Being in Lochend Park is great fun

Thanks to Greener Leith reader Douglas, who spotted this chalk message in Lochend Park and sent it in to Greener Leith.

He said: "Wish more kids (including mine) had this sort of attitude about the great outdoors!"

If you take a photograph of Leith and you want to share it with us then you can add it to the Greener Leith photo pool on Flickr.

Leith Birds: More Water of Leith birds.

Juliet Wilson continues her series of blog posts about birds you might see along the Water of Leith. You can read previous posts by Juliet Wilson on the Greener Leith blog here, and you can find her own blog here.

Coot

The coot is a black bird with a white beak and shield above its beak. It can be found along the Water of Leith and can turn up anywhere there’s water in Leith. The coot has interesting looking lobed feet.

You can find out more about the coot on the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/coot/index.aspx.

Moorhen

Photo credit: Robert BrysonThe moorhen at first sight looks quite like a small coot. However its beak is read and yellow and its plumage is more varied, it has a white stripe on its side. Like the coot it is found along the Water of Leith and in other areas of water in Leith.

You can read more about the moorhen on the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/m/moorhen/index.aspx

Cormorant

The cormorant is a big, scruffy looking black bird, with a long beak, often seen standing around the port area of Leith, with its wings opened out to dry. it can also be seen further up the Water of Leith.

You can read more about the cormorant on the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/cormorant/index.aspx

Kingfisher

Photo credit: Debbie GrantKingfishers live along the Water of Leith but you need to be lucky to see them! When you do see them it is likely to just be a flash of turquoise along the river rather than being able to have a good look at them in detail.

You can read more about the kingfisher on the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/k/kingfisher/index.aspx

Dipper

Image Credit: Debbie GrantThe dipper is a smart brown and white bird that looks a bit like a large wren. It can be found almost anywhere along the Water of Leith and is a fascinating bird to watch, bobbing on the stones, diving into the water to look for food or flying along, low to the water, calling.

The dipper is one of the first birds to breed in the spring, and if you’re lucky you may see the adults feeding their young early in the year, one of the first signs that winter is over. It has a lovely song and it has been singing for over a month already this year! 

You can read more about the dipper on the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/d/dipper/index.aspx

Images, unless credited otherwise, by Anthony Robson, who shares his wildlife photos at www.edinburghwildlife.com

You can find more great photos by Debbie Grant on her blog at http://dfgphotography.blogspot.com/

The Big White Christmas

According to the Met Office, this December is shaping up to be the coldest on record. Lot's of local Flickr users have taken some amazing photos around Leith. And I've made a contribution too. However, my iPhone photos are nothing compared to this amazing photo set by Richard Cross, who has put together a set on Flickr with some incredible photos covering the whole of Edinburgh, ranging from close ups of snow crystals to dramatic cloudscapes from Arthurs Seat - and much more besides. You can see it below.

It's well worth viewing the whole slideshow. If you have any 'snowy Leith' photos, please do share them on the Leith photo group on Flickr here.

Meanwhile, Scottish Water are now dealing with four times more burst pipes than usual as everything thaws out. They've produced a whole load of useful YouTube clips that show you what to do if you've got a frozen, or burst pipe.

You can get more help on the Scottish Water "Warm Pipes" pages.

Help Out of the Blue win £750

Rob Hoon, Coordinator at Out of the Blue, has managed to get this photo, of young persons film making workshop at Out of the Blue, shortlisted as the regional winner for Scotland in the Triodos Bank "Social Vision" photography competion.

If he wins the competition, he gets £750 quid, and Out of the Blue get £750. Out of the Blue has become a marvelous local institution since they moved to the Drill Hall on Dalmeny Street, and a fine example of a social enterprise too. Voting closes on the 26th of November - so if you're going to vote, you need to do it now.

Click here to vote and find out more.

The problem with privatised public spaces

Most people would probably agree that Multrees Walk is fairly attractive public space. There's no traffic, it has a high quality 'retail experience', there's a cafe where you can sit outside and watch life go by. Some of the shops have better than average window displays. Just don't try and take a photo of it, as overzealous security guards might start threatening you.

The security guards might even follow you down the street demanding you delete your photos.

The Firm Magazine looks at the legalities around taking photographs in public spaces here.

Whilst most people like to feel safe when they go shopping, is it the job of private companies to manage this, and "enforce" laws whenever they want, however tenuous their interpretation or claim to authority? Afterall, there may be "no cycling" signs up at the entrance to Multrees Walk - but there are no signs prohibiting photography in Multrees Walk. One thing that is for certain - there is no general law against taking photographs from public spaces.

