Candidates for By-election – Balerno Village Trust AGM – Pedal on Parliament – Pirates of Penzance – Edinburgh Festival of Cycling
The candidates standing in the Liberton/Gilmerton by-election on Thursday 20 June 2013 have been confirmed.
They are:
Derek Howie – Scottish National Party (SNP)
Phil Hunt – Pirate Party Scotland
John Christopher Knox – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Alys Mumford – Scottish Green Party
Stephanie Murray – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Keith John Robson – Labour and Co-operative Party Candidate
John Scott – Independent
Jonathan Stanley – UKIPScotland
Voters in this ward have until Wednesday 5 June 2013 to register to vote or apply for a postal vote for the by-election. To register to vote or apply for a postal vote people should contact the Electoral Registration Office or phone 0131 344 2500.
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm. The location of some polling places has changed so voters should check their polling cards carefully to find out where to vote.
Polling Places:
- Gilmerton Community Centre
- Goodtrees Neighbourhood Centre
- Liberton Kirk Halls
- Liberton Northfield Church
- South Neighbourhood Office and Library
- St Gregory’s Church Hall
- TA Centre
- Valley Park Community Centre
The by-election will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system where voters can rank candidates in order of preference using numbers rather than a single cross. Voters can give a rank to as many or as few candidates as they like. The result of the by-election will be announced once the votes are counted on Friday 21 June.
The vacancy in the Liberton/Gilmerton ward was created by the death of Councillor Tom Buchanan on Wednesday 3 April.
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The Annual General Meeting of the Balerno Village Trust will be held on Tuesday 28 May 2013, 7.30pm at St Joseph’s Hall, Balerno Parish Church, Balerno.
This year the AGM will be followed by an Open Evening at which those attending will be able to find out more about the various projects currently being worked on by the Trust.
Harlaw Hydro will also be present to explain the current Share Offer. Refreshments will be served.The AGM and Open Evening should be finished by 9.15pm. The Edinburgh Reporter went to meet the lovely people at Harlaw Hydro a week or two back to find out about their share offer – which has now raised nearly £200,000!
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This weekend is all about PEDAL ON PARLIAMENT which takes place in Edinburgh tomorrow.
If you don’t already know about it, then get your bike dusted down and get out to the Meadows tomorrow afternoon to join the ride to Holyrood at 3pm. This is not just any old cycle ride… it is to highlight the need for improved cycling infrastructure and thus more spending from the Scottish Government Transport and local councils’ budgets. Our own council in Edinburgh has promised this next year to spend 6% of the transport budget on cycling.
Pedal on Parliament last year attracted over 3,000 cyclists on the streets in what was an orderly and well-managed ride. This year who knows how many people will turn up on bikes of all shapes and sizes?
Watch our video with one of the organisers, Kim Harding, here.
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Pirates of Penzance begins at the Festival Theatre on 28 May and this production is being staged by none other than the lofty Scottish Opera.
Gilbert and Sullivan as it’s meant to be – pure, uncomplicated fun, performed to the highest standards. This new co-production with D’Oyly Carte Opera Company – returning to the stage for the first time in over 10 years – brings the humour bang up to date with a Python-esque twinkle. A vibrant, stylish and hilarious romp through one of G&S’s finest scores, this show has everything you could want from a great night out.
A young man bound by an overactive sense of duty, a soft-hearted pirate king with a hopeless band of rogues at his side, a beautiful young girl, a very modern major-general and an ineffectual bevy of policemen… Add a plot hinging on the technicalities of having a birthday on the 29th of February and we’re just about there. What could possibly go wrong?
Gilbert’s high speed patter is razor sharp and Sullivan’s score sees him at the top of his game, with the catchy tunes for which he is so well known. Conducted by G&S expert John Owen Edwards and directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans, the fantastic ensemble cast includes a horde of young, fresh talent as well as G&S stars Steven Page as The Pirate King and Richard Suart as the Major-General.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
