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Edinburgh Napier University

Author: julietkinsey (Page 11 of 14)

The Ethiopia Timkat Festival

19/01/2022 / / 0 Comments

The Timkat Festival

Christmas is a distant memory for most of us, but for Ethiopians, Christmas is a whole season that’s just coming to an end now. Ethiopia was one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity, and as such it adheres to the ancient traditions that sit at the heart of its Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Timkat, celebrated every year on the 19th of January, is one of those traditions, possibly the most important in the Church’s calendar.

The Amharic word timkat means “baptism”, and the festival marks the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan.

Preparations

Timkat is a huge deal and a seriously religious festival. Preparations for this spectacular event, possibly one of the biggest and most colourful on the African continent, begin on the 18th, when “tabots” – models of the  Ark of the Covenant – are wrapped in fine cloths and carried on the heads of priests down to the river or other place of worship. Local people don white shawls – Ethiopians wear white when they go to church – and follow the procession.

The Festival

Mass starts in the early hours of the 19th and continues for hours. When Mass is over, the water is blessed and the congregants take to the rivers, submerging themselves in a re-enactment of Christ’s baptism. Of course, it’s a happy occasion and that means the celebrations go on all day and are accompanied by feasting and music.  As well as eating their favourite Timkat food, Ethiopians celebrate important occasions with elaborate coffee ceremonies.

On the 20th, the tabots are carried back to the churches in another procession that marks the end of the festival.

One of the best places to observe Timkat is the town of Gondar, home to the 17th century castle built by King Fasilides. In the grounds of the castle is a huge open-air bath. The bath is usually empty, but during Timkat it’s filled with water and the locals dive in. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to visit Ethiopia over the festive season. I missed Timkat by a couple of weeks. When I visited King Fasilides castle it was empty. Next time I go, I’m definitely going for Timkat, and I’m taking my swimming costume.

Want to learn more about other traditions from around the world? Read our article here.

By Lesley McRobb

Library Welcome Week

10/01/2022 / / 1 Comment

welcome sign outside library

Welcome to the Library!

Hello and a very warm welcome to all students joining us this trimester from all of us in the Library. We wish you all the best with your studies and look forward to meeting many of you soon.

Whether you are on campus or studying online, if you are looking for information on how to use the Library services the Introduction to Computing and Library Services module on Moodle is an excellent starting point.

Introductory Sessions

We will be holding quick and friendly online introductory sessions to both the Physical Library and the Online Library during the first few weeks of the trimester. You can sign up for these and many other library skills sessions using the Training and Events Calendar.

Information on Library opening times, how to access or borrow the resources you need for your studies, accessing reading lists, and many more library services can be found on the Library webpages. If you need any further support, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0131 455 3500 or email us at library@napier.ac.uk . We are here to help you!

Keep up to date on all the latest news from the Library on Instagram and Twitter.

Spanish New Year

30/12/2021 / / 1 Comment

New Year in Spain

Not for Spaniards the heavy stodge of black bun or shortbread. They prefer something altogether lighter to bring in the New Year. To navigate the transition between the old year and the year to come – año nuevo – Spaniards stay at home, and, at midnight, it’s customary to eat las doce uvas (the twelve lucky grapes), one on each stroke of the clock.

It doesn’t matter if they’re red or white, seedless or not, eating 12 grapes is supposed to bring good luck, prosperity, and happiness for the year ahead because they represent each month of the year.

The truth is that the practice became established in 1909, when some of Alicante’s vine growers popularized this custom in order to sell huge numbers of grapes from an excellent harvest.

Before COVID arrived (and ideally again in the future), families or friends usually got together for a delicious dinner and then meet in the central square or any iconic local place to welcome the new year on this special and magic night.

The chiming of the clock is broadcast on TV all over Spain. After eating the grapes, the atmosphere is an explosion of joy, fireworks, confetti, music and dance until the early hours.

