Police Community Surgeries in the West End #dundeewestend

The next West End community police surgery takes place tomorrow at the Harris Academy community facility - details below and all residents welcome :

Getting things done - Perth Road #dundeewestend

Many residents have contacted me recently about on-going flooding of Perth Road opposite the junction with Riverside Place.

I contacted both Scottish Water and the City Council's Roads Maintenance Partnership about this recurring issue and both promptly responded.

The council's Roads Maintenance Partnership has advised as follows :

"An investigation is to be carried out in the forthcoming weeks.  However the gully machine has been attending when required following heavy rain.   

"It will be checked again this week."

Please support Bonnie Dundee!

As many of you will know, 'Bonnie Dundee' is a group of volunteers that has been running for over 10 years and the clue is in the name - to keep Dundee bonnie!

The team plant and maintain 68 planters, two garden areas and one large wildflower meadow in and around Dundee City Centre and the West End. 

Please support the great team of volunteers at Bonnie Dundee in their bid to the Aviva Community Fund.       Full details of the funding bid and how to vote for the team can be accessed here.    

You only have until 20th November, so please vote for Bonnie Dundee today!

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER 2018

West Port roundabout – lane closures on roundabout and approaches on Sunday 28 October for CCTV apparatus maintenance.

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 29 OCTOBER 2018

Old Hawkhill – temporary traffic lights for one week for water main connection.

Nethergate (at Park Place) – temporary traffic lights on Sunday 4 November for Scottish Water mains repair.

Police Community Surgeries in the West End #dundeewestend

The next West End Police Surgeries take place on Monday - details below - all welcome!

Community food growing events - Dundee West Church and The Friary

From Cox to Coccyx – 130 Years of Anatomy in Dundee

Tower Foyer Gallery, Tower Building, University of Dundee

Now on until 14th December 

Monday to Friday 9.30am to 7pm and Saturday 1pm to 5pm

This fascinating new exhibition explores the history of Anatomy in the city. The Chair of Anatomy in Dundee was endowed by Thomas Hunter Cox of the jute family who owned Camperdown Works, and the first Anatomy teaching began here in 1888. This was a key milestone for the new University as it marked the first official step towards the creation of a Medical School in the city, which would eventually be realised in 1897.

The fortunes of the Anatomy department have fluctuated since then, and on at least two occasions it was threatened with closure, but today the Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification (CAHID) is internationally recognised for its work in anatomical and forensic science.

This exhibition looks at the history of Anatomy at the University, with a particular focus on the eight men and women who have held the Cox Chair over the past 130 years. Included in the exhibition are models, charts and other materials used in teaching students about the human body. It also explores the long connections between anatomy and art – from the Artistic Anatomy classes taught by the first Professor of Anatomy, Andrew Melville Paterson, up to the unique Medical and Forensic Art masters courses that the University offers today.

Stories of Hope and Forgiveness from the Burma Railway

The Steeple, Nethergate

Saturday 27th October 2018 - 7.30pm to 10pm 

Eric Lomax’s book, ‘The Railway Man’, records his terrible experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war.    The book inspired the film of the same name starring Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Jeremy Irvine.    

Charmaine McMeekin is Eric’s daughter and she will speak movingly about living with the painful legacy of her father’s experiences and her own journey to find peace and reconciliation with him. 

Charmaine was a nurse and midwife, she is now a counsellor and psychotherapist in Edinburgh.

Captain Clarkson Blackater was also captured by the Japanese in 1942 and sent to work on the notorious Burma -Thai Railway. 

The secret diary he kept during his ordeal became the basis of his book ‘Gods Without Reason’. 

His daughter, Phyllida, and grandson, Piers Bowser, will use extracts from his book, along with private letters and poems to reveal how his faith and his love for his family sustained him through his dark days in captivity.

Proceeds from this event will go to Erskine Care for ex-servicemen.  Tickets, priced at £5, are available here or at the door on the evening. 

Sistema Scotland and Tinderbox - a performance

St Peter’s Free Church - St Peter Street

Thursday 8th November, 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Revolutionary youth orchestra Tinderbox collaborate with the incredible Sistema Scotland Big Noise Douglas Project – a charity that aims to transform the lives of children through music and strengthen disadvantaged communities. 

Taking inspiration from video games music, Tinderbox and Big Noise Douglas will improvise a new collaborative score.    They will also be treating us to musical performances from their individual repertoires. 

Big Noise Douglas works with over 400 children in Dundee, and around 2,500 children across Scotland every week, towards permanent social change.

