Friday 31 October 2014

Food Train Friends in the West End @FoodTrainScot

From the excellent Dundee Food Train service :

"We have been successful in securing funding from the Dundee Partnership small grants and Reshaping care for Older People to pilot a befriending service in the West End of Dundee for six month.   The project aims to offer short trips to older people over 65 to visit a supermarket in Dundee with support on a 1:1 basis with a volunteer. 

One of the outcomes from our annual survey of customers using our grocery delivery service was the desire to have an occasional visit to a supermarket.    The intention being that these customers otherwise housebound or having poor mobility would be able to see first-hand new products and special offers available in store and have a better idea of what groceries they might try when ordering through Food Train. 

Food Train Friends in the West End of Dundee will hopefully reduce the social isolation and loneliness experienced by some older people in the community.    This will be by offering the opportunity to visit the supermarket (possibly Morrisons as it has a cafĂ© in store), meet other people and through the social element reduce people’s dependency on family and neighbours. Experience of other Food Train Friends services show that this would give older people a sense of being less reliant on these people. 

In an evaluation of Food Train Friends running in Dumfries customers commented on the difference the befriending service made.   The responses showed that without the service customers would have a limited amount of social contact with peers and volunteers, and a limited amount of enjoyment in their lives (things to look forward to and memories to treasure when back home). 

The cost will be £3 which will include the cost for the tea/coffee and snack, participants who are not members of Food Train will have to pay £1 to join. We plan is to offer this service to six older people per month, for six months running to March 2015. Thereafter an evaluation will be carried out and further funding will be sourced to hopefully roll out the service across Dundee."

Thursday 30 October 2014

Temporary Traffic Order : Cleghorn Street

Having raised with the council on a number of occasions in the past, on behalf of local residents, the poor condition of the road surface in Cleghorn Street, I am pleased to see this Traffic Order coming forward that will see the street resurfaced.

From the City Council :

Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating carriageway resurfacing works.  The Order is expected to be in force for fifteen days from 3 November 2014.  Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months.

The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Cleghorn Street from Lochee Road to City Road.

Limited access will be maintained to properties on Cleghorn Street.

An alternative route will be available via Lochee Road, Tullideph Road and City Road for northbound traffic and via Lochee Road, Polepark Road and Milnbank Road for southbound traffic.

Please forward any comments you may have regarding this proposal to the Network Management Team, City Development Department, Dundee House, 50 North Lindsay Street, Dundee  DD1 1LS.  If you have any queries please call 433082.

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Changes to 333 hospital link bus service

From Monday 24th November 2014, Service X7 (Dundee - Montrose - Aberdeen) will extend beyond Dundee to serve Perth Royal Infirmary.    After Dundee Bus Station, the stops of this service will be Dundee Rail Station, West Port, Sinderins, Royal Victoria Hospital, then via the current stops of Service 333.

This will run every hour Monday to Saturday, with as two-hourly Perth service on Sundays (the original Aberdeen – Dundee route remains hourly).

This will be a much-enhanced replacement for Hospital Link Service 333 (Royal Victoria Hospital/Ninewells Hospital/Perth Royal Infirmary), which will no longer operate after Friday 21st November 2014.

Many thanks to Suzy Scott from www.dundeebuses.info for this update.

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Friends of Balgay AGM

The 2014 Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Balgay will take place on Saturday 1st November at 2pm at the Mills Observatory.

Guest speaker is Jim Crumley, who will give a talk on eagles - both golden and sea - and the evolving relationship between them.

Refreshments will be provided and all are welcome!

Monday 27 October 2014

Riverside Drive resurfacing works - a further update

From the Roads Maintenance Partnership Manager from Dundee City Council/Tayside Contracts earlier today in response to my request for information on the promised road surface quality inspection:

"The works are not fully complete therefore I have not carried out a final inspection yet.  I have however carried out an interim inspection of the carriageway surface.    In general the surface matrix is good, well bound, appropriately chipped etc.    I anticipate however that the enquiry relates to the vertical profile of the road on the westbound carriageway between the Tesco roundabout and the Tay Rail Bridge.    Due to the flatness of the existing road and previous drainage issues in the area, the new road surface has been profiled to ensure positive drainage to the existing drainage channels on the south side.   This means that, as expected, there is slow rise and fall effect on the surface.   During my inspection however I noted a a couple of transverse joints in the surfacing that are out of tolerance and these accentuate the effect.   Repair works will be carried out to these joints in due course, however, as we do in most cases with road surfacing works, we will leave the newly opened road in service for a period of time and monitor the performance of the whole surface before undertaking these identified repairs. 

