Dell Directory June 2022

June 2022

THE DELL DIRECTORY

LOCAL CHARITY:

COMMUNITY:

LOCAL WALK:

YOU

CAN GET INVOLVED? Colinton Community Council

P8 in 6 people are affected by a mental health challenge at any given time. A gloomy statistic, but the flip side is that there are wonderful people all around who are moved to do what they can to provide help and support – to friends, family or in a broader community sense. I interviewed one such local person for the charity article this month. Misty Hannah has taken the plunge to set up an organisation with a fresh approach to supporting people, in what she saw as a gap in the services currently available. Compassionate Accompaniment CIC is as much about prevention as support too, see the article on pages 8-9.

If you have a little bit of spare time and are looking for ways to get involved in the local community, there are two organisations who would love to hear from you - Colinton Community Council see page 7; and the Rotary Club of Braids, see page 35, are looking for members.

Two very different ways of getting involved, so one of them may be perfect for you.

THIS ISSUE Community: CCC – Could you help?.................7 Charity: Compassionate Accompaniment.......8 Ask Your Pharmacist.............................................14 Health: Hypnotherapy...........................................15 Health: Loneliness and our health....................16 Local Environment: Protecting wildlife.............22 I love food: Just say no.........................................30 Wine Tasting: Wine Memories............................32 Puzzles.......................................................................36 Lynne’s column.......................................................42 Local Walk: Tormain Hill - “I was here”............44 Clubs & Classes......................................................46

There is a walk to enjoy in this issue, near Ratho, and all our regular columns from our contributing experts.

Thanks for reading the Dell Directory and supporting local businesses and organisations. As ever, let me know what you think!

All enquiries, E: editor@konect.scot M: 07854 492638 @KonectMagazines

COVER IMAGE: It's Summertime ... hopefully!

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Could YOU help make local democracy work?

Do you care about local roads, footpaths, bridges, parks, developments, toilets, nurseries, schools, surgeries, libraries…and more?

So do we! We are Colinton Community Council and we are looking for new members.

Recently our newest City of Edinburgh Councillor described us as “such a healthy community council, with very dedicated members and expertise in abundance.”

We’ll take that, thanks very much!

Set up in 2015, we play a critical role in representing local opinion on key issues to the City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Government and other key bodies.

Exit from Spylaw Street is blocked by traffic

Queue in Bridge Road

Our latest campaign is about safety and traffic flow on Bridge Road, in the heart of Colinton details on our website www.colintoncc.org.uk/place/roads-transport. We want to ensure local knowledge and experience is taken into account in the Council’s plans.

Going forward we want to: • Increase the diversity on ColCC – we need more people of all ages and backgrounds; • Set up a local Snow and Ice Response team available to grit pavements, clear drives at short notice; and • Build a “guns for hire” list of local experts to advise on specific issues e.g. legal, financial, funding, publicity, environment, climate, development, transport etc.

If you feel you would like to be involved, come along to our next monthly meeting in public on 14th June at 7.30pm - venue details soon on our website www.colintoncc.org.uk ; Facebook and Twitter pages @colintoncc. Or get in touch now via secretary@colintoncc.org.uk We’re just in the process of moving from online to in person meetings over 2022/23, and plan to offer a blended programme over the summer, moving back to online meetings over winter- except for the December meeting when we plan to get together for a seasonal drink!

So what does being a Colinton Community Councillor involve?

As a Councillor you’ll attend monthly meetings; report impartially on any views and issues locals have raised with you; and if you’ve got a specific personal professional interest, you could be our “go to” spokesperson on that. You’ll be working with other local Community Councillors, and with City of Edinburgh elected Councillors for our Ward, on a committee that represents and listens to a truly diverse range of views.

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In return, you’ll learn a lot more about our community; about how the public sector works; and you’ll meet new people within the CC and in the community. You’ll be listening to and representing local views and contributing to the development and protection of the place where you live and that we all love-Colinton. @KonectMagazines

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Caring for ourselves is essential for our health and well-being and helps us to care for our communities.

This is the central principle of a new health and well-being service set up by West Lothian resident Misty Hannah: Compassionate Accompaniment CIC. Misty wanted to fill what she noticed is a gap in community support services for emotional and mental well-being.

Working with cancer patients, she was primarily moved to help people cope with the often overwhelming anxiety they experience during the cancer care process.