A free event - more details here.

West End Surgeries #dundeewestend

With the October school holidays now over, it is back to West End Ward surgeries this coming week.   My Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy surgeries take place later today.

My full surgery details are below – although I can also be contacted via esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk or phone me at home on 459378 anytime :

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 22 OCTOBER 2018

Old Hawkhill – temporary traffic lights for one week for water main connection.

Scottish Storytelling Festival in Dundee!

From Blether Tay-Gither :

Bonsoir Dundee!    The 2018 Scottish Storytelling Festival comes to Dundee with an event hosted by Blether Tay-Gither.

It takes place this Tuesday - 23rd October - on HMS Unicorn, starting at 7pm.

Join us aboard the HMS Unicorn for a night of stories that are inspired by this year's theme, Growing Stories, with our International guests.

Enjoy the lively company of storytellers Fiona MacLeod from Brittany and Chantal Dejardin from Belgium, joining Blether Tay-gither storytellers for an evening of stories to treasure in your memories. 

Tickets are £6 and to book contact sheila@blethertaygither.org.uk.

Scottish Women’s Convention - Dundee Roadshow

From the Scottish Women’s Convention :

The Scottish Women’s Convention is coming to Dundee on Wednesday 31st October.

We want local women to share their experiences with us.    All subjects are covered – from health and welfare to housing and employment. 

Time:             10.30am – 1.00pm

Venue:           Queens Hotel, 160 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4NU

Lunch will be provided

For more information or to register

Online:           www.scottishwomensconvention.org

Email:            info@scottishwomensconvention.org

Telephone:    0141 339 4797

We look forward to welcoming all local women on the day.

Friends of Wighton - Cappuccino Concert

From Sheena Wellington :

Wighton Heritage Centre at the Central Library

Saturday 20th October - 11.00am - noon

Janice Clark - singer 

Janice Clark, one of Scotland’s most respected traditional singers,  was born and brought up in Aberdeen and from an early age took an interest in the traditional music and song of the North East of Scotland. 

Her ballad singing style was heavily influenced by some of the great local source singers like Jeannie Robertson, Lizzie Higgins and Stanley Robertson.  Janice began singing at Folk Clubs and Festivals in her early teens and travelled and recorded with bands such as Iolair, Lang Johnnie More and Highland Connection. 

She also has an interest in blues music and performed for many years with Aberdeen based blues band, Off The Tracks. Her more recent musical collaborations have been with Lois and the Session Clarks, featuring close harmony arrangements and with Peter McCallum where traditional ballads and songs are presented in edgy, contemporary arrangements. She also performs with her flute player and husband, Malcolm Reavell, longtime member of ceilidh band Halyracket and currently of Straefoot.

Janice began teaching singing workshops at Folk Festivals throughout Scotland and later taught guitar accompaniment for Feis Rois in 1991. Since that time Janice has been a regular tutor at the Adult Feis, teaching traditional song and harmony and an anything goes “Song Extravaganza”. 

She has tutored for Scottish Culture and Traditions in Aberdeen supporting experienced singers to build a repertoire, develop their individual style and gain performance skills for solo and group singing.

Admission is £5 - tea/coffee is available for small donation - all welcome!

West End Community Sports Hub quiz night - all welcome!

Moving Jamaica Exhibition

Discovering Discovery Walk

An event next Thursday – 18th October – allows you to take a guided stroll along Discovery Walk and find out more about the history, design and stories around the ten bronze plaques that celebrate the gifts that Dundee has given the world and those inspiring individuals who were behind some of the world’s most ground breaking discoveries and contributions to science and society.

With phase three of Discovery Walk starting soon you will have the chance to talk to the creators of the walk, Susanne Scott and Kelly-Ann Marr, about who you think should be the next individual to be immortalised with a bronze plaque.

Full details are available here.

Wednesday afternoon lecture - University of Dundee

From the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden :

The first of the Wednesday afternoon lectures, held in the D'Arcy Thompson lecture theatre in the Tower Building at the University of Dundee, takes place later this week. 

This will be given by Dr Neil Paterson of the Botanic Garden, and the title is "Sex, Obsession and Madness: Linnaeus and the naming of names". 

It is on Wednesday 17th October at 2.15pm, and admission is £2 - all welcome!

University of Dundee Culture Day: Examining the Body

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

The University’s annual Culture Day is a stimulating mix of talks and presentations across a wide-range of subjects united by a common theme. 

This year we are pleased to be part of the new Festival of the Future and we’ll be exploring the body, marking 200 years since the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and 130 years since the first Professor of Anatomy was appointed in Dundee. 