I'm also aware that I advised the traffic management would be removed by the middle of last week. Unfortunately we have been delayed further due to resource issues and weather.   The surfacing on the westbound cycleway/footway will be completed today which will allow the majority of the TM to be removed, this will leave a small section of footway at the Tesco end to be completed.   This will be carried out following the alteration to a couple of street lighting columns    The pedestrian crossings will not be fully commissioned for a number of weeks due to other commitments with the signals contractor."

I am anxious to see a full inspection of the road undertaken as soon as possible as I have had a number of constituents raise issues about it with me.    I'm also anxious to see the remainder of the traffic management cones etc removed ASAP so the road can get back to a degree of normality.

City Council Committees

A lengthy set of City Council committee meetings tonight at which :

* At Education Committee, I welcomed a report on extending language learning in primary schools (Blackness PS is in the pilot of this) and asked questions about choice of languages.

* At Environment Committee, I paid tribute to the Friends of Magdalen Green (and in particular Sharon Dickie and Alice La Rooy) for their huge efforts with the Roseangle playpark campaign, which reached fruition tonight as committee approved the go-ahead for the improvement works.   I also welcomed improvements to the Ancrum Road allotments and queried progress with the review of the council's vehicle fleet.

* At Housing Committee, I supported a Labour amendment to allow for an additional (and lower) possible rent increase option to be included in the proposed consultation with tenants on 2015/16 rent levels (this was defeated by the SNP administration).   In a debate on the review of council housing allocations policy, I emphasised the need for a facility to allow people to apply to the waiting list on-line and asked a question about progress towards the Common Housing Register, bringing together allocations/waiting lists of all major social landlords in Dundee.

* At City Development Committee, I welcomed use of Vacant and Derelict Land Fund monies to produce a feasibility study to support redevelopment of Queen Victoria and Regent Works and queried the suggested siting of an electric vehicle charging point on Perth Road west of Shepherd's Loan.

* At Policy & Resources Committee, I supported Bailie Derek Scott's proposal that the council make no submission to the Smith Commission on the basis that no submission could adequately summarise the views of all four political parties on the council.    Unsurprisingly, the motion from the SNP administration was simply a re-hash of the SNP government's submission and adds nothing to the debate whatsoever.   It is better that parties seek common ground, in my view.

On the issue of the council's draft Gaelic Action Plan, I successfully moved an amendment that allows the draft to go forward as a basis for consultation on the Plan (this is a legal requirement), but with no commitment on the part of the City Council to implement all or any of the recommendations in the draft.   I am totally against significant expenditure on new signage, translation services, etc in a city with such a small Gaelic-speaking population.

Adult Learning Newsletter - Autumn 2014 edition

The Autumn 2014 City Council Adult Learning Newsletter has been published, highlighting adult learning opportunities across the city.   

You can download the full newsletter here.    

Courses include “Just the Job”, a course starting at the Mitchell Street Centre on 30th October.

Sunday 26 October 2014

Good news on Harris Academy second School Crossing Patroller

As I mentioned earlier this month, I have, over a considerable period, pressed the City Council to provide a second School Crossing patroller in Lawton Road at the Harris Academy decant site, given the very large footfall (1000+ pupils) in the morning, lunchtime and at the end of the school day.

I have raised this at the Harris Academy Project Board and was given assurances that steps were being taken to recruit additional school crossing patrollers.

I have now been advised by the City Council's Head of Education (Secondary and Additional Support Needs) as follows :

"As far as I am aware, Tayside Contracts are confident that two SCPs will be in Lawton Road area when schools go back. 

They have now also filled all vacant posts depending on successful PVG checks.

With these posts now filled I understand they are now looking to establish a reasonable sized supply pool and are to be advertising again shortly."

I am pleased that, with the schools going back tomorrow, a further crossing patroller will be provided hopefully this coming week - it is needed at such a busy location given the large school roll at Harris Academy.