But her vision for the new service is much more than that. It brings together therapies and ideas from many years of experience and research in Sensory Awareness and compassionate care practices. Learning how to feel seen, heard, connected and more aware of what your body is communicating can transform the way you approach life’s challenges. Misty’s vision is for everyone to have the opportunity to access the resources within themselves for resilience and well-being. Compassionate Accompaniment offers support across the Central Belt for anyone struggling with isolation, anxiety, grief, chronic illness, exhaustion, recovery from surgery, or end-of-life.

“Compassionate Accompaniment” is about helping you to accompany yourself with compassion and kindness. Some challenges in life are with us for the long term, or are things that

CONTACT DETAILS:

For support, more information, book a place at the next Share Our Table, or to volunteer, please contact Compassionate Accompaniment CIC: 8 | THE DELL

we have to learn to live with. There are support services out there (some provided by the NHS) but finding out about them and accessing them can be difficult, or there are long wait times.

The unique principle behind Compassionate Accompaniment is that you are given the support to create self care practices that help you live with these challenges in your daily life without them becoming overwhelming.

“When things are uncomfortable or painful, many of us want to turn away from them,” says Misty.

“But turning away means we’re still carrying them, which can sometimes manifest as chronic health conditions or even illness.” More and more studies are showing that compassionate care is hugely beneficial to our well being and can help to prevent illness and alleviate chronic health conditions. “When we find ways to be with what is difficult, we may find treasures and resources within ourselves we never knew we had.”

Compassionate Accompaniment provides 1 to 1 and group sessions that are delivered both in person and online. Support sessions are rooted in meeting each person where they are as they are and are based on somatic sensory awareness – tracking body sensations to feel what is really happening in you, and find ways to support yourself. Our bodies hold onto stresses and trauma in different ways t: (Misty Hannah) 07752 680 261 w: compassionateaccompaniment.com e: connect@compassionateaccompaniment.com @compassionaccompaniment @compassionate_accompaniment @KonectMagazines

so by learning to identify where tensions are, checking in with your body’s natural rhythms with attention to breath and body sensations allows your mind and body to work together to release them.

Misty is passionate that everyone should be able to access the support they need. “We would never turn anyone away simply because they can’t afford to pay for help,” says Misty.

“Compassionate Accompaniment is a community interest company, and operates on the basis of pay-what-you-can.” Sensory Awareness is a life practice. It changes the way we see ourselves so that we can prioritise self-care and be healthier not only for ourselves but to be there for others too.

If you or someone you know needs support with self compassion/well being, grief support, caregiver support or end of life accompaniment, Compassionate Accompaniment is here to help. Misty would also love to hear from anyone interested in volunteering in administration or fund-raising event organisation roles. All contact details are at the end of this article.

YOU’RE INVITED! - Share Our Table

Gatherings: A day to celebrate life with a farm to table lunch, Compassionate Care workshop and time to be with the animals.

Yes, we are hoping we will get to hold baby goats.

You will have time to spend with wonderful farm animals! Being with animals has become a growing part of our work. More and more research is showing how animals can assist us with calming our nervous systems, relieving depression and anxiety, and bringing a sense of connection and compassion with ourselves and other beings.

All ticket sales go towards funding our free services for compassionate care, grief support for 1:1 and groups, end of life accompaniment and our future therapet visits. Please email to register your interest and for more information. The next gathering will be Saturday 24th September.

This article was written by Helen-Jane Gisbourne after meeting Misty Hannah, Founder & Director of Compassionate Accompaniment CIC. Helen-Jane is the editor of Konect magazines. @KonectMagazines

ABOUT MISTY

Misty has been a Tai Chi/Qi Gong practitioner for over 20 years. She is also the only Sensory Awareness Leader in the UK and delivers weekly online sessions for people all over the world, and she is an Misty Hannah, End of Life Companion MA, SME/T, with a focus on grief Founder & support. The cancer Director of care organisation Compassionate she works for locally Accompaniment brought her in to CIC. develop and deliver Qi Gong sessions for “Caring for patients, a service that ourselves helps has proved immensely us care for the beneficial with the world” number of people attending quickly reaching full capacity.

From her early years she knew the value of dance and movement as a way of healing and connection, and has a Masters degree in Dance and Somatic Well-Being. She received funding in 2019 from Firstport to set up Compassionate Accompaniment CIC - her vision for bringing all these threads together to reach as many people as possible with compassionate care services.

