Saturday 31 December 2016

A guid Hogmanay!

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

Words adapted from a traditional song
by Rabbie Burns (1759-96)

Friday 30 December 2016

Xplore Dundee bus change from 3rd January 2017

With thanks to Suzy Scott at dundeebuses.info, here is an Xplore Dundee bus change from 3rd January 2017 affecting the West End :

Services 5/9/10 (Barnhill – Ninewells and Outer Circle) (timetable is Monday to Friday only - no change to Saturday or Sunday) - Service 10 at 20.40 and 21.40 from Ninewells Hospital will divert to pick up at Tesco’s call centre in Baird Avenue at 22.06 or 23.06, running five minutes later through to Ninewells Hospital.    

As a result, Service 5s from Ninewells to City Centre at 22.30 and 23.30 will run five minutes later as a result.

Thursday 29 December 2016

Call to make better use of West Bell Street multi-storey car park

I have called on Dundee City Council to make better use of its half-empty West Bell Street multi-storey car park which I feel could be revitalised if short-stay parking was permitted.    

This could also have the beneficial effect of helping ease the on-street parking capacity problems near the University of Dundee Campus and in West Port, South Tay Street, Nethergate and the east end of Perth Road.

The council’s Head of Roads and Transportation advised me :
Bell Street multi storey car park is a very large car park with in excess of 900 spaces and currently demand does not require us to regularly open the upper floors and our daytime car park staff do flexibly open and close it if the car park gets busy.  
In terms of providing shorter stay parking, Bell Street multi storey car park is identified as a long stay car park, and the tariffs are so designed to encourage the use of the facility by all day / half day parkers with more flexible tariffs available at other car parks and the on street spaces around the vicinity allow for parking for up to one hour.
I have commented that there is no short term (30 minutes to 2 hour) parking available at the West Bell Street multi-storey car park and the parking situation near the campus would be helped if some short term facility was provided here.   

I think the council has to think imaginatively about the way this half-empty car park can be improved.    With the introduction of short-term parking here, it would assist ease parking difficulties in the surrounding area particularly in the West Port/South Tay Street areas of the West End Ward.

The council’s Parking Team Leader has agreed to discuss this further which is helpful as an urgent improvement is needed.

Wednesday 28 December 2016

New Year Fun Run!

On Monday 2nd January at 11am and until 1pm there will be a 5k fun run around the paths of the University Botanic Garden to get yourself in shape for the New Year. 

The event caters for all ages and ambitions, just walk or break the record! Your reward, as well as a good time, will include seasonal refreshments in the glasshouse at the end of the run. 

We look forward to welcoming you to the Garden where we feel sure you will enjoy its tranquil and beautiful space.

We recommend you register at StrideInto17.eventbrite.com to ensure our catering is adequate on the day.

The event is weather dependent and up-to-the-minute guidance is available on the Friends’ blog at www.fudbg.blogspot.co.uk.


Tuesday 27 December 2016

Volunteering and activities in the West End!

Find out more about volunteering and activities in the West End!

Drop-in sessions at Blackness Library in the New Year :

Monday 26 December 2016

Boxing Day ...

Sunday 25 December 2016

Merry Christmas!


Saturday 24 December 2016

Road Report - West End Ward

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - MONDAY 26 DECEMBER 2016 TO MONDAY 9 JANUARY 2017

A90 Swallow roundabout – overnight (7.30pm - 6.30am) southbound nearside lane closure on Friday 6 January for gully resetting works.

Riverside Drive (at Perth Road) – temporary traffic lights from Wednesday 4 to Friday 6 January for Virgin Media cable work.

Perth Road (at Springfield) – temporary traffic lights on Sunday 8 and Monday 9 January for Scottish Water mains repair.

Friday 23 December 2016

West End Ward Surgeries

With my surgery at Blackness Primary School that took place last night and with the Christmas holidays about to be underway, my usual weekly ward surgeries do not take place, but I can still be contacted on any local issues or concerns through my e-surgery - just e-mail esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk.

I can also be contacted at home at any time on 459378 and also during office hours outside of public holidays at my Dundee City Council office on 434985.

Surgeries commence again on Monday 9th January – full details of surgery days and times here.

Thursday 22 December 2016

Getting things done - Kinloch Park

Yesterday, the Head of Roads and Transportation at Dundee City Council and I met a large group of residents in Kinloch Park about the parking issues in the street.

The street is adjacent to Ninewells Hospital and there is a real issue with inappropriate parking.

I am pleased to say that a possible agreed solution was achieved and will be progressed in early 2017.   I am very grateful to all residents who attended and for their helpful feedback yesterday.