Duncan of Jordanstone Open Days

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is holding its latest open days tomorrow and Tuesday – 27th and 28th October.

These are an excellent way for people to see DJCAD before applying.    Everyone is welcome to attend including school students, college students, parents, teachers and careers advisers.

The visit days will include scheduled talks, tours of DJCAD and the chance to speak to staff and students.

You can find out more here - see also video below :

Saturday 25 October 2014

Discovery Film Festival 2014

Discovery Film Festival  :   Scotland's International Film Festival for Young Audiences

Saturday 25th October – Sunday 9th November 2014

Discovery Film Festival is now in its eleventh year and starts today. 

Based at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and touring to partner venues throughout Scotland, the festival screens films from all over the world which have been specially programmed for young audiences.

The festival includes three exciting weekends of films, creative activities, and gala events, as well as two weeks of screenings and events for schools.

Discovery aims to develop new audiences for the best in international film, improve media literacy and offer young audiences an insight into the lives of children and young people in other cultures.

The festival has been running since 2004 when it was started as partnership with Dundee City Council's Education Development Department, Scottish Screen and DCA.

You can find out more here.

Friday 24 October 2014

Tait's Lane - an update

I recently reported that the pathway from Tait's Lane to Peddie Street is in need of tidying, with some weeds require removal and the foliage requires trimming - see right.   The council had also advised me that it would attend to overgrown foliage in the Tait’s Lane car park area.

On the pathway, the City Council’s Environment has now advised me that:

" ... we will have this sprayed out ... also, regarding the shrubs, this will be carried out at the same time as the car park area."

Thursday 23 October 2014

Meeting with Logie residents

Last night, I had the pleasure of chairing a well-attended meeting of Logie residents, which took place at the Lime Street sheltered lounge.

I am indebted to the City Council's Conservation Officer who spoke with the residents about the new draft Logie Conservation Area Appraisal document currently out to consultation.   He also answered a wide range of Conservation Area related questions from residents.    There are currently two other West End conservation area draft appraisals out to consultation (West End Suburbs and West End Lanes) - more details here.

At the meeting we also discussed various other issues - including the outcome of the recent consultation questionnaire on the future of the Glenagnes Street lock-ups, house insulation and bin collections.

Temporary closure of cycle path Greenmarket to Roseangle

The cycle path across the former rail goods yard, now digital media park, was closed earlier this month as a result of the construction works for the new Seabraes pedestrian bridge.    

The City Council has advised me :

"Signage was erected one week in advance to notify cyclists that the section of cycleway in question would be closed from the 14th October 2014.  Please see ... photo.
The cycleway was closed ... and appropriate diversion signs are in place."

I have made the point to the City Council that, unlike a road closure, there is no advance Traffic Order notice system for cycle path closures.   So the first time one constituent who hadn't used the path for a few weeks knew it was closed was when he walked along it, only to find the access blocked.   I have suggested an informal notice is published for such cycle path closures in future to allow advance publicity wider than at the site itself.

Here's the diversion route during the works :

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Busy Tuesday

Yesterday morning, following a meeting with the Director of Housing to discuss options for council house rent levels for 2015/16, I took part in a 'walkabout' round the Logie area.

The six-monthly walkabouts take place in a number of areas (Pentland and Blackness are other examples) and are a useful way to look at local issues and problems and ensure these are taken up and resolved.

Here's some of issues picked up from yesterday's walkabout:
Overgrown foliage across the pavement in Glenagnes Road to be trimmed
Missing street sign in Glenagnes Street to be replaced
Ownership of untidy ground in Logie Avenue to be ascertained and tidied

Untidy area at side of Glenagnes Street pavement to be tidied
After the walkabout, I attended the latest meeting of the Jericho House support group, a regular meeting at which a number of us discuss fundraising and other projects to support this important facility in the West End Ward, that assists those recovering from alcoholism.   It was a very positive meeting, covering various of Jericho House's activities including charity fundraising.