She has recently been awarded additional funding this year to continue bringing these services to communities.

DO YOU HAVE A FRIENDLY AND SOCIABLE DOG? - Compassionate

Accompaniment is partnering with Canine Concern to offer their new service - bringing pets to visit people who are not able to live with one themselves at home, in care homes, hospitals and universities. The health benefits of spending time with pets is well-known, and therapet visits are often transformative and an essential element of emotional support.

If you have a friendly and sociable dog, could you volunteer to accompany them on emotional support visits?

You would receive full training and always be with a Compassionate Accompaniment volunteer on a visit. Please contact Compassionate Accompaniment for more information on how you and your pet can volunteer.

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ASK YOUR PHARMACIST

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by Borrelia, a type of bacteria. It’s the most common TICK-borne infectious disease in the northern hemisphere.

Lyme disease is found in many parts of the UK, particularly in woodland or heath-land areas. It can be passed to humans and other animals through a bite from a disease carrying tick, these can also be found in cities and gardens. A tick is a tiny insect which will feed off any animal by burying its head into the skin, or coat of the animal.

They like to hide so can be hard to find and don’t usually cause noticeable pain.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FIND A TICK ON MYSELF, CHILD OR PET? The insect should be removed as soon as possible, with a tick remover or sharp tweezers aiming to ensure that its buried head is fully removed. All of the information you require can be found here at lymediseaseuk.com and we have tick removers and repellent available in the pharmacy. If you have found a tick and require assistance, you can come to the pharmacy for help.

Symptoms usually start with rash-like red circle around the site of the tick bite, not every Lyme disease patient will experience or remember a rash and it may not appear straight away. Symptoms vary including unexplained flu-like symptoms, soreness and achiness, fatigue, numbness and tingling. Left untreated, the infection can spread anywhere in the body leading to around 70 recognised symptoms.

The Ask Your Pharmacist column is contributed by Juliette Paton, Superintendent Pharmacist, Colinton Village Pharmacy. www.colintonpharmacy.co.uk 14 | THE DELL

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As summer approaches, and with it the promise of warmer weather, like many people at this time of year, you might be feeling more inclined to start making improvements to your health. Whether you’d like to lose weight for that longawaited summer holiday, to finally quit smoking, or to conquer the fear of flying that’s prevented you from travelling to your dream destination.

Whatever improvements you’d like to see in your life, if you find that you struggle to commit to these changes, it’s likely that you could be getting in your own way, and that your subconscious mind is perhaps undermining your efforts.

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So how can hypnotherapy help? Hypnotherapy is an effective tool that works to remove any unhelpful thoughts or beliefs in your subconscious that might be standing between you and your goals, enabling you to finally create that positive momentum and change. It does so by altering your state of consciousness in such a way that the analytical left-hand side of the brain is turned off, while the non-analytical right-hand side is made more alert. Since the subconscious mind is a deeper-seated, more instinctive force than the conscious mind, this is the part which has to change for a person's behaviour to alter.

If you’d like to find out more about how hypnotherapy could benefit you, get in touch for a complimentary 15-minute consultation, and take that first step towards positive change.

This article was contributed by Sophie Louise, The Therapy Room, Woodhall Road, Colinton.

See www.sophielouisehealth.com

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HEALTH

Loneliness and our Health Cigarettes are bad for health. We all know this. Action has been taken to reduce smoking in that cigarettes are not on display in shops, advertising has been banned and every packet has a large health warning. Obesity is bad for health. Again, we know this. There are many diet options to help us lose weight, we are encouraged to eat our “five a day” portions of fruit and vegetables, and there are moves to ban the advertising of junk food.

What is much less well known is that there is something else that is just as bad for our health as smoking and obesity, and that is loneliness.

Human beings are social people - we thrive on contact with others. Family gatherings, a chat to friends or work colleagues, a conversation with a fellow dog walker all contribute to a sense of community and belonging. However, the recent pandemic has isolated us like never before. Age Scotland is the leading charity representing older people in Scotland. They describe loneliness as a “public health crisis” as dangerous to a person’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 100,000 older people in Scotland feel lonely all or most of the time and 200,000 will go for 3 or 4 days without seeing or speaking to another person. 40% of our over 65s live alone. We know that social isolation has an impact on our health. It can worsen existing conditions such as Dementia or heart disease and it will

increase the risk of falls. This is a concern to all health care professionals, and should be a concern to us all.

