Director's Notes January 2009EWH continues its work at full steam ahead even as the winter chill blows across Edinburgh. Our hessian protecting the careful repointing in lime mortar of the base of the National Monument has survived the gales and frosts, ensuring the long term stability of the structure.
Scaffolding has gone up around the Burns monument in preparation for its repair and fundraising efforts continue for both this and the Nelson Monument. The need for a strong vision and a clear management framework of their environs on Calton Hill is as strong as ever, and EWH will continue to work in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council towards this.
The interpretation panels that have gone up on the hill are very well used and it is pleasing to report that our temporary boards, located near our various repair projects, continue to attract positive comment – at Shandwick Place and Well Court in the Dean Village in particular.
A further interpretive project is just starting up with the City of Edinburgh Council at the Museum of Edinburgh, creating a learning space for families. This is a small step, but significant step on the journey to engage everyone in the importance of the World Heritage Site.
Our programme of publications for the year is firing up with a series of historic home guides – in many ways bite-sized updates of the classic “The Care and Conservation of Georgian Houses” also covering the Old Town (if you have a copy of the C&C lock it up somewhere safe – they are as rare as hen’s teeth and cost more second hand than they did new).
We have a limited number of seats to a small celebration of Burns on the 28th January – it is strictly first come first served but signals the start of the development of a series of public events making better use of our offices at No 5 Charlotte Square.
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