be decorated.
After all Leith has been through over the last few years surely it’s not a lot to ask for a Christmas tree to be located in the heart of the community to be enjoyed by all.
Jim Scanlon MBE
Chair, Leith Links Community Council
It’s always a shock when you hear about the death of a much loved Leither.
This week has been particularly bad with the deaths of three people who contributed so much to our community.
The Queen of Leith, Mary Moriarty died last week and her funeral is on Tuesday 25th October. A service will be held in South Leith Parish Church at 12pm then on to Seafield Crematorium (limited spaces). You will then have the chance to raise a glass to Mary in The Dockers Club and share your memories with friends.
Mary was well known in Leith, not only as the owner of the famous Port of Leith pub where many a fun night was had, but also for her many years of hard work with Leith Festival helping it survive through good times and bad.
From my window I remember that on the day before the gala Mary would be out on the Links spraying and numbering the pitches for the gala day stalls.
She was always there at the crack of dawn on the Saturday and still there hours after the last stall had left with a litter picker and black bin bag making sure the park was cleaner than how she had found it.
I’m proud to say that I knew Mary for many years, and she will be sorely missed by many of us in the Leith community who will all have our fond memories of her. She could always make you smile even when you were feeling down.
I also lost another friend, Jim Tweedie recently who died over a week ago and his funeral is on Friday, 28 October, Warriston Crematorium at 2pm.
Jim was a hard working member of the Leith Community and Chair of Leith Local History Society preserving our history and informing new residents about our rich past.
The society continue to meet on the third Tuesday in the month in the community centre and with a series of monthly talks.
Jim and I were also on the steering group to save Custom House for the people of Leith and with the help of local councillors, especially Councillor Gordon Munro the city council was persuaded to purchase the building using Common Good Funding. Work to establish a heritage display in the building is ongoing.
Finally, Davie Jeneil who ran a successful jewellers shop in Great Junction Street for over 30 years providing gifts for the many birthdays, weddings and celebrations of Leithers.
I also knew Davie as a great supporter of Leith Rules Golf Society. His family always put in a team for the Foulis Medal. A fun competition on the Links every year using hickory golf clubs which is open to local Leith businesses and community groups.
When Davie’s son in law turned up to play, I always thought we would be quicker just handing him the medal because he is such an excellent player.
Davie also supported the society by providing the quaichs and engravings for our other team events and again he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
On behalf of Leith Links Community Council, I would like to extend our condolences and best wishes to the family and friends of all these great Leithers who we will all miss.
Jim Scanlon MBE
Chair
Leith Links Community Council