If your Physiotherapist or GP asks about your hobbies and what you like to do, it is not because we are nosy, but because we know loneliness contributes to ill health, both mental and physical. As Physios, we have recently seen a marked increase in people telling us of the impact of loneliness in their lives.

Help is available and takes many forms, depending on your age, likes and dislikes.

For example, Age Scotland have an excellent helpline 0800 124 4222. It is free to call and open Monday – Friday 9pm-5pm. They are a great source of information about what help is available in your area. There are other options too. For instance, in Edinburgh, we have Vintage Vibes, a local charity matching older people with volunteers with similar interests for phone calls or visits.

Local Community Centres, such as the Eric Liddle Centre at Holy Corner, have a great programme of events including concerts, lunch clubs and exercise classes for all ages.

The website www.edinburgh.org is a great resource to find out what is on in Edinburgh, suitable for all ages and interests.

Loneliness is a health crisis, but we cannot help unless we recognise the problem, talk about it and spread the word to connect people. Together, this world is a better place.

The health column is contributed by McNaughton Physiogrange, Edinburgh www.physiogrange.co.uk

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LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

The last couple of articles I’ve written have been quite light-hearted but this one is going to be somewhat more serious.

We’re in the middle of nesting season and birds are working incredibly hard to raise this year’s brood, facing many challenges including potentially adverse weather and predators on the lookout for an easy meal.

These are things we can’t control but what we can, is our behaviour around the wildlife. Just last week I had to shout at someone to put their dog on a lead as it crashed around the local ponds, scaring away coots and moorhens. The bigger concern came from the male swan who is defending his nest from anything which comes too close, and made a beeline for the dog. This could end badly for both the swan and the dog if it came to a full attack (I’ve seen pictures of something similar in Musselburgh recently).

It doesn’t apply to just nesting birds on ponds but coastal areas, and farmland where there are animals grazing. I’m not 22 | THE DELL

trying to lecture anyone but equally, I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your dog on a lead at this time of year. Even if you think your dog can be trusted off lead, it’s still an animal with its own mind and could easily be distracted by something unexpectedly.

Wildlife has a hard enough time as it is and we should be doing as much as we possibly can to protect it.

This column is contributed by Clare Harte and Kate Stevenson, who grew up in Edinburgh and now live in West Lothian. Together they run Scottish Sisters Photography and travel around the country to watch and photograph amazing wildlife and scenic landscapes.

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I  FOOD

How much of your day has to do with food? Thinking about it, buying it, preparing it, fretting about the fats or carbs in it, savouring it, dealing with leftovers, daydreaming about more food … I realised a long time ago that I was fairly consumed with what I consumed! Some people eat to survive. For others, like me, thoughts of breakfast get us out of bed in the morning!

Just say no

When I watch a TV chef I’m hoping to pick up ideas about what foods taste great when combined. I don’t want to follow a recipe, but I might remember some of the things that went into a dish and how it looked when it was ready to serve.

And that will inspire me to go into my own kitchen and play with some of those ingredients and create.

The shop may not have something you require (even though the book states: “this is widely available in major supermarkets”). More stress.

When you finally arrive home, you see that you neglected to read the “prepare beforehand” bit, so there is time pressure.

My tendency to be a free spirit in the kitchen is not so much about lacking discipline as not wanting to be limited. If cooking is artistry, do you want to paint by numbers or experiment with colours and textures and flavours?

Our lives would be so much easier if we just forgot about cookery books. My advice is to 1) buy tasty meats and/or vegetables; 2) season and combine them; 3) cook or bake them; 4) enjoy your meal.

I do buy cookery books – mainly because of the beautiful colour photographs. Sometimes I scan the list of Ingredients and read through the Method. But I don’t often get stuck in and actually follow instructions. I just want to see what looks good, and then prepare and cook as I see fit – maybe incorporating one or two of the ideas I gleaned from a recipe. Do you think I need a therapist?

Many people find recipes comforting. They consider them to provide a measure of security.

I can understand this line of thought … almost.

But the stronger feeling inside me is that recipes are tyrannical and stress-producing.

First you discover you don’t have everything you need. So you have to venture out to the shop. And you don’t want to. You just want to cook.