Wednesday 21 December 2016

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Services for private tenants

I had a very useful discussion yesterday with Lynn Wadland, the council's technical Energy Adviser, who has been assisting private tenants who have no central heating or ineffective heating.

There is assistance available for qualifying private tenants (elderly tenants, those who are vulnerable and those with dependant children) on low incomes to get central heating - help with improved glazing and insulation may also be available.

For households who do not qualify, help via the Warm Home Discount may be available as an alternative.

Lynn can be contacted as follows - 

office phone - 433189
mobile - 07985 872725

Monday 19 December 2016

Adult Learning Opportunities in the West End

The latest Adult Learning newsletter for the city has just been published – covering the winter - and you can download it here.

Here's details of the adult learning opportunities available in the West End area :

Sunday 18 December 2016

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 19 DECEMBER 2016

Perth Road (West Park Road to Glamis Road) – occasional temporary traffic lights for one week for gas main/service connection works.

Oxford Street (Blackness Road to Cambridge Street) – closed for one week for gas main repair.

Saturday 17 December 2016

Dundee Citizen of the Year

From the City Council   :   Do you know someone who could be Dundee's Citizen of the Year?

The City Council welcomes nominations for the award and you can use the form to put forward the name of someone you think deserves the title.

The Citizen of the Year award is likely to go to someone who has provided outstanding service to the community, normally on a voluntary basis.   The judges will be looking in particular for selfless service to a voluntary body or the community or someone whose service brings distinction and quality to everyday life in Dundee.

There is no age barrier, but if you nominate someone they must live within Dundee City Council's area.

The closing date for applications is 31st December.

Use the form here to suggest who you think deserves the Citizen of the Year title.  (This form is a PDF and a Word version can be accessed from here).

Forms can be returned by email to stuart.galloway@dundeecity.gov.uk or by mail to Stuart Galloway, 21 City Square, Dundee, DD1 3BY or handed in at the same address.

Friday 16 December 2016

Blether Tay-Gither - Storytelling in Dundee


Our December meeting will be held on 20th December in Madigan's Tea Emporium at 7pm.

The theme this month is Festivals from Around the World.

Hope to see some of you there – all welcome!

Thursday 15 December 2016

Evening classes at Harris Academy

Harris Education and Recreation Association has re-formed, following the school moving back to Perth Road and into the new school campus, and is running a great programme of eight evening classes from early 2017.

You can read the programme here.

Details of evening classes night and enrolment night :
There will also be sports activity (including use of the swimming pool) at Harris Academy from early 2017, provided by Leisure and Culture Dundee.

Wednesday 14 December 2016

University Conservation Area

On Monday evening, the council's City Development Committee considered the feedback to the public consultation on three appraisal documents on Conservation Areas.

One of these is the University Conservation Area.

You can download the appraisal document for the Conservation Area here.

Tuesday 13 December 2016

Zoology Museum talk tonight - Fitness and Fatness in Seals and Humans

From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee :

Our next evening event in the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum will be tonight - Tuesday 13th December at 6pm:

Dr Kimberley Bennett (Abertay University) - Fitness and Fatness in Seals and Humans

Dr Kimberley Bennett
Fitness in humans rarely goes hand in hand with fatness. But for seals, to be fit they have to be fat. This talk by Kimberley Bennett (a Lecturer in Biomedical Science at Abertay University) will explore why being fat is so important to seals, what we know about how they regulate fatness compared with humans, how pollutants can influence body fat control in both seals and humans and the potential consequences for human and animal health. 

Refreshments will be served after the talk. Please enter by the main front door of the Carnelley Building, facing the back of the Tower Building.   Latecomers may not be admitted.

The talk is free but places should be booked via Eventbrite here.


Monday 12 December 2016

The Twelfth Annual University of Dundee Culture Day

INNOVATION!

The Twelfth Annual University of Dundee Culture Day

This Wednesday - 14th December 2016
Baxter Room 1.36, Tower Building, University of Dundee
1.30pm – 5pm

An entertaining and enlightening afternoon of free talks and presentations on the theme of Innovation, featuring speakers from across the University. The full programme is below. 

Feel free to come to as much or as little of the programme as you like but to help us organise refreshments please book a place by clicking here.

Programme :

1.30 Introduction

1.40 Keith Williams (English, School of Humanities)
H G Wells@150: Seeing the Future (but also How the Future Would See)

It’s a cliché that H G Wells ‘saw the future’. Many of today’s technologies and social changes were anticipated by his prophetic science fiction. Much less well known are Wells’s anticipations of how the future might see, imagining moving image media which shape the modern world. This illustrated talk (one of several activities marking Wells’s 150 anniversary) will showcase this alternative aspect of Wells’s visionary work.