Feel free to come to as much of the event as you like.   Admission is free and booking is not essential, but for catering purposes it would help if you could reserve a place via Eventbrite here.

Programme

1.30pm - Welcome

1.45pm - Keith Williams (English, School of Humanities) - Reanimating Bodies: the Frankenstein Theme in Early film

As an ‘electrical’ medium which brought still photographic images of bodies to life, early film became quickly associated with themes of bodysnatching, duplication and artificial reanimation. This talk examines the reasons why adaptations of Mary Shelley’s novel and related narratives became a kind of self-reflexive commentary on the apparently uncanny potentials of the new medium to reanimate both the living and the dead.

2.00pm - Caroline Brown (Archive Services) - Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes 

Using the theme of the body this talk uncovers some of the fascinating stories found in the University Archives. Pioneering experiments and discoveries, disease and health, art and fashion – all are explored through the medium of the human form. 

2.15pm - Peter Amoore & Joanna Helfer (Exhibitions, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design) - A Body of Art

Cooper Gallery, DJCAD presents a talk on the ways in which the idea of 'The Body' is represented, discussed and questioned by artists, writers and thinkers within our recent programme. Considering which bodies we mean when we talk about 'The Body', we will show clips of film, discuss artworks and quotations that challenge socially normative ideas of the bodies.

2.30pm - Claire Cunningham (CAHID, School of Science & Engineering) - Our Silent Teachers: Body donation at the University of Dundee 

Claire will discuss the process by which members of the public make the ultimate donation to the University, gifting their bodies for anatomical and medical students to learn from.

2.45pm - Break for refreshments

3.05pm - Matthew Jarron (Museum Services) - The Body Beautiful: Art and Anatomy

Dundee is now renowned for its unique Medical Art postgraduate course, but the University began bringing together art and anatomy from the beginning, thanks to the artistic interests of the first Cox Professor of Anatomy, Andrew Melville Paterson. This presentation will look at some of these early connections, as well as the beautifully created models, charts and other teaching aids used in the Anatomy department.

3.20pm - Allan Kennedy (History, School of Humanities) - The Body Brutalised: Torture in Scottish History

One of the most elemental facts about of the human body is that it is capable of feeling pain. This talk looks at the nature and uses of judicial torture in Scotland’s past. Focusing particularly on the early modern period (c.1500-c.1700), we will explore when and why torture was used by the Scottish authorities, before delving – in grizzly detail – into the precise techniques visited upon those unfortunate enough to come face-to-face with a torturer.

3.35pm - Diana Swales (CAHID, School of Science & Engineering) - The Stories Bodies Tell: Archaeological Narratives

Human remains from archaeological contexts and their treatment in death provide clues about the lives people led and the socio-cultural relationships of the living. This talk covers the osteobiographies of archaeological human remains including theories and case studies. 

3.50  - Break

4.15pm - Neil Paterson (Botanic Garden) - From the Metamorphosis of Plants to the Origin of Species: Goethe, Darwin and the Development of the Plant Body

Goethe, the author of Faust, is the towering German literary figure. But he also saw himself as a scientist and put forward ideas on plant form which prefigure yet clash with the concepts of modern botany, informed by the insights of Darwinian evolutionary thought.

4.30pm - Chris Murray (English, School of Humanities) - Frankenstein and Comics

This illustrated talk will explore the many adaptations of Frankenstein in comics and graphic novels, with a special emphasis on comics responding to the novel produced by creators associated with the Scottish Centre for Comics Studies and Dundee Comics Creative Space.

4.45pm - Graeme Stevenson (Music) - A Body of Music

The “heart” and “eyes” are frequently mentioned in love songs but there’s a long history of anatomical references in music. Graeme will talk about and play some examples of these works including music by Buxtehude and Marin Marais.

5pm - Finish

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - SATURDAY 13 AND SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER 2018

Blackness Road (at Peddie Street) – temporary traffic lights on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October for BT cabling works.

Perth Road (at Union Place) – temporary traffic lights on Sunday 14 October for BT cable work.

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 2018

Riverside Drive (at Barnetts) – temporary traffic lights for one week for gas main installation.  Riverside Approach closed southbound.

Old Hawkhill – temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for water main connection.

Getting things done - West End roads update #dundeewestend

Following my reporting residents' complaints, I am pleased to advise that a series of potholes on Logie Avenue at its east end will be repaired this week.