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And then you’re instructed to do something you don’t want to do, such as removing tomato skins. So that’s annoying. And you can’t be bothered to find your reading glasses, so you add 1¼ cups instead of ¼ cup melted butter – remember my strawberry shortcake nightmare?

And the lovely cookery book gets spattered with batter, which upsets you. And the time pressure builds. Your guests are arriving in just 10 minutes. Consequently, you catch your finger in a corkscrew – remember my coq au vin nightmare?

Stand up to the tyranny of the recipe! Just say no.

I FOOD is contributed by Suzanne Green.

Suzanne is a freelance writer/editor. She is married to Andy and they have two adult daughters. @KonectMagazines

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WINE TASTING

WINE Memories Wine critics love metaphors, and I am no exception! I love translating what I smell into words and describing the texture, flavours and character of the wine.

A favourite white wine is Albarinio, made from the Albarinio grape variety grown in the Rias Baixas region of Spain. The wine pairs perfectly with shellfish and seafood, it is quite acidic on the palate and very refreshing. When I swirl the wine in the glass, the aromatic released reminds me of salty sea breezes, fresh and clean, the smell of the sea and the coast.

The link between my sense of smell and memory is very strong. When I smell an aromatic compound in a wine I am reminded of a place or experience. I then explore that memory to describe what I smell. There are times however when I smell something in nature, for example, elderflower blossom and say to myself, ‘Wow, that smells just like Sauvignon Blanc!’

This weekend I drove to Portobello, it was a foggy morning with the sun burning off the har. I parked the car and opened the door and the smell of the sea hit me; it was the smell of Albarinio!

So many times I have tasted Albarinio and said, ‘It smells like the sea’ but its really wonderful when I smell the sea and it reminds me of a wine!

The monthly wine tasting column is contributed by Joanne Frette. Joanne lives in Juniper Green with her husband and three children. For wine recommendations, reviews and details of future tasting events, please go to swirlsipsocialise.com 32 | THE DELL

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PUZZLES

JUNE CROSSWORD

^^^ Solution in the July edition of Konect ACROSS: 1. Type of pudding (7), 5. Trimmed (5), 8. Large pebbles (5), 9. Brutal (7), 10. At right angles (13), 11. Without effort (6), 12. Grieves for (6), 15. A protest (13), 18. Financial system (7), 19. Beverage (5), 20. Stairs (5), 21. Hauled (7).

DOWN: 1. Sticky liquid (5), 2. Accompanies (7), 3. Assorted (13), 4. Split (6), 5. Book of facts (13), 6. Snarl (5), 7. Removes weapons (7), 11. Goes on forever (7), 13. Fence (7), 14. Remained (6), 16. Large deer (5), 17. Nude (5).

JUNE SUDOKU

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JUBILANT JUNE Many people have swapped one of their usual May Mondays for an extra holiday at the beginning of June to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Events are being held all over the country to celebrate this milestone event – a seventy-year reign that has ousted Queen Victoria from her place in the record books as the longest reigning monarch in the UK. My mum used to tell me about a wonderful street party that was held on the grassy area outside her childhood home at the Earl Haig houses in Stenhouse in June 1953 for the coronation. I remember looking at the photo depicting a long table of smiling children with parents and grandparents around them. A pram could be seen in the background of the photo – the only sign of my big sister in the photo! The young boy at the front of the picture later turned out to be our new local newsagent in the mid 1980’s – small world!

Back in 2011 some local residents organised a party in our street to celebrate William and Kate’s wedding. I love looking at the photos of my little kids munching sandwiches at fold up tables or whizzing round the car-free cul-de-sac on their bikes. I like to think that in future years they will look back fondly at these photos with their children or grandchildren as I did with my mum’s photo.

Friends of Campbell Park are throwing 42 | THE DELL

The Big Lunch on the jubilee holiday on 2nd June 2022. I don’t actually get the public holiday and am now mum to two rather more cynical teens but if they were younger, I definitely wouldn’t have missed out on this invitation to celebrate within our community and lay down memories for generations to come.

Even if you’re not much of a royalist you have to admit that we’re living through another major event in the future history books. The last couple of years have been spent living with restrictions and cancellations so I think we should take any opportunity we can to party. So, slap on a paper crown, bake a celebration cake and mosey on to your local green space to mark history with your neighbours and enjoy some June jubilation.