Temporary Traffic Order : Hawkhill and Brown Street

From the City Council:

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984  :  SECTION 14(1)

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water manhole repair works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in 

Hawkhill (prohibit right turn into Brown Street), Dundee
Brown Street (prohibit right turn into Hawkhill), Dundee

This notice comes into effect on Thursday 23 October 2014 for one day.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles will be available via Hawkhill (northbound)/ Hunter Street roundabout / Hawkhill (southbound) and Hawkhill (southbound) / West Port roundabout / Hawkhill (northbound).

For further information contact 433082.

Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Joseph Lee, War Poet - Book Launch at the Literary Festival @literarydundee

As a member of the Black Watch's 4th Battalion during the Great War, Joseph Johnston Lee spent time not only living and fighting in the trenches, but also as a German prisoner of war in 1917.

Incredibly, the Dundonian channelled the experience into his literary and artistic passions, writing poems and drawing sketches of the wretched time to send home.

He is often referred to as Scotland's forgotten poet, but in his day he was widely regarded as one of the best in the world.

Tomorrow evening sees the launch of a new edition of Lee's poems.    Held as part of the Dundee Literary Festival, the evening will include a biographical and critical introduction and readings of his poetry.

The event starts at 7.30pm tomorrow in the Bonar Hall and is free but ticketed - get your tickets by following the links here.

Monday 20 October 2014

Tayside Medical History Museum free public lecture

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

Rachel Anderton   :   “Mad Dundee” 1900-1920: Understanding Changing Attitudes to Mental Illness

Tuesday 21 October at 6pm  :   Gannochy Trust Lecture Theatre, School of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital

This free public lecture, co-organised by the Tayside Medical History Museum and the Abertay Historical Society, allows us to look at the history of the stigma of mental illness, and assess how attitudes towards it changed in Dundee in the early 20th century. 

For the first time, people began to understand the relationship between mental health and poverty, though not to the same degree that we understand it today. 

Rachel, who recently graduated in History from the University of Dundee, will look at the changes that were underway in society, literature and policy at that time, and discuss how attitudes towards mental health changed as a result, with a particular focus on Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum (later Liff Hospital) allowing a local insight into issues which still face us in society today.

Free admission – no need to book.

Sunday 19 October 2014

Launch of Dundee Botanic Garden Endowment Trust @DundeeBotanics

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Dundee Botanic Garden Endowment Trust, part of a great day of well-supported activities at the Botanic Garden.     
You can find out more about the Endowment Trust by contacting the Botanic Garden - contact details here.

Some photos from yesterday's activities :
Lady Dalhousie welcomes guests
Forfar and District Pipe Band
Dr Hugh Ingram gives an official welcome
Gardeners' Question time with Nicola McNee, Lady Catherine Erskine,
Jim McColl and John Stoa

Saturday 18 October 2014

Last couple of days ...

On Thursday, I took part in a walkabout with council officers round the Pentland area, similar to the one last Tuesday in Blackness, at which we identified and take action on local issues.

In Pentland, the following were taken up - amongst other issues :
Repairs to steps at various locations in Pentland are being undertaken
Overgrown bushes in Pentand Avenue are to be trimmed
and trees requiring trimming also reported
I have reported paint vandalism to a utility box at
Colinton Street/Saggar Street to British Telecom

Later on Thursday, I chaired the latest meeting of the West End Christmas Fortnight committee, at Blackness Library.    

We are very pleased with progress with this year's events and it will be the biggest and best Christmas Fortnight yet!   

Christmas Fortnight runs from Saturday 22nd November to Saturday 6th December.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Rev David Gray, new Minister at Logie and St John's (Cross) Church at the church's Community Cafe.    

I look forward to working with him in the coming years and wish him every success in his new role.

Friday 17 October 2014

Friends of Wighton - latest update

With thanks to Sheena Wellington, here's the latest update from Friends of Wighton :


Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library :   Cappuccino Concert: Saturday 18th October

Doors open at 10.30am, concert starts 11am, tickets £5 at door, coffee and biscuits available (£1 donation suggested)

Katherine Liley, Fiddle & Martin MacDonald Guitar

With an upbringing steeped in Highland piping tradition, Martin started playing guitar for local ceilidh bands in his early teens. This is where he developed his unique accompaniment style.   He still prefers playing a West Highland, pipe-tune based repertoire as reflected in the duos he has formed with fiddlers Carol Anderson and Katherine Liley. He has also appeared regularly with such folk luminaries as Dave Swarbrick and Cathal McConnell.  As well as accompanying, he plays solo guitar arrangements of traditional tunes. Martin does not like folk-pop.