This year

This year like the previous one, the excitement will need to be much more contained and restricted in order to protect one another. However, I still encourage you to make the most of it with a physical or virtual toast, good wishes and resolutions.

Let’s be hopeful about 2022 and the good things to come. And above all, don’t forget to prepare your lucky grapes: the race to swallow all twelve before the clock stops chiming is lots of fun and your 5 a day fruit intake will be more than accomplished!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!\

by Emi Pastor

Read about Spanish Christmas traditions in our earlier post here

 

Support and Wellbeing Over The Exam Period

06/12/2021 / / 0 Comments

During exam time, it’s important to look after yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. The library is here to support you and your wellbeing over the exam period.

Relaxation Spaces

Each campus library has a relaxation space where you can take a break and relax on comfy furniture or try a mindful activity like colouring or doing a jigsaw puzzle. Check out our virtual relaxation space here on the Library Blog for some excellent wellbeing resources.

Shelf Help

We also have Shelf Help which is a collection of resources aimed at supporting your wellbeing. There are print and ebooks, tv shows, podcasts and more which we’ve organised into themes. You can find resources to help tackle stress, insomnia, anxiety and low self-esteem as well as cookery books to help you eat well on a budget and ways to deal with procrastination and increase your productivity.

Spotify

If you are looking for some relaxing music to listen to while you study, the Library has some Spotify playlists for you here.

Get Outside

One of the best things you can do is to get outside and have a walk in the fresh air. Although don’t forget to wrap up warm in the cold Scottish winter. Nature is proven to help us feel better. Read more on this with our article on “thriving in nature”

Contact

Library opening hours can be found here You can also contact the library 24/7 by phone and email on 0131 455 3500 and library@napier.ac.uk

The university is here to support your wellbeing and you can find out more about the services they offer here

By Julie McGregor

Nexis Database: A quick Introduction to using Nexis

29/11/2021 / / 1 Comment

Nexis Logo Image

Welcome to Nexis

We know that Nexis is nobody’s favourite database.  We know it can be tricky to navigate it. Saying that, we still like it because it contains more than 40,000 online news and business sources with access to newspapers, trade journals and company market information from around the world. Many of these publications are normally restricted by paywalls. It is, in fact, an academic treasure trove.

When you search with LibrarySearch, articles available on Nexis will appear and you can follow the links through to the database. Alternatively you can also access it through LibrarySearch using the databases tab and searching for “Nexis”

Searching

So far, so good. But maybe you want to do some browsing within Nexis and aren’t sure where to start. You can use the database’s own search form tips, which you can find here – it’s full of advice on setting up folders, search histories and alerts.

In addition to this, we’ve compiled our own set of helpful hints for finding newspaper articles. You can find them here

Happy searching and don’t forget to login into Librarysearch before you start searching!

By Lesley McRobb

Interested in other databases? Try learning more about IBISworld here

International Games Week 2021-coming to a campus library near you!

22/11/2021 / / 0 Comments

International Games Week logo

International Games Week 2021-coming to a campus library near you!

22nd November – 28th November

Do you like playing games?  Would you like the chance to win an Amazon voucher?

Well, you’ll be pleased to hear that for the 3rd year running the Library is participating in International Games Week, this time with fantastic prizes!  Furthermore we’re sure you are going to have some fun with the games we’ve created

You’ll find links to the activities where prizes are on offer below.

Crossword puzzle

https://puzzel.org/en/crossword/play?p=-MLNhjbHtSqbRO5e_V7F

Jigsaw puzzle

https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=28a27c52ebad

Wordsearch

https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/1601428/edinburgh-napier-library

How to enter

Just take a screenshot of your completed activity and email it to library@napier.ac.uk from your Edinburgh Napier email address.  Alternatively, pick up a paper entry for the Crossword and the Wordsearch at any of our campus libraries.  All entries will be entered into a prize draw to win an Amazon voucher!  The closing date for entries is 30th November 2021.

