Edinburgh councillor blogs – Cllr Maureen Child

Maureen Child is the Labour councillor for Portobello/Craigmillar. Here she rounds up what’s going on in her area from her postbag.

It was a privilege to be personally invited by one of my grandchildren to P6B’s Towerbank Primary School Class Assembly and French Cafe. The pupils had done all the work themselves, including writing the scripts for the scenes they acted out, in French. it was a really impressive display of their learning and the joy they clearly get out of working together as a team. We – the proud audience of parents and grandparents – had a lovely entertaining time, and were well fed with croissants, brioche and French bread. Bravo, les impeccables enfants de Towerbank P6B! More about the whole school’s achievements, which they will in common with ALL the Council’s amazing schools here:

https://towerbankprimary.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/newsletter-24-november-17.pdf

You Decide! Local people know best what’s needed in their community. For the third time Portobello & Craigmillar Neighbourhood Partnership are giving local people the power to decide how our £21,737 of Community Grants will be spent. Local groups with a good idea about an event or a project that will benefit their community should please bid now.

Applications will close on 27 December 2017. There are two options available. Groups can bid for up to £1,500, or, make a smaller bid of up to £500, for example, to buy a piece of equipment the group needs. Groups who apply for the higher amount should note that a member of the group must attend the voting event on Saturday 3 February, for their bid to be included.

The aim is to give local people a chance to speak to projects and find out more about what they are planning to do, before they vote. On Saturday 3 February, young and old across the area will vote for the work they want to see delivered.

The groups who win the most votes will be awarded the money. This time, the voting will take place in the East Neighbourhood Centre, 101 Niddrie Mains Road, from 1pm -3 pm. Young people from Portobello who are aged 16 and under, will be able vote on the same day in Portobello Library. We want to encourage people to turn up, see what’s on offer and to find out what groups are hoping to do in the area. Information is available on the Partnership website:

https://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbourhood-partnerships/portobello-and-craigmillar/about/you-decide!/

In addition, if you are considering planning a community event, small grants are available to help. Click here:http://eventsedinburgh.org.uk/Local-Event-Fund-2017-2018.html. Deadline for these particular applications is 15 December 2017.

Do come along on 3 December for the Portobello Market at Christmas and get those last minute gifts or pick up your orders. Gates open inBrighton Park at 9.30 and the Market runs until 1.30. At 11am Portobello’s very own carol singers will get you in the festive mood, so get those Santa hats on and come and join in! BG Cycles are on site again as well to give our bikes a winter check. Check out the website for a list of all traders . If you can, please do Like & Share the Facebook page, PortyMarket. The next market is on Saturday 3 February 2018.

At Saturday’s Market, you will also be able to pick up a Friends of Figgate Park Calendar 2018, with some amazing Anthony Robson photographs of the Figgy wildlife, including our swans and ‘our’ kingfisher, nicknamed Bowie.

Portobello St Marks Church on Portobello High Street (opposite top of Bellfield Street) is a collection point for Caring Christmas Trees sold by Bethany Christian Charity. More here: https://www.caringchristmastrees.com/edinburgh/#simple2 St Marks They will also be having a coffee morning this Saturday, remember!

On Friday, the count down to Christmas really starts with the excitement of opening the first window, I picked up this truly fabulous advent calendar with a difference on social media which I think is the very best ever! It’s certainly one that I will be try for to follow over the days of Advent. More in the spirit of Christmas than the consumer-fest we sometimes get sucked into! http://www.actionforhappiness.org/media/625562/kindness_calendar.pdf

Working in Craigmillar, the charity Fresh Start are running a 4 week cooking course at The Venchie Children’s and Young Peoples Project, 61 Niddrie Mains Terrace, helping some of the mums gain more confidence in their cooking. The group have been brilliant and really supportive. Last week, they made stir fry and blueberry muffins for all to enjoy. Pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensProject/. More about the Venchie here http://venchie.org.uk/ And here’s a Fresh Start volunteering opportunity: http://www.freshstartweb.org.uk/volunteer

I reported on the Edinburgh Evening News’s Lothian Buses People’s Champion award a few weeks back. Well, we have a worthy winner by popular vote here :http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/your-lothian-buses-people-s-champion-is-revealed-1-4622755

Portobello Amateur Swimming Club (PASC) would like me to express their thanks to everyone who spent their well-earned money and the volunteers who helped out at their Jumble Sale last Saturday in Portobello Town Hall. PASC raised enough funds to run a couple of fun activities for their swimmers and water polo players, all thank to the kindness of the ‘Portobello Family’.

How about the ‘Edinburgh Family’? The Edinburgh Evening News have a fantastic campaign that We should all get behind: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/our-region/edinburgh/edinburgh-cheer-take-the-pledge-and-spread-christmas-cheer-across-the-capital-1-4627026/amp

Have a lovely weekend and I hope to see you around at one of the very many local events in Portobello and Craigmillar!

Maureen