Katherine is from Claigan on the Isle Of Skye but now teaches strings in Angus, and runs the county youth folk group.   She also presents 'Celtic Celebrations' on Heartland FM.   An honours graduate from Strathclyde University's BA Applied Music, she studied and performed with some of Scotland's best known musicians.    She toured widely in the past with Skelpaig and 2014 has included performances at Belladrum and Hebridean Celtic Festival.  Her latest project involves tunes from Gow's and other great Scottish Collections, along with her own compositions and a large helping of Gaelic and pipe tunes.

Thursday 16 October 2014

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Further update on Riverside Drive/Riverside Approach

I had a concern raised about the quality of the finished road surface on Riverside Drive and have had the following update from the Roads Maintenance Partnership Manager at Tayside Contracts, which also updates on the re-opening of the right turn from Riverside drive (heading west) into Riverside Approach and the removal of traffic management :

"I'm not aware of there being any surfacing issues however, a final inspection of the works will be carried out next week and I'll provide feedback following this.

With regards completion of the works and previous correspondence. The traffic management will not be completely removed until Wednesday next week however, as of this Friday all vehicular restrictions will be lifted i.e. Riverside Approach will be open to right turn movements in a westbound direction.   The outstanding works will be the completion of the footways and other minor works which require traffic management to be left in place for H&S reasons."

Tuesday meetings

Yesterday morning, along with the area Housing Officer and a representative of the council's City Development Department's Roads Team, I took part in a walkabout round the Corso Street, Abbotsford Street and Place, Blackness Road and Peddie Street areas, to look at local issues and ensure any problems are resolved.

Here are some of the matters we tackled yesterday :
Pavement repair required - corner of Peddie Street and Abbotsford Place - now reported for repair
Litter removal required - communal area - Peddie Street
Tree branches across pavement - Abbotsford Place - reported for trimming
Drain cover Blackness Road - reported for repair
Last night, I attended the October meeting of West End Community Council, at which there was an interesting address by Derrick Lang, the Dundee Airport Manager.   

My Update to the Community Council for October covered both West End Christmas Fortnight plans and also pavement improvements locally.   You can download the Update here.

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Monday meetings @WEndChristmas

Yesterday, I participated in a very useful meeting with Dundee Museum of Transport, who are kindly undertaking a vintage car cavalcade in the West End as part of the opening events of West End Christmas Fortnight on Saturday 22nd November.   The photo - right - was taken at the museum yesterday - it is well worth a visit!

Last night, I also participated a productive meeting at Dundee Contemporary Arts at which the excellent Discovery Walk proposal was discussed in detail.     The project is making good progress and will be an excellent addition to the city's waterfront.

Monday 13 October 2014

Update on Riverside Approach access

Further to my update on 29th September about the Riverside Drive works, I have just received the following update from Tayside Contracts :

"Due to issues with weather at the beginning of last week and some other operational issues. It will be the end of the week before all traffic management will be removed from the works. 

Riverside Approach is now open to traffic, the only restriction is the right turn manoeuvre to Riverside Approach in the westbound direction."

Farington Street - HGVs problems to be hopefully resolved

A constituent recently contacted me regarding an HGVs issue in Farington Street as follows:

"For some years now we have had problems with larger HGVs using Farington Street to get from Perth Road to Blackness Road.    Drivers unfamiliar with the area do not realise that, after the street rounds the corner to the right, it then joins Westgrove Avenue which is considerably narrower and on a very tight corner.  The problem seems to have been exacerbated recently by the use of sat navs which are directing HGV drivers up Farington Street, these devices not taking into account the physical layout of the junction at the top.

It came to a head (recently) when a driver became completely stuck on the corner with his articulated lorry and trailer.  He ended up blocking the road for around half-an-hour as he carefully manoeuvred the large trailer using his fork-lift truck to align it so that he could then continue north on to Blackness Road."

See photo of the stuck vehicle - right.

I contacted the City Council's Head of Transportation who has responded positively, saying, "We've looked at this previously and I feel that these pictures really illustrate perfectly the situation HGV drivers could inadvertently find themselves. Some advisory signage at the foot of Farington Street seems appropriate."