Lynne lives in Colinton with her husband and two children. She dreams of being a freelance writer when she grows up but mostly just avoids growing up! @KonectMagazines

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Tormain Hill -“I was here” Tormain Hill on the outskirts of Ratho offers a gentle walk through attractive woodland, with splendid views of the surrounding countryside, yet also plays host to a surprising archaeological treasure dating back thousands of years.

Parking in the lay-by at the ‘Ratho’ sign marking horizon to the characteristic dome of Black Hill on the western edge of the village, I begin the my right, formed from solidified intruded magma walk uphill, stopping at intervals to enjoy the that never made it to the surface. commanding view of the Edinburgh skyline, The track soon switches to the west side of the from the gentle sweep of Corstorphine Hill to the wood and affords similarly far-reaching views. spires of the city. The Pentland panorama opens From the field below, a stiff breeze carries up up to my right, with the crags of Dalmahoy Hill the sweet scent of oilseed rape, just coming in the foreground. Just past the Scottish Water into flower and arrayed in mesmerising rows. I installation I cross the road and enter the woods can see right across West Lothian and the Forth to join the footpath which leads me through a Valley to the Ochils beyond and can even make narrow glade of beech and sycamore. It’s a out the profile of Ben Ledi and Ben Venue over cool, early spring morning and crystal-clear air 40 miles away. If the view east was all about the is blowing off the hills, infused volcanic rocks the western vantage is a tale of with the aroma of wild garlic the sedimentary, with the skyline which is in abundance on the Standing at this spot, with being dominated by the Five woodland floor, the flowers a hundred-mile expanse Sisters Bing near West Calder like quivering drops of cream. of central Scotland within and the Winchburgh Shale Bing.

There are clumps of bluebells These man-made mountains my field of vision I can see here and there, with spears of of rust-coloured spent shale flower buds emerging vertically why our ancient forebears now stand monument to the before separating to hang might have chosen this spot world’s first oil boom, founded down, delicate and demure. to congregate, contemplate upon the oil-rich shales laid Further on, there are carpets of down in tropical coastal lagoons celandine, whose starry blooms and make their mark. hundreds of millions of years of bright ochre offer early nectar ago, when what was to become West Lothian lay to eager bumblebees. A squirrel scampers up near the equator. the trunk of a tree, nut in mouth, and a chiff-chaff’s optimistic two-tone invocation of spring echoes Towards the summit of the hill, Scots pine through the wood. The liquid improvisation of a dominate the tree cover. I leave the main path, skylark, bubbling forth with all the exuberance of following a faint track to my left which leads me a mountain brook, drifts across from high above to the highest point. I swivel round to take in my the adjacent field and with it my mood lifts and my surroundings. Ringed by these native pines, the thoughts begin to take flight, carried aloft by the place takes on a slightly mystical atmosphere. It beautiful lilting tones. is here that I have found what I am looking for. On a few of the surrounding boulders of the outcrop The path skirts the eastern edge of the wood and are curious markings. One rock has several a viewpoint display helpfully depicts the features spread out before me. Reading the landscape on cup-shaped depressions each surrounded by a ring, and one of the cups has been further view tells a story of volcanoes long-extinct, their surrounded by three concentric arcs. The cup hard igneous rocks left standing proud above the surrounding land - from the ancient magmatic shape is repeated on other rocks nearby. cores of North Berwick Law (28 miles away), This is ancient rock art, thought to date back Castle Rock and Arthur’s Seat arrayed along the to Neolithic times. These characteristic cup44 | THE DELL

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and-ring markings have been found at a number of sites across the UK, but no-one is quite sure of their meaning. It is worth noting that one of the cup-marked rocks also has an arrow inscribed on it. This is not neolithic in origin but marks an ordnance survey triangulation reference point, added in the 19th century. Weathering and lichen have rendered the patterns less bold than they no doubt once were, such that they could be easily missed if you were not searching for them. However, they are best viewed in the early morning or evening when the low sun casts the patterns in contrasting light and shadow to dramatic effect.

Standing at this spot, with a hundred-mile expanse of central Scotland within my field of vision I can see why our ancient forebears might have chosen this spot to congregate, contemplate and make their mark. Gazing north through a gap in the pines I try to imagine the view as it would have been then and what might have been in their minds as they made their carvings.