As Paul Kingsnorth, writing about "private" public spaces in this article in the Guardian in 2006 puts it:

"In towns and cities all over England, what was once public is now private. It is effectively owned by corporations, which set the standards of behaviour. These standards are the standards that are most congenial to their aim - getting you to buy things. So there will be no begging, no being homeless, no wearing hoodies. There will be no busking, and often there will be no sitting either, except in designated areas. You will eat and drink where you are told to. You will not skateboard or cycle or behave "inappropriately". And as for political demonstrations - don't even think about it."

This description, of a national trend towards building private "malls without walls," sounds eerily similar to Multrees Walk doesn't it?

The reaction of the security guards in the clips above is rumoured to have inspired local photographers to mount a peaceful protest to underline that there is no law preventing people from taking photos in public spaces. There is an informal plan to descend upon Multrees Walk enmasse to give it a good photographing at 12.30pm on Monday. 

Found via the Edinburgh Reporter

Update on October 19, 2010 by Ally

The Guardian Edinburgh Blog followed the resulting Flash Mob to interview the participants. Here's the video clip by Tom Allan:

Photo Flash Mob on Edinburgh's Multrees Walk from Tom Allan on Vimeo.

Update on October 22, 2010 by Ally

In a further update, the Guardian Edinburgh blog carries a statement from Multrees Walk, which seems to indicate that the people who attended the 'flashmob' have won a tiny victory for freedom to photograph:

"Following an incident recently when visitors to Multrees Walk were approached by contract security staff and prevented from taking photos we have been asked to review our policy and have done so.

"We would like to confirm that photography is not banned at Multrees Walk and that people doing this will not be stopped unless they are conducting a professional photo-shoot or filming, in which case they will still need permission from Centre Management in advance.

"Members of the public taking photos for their own use should be allowed to continue and we will be instructing our security staff accordingly.

"The safety and security of our visitors and occupiers is of paramount importance to us and we work closely with Lothian and Borders Police as the threat of crime and terrorism is ever present, nevertheless we recognise that what happened in this case was not appropriate.

"We want to apologise to the individuals who were involved last week."

Inside Shrubhill

The joy of photo sharing websites like Flickr is that sometimes you discover photos from places and times you would never normally get to see. Check out this slide show of the Shrubhill building site, taken in 2008. In the future it will probably become not one, but two hotels. These photos help to capture some of the sites past.

Thanks for sharing Steve.

Proof From The Past

Greener Leith is delighted to see that the Evening News picked up on our proposals for a Green Bridge over Leith Walk. We're also pleased to read supportive comments from Sustrans in the article.

In the council planning documents that got us thinking about all this in the first place, city officials claimed that a new bridge would be incompatible with the new trams, something we found puzzling as we were sure that electric trams and the railway in Leith were operating at the same time. As a consequence, we've been looking for a photograph that would lay rest to our suspicions, and as you can see, we found one.

 

It was uploaded by Old Leither to Flickr, and we think it shows that the latest trams should have no difficulty squeezing under a bridge over Leith Walk. If you look carefully at the photo (click on it to see a larger version) you can see that double decker electric trams could safely run underneath the railway bridge over Leith Walk in the 1930's, so we're sure it would be possible to engineer something that would carry walkers and cyclists over the Walk in this day and age.

All we're asking for is that the city officials seriously consider it as an option for the future, since so much rebuilding work could potentially be taking place on either side of the old bridge site. There may be other reasons why it wouldn't work, but we feel the idea could be pursued further, and we hope that a proper feasibility study can be undertaken to establish whether the idea could be realistically achieved and at what cost.

The photo also shows that there should be room for two tram lines, cars and pedestrians, at least at this part of Leith Walk near Pilrig Street when the tram returns, despite claims in some quarters to the contrary.

National Shed Week 2008

Well, what do you know? It's National Shed Week 2008, and it would seem that we're not the only people with a guilty love of sheds. Subscribers to our newsletter will already know about the 'Sheds of Leith' merchandise that is exclusively available from Greener Leith. However, we don't want to stop at T-shirts and Mugs - we want to produce a 'Sheds of Leith Calendar' for 2009, so we need your help.

Do you know of a photogenic shed in Leith? Do you know someone who does? If you do, please take a picture of it, and send it to us - greenerleith[AT]hotmail[DOT]com

Allotment sheds, garden sheds, home offices, play sheds, welding sheds, animal sheds - we want your photos of them!

In the meantime, check out these fascinating shed facts.