I have also received from the council's Roads Maintenance Partnership the following feedback on complaints I raised about road surface deterioration in Marchfield Terrace and Hillcrest Road :

"The Road Maintenance Partnership inspector has raised an order for two thermal patches to be done in Hillcrest Road with a timescale for repair of approximately ninety days.    A pothole repair has also been raised for Marchfield Terrace with a timescale for completion of approximately thirty days." 

Event at the Botanic Garden #dundeewestend

This Sunday - 14th October - the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden have an event at the garden.

Clare Reaney will lead a foraging walk and talk in the Garden, starting at the Education Centre at 2pm.

Booking is essential for this - please e-mail fudbg.committee@gmail.com to book your place. 

Free to members; guests are invited to make a donation.

Children travel for 20p on Dundee buses

Just a reminder that the school holiday scheme to help families with young children get out and about runs right through the October school holidays until Sunday 21st October.

The City Council has again teamed up with the city’s three bus operators to offer a 20p fare to children when they travel with an adult fare payer or concession ticket holder.

The scheme allows families to enjoy a day out and discover the city by bus - with up to three under-16s per paying adult, including those with season tickets and weekly passes, travelling for 20p each.

West End Community Council Update #dundeewestend

I have today launched my October 2018 Update to West End Community Council.    Subjects covered include:

• West End Christmas Fortnight 2018   

• Seabraes bridge lift 

• Hawkhill by-pass 

The Community Council meets this evening at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm - all residents welcome.      You can download my Update here.

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 8 OCTOBER 2018

Riverside Drive (at Barnetts) – temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for gas main installation.  Riverside Approach closed southbound for 2 weeks.

Old Hawkhill – temporary traffic lights from Monday 8 October for 3 weeks for water main connection.

Perth Road (at Union Place) – temporary traffic lights on Sunday 14 October for BT cable work.

Blackness Road (at Peddie Street) – temporary traffic lights on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October for BT cabling works.

West End Surgeries #dundeewestend

With the schools now closed for the October holidays, my usual weekly ward surgeries do not recommence until after the school holidays.

However, I can still be contacted on any local issues or concerns through my e-surgery - just e-mail esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk.

Surgeries recommence on Monday 22nd October - surgery details are available here.

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

Sculpture in the City - new exhibition

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

Over the summer, Museum Services has been working with Art UK, Historic Environment Scotland, the Menzieshill Photography Group and other volunteers to map and record Dundee’s amazing collection of public art. 

We have so far documented over 450 pieces and you can now see a selection of photographs taken by our volunteers in a new exhibition, Sculpture in the City - Celebrating Public Art in Dundee, showing in the Sharing Not Hoarding poster boards on the north east corner of Slessor Gardens. 

The exhibition features striking photographs of public sculpture and has been funded by Art UK using HLF funding as part of its Sculpture Around You programme. It has been curated by Museum Services with artist David Oudney. 

We have various other plans to promote public art in Dundee, including another exhibition by the Menzieshill Photography Group coming up at Dundee Central Library and a new Facebook page here.

The exhibition runs until 2 November. Find out more on the Sharing Not Hoarding website here.

West End Art Group Exhibition #dundeewestend

Litter pick today - all welcome! #dundeewestend

Friends of Wighton event today!

From Sheena Wellington :

We have a  Lunchtime Recital with a difference today - Wednesday 3rd October - when musician Morag Anne Elder and former city archivist  Iain Flett take us on a musical journey around the collectors and collections housed in the Wighton Heritage Centre.

From the base of Andrew James Wighton's original legacy The Wighton Collection has acquired, usually by donation, a fascinating range of musical books and manuscripts.   Equally interesting are the stories of those generous people who gave us their treasured collections and we look forward to hearing more of the them and their music.

The recital runs from 1.15pm - 1.45pm.   Admission is free; donations are welcomed.

Take pride in your city events - October #takepridedundee #dundee

Weekly Road Report - West End Ward #dundeewestend

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD - WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 1 OCTOBER 2018

Riverside Drive (at Barnetts) – temporary traffic lights from Monday 1 October for 3 weeks for gas main installation.  Riverside Approach closed southbound for final 2 weeks.

Blackness Road/Glamis Road – 4 way traffic lights for 3 days from Wednesday 3 October for carriageway resurfacing.

Greenfield Place (at Perth Road) – closed for one week for sewer repair.

Forthcoming Roadworks

Blackness Road (at Peddie Street) – temporary traffic lights on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October for BT cabling works.

Old Hawkhill – temporary traffic lights from Monday 8 October for 3 weeks for water main connection.