Edinburgh councillor blogs – Councillor Maureen Child

October 4, 2017 6:42 pm

Councillor Maureen Child is the Labour councillor in Portobello/Craigmillar. Here she rounds up her inbox for us.

Dear All

Our community buy-out Bellfield’s Crowdfunder closed last week, and Portobello did manage to raise more than the £20,000 target. There was a really amazing show of support from the community, so a big THANK YOU everyone who donated! If you missed out on donating, and would still like to, you can do that on the website www.bellfield.scot/donate/. More about Bellfield and how to get involved in developing this great community resource here: https://www.bellfield.scot/

The first practical task is the Autumn Clean Up at Bellfield which is on Saturday 7 October 10am- 2pm. This activity is suitable for fit adults and for children over 10 years who are keen to work. It won’t be suitable for toddlers or people who have ricked their backs or sprained their wrists. Come fully kitted out and equipped for gardening, if you possibly can! RSVP to r.everoberts@hotmail.com or bs_campbell@hotmail.com – Bellfield need to estimate numbers for this event, so please do let them know if you intend to come!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/action-porty-launch-event-tickets-28947299151

If you haven’t had enough cleaning up at Bellfield in the morning, the first Portobello Timebank clean-up of the Autumn season is on the afternoon of Saturday 7 October, at Magdalene Glen form 1.30pm to 4pm, meeting at the footbridge near Asda.

There is a lot on in Porty this weekend! Portobello Book Festival 2017 too. Some events are already fully booked but there are still tickets left for many of them. And there will be a very limited amount for each event available immediately beforehand. To make sure of your place, head to Portobello Library before the weekend to pick up your FREE tickets.

https://portobellobookfestival.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/four-days-to-go/

Portobello Book Festival gets a mention on Radio Scotland as Doug Johnstone talks with Ricky Ross about his writer’s residency at a funeral directors. He’ll be talking about this at the Writers in Residence event next Saturday. Fake News and the 100th Anniversary of the Scottish Women’s Institute also feature earlier in the programme – both topics being covered next weekend during the festival. If you are picking this up on time, do listen again on iPlayer from about 1 hour 47minutes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b096sjj3

It’s lovely to read about all the great fun playtimes the children are enjoying at Towerbank and all the good school work going on there, much of it reported by the children themselves. See this week’s here: https://towerbankprimary.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/newsletter-29-sept-17.pdf

During the October holidays the Craigmillar Sport Hub are running free cycling tasters at Jack Kane Sport Centre in partnership with Edinburgh RC.

These exciting sessions are all about having fun on the bike and learning skills to make you a better rider. Sessions are 2 hours in duration with lots of challenges, drills and racing. Sessions run on Thursday19 and Friday 20 October. Sessions both days run 10.00 to 12.00 for children aged between 6 and 10 and 14.00 to 16.00 for over tens. Friday’s sessions are open to girls only. Bikes can be provide for those aged 8+ for those who don’t have their own. Helmets must be worn but can also be provided. To book your child, or children, into a session please complete the following booking form:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=9Uc7wt7Sjk2etuUejVPpr6DfMBHgYFRJnXHr1VW7x-RUM0dLRVQ0NU9ZVVc2TlUyMjFEUDRBNVBGRi4u

For more information, email communitysporthubs@edinburghleisure.co.uk

The fabulous Thistle Centre for Wellbeing at Queen’s Walk Craigmillar hosts a creative writing group every Wednesday morning at 11am until 12:30pm called The Scribblers. It’s a small, welcoming group and you don’t have to share what you’ve written unless you want to. Each week they do different, ‘warm up’ exercises to get into writing and then focus on our own projects and interests. Some people write short stories and poems, others write non-fiction – it’s entirely up to you! You don’t have to join in every session, just when it’s convenient for you. The Scribblers love to welcome new members, so please do go along! For more information call 0131 661 3366.

The smell and feel of Autumn is in the air, the trees are turning, and to add even more colour to your life the next Portobello Market is on Saturday 7th October. The market is held in Brighton Park, Brighton Place, Portobello, from 9.30am to 1.30am. Check out the PEDAL website to see the full list of the traders attending: https://goo.gl/qdZtT9.

You would be welcome to come along to Magdalene’s Mexican Sunday on the 8 October between 1pm and 4pm, at Magdalene Community Garden, where there well be lots delicious free food, music and activities for the kids. This event is open to the whole community.

Wellsprings Community are hosting ‘Spirit Rhythms’ again at Caffe Nero, Fort Kinnaird this Sunday 8 October 5-7pm; a spiritual fair with live music. Free event

Citizens Advice Edinburgh advisers deliver welfare rights advice to registered patients at several GP Surgeries across Edinburgh including Craigmillar, supported by NHS Lothian and Edinburgh Central Health Partnership. More information on the Edinburgh CAB website website: https://www.citizensadviceedinburgh.org.uk/gp-surgeries/