Good Luck everyone!

Find out more by following us on Twitter @EdNapLib and Instagram @enu_library

Get more ideas for relaxing here

by Cathryn Buckham

Book Week Scotland (15th- 21st November 2021)

15/11/2021 / / 0 Comments

book week scotland poster

As the nights draw in and winter approaches you might be thinking about the pleasure of cosying up on the sofa with a good book and, if you’re wondering what to read next, look no further!

Book Week Scotland is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and between 15th and 21st of November, there are events taking place across the country to celebrate books and the joy of reading. This annual celebration is organised by the Scottish Book Trust (SBT) working in partnership with libraries and organisations throughout Scotland. They organise digital or in-person events including workshops, author readings, film showings or the spoken word, to reach a wide range of audiences across all age groups. Check the website for events taking place online or near you.

Every year, the SBT hosts Your Stories, a writing project which aims to encourage members of the public to reflect upon and share aspects of their lives inspired by a theme. The theme this year was Celebration. Anyone can submit a piece of writing and each story submitted is published on the website. A selection of these stories has been published in a book, Celebration, which is freely available in venues up and down the country during Book Week Scotland. The book is also available as a PDF or to download from the SBT website. If you’ve ever considered writing but haven’t known where to begin, the SBT website provides a range of resources to help you get started.

We are pleased to let you know there will be copies of Celebration available (for free!) to collect in all three Edinburgh Napier University Libraries and in the three student residences during Book Week Scotland (while stocks last). Pick up your copy before it’s too late!

Enjoy Book Week Scotland; whether you go to an event, pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read for so long, or simply take a moment to reflect on a celebration meaningful to you.

You can join Book Week Scotland on Facebook at facebook.com/BookWeekScotland

You can follow Book Week Scotland’s Twitter updates at twitter.com/BookWeekScot, and using the hashtag #BookWeekScotland

scottishbooktrust.com

 

By Sarah Jeffcott

What is COP-26? The Climate change Conference of Parties

10/11/2021 / / 0 Comments

COP26 Image

All eyes will be on Scotland this month as leaders from across the globe meet in Glasgow to attend COP-26: the climate change Conference of Parties. You may be wondering what the 26 stands for? Well, it’s the 26th annual summit since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty was signed in 1994. So, that’s 27 years that we’ve been arguing about change while the world’s environment has been steadily deteriorating.

There is another significance to the number 26 – the Conference has 26 goals that it intends to achieve. The first is to secure global net-zero emissions by 2030 and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. We are currently not on target, and 2030 is only nine years away.

If you’re keen to find out what the other 25 goals are, you can read the official document here.

Of course, we’re conscious of the fact that we are the host nation for this crucial summit, and we wish our Glasgow friends and neighbours well. We know they’ll be fantastic hosts. We’re hopeful that harmony will prevail and that the leaders come to a unanimous agreement about how to save our (only) planet.  First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is certainly determined that this will happen and pledged in a speech on October 25th that “Scotland is seeking to lead by example”. Read what she has to say here.

A bit closer to home, the COP26 Edinburgh Summit takes place on 3rd and 4th at the Dovecot Studios in Infirmary Street, with a range of speakers and business leaders discussing their climate visions for our own city.

And here at Edinburgh Napier, we are committed to achieving our own net-zero in carbon emissions. Read about our commitments here and be sure to hold our feet to the fire!

Read more on Climate Change using Librarysearch.napier.ac.uk and you can read more about Sustainability in Academic Libraries here.

By Lesley McRobb

 

 

Remembrance Day and The Poppy

08/11/2021 / / 0 Comments

World War One, Remembrance Day and The Poppy

The battles of the First World War (WWI) devastated the countryside of Western Europe. One of the plants that survived the churned-up battlefields was the poppy. As the soldiers saw scarlet poppies bloom through the terrible destruction, they were encouraged to see that life could recover. One soldier, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was inspired to write the poem, In Flanders Fields, in the spring of 1915. 