A pheasant’s croak rouses me from my mental time travel and brings me back to the moment. I set off again and shortly reach the far end of the wood where, beyond the fence, sheep dotted upon rolling green pasture with the hills behind forms a picture postcard view. On the return leg of the walk the track passes through the pockmarked grounds of a rabbit warren then bears right, skirting round the edge of a wider apron of woodland on the lower east slope before re-joining the inward path.

More recent residents have recorded their presence too. ‘Sam woz ere’ announces the trunk of a large beech. By the scarring on the bark I estimate Sam passed through at least a couple of decades ago, having also selected a canvas of relative permanence, one of the largest and most imposing trees in the wood.

Thinking back to our ancient ancestors with their rock tools, then presently to my fingers on this keyboard, it occurs to me that perhaps we all strive to communicate in some way the same fundamental message - whether inscribed on rock, tree, or page….simply: “I was here”.

This article was contributed by William Weir.

William is a scientist and amateur writer/ photographer who lives locally. In his spare time he enjoys exploring the trails and wild spaces of West Lothian and the Pentland Hills. @KonectMagazines

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SOLUTIONS

SPORTS, HOBBIES, LEARNING, SUPPORT GROUPS & MORE...

SOLUTION TO MAY CROSSWORD PUZZLE

THE SWING CAFÉ - Colinton Parish Church, Dell Road, Colinton EH13 0JD. Tuesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. Please come for breakfast (10am-12noon), lunch (12noon-2pm) or some delicious home baking (available all day). We also offer afternoon teas (2pm4pm), by pre-ordering on 07564 081472. There will be gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and dairy-free options available. Under 12s are invited to enjoy a children's menu. Sit in or take away. We look forward to welcoming you.

DESTINATION JUDO @ CRAIGLOCKHART - Craiglockhart sports Centre. Wednesdays 3.45pm (5-8 year olds) and 4.30pm (9+ year olds). Judo is a dynamic sport based on a combination of balance, co-ordinationation and reaction. Most importantly judo helps children become more self aware, disciplined, and polite. Of course we teach all this in a fun way. For information please email callum@ destinationjudo.com or call 0131 467 9043.

COLINTON LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY - Want to know about local history? Visit: www.colintonhistory.org or Email: enquiries@colintonhistory.org COLINTON LITERARY SOCIETY - Our talks are postponed until October 2022. Keep up to date with latest news about the Lit on the Church website www.colinton-parish.com

ACROSS: 1. Oven, 3. Admitted, 9. Extract, 10. Tower, 11. Contemporary, 14. Mrs, 16. Plane, 17. See, 18. Explanations, 21. China, 22. Emotion, 23. Disaster, 24. Cell.

DOWN: 1. Overcome, 2. Eaten, 4. Dot, 5. Intersection, 6. Thwarts, 7. Dire, 8. Caterpillars, 12. Plain, 13. Personal, 15. Sixties, 19. Olive, 20. Acid, 22. Ewe.

SOLUTION TO SUDOKU ON PAGE 34

COLINTON GARDEN CLUB - Club members share their love of gardening, gardens and nature, and work together to preserve and add value to our quality of life here in south-west Edinburgh. Monthly members’ meetings on a Monday, plus outings and events.

For more information see: www.colintongardens.org.uk or Email: membership@colintongardens.org

LUNCHCLUB - Every Wednesday 1pm – 3pm, 3 courses £4.

Spaces are limited, first come first served. Oxgangs Neighbourhood Centre, 71 Firhill Drive, EH13 9EU. Please visit: www.oxgangsneighbourhoodcentre.org.uk

PARENT AND TODDLER GROUP - Tuesdays, am session and pm session for two age groups (all under 5s). Oxgangs Neighbourhood Centre, 71 Firhill Drive, EH13 9EU. Contact for details Tel.: 0131 466 0678 or Email: oxgangsneighbourhoodcentre@gmail.com OXGANGS NEIGHBOUR CENTRE CAFE 10.00am to 1.00pm. Bacon rolls, baked potatoes, toasties, specials, teas, coffees and cake. Sit in or takeaway.

To include your Club or Class, please email details, up to 75 words, to editor@konect.scot Not-for-profit groups are FREE. There is a small charge for businesses. See www.konect.scot for information.

46 | THE DELL

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Publisher: Lothian Publications Ltd. Geddes House, Kirkton North, Livingston, West Lothian EH54 6GU. Magazine Design: Alan Stewart t/a Universal Appeal M: 07729 911858 E: alan@universal-appeal.com

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