Lots of great music available!


Many thanks to Sheena Wellington of Friends of Wighton a great update on some of the music that can be accessed on-line!

“There is still a wheen of music  happening online and here are your links to some of it!     Apologies to any artist I have missed!

Campbell’s Ceilidh taking place regularly on a Sunday Evening as hosted by Mairi Campbell https://www.facebook.com/groups/1073287133041711/ or email Mairi direct mairi_campbell@hotmail.com

Allan Taylor’s See Ye Sunday live every Sunday afternoon at 3.30 pm https://www.facebook.com/afc1983

Josie Duncan (including a GYOMS supported song session) is online at: https://www.facebook.com/JosieDuncanMusic/videos/

Bruce MacGregor Besides presenting Travelling Folk on BBCScotland, Bruce also has ‘Live at Five’ (a wee show from the virtual MacGregor’s bar) every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday https://www.facebook.com/MacGregorsBars/

Anna Massie daily tunes, great craic and the occasional travel commentary https://www.facebook.com/AnnaMassieMusic/

Folk at Salmon Bothy Friday Frolics evening sessions – details at https://www.facebook.com/bothyfolk/

Edinburgh Folk Club livestream regular gigs https://www.facebook.com/edfolkclub/

Why not check out the virtual versions of the following events –

Edinburgh International Harp Festival www.harpfestival.co.uk
Orkney Folk Festival www.orkneyfolkfestival.com
Knockengorroch World Ceilidh https://www.facebook.com/Knockengorroch

The Traditional Music Forum have a new website with listings of livestream events https://scotlandonline.org

Music from Scotland https://www.facebook.com/MusicfromScotland  is a new page dedicated to all genres, from traditional Scottish folk music to emerging Scottish artists.

‘Traditional Tunes for Tiny People’ is a Live Music Now Scotland project aimed at teaching families and young people traditional Scottish tunes and songs with many familiar faces taking part: https://www.youtube.com/livemusicnowscotland

The Bit Collective https://www.facebook.com/thebitcollective has regular livestreams including from artists such as Corrina Hewat, Marie Fielding, Ellie Beaton and Lori Watson.
Keith TMSA Virtual Festival which is due to run from Friday 12 June to Sunday 14 June in on Facebook and KCR – 107.7fm using a mix of live, pre-recorded and archive footage. More details can be found at www.facebook.com/keithfestival. 

There are some great concerts from the finest young musicians of Live Music Now at https://www.facebook.com/livemusicnowscotland/ 

Ensemble Hesperi will be live on Facebook every Friday  at 1pm https://www.facebook.com/pg/EnsembleHesperi/videos

Enjoy!”


Colourful Riverside! #dundeewestend

With grateful thanks to the resident who sent me this, a colourful display of margaritas and poppies on Riverside Drive!




Book delivery service



The following update is from Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action with grateful thanks – I am delighted to see this service being launched as I have had a number of constituents asking about how to access library books and this service will be a real help :

“Lots of the Older People’s Network told us that they were looking for books or jigsaws to keep them busy during lockdown whilst the library service is unavailable. We are working with the HOPE Project, Grey Lodge Settlement and Dundee West Church who have these items available.

If you or someone you know would like to request a hard copy of a book or jigsaw, please contact Maureen and she will arrange a volunteer through our Get Local Support project to pick one up and deliver it to you. We are unlikely to be able to pick preferred authors for you due to limited supplies, so it will be more of a surprise!

Please note that these items should be quarantined for 48 hours for paperbacks or 72 hours for plastic covered books (like library books) and wiped down before use.

If you have any books or jigsaws that you would like to donate, please get in touch with Maureen.

For more information or to request a delivery please contact Maureen on MMcLay@hillcresthomes.org.uk or call 0300 123 2640 extension 5731.”


Work on the Tay Rail Bridge #dundeewestend

I have received the following update from Network Rail :

“Work is now underway to replace more than 1,200 sleepers located on the iconic Tay Bridge, the longest railway structure in Scotland.
This project, which will be ongoing until September, is designed to extend the life of the track and is being delivered in a way which minimises the disruption for passengers.  It represents an investment of more than £500,000 to improve the resilience and reliability of the line for passengers.
One in three sleepers including baseplates and Pandrol clips – which hold the tracks onto the sleepers – are being replaced and ballast below renewed and re-packed. This will deliver improvements to the stability and extend the lifespan of the track.  
It represents an investment of more than £500,000 to improve the resilience and reliability of the two-mile-long structure and follows on from the £75m restoration of the bridge’s metalwork completed in 2017.
Some of the sleeper’s base plates date back to the early 1960’s and the timber sleepers are now at the end of their natural life having been open to the elements and the impacts of the salty air in this exposed coastal location. 
It equates to circa 60 tonnes of sleepers being installed and an equivalent amount of redundant material and spoil being removed from the bridge over the period of the project.
This approach being taken delivers a balance between maintaining the track to ensure it is fit for the volume of traffic travelling over the bridge while avoiding disruption to passenger services on the busy East Coast Mainline.”

I have had some correspondence with Network Rail about this as I am concerned that there is no noise impact overnight for residents who live near the bridge around Roseangle/Magdalen Yard Road.    My colleagues who represent the area on the south side of the bridge on Fife Council (Cllrs Jonny Tepp and Tim Brett) have raised this too.

Residents close to the bridge were sent a letter last month giving further information and I quote this below (removing some dates of work now past) :

“Work will take place each night between the hours of 23:00 and 07:00 on the following dates:

Sunday 21st June 2020 to Wednesday 24th June 2020
Tuesday 30th June 2020 to Thursday 2nd July 2020
Monday 6th July 2020 to Thursday 9th July 2020
Sunday 19th July 2020 to Wednesday 22nd July 2020
Sunday 26th July 2020 to Thursday 30th July 2020
Monday 3rd August 2020 to Thursday 6th August 2020
Monday 24th August 2020 to Thursday 27th August 2020
Sunday 30th August 2020 to Thursday 3rd September 2020

This work will involve track maintenance at the Tay Bridge. Unfortunately, the equipment we use – in this case Rail Road Vehicles, on-track plant and hand power tools – means that some noise is unavoidable, but we will do all we can to minimise it.  We have also asked those working on site to work with consideration for the local community.

We understand that working by your property overnight is far from ideal, but we are legally obliged to work on the railway at times that cause least disruption to trains.  Unfortunately, this means carrying out a lot of our work at weekends or at night.

I hope our work doesn’t disturb you too much but if you have any questions or concerns please call our 24-hr helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or via our website www.networkrail.co.uk/contactus”

If any constituent has any concerns or has noted any noise disturbance, I’d be pleased to speak with them and can be contacted on Dundee 459378 at any time.


Botanic Garden on-line event today! #dundeewestend


Later today!   

The Botanic Garden Gardeners’ Question and Answer forum at 2pm.

Please send your questions and pictures to BotanicGardens@dundee.ac.uk

The garden team is looking forward to hearing from you !

See more at www.facebook.com/UoDBotanicGarden/videos/1733869686766840