The Team Leader in the council's Network Management Team has since advised that:

"I have arranged for a site inspection for Farington Street and from the inspection I will arrange for 'Unsuitable for HGVs' sign to be placed at the bottom of Farington Street/Perth Road junction and at the top and bottom of West Grove Avenue. The sign at the top of West Grove Avenue will catch HGVs from accessing Farington Street from the northerly direction.

The Minor Works budget which would provide funds for this type of works is committed for this years budget 2014/15 with the projected expenditure as per budget availability. 

If additional funds become available I will arrange for the signs to be placed this financial year. However if no additional funds are available the signs will be included in 2015/16 Minor Works Programme for works to be carried out in the first quarter."

Sunday 12 October 2014

Road safety at Pinegrove - an update

Earlier this year, I mentioned that residents had highlighted to me a road safety concern at the south exit from Pinegrove that exits onto Shepherd's Loan.

The part of Shepherd's Loan that the slip road exists onto is the one-way only (northwards) at the north end of Shepherd's Loan, but there was no 'one-way only' sign on exit.    Vehicles had been noted by residents exiting south onto Shepherd's Loan in error.

At the time of my last update, I reported that the Pinegrove factors (Graham & Sibbald) had kindly agreed to a site visit with City Council officers to see if a “one way” sign could be placed within the curtilage of Pinegrove given the difficulty of placing it on the very narrow public footpath in Shepherd’s Loan.  

This has since taken place and the sign is now in place – see right.   My grateful thanks to Graham & Sibbald for their assistance with getting this issue successfully resolved.

Saturday 11 October 2014

Temporary Traffic Order : Step Row

From the City Council :

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984   :   SECTION 14(1)

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of gas service connection works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Step Row (from Provost McGowan Place to Magdalen Yard Road), Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Monday 13 October 2014 for 5 working days.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles will be available via Perth Road / Windsor Street / Magdalen Yard Road.

For further information contact 433082.

Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

Friday 10 October 2014

Thursday 9 October 2014

Local TV for Dundee?

I have long campaigned for local TV for Dundee and, now that, for example, STV Glasgow is up and running and STV Edinburgh scheduled to launch on 5 January 2015, I am pleased to note that the local TV licence for Dundee is now being advertised.

Ofcom advises that "The closing date for applications for the Scottish areas of Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, Forth Valley and Inverness, and the English areas of Carlisle and Stoke on Trent, is 23 October 2014."

I am hoping there will be real interest in the local TV licence for Dundee.

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting

Last night, I took part in the latest Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting.    

We had a progress report on the Roseangle playpark campaign and also discussed the 2014 Friends of Magdalen Green Christmas Cards – more details to follow!

The Friends are running another Soup and Pudding lunch at Dundee West Church, following on from the great success of last year’s.    It will take place on Saturday 15th November at Dundee West Church between 11.30am and 1.30pm – with stalls including home baking, crafts, books and a tombola.

Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden event @DundeeBotanics

On Wednesday 15th October, the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden are holding another event as part of the Dundee Afternoon Lecture Series.

Dr Andy Taylor of the James Hutton Institute will talk on ‘Exploring Scotland’s Forgotten Kingdom’. 

He will highlight new and exciting research on the fungi in Scotland, including how they respond strongly to our climate and how they may tell us about past glacial events. 

The talk will be in the D’Arcy Thomson lecture theatre in the University Tower Building at 2.15pm and admission is £2.

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Happy Birthday Pine Court!

Earlier this afternoon, I was delighted to attend the start of today's celebrations of the 20th Anniversary of the opening of Pine Court in Logie Gardens.

As Karen Wolstencroft, Home Scotland's Customer Services Manager, said in her address to the large group of residents, family members and guests present, Pine Court has been a great success over the past twenty years in providing a quality sheltered housing community for both the Chinese and Scottish folk who live there.

Here's some photos from today's celebrations:
Colourful entertainment at the Pine Court celebrations!
Karen Wolstencroft opens the day's celebrations
Mrs Wong, at 91, has lived at Pine Court since it opened back in 1994.
She did the honours in cutting the Anniversary Celebration Cake!