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky 

The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie, 

 In Flanders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. “

Subsequently, Since WW1 the poppy has become the universal emblem of remembrance, symbolising the sacrifices that soldiers in past wars made for us. 

The Selling of Poppies

In the United Kingdom, artificial poppies are sold by the Royal British Legion in the run-up to 11th November (Poppy Day). Importantly this is when the Armistice (an agreement to end the fighting) began at 11am on 11th November 1918. Furthermore, sales from the poppies go to providing financial, social and emotional support to British Armed Forces serving soldiers, former soldiers and their dependents. This year is the centenary of the UK Poppy Appeal. 

The original Poppy Days were created by Madame Guerin to raise funds for the French widows and orphans of the War. In 1921 she took samples of her artificial poppies to the Royal British Legion and proposed an Inter-Allied Poppy Day during which all WW1 allied countries use artificial poppies as an emblem of remembrance.

The poppies would be made by French widows and orphans and raise funds for the families of the fallen as well as survivors of the conflict. Although the idea was initially not well received by the British public, the WW1 British Army commander Earl Haig was keen, and after that, when the Royal British Legion held its first Poppy Day on 11th November 1921, it was a great success. Those first poppies were made in France, but from 1922 British veterans made the poppies at the Richmond factory which now employs 50 ex-servicemen all year round. In 1926 Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory in Edinburgh was established to produce poppies for Scotland. Over 5 million Scottish poppies are made by hand each year. 

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Ghost Stories: A spooky tale of haunted Campuses

25/10/2021 / / 6 Comments

Creepy Campuses

Craiglockhart:

Many old buildings have ghost stories associated with them and Edinburgh Napier campuses are no exception. Of course, no one can prove if the sightings are genuine, but here are a few of the stories we have heard from staff….

From 1920 until 1986 Craiglockhart campus used to be a training college for Catholic teachers run by nuns. There have been many reports of a nun being seen around the old part of the campus and in the library which used to be a swimming pool. Apparently, she has been seen walking through a wall near the Rivers Suite and a joiner saw her on one of the upper floors. Many staff members claim to have had a feeling that someone is behind them when they are walking around the old building.

Cleaners say that taps in the toilets along from the library mysteriously switch themselves on and one of them has often spotted an old woman walking along the corridor towards the Hydra café early in the mornings before the campus is open for general access.

One morning library staff came in to find a bookshelf that had been hammered into place had been tipped up at one end and the books were in a heap on the floor. On another occasion, an interior glass panel was completely smashed when staff arrived for work. The panel had been intact when security had closed the campus the previous evening. When shelving books one evening a member of staff heard a thud behind them. A large book that had been lying flat on a shelf and not overhanging had mysteriously landed on the floor.

Craighouse

Our former campus at Craighouse is now a housing development, but it used to be the home of Edinburgh Napier from 1996 to 2011. It was built as a private residence around 1565. In the 1880s it was described as “a weird-looking mansion, alleged to be ghost-haunted” in Cassell’s Old and New Edinburgh. It was a psychiatric hospital from then until the early 1990s when it was sold to Edinburgh Napier. Some of the staff who used to work there claim to have smelled cigar smoke although smoking was prohibited in the building. There were also reports of a piano being played and a baby crying in an attic room. Cleaning staff caught a glimpse of a man wearing a long leather coat with slicked back long hair in the toilets. Furthermore, there were also rumours of underground tunnels leading from secret entrances.

Sighthill

Not to be outdone by Craiglockhart, Sighthill briefly had its own ghost in 2018

Click on the following link to view the full video:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1057546465587924992

We wish you all a Happy Halloween and hope we haven’t spooked you!

Have any ghost stories of your own? Share them in the comments or tag us through social media with Twitter: @ednaplib or Instagram @ENULibrary

By Vivienne Hamilton

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