1.55 Caroline Erolin (CAHID, School of Science & Engineering)
Zoology Museum 3D

Caroline has been working with Museum Services to digitise specimens from the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum. Smaller specimens have been scanned using a micro CT scanner, while larger specimens have been captured using hand-held structured light scanners.  The resulting 3D models are hosted online via Sketchfab and are available for viewing and downloading worldwide. In this talk Caroline will be discussing the impact new technologies are having on museums and looking at the role of digital engagement and widening access.  

2.10 Richard Holme (Education, School of Education & Social Work)
Teachers as Rogue Learners and DIY Professional Development

The nature of teachers as learners is evolving, with many taking back ownership of their own development. Digital technology and social media has facilitated this but there seems to be something deeper at work. We may be at the beginning of a major shift change in school education – which is being led by teachers themselves.

2.25 Graeme Morton (History, School of Humanities)
The Culture of Weather Watching in an Age of Innovation
The wider acceptance of meteorologists’ observational and measurement data in the Victorian age was undermined by the continued popularity of weather folklore and proxy data (from nature and agriculture). This talk explores the relationship between culture and science in Scotland’s history of meteorological observation.

2.40 break

3.00 Matthew Jarron (Museum Services)
Ten Dundee Designers 

The recent UNESCO designation of Dundee as a City of Design is highlighting the wealth of current design talent we have here, but what of Dundee’s history of design? Here we will meet ten notable designers from the past 200 years, all innovators in one way or another.

3.15 Neil Paterson (Botanic Garden)
Out with the Old? - Innovation and Conservation in Evolution

A famous Dundee graduate and the Battle of Britain will lead us to how Natural Selection makes do and mends in producing evolutionary novelties.

3.30 Norman Alm (Computing, School of Science & Engineering)
Computer-based support for communication and enjoyment usable by people with dementia and their carers

People with dementia, because of their problems with working (short-term) memory, find it difficult to communicate and to have enjoyable pastimes. A group of researchers from the fields of psychology, design and software engineering have developed two innovative touch-screen systems that produced breakthroughs in this area: a conversation support system based on multi-media reminiscence, and a set of interactive games that can be enjoyed without the need for short-term-memory.

3.45 break

4.00 Graeme Stevenson (Music)
From Pythagoras to Bach

Graeme will tell us a story of musical innovation – how we ended up with 7 white and 5 black notes that could play pieces in any key.

4.15 Jan Merchant (Archive Services)
From Papyrus to Pixels: Innovations in Recording. 

Using examples from the University Archives this talk look at how innovations in the way we record and keep information have impacted on how we remember and understand the past. 

4.30 Brendan Body (Animation, DJCAD)
Intuitive Technological Developments in Animation Studies

Brendan will talk about some of the techniques and the facilities used in DJCAD and what impact recent innovations in technology and software are having on animation. Using some recent examples of students’ work he will show how developments from the games industry are affecting filmmaking as well as show how software and hardware are becoming more intuitive, helping artists realise their visions.

4.45 Brian Hoyle (English & Film Studies, School of Humanities)
The Cinema is Dead, Long Live the Cinema

This talk will examine recent innovations in digital cinema by filmmakers such as Peter Greenaway, Jean-Luc Godard and Agnes Varda and will show that this newfound so-called ‘amateur’ film technology has inspired certain film-makers to match and recreate some of the boldest innovations of the last days of silent cinema, when film was a purely visual medium.

5.00 End

Sunday 11 December 2016

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2016

Perth Road (West Park Road to Glamis) – occasional temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for gas main/service connection works.

Oxford Street (Blackness Road to Cambridge Street) – closed for 2 weeks for gas main repair.

Saturday 10 December 2016

Ninewells Community Garden mosaic session

Ninewells Community Garden is holding a mosaic session on Wednesday 14th December. 

Bring along any ideas you have, whether making signs for the arboretum, starting a personal project, stepping stones, covering garden tools - you name it! 

It is free of charge and no experience necessary.

Refreshments provided.     

Taking place from 1pm and 3pm in the luxury of the Community Garden’s new garden room – more details here.

Friday 9 December 2016

Perth Road Recycling unit - bottom of Ryehill Lane

I recently received a complaint that the Perth Road Recycling unit at the bottom of Ryehill Lane is badly needing a clean up.

I contacted the City Council and Neighbourhood Services advises :

"We have been out to view the containers and agree that it could do with a good clean. I have arranged for it to be power washed as soon as possible. We will continue to monitor the site over the next few months and take appropriate action."

Thursday 8 December 2016

Blackness Road road surface - an update

On behalf of residents, I recently raised with Dundee City Council the state of parts of the roadway of Blackness Road, which are very worn - see one example - right :

The council's Roads Maintenance Partnership has now responded as follows :

"An inspection has been carried out and although there are areas of wear at various places on Blackness Road including those highlighted in the photos you attached, there is nothing actionable at these locations. 

Blackness Road from Glenagnes Road to Glamis Road is provisionally included in the 2018-2019 Carriageway Surfacing Programme. In the meantime any actionable defects noted will be repaired to ensure safety is maintained."

I have responded saying "... given the deterioration I would be grateful if the 2018-2019 Carriageway Surfacing Programme could be reviewed and brought forward" - and I will continue to press that point as the road surface does require improvement.

Wednesday 7 December 2016

Friends of Wighton event today!

Friends of Wighton has a Lunchtime Recital  today with The Wighton Singers - at the Wighton Centre, Dundee Central Library, Wellgate.  

It starts at 1.15pm and runs until 1.45pm.

Seasonal and Scottish songs from Friends of Wighton's own song group.  

Admission is free although donations welcome!

Tuesday 6 December 2016

West End Christmas Fortnight - the finale!

Tonight's finale for the West End Christmas Fortnight will see a candlelit Community Carol Concert at Logie St John’s (Cross) Church at 6.30pm.  

This is a perfect way to round off West End Christmas Fortnight and all residents welcome!

Monday 5 December 2016

Medical History Museum open evening

From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : 

As many of you know, this year we have been creating a new permanent display for the Tayside Medical History Museum in the School of Medicine at Ninewells Hospital. We will be having an open evening to show off the results on Wednesday 7th December from 5pm to 6.30pm.    

This will include a short talk at 5.30pm by curator Matthew Jarron on Dundee’s Medical Pioneers in the Gannochy Trust Lecture Theatre, next door to the museum displays. 

The Tayside Medical History Museum has one of the finest collections in Scotland and the new displays tell the history of Dundee’s hospitals and Medical School as well as looking at pioneering research and the development of surgery and other forms of medical treatment. 

Admission is free and refreshments will be served. To help gauge numbers, we would be grateful if you could book for the event via Eventbrite here.

To find the museum, go in the main hospital entrance and turn left just before the reception desk in the main concourse.   Head along the corridor until you reach the blue promenade area for the Medical School.   Turn right before the seating area and you’ll find the displays there.

Sunday 4 December 2016

Voices at Christmas


Saturday 3 December 2016

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 5 DECEMBER 2016

Perth Road (West Park Road to Glamis Road) – occasional temporary traffic lights for 3 weeks for gas main/service connection works.

Today's West End Christmas Fortnight events ...

Today's West End Christmas Fortnight's events are :

Gate Church, 158 Perth Road - Community Lunch with Gingerbread House Competition.   11.30am to 2.30pm.  Bring the family for lunch or pop-in for coffee and cake.   For a chance to win a prize you can join in the Gingerbread House Building Competition!    No tickets required - entry and lunch/drinks are free - donations welcome.

Blackness Primary School’s Christmas Fair (10am to 12 noon), organised by the Friends of Blackness, and with a large variety of stalls.

City Church Christmas Fair - At the Friary from 10.30am until 4pm. There will be many different craft stalls, children's activities, and a Christmas cafe as well as entertainment.

Christmas Vintage Market.    11am to 4pm at Roseangle Arts Café, Perth Road.  Vintage clothing, jewellery, homewares, collectables, curios and more.

Vintage motor cavalcade in the West End shopping areas, in conjunction with Dundee Museum of Transport – starts at 1pm.    Kindly sponsored by Barnetts Motor Group, the cavalcade of vintage vehicles will proceed along Perth Road, Nethergate, West Port and Blackness Road.       There will be carol singing from 1pm at the Sinderins too!

Gate Church, 158 Perth Road - Christmas Tea and Carols Time – 3pm to 5.30pm.  Join us for Christmas themed afternoon tea, a sing-along of traditional carols and craft activities.   Please call 221222 to book a free place and, if required, transport to/from sheltered housing and residential/nursing homes available.

Friday 2 December 2016

Friends of Wighton - latest update

Sheena Wellington writes :

Friends of Wighton's last event of the year is the Lunchtime Recital on Wednesday 7th December, 1.15pm – 1.45pm with the traditional performance by The Wighton Singers.  

The Singers have had a busy year giving performances in day centres, churches and the University of Dundee's Baxter Suite. Their programme will feature seasonal and traditional Scots songs laced with their usual warmth and  good humour.

The Lunchtime Recital is free;  donations for the work of Friends of Wighton welcome. 

Thursday 1 December 2016

Take pride in your city events - December #takepridedundee


One World Centre Open Evening

All welcome at the One World Centre Open Evening on 6th December but do please advise of your attendance in advance by e-mailing secretary@oneworldcentre.org.uk